The two infantry squadrons suddenly withdrew to the assembly area. This was unexpected by everyone, and Li Hao's plan to eliminate them at night failed.
Fortunately, the three attacking troops of the Independent Regiment did not disappoint everyone. They captured two strongholds in one night and eliminated more than 400 Japanese and puppet troops.
After losing so many troops, the Japanese and puppet troops in the assembly area will definitely not remain indifferent.
Li Hao decisively ordered the troops to approach the assembly area and lurk fifteen kilometers southeast of the assembly area, waiting for opportunities.
At dawn the next day, the headquarters radio rang.
More than ten minutes later, Zhou Liang sent the telegram about the Japanese gathering place to Li Hao.
"Captain, the commando reported that the Japs in the assembly area were dispatched at dawn. The troops were divided into three groups to kill the three troops sent to the independent regiment. Each route contained half a brigade of Japs and a battalion of puppets.
The army is very powerful."
A look of worry quickly appeared on Captain Zhou's face.
He hesitated and reminded: "Captain Li, the three attacking troops only have one reinforced company. The Japanese and puppet troops who killed them had a full four times strength advantage. It is daytime now, and the Japanese can still call for air support. I am worried that they will
I can’t stand it.”
Li Hao did not answer Captain Zhou's question, but stared at Hong Linfeng and asked.
"Chief of Staff, if you think about it now, how many people are there in the Japs gathering area?"
Hong Linfeng didn't calculate it. As the chief of staff, it was his job to report the information he wanted to the regiment leader at all times, so these data had long been reflected in his heart.
Looking at Li Hao, he blurted out: "Including the other reinforcements that just arrived last night, there is a full Japanese infantry brigade at the assembly area, an infantry brigade that is missing one squadron, and a cavalry brigade that is missing two cavalry squadrons.
, two mountain artillery squadrons, and one regiment of the Imperial Army."
"After deducting the ones that just attacked, there is still one infantry squadron, two cavalry squadrons, two mountain artillery squadrons and some baggage troops. The total strength does not exceed 800 people. The real combat troops only have one infantry squadron and two cavalry squadrons. No.
To four hundred people.”
After the introduction, Hong Linfeng clearly saw that Li Hao's eyes became hot.
As soon as his mind turned around, a bold idea came up. He looked at Li Hao and asked quickly.
"Captain, you don't want to attack the Japs gathering place, do you?"
Li Hao sneered and replied: "This is a God-given opportunity, why not take advantage of it."
"There are less than 800 little Japs. If the attack goes well, the battle will be over in two hours."
Captain Zhou was also moved. The worry on his face was wiped away. He looked at Li Hao with his eyes shining and shouted: "Captain Li, this is indeed a God-given opportunity."
"The assembly area is the starting point for the Japs to counterattack Laishui, and most of the materials, weapons and ammunition they need for combat are stored there. Taking the assembly area will not only replenish our material losses and increase our strength, but also weaken the morale of the Japs and force them to
They remobilized combat supplies and postponed the counterattack on Laishui."
"Isn't the main force of the Japs going to besiege our attacking troops? We can let the attacking troops retreat while fighting, and take the Japs as far away as possible."
"After the attack starts, even if they know that the assembly area is under attack, they will not be able to come back in a short time. Our chance of winning is at least 90%."
Chief of Staff Chen of the independent regiment suddenly reminded: "Commander, if we fight like this, even if the pressure is on the three attacking troops, their casualties will definitely be huge."
Captain Zhou shook his head and replied: "As long as we can capture the assembly area and kill the little Japs inside, it's worth the higher casualties."
"Captain Li, I completely agree with your proposal and take advantage of the opportunity to capture the Japs gathering place."
Seeing that several people had no objections, Li Hao began to issue orders on the spot.
"The independent regiment's second company, fifth company, eighth company, and three battalions are directly under the command of their respective battalion commanders and instructors. They will set off in squad platoons in an hour to reinforce the first, fourth, and seventh companies."
"The mission is what Commander Zhou just said, to stick to the Japanese and puppet troops attacking and lead them away from the assembly area."
"Captain Zhou, you personally give them orders and make sure to explain the tasks clearly."
"The security company of the garrison will also set off in a squad in an hour and return to our hiding place yesterday. No matter what method we use, we must make the Japanese believe that we are still in the mountains."
"Other troops rest where they are, eat well and sleep well, and start taking action after dark."
On a high ground ten kilometers away from the assembly area, the chief of staff stood on it, staring at the battlefield motionless, his face full of anger.
The troops marched here half an hour ago, and just as they were preparing to pass through the mountain pass in front, a hail of heavy machine gun bullets fell from the sky and struck the troops head-on.
Two imperial soldiers were killed on the spot and one was seriously injured.
The chief of staff quickly judged the enemy's situation from the brief exchange of fire: about a platoon of Eighth Route Army troops was blocking the high ground in front, equipped with a heavy machine gun.
He has a large number of troops and will certainly not be intimidated by a platoon of the Eighth Route Army.
Immediately ordered one company of the Imperial Army and two squadrons of the Imperial Army to launch an attack to completely annihilate the Eighth Route Army and get off to a good start.
Unfortunately, the Eighth Route Army had no intention of fighting him here.
At the beginning of the attack, several gunshots were heard from the top of the mountain. After the troops rushed halfway up the mountain, the top of the mountain suddenly became quiet for no reason.
After rushing to the top of the mountain, there was no more gunfire from the battlefield.
The chief of staff knew that the Eighth Route Army had escaped again. Although he was very reluctant, he could only accept it.
Suppressing the anger in his heart again, he ordered the troops to hunt down the Eighth Route Army that had just withdrawn.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, the chief of staff commanded the troops to fight a total of six battles with the Eighth Route Army, and almost won several of them. However, Cheng Yaojin appeared halfway, thwarting his own attack, and finally returned without success.
After fighting all the way here, we only killed less than a hundred Eighth Route Army soldiers, but there is one thing the Chief of Staff can confirm.
The Eighth Route Army he was chasing did have a reinforced battalion, which was exactly the same as Major Yoshino's judgment.
After the Eighth Route Army slipped away from under his nose again, the chief of staff was just about to give the order to continue the pursuit when the radio operator suddenly rushed towards him.
"Sir, two brigade captains called to ask: It is getting dark. Should the troops continue to pursue the Eighth Route Army or return to the assembly area."
The chief of staff then remembered that it had been seven or eight hours since he broke out of the assembly area.
After looking at his watch, he said to himself: "It will get dark in three hours. We are almost 20 kilometers away from the assembly area. The urgent march will be back to the assembly area before dark."
"But if we don't kill the Eighth Route Army in front, they will definitely continue to attack the nearby Imperial Army stronghold tonight and wreak havoc behind us."
"Call back the two captains right away: ask them what they mean."
"Also send a telegram to several surrounding counties and the aviation force, asking them if they have any news about other Eighth Route Army troops."
After waiting for ten minutes, the reply calls were sent to the chief of staff one after another.
A squadron leader who also served as the temporary deputy to the chief of staff received the telegram and said: "Sir, the two group captains want to continue the attack."
"Otherwise, the surrounding Imperial Army strongholds will definitely suffer tonight, and the Eighth Route Army may also take the opportunity to slip away. It will be too difficult to catch them tomorrow."
"They also said that if they kill at least one reinforced battalion of the Eighth Route Army they are chasing, the remaining Eighth Route Army in the occupied area will not be afraid. As long as they dare to take the lead, we can gather heavy troops to kill them and kill them."
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