The Japanese chief of staff was in a very bad mood.
I spent several days sleeping rough in the mountains. Although I almost killed my opponents in several raids, I always let them escape at the last moment.
What the brigade leader wants is the result, not the process.
No matter how hard you chase, if you haven't eliminated the opponent, you haven't eliminated it. No matter how many reasons you give, it's useless.
More importantly, the troop casualties were much greater than planned.
Facing the elusive sneak attack of the Eighth Route Army, even if the troops in hand were familiar with the mountains at their feet and knew where the ravines and valleys were, they were still unable to defend themselves.
In the past few days, nearly 300 soldiers were killed in battle, and 300 more were injured. More than 100 seriously injured people were marched on stretchers by the puppet troops.
Huge losses, seemingly endless pursuit, and the Eighth Route Army that appeared out of nowhere to sneak attack on oneself... tortured the soldiers under his command all the time, draining their morale and morale.
The chief of staff saw very clearly that with each passing day, the morale of the troops would drop a little.
If we continue to pursue this situation, the morale of the troops will fall to the bottom within three days at most.
The chief of staff wanted to complain to the brigade commander several times to end the pursuit, or to change the generals on the spot, but he rejected it at the last moment.
If he returns in such a mess without making any achievements, he will definitely become the laughing stock of the entire brigade, and he may not even be able to keep his position as chief of staff of the brigade.
After much thought, the chief of staff decided to continue the pursuit.
Every time I reported the results of the battle to the brigade commander, I deliberately omitted the casualties of the troops, planning to report them together with the results after I killed the Eighth Route Army.
With the results of the war as cover, even if some people are dissatisfied with the losses of the troops, they will not be able to cause any big trouble.
The chief of staff made a good plan, but whether he could achieve his goal depended on one thing: whether he could destroy the Eighth Route Army in the mountains before the morale of the troops fell to the bottom and achieve this result.
He saw the soldiers' turbulent morale and declining morale.
In two to three days, if I still can't kill the Eighth Route Army in the mountains, even if the brigade commander takes away the position of chief of staff after I return, I must withdraw the troops. Otherwise, the army will definitely collapse, and the losses will be greater by then, and the responsibility will be shouldered.
Also bigger.
At six o'clock in the afternoon, as usual, the troops stopped on a relatively flat high ground to have dinner and replenish their physical strength after a day.
The chief of staff knew that the Eighth Route Army he was looking for was hiding within a ten-mile radius and watching him. As soon as the troops showed any flaws, they would immediately pounce and bite everyone.
In order to avoid this situation, the chief of staff dispersed all the reconnaissance troops in his hands as soon as the troops stopped.
It can not only ensure the safety of the station, but also search for traces of the Eighth Route Army along the way, killing two birds with one stone.
You know, I almost wiped out the Eighth Route Army several times in the past few days. It was because the reconnaissance troops accidentally discovered the temporary campsite of the Eighth Route Army, and then the troops divided into several groups to surround them and annihilate them...
Maybe today's investigation will yield unexpected results.
Just after dinner, a second lieutenant from the reconnaissance team rushed over and reported excitedly: "Sir, we have found the Eighth Route Army camp!"
"They are also having dinner. Judging from the amount of smoke, the total strength of the Eighth Route Army should be about 300."
"But they deployed too many sentries, and we couldn't get close enough to observe."
"Where is it? How far away are we?" The chief of staff also became excited. He did not expect that this investigation would yield unexpected results.
"It's less than five miles away from us in the southwest!" the second lieutenant thought for a moment and replied.
"God is really helping me!" The smile on the chief of staff's face grew wider and he immediately ordered.
"I am very familiar with the terrain in the southwest. There are only hills and no valleys for ambushes. If the Eighth Route Army runs in that direction, it will simply lead to death."
"The entire army will assemble immediately. The Imperial Army will leave a reinforcement team, and the Imperial Association Army will leave a company to take care of the wounded. The others will bring their equipment and ammunition and march with me to kill them."
"Wuli Mountain Road can be covered in half an hour. This time we will not outflank, but attack from one direction."
"Even if the Eighth Route Army reacts quickly and moves in time, we won't be too far away from them."
"We have the advantage of military strength, and the troops can definitely chase them and beat them."
Elites are worthy of being elites. It took only ten minutes for nearly a thousand Japanese and puppet troops to assemble and then rush out of the camp in a mighty manner.
When there were only two miles left before the target, the chief of staff accompanying the attacking team could already see the Eighth Route Army hastily gathering.
It was exactly the same as the scouts had judged. They looked like three hundred people, but they were well equipped, including mortars and heavy machine guns.
"The Eighth Route Army in front must be all the Eighth Route Army entering the mountain." The chief of staff made a prompt judgment.
"The Eighth Route Army we want to destroy has a total of six to seven hundred people. In the past few days, we have killed three to four hundred people, and there are still about three hundred people left."
"The troops will attack immediately. If we kill them, we can return to the county seat."
I had to sleep in the open air in the mountains for several days without even being able to eat a safe and hot meal. No Japanese wanted to return to the county town.
As soon as the chief of staff heard that the battle could be ended by destroying the Eighth Route Army in front, the Japanese army immediately became crazy, as if they had eaten chicken blood. They held their guns and roared forward, charging faster and faster.
In the blink of an eye, the distance between the two sides shortened to 500 meters.
The Eighth Route Army had just finished its assembly. Carrying guns, heavy machine guns and mortars, they rushed out of the camp in a panic.
Seeing this scene, the chief of staff immediately thought of four words: run away.
The smile on his face grew wider and he continued to order: "The Eighth Route Army is about to run, catch up and kill them."
"We have a lot of people. They only have three hundred people. There will definitely be no traps on the road. Let me chase them as fast as possible and kill them."
There are nearly a thousand Japanese and puppet troops and nearly three hundred Eighth Route Army troops. Both sides are chasing each other and rush forward without risking their lives.
The chief of staff became more and more relieved as he chased after her, and the smile on his face became thicker and thicker.
After chasing for more than ten miles, other than the temporary booby traps arranged by the Eighth Route Army, we encountered no other dangers.
It shows that my judgment is correct. The Eighth Route Army really only has the few people left in front, and it is no longer possible to separate the troops to attack me and ambush me.
The terrain on both sides of the mountain road is getting gentler and gentler.
They are all small hills with an altitude of less than fifty meters, and there is not even a place to hide people...
Everything made the chief of staff feel good and believed that there would be no danger in the subsequent pursuit and the troops could move forward boldly with confidence.
In the blink of an eye, the troops chased forward for another hour.
The chief of staff clearly felt that the physical strength of his subordinates was declining again. His face was red and his neck was thick, and he was breathing heavily. The pursuit speed was also much faster.
Fortunately, the Eighth Route Army's escape speed was also slow.
The distance between the two sides actually shortened from more than 500 meters at the beginning to less than 400 meters. The forward troops could already see the Eighth Route Army rear troops.
"Speed up, we will soon catch up with them." The chief of staff drew his command knife and shouted loudly.
Then he gritted his teeth, breathed heavily, and sped up, setting an example for his subordinates.
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