The breakout went smoother than the Japanese and puppet troops imagined. Except for a dozen people who stepped on landmines and were killed and injured, no Eighth Route Army soldiers were encountered in the trenches.
The team leader had a hunch: the Eighth Route Army would not let him leave the stronghold so easily.
The reason why there is no one on the position is because they want to avoid the heavy weapons in their hands and kill themselves with minimal casualties.
On the way to Guanshan Town, there must be countless conspiracies waiting for you.
But the squad leader can't control that much.
The last meal in the stronghold had been eaten up just now. If we don't break out now, the troops will definitely die.
Only by leading everyone out of the stronghold can the troops have a chance to survive.
So even if the road ahead is a mountain of swords and a sea of fire, you still have to go through it yourself.
He drew out his command knife, pointed at the road ahead, and gave a decisive order: "Let's set out and march towards Guanshan Town."
"Bah, bah, bah..."
Less than a kilometer out of the stronghold, what the team leader was worried about happened, and a volley of gunfire rang out beside the highway.
Three gunners from a mortar team groaned and fell to the ground together with the equipment on their shoulders.
Seeing that some of his subordinates wanted to stop and fight back, the squad leader was heartbroken and his face was full of anger, but he still stopped him loudly: "Don't worry about them, the troops will continue to move forward."
"The longer we are delayed on the road, the more times we will be attacked and the greater the casualties will be."
"We cannot lose more warriors because of revenge and saving people. The gain outweighs the loss."
"March urgently back to Guanshan Town. If we survive, we will have a chance to return to Zhouzhuang, kill the Eighth Route Army that has been attacking us, and avenge the warriors who died in the battle."
Seeing the Japanese and puppet troops leaving their bodies and equipment and continuing to retreat as if nothing was wrong, the fourth platoon leader not far away immediately became happy.
"Deputy company commander, all the little devils who were killed and their equipment have been left behind!"
"Now do you know why I gave up the blockade and let the Japanese leave the stronghold?" Li Bing asked with a confident smile.
"I understand!" the fourth platoon leader replied with sudden realization.
"Let the Japanese see hope of withdrawing to Guanshan Town, so they will not destroy those heavy weapons in advance."
"If they are trapped in a stronghold with no hope of survival, the Japanese will definitely destroy all their weapons and ammunition before they die."
"Even if we take the stronghold in the end, we will gain nothing."
Li Bing nodded and ordered: "Since our fighting method is effective, let the comrades let go of the fighting."
"First attack the Japanese artillery unit, then the heavy machine gun squad, and finally deal with the infantry."
"I have prepared a pocket formation for them five kilometers away. Whether we can wipe out all the Japanese and puppet troops here depends on whether you can kill all the artillery and heavy machine gun troops in one hour."
"Baba..."
Gunshots continued to ring out next to the highway, and the frequency of attacks became faster and faster, but the squad leader still ordered the troops to continue their rapid march and retreat, ignoring these sneak attacks.
Because he didn't hear the sound of light or heavy machine gun fire.
In his eyes, the Eighth Route Army's marksmanship was so poor that it was not on the same level as the Imperial Army.
It is impossible to cause too many casualties to the troops simply by relying on rifles.
This is indeed the case.
Most of the attacks involved a volley of more than a dozen bullets flying towards the Japanese and puppet troops, and in the end only one person was killed.
But the team leader did not realize that the Eighth Route Army's attacks were all targeted.
After a series of attacks, eighteen gunners and five heavy machine gunners were killed.
Because the gunners and heavy machine gunners walked last carrying heavy equipment, the team leader only wanted to get to Guanshan Town as quickly as possible, so he was not aware of their huge casualties.
Moreover, the Japanese and puppet soldiers around him were not attacked and suffered almost no casualties. The squad leader took it for granted that the troops suffered few casualties from the sneak attack with rifles.
"Da da da……"
A heavy machine gun was set up in the middle of the road like a road blocker, with sandbags piled around it. The barrel of the gun protruded from the shooting port, and it fired at them.
The five or six people who rushed to the front, whether they were Japanese or puppet soldiers, did not say a word. Several bloody holes were punched in their bodies when the gunshots were fired, and they fell to the ground with big eyes full of unwillingness.
"Lie down, hide..."
The squad leader threw himself on the ground and shouted, drew out his command knife and began to give orders: "Heavy machine guns and mortars will fire immediately, kill the fire points in front, and the troops will continue to retreat."
After all the orders were given, a sneer flashed at the corner of his mouth.
You have four mortars and four heavy machine guns, while the Eighth Route Army only has one heavy machine gun, and it's still blocking the middle of the road. Isn't that asking for death?
However, after waiting for half a minute, the expected sound of artillery fire and heavy machine gun fire did not sound.
"BaGeYa Road, haven't the heavy machine gun team and artillery team caught up with you yet? What are they doing for food!" The team leader thought they were walking too slowly and failed to keep up with the team, so he cursed with dissatisfaction.
Until a sergeant crawled over from the ground.
"Sir, the heavy machine gun team and artillery team are finished!"
"They were attacked all the way by the Eighth Route Army and suffered heavy losses. All their equipment was lost."
"How is that possible?" The squad leader's eyes immediately turned red and he stared at the sergeant, questioning with a look of disbelief.
The sergeant hurriedly explained: "I just learned about my humble position. On the way back, the Eighth Route Army's sneak attack troops kept staring at them. There were no casualties in the infantry. They were all the ones who died."
"Because they were afraid of affecting their marching speed, no one continued to carry the heavy equipment they had lost, and all was lost."
"It's over..."
The squad leader's face quickly turned pale and he shouted in despair.
Heavy machine guns and mortars were his hope for taking out the Eighth Route Army's firepower.
Now that hope has been shattered, relying solely on infantry cannot even suppress the heavy machine gun fire, let alone destroy it.
"Da da da……"
Two light machine guns suddenly appeared from their right flank, and the bullets looked like they had eyes, staring at the remaining Japs.
The two Japanese who wanted to raise their heads and shoot were killed on the spot and beaten into pieces.
Then a dozen Eighth Route Army troops appeared from a short distance away, holding guns and bending over, and kept approaching the highway.
"The Eighth Route Army is coming from the left too!" A scream sounded on the highway.
Two light machine guns and a dozen Eighth Route Army troops attacked them from the left wing...
Immediately after, a dozen Eighth Route Army troops appeared behind them, equipped with two light machine guns.
A total of seven light and heavy machine guns fired at the road.
The Japanese only had two light machine guns, while the puppet troops had three. They were no match at all. They were suppressed as soon as they fired.
The puppet troops were not fools. When they saw the Eighth Route Army bypassing them and focusing all their firepower on the Japanese army, they immediately understood the good intentions of the Eighth Route Army and wanted to let them live.
No one wants to die. Seeing that the Eighth Route Army wants to let them live, they will definitely not deliberately seek death.
As long as there were no Japanese around to supervise the battle, they would all lie down on the ground, throw their rifles aside, hold their heads, and remain motionless.
