Anti-Japanese War: I have unlimited assistance

Chapter 286 Cavalry Battalion, Attack!

"Shhhhh-"

Zhangjiazhai front.

Just when the Japanese thought nothing would happen tonight, suddenly white lights appeared above their heads, and then exploded with a bang.

"Flare!"

The Japanese soldiers on the position realized that something was wrong at the first moment and shouted loudly.

Under the illumination of the flares, the Eighth Route Army artillery observers who approached in the dark saw that the Japanese and puppet soldiers hurriedly rushed into the anti-artillery holes in the trenches on the position.

This enemy force confronted the Eighth Route Army on the Zhangjiazhai front for seven days, during which time the two sides exchanged only brief fire.

The Japanese and puppet troops dug some defensive positions, trenches and foxholes on the opposing hills, and built cat-ear holes, or anti-artillery holes, in the trenches. In addition, the enemy also built some earthen fortresses that could withstand 75mm mountain artillery shells.

A 120mm artillery shell was like an orange-red meteor, and the arc it passed was clearly visible in the night sky. With the whistling sound of the bullet cutting through the air, it landed in front of the Japanese position, and a fireball of explosion suddenly rose up.

"boom!"

A deafening explosion tore through the night sky.

The artillery observer raised his lips slightly. The impact point was very close to the target. He immediately fine-tuned the shooting parameters according to the impact point and re-transmitted it via radio.

The second shell landed in a foxhole in the middle of the enemy position, creating a fireball that blew away two or three enemies and a machine gun.

"Two batteries, 20 guns, rapid fire!"

The artillery observer determined the final firing parameters.

On the artillery position, the Eighth Route Army artillerymen were busy in an orderly manner. The muzzle fireworks of 24 120mm mortars arranged in three rows burst into flames one after another. A strong wind swept across, and one shell after another soared into the sky, drawing orange-red arcs in the sky, and then fell at high speed towards the Japanese puppet army position.

Boom boom boom...

Huge fireballs exploded one after another, and circles of shock waves accompanied by shrapnel spread out, blowing the enemy positions into pieces and rolling up clouds of mud and gravel.

While the artillery fire was preparing, thousands of elite Eighth Route Army soldiers quietly and quickly approached the enemy positions.

Japanese military headquarters.

Inside an earthen fortress, listening to the continuous and deafening roar, piles of mud fell from the cracks in the fortress, burying the battle map and seeping into the body through the seams of the military uniform. The commander in charge of the front-line defense position of Zhangjiazhai, Major Omori, changed his face drastically and sweated profusely.

Major Omori had rich combat experience, and in less than a minute he realized that this was a strike by heavy artillery at the level of the Eighth Route Army Regiment.

He only had four infantry guns, four mortars, and some grenade launchers, and was not even qualified to engage in an artillery battle.

"idiot."

Major Omori's expression was extremely solemn:

"Report to the brigade headquarters immediately. Our unit is under heavy mortar fire from the Eighth Route Army. Requesting tactical guidance!"

Although this is not the main attack direction, Kenkichi Hirata still left a radio here to facilitate immediate reporting of emergencies.

"Hi."

The telegraph operator was almost scared to death. He immediately set up the antenna, turned on the radio and prepared to send a telegram.

"Idiot, call on the radio."

Major Omori cursed loudly and was extremely anxious. By the time you finished sending the telegram word by word, the Eighth Route Army had already begun the attack.

"Hi."

The telegraph operator immediately took the receiver and microphone and called out the code name of the 39th Brigade Headquarters.

……

at the same time.

Wangjiawan front, headquarters of the 39th Brigade of the Japanese Army.

The Japanese officers lit lamps and torches and were studying and summarizing the offensive tactics.

Uwagawa Masao said: "The Eighth Route Army has learned to be smart. Their heavy mortars and mountain artillery fired at the Locust Army's supervision team, and their small-caliber mortars fired at the Locust Army's support team. But if the Locust Army's supervision team is not sent, the Locust Army's attack will be in vain."

Hirata Kenkichi nodded. "The Eighth Route Army reacted quickly. We must also make tactical adjustments to eliminate more of them at the lowest cost. What suggestions do you have?"

As he spoke, he glanced at the Japanese officers.

Tian Zhongji, the adjutant of the 77th Regiment, said, "There's an old Chinese saying, 'A generous reward will always bring out brave men.' We can reward the Locust Army generously to boost their morale to the maximum extent possible, ensuring that they don't need the Locust Army Supervision Team. Their attacks can still pose a threat to the Eighth Route Army."

Hirata Kenkichi's eyes lit up and he nodded, "That's a good idea."

"The Locust Alliance soldiers are just cannon fodder anyway. By the time this battle is over, most or even all of them will be dead." Uwagawa Masao agreed. "It's just a blank check, and it's impossible to cash it."

"Uwagawa-kun, you can't say that," Hirata Kenkichi said. "If the fallen Locust Alliance soldiers want money, we can give them a small amount, a few hundred million or even billions, that's fine."

The Japs suddenly chuckled.

Nagata Shokichi laughed and said, "It's a wonderful feeling to watch the Chinese kill each other."

"General." At this moment, the communications captain hurried in. "Lieutenant Colonel Omori just called. The locust army positions on the Zhangjiazhai front are under heavy fire from the Eighth Route Army's corps-level heavy mortars. Lieutenant Colonel Omori requests tactical guidance."

"Nani?"

The smiles on Kenkichi Hirata's and the other devils' faces instantly vanished. "Map."

Hirata Kenkichi said in a deep voice.

The combat staff immediately placed a map on the table, and everyone looked at Zhangjiazhai on the map.

The battles between the 39th Brigade and the Eighth Route Army took place in the Wangjiawan area. If it weren't for the Eighth Route Army attacking the Japanese army at Zhangjiazhai, Kenkichi Hirata would have almost forgotten this place.

"Order Major Omori to immediately lead the troops to retreat to the strongholds in the Miaoling and Guanjiayu areas." Kenkichi Hirata stared at the map for a moment and gave the order.

He was very confident that two squadrons of soldiers would never be able to stop the Eighth Route Army's attack.

"Hi."

The communications captain suddenly lowered his head, turned around and quickly conveyed the order via radio.

"Commander, something seems to be wrong."

Masao Uwagawa remembered the reminder Yamamoto Ikki gave him during the day.

"Uwagawa-kun, did you see anything?"

Kenkichi Hirata frowned slightly and also smelled an unusual smell.

Uwagawa Masao then said, "Colonel Yamamoto told me during the day that we should be wary of Li Yunlong's surprise attack on Yangquan and the mutiny of the Locust Army. The Eighth Route Army's attack on the Zhangjiazhai area by the Locust Army may also be an attempt to launch a surprise attack on Yangquan."

Hirata Kenkichi said confidently, "I've already stationed an infantry battalion next to the Locust Army barracks. The Locust Army will absolutely not dare to mutiny. As for Li Yunlong's sneak attack on Yangquan? I'm afraid Yamamoto Ikki and you are overthinking it. If the Eighth Route Army wants to sneak attack Yangquan, they must first break through the blockade strongholds in the Miaoling and Guanjiayu areas. Dozens of reinforced concrete turrets and bunkers can block direct fire from 75mm mountain artillery, and the crossfire they form, coupled with a large number of searchlights, means there's no way the Eighth Route Army can break through this line of defense. If they wanted to break through, they would have done so long ago. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been blockaded by the Locust Army for so long."

Uwagawa said with concern, "That being said, Li Yunlong is a man who cannot be judged by common sense. What if he acquires even more powerful weapons? Before the battle, no one expected the 3rd Independent Mixed Brigade to be completely annihilated."

Hirata Kenkichi narrowed his eyes, feeling that what Uwagawa said made some sense. He thought it was better to be safe than sorry. "Order the 78th Battalion of the 6th Infantry Regiment to immediately return to Yangquan by car and reinforce Yangquan's defenses."

"Hi."

Masao Uwagawa lowered his head and quickly gave orders.

……

"Comrades, come after me!"

"Kill--"

"Kill all the Japanese dogs!"

"..."

After five minutes of artillery coverage, the attacking force had arrived 100 meters away from the Japanese front line.

As soon as the artillery fire stopped, the company commanders of each battalion immediately issued the order to attack, and the deafening shouts of killing tore through the night sky.

With an indomitable momentum, the soldiers rushed towards the enemy's position like a gray tide, unstoppable.

The attacking force was not attacked by the remaining enemy, and there were only some broken limbs and corpses on the battlefield.

It was obvious that the enemy had escaped.

"Shoot a few flares toward the road."

After capturing the hill, Zhang Dabiao immediately gave orders to the mortar unit.

Several flares were fired towards the road. Zhang Dabiao raised his telescope and looked, only to see the Japanese and puppet soldiers running away like dogs that had lost their homes.

"Captain Sun, it's your turn."

Zhang Dabiao immediately called Sun Desheng by radio.

At the cavalry's attack position, Sun Desheng quickly drew his saber and let out a long howl, "Cavalry Battalion, attack!"

Sun Desheng suggested to Li Yunlong that the cavalry of the Independent Regiment, the New Third Regiment, and the cavalry battalion of the New First Regiment be combined to form a Jinzhong Cavalry Regiment.

However, it was rejected by Li Yunlong because the New 1st Regiment was only a regimental-level unit, and at most it had a cavalry battalion under its jurisdiction. How could it make sense for an infantry regiment to have a cavalry regiment under its jurisdiction?

Moreover, even the brigade commander and the division commander did not cause trouble for the cavalry regiment, but Li Yunlong caused trouble for a cavalry regiment, waiting to be robbed by the division commander and the brigade commander?
Immediately, more than 500 Eighth Route Army cavalrymen drew their sabers in unison and, led by Sun Desheng, charged towards the enemy like an arrow shot from a bow with fierceness.

Zhang Dabiao said, "Artillery observer, continue to call the heavy mortar battalion for flare support."

"Yes."

One after another, 120mm caliber flares were fired over the enemy's heads, illuminating the 1.5-kilometer area where the enemy fled as bright as day.

"Cavalry, Eighth Route Cavalry..."

The rumbling sound from behind was approaching rapidly, and the Japanese and puppet soldiers behind were scared out of their wits just by looking back.

I only regret that my parents didn't give me two more legs.

Major Omori quickly arranged two machine guns to cover the rear, and the remaining Japanese and puppet troops quickened their pace to escape.

"Da da da…"

Before the two Japanese machine guns could fire a few times, the Eighth Route Army cavalry was about to approach. The Eighth Route Army on horseback easily suppressed the Japanese machine gun fire with a few bursts of light machine gun fire. The Eighth Route Army cavalry passed by like lightning, and their horses' hooves crushed the Japanese machine gun group into meat patties.

Soon the main force caught up with the Japanese and puppet army infantry. With the flash of swords and the spurt of blood, the enemy's heads rolled to the ground one after another.

(End of this chapter)