"Report to the leader, news came from the direction of Nishimura. The Japanese have indeed brought in artillery. The main force in Nishimura has retreated to the second line."
Kong Jie nodded, "Continue to investigate and report the latest battle situation at any time."
"Yes!"
After the communications soldier turned and left, Shen Wenyue said worriedly: "Captain Kong, the Japanese army has occupied the defensive position at the head of the village and entered the West Village. After passing through the West Village, they will soon approach Niukou Village. Is the situation a bit critical?"
Kong Jie smiled and said: "So let Reporter Shen evacuate in advance. If Reporter Shen is afraid, I can arrange manpower to escort you away now."
"But I didn't see any worry on Commander Kong's face."
Kong Jie said: "The Japanese army's artillery will definitely be used, and taking the initiative to abandon the defensive position at the head of the village is only the first step.
The depth of West Village is not small. From the beginning of the village to the end of the village, it takes more than an hour to walk even with two feet.
The long distance and depth in the middle is a perfect place for us to ambush the Japanese army with the help of the village's defense.
In other words, I let this devil in on purpose."
"Did you put it in on purpose?"
"Yes, if our army continues to fight the Japanese army at the defensive position at the entrance of the village and blocks all the Japanese troops outside the village, the Japanese artillery can carry out bombardment without restraint."
"But if we directly abandon the defensive position at the head of the village, the Japanese army will definitely be wary and worry whether we have arranged an ambush in the village, so they can only block it at the head of the village for a while, and then pretend to be repulsed by Japanese artillery. , the Japanese army will enter the village."
"Once the Japs' vanguard troops enter the village, due to the unknown situation inside the village and the fact that Japanese soldiers have already entered, the Japs' follow-up artillery will not be easily used to prevent accidental damage.
In this way, when the Japanese army is unable to use artillery, we can use various defensive traps built in advance by the village to deal with the Japs."
"Reporter Shen can now imagine himself as a Japanese army. At this moment, you have entered the village head area of Xicun. Please look at the sand table here."
"In the village head area, we have laid a large number of landmines on the roads and in the houses, loose-launched mines, hanging mines hidden behind the door, multiple mines, serial mines, and mines that will be killed if you step on them. The bullet thunder that penetrated the sole of the foot."
"Don't underestimate the distance of less than one kilometer. The various traps and mines are laid there. Not to mention the enemy, even our own comrades can easily be accidentally injured without knowing the specific mines laid."< /p>
"Here, here, here, relying on the shelter of the houses and the cover of the earthen walls, we secretly set up many machine gun fire points. When the Japanese troops arrive at close range, they can suddenly open fire and attack."
"In addition to these firepower points, there are also our bomb-dropping teams hidden in many places, which can conduct secret attacks at any time."
"Once the enemy goes deep inside, we can also use the house to fight with the curtain. When the enemy opens the curtain inside the house, the silent bayonet will stab out immediately."
Having said this, Kong Jie explained: "With the help of traps and various defenses in the village to carry out surprise attacks, even the recruits of our independent regiment can easily kill and injure the Japanese army."
"In this situation of confrontation, the Japanese infantry is actually not very powerful. The Japanese infantry has always been strong only because of their artillery superiority. The defensive battle in the village directly eliminated the Japanese artillery superiority."
"Although there are more Japs than us, that is, a 5:1 strength advantage, which is equivalent to five Japs entering the village now to deal with an Eighth Route Army soldier who is very familiar with the village environment and has laid various traps. Our
If a soldier makes use of the surrounding environment and traps, he may not be able to deal with five Japs."
Shen Wenyue nodded secretly after hearing this. Thinking about it this way, this small village is like a trap step by step. If the devil enters it, wouldn't it be like stepping into hell?
……
West Village.
Under the bombardment of the Japanese artillery that arrived later, the fortifications at the head of the village were directly blown open.
When the news reached the Japanese rear command headquarters, Ishii Haraichi learned that the fortifications at the head of the village had been breached, and a joyful expression appeared on his face.
"Xinxi, continue the attack!"
In this way, the leading Japanese squadron entered the West Village on alert and arrived at the village head area.
The village was quiet, not a single person could be seen, there were only dead houses on both sides. The houses in the West Village were arranged in opposite directions, relying on a dirt road in the middle area of the village, which was more than four meters wide. p>
"Your Excellency, Squadron Leader, the Eighth Route Army that previously defended the fortifications at the head of the village seems to have escaped." The adjutant said, looking at the situation on both sides.
The Japanese squadron leader thought for a moment, waved his hand, and ordered: "Search forward, and no Eighth Route Army soldier should be allowed to escape."
"Hi!"
After the Japanese squadron leader's order was issued, several small groups of Japanese soldiers dispersed and searched forward.
"Ah——"
Soon, someone among the searching Japanese soldiers who were hidden by the earthen walls of the house screamed.
A Japs took the lead in stepping on a bullet mine, and the soles of his feet were directly penetrated by the fired bullets. At this moment, he was hugging his soles, lying on the ground, wailing in pain.
"Baga, go and check what's going on."
"Hi!"
Then came the continuous screams, which even became more and more loud, coming from all directions. The Japanese communications soldiers ran back with panic on their faces. They were about to report the situation to the Japanese squadron leader when they passed by a road between the houses.
While walking along the trail, I stepped on a landmine, and with a loud explosion, my whole body was blown to pieces, and I lay straight on the ground.
This unsuspecting Japanese squadron entered the trap area set by the independent regiment and militia soldiers in the village area.
In just a few minutes, the Japanese army killed more than a dozen people and injured more than 20 people.
The wounded Japanese soldier was rescued by the medical soldiers, and when he was carried to the Japanese squadron leader, he said with a palpitating face: "Your Excellency, squadron leader, these hateful Eighth Route Army have laid many landmines among the houses and paths, and there are traps everywhere. We
The casualties were huge."
The Japanese squadron leader nodded. This peaceful village seemed to be full of traps, and now he was a little hesitant to move forward.
"Concentrate your troops on the paths in the central area, and place some sentries on both sides. Don't rush into the houses and the paths between the houses."
The Japanese squadron leader had a wonderful idea. It was not the first time that Tuba Road used complex environments such as houses to set up mines.
Then just lead the team directly through the path in the central area.
The poor Japanese army's marching formation changed like this, and they were fooled by the soldiers again.
Lurking on both sides of the Japanese advance route, the machine gunners everywhere in the dark were snickering in their hearts.
The team leader's guess was indeed correct. If the Japanese were bombed in front, they would definitely not dare to walk along the house. We can just lay an ambush in the area below.
In this way, the Japanese squadron leader and the wounded soldiers completely stepped into the ambush circle prepared by the soldiers without realizing it.
..."Hit!"
As soon as the sound rang out, fierce firepower came from the houses on both sides of the village's central path and from various hidden locations. Some machine guns were even set up on the backs of the roofs on both sides, where the Japanese army could not see.
.
Suddenly appeared from the edge of the roof, shooting down from above.
The bombing team also began to throw grenades at the same time. Artillery fire was mixed with machine gun fire, and the Japanese who stepped into the ambush circle were beaten dizzy.
As for the grenade group at the rear of the Japanese, they had long been targeted by the Eighth Route Army shooters lurking in the dark. Bullets fired from unknown places quickly killed the Japanese artillerymen.
In the sudden ambush, the Eighth Route Army launched a fierce firefight. Not long after, more than half of the Japanese squadron suffered casualties.
Seeing that something was not going well, the Japanese squadron leader roared and ordered to retreat, preparing to withdraw from the ambush range of the Eighth Route Army on both sides, and then wait for reinforcements.
As soon as the Japanese squadron leader made this move, he was immediately targeted by the Eighth Route Army soldiers ambushing on both sides. The soldiers who liked to fight most, besides the Japanese gunners and machine gunners, were the Japanese commanders.
It can be said that in the process of fighting with the independent regiment, the Japanese officers are a very dangerous profession.
A few bullets sneaked up, and the Japanese squadron leader who was giving command with the command knife in his hand was knocked down immediately.
The Japanese troops who were still outside the village immediately noticed that the vanguard Japanese squadron had encountered a surprise attack, and immediately sent reinforcements.
When the Japanese reinforcements arrived, they saw a tragic scene in front of them. There were wounded soldiers all over the place. These hateful Eighth Route Army troops seemed to intend to wound rather than kill them.
The entire vanguard squadron has suffered more than half of its casualties.
The Japanese soldiers who were lucky enough to be safe looked at the empty houses on both sides where the Eighth Route Army had already withdrawn, with a look of horror on their faces.
"Your Excellency, Captain, these cunning Eighth Route Army troops have ambushed a large number of people in the village and set up many mine traps. The number of casualties among the leading troops has exceeded 100."
Listening to the signal soldier's report and looking at the village that had fallen into silence again, Ishii Haraichi fell into silence.
The ambush of these hateful Tuba Road in the village has obviously been prepared for a long time, which is frightening.
This reminded Ishiihara of the confrontation he led with the independent regiment outside Zhangjiazhuang and Xicun a few days ago.
He was thinking that the interior of Xicun and Zhangjiazhuang might have been like this at that time. If his team had entered the village hastily, would they have been defeated faster?
These Tubal Road had set up so many ambushes in the village in advance, and even decided to hold the decisive battle outside the village. How much do they look down on his Ishii team?
Ishii Haraichi suddenly felt a deep sense of frustration and great humiliation.
Thinking of this, Ishiihara, who gritted his teeth with hatred, ordered: "The team advances forward carefully. The grenades and artillery lag behind. Once encountering an ambush on Tubal Road, the leading troops quickly withdrew and directly bombarded the area where Tubal Road was.
I will blow up all the houses and earthen walls where they are hiding."
"Hi!"
……
On the other side of Zhangjiazhuang, Shankou Shubian, who led the team, became increasingly frightened as he fought. The ambush arranged by the Eighth Route Army in Zhangjiazhuang caused his troops to suffer heavy losses.
The mopping up team advanced slowly.
Yamaguchi finally experienced personally how difficult it was for the independent group in Ishiihara.
……
Independent group.
Regiment Headquarters.
The communications soldier returned and reported the latest situation to Kong Jie.
"Captain, the Japanese are advancing very slowly now. They have put their artillery in the rear. Once they encounter our surprise attack, after the leading troops withdraw, they will immediately use artillery to bombard the area where we are hiding." p>
"Where is the Japanese advance now?" Kong Jie asked.
"We have reached the back section of the village area."
Kong Jie nodded and said with a smile: "Ask the fourth battalion commander and the others to avoid the Japanese artillery fire and lure the Japanese to the middle of the village, our main minefield."
"In addition, does this little Japs really think that their artillery has no opponent? Let the artillery platoon prepare, lock the specific coordinates of the Japs' rear artillery, and immediately carry out fixed-point clearing."
"Yes!"
Boom boom boom——
West Village.
The two mountain cannons advanced by the Japanese were directly destroyed in the bombardment.
The accurately fired artillery shells from the village came unexpectedly.
The situation at this time was very unfavorable to the Japanese army. The Eighth Route Army also had artillery, and it had clearly locked the location of the Japanese artillery. However, the Japanese artillery had no idea where the Eighth Route Army's artillery was.
Zhangjiazhuang on the other side also encountered the same situation.
The Japanese brigade commander Yamaguchi Shubei became more and more frightened as he was beaten.
Only then did he realize that the independent regiment in front of him was by no means a soft persimmon. This Eighth Route Army also had artillery on hand, and its power was not weak.
The imperial army's strategy of bullying the Eighth Route Army's lack of artillery just like in the past will not work at all.
On Tubal Road, with the help of various traps and fortifications set up by the village in advance, it is possible to attack more with less.
How can we fight this battle?
Even if you want to set fire to the village, you won't be able to do it. The houses in this village are relatively far apart. In addition, there is no vegetation in the village and it is mostly wasteland.
It's spring again, and fires don't start so easily.
Yamaguchi Shubei now has the same headache as Ishii Haraichi.
But we can’t withdraw the team, right?
This time is not a separate battle between the two teams, but a large-scale raid on the entire Eighth Route Army in the Taihang area.
In other directions, the imperial troops are continuing to advance.
At this time, if these two troops retreat, it will be equivalent to opening a big hole directly for the Eighth Route Army from the encirclement.
What's more, General Yoshio Shinozuka is waiting for good news from their two armies!
Considering this, Ishii Haraichi and Yamaguchi Shubei could only bite the bullet and ordered to continue to move forward.
"Use the chariot team as the vanguard and move forward!"
Ishii Haraichi arranged this in an attempt to use tanks to reduce infantry casualties.
In the village.
"Battal Commander, the Japanese have used the Iron Bastard!"
The fourth battalion commander Lei Dasheng was not angry but happy, saying: "Why are you panic? This is still in the village, not a place where the Japs can be rampant. Speaking of which, the regiment commander is really good at predicting things. He has already expected that the Japs will use tanks.
, we have prepared the means to deal with tanks early on, and we are just waiting to lure the Japanese tanks into the trap."
"Remember, tanks are not common. The regiment leader said that if you can avoid damaging the enemy's tank, try not to damage it. After this battle, this tank will belong to our independent regiment!"
"Yes!" the cadres responded and laughed together...