Anti-Japanese War: I have unlimited assistance

Chapter 396 A blow to the head!
Under the leadership of Lieutenant Yamamoto Takeji, the captain of the Japanese squadron.

More than 200 Japanese soldiers from the Guards Mixed Brigade moved silently along the road towards the frontline position of the New 1st Regiment.

At this time, the Japanese soldiers of the 4th Brigade and the puppet soldiers of the other two puppet army divisions were quietly watching the performance of the Guards Mixed Brigade in the pitch-black place in the distance.

Sakurada Takeshi even looked down upon the combat effectiveness of the 4th Brigade, let alone these two pseudo-army divisions.

Therefore, the first battle of this surprise attack was fought to make a splash and to establish prestige in front of the Fourth Brigade and the puppet army.

Takeshi Sakurada not only sent troops from the Imperial Guards Mixed Brigade, but also sent the Imperial Guards Mixed Brigade's more combat-effective Second Squadron.

A squadron of elite Japanese troops quietly approached the Eighth Route Army's front-line positions.

Just as they were about to reach the Eighth Route Army's front-line position, the Japanese front-line soldiers suddenly stepped on a landmine and were blown away.

"idiot!"

“Why not take the road?”

Seeing the position where the mines rose, Takeshi Sakurada started cursing. Some soldiers were too smart and wanted to encircle the position from the left and right wings, but they stepped directly on the S mines buried on the left wing of the position.

Several soldiers of the Sky Locust Guard were blown to pieces in a pool of blood on the spot. The good news was that this amount of casualties was not too many for an infantry company.

The bad news was that the attacking soldiers were still 200 meters away from the Eighth Route Army's front line. The explosion must have alarmed the Eighth Route Army on the position.

As Major General Sakurada Takeshi expected, as the mine exploded, a white flare rose from the direction of the Eighth Route Army position, leaped into the sky, drew an arc in the night sky, and arrived above the Japanese army formation that was attacking by surprise.

The flares illuminated the area around the attacking Japanese as if it were daytime.

"Kill me..."

As the second squadron leader of the Imperial Guards Mixed Brigade, Takeji Yamamoto reacted quickly. He knew the sneak attack had been exposed when the mine exploded, and when the flares rose, he decisively ordered a strong attack.

Before attacking northwest Shanxi, these Japanese officers and soldiers had done their homework and knew that the Eighth Route Army was very powerful.

If we take advantage of the fact that the Eighth Route Army is attacked by surprise and is not well prepared, we may be able to capture the position in one fell swoop.

At the same time, the Japanese's four mountain guns and four infantry guns opened fire under the order of Takeshi Sakurada.

In an instant, it was like stirring up a hornet's nest. Machine guns roared and artillery fire blared on the Eighth Route Army's positions.

Under the night sky, there was a chaotic noise from rifles, machine guns and artillery shells, and artillery shells flashed orange and crimson light from the Eighth Route Army positions one after another.

From the Eighth Route Army positions to the highway, the entire earth was shaking in the huge explosion, and groups of charging Japanese soldiers fell in a pool of blood.

"sharp…"

Seeing this scene from a distance, Major General Mitake Tsuda, commander of the 4th Brigade, couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.

The troops of the New 1st Regiment of the Eighth Route Army were indeed powerful. They were able to react and fight back so quickly even when attacked suddenly. If it were the troops of the 4th Brigade... they would definitely not be able to react so quickly.

Even an elite unit like the 20th Division would find it difficult to do so.

"Long live the locust..."

In the crimson light of the artillery shells and the illumination of flares, the 2nd Infantry Company of the Guards Mixed Brigade rushed into the Eighth Route Army's position at the cost of dozens of casualties. At this time, the Japanese artillery also stopped firing.

However, at this moment, something strange happened!

"Boom boom boom..."

Suddenly, explosions occurred on the Eighth Route Army's position, and the flames were extremely dazzling. At the same time, gunfire rang out again on the Eighth Route Army's position, and rifles and machine guns were all spewing flames.

A few minutes later, the gunfire and explosions on the Eighth Route Army's position disappeared, and the position was dead silent.

"Nani!"

Sakurada Takeshi's face was as gloomy as water. He didn't know what had happened on the battlefield, but he knew that the 2nd Infantry Company of the Imperial Guards Mixed Brigade had been completely destroyed. The failure of the first wave of attack made Sakurada Takeshi embarrassed, so he had no choice but to order another attack.

According to the order of the First Army Headquarters, their troops must capture the Eighth Route Army's front-line positions before dawn and advance the front line to the Eighth Route Army's Jiangjunling defensive fortifications.

If the raid fails to achieve the intended results, wouldn’t it be a waste of time?
Before the main force of the artillery regiment caught up, four mountain guns and four infantry guns opened fire. In the sight of flares, the Japanese artillery shells continued to explode on the Eighth Route Army positions. For a while, fireballs rose one after another on the Eighth Route Army positions and thick smoke billowed.

When the Japanese opened fire, the 3rd Infantry Company of the Guards Mixed Brigade, led by the company commander, reached a position 100 meters away from the Eighth Route Army's front line.

"His Majesty the Locust is on board!"

As soon as the artillery stopped, the captain of the 3rd Infantry Squadron of the Japanese led his troops to launch an attack.

"Da da da…"

In an instant, dense rain of bullets fired from the New 1st Regiment's position towards the charging Japanese infantry.

"Shhhhh-"

Rows of flares were fired towards the front line.

On the Eighth Route Army's position, the soldiers took advantage of the vision of flares and opened fire with rows of submachine guns, rifles, and light and heavy machine guns, spreading out barrages of bullets. Rows of Japanese soldiers from the Guards Mixed Brigade fell in a pool of blood.

This time, the Japanese fell in front of the Eighth Route Army's front-line positions before they could attack them.

In the second attack, the Japanese retreated after suffering more than half of their casualties.

"Bagaya road!"

The two failed attacks made Takeshi Sakurada completely embarrassed, and he slapped the captain of the 3rd Infantry Company violently.

The captain of the 3rd Infantry Squadron, his cheeks swollen like a pig's head, stubbornly said, "General, the Eighth Route Army's firepower is too strong! There are a lot of mines buried on the left and right flanks. We can only attack from the road, so we couldn't capture the position."

"waste!"

Sakurada Takeshi kicked the captain of the 3rd Infantry Company away.

In fact, Sakurada Takeshi also noticed something wrong. The firepower of the Eighth Route Army's infantry was a bit too strong.

Even though he had known that the Eighth Route Army's New 1st Regiment had strong firepower, he did not expect it to be so strong.

Even the well-equipped Guards Infantry Brigade could not match the Eighth Route Army in terms of infantry firepower.

This was not the first time that Takeshi Sakurada led his troops to fight in Shanxi. When the Japanese army attacked Shanxi two years ago, Takeshi Sakurada served as a senior staff officer to Seishirō Itagaki and attacked Shanxi with the 21st Brigade of the th Division. At that time, the Eighth Route Army was still called the Tubalu.

I didn’t expect that in less than two years, the firepower of the Eighth Route Army had become so powerful.

It’s so off the mark!

"How long will it take for the Guards Artillery Regiment to arrive?" Sakurada Takeshi asked the staff officer beside him.

"We'll arrive in about an hour and a half!" the Japanese staff officer replied.

Because there were only a few cars, the Guards Mixed Brigade's artillery and artillery shells could only be transported by manpower and mules and horses. Even if they marched by road at a rapid speed, their marching speed could not catch up with that of the infantry.

"Then let the Eighth Route Army be proud for a while!" Sakurada Takeshi snorted coldly.

According to the plan of the First Army Command, the main force of the Eighth Route Army's New 1st Regiment should have been in Xing County at this time.

Even if the infantry firepower of the Eighth Route Army remaining here is stronger, the manpower is definitely insufficient.

The other two locust armies and locust alliance troops will simultaneously head towards the Shahukou and Majiapo defense lines.

Once the Locust Army's artillery regiment and artillery shells arrive, the position will be easily captured!
(End of this chapter)