After thinking for half a minute, the commander pointed to the two nearest hiding spots across the station and ordered.
"Just these two goals!"
"The attack distance is short. After the troops enter the mountain, they have more time to search for the people who are moving. We can take the opportunity to force the Laiyuan Independent Battalion out and have a good fight."
On the edge of the base area, a baggage convoy consisting of eighty carts and three artillery pieces marched quickly into the garrison base area.
Two baggage soldiers were guarded next to each cart. The escorting force was divided into three, with one infantry squad serving as the vanguard and one infantry squad serving as the rearguard. The other troops marched with the baggage truck. The mighty team stretched for more than a kilometer.
.
"Boom, boom, boom..." Three landmines suddenly exploded in the middle of the forward team.
The moment the black smoke rose, the five Japanese were knocked over. Three of them became motionless on the spot. Two of them were lying on the ground, holding their injured legs, squirming and screaming.
The moving train quickly stopped. The squadron leader of the escorting force did not expect the attack to come so quickly, but he also expected it.
This was his fourth time to participate in the sweep of the Eighth Route Army, and he had a more or less understanding of the Eighth Route Army's tactics and tactics.
Before setting off, he had thought that the Eighth Route Army would use landmines to deal with him, so he was well prepared. As soon as he received the news, he ordered the engineering detachment to go to the front to clear mines.
Eight engineers, carrying mine detectors, hurried to the front of the team.
Disappointingly, even after ten minutes of continuous exploration of the 200-meter road, not a single landmine was found.
Everyone thought that there were no more landmines on the highway, and when they were about to pack up their tools and go back to report to the squadron leader, the familiar sound of landmine explosions sounded again, and it was right under their feet.
Three landmines exploded in succession, and eight engineers were blinded on the spot.
Because the mine detector has just passed through this place and found nothing.
Since it was safe, everyone must not have been alert, nor had they taken any precautions when the explosion occurred. They all stood blankly next to the mine.
The flying mine fragments instantly knocked down four engineers.
The living engineer didn't react until then and wanted to throw himself on the ground.
But the bullets flew faster, and before the people could move, two strings of bullets flew towards them.
Two light machine guns suddenly appeared on the ridge more than a hundred meters away from them and fired wildly at them.
Bullets are free of charge. A magazine is empty in less than three seconds, and then the machine gun and the machine gunner disappear on the top of the ridge.
The Japanese squadron leader was stunned.
The explosion and machine gun attack came so suddenly, and the battle was over before I even gave the order to counterattack.
Seeing that all the engineering detachments fell to the ground, he quickly ordered: "The first team is going to rescue the engineering detachments."
"The third team took down the mountain ridge and killed the Eighth Route Army hiding behind."
"Contact the aviation force and intensify the search around us. If they had discovered the two machine guns hiding behind the ridge just now, the loss of the engineering unit would not have been so great!"
The squadron leader's idea is good, but for pilots to find a camouflaged light machine gun team from the sky is definitely more difficult than finding a needle in a haystack.
Soon the attacking troops came back.
"Squadron leader, seven of the engineering detachment were killed and one was injured, and they were seriously injured, almost losing their combat effectiveness." The second lieutenant lowered his head and reported.
A few minutes later, another second lieutenant also ran back and reported with a solemn face: "Sir, there is no Eighth Route Army behind the mountain ridge."
"They withdrew after the attack. They only found two camouflaged machine gun positions and dozens of bullet casings on the top of the ridge."
The deputy captain came over and asked with a worried look: "Captain, the engineering unit has lost its combat effectiveness. There must be landmines on the road ahead. What should we do next?"
The squadron leader's mind was in a mess, but he knew one thing very well.
The baggage train must join the attacking force before dark, otherwise it will be in danger.
He frowned and ordered with a stern face: "The troops continue to move forward!"
"The engineers have lost their mine detectors, but the mine detectors are still there. The first team replaces the engineers and goes to the front to clear mines. The speed must be fast. We will move forward while clearing mines."
"The map shows that there is a village two kilometers ahead. If we go there, grab dozens of hostages and drive them to the front of the team to open a road, the Eighth Route Army will not dare to lay mines anymore, and our marching speed will be faster."
The village the squadron leader mentioned is called Lizhuang, the largest village within a radius of 20 miles.
When the puppet troops passed by the day before yesterday, because they failed to capture the common people, they burned them directly to vent their anger.
Now, apart from the ruins of the village, there is no shelter from the wind and rain, let alone people. The possibility of the Japanese capturing hostages in such a place is almost zero.
Of course, the Japanese troops advancing hard on the road did not know this.
At the same time, Zhao Wen, the commander of the independent battalion, also took a fancy to this village.
Although the ruins cannot be inhabited, they can block bullets and serve as bunkers.
There is always an aircraft escort above the baggage train. A small number of troops can avoid their detection and attack the baggage train by surprise. If there are too many people, they will definitely be exposed.
This means that the independent battalion has no chance to fight a battle of annihilation in the wild and eat the baggage train.
Zhao Wen naturally thought of street fighting and mountain fighting, which can minimize the impact of aircraft on the battle.
"Boom boom..."
Landmines continued to explode among the forward troops, and more and more wounded and corpses were carried onto the baggage trucks.
The forward team gradually dropped from the initial fifty-odd people to forty people, and then to the current twenty-odd people...
The squadron leader saw this and was anxious in his heart. He wished he could fly to Lizhuang now and use hostages to replace the forward team with more than half of the casualties.
"Captain, Li Zhuang is almost here!" the deputy captain shouted excitedly.
"There are fireworks in the village, and there must be ordinary people there."
The squadron leader couldn't wait any longer and immediately ordered: "The third team marched over and captured all the people in the village. We eliminated the old and the weak, leaving the young and the strong. I want them to go to the front to clear the way, detonate landmines, and force the Eighth Route Army to retreat."
Don’t dare to use landmines against us again.”
The vice-captain immediately replied: "As a humble official, I will take the people there myself and I will definitely capture the hostages."
More than fifty Japanese soldiers quickly broke away from the baggage train, stepped on the wheat fields on both sides of the road, avoided landmines, and ran towards Lizhuang with guns in hand.
Zhao Wen saw this scene clearly, and a smile appeared on his lips involuntarily.
From the moment the Japanese encountered the first landmine, they fell into their own trap.
The constant appearance of landmines on the road drove the Japanese into panic, and the fireworks faked by the soldiers in Lizhuang made the Japanese mistakenly believe that there was someone in the village.
Link after link, the Japanese came up with the idea of going into the village as agents at all costs to arrest people.
Seeing the Japanese charging closer and closer, Zhao Wen put away his smile and gave the attack order: "The guard company is ready for battle and ends the battle with rifles and grenades."
"Baba..."
Gunfire soon rang out in the village, and the squadron leader's face suddenly changed, subconsciously thinking that something had happened to the third team.
After waiting for half a minute, I heard the only sound of rifle shooting coming from the village, and my tense nerves immediately relaxed.
He analyzed confidently: "The troops should have encountered the Eighth Route Army guerrillas."
"This is their base area. There are guerrillas in every village. If we kill them, the Chinese in the village will have no ability to resist."
"The baggage train continues to move forward. If we capture the hostages, we will be safe."
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