"Hello, Chief! If you come to reinforce us in person, the troops will definitely reach their destination safely!" In a valley on the edge of the mountains, Li Hao and Commander Chen met.
"Comrade Li Hao, we meet again!" Commander Chen replied with a military salute.
Then without any nonsense, he asked directly: "How is the situation here? When will the pursuers get here?"
Li Hao did not hide anything: "Chongqing sent two main groups to intercept us."
"The commando team and the reconnaissance company directly under the garrison are taking them in circles inside the mountain."
"But they have too many troops and we have few people, so we certainly won't be able to delay it for too long."
"I judge: They will know our exact location tonight and send out troops to encircle us before dawn tomorrow."
Commander Chen replied confidently: "Now that I'm here, they won't have a chance to surround you."
"Time is running out, so I decided to leave here tonight, cross the first Japanese blockade, march forty kilometers, lurk in the Japanese-occupied area for a whole day, and continue my journey after dark tomorrow, cross the second Japanese blockade, and return to
Base area."
"The troops take the road directly, which can save nearly one-third of the time."
"I have brought a total of more than 2,300 mules and horses. I will rest now and start preparations at three o'clock in the afternoon."
"Strive to convert all supplies into mules and horses to reduce the burden on the soldiers and speed up the march."
"In addition, in order to ensure the safety of the transport team when crossing the blockade, I will order the troops to launch attacks on these strongholds at the right time, so that they can hide in their turtle shells and not dare to come out to cover the movement of the transport team. But we don't have artillery shells, especially
It's a heavy mortar shell."
Li Hao quickly replied: "Don't worry, chief. I have brought all the artillery shells stored in Chongqing. You can have as many as you want, chief."
"In addition, I also brought back all the bullets in stock at the pharmaceutical factory's garrison camp."
"Originally there were only tens of thousands of rounds. I thought that sooner or later the garrison battalion would be reorganized by Chongqing, so I collected all the bullets issued by the garrison battalion. In total, there were 130,000 rounds of rifle bullets and 40,000 rounds of heavy machine gun bullets.
There are nearly three thousand grenades, which I can give you."
Commander Chen was not polite.
As a senior commander of the Eighth Route Army, Li Hao still knew a little about what he was doing in Chongqing.
The other units of the Eighth Route Army were short of ammunition and money, but he was the only one who was not short of money. He was a real landlord and a rich man.
He replied readily: "With these ammunition, the troops will be safer when crossing the Japanese blockade tonight."
At seven o'clock in the evening, all the garrison regiment and Commander Chen's cadres from battalion and above gathered around Commander Chen and Li Hao, waiting for orders, with expressions of eagerness to try.
Especially the brave men under Commander Chen, after receiving the ammunition given to them by Li Hao in the afternoon, they felt confident and wanted to rush to the battlefield to kill the Japanese.
"One regiment, one battalion..." Commander Chen didn't waste any time and directly ordered by name.
"Here!" the battalion commander, a middle-aged man, very strong and with a voice as loud as thunder, answered loudly.
"I will give you three heavy mortars and 150 rounds of artillery shells. Set off immediately, march quickly to our nearest stronghold in Dongzhuang, launch an attack at exactly eight o'clock in the evening, and retreat after three hours. During the battle, you cannot
Can you complete the mission by letting a little devil leave the stronghold?" Commander Chen ordered with a serious look on his face.
The battalion commander had seen the power of heavy mortars on the battlefield. A shell hit the bunker. On the surface, the bunker appeared to be intact. In fact, the Japanese and puppet troops inside had been shocked to death, or were stunned and lost their combat effectiveness.
So when he heard that there were three heavy mortars cooperating in the operation, and there were still 150 rounds of artillery shells available, the battalion commander was excited at that time.
Although a reinforced Japanese squadron was stationed at the Dongzhuang stronghold, the first battalion commander was still confident and answered loudly.
"Don't worry, chief, the First Battalion guarantees to complete the mission!"
After finishing, he added in a low voice: "Chief, what if I accidentally take down the Dongzhuang stronghold?"
"If you really win, I'll give you a third-class merit credit!" Commander Chen replied generously.
Following the change of subject, he added: "However, I must control the casualties of the troops."
"If the casualties are too great, it will be useless even if we take over the stronghold. Not only will we lose the credit, I will also remove your position as battalion commander."
"One regiment and two battalions..."
"Arrived..." The second battalion commander immediately stood up and looked at Commander Chen, his eyes shining.
"I will also give you three heavy mortars and 150 rounds of artillery shells. At nine o'clock in the evening, you will launch an attack on the Hukou Town stronghold on time. You will retreat after three hours. The mission is the same as that of the first battalion..."
At the Dongzhuang stronghold, the Japanese troops patrolled when they should and slept when they should sleep, as usual.
At eight o'clock in the evening, most of the little devils fell asleep.
A battalion of more than 300 soldiers slowly approached the stronghold like ghosts under the cover of night.
When there were still more than 500 meters left, the battalion commander decisively ordered the troops to stop.
"Batalion Commander, why don't you set up the cannon and fire three rounds first to scare the little devils inside!" the instructor suggested.
The battalion commander shook his head and said in denial: "No, use heavy mortars when we come up. The Japanese inside will definitely be scared to death, and then we will have no chance to capture the stronghold."
"There are more than 200 Japs and more than 100 puppet troops inside. Although the strength of the troops is about the same as ours. But we have three heavy mortars and 150 rounds of artillery shells. If we use them well, we will definitely capture the stronghold."
"In this way, we will first give the little devils a trick to lure the enemy deep. If they are fooled, we will first eat some of their troops, and then attack, and try to capture the stronghold within three hours."
"The nearby Japs strongholds are being attacked by troops, so they won't have reinforcements tonight. We have plenty of time and energy to greet them."
"boom……"
A gunshot broke the tranquility of the night.
The sound of gunfire came from the turret of the stronghold. As soon as the gunfire rang out, there was no need to hide for the company that was already 200 meters away from the stronghold. Two light machine guns hit the ground and sprayed tongues of flame towards the turret. The two Japs
The guard post fell down in response.
The quiet stronghold immediately became brightly lit, and the disheveled little Japanese rushed out of the barracks one after another, grabbing weapons and ammunition and rushing towards the position.
Soon, gunshots rang out in the stronghold.
The two light machine guns covering the attack misfired on the spot, and the machine gunner fell to the ground without making a sound. A dozen soldiers from the attacking force also fell, and the others were suppressed outside the stronghold, unable to move.
"Retreat..." the first company commander ordered decisively.
This is the hinterland of the area occupied by the imperial army, and there is absolutely no possibility of a large-scale Eighth Route Army unit.
The Japanese squadron leader in the stronghold directly regarded the First Company as the Eighth Route Army guerrillas fighting against the autumn wind.
It had been a long time since he had won a fight. He finally encountered his opponents, and he certainly couldn't let them go so easily.
Make a decisive decision immediately: "The first and second teams will attack immediately to hunt down the enemy and eliminate them."
Five hundred meters away, the battalion commander had already set up a pocket formation and was waiting with his mouth wide open for the Japanese to get in.
Seeing the gate of the stronghold being opened, the Japanese troops poured out like locusts, carrying rifles and machine guns in a frantic pursuit. A smile quickly flashed across the corner of their mouths.
He took out the cannon from the box, opened the safety, and ordered excitedly: "The opportunity has come!"
"Everyone, be ready for battle and listen to my orders before firing."
"The artillery is on standby, ready to fire at any time to kill the little Japanese who rush out."