Anti-Japanese War: I have unlimited assistance

Chapter 277 The firepower of the Eighth Route Army is too strong.

Second Lieutenant Katsuki Kurahara was the captain of the reconnaissance cavalry squad of the 3rd Independent Mixed Brigade.

Because of his good riding skills and being a scout, he was promoted to second lieutenant and served as the captain of the reconnaissance cavalry squad.

Scouting cavalry were called scouts in ancient times.

As the vanguard of the army, the scout cavalry's duties go far beyond simple reconnaissance.

Not only did they have to open up a route for the army, they also needed to scout the natural environment and terrain along the way to ensure the army's safe passage.

Katsuki Kurahara always looked highly alert.

The mountain artillery battalion was ambushed by the Eighth Route Army's cavalry artillery unit.

This shows that behind the independent mixed brigade, there are probably infantry and cavalry of the Eighth Route Army.

As an infantryman of the entire mixed brigade, he must always remain vigilant and eliminate potential threats for the larger force.

"spread."

Katsuki Kurahara held the reins in his left hand and raised his right hand, making a gesture to disperse and scout.

The Japanese cavalry spread out and formed a line, reconnaissance and advance with the highway as the center.

Soon, the Japanese reconnaissance cavalry had passed Xiyan Town and would be out of the Xiyan Basin if they walked another two kilometers.

The northern part of the Xiyan Basin is a mountainous area, very suitable for mountain warfare.

Yanagishita Shigeharu's battle plan was to retreat to this area, deal with the Eighth Route Army, and see whether the Eighth Route Army would continue to attack.

"Enemy spotted ahead!"

Suddenly, a cavalryman exclaimed, his tone filled with panic.

Katsuki Kurahara reacted very quickly. As soon as the gunshot rang out, he jumped off his military horse.

But the other Japanese reconnaissance cavalry did not react as quickly. They were showered with bullets, and in a short while the entire reconnaissance cavalry squad was wiped out.

Katsuki Kurahara hid behind a bush and took a look, and his face turned pale with anger.

The Eighth Route Army's machine guns and machine gunners were hidden in the pile of corn stalks, with only the gun barrels exposed. The gun barrels were also camouflaged and could not be found unless you walked closer.

"Baga, the cunning Eighth Route Army!"

Katsuki Kurahara rolled into the shelter with a grim face.

"Well done."

In the headquarters of the independent regiment, Kong Jie saw this scene through the telescope and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

"Pass on my order, all troops quickly take up their positions and prepare for battle!"

Because the independent regiment only arrived for one day, it was impossible to build a tunnel position in such a short time.

But the soldiers of the independent regiment had already built a large number of foxholes and trench fortifications.

Moreover, the Eighth Route Army was lucky. No Japanese planes came here for reconnaissance, and the Japanese still didn't know that their retreat had been cut off.

But then again, even if the Japanese knew it, it would be of no use. When the main force of the independent regiment arrived in the area of ​​Baijiazhuang and Lingnan Village, the retreat of the 3rd Independent Mixed Brigade and the pseudo 6th Division had been cut off.

"Yes!"

Half an hour later, the main force of the 3rd Independent Mixed Brigade arrived.

The Japanese troops, puppet army units and wounded soldiers entered the Xiyan Basin.

Kurahara Katsuki quickly walked up to Yanagishita Shigeharu and reported, "General, there are Eighth Route Army troops ahead. My troops were ambushed by them, and everyone except me was killed."

Yanagishita Shigeharu's expression froze, and he raised the telescope on his chest and looked forward.

However, because the view ahead was blocked by the buildings of Xiyan Town, Liuxia Shigeharu could not see anything.

"Are the enemies in town?"

Yanagishita Shigeharu put down the telescope and asked in a deep voice.

Katsuki Kurahara replied: "There are no enemies in the town. After the enemy passed the town, they hid in the corn stalks. There were about 15 machine guns."

Yanagishita Shigeharu asked, "How many troops does the enemy have?"

Katsuki Kurahara: “Not yet…”

Before he could finish his words, Yanagishita Shigeharu slapped him hard in the face, and then slapped him again with the backhand.

"Hi Yi!"

Two big red handprints suddenly appeared on Katsuki Kurahara's face. Although he was very unhappy, he did not dare to refute and could only lower his head and put his face in front of Shigeharu Yanagishita.

Yanagishita Shigeharu said coldly: "Order the reconnaissance squadron to go forward and find out the strength of the Eighth Route Army!"

Although he really wanted to shoot Katsuki Kurahara, he had to spare his life because he needed him now.

Yanagishita Shigeharu looked at Kurahara Katsuki again and said, "You, go with the reconnaissance squadron and lead the way for them. Make amends for your mistake!"

Kurahara Katsuki lowered his head: "Hi Yi!"

After the reconnaissance squadron arrived at the town for reconnaissance and there was no gunfire, Yanagishita Shigeharu gave a cold order: "Keep moving forward!" Although they had not yet figured out the strength of the Eighth Route Army in front, the Japanese puppet troops had to keep moving forward.

Because the gunshots and explosions from the rear were getting closer and closer, they were only three to five kilometers away from the main force of the Japanese puppet army.

The Japanese reconnaissance squadron did not find the Eighth Route Army in the town, and continued to scout forward. The Japanese first fired at the piles of corn stalks, and when they found no retaliation, they continued to scout forward.

When they were about to reach the edge of the basin, the Japanese reconnaissance squadron came under attack.

"Da da da……"

"Boom boom boom..."

Intensive gunfire and explosions rang out, and fire from various artillery, machine guns, rifles and submachine guns poured down on the Japanese reconnaissance squadron. Although every member of the Japanese reconnaissance squadron was an elite, they could not withstand the attack at the level of fire coverage and quickly retreated.

"General, Chief of Staff."

The captain of the reconnaissance squadron was killed in the explosion. Katsuki Kurahara reported this to Shigeharu Yanagishita and Tatsuo Yamazaki with a dusty face:
"I have already found out the strength of the Eighth Route Army. The total strength of the Eighth Route Army is over 20 men, with over 100 artillery pieces and over machine guns."

This time I have figured out the strength of the Eighth Route Army. You won’t attack me again, right?
As soon as this thought came to his mind, Katsuki Kurahara was slapped twice in the face. Yanagishita Shigeharu was not satisfied after slapping him twice, so he kicked him away.

Katsuki Kurahara looked aggrieved. "You hit me even though I didn't detect the Eighth Route Army. You still hit me even though I did detect the Eighth Route Army."

Then my reconnaissance was in vain?
In fact, there was no need for Katsuki Kurahara to report. Shigeharu Yanagishita was a veteran of the battlefield. He could judge the guns and artillery used by the other side, as well as the approximate strength of the Eighth Route Army, from the sound of gunfire between the reconnaissance squadron and the Eighth Route Army.

Yanagishita Shigeharu and Yamazaki Tatsuo looked extremely ugly. The retreat route of the 3rd Independent Mixed Brigade had been blocked.

This is not the most uncomfortable thing.

The most painful thing was that the Eighth Route Army commander had long known that the 3rd Independent Mixed Brigade would be defeated, so he sent troops here early to cut off their retreat.

Yanagishita Shigeharu knew that the New Third Regiment definitely did not have this ability. Could it be that Li Yunlong had come?
If Li Yunlong's main force was here, then who was fighting the 39th Brigade in Mengxian? Could it be Kong Jie of the Independent Regiment?

That’s not right either!
There are more than 10,000 Eighth Route Army soldiers here. The Eighth Route Army soldiers and the common people in Jinzhong can't even get enough food. Where did they get so many soldiers from?
Could it be that it grew out of the ground?

All kinds of question marks flashed through his mind, and Yanagishita Shigeharu's brows were twisted into the shape of a "川" character.

However, the most urgent task is to break out. The main force of the Eighth Route Army with a force of nearly 10,000 is approaching from the rear, which is very stressful.

If they fail to break out of the Xiyan Basin before the main force of the Eighth Route Army arrives, then the Xiyan Basin will become the burial place of the 3rd Independent Mixed Brigade.

Yanagishita Shigeharu said coldly: "Order the tank squadron, the Locust Army, and the 10th Infantry Battalion to attack, and the infantry artillery and mortar units to provide artillery fire support!"

"Eliminate the enemies ahead within twenty minutes!"

The Independent Mixed Brigade has some prestige, but it is not high. The brigade headquarters is directly under a tank squadron equipped with 8 tanks and armored vehicles. It is completely incomparable with the mechanized Independent Mixed Brigade 1st.

In the battles of the previous few days, because the Eighth Route Army was equipped with anti-tank weapons, he had not sent a tank squadron to attack.

But now it has become a critical moment of life and death, and Yanagishita Shigeharu can no longer care about so many things.

"Hi Yi!"

Tatsuo Yamazaki suddenly lowered his head, turned around and quickly conveyed the order.

The Japanese launched a battalion-level attack right from the start. They had victory scarves wrapped around their heads with loincloths, and the puppet troops were driven to the front as cannon fodder.

Behind the puppet army, eight tanks were lined up in a row, leading hundreds of devils to attack.

"Boom boom boom..."

The Japanese mortar and infantry artillery positions opened fire, and shells drew arcs in the air, and explosions suddenly rose up on the position of the independent regiment.

This time, the Japanese plan to use a tactic of bombarding with artillery while charging with infantry.

However, because the Japanese artillery positions were located in the Xiyan Basin, even behind the town.

As the Japanese artillery opened fire, their artillery positions were exposed.

The artillery of the independent regiment quickly calculated the firing parameters, and the infantry guns, mortars and mountain guns quickly opened fire, directly suppressing the Japanese artillery positions, forcing the Japanese artillery to move their artillery positions.

With no shells falling on the independent regiment's position, the soldiers' pressure was suddenly greatly reduced.

"Fire!"

Seeing the Japanese approaching, the battalion commanders at the front line gave the order to open fire.

The artillery positions provided fire coverage, machine guns scattered bullets, snipers fired accurately, 20mm machine guns and bazookas dealt with the Japanese armored vehicles and tanks, and various weapons fired almost at the same time... After a series of combined punches, the Japanese were directly stunned, and as soon as the Eighth Route Army opened fire, the puppet army lay on the ground pretending to be dead. When all 8 tanks and armored vehicles were blown up, the attack of the 10th Infantry Battalion was fruitless.

Through the telescope, Yanagishita Shigeharu watched the tank squadron being annihilated and the 10th Infantry Battalion retreating, and his face suddenly became extremely solemn.

"Your Excellency the Brigade Commander, the firepower of the Eighth Route Army is too strong." Yamazaki Tatsuo said with a grim expression.

"Yes!" Yanagishita Shigeharu nodded. "The Eighth Route Army's firepower is too strong. If our mountain artillery battalion had not been attacked by the Eighth Route Army's cavalry artillery, the Eighth Route Army would not have been able to gain any advantage."

Taking a deep breath, Yanagishita Shigeharu repeatedly hypnotized himself not to panic. As the brigade commander and commander of this army, if he panicked, the entire unit would be in chaos.

"Immediately request tactical guidance from Lieutenant General Shinozuka, Commander of the First Army!"

"The 10th Infantry Battalion continues its attack!"

"Order the scouts to scout the surrounding area and see if there are any other ways out!"

Yamazaki Tatsuo lowered his head: "Hi Yi."

(End of this chapter)