Zhang Qing, who was leading his troops forward, could hardly believe his eyes.
When did the Japanese army become so capable of fighting? They would run for their lives from behind as soon as a firefight broke out. Are they still the elites who beat the Chinese army and make them run away?
Although he didn't understand it, Zhang Qing did not miss this opportunity to beat the drowned dog.
Since you don't want to fight head-on, I'll chase you and hit you from behind. I can beat you piecemeal until you take off a layer of your skin.
"The second platoon continues the assault, captures all the puppet troops, and then retreats quickly. The third platoon and all the machine gunners follow me to chase the Japanese!" Zhang Qing immediately ordered.
When Zhang Qing and his troops were desperately chasing the Japanese, a small group of Japanese soldiers suddenly rushed out of Laiyuan City and ran towards the battlefield with guns in hand.
After chasing for two to three hundred meters and killing seven or eight Japanese soldiers, the Japanese troops retreating frantically in front collided directly with the Japanese troops leaving the city.
Before Zhang Qing could react, a heavy machine gun was set up by the Japanese army on the official road in front, and four crooked handles were set up next to it. The machine gunners were all lying on the ground, ready to shoot at any time.
Zhang Qing's face instantly turned pale, and he cried out: "No, we have been fooled!"
"The little devil has a supporting force, everyone, retreat back quickly!"
"Da da da!" Before the order was finished, the sound of Japanese heavy machine gun fire rang out, followed by a burst of screams. Seven or eight Eighth Route Army soldiers fell on the official road, and everyone was beaten.
There were several blood holes, and blood kept pouring out, and he was about to die.
Fortunately, the company has matured after several bloody battles, especially the machine gunners who always rush to the front.
As soon as several light and heavy machine guns of the Japanese army opened fire, they held the machine guns in front of them and retreated while covering each other while shooting.
Under their counterattack, the Japanese machine gun fire immediately became intermittent. The remaining 20 or so Eighth Route Army troops immediately seized the opportunity to retreat. Despite this, the third platoon that followed Zhang Qing in pursuit of the Japanese still lost many people.
In the end, less than fifteen people escaped alive.
"Young devils, I will kill you sooner or later to avenge the sacrificed soldiers!" Facing his subordinates who suffered heavy casualties, Zhang Qing's face instantly turned gloomy. He stared at Laiyuan City with his eyes tightly, clenching his fists,
Cursed loudly.
At this time, Second Platoon Commander Zhou Zhengyang came over and reported in a serious tone: "Company Commander, the problem has been clarified!"
"These Japanese and puppet troops came from the Dongyang stronghold. They received orders from the county last night to abandon their stronghold and return to Laiyuan City with all their equipment and supplies!"
"Abandon the stronghold!" Zhang Qing immediately thought of the order given to everyone by the battalion commander before leaving.
"You have only one mission in this attack. Kill and injure a large number of Japanese veterans so that the Japanese will not have anyone to form a mixed brigade."
"Could it be that the Japanese army has already forgotten the purpose of the independent battalion's attack, deliberately abandoned their strongholds, and gathered the veterans in the county to form their mixed brigade!" Zhang Qing frowned and said to himself.
Soon, a touch of determination appeared on Zhang Qing's face.
"That must be the case! The Japanese are so cunning, they must be able to see our purpose!"
Having said this, Zhang Qing's face turned serious without realizing it, and then continued: "No, we definitely can't let so many veterans return to the county smoothly. The battalion commander said that one Japanese veteran can lead more than three recruits, and the city
There are also four to five hundred veterans, and if all of them return to Laiyuan City, we can form two infantry brigades!"
"Company commander, what should we do?" Zhou Zhengyang also realized the seriousness of the problem and asked immediately.
"It will be divided into three steps: transport the baggage squad, escort the captured and prisoners back to the station immediately, and ask him to report my conclusion to the battalion commander. By the way, tell the battalion commander that I plan to contact the second and third companies to ambush those who want to return to the city around the county.
Devil!"
"The second step is to pick out all the locals in the company. One local will lead two soldiers and immediately investigate the remaining villages around Laiyuan City where the Japanese and puppet troops have strongholds. If there is any situation, report back immediately."
"The third step is to contact the Second Company, the Third Company, the Guard Platoon, and the Artillery Platoon, and immediately concentrate on the county town. Since the Japanese want to transfer the troops outside the city back to the city, then we will wait outside the city, and they will send a unit
Fight one and kill as many Japanese as possible!"
At the Japanese brigade headquarters in Laiyuan City, the chief of staff was reporting to Ono the battle that had just occurred outside the city.
"It seems that our considerations are correct. The reason why the Eighth Route Army took the initiative was to consume a large number of our veterans!" Ono affirmed with a rare smile on his face.
Then he turned to the chief of staff and asked: "You just said that our city defense troops sent a small team out to respond, and they also brought heavy machine guns. They caught the Eighth Route Army by surprise outside the city and killed many of them!"
"Hey, it's true. The Eighth Route Army is so arrogant. It doesn't even take the Imperial Army of Japan into consideration. It dares to approach the county where the Imperial Army of Japan is stationed. It's going to be an early death!" the Chief of Staff affirmed.
The smile on Ono's face became even thicker, and he praised with great satisfaction: "That squadron leader did a good job and knew how to seize the opportunity. I admire him very much. Doesn't the brigade still need a captain? Promote him!"
"In addition, this kind of operation must be promoted among all the troops defending the city. We can temporarily abandon the villages and towns outside the city because we do not have enough troops. But this cannot be done around the county. We have heavy machine guns, mortars, and infantry artillery.
Mountain artillery, field artillery! As long as there is no sign of Eighth Route Army activity within the coverage area of artillery fire. If the Eighth Route Army appears, send troops when it is time to send troops, but remember to bring a radio to call for artillery support in the city at any time!"
"In addition, notify the city defenders in four directions that there must be the Eighth Route Army around the county, and they will not allow the troops outside the city to withdraw smoothly. As long as the troops outside the city enter the artillery fire coverage of the city, each city defender must immediately send troops to respond
, to prevent the Eighth Route Army from ambushing our troops returning to the city, and if we can bring back an imperial army, we will bring back one!"
After receiving Ono's order, the Japanese army immediately took action. A reinforcement team was prepared at the gate of each city, ready to go out of the city to respond at any time.
The mountain artillery brigade and the mortar brigade were not idle either. They quickly set up artillery in the open space in the city. Three mountain cannons and three mortars were aimed in the same direction to provide artillery support to the troops returning to the city at any time.
Less than an hour after the reconnaissance team sent by Zhang Qing left, a soldier rushed over panting.
"Battal Commander, another Japanese and puppet army has arrived. Two Japanese squads, one puppet company, and ten large vehicles! They will be here in half an hour. They are marching very fast."
Zhang Qing frowned but did not speak. A soldier monitoring the city gate also rushed over: "Batalion Commander, I also have a situation here. A Japs who strengthened the team suddenly left the city with two heavy machine guns and a mortar.
