Anti-Japanese War: I have unlimited assistance

As soon as the Japanese reconnaissance planes arrived, they searched everywhere for the Eighth Route Army's tanks and heavy artillery units.

Not long after, the Japanese reconnaissance plane saw a heavy artillery position of the Eighth Route Army, surrounded by more than a dozen tanks and large trucks.

Afterwards, the Japanese reconnaissance plane immediately notified the fighter and bomber formations in the rear.

Not long after, more than a dozen Japanese bombers and fighter planes swooped down to attack the Eighth Route Army's heavy artillery and tank positions.

The New 1st Regiment's anti-aircraft battalion stationed at the surrounding heavy artillery positions immediately opened fire at the Japanese planes.

The Japanese pilot pressed the bomb button at a distance of four or five hundred meters, and aerial bombs fell one after another.

The eye-catching red bullet belts shot towards the Japanese planes in the sky like flying swords.

The ground-to-air battle lasted less than five minutes. Although these Japanese pilots were all elite, two Japanese planes were shot down and three were damaged. The heavy artillery positions and tanks of the New 2st Regiment were all destroyed.

Of course, these destroyed heavy artillery and tanks were all inflatable weapons.

After the Japanese planes left, Ding Wei began to re-arrange artillery positions and attack forces, planning to launch another attack.

Ding Wei's mission was to defeat the 2nd Brigade and the 21st Division, and then attack Datong and destroy the devil's lair.

The real battle has just begun...

"Reporting to the brigade commander, the 21st Aviation Regiment just sent a secret message that the 44th Aviation Squadron bombed an artillery position and tank position of the Eighth Route Army, destroying approximately 30 heavy mortar positions and more than a dozen tanks of the Eighth Route Army."

At the 2nd Brigade Headquarters, the communications captain reported to Abe Nobuhide with a happy look on his face.

Upon hearing this, the Japanese staff officers of the 2nd Brigade could not help but shout excitedly, "Get on board!"

The Eighth Route Army's heavy artillery and tanks caused the 2nd Brigade a lot of trouble.

The half-hour shelling in the morning caused heavy casualties to several battalions in deep positions.

After the official attack began, the 2nd Infantry Battalion of the 2nd Brigade was completely destroyed.

In the eyes of the Japanese, the Eighth Route Army had such strong combat effectiveness thanks to its heavy artillery and tanks. Without heavy artillery and tanks, the Eighth Route Army was like a tiger without teeth and posed no threat at all.

"In an hour, the 44th Flying Squadron will arrive again. The 21st Flying Regiment asked my 2nd Brigade to continue fighting with the Eighth Route Army, exposing their heavy artillery and tank units in the field." The communications captain added.

Abe Nobuhide's face remained gloomy.

He felt it was unfair.

Both are famous generals of their brother country, and both are talented in using new tactics. One is an expert in mountain warfare, and the other is an expert in air combat. Takeda Yong can lead his troops in the sky to bomb the heavy artillery and tank units of the Eighth Route Army and earn military merits.

But Abe Nobuhide could only take the beating on the ground, and had to sacrifice the lives of the soldiers of the 2nd Brigade to create opportunities for the 21st Flying Regiment to bomb the Eighth Route Army's artillery and tank units.

After this battle, Takeda Isamu's fame will probably grow, and Abe Nobuhide will only be a supporting role.

With this in mind, Abe Nobuhide quickly walked to the phone, shook the handle rapidly, and then put the receiver to his ear: "Moshimoshi, please ask Vice Admiral Washizu to answer the phone."

A moment later, the call was connected, and the voice of Lieutenant General Washizu Kohei came from the receiver: "Abe-kun, how is the situation at the front?"

"The battle situation is very grim!" Abe Nobuhide said solemnly. "After only half an hour of fighting, my 2nd Infantry Battalion has been completely destroyed. Several other battalions have also suffered heavy casualties under the bombardment of the Eighth Route Army's heavy artillery. However, the frontline positions are still in our hands. Your Excellency, Lieutenant General, I request that the 2nd Brigade withdraw to rest and recuperate."

"Rest?" Washizu Gongping asked unhappily, "Your 2nd Brigade is coming down to rest, so who will defend the position?" Abe Norihide replied, "Of course it's your 21st Division and the Locust Alliance!"

"Abe-kun!" Washizu said coldly, "Our 21st Division and the Locust Army have been fighting the Eighth Route Army for a week, and your 2nd Brigade has only been engaging them for over half an hour. Aren't you an expert in mountain warfare? Did the Eighth Route Army defeat the Locust Army's mountain warfare experts in just over half an hour?"

Abe Nobuhide shouted, "The Eighth Route Army's firepower is too strong. Our artillery firepower is no match at all. Fighting like this is playing with the lives of the soldiers of the 2nd Brigade."

Washizu Gongping's attitude was firm and his tone was cold: "The lives of your 2nd Brigade are lives, but are the lives of our 21st Division not lives? Our 21st Division has only been withdrawn for a day and needs at least two days of rest. Your 2nd Brigade must hold the position for two days before our 21st Division can move up."

"I heard that the 44th Squadron destroyed a heavy artillery regiment and a tank squadron of the Eighth Route Army."

"The Eighth Route Army's firepower will surely be greatly weakened after suffering such a loss. Could it be that the Locust Army's mountain warfare experts can't even hold their positions for two days..."

"Snapped!"

Before Washizu Gongping could finish his words, Abe Norihide hung up the phone angrily.

It’s not that Abe Nobuhide was afraid of death, but commanding the infantry to fight like this was simply a meaningless act of self-destruction.

Moreover, these meaningless deaths will eventually be used to help Major General Takeda Isamu.

But at this moment, the heavy artillery units of the Eighth Route Army began shelling again.

Artillery shells continued to fall on the front-line positions of the 2nd Brigade. The 3rd Infantry Battalion, which had just been sent to the front-line positions, suffered heavy casualties. Then the artillery fire began to extend to the deep positions of the 2nd Brigade.

After fifteen minutes of shelling, a tank company and three infantry companies of the Eighth Route Army launched another attack.

The New 13st Regiment, with a total of soldiers from four companies, had tanks lined up in a row. The soldiers were either arranged neatly behind the tanks or kept a certain distance from the tanks. They adopted a three-three tactic and attacked with thunderous momentum. After attacking halfway, they retreated a distance and were then covered by the firepower of the prepared heavy mortar battalion.

Then they rushed directly to the Japanese front line and killed indiscriminately.

The battle had just ended when the Japanese 44th Squadron took off from Datong Airport again, and the soldiers of the four companies quickly retreated.

In one morning, two infantry battalions of the 2nd Brigade were completely wiped out, and the remaining battalions also suffered heavy casualties.

More than ten minutes later, the fighters and bombers of the 44th Flight Squadron arrived. After discovering the heavy artillery positions of the Eighth Route Army, they launched another dive attack and indiscriminate bombing.

In this battle, two Japanese planes were shot down and another two were damaged. They flew towards Datong under the cover of fighter planes.

After the troops had lunch, Ding Wei dispatched another tank company and three infantry companies to attack the Japanese front-line positions. This time it was the troops of the New Third Regiment.

This kind of rotation warfare can not only eliminate the Japanese, but also hone the troops' combat capabilities. Ding Wei certainly would not miss it.

After all, actual combat is the best training.

At the front line, through the telescope, Ding Wei observed the Japanese suicide squads, each one carrying explosives and anti-tank grenades, being mowed down by tank machine guns and infantry submachine guns. He sighed:

"The Japs seem quite obsessed with blowing up tanks."

Ding Wei discovered that no matter whether it was the Japanese infantry or the Japanese pilots, as soon as they saw the tanks, their eyes turned red, as if they saw some important strategic target. They rushed forward with explosives, shouting "Load!" and desperately trying to blow up the tanks at all costs.

It was precisely because of this move by the Japanese that the Eighth Route Army was able to shoot down so many Japanese planes and suffer such minimal losses in tank troops. (End of this chapter)