It turned out that after the second battalion began to operate, the reconnaissance squad of the first battalion was closely attached to the main force of the Japanese army, monitoring their every move. When it was learned that the second battalion had blocked the army because of this, the speed of the march was accelerated. And in the end, when the cavalry wing became very lax in searching the surrounding area, the commander of the first battalion knew that his opportunity had come.

So, after figuring out the terrain along the way, I looked at the four heavy machine guns in the only heavy machine gun platoon behind him. Immediately, a tactic of using heavy machine guns to attack the Yue army from a distance and kill and injure the main force of the Yue army as much as possible came to his mind. And the hill in front of him happened to be the best position for the commander of the first battalion.

The commander of the first battalion who made the decision did not hesitate, and immediately ordered the heavy machine guns around him to line up to the position he expected. After more than ten minutes of hard work, the four heavy machine guns of the heavy machine gun platoon and dozens of soldiers were well hidden on the high ground, and the muzzles of the four heavy machine guns glowing blue were accurately aimed at the marching column of the army less than 500 meters away.

In the face of the engineer wing of the army, the commander of the first battalion did not take it to heart. Similarly, the artillery wing and baggage wing in the middle of the marching army column, because of the carts and artillery, the little devils are very scattered, and it is impossible to give full play to the maximum power of the heavy machine gun. Therefore, in the face of these goals, the first battalion commander easily let go.

Finally, the 43rd Infantry Wing, which was at the end of the line, came under the muzzle of four heavy machine guns. Due to the fact that the troops were in a state of rapid march at this time, coupled with the slow movement of large carts such as heavy artillery in the middle. At this time, the entire 43rd Wing was almost crowded together, and the little devils who ran forward in a four-way formation appeared densely in front of the soldiers. You know, with such a dense formation, if properly arranged, four heavy machine guns will definitely cause their maximum damage.

"Fire," the battalion commander coldly ordered the four heavy machine gun gunners beside him. In an instant, four tongues of fire suddenly appeared on the hill on the flank of the Yue Army. The dense rain of bullets accurately hit the middle of the dense army ranks. It can be said that as long as the bullet hits the road, it will definitely hit the body of the Yue army. In the more than half a minute before the army could fully react, the four machine gunners had no concept of saving bullets at all, and they all frantically pulled the trigger on the devil's marching column, and fired frantically at crowded places, sweeping countless bullets on the body of the 43rd Wing of the broken army.

"Baga enemy attack enemy artillery, immediately cover and eliminate the flank fire points, quickly" Seeing his soldiers fall one by one under the strafing of four heavy machine guns 500 meters away, commanders at all levels reacted one after another and ordered loudly. It should be said that these armies were worthy of the field divisions that had just been withdrawn from the front line, and under the orders of commanders at all levels, after less than half a minute of confusion, the various units began to organize an effective counterattack.

However, the bullets fired by these riflemen and light machine guns were far from being able to cause much damage to the Eighth Route Army 500 meters away. And in order to play a suppressive role, it is necessary to use heavy weapons such as heavy machine guns and grenadiers. However, it is impossible for these heavy weapons to be used immediately, like rifles and light machine guns. However, by order of commanders at all levels.

A door grenadier hand came to the forefront with a grenadier and began to aim. A stiff heavy machine gun was moved to the forefront, and the construction of the position began to be carried out "boom boom da da" Finally, the army's heavy machine guns and grenadiers rang out, and immediately, the hill that had just fired a dense rain of bullets was covered by these artillery fire.

However, at this time, more than a minute had passed since the heavy machine gun platoon fired. Long before the army opened fire, the heavy machine gun platoon quickly withdrew from the position with weapons under the orders of the first battalion commander, leaving an empty hill for the little devils to waste ammunition. It turned out that before the start of the war, the commander of the first battalion had a rule that each heavy machine gun was only allowed to fire for half a minute. Half a minute later, no matter how the army reacts, it must retreat.

By the time the soldiers of a squadron of the Japanese army, under the cover of heavy machine gun grenadiers, rushed up the hill that had just inflicted huge casualties on their own wing. Except for the weeds and trees burned to ashes by grenades fired from grenades, only bullet casings were left all over the ground, and there was not even a shadow of a sneak attack of the Eighth Route Army. After the search, the squadron leader of the army did not find anything, and in the end he could only return in vain

"Report to Your Excellency, Wing Commander, the long-range sneak attack of the Eighth Route Army just now caused casualties to our army in two squads of the Imperial Army. Of these, 45 were killed, 6 were seriously wounded, and 58 were lightly wounded. After counting the losses, the chief of staff came to the side of the wing commander with an angry face and reported.

"Baga's cunning Eighth Route Army will immediately report this situation to His Excellency the division commander, we can no longer march in such a hurry, we must protect our flanks quickly," the wing commander roared loudly. However, this incident will not make any commander feel much better. After all, so far, without even seeing the shadow of the enemy, he has lost more than a hundred soldiers for no reason.

At this time, the commander of the division, Itagaki Seishiro, who was in the middle of the entire army, was also puzzled by the sound of heavy machine guns that suddenly came to mind behind him. After receiving the casualty report of the commander of the 43rd Wing after the break, the division commander Seishiro Itagaki was also shocked. What he didn't expect was that his actions were clearly understood by the Eighth Route Army, and these Eighth Route Army simply grabbed their weaknesses and took a bite, making themselves unguardable.

Faced with the co-captain's suggestion, Itagaki Seishiro knew that the casualties of the more than 100 elite imperial troops could have been avoided. However, because of one of his own orders, the Eighth Route Army took advantage of the loophole, and when he thought of this, he saw the proposal of the commander of the 43rd Wing behind the telegram. As the commander of the division, Seishiro Itagaki immediately understood the truth that he couldn't eat hot tofu in a hurry. So, one order after another was given. At the same time, in addition to sending a cavalry wing, a large number of infantry patrols were also sent to the surrounding area to ensure the safety of the main force.

However, although this method could ensure the safety of the main force, the patrols 500 meters away from the main force were once again targeted by the various companies of the battalion. In the face of the patrols around the main force of the Japanese army, the soldiers of the battalion hidden around the main force of the Japanese army were very red-eyed.

Less than 20 minutes after the commander of the first battalion and a platoon of heavy machine guns attacked the little devils, the first battalion and one company that were looking for fighters around the main force of the Chinese army, as if a kitten had smelled fish, accurately aimed at a patrol of the Chinese army less than 500 meters away from the main force of the Chinese army.

This patrol of the army belongs to a squad with more than 60 soldiers, equipped with four light machine guns and four grenadiers, and is very powerful in terms of firepower. On the other hand, a battalion and a company, with more than 180 people, were equipped with 4 light machine guns and 8 submachine guns, and the rest were all single-shot rifles, without heavy weapons such as grenadiers. If the two armies fought hard and all of them were deployed, then one battalion and one company would definitely not be the opponent of the army. However, if it was properly arranged to carry out an ambush, the commander of the first company believed. If you don't let a squad of troops deploy, so that they can't give full play to their firepower advantage, then their company can achieve unexpected results.

Thinking of this, the first company commander found the instructor and told him what he thought. After a detailed analysis by the company commander, the instructor quickly agreed with the company commander's idea. So, the two of them began to look for the ambush terrain and assign combat missions to each platoon

In this way, in less than ten minutes, in a hill less than 500 meters in front of the patrol team, an ambush circle was quietly formed. Nearly 200 fighters, holding weapons, quietly lay in the grass, quietly looking at the little devils not far away, waiting for these little devils to take the bait.

It's a distance of 500 meters, and it only takes five minutes to get there. But five minutes is a very difficult time for the warriors who are anxiously waiting for their prey to take the bait. Because they not only have to wait, but also have to guard against the army discovering themselves. Finally, 5 minutes passed. The little devil finally began to slowly burrow into the ambush circle that the soldiers had arranged for him.

One, two little devils, almost defenseless, slowly walked into the battlefield that the soldiers had chosen for him. Finally, the last little devil entered the ambush circle of the fighters. And the guard squad who served as a pocket also slowly detoured behind the little devils, blocking the retreat of this group of little devils.

"Comrades, hit me hard" Seeing that the entire encirclement had been fully formed, a company commander shouted loudly to the surrounding fighters. At the same time, his right finger also pulled the trigger of the shell gun in his hand, and a few gunshots rang out, and the two little devils in front of him were knocked to the ground by themselves.

And at the moment when he opened fire, nearly 200 fighters who were lying in ambush opened fire one after another. In particular, the four light machine guns arranged in the four corners of the ambush circle frantically sprayed ammunition on the body of the Yue soldiers without any blind spots. The soldiers, on the other hand, fired a neat row of guns, fired a bullet from the rifle, and threw a grenade that had already been prepared into the group of devils.

Suddenly, dense machine gunners, explosions of grenades rang out. The little devils, who were less than 70 people, had already suffered more than half of the casualties under the intensive strafing of the soldiers' platoon guns and four light machine guns in the first round. The little devil, who had less than 30 people, was lucky enough to avoid the dense rain of bullets, lying on the ground ready to fight back, and insisted on waiting for help.

However, the more than 100 grenades that followed completely shattered the dream in Yue Jun's heart. As the grenades exploded one after another in one of the defensive rings that the devils had just besieged, the little devils were also eliminated one after another. When the smoke cleared, there was hardly a little devil in the entire ambush circle who could continue to fight back, and only the sparse wails of family planning could be heard.

By this time, the battle had been going on for less than two minutes. The main force of the Yue Army, which heard the gunshots, also quickly sent a large group of troops to rush over to this side, trying to encircle these guerrillas of the Eighth Route Army. However, it was too late at this time, and after the little devils in the ambush circle did not make any movement, the company commander took the soldiers and quietly withdrew from the battlefield without caring about collecting the weapons and ammunition on the son. For the little devils who came to reinforce, more than sixty corpses of the little devils were left, waiting for them to come and accept.

Under the action of one company, the remaining two companies began to move one after another. However, due to the terrain restrictions, although both companies achieved the same results as the first company, they also suffered great losses. But no matter what, the successive ambush wars and guerrilla warfare made the devils hold the weapons and ammunition in their hands with a high degree of tension during the march, ready for battle at any time, and did not dare to relax at all.

"Report to Your Excellency, Division Commander, that our patrols have been ambushed by the enemy three times, and almost every patrol has been wiped out. Now, we have lost a squadron of elite Imperial Army. Your Excellency, Division Commander, you must find a way to stop this behavior of the Eighth Route Army. After reading the loss report in his hand, the chief of staff made a suggestion.

"Yo Xi, Chief of Staff, I'm thinking about that too. It is not known what the chief of staff can do to solve this problem at the moment. The commander of the division, Seishiro Itagaki asked modestly.

"Hi, Your Excellency the division commander, you don't dare to do your job. The lowly position believes that the easiest way to solve our current problems is to increase the number of troops. Reinforcement of patrols around the area. With two squadrons as a patrol, I think that with such a strong force, the guerrillas of the Eighth Route Army would not dare to fight hard under any circumstances. The chief of staff suggested.

"Yo Xi, although the chief of staff's method is simple, it is very practical. I think even if the Eighth Route Army had enough troops to annihilate our patrols. However, with the strength of two squadrons of the patrol, it was enough to hold out until the arrival of our reinforcements. If this is the case, we can easily annihilate the main force of the Eighth Route Army. The division commander, Seishiro Itagaki, added.

"Hi, Your Excellency the Division Commander is very thoughtful. I believe that this order must be issued immediately. The chief of staff smiled and nodded, reminding.

"Yo Xi, Chief of Staff, I'll leave this matter to you," Seishiro Itagaki ordered.

The surrounding guerrilla warfare was solved, but the mines of the second battalion were not so easy to solve. After learning from the experience of the enemy's barracks, the commander of the second battalion no longer concentrated the laying of the limited mines in his hands. Instead, bury one or two at intervals of several hundred meters, so that the enemy is overwhelmed. At the same time, sabotage continues on these roads, disrupting the enemy's marching speed

In the face of this tactic of the second battalion, the army could not be guarded against. After less than an hour's march, the squadron of the vanguard of the Japanese army stepped on at least 15 mines. However, when they often use their own grenadiers to detonate and bomb, there are no mines on the road in front of them. And these fifteen mines were indeed enough to kill a squad of soldiers of the vanguard squadron, and at the same time a squad lost its combat effectiveness.

Finally, after his own avant-garde squadron stepped on a mine again, the squadron leader of the avant-garde squadron could no longer hold back. He resolutely ordered the troops to stop advancing and asked His Excellency the division commander for operational guidance

"Commander of the Reporting Division, Advance Guard Squadron Emergency Telegram" The operator handed the telegram from the Advance Guard Squadron to Seishiro Itagaki, who was in deep thought at this time.

"Chief of Staff, the Eighth Route Army is too cunning, and most of our vanguard squadrons have suffered casualties, and they have basically lost their combat effectiveness. If you look at this telegram, we must think of a solution, otherwise, no matter how many imperial soldiers have not yet reached Liujiahe Village, they will be blown up by these mines and lost. More importantly, such guerrilla warfare and mine warfare have a great impact on the morale of the Imperial Army," and the division commander frowned when he read the telegram in his hand. He handed the telegram in his hand to the chief of staff beside him, and said with a worried face.

"Hey, division commander, since we can't use sappers to carry out mine detection, then let's detonate all the mines on the road, and our baggage wing still has a lot of spare mules and horses, we can use these mules, horses and carts to walk at the front of the team and give us mines." After reading the telegram, the chief of staff immediately thought of a solution.

"It's a good idea to use a mule or a horse to ride a mine. The baggage wing was ordered to immediately draw out a batch of mules and horses and send them to the front of the troops, and mine them for the troops. In addition, he immediately ordered the commander of the 11th Wing, Yuu Nagano-Lang Daisa, to send a squadron of Imperial troops to replace the avant-garde squadron, which had lost more than half of its ranks. The division commander Itagaki Seishiro ordered decisively.

"Hi, Your Excellency Division Commander" The signal soldier took the order and left.

With the support of dozens of mules and horses, the marching speed of the Yue army was significantly faster. However, the road that was completely destroyed by the soldiers still slowed down the march of the Yue army. Prevented by the constant appearance of deep ditches and large pits, the Yue army could only walk an average distance of less than 3 kilometers per hour, which greatly delayed the march time of the Yue army and provided sufficient time for the three battalions to build street fortifications in Gongcun.

At this time, Xie Guohua, the head of the Reading Regiment, was taking the chief of staff back and forth in Gongcun, which was about to become a battlefield, guiding the soldiers to build various fortifications and bunkers. After nearly a day of hard digging by a battalion, a solid trench was finally constructed at the entrance of the village, on the ridge between the two mountains. What's more, the soldiers connected the trench to the tunnels in the village. So that the soldiers who hold the trenches can get reinforcements and retreat at any time

(To be continued)