Liang Jian: Commander, save some for me

However, before the Japanese soldiers could finish eating, Li Yunlong and his men ordered an attack.

Da da da………

Bang bang bang…

Intense gunfire echoed throughout the area as the soldiers relentlessly attacked the Japanese troops.

Meanwhile, the Japanese soldiers also hastily responded to the attack. Compared to the previous night, the Japanese soldiers were now daring to show their faces and fight back. Moreover, their combat effectiveness was indeed much stronger than at night, and their marksmanship was much more accurate. As a result, many soldiers suffered casualties.

However, this was still not a big problem in the eyes of the special operations soldiers. Their marksmanship was still very accurate, and they kept the Japanese soldiers in a bad position, causing them to suffer even greater casualties!

This was unacceptable to Nakajima Ichiro. It was already daytime, and their soldiers were able to exert their full fighting power, so why was there still such a large gap between them and that Northeast Army?

"Damn it! How could this happen!" Nakajima Ichiro cursed under his breath. He had thought that if they could hold out until daytime, they could put up a fight against the enemy, but the current situation was beyond his expectations.

"Brigade Commander, something's not right! The enemy's trenches are getting closer to us!" The Japanese regimental commander ran over and quickly reported the situation.

He was certain that the enemy's trenches weren't this close last night; now they were at least tens of meters closer.

Such a short distance made him feel inexplicably uneasy.

"What?!" Upon hearing this, Nakajima Ichiro immediately peeked out and found that it was indeed true.

"Damn it, do they really intend to wipe us out?!" Nakajima Ichiro exclaimed in alarm. The enemy had closed the distance, preparing for a crucial charge later.

Once the enemy feels the time is right, they will likely engage in hand-to-hand combat.

"Brigade Commander, what should we do now?!" the Japanese regimental commander asked.

Nakajima Ichiro's face was grim. What to do?! How could he know what to do? Breaking through was definitely impossible; they would only die faster that way.

But now it seems like a dead end. At the very least, the enemy's actions have made him realize that the enemy attacking them is not the whole force; the enemy still has reserves that have not been sent.

"What else can we do? Tell the soldiers to be careful and continue the counterattack like last night. If we can hold out until noon, the enemy will naturally retreat," Nakajima Ichiro said slowly.

They have no way to deal with the enemy now, and all they can do is stall until noon. But he doesn't know how many people will be left by then.

"Brigade Commander, is there really no other way?!" the Japanese regimental commander asked.

Are they destined to continue their covert and covert counterattacks, just like last night?!

"This is the best way right now. What else do you want to do?! Launch a counterattack and take back the enemy's position?!" Nakajima Ichiro retorted.

He wouldn't have chosen this option if there were other choices; he even hoped the enemy would retreat now and stop attacking them.

"Uh... never mind then." The Japanese regimental commander hesitated for a moment before responding.

To launch a counterattack would be suicidal; they were already struggling to cope with enemy attacks, and a counterattack would require their soldiers to rush out of the trenches.

In the eyes of that Northeast Army, what difference was there between them and sitting ducks? If they dared to charge, they would surely die.

.........

By this time, Li Jin had already woken up. Although he hadn't slept for long, it was enough for him.

After a quick breakfast, Li Jin contacted the scouts via walkie-talkie to ask if they had spotted any traces of the Japanese.

But there was still no reply, which was within Li Jin's expectations. Even if the Japanese came quickly, it would take them until 10 or 11 o'clock to get here. Now they could only wait quietly.

"Xiao Liu, keep an eye on the walkie-talkie. If there's any news, wake me up." Li Jin handed the walkie-talkie to Liu Changshun, then continued to rest. He needed plenty of sleep for this big battle.

"Yes!" Liu Changshun nodded.

Time passed by, and soon it was around nine o'clock in the morning.

Liu Changshun received a message from a scout informing him that the Japanese troops were only twenty li away from them!
"Commander! Oh, you're awake." Liu Changshun was about to wake Li Jin when he noticed that Li Jin had already opened his eyes.

"At the speed of the Japanese, they should be here in about half an hour. Notify the artillery battalion to prepare. Once fighting breaks out at the front, fire the shells at the first opportunity!" Li Jin began to give orders.

To annihilate Yamamoto's special attack force, they must gain an absolute advantage from the very beginning; otherwise, they risk incurring heavy casualties.

"Understood!" Liu Changshun nodded.

"Oh, right, tell the telegraph operator that once the fighting starts, immediately send a telegram to the Fourth Battalion, which is lying in ambush at the Japanese command post, to inform them that they can launch an attack! Also send a telegram to Xu Qingfeng, telling them that they can launch a general offensive against the 33rd Brigade in half an hour!" Li Jin continued to give instructions.

The annihilation of Yamamoto's special attack force and the annihilation of the Japanese command post should be carried out simultaneously as much as possible, in order to save more time!

"Yes." Liu Changshun turned and left.

Li Jin was also a little excited. The battle against Yamamoto's special attack team was finally about to begin. As long as Yamamoto's special attack team was wiped out, the Japanese would probably not dare to field any more special attack teams.

Because none of them were his match, and he had made ample preparations, even carefully selecting the ambush points.

Once the Japanese soldiers stepped into the ambush point, they were doomed.

"Yamamoto Ichiki, this is the burial place I specially prepared for you!" Li Jin narrowed his eyes, a hint of murderous intent appearing on his face.

"The regimental commander's orders have already been conveyed," Liu Changshun said as he approached.

.........

While Li Jin was making preparations, Xu Qingfeng also received a telegram from Li Jin.

He immediately summoned Li Yunlong, Kong Jie, and Chu Yunfei.

"Commander Xu, what's the matter that you called us in such a hurry?!" Chu Yunfei asked. He was in the middle of a fierce battle with the Japanese when Xu Qingfeng summoned him.

"This is a telegram from our regimental commander. He ordered us to launch a general offensive against the 33rd Brigade in half an hour!" Xu Qingfeng said.

They had been delaying the deployment of their reserves, waiting for Li Jin's orders; otherwise, they could have wiped out the 33rd Brigade much sooner. "What?! Does he mean the Japanese secret forces are almost at his ambush point?!" Li Yunlong asked.

"It's basically correct." Xu Qingfeng nodded!
"Haha, it's good to take down the 33rd Brigade sooner rather than later. We've suffered quite a few casualties here, and the losses will only increase if we drag this out any longer." Li Yunlong was overjoyed upon hearing this.

They were finally able to wipe out the 33rd Brigade.

"Then get ready, and have the soldiers prepare to charge!" Xu Qingfeng nodded and said.

"No problem." The group nodded in agreement.

"Commander Xu, are you sure Commander Mu can take care of the Japanese secret unit?!" Fang Ligong couldn't help but ask.

If things go wrong and Mu Jin ends up being wiped out by the Japanese secret forces, that would be a huge joke.

"Chief of Staff Fang, rest assured, the Japanese secret troops will not be able to escape. They will be completely annihilated by our regimental commander!" Xu Qingfeng replied confidently. He dared not say anything else, but as long as the Japanese secret troops stepped into the ambush, they would not be able to fly away even if they had wings, let alone turn around and wipe them out.

"Brother Ligong, with a major battle imminent, it's best not to say anything so unfavorable," Chu Yunfei said with a stern face.

"I'm just worried. The secret troops that the Japanese have painstakingly trained are definitely not to be trifled with," Fang Ligong said.

"Chief of Staff Fang, I don't quite agree with what you're saying. Don't forget, our troops used to be no match for the Japanese, but now we're still thrashing them to the ground."
"Like now, the Japanese Class A divisions look strong, but compared to us, they are still not on the same level." Xu Qingfeng said directly. He had already given Fang Ligong face, otherwise he would have said that the 358th Regiment would be no match for the Japanese Class A troops, and Fang Ligong would not have been able to refute it.

Of course, these words cannot be spoken aloud, otherwise it will offend people. At this time, it is best not to cause any unnecessary trouble.

Even if we were to speak, we should wait until the battle is over.

"Commander Xu, I am well aware of your strength. The Japanese secret force is no match for you." Chu Yunfei chimed in.

"Commander Chu, we should still make preparations and try to wipe out the 33rd Brigade in a short while." Xu Qingfeng didn't say anything more.

.........

The battle continued, and every minute and every second, people were shot and fell, whether they were Japanese soldiers, Eighth Route Army soldiers, or Jin-Sui Army soldiers.

However, the Japanese suffered more casualties because their machine gunners were unable to operate and provide effective fire suppression, which significantly weakened their firepower.

"Brigade Commander, our casualties are getting heavier and heavier. If this continues, by noon we probably won't have many men left," the Japanese regimental commander said to Nakajima Ichiro.

Although only a few hours have passed, their casualties continue to rise.

"Baka! Didn't we tell them to hide it?!" Nakajima Ichiro couldn't help but curse upon hearing this.

"They've hidden, but the enemy's marksmanship is really accurate, and it seems that their marksmanship is even better during the day than at night!" the Japanese regimental commander said helplessly.

Unless they refrain from retaliating against the enemy, any counterattack will inevitably result in casualties.

If they don't fight back, the enemy will probably just attack, and they'll likely die even faster, since the enemy has a numerical advantage over them.

The main problem was that the Northeast Army posed too great a threat to them. If it weren't for that Northeast Army, their enemies would be no match for them at all.

"Tsk, this is troublesome. Send a telegram to the division commander, saying that we can hold out until noon, but the casualties are too high. If the enemy retreats by then, we probably won't be able to pursue them, and we won't be able to buy any more time," Nakajima Ichiro said after thinking for a moment.

He had originally planned to launch an offensive to hold off the enemy if they retreated, but now it seemed that there was no way to delay them.

He felt that he probably wouldn't have many men left by then, and that delaying would be pointless; it wouldn't buy him time and could easily lead to his complete annihilation.

"Yes, sir!" The Japanese regimental commander nodded and turned to leave.

.........

In the headquarters of the Sixth Division on Huangyun Mountain.

Tani Hisao looked at the map spread out on the table and fell into deep thought. According to Yamamoto Ichiki and Itagaki Seishiro's guess, the enemy would most likely break out from the west, but there was also a small chance that they would break out from the south.

But something felt off; would the enemy really break out from those two directions?

Could the enemy have other options?!
"Division Commander, what are you thinking about?!" The Japanese regimental commander next to him couldn't help but ask. Ever since Division Commander Itagaki sent the telegram, the division commander had been staring at the map.

"Do you really think the enemy will break out from these two directions?! Could they break out from other directions?!" Tani Hisao looked at him and asked.

"Division Commander, judging from the current situation, there is still a high possibility that the enemy will break out from these two directions. Didn't Division Commander Itagaki and his men study this?" the Japanese regimental commander said, agreeing with Itagaki Seishiro's guess.

"Maybe I'm overthinking it. I feel like something's not quite right, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Let me go through it all again." Tani Hisao patted his head. He hadn't slept all night, which had taken a toll on his mental state. After all, he wasn't young anymore, and without enough rest, his thoughts were bound to become confused, so it was normal for him to miss the point.

"Division Commander, you're too tired right now. Why don't you take a nap and get some rest? I'll wake you up if there's any important news," the Japanese regimental commander suggested.

He felt that the division commander's current state was entirely due to lack of rest.

"Alright." Tani Hisao nodded, sat down, and closed his eyes, intending to take a nap.

"Division Commander, a telegram has arrived from the 33rd Brigade," a Japanese telegraph operator rushed in and said.

Upon hearing this, Tani Hisao opened his eyes instantly.

"Give me the telegram." Tani Hisao took the telegram, and after reading its contents, he couldn't help but frown.

"Division Commander, what's wrong?! What happened?!" Upon seeing this, the Japanese regimental commander's heart skipped a beat, and he asked cautiously.

"The 33rd Brigade said they couldn't carry out the mission of holding off the enemy, because by the time the enemy retreated, they probably wouldn't have many men left, and delay would mean total annihilation," Tani Hisao said slowly.

"What?! How is this possible? It's already daylight, the soldiers can fight at their best, how could there be so few left?!" the Japanese regimental commander exclaimed in shock.

In his view, the 33rd Brigade was still very strong during the day. Even if they were no match for the enemy, they could hold out for a while and at least a lot of men would be left.

"This only shows that the enemy's fighting strength during the day is not much weaker, and may even be stronger!" Tani Hisao said. (End of this chapter)