Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Changjin Lake, a Hundred Battles, a Hundred Victories

Chapter 42 Virtual and Real
Now, the Japanese strongholds in various places have been attacked by unidentified troops. After investigation, it turns out that they have always looked down on the Eighth Route Army.

Although large strongholds, with their concrete structures, artillery, machine guns, and large numbers of troops, were not afraid of attacks from the Eighth Route Army.

However, small outposts and some medium-sized outposts have been attacked to varying degrees, and they are calling for help everywhere.

The Japanese had no choice but to deploy troops to fight the fires everywhere.

Too many strongholds were attacked, and many telephone lines were cut, so the Japanese could only send troops to scout and repair them.

When the Japanese troops at the Huting stronghold lost contact, their first thought was that the Eighth Route Army had cut the telephone lines in an attempt to sever the connection between the Huting stronghold and other strongholds, thus preventing the Japanese troops at the Huting stronghold from reinforcing other places.

After all, this was a medium-sized stronghold equipped with infantry guns, mortars, and more than a dozen light and heavy machine guns, and garrisoned by more than 300 soldiers.

With its formidable firepower and impregnable defenses, it might take the Eighth Route Army a month to take it down.

Therefore, after losing contact with the Huting stronghold, the county town only sent a company of Japanese soldiers to repair the telephone lines and, together with the Japanese soldiers at the Huting stronghold, to reinforce the surrounding small strongholds.

When the Japanese company reached a mountain gully, the company commander ordered the troops to halt.

"Stop moving forward."

At the order of the Japanese company commander, all the Japanese soldiers stopped.

"This place is perfect for an ambush. Send a small detachment to scout the valley and make sure there are no enemies before proceeding."

"Hai!"

The Japanese company commander was very cautious. He knew that the Eighth Route Army lacked heavy weapons and that it would be difficult for them to take the stronghold. The most likely scenario was that he wanted to lure them out of their fortified positions and launch an ambush in the field.

Having dealt with the Eighth Route Army many times, he knew that the Eighth Route Army dared not fight the Locust Army head-on, but only dared to attack the logistics troops or harass the supply lines.

As a small detachment of Japanese soldiers crept up the mountainside, suddenly a dozen soldiers from the Independent 2nd Regiment opened fire.

"Bah!"

The dozen or so soldiers carried only six guns. After firing a few shots, they immediately turned and ran.

"Just as I thought. I knew this terrain was perfect for an ambush. The Eighth Route Army would never let it go. But they only had a dozen men, yet they dared to attack my army. They were really overestimating themselves."

"The Japanese company commander said smugly."

"The Japanese commander is wise. In his eyes, a lowly Eighth Route Army soldier is like someone showing off his axe in front of Guan Yu, completely insignificant."

Nearby, a traitor shamelessly brought up Guan Yu, the unparalleled hero of loyalty and righteousness, just to flatter the Japanese company commander.

The Japanese company commander looked at the obsequious traitor and, upon hearing the man compare him to Guan Yu, his smile widened.

"well!"

He is a China expert, having spent many years working in China in his early years and is very familiar with Chinese culture.

"The reconnaissance squad was ordered to return to the unit immediately after confirming that there were no other enemy ambushes. A few guerrillas are not worth my time."

The Japanese company commander gave the order.

Their mission here was to repair the telephone lines and contact the Japanese troops at the Huting stronghold to support other attacked strongholds.

These dozen or so enemies who wanted to ambush them were clearly trying to distract them and stall them.

The Japanese company commander, who prided himself on being well-versed in military strategy, could hardly have fallen for such a trivial tactic.

After the Japanese reconnaissance squad searched all the places in the vicinity where troops could hide and found no other ambush troops, they truthfully reported to the Japanese company commander.

The Japanese company commander had an expression that said, "I knew it."

He immediately ordered his troops to continue their advance toward the Huting stronghold.

After passing through this mountain pass, the road ahead offered almost no suitable places for an ambush. Three kilometers away from the pass was an open area without any cover, where the 2nd Battalion of the 2nd Independent Regiment was lying in ambush.

The area within a kilometer radius is easily visible from here, making it completely unsuitable for a large-scale ambush.

Chen Ming thought this way, and the Japanese soldiers naturally thought the same way.

The Japanese soldiers weren't stupid. If they saw a place that was easy to ambush, they would definitely be on guard and either take a detour or send troops to scout.

In such a place, once the Japanese become alert, an ambush could easily turn into a skirmish.

The Japanese soldiers were very strong in field battles. Even if they had the advantage of terrain, the 2nd Battalion of the 2nd Independent Regiment would suffer heavy casualties if they wanted to wipe out this Japanese force.

After all, Chen Ming brought no more than two hundred soldiers, while the Japanese had more than three hundred.

With inferior troop strength and the loss of the element of surprise from an ambush, the battle will be very difficult.

Chen Ming wouldn't do a losing business. In his eyes, how could the lives of his soldiers be compared to those of the Japanese devils?

So Chen Ming sent a squad of soldiers to the previous mountain hollow, pretending to be about to ambush the enemy, deliberately letting the Japanese discover them.

This lowered the Japanese soldiers' guard, making it the perfect ambush location. The enemy didn't even have a chance to seize it, and only a dozen or so enemies harassed them.

As for other places, there's no need to elaborate.

"Hide well, don't let the Japanese find us. As soon as the cannon fire starts, open fire on the Japanese immediately," Chen Ming instructed the soldiers around him.

"Yes."

The soldiers of the Independent Second Battalion, hiding in the trenches they had dug in advance during the night, gripped their guns tightly, waiting for the regimental commander to give the order.

Hidden 2.5 kilometers up the mountain is Chen Ming's artillery position consisting of four mortars.

The ambush site was an open area, perfect for artillery to operate from a high vantage point.

This place is indeed not very suitable for an ambush, but that is based on the absence of artillery.

With artillery, in open areas without any cover, the Japanese would be lambs to the slaughter, at our mercy.

Looking at the map, the Japanese troops were getting closer and closer. A Type 95 armored vehicle was leading the way, and ten Toyota KB trucks were transporting soldiers behind them.

Looking at the Japanese soldiers' luxurious troop transport convoy, Chen Ming felt a pang of envy.

As expected of a stronghold connected to the county town by highway, it uses trucks for troop transport, which is highly mobile and allows for rapid support.

The Eighth Route Army could only rely on their own two iron feet to fight against the enemy's mechanized forces.

After the enemy slowly entered the ambush site, Chen Ming did not rush to detonate the buried explosives, but waited for the last truck in the convoy to be completely encircled.

As soon as the last truck entered the minefield, Chen Ming immediately detonated the buried explosives.

"boom!"

With a loud explosion, several of the Japanese trucks immediately turned into fireballs and burst into flames.

The other trucks weren't in much better shape either. Although they weren't directly detonated by the explosion, the Japanese soldiers inside were also badly injured.

The convoy stopped there.

Roughly estimated, this wave of explosions killed at least sixty Japanese soldiers.

"beat!"

Chen Ming fired the first shot and gave the order to attack.

(End of this chapter)