Anti-Japanese War: I have unlimited assistance

Chapter 343: Not only did I not lose money, I also made a lot of money! (Part )

Ten past six.

Night falls.

After a day of rest in the mountains, the Blade Commandos and artillery troops were preparing to set off.

We had already marched all night yesterday, and with another forced march tonight we will be back to the base.

When going to Shimen City, the troops marched slowly because they were carrying six 6mm mortars and artillery shells.

But on the way back there was not so much burden to carry, and each person had a horse, so the marching speed was much faster.

"Report to the captain."

"A telegram just arrived from the regimental headquarters: Commander Kenkichi Hirata of the 39th Brigade stationed in Yangquan, Japan, is leading a reinforced infantry battalion in ambush at Laoyukou, preparing to ambush us."

At this moment, the correspondent came over to report to Wei Dayong and handed him a telegram:
"The commander asked us to take a detour back to the base."

Wei Dayong took the telegram and read it, then handed it to Wang Chengzhu, who then handed it to Yang Shaoqing.

Then Wei Dayong called a meeting with Wang Chengzhu, Yang Shaoqing, Wang Xikui, Wang Gensheng, Lu Yingjun, the artillery company commander, and a group of team members and artillerymen.

Duan Peng and several team members did not come. They were sent by Wei Dayong to scout and explore the way.

There's trouble...

When the team members and artillerymen heard that the Japanese had prepared an ambush in front, they were suddenly frightened.

Even though the knife commandos are strong in combat, they will not gain much advantage if they fight a Japanese infantry battalion head-on.

The difference in military strength is too great.

"The Japs are playing dirty tricks on us." Wei Dayong narrowed his eyes. "What do you think?"

Originally, the Blade Commando and the artillery wanted to go to Yangquan to find an opportunity to do something.

Now the Japanese blocked the road, so not only could we not go to Yangquan, but we had to take a detour and walk a long way before we could return to the base.

"Can we go around it?" Lu Yingjun asked.

Yang Shaoqing brought out a map, which was an accurate map provided by Boss Lin, with an interlaced route drawn on it.

He pointed at the map and said, "There's a small road here that goes around Laoyukou, but we have to walk nearly 40 more miles to get back to the base. We don't expect to be back until the day after tomorrow."

Wang Xikui also took out a map, which was seized from the Japanese.

The map is marked with clearly defined elevation levels.

Wang Xikui compared the two maps and said, "This path is not on the Japanese map. I guess this path is very hidden and the Japanese spies and agents didn't find it."

In war, maps are not only an important tool for obtaining geographic information, but also the key to formulating strategies, tactics and coordinating combat operations.

During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Eighth Route Army was adept at measuring troops and selecting terrain, using maps for scientific deployment, and achieved many victories.

"Boss Lin is truly a genius."

Wei Dayong was full of admiration. This map was much more useful than the Japanese map. He narrowed his eyes and said:
"I have two options now. Let's discuss them together."

"The first option is to take a detour back to the base. This isn't dangerous, but we didn't complete the mission this time and ended up losing money. We'll definitely get scolded by the regiment commander when we return to the headquarters."

"The second is to go around behind this group of devils and ambush them."

"Our combat goal is not to completely wipe out this group of devils, but to kill the old devil Hirata, the commander of the 39th Brigade, and some of the devils."

"Do you want to be scolded or commended?"

After he finished speaking, Wei Dayong looked at everyone.

The solemnity on the faces of the special forces and artillerymen had long since disappeared. More than 100 pairs of eyes looked at Wei Dayong with desperate and fierce gazes.

"Dry."

Wang Chengzhu's tone was decisive and murderous:
"Opportunities are fleeting. We won't gain anything from a direct confrontation, but we can certainly find a chance to kill that old devil, Hirata."

"This old devil is the brigade commander of a Type A division, worth 18 120mm mortars or 18 105mm howitzers."

"If the ambush is successful, we will not only be commended, but also make a lot of money."

Wang Chengzhu knew his team leader very well. He would scold him if he returned empty-handed, let alone returning with a loss.

But as long as you can make some money, or even bring something back, the leader will not only not scold you, but will also treat you to a drink.

"Leave that old bastard Hirata to me." Wang Xikui was carrying the Barrett and talking foul language, very confident, with murderous eyes.

The road from Laoyukou back to Yangquan is a small path, not a highway, so the old Japanese must have been riding a horse.

The Japanese's marching speed will not be very fast. Wang Xikui is confident that he can kill them with one shot within 1000 meters.

"I agree." Yang Shaoqing nodded, "But we can't get too entangled with the Japanese. We have too few troops. After the first minute of the ambush, no matter how many Japanese we kill, we should stop while we are ahead."

There are more than 80 people in the Blade Commando Team and more than 30 people in the six elite artillery teams, a total of more than 110 people.

Each gun crew consists of a gunner, a gunner, a loader, an ammunition handler and an assistant gunner, all of whom are elite artillerymen.

The Japanese reinforced infantry battalion, although the telegram didn't specify the number of men, could be guessed to be between 1,000 and 1,600 men. A force of over 100 ambushing a force of over 1,000 men, a ratio of 1 to 10, would be terrifying to most people.

By the time the Japanese have withstood the first wave of attacks and reacted, they would have inevitably caused considerable casualties to the Blade Commandos and artillery.

Although it seems that each soldier only needs to kill a dozen Japanese devils on average.

But the real combat situation is that when you kill the first Japanese soldier, the other Japanese soldiers will react quickly, hide, and raise their guns to shoot at you.

"Row!"

Wei Dayong nodded in agreement, pointed his right index finger at the map, and said:

"Now, our mission is to make a detour and march quickly to the rear of Laoyukou, find an ambush position, and wait for the Japanese to enter the ambush circle."

"Set off."

At the command, all the special forces members and artillerymen jumped on their horses and started on their journey with great enthusiasm.

After walking for more than 20 kilometers, the troops entered another path, which was not marked on the Japanese map.

As expected, this path was rather hidden and difficult to walk on, so the soldiers had to dismount and lead their horses as they marched carefully.

If you are marching on horseback, if you are not careful, both you and your horse will roll down the hillside or fall off a cliff.

Even though the soldiers were extremely careful, one of the horses still missed a step and fell into a deep ditch with a whine. Fortunately, the soldier let go quickly, otherwise they would have fallen in with him.

"There is a cliff ahead, please be careful."

Holding a map in one hand and a torch in the other, Yang Shaoqing, together with Comrade Wang Jiatian, scouted and explored the way ahead for the large army.

Yang Shaoqing can now be considered an intellectual and is a good map reader. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

"This map is worth at least a heavy artillery regiment."

"Maps, especially high-precision maps containing rich data and information, are no less valuable to the military than aircraft and artillery."

"Without this map, we wouldn't even be able to get through Laoyukou, let alone ambush the enemy."

In many places on this trail, it looks like there is no road, and it is impossible to find this road without this map.

With such an extremely accurate map, people who know how to read maps and fight can directly formulate combat plans and emergency plans on the map, and then make slight adjustments when the troops arrive on the ground.

"How much time can this move save the troops, and how many opportunities can it win?"

"This map was most likely taken by airplane and then drawn by a top map-making consultant. Otherwise, it wouldn't be so accurate."

"Boss Lin is truly a genius."

……

Laoyukou.

Japanese Army 39th Brigade ambush position and command center.

"The Eighth Route Army Special Forces haven't arrived yet?"

Kenkichi Hirata held a telescope in his hand and looked at the lookout post on the distant hill, but had not yet given the signal.

I couldn't help but narrow my eyes.

For two days, his reinforced brigade had been lying in ambush at Laoyukou, but there was still no sign of the Eighth Route Army Special Forces.

This gradually exhausted Kenkichi Hirata's patience.

"Report to the General." A staff officer shook his head, "The advance reconnaissance did not find the Eighth Route Army."

"Something's wrong." Hirata Kenkichi frowned. "Based on the Eighth Route Army's marching speed, they should have arrived at Laoyukou yesterday."

"Are we too late? Did the Eighth Route Army pass through Laoyukou before we set up our ambush?"

Major Yuo Morimoto, commander of the 1st Infantry Battalion, narrowed his eyes and guessed.

Like most Japanese officers, Major Morimoto was short, bow-legged but sturdy, with a neck almost as thick as his head and a cold and murderous look on his face.

"Impossible," the staff officer said. "Shimen City is over 100 kilometers away, and the road is quite difficult to travel. The Eighth Route Army can't travel that fast."

"That is, the Eighth Route Special Forces escaped from another route?" Major Morimoto guessed again.

"That's impossible." The staff officer took out a map and pointed at it, saying, "Laoyukou is the only way for the Eighth Route Army Special Forces to return to their base. They definitely have no other way back."

"Either the Eighth Route Army Special Forces are on another mission, or something has delayed their journey."

"General." Major Morimoto looked at Kenkichi Hirata, "Are you still going to ambush us?"

"The troops will lie in ambush until 2:00 p.m. tomorrow." Hirata Kenkichi's eyes sank as he looked at the map on the table. His tone remained unchanged. "If the Eighth Route Army Special Forces don't show up, we'll return to Yangquan."

In the direction of the Jinzhong base, Kenkichi Hirata sent out a guard force. If the main force of Jinzhong and the Eighth Route Army special forces were dispatched to attack them, a radio station would immediately notify them.

"Hi."
Major Morimoto and two staff officers all lowered their heads.

(End of this chapter)