On the first night, the twelve trenches were dug forward only more than fifty meters, far from threatening the stronghold.
But the Second Company could feel it from outside, and the atmosphere in the stronghold became obviously tense.
A flare was fired every half hour, and there were more Japanese and puppet troops on patrol. As long as there was the slightest movement outside the stronghold, it would immediately attract frenzied shooting from light and heavy machine guns.
After daybreak, the Japanese army called in a plane, intending to break out of the stronghold under the cover of the plane and destroy the trenches dug by the troops last night.
"Company commander, the Japanese plane is here again..." Hearing the increasingly loud roar in the air, the instructor frowned and reminded.
The Japanese army launched two attacks. The key reason why the Second Company did not stop them was the Little Japanese plane.
One after another, one after another patrolled and alerted the attacking troops. When they saw the Eighth Route Army gathering nearby, they immediately pounced down, either strafing or bombing.
The Second Company suffered a loss once, losing nearly forty soldiers, and then no longer dared to assemble under the nose of the aircraft, so it could only use guerrilla warfare to sneak attacks on the enemy.
Seeing the plane coming to the battlefield again, the instructor subconsciously became nervous as a conditioned reflex.
To his surprise, the company commander who had suffered a lot on the plane did not panic. Not only was he not nervous, but he also looked confident: "Instructor, when we were fighting guerrilla warfare with the Japanese and puppet troops, the troops were constantly in motion and could not proceed.
Air defense. Now the troops are stationary outside the stronghold. Although they still cannot shoot down Japanese planes, we can still do some simple air defense."
"The regiment commander's combat plan mentions air defense, and I'm ready for it."
"Order the troops to release smoke immediately. There is no wind today, and the smoke will keep floating above our heads, blocking the view of the little Japanese plane."
"The heavy machine gun platoon is ready for anti-aircraft fire."
"We are very close to the Japanese stronghold. In order to avoid accidental bombing, the aircraft can only carry out low-altitude bombing when the field of view is blocked. Then our heavy machine guns will come in handy."
"Even if we can't shoot them down, we can scare them so that they don't dare to fly low and bomb us."
"Each platoon is ready for battle. If there are kidnappers who break out of their strongholds and destroy the trenches, we still follow the old rules and use guerrilla warfare to attack them. Kill one more enemy if you can, but you must protect yourself."
The instructor suddenly realized and shouted: "I understand."
"Force the Japs from the stronghold by digging trenches, and then slowly consume them with guerrilla warfare."
"Kill out dozens of Japanese and puppet troops at one time, and if you kill them ten times, the total of three to four hundred Japanese puppet troops will be gone!"
In the stronghold's gun tower, after learning that the plane was about to arrive on the battlefield, the commander immediately ordered to prepare for an attack and destroy those trenches that might threaten the safety of the stronghold.
"Sir, the Eighth Route Army is setting off smoke outside the stronghold..." the subordinate reminded.
In the blink of an eye, nearly a hundred plumes of black smoke were rising around the stronghold.
It first rose to a height of 100 meters, and then began to spread to the surrounding area.
When the plane arrived over the stronghold, thick gray smoke had completely obscured the sky above the stronghold.
"I understand. The Eighth Route Army wants to use smoke for air defense to block the aircraft's view so that they cannot find the bombing target." The subordinate who just spoke suddenly realized what he was saying.
The commander looked calm and did not take this matter to heart: "In the previous two attacks, although the Eighth Route Army did not let off smoke, our planes did not attack them, but just patrolled and warned above us. The troops still broke through the Eighth Route Army
Blockade the line and break out of the stronghold."
"So whether they release smoke or not has no impact on us. The troops can completely break out of the stronghold by relying on their own strength."
The subordinate thought for a moment and reminded: "What if they take the opportunity to gather troops and intercept us at the gate of the stronghold?"
"That's the best!" The commander's eyes became obviously hot.
"Our heavy machine guns and mortars are ready. As long as they dare to gather, I will destroy them together."
Ten minutes later, the gate of the stronghold was opened, and dozens of Japanese and puppet troops were the first to rush out as the vanguard."
"Bah bah... da da da..."
The blocking battle that his subordinates were worried about did not happen. Just like before, there were only sporadic rifle shots and light machine gun fire outside the stronghold.
The Japanese artillerymen and heavy machine gunners who were on standby at the stronghold all showed disappointed expressions.
If the Eighth Route Army gathered at the gate of the stronghold to block the attack, they would still be useful.
With this kind of sporadic sneak attack, they couldn't even lock on to the shooting target, let alone counterattack.
Nothing will be gained except a waste of ammunition.
"All other attacking troops should go out, destroy all the trenches dug by the Eighth Route Army last night, and then return to the stronghold." The commander also ordered with a disappointed look on his face.
The subordinate thought for a while and reminded: "Sir, since the troops have already fought their way out, and there are planes covering the sky, why not take the opportunity to raid the nearby villages and grab some food and supplies? Just destroying some trenches is a waste of aircraft reinforcements.
Opportunity."
"No!" The commander refused very simply.
"Seizing the opportunity to raid nearby villages can indeed bring back a lot of food, but our troops will also suffer many casualties due to the Eighth Route Army's ubiquitous sneak attacks."
"Don't underestimate the casualties of dozens of people. If there are too many casualties, these sporadic casualties can also bring us a devastating blow."
"The task given to us by our superiors is to stay here like a nail. The longer we can hold on, the better. Therefore, we must not attack easily unless it is absolutely necessary to give the Eighth Route Army a chance to consume us."
The subordinate showed an expression of sudden enlightenment and complimented with admiration: "Sir, you are wise and you have learned a lesson from your humble position."
The operation of the Japanese and puppet troops went smoothly because of the extensive use of explosives. Within half an hour, the efforts of the Second Company last night were all wiped out in a series of explosions.
However, seeing the troops retreating back to their strongholds one after another, the commander did not smile.
The frown on his brows became deeper and deeper, and his face became more and more solemn.
"Bageya Road, we have been fooled!" the commander suddenly shouted.
The subordinates were startled by these words and looked at the commander with a puzzled expression.
"Haven't you seen it yet? Although the trenches outside were destroyed, we lost another twenty soldiers." The commander explained, pointing to the corpses outside the stronghold.
"After dark, the Eighth Route Army can continue to dig trenches and approach the stronghold. If we continue to attack, we will definitely lose another twenty soldiers."
"If this consumption continues, in less than half a month, all the troops stationed in the stronghold will be exhausted."
The subordinate suddenly realized and shouted: "Sir, what you mean is that the Eighth Route Army dug trenches to force us out of our strongholds, and then took the opportunity to use guerrilla warfare to consume us."
"Not bad!" the commander confirmed.
"The number of times we went out to grab food was too few. The Eighth Route Army used this method to increase the frequency of our attacks, then speed up the consumption of us, and then eliminate us."
The more he talked, the commander's face became more and more ugly, and finally he ordered with a serious face: "We can't be fooled anymore. From now on, without my order, no one can attack without authorization and create opportunities for the Eighth Route Army to consume us."
"If the Eighth Route Army wants to dig trenches, let them dig them. We have the advantage in strength and have indestructible gun towers and bunkers. We are not afraid of them shortening the attack distance."
The stronghold commander's judgment was correct. That night, the Second Company not only repaired all the trenches they destroyed during the day, but also advanced the trenches another thirty meters, getting closer to the stronghold.
Before dawn, the company commander began to evacuate the troops and prepare smoke firewood to prepare for the Japanese and puppet troops to attack.
At ten o'clock in the morning, the plane did not arrive at the battlefield as scheduled.
At eleven o'clock, the plane had not arrived yet, and there was no movement at the base several hundred meters away.
The guard posts and patrols that could still be seen in some places today all hid in the gun towers and bunkers, watching every move outside through the shooting holes to prevent them from being killed by the Eighth Route Army's cold guns.