under fire

Battalion Commander Li received a report on Hu Yi's team's interception of the enemy at the canal ferry crossing and rushed to the secret compound of the town's district headquarters for a meeting.

Along the way, there was one question that he couldn't understand: under normal circumstances, after a major battle, the team would need to rest for at least three to five days!

Based on the initial contact, the combat effectiveness of the guard battalion brought by Battalion Commander Hu far exceeded his expectations. In the sub-district, how could he let his brother unit fight alone?

At this moment, he stood in front of the district leaders and slammed his fist on the table: "...If we are constantly worried about these broken pots and pans in the town, what's the difference between us and the Japanese who surrendered?"

The political commissar sitting opposite him suddenly slammed his empty teacup down: "Hey, you, Li Tietou, dare to slam your fist on the table in front of me? You've really grown some guts, haven't you?"

When leaders in the Eighth Route Army occasionally addressed their commanders by their nicknames, it was either because they were extremely close to them or because they were very angry.

Division Secretary Zhao glared at Battalion Commander Li with a dark expression: "Shut up! If the main force hadn't been transferred away, you wouldn't even be qualified to enter this compound!"

"The main force of the Japanese is passing through the north of the town on its way to the ferry. Taking any rash action could attract the Japanese. The traitors in the town who are being closely watched by the work team will also find an opportunity to inform the Japanese. The consequences could be so severe that the division is exposed, or even lose its winter food supplies! Without winter food supplies, the base area that we have worked so hard to establish behind enemy lines will be destroyed!"

Battalion Commander Li caught the cup the political commissar had thrown at him, gently pushed it back in front of the commissar, and then turned to him, saying, "Secretary Zhao, you once relayed instructions from higher command to everyone: 'If you save the land but lose the people, you lose both the land and the people! If you save the people but lose the land, you save both the land and the people.'"

"Oh ho, you, Li Tietou, lecturing your superiors now? Where did you learn that from? How about I let you be both the district secretary and political commissar?" Secretary Zhao's face was full of anger, but in his heart he was thinking, when did Li Tietou dare to talk back to him and bang on the table?

I've never seen anything like this with such audacity before.

Could it be... that he was influenced by that audacious Hu from the Ninth Battalion?

In the past, whenever the Japanese launched a sweep, the district would always relocate the villagers, lure away the enemy, or even fight back and break through the encirclement, and finally rebuild their homes with tears in their eyes...

After the higher command transferred two of the three main regiments that the district had painstakingly assembled to the side, the remaining Class C regiment actually consisted of only one battalion. The battalion commander, Li Tietou, who dared to challenge the main force of the Japanese, was quite arrogant, even though he was like a toad yawning.

That's a good thing.
Secretary Zhao and the political commissar of the district exchanged a glance. Having worked together behind enemy lines for a long time, the commissar immediately understood Secretary Zhao's thoughts and pretended to smooth things over: "Old Zhao, Battalion Commander Li is right. With people, you have land; without people, you have nothing."

Secretary Zhao began to reprimand: "Li Tietou, you need to understand that your lousy battalion was ravaged by Hu Lie La, losing nearly half its men. The Japanese in Zhenbei have at least one battalion and two regiments of puppet troops. The puppet troops we just incorporated from the pillbox are not yet in a stable state of mind and have not yet formed any combat capability. With our few men and guns, we are not even enough to fill the Japanese devils' teeth!"

"The Ninth Battalion has been holding the Donggu Ferry crossing until now. They must have suffered heavy casualties," Battalion Commander Li said anxiously. "The artillery is roaring from the West Ferry crossing; the 'Guard Battalion' must have suffered considerable losses..."

Secretary Zhao, with a strange expression, shook his head and told Li Tietou the secret: "The town's phone can directly contact the ferry and the watchtower. We just received news that, so far, Battalion Commander Hu's casualties are not significant..."

The call came from Tang Dagou, but Secretary Zhao always felt its credibility was questionable because... on the plains, even a main regiment of the Eighth Route Army wouldn't dare to provoke a Japanese company armed with mountain guns...

Moreover, behind this company of Japanese soldiers was a large battalion of infantry and countless puppet troops…

Even with the canal as a natural barrier, no matter how capable they are, they can never be a match for the enemy.
"Battalion Commander Hu is using the firewood the county brigade prepared in advance to create smoke; he's playing hide-and-seek with the Japanese at the ferry crossing." The political commissar, noticing Battalion Commander Li's anxious eyes, solemnly handed him a document: "In half an hour, the main Japanese force will reach the ferry crossing and will likely cross the river before dark..."

"This document was just requested by Tang Dagou, the platoon leader under Battalion Commander Hu. Based on their request, we have formulated an operational plan. Now the entire county brigade is under your command. You can refine the specific details yourself. There is only one requirement: the battle cannot spread to the east bank! You know what to do, right?"

Battalion Commander Li frowned: "Uh, you want me to detour across the river, relieve the guard battalion, and use the darkness to ambush the main Japanese force?"

"Sparrow warfare is our division's specialty." Political Commissar: "When the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy camps, we harass. We must delay the enemy for twelve hours!"

"Until dawn tomorrow!"

The political commissar instructed: "The main force has been transferred westward, and two of the three regiments of the district have been withdrawn. Now only your understaffed battalion remains. Learn more from the guard battalion."

"Mission accomplished!" Li Tietou stood up and saluted, his face solemn. "Will the leaders be transferring with us if the county brigade leaves?"

Secretary Zhao waved his hand: "It was the Eighth Route Army from Guantao who were blocking the enemy. What does that have to do with me, the head of the Donggu Town Maintenance Association?"

"What? Chairman of the Maintenance Committee? Secretary, when did you defect to the enemy?"

"You two, get the hell out of here!" Secretary Zhao raised his hand and pointed at the county brigade captain, who hadn't said a word...

The county brigade captain, surnamed Zhou, was somewhat excited: "There are quite a few informants in the town who have been bribed by traitors in the investigation team. Before you came, the county brigade had already withdrawn from Donggu Town from the south gate under the pretense of these traitors, just as planned."

"There are so many traitors in town, and you've withdrawn all your men? Isn't that too risky?"

"Heh, do you really think that the armed work teams drawn from the main force have been working for nothing all these years?"

Battalion Commander Li nodded: "Yes, the blockhouse outside the town is still under our control. You should quickly lead your men south along the canal to the west bank of the ferry."

After saying that, he looked west and said, "Damn it, the canal is a natural barrier left by our ancestors. The enemy has no boats now. It doesn't seem difficult to hold them off for half a day..."

The canal waters flowed calmly.

If it weren't for the thick fog that blocked out the sun at the ferry crossing, a major battle would have seemed to have already ended.

Kujo Masao's face was sallow.

The mortar shells fired from the opposite bank had almost no effect on the 94 mountain gun, which weighed over a thousand pounds.

The surviving artillerymen are calling on the engineers to help dismantle the cannons.

The messenger jogged over to report that the vanguard of the main force was about to arrive, and seeing that his men were almost assembled, he immediately ordered them to set off.

Tang Dagou was standing on the top of the pillbox, watching the Japanese troops who were setting up defenses and assembling for westward march on the west bank of the ferry.

The Japanese convoy that had assembled earlier was almost done with its work and was about to set off. The district command called to say that a large Japanese force was approaching from the east and would be arriving soon.

So far, not a single shot has been fired, and I feel incredibly anxious.

Suddenly, a Japanese soldier rushed to the bottom of the pillbox, looked up and shouted: "You guys, assemble immediately!"

Tang Dagou quickly came down from the top of the pillbox, walked briskly to the Japanese messenger, and grinned: "Sir, what kind of work do you need us to do?"

The Japanese soldier spoke broken Chinese: "Assisting the Imperial Army in transporting supplies."

Tang Dagou could hardly believe his ears.

He immediately shouted and gathered the "security troops" in the pillbox, and they hurriedly followed the Japanese soldiers to the front of the car.

Tang Dagou cursed the Japanese in his heart for their treachery, thinking they wanted him and his imposters to clear the way to prevent the Eighth Route Army from planting landmines on the riverbank highway.

Many sections of the canal embankment were not suitable for cars, and I was mostly forced by the Japanese to work as a laborer on the road.

Big Dog paused for a few seconds before snapping out of it, then turned and kicked Wen Wuquan behind him: "What the hell are you standing there for? Quickly organize the scouts to clear a path along the riverbank!"

Immediately afterwards, a sidecar motorcycle followed behind Wen Wuquan's lead team, running forward while constantly shouting.

Big Dog followed closely behind the Japanese sergeant Jingyan on the motorcycle, speaking in broken English, pointing to the empty freight cars behind them because the infantry had swum across the river: "Sir, to speed things up, we can take turns running to scout ahead. Can any of the brothers who aren't on our turn hitch a ride?"

This guy really wanted to sneak into the Japanese supply convoy.

"No, it's the battlefield regulations, the Imperial Army's vehicles, Chinese people aren't allowed on board..." The Japanese sergeant said arrogantly.

Around 5 p.m.

Sitting in the car, Kujo Masao glanced at the lingering smoke on the west bank of the river.

I prayed to God that an autumn wind would blow.
Perhaps it's because his Chinese isn't very standard.

God didn't give him the slightest bit of mercy.

The smoke on the west bank remains unchanged.

The smoke covered an area about one li wide from east to west and a staggering five li long from north to south. One can only imagine how much firewood those Eighth Route Army guerrillas burned.
Only two squads of about a hundred infantrymen had crossed the river, and launching an attack on such a large area of ​​smoke was completely pointless.

Visibility at a distance of a few meters.

The enemy is not visible.

Being well-trained is also meaningless.

Having strong combat power is meaningless.

Even being disciplined and fearless is meaningless.

He ordered a squad of infantry that had already crossed the river to remain behind, keeping watch a mile from the edge of the smoke, to support the main force that would be crossing the river soon.

The other infantrymen marched west on foot.

Let's get around you bunch of guerrillas and see how you can stop the Imperial Army's westward advance!
The remaining guard platoon was ordered to simply watch the Eighth Route Army soldiers in the smoke like hyenas. Whether the Eighth Route Army soldiers left the smoke or stayed in it, they would be annihilated after the main force crossed the river.

As for the iron-hulled ship that was sheltered with sandbags in the smoke, after the smoke cleared, it could only become a target for the main force, which did not have heavy firepower, such as grenade launchers and mortars!
Not long after, the supply convoy carrying the Type 94 mountain guns departed.

The puppet troops stationed in the blockhouse also ran ahead of the convoy to clear the way.

The main focus now is the Japanese infantry vanguard that follows.

A company of infantry, without mules or horse supplies.

After arriving at the ferry crossing blockhouse, he whispered with the Japanese messenger who had stayed behind for a while, and then immediately set up mortar, grenade launcher, and machine gun positions.

At the same time, the infantry were organized to cross the river a mile away from the smoke-shrouded area, while another group of Japanese soldiers hurriedly ran into the kitchen on the first floor of the pillbox to start a fire and cook porridge.

Meanwhile, about five miles to the south.

Battalion Commander Li was directing the soldiers from the county brigade who had been incorporated into his company, as they raced against time to cross the river by boat.

It is located more than 100 miles south of the canal.

The vast fleet of ships was sailing north downstream.

After entering Guantao territory, they joined up with the troops that had dispersed after the autumn sweep.

The iron-hulled gunboat was lost due to a night attack by the Eighth Route Army.

A contingent of Imperial Army and collaborating troops who had not yet returned to their posts were recruited to escort the ships along both banks of the canal. (End of Chapter)