under fire

The sky is high and the clouds are light, and crows are circling overhead.

As evening approached, the sun had not yet set, and only its outline could be seen.

The wind finally picked up across the plains.

The smoke covering the western bank of the canal crossing, which was flat, did not thin out but instead became even thicker.

The smoke even began to spread eastward, and some people kept burning firewood and releasing smoke in the smoke to keep the smoke near the ferry crossing from dissipating.

Outside the lonely watchtower on the east bank.

The roadside was littered with Japanese corpses covered in white sheets.

A small squad of Japanese infantrymen, weary from their journey, stopped and bowed in silent tribute as they passed the corpses of their comrades laid out on the ground.

Then comes the next batch.
The artillery positions, which had been bombarded by the Eighth Route Army, were riddled with shallow pits of varying sizes, with half a foot of loose soil.

The ground was stained with dark brown blood. A Japanese soldier surveying the scene accidentally stepped on a shallow pit of blood, splashing dark red blood all over his trouser leg.

The stench of blood mixed with the smell of gunpowder filled the air, and the atmosphere was deathly heavy.

Almost all the Japanese soldiers could hardly believe that the invincible Imperial Army would suffer such a crushing defeat on the plains.

After asking around, they finally learned what had happened in this place an hour earlier.

Immediately, one by one, ferocious faces looked towards the thick fog on the opposite bank, panting like wolves and tigers, whispering curses to each other.

The Japanese colonel leading the troops did not stop his men, believing that this would arouse the fighting spirit of the warriors.

At this moment, he was carefully questioning the Japanese communications soldier who had stayed behind about the details of the battle that had taken place not long ago.

He gazed at the thick smoke rising from the west bank and pondered for a moment.

I grew increasingly angry.

He couldn't understand why that idiot Kujo didn't immediately try to build a pontoon bridge after losing the ferry...

Moreover, the river was calm and the water was still, making it easy for infantry to swim across.

He and his few majors did a quick calculation on the map and immediately ordered the infantry to cross the river.

In the face of absolute power, everything will be reduced to dust.

On the east bank, away from the smoke-filled areas, light and heavy machine gun and artillery positions were quickly established.

The infantrymen began to remove their equipment and prepare to swim across the river to attack.

To be on the safe side, all the supplies were unloaded from the mule wagons of the supply train, and the wooden frames were pushed into the river to ensure that some of the light and heavy machine guns could be placed on the frames for the infantry to carry to the other side of the river.

A squadron of Japanese soldiers detached themselves and headed towards Donggu Town, intending to find some small boats to cross the river.

With bayonets at their sides, they also had the maintenance committee organize laborers to dismantle doors and roof beams to build a pontoon bridge across the canal so that mules and horses carrying supplies could cross.

His subordinates had already begun working according to plan, and the colonel, who had been traveling all day, did not feel tired at all.

Once the warriors have crossed the river, they will cut off the heads of all the Eighth Route Army soldiers hiding in the smoke.

...

A simple wharf on the west bank of the canal.

Soldiers continuously carried sandbags, stepped onto the gangplank, and boarded the iron-hulled ship, then threw the sandbags onto the deck of the ship, which was higher on one side than the other.

The soldiers watched with reluctance as the river water overflowed the deck of the iron-hulled ship.

Once the iron-hulled ship loses its smoke screen, it becomes nothing more than a target for the Japanese artillery.

Rather than be sunk by enemy artillery fire, it's better to deliberately sink into the water and leave behind a memory.

Three hundred meters west of the river embankment, Li Xiang was directing his soldiers to bury the engine that had been removed from the iron-hulled ship into the ground.

It was easy to roughly disassemble the engine, which weighed several hundred pounds, but he had no idea whether the ship could be salvaged and the engine could be put back in.

Moreover, this time they are facing far too many enemies.

Whether they can return here alive is anyone's guess.
The northern edge of the smoke.

Hu Yi was lying prone in a shallow ditch, holding binoculars.

Tang Dagou and his group followed the Japanese convoy northward and disappeared from sight.

A large number of Japanese soldiers on the opposite bank are preparing to cross the river.

More than ten scattered machine gun and artillery positions have been established.

Once outside the smoke-shrouded area, a short distance away lies an endless open field, with nowhere to hide except on the reverse slope of the riverbank. Using the elevated riverbank as cover, attacking from halfway across should not be too difficult to kill dozens or even hundreds of Japanese soldiers.

However, the two banks were less than 100 meters apart. The Japanese grenade launchers on the opposite bank were very accurate, and with the mortar fire, even the soldiers who lay down behind the riverbank to hold off the enemy had almost no chance of survival.

Once the Japanese have crossed the river, with the current strength and ammunition of the Ninth Battalion, and with only a smoke-shrouded area of ​​about one square kilometer where they are hiding, they will not be able to hold out for long.

The Ninth Battalion was completely unable to fight a positional war against the Japanese!
Southwestern edge of the smoke.

Li Tietou followed behind the guards, crouching low as he hurried along the ditch.

"Ahem, ahem, reporting to Comrade Hongying, Battalion Commander Li from the division is here."

Li Tietou shoved the guard aside: "Cough cough cough, girl, where's your battalion commander? Take me to see him right now."

"Hello, Battalion Commander Li, you're here to settle your debt, right?" Xiao Hongying, with a towel tied around her mouth and nose and speaking in a muffled voice, greeted him with a warm smile. Her big eyes were already shining as she stared at the long line behind Li Tietou.

Xiao Hongying's gaze sent another shiver down Li Tietou's spine. Having dealt with the Ninth Battalion several times, he immediately understood what she was planning based on her eyes.

Fortunately, this time a lot of people were selected from the county brigade, which was just enough to make up for this person's debt.

"Cough cough cough, a platoon of new recruits, you take them in first! Cough cough cough." He suppressed his fatigue from half an afternoon of forced marching and asked again, "Cough cough cough, where is Battalion Commander Hu? Cough cough cough."

Xiao Hongying turned her gaze away from the ranks behind Battalion Commander Li: "Um... are you looking for Battalion Commander Hu?"

I've asked twice already!

Hearing the slow, bureaucratic, and somewhat childish question, Li Tietou was speechless.

A large number of enemies are about to cross the river. Does this girl really not know what's important?
How could there be such a person in the Eighth Route Army?

Was Battalion Commander Hu really blind to bring such a thing along?
Li Tietou got angry: "Cough cough cough, you little brat, can't you understand what I'm saying? Cough cough cough. I have urgent business with your Battalion Commander Hu!"

Xiao Hongying turned her head to look at the smoke behind her, and spread her hands helplessly: "The battalion commander is currently in the smoke assigning combat tasks. I don't know where he is for the time being. Why don't you go in and look for him yourself?"

"Cough cough cough you." Looking at the thick smoke, Battalion Commander Li was stunned. Let alone going into the smoke to find someone, even if you went in, the smoke would probably choke you to death.

That's not right.
How did the Ninth Battalion manage to move so freely in the smoke?
Seeing that Battalion Commander Li was speechless, Xiao Hongying said smugly, "If it's anything urgent, just tell me."

Li Tietou hesitated for two breaths before speaking: "Cough cough cough, you suffered heavy casualties in the afternoon's battle against the enemy, so the division has decided that we will take over the defense. Cough cough cough."

He coughs as soon as he opens his mouth. It's fucking awful.

Suddenly, I saw Little Red Tassel in front of me with a wet towel covering her face.

Quickly pull off the towel hanging around your waist, pour some water from the kettle onto the towel, and then wrap it around your mouth and nose.

The pungent smell of smoke seemed to disappear almost immediately.

Xiao Hongying hadn't expected the division to be so straightforward, getting straight to the point: "Isn't it a good idea for you to come here now to change shifts? Can you tell me what your mission is?"

"Delay the enemy until dawn tomorrow." This time, Li Tietou did not cough.

Xiao Hongying shook her head: "The Japanese soldiers on the other side of the river are transporting light and heavy machine guns across on carts. You can't stop them even if you stay here."

Li Tietou hesitated for a moment, then suddenly thought, "This guy in the Ninth Battalion seems to really be able to make decisions?"

He changed to a negotiating tone: "I heard that Tang Dagou and his men infiltrated the Japanese supply train. After you destroy the Japanese supply train, could you provide us with some of the heavy weapons you captured?"

“Of course.” Xiao Hongying paused, her eyes darting around, “You have a lot of men under your command.”

I didn't expect this person to answer so readily, and then, with a quick glance, they said...
Li Tietou, true to his word, didn't hesitate this time: "Add another platoon!"

"Hehe, what are you saying?" Little Red Tassel immediately seemed like a different person: "Tell me your plan, and let's see how we need to cooperate."

"The enemy's forces are too strong. I plan to lay mines along their route at night and conduct guerrilla warfare raids to delay their westward advance."

How many of you are there now?

Battalion Commander Li sounded somewhat guilty: "Our battalion, along with the county brigade and guerrillas, has at least the strength of a regiment."

"You mean, a regiment trying to hold off a battalion of Japanese soldiers plus two regiments of security forces?" Xiao Hongying stared in disbelief. "Tsk tsk, that's incredibly audacious."

"The enemy has a fixed mission to advance westward. Our greatest advantages are the darkness of night and our control of the battlefield. However, the enemy is too powerful. So even with our advantage in timing and initiative, we still desperately need to obtain those weapons and ammunition from the enemy's supply convoy to narrow the gap in combat capability between us and the enemy."

Although Battalion Commander Li did not make any demands on the Ninth Battalion, Xiao Hongying realized that this matter was too big for her to handle.

He casually handed a gas mask from behind him to Battalion Commander Li: "We need to go talk to Battalion Commander Fox."

discuss?

Battalion Commander Li shook his head. Shouldn't the word "report" be used when a subordinate addresses a superior? (End of Chapter)