The familiar sound of landmine explosions sounded on the highway again, and Watanabe knew what was going on ahead without even thinking about it.
He frowned and began to give orders: "The engineering team will set off immediately to reinforce the forward troops and clear mines. I don't want the troops to suffer any more casualties due to mines!"
"Hi!" the adjutant immediately responded.
The marching speed, which was still very fast just now, suddenly slowed down to less than half of what it was before. Almost every few hundred meters forward, we had to stop and rest for at least ten minutes.
Watanabe knew that matters such as demining could not be rushed. In addition, the Eighth Route Army used non-ferrous stone and ceramic mines, so there was no need to rush.
Although their explosive power is not great, it is enough to injure people.
Watanabe didn't want the independent battalion to be filled with wounded before he had a decisive battle with him.
Unable to move faster, Watanabe simply leaned on the seat of the armored vehicle, intending to close his eyes and rest in order to have enough energy to deal with the possible decisive battle that would follow.
"Boom boom..."
As soon as his eyes closed, two explosions rang in his ears.
Watanabe suddenly opened his eyes, his face changed and he shouted: "This is an artillery shell explosion, not a mine!"
"Yes, sir!" The adjutant next to him also changed his expression.
"And it's an 81mm mortar shell made by the Empire. The artillery position is about one kilometer away from us. I immediately ordered the artillery to counterattack!"
Before the adjutant could move, Watanabe frowned and interrupted: "No, counterattack is not only useless, but also a waste of precious shells that we already have few!"
"If I'm not wrong, the independent battalion is repeating its old tactics, using the same method it used to deal with us during the day yesterday to continue sneak attacks on us!"
"Bageya Road, these Eighth Route Army soldiers are more cunning than foxes. When I force them out, I must personally chop them up and cut them into pieces, otherwise I will not be able to vent the anger in my heart!"
As soon as Watanabe finished cursing angrily, a second lieutenant communications officer rushed over, breathing heavily.
"Sir, the second squadron of the third squadron was shelled, and there were six casualties, two of them were imperial soldiers, one was killed and the other was wounded!"
"When the shell exploded, the reconnaissance and search troops on both sides of the road were also attacked!"
"There were eight casualties in total, four of them were imperial soldiers, all died in battle, and they were all killed with one shot!"
"By the time we determined the enemy's position and prepared to counterattack, they were already so far away that we couldn't even see their shadows!"
The adjutant looked at Watanabe with admiration and said, "Sir, your judgment is correct. The Independent Battalion is indeed repeating its old tricks!"
"Shoulder us from a long distance, and use the sound of artillery to cover up the sharpshooters to sneak attack on us!"
"We must find a way to stop this, otherwise we will definitely suffer huge losses along the way!"
"What should we do next? Sir, please give me an order!"
Watanabe frowned and looked solemn, thinking for several minutes before making a decision.
"Speed up the march and get to the next village as soon as possible!"
"It would be best if we can find ordinary people there, capture them all, and put them at the front of the team to clear mines for us, forcing the Eighth Route Army to give up the use of landmines!"
"If you can't find the people, then continue to rush to another village. The only task is to set fire!"
"Burn all the villages we pass along the way to ashes. The more the better, and force the independent battalion to come out and fight us as soon as possible!"
"He ordered the baggage troops to bring out a few carts and a dozen mules and horses, and then dispatched a company of the Imperial Army to drive the mules, horses and carts to the front to clear mines for the main force, and directly detonate the mines buried by the Eighth Route Army on the road.
, ensure the safety of the main force!"
"Forward troops, keep an eye on those puppet troops!"
"Normally, you eat and use the imperial army. When it's time to fight, you must fight hard. No one can retreat, even if it costs their own lives!"
"If any puppet soldier disobeys military orders and does not go against the thunder, he will be killed without mercy!"
"In addition, tell them that we must get there before the people in the village move away. Only if we catch dozens of people there will I have someone to replace them!"
"Otherwise they will have no choice but to keep wading through mines in front of the team until the independent battalion is forced out, or they will all be killed and injured by the mines and unable to move forward!"
The enemy changed and we changed, and after seeing every move of the Japanese and puppet troops, Li Hao made a decision at that time.
"Inform the district team to continue laying landmines, and to lay more mines. Since these puppet soldiers are willing to sacrifice their lives for the little devils, let's teach them a lesson they will never forget!"
"The power of our home-made landmines is not very powerful. They rarely kill people, but they can injure people and cause them to lose their combat effectiveness. Taking the opportunity to let these puppet soldiers shed some blood can not only scare them, but also make them know that our Eighth Route Army will not do anything because they are Chinese.
And showing mercy can make them dissatisfied with the Japs, alienate them, and shake their military morale and morale!"
"Tell Xiao Yuan and Chen Wei that their method of sneak attack on the Japanese is very good, and let them keep up their efforts and try to kill another 200 days of puppet troops today!"
"The others continued to set off with me. The road ahead was getting more and more bumpy. I decided to treat Watanabe well on that section of the road!"
The troops were marching faster and faster. Although explosions continued to sound, the marching speed was not affected.
The shells falling from the sky continued to hit, but because the troops were marching very fast, the casualties and the frequency of attacks were obviously lower than before.
After listening to the adjutant's report, Watanabe was very satisfied with his decision, and a smile appeared on his face involuntarily.
"Da da da……"
The sudden gunfire from the forward troops caused the smile on Major Watanabe's face to freeze on the spot.
Then I saw a lieutenant rushing towards me: "Sir, there are Eighth Route Army blocking troops ahead!"
"The forward troops were suddenly attacked and suffered heavy losses. They have retreated and are requesting reinforcements!"
"Baga, are they all a bunch of pigs? They were not noticed despite the blocking troops standing in front of them?" Watanabe yelled.
The lieutenant quickly replied: "The forward troops reported that the enemy was hiding in the woods on the mountainside beside the road, and no trenches were dug. That's why they were suddenly attacked without any notice!"
"Command the 2nd Infantry Squadron and the 2nd Battalion of the Imperial Association Army to attack immediately." Watanabe ordered with a stern face.
"The mortar squadron, the heavy machine gun squadron, and the second squadron of the armored squadron that cooperates with the forward troops will provide fire cover. Kill them for me within half an hour!"
"Boom boom boom..."
The explosion soon sounded on the mountainside where the Independence Battalion was hiding.
After nine mortars fired more than a hundred shells in succession, it took more than two hundred days for the puppet troops to begin their attack under the cover of heavy machine guns.
To their disappointment, no gunshots were heard from there until the attacking troops occupied the mountainside.
"The cunning Eighth Route Army must have escaped during the shelling just now!" Watanabe judged with a frown.
Followed by the order: "The attacking force leaves a guard post, everyone else withdraws, and we continue to move forward."
"Da da da... boom boom boom..."
Before the adjutant could take the order, gunfire rang out again, still in the woods halfway up the mountain, and there was an explosion in the middle.
Watanabe couldn't sit still at this time. He got out of the armored vehicle like a monkey and raised his binoculars to look at the mountainside.
The attacking force was retreating, but was being driven back.
The forest on the mountainside was so dense that Watanabe couldn't see very clearly even with a telescope.
But the gunshots coming from halfway up the mountain made him worried and very worried about the attacking troops.
The gunfire was so intense that at least ten light machine guns were chasing the attacking troops.
On the other hand, when looking at the attacking force, an infantry squad of the Imperial Army and a company of the Imperial Alliance Army only had five machine guns, and their firepower was less than half of the opponent's.
More importantly, the opponent occupies the terrain advantage and shoots from a high position, so the attacking troops can only be passively beaten!
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