The chief of staff of the remaining Japanese and puppet troops was not idle.
Based on his understanding of the Eighth Route Army, even if the attacking troops chased the two Eighth Route Army troops, there must be many Eighth Route Army troops hiding nearby and watching him. As long as the troops left behind showed the slightest flaw, they would immediately pounce on him and bite him.
Although the troops only stayed here for a few hours before leaving, the chief of staff still ordered the troops to camp here in accordance with the standards of building a garrison.
With the artillery position as the center, a ring of fortifications was established.
Several more warning positions were built outside the ring fortifications to ensure that the troops could advance and attack after being attacked, and retreat and defend.
Not to mention the effect, the four words "immediate effect" cannot be overstated.
Before the position was established, cold gunfire and artillery fire continued uninterrupted.
After the position was established, all the troops entered the position, and a light and heavy machine gun was fired at the position. The Eighth Route Army tried to sneak attack but could not find the target. If there was another cold-blooded attack, they would directly use bullets and artillery shells to counterattack.
The stalemate lasted less than half an hour, and the annoying cold shots stopped.
Troops can also hide in their positions and have a good rest without worrying about being killed by bullets that suddenly appear.
The chief of staff also had a chance to take a breath and stayed at the semi-underground headquarters, staring at the map and thinking about the next battle.
"Sir, Captain Ishida has an urgent call!" The operator operating the telegraph machine next to him suddenly stood up and reported with a serious look on his face.
The chief of staff just glanced at the telegram and his expression changed.
After finding the specific location of the battlefield on the map, he frowned and fell into deep thought. The major next to him became anxious and immediately suggested.
"Sir, the Eighth Route Army attacking Captain Ishida only has one reinforced battalion. Please send reinforcements to an infantry squadron to ensure that defeat is turned into victory and that Captain Ishida and his troops are rescued."
This was Captain Ishida's first reaction after reading the telegram, but he rejected the idea as soon as it came up.
Looking at the captain who looked eager to try, he frowned and objected: "We can't go."
"It will take two hours from our place to the battlefield even if we have to march smoothly and quickly."
"Do you think Captain Ishida can last two hours?"
"If you don't hold on, your reinforcements will not only fail to save people, but you will be trapped in the tiger's mouth and continue to lose your life."
"Then we will just watch them be wiped out by the garrison!" the major shouted with an unwilling look on his face.
A hint of reluctance flashed on the chief of staff's feet, but it was quickly covered by a determined expression before he answered.
"Captain Ishida is a true warrior of the empire. In the telegram, he has expressed his determination to devote himself to the empire."
"I decided to help him and eliminate more Eighth Route Army troops through this battle and severely damage the garrison."
"Contact the division headquarters immediately. I want more aircraft to reinforce Captain Ishida."
"Call back to Captain Ishida: I agree that they will fight to the death with the garrison on the battlefield."
"I will send at least three aircraft to reinforce them. In the final stage of the battle, I will ask the aviation force to conduct indiscriminate bombing on the ground. Through this battle, I will eliminate more Eighth Route Army troops and let them die a worthy death."
"The original text of the telegram has been sent. I believe Captain Ishida will know what to do after reading it."
"Hi!"
The major's face was full of reluctance, but the chief of staff's decision was undoubtedly the most rational and correct, so after a brief psychological struggle, he decided to execute the order.
On another battlefield fifteen kilometers away from here, the Japanese and puppet troops were equally uncomfortable, struggling on the edge of life and death.
Compared with the regiment leader Li Hao, He Jun's fighting style is more direct, but the casualties paid by the troops will definitely be greater.
But He Jun can't control so much.
He must quickly destroy all the Japanese and puppet troops attacking, and then he can fight back to the assembly area to deal with the Japanese and puppet troops staying there.
After leading the Japanese and puppet troops for fifteen kilometers into the mountains, the company stopped on its own initiative and rushed up to a high mountain ridge, as if it was a showdown with the Japanese and puppet troops attacking here.
The Japanese and puppet troops responded quickly, quickly surrounded the high ground, and launched an attack under the cover of aircraft.
However, the mission of the first company is to drag them here, not to hold the hilltop.
Therefore, they did not establish a blocking position after going up the mountain, and they did not even dig a trench.
Instead, they used infantry squads and combat groups as units and quickly dispersed throughout the mountain.
The Japanese army bombed with planes and bombarded with mortars. The attack launched with all their strength was like a punch on cotton, without any effect.
After concentrating firepower and the key attack failed, the squadron leader led by the Japs immediately adjusted the combat plan, divided the troops and searched the entire highland with a net, compressing the Eighth Route Army in the encirclement to the top of the mountain little by little, and finally captured them all.
What the Japanese didn't expect was that they would fall into the trap as soon as the troops were divided.
The puppet army used squads and platoons as units to cooperate with the Japanese from a combat unit to form a search team, with a total strength of more than 20 people, responsible for the fifty-meter-wide forest in front.
The entire attack force was more than 400 people, minus the artillery and heavy machine gun units. The remaining troops were divided into twelve search teams. They tightly surrounded the hilltop where the first company was hiding, and then pushed forward little by little towards the top of the mountain, compressing the activities of the first company.
scope.
If there are no other Eighth Route Army troops nearby, this method of attack by the Japanese is absolutely the best and foolproof against the Eighth Route Army troops scattered in the woods.
But the bad thing is that they underestimated the enemy again.
The planes were constantly circling at low altitudes in the sky to ensure that there was no Eighth Route Army nearby that could threaten the attacking Imperial Army and Imperial Associated Army.
After going around and around, we found that apart from the Imperial Army and the Imperial Alliance Army, there were withered thatch, shrubs, and patches of woods on the ground. Not a single Eighth Route Army unit was seen.
But this is all superficial.
If the Japanese and puppet troops searching the mountain turned around now and searched behind them, they would definitely find a large number of moving thatch bushes.
They were disguised as more than 300 soldiers from the 2nd, 3rd and 4th companies of the Hunyuan Independent Battalion.
Each soldier wears a camouflage net woven with thatch. He bends down and lies on the ground without moving. He is just a pile of thatch. Standing ten meters away, you may not be able to see the soldier wrapped in the thatch. What's more,
Not to mention the planes in the sky.
A group of three or four soldiers, some equipped with light machine guns and some equipped with rifles, formed a larger encirclement outside the Japanese and puppet troops' encirclement, and then slowly approached the Japanese and puppet troops.
"Da da da……"
A machine gun barrel suddenly protruded from a patch of grass more than thirty meters behind the two Japanese soldiers. When everyone was unprepared, a tongue of flame suddenly spurted out.
A string of seven or eight bullets rushed out of the barrel in an instant and flew towards the backs of the two Japanese in a fan shape.
Their attention was focused on the front, and they never thought about the danger coming from behind.
Moreover, the shooting distance was so close that the gunshots and bullets drilled several bloody holes in their backs. There was no scream, and they fell to the ground with a muffled groan.
"Enemy attack..."
The nearby Japanese and puppet soldiers quickly lay down on the ground, raised their rifles and shot at the place where the gunfire had just been fired.
But the gunfire had stopped, and the machine gunner retracted into the thatch, lying on the ground, letting the bullets fly overhead, motionless, waiting for the opportunity to move.
"Da da da...bah..."
At this time, gunshots were fired in several places at the same time, some far away and some near.
It's like these bullets have eyes, specifically staring at the enemy.
The attention of the Japanese and puppet troops was instantly attracted, and the machine gun team that fired first took the opportunity to move away.
"Baba...dah...dah..."
The company that the Japanese and puppet troops had been looking for no longer acted like a coward. After hearing the news, the nearest soldiers rushed over and started to fire at the backs of the Japanese and puppet troops.