At the Zhangzhuang guerrilla station, captain Zhang Youcheng had a serious look on his face. It had been going on for almost two days.
Whenever he had free time, he would sit at the table with a frown on his face, thinking about nothing without saying a word.
Logically speaking, now that the guerrillas are developing well, he should be happy.
Because since the capture of Zhangzhuang Suihui, the strength of the guerrillas has expanded rapidly, and many young people from nearby villages came here to join the guerrillas and fight the Japanese because they had grudges against the Japanese.
Before the Japanese army launched its raids, the guerrillas had already expanded to more than 40 people, and were also equipped with a light machine gun. They were definitely the strongest guerrillas in the surrounding areas.
Cooperate with the main force in counter-mopping up and drive the Japanese mopping up troops out of the guerrilla activity area.
The total strength of the guerrilla force increased instead of decreasing, further expanding to 58 people, equipped with 41 guns, one light machine gun, and five box guns. The overall strength was greatly enhanced.
However, problems also came one after another.
With more guns and more people, more ammunition will be consumed when fighting.
The guerrillas relied entirely on captured ammunition to support them, and the limited ammunition simply could not withstand this rate of consumption.
Although the main force left several hundred rounds of ammunition for itself before retreating, there were so many guerrillas that on average, less than thirty rounds were given to each team member.
If the Japanese attack again and the main force fails to reinforce in time, this little ammunition may not last even a day.
Zhang Youcheng is now frowning and thinking hard, just thinking about this issue.
The guerrillas are a bunch of new recruits who know nothing but shooting.
Without bullets, the rifle is no better than a fire stick on the battlefield, and everyone has lost their life-saving capital.
If you encounter a Japanese enemy, you will definitely be killed without even a chance to fight back.
In order to prevent everyone from dying in vain after confronting the Japs, he must do everything possible to prepare a sufficient amount of ammunition for the troops before the Japs launch the next raid.
The first thought that came to my mind was to ask for help from the regiment headquarters.
But this idea was rejected by him as soon as it came up.
He didn't know the real situation of the garrison, but he knew the situation of the old army.
In the old army, the main force sometimes had no ammunition, let alone support the guerrillas.
So he gave up the idea of asking for help from his superiors and decided to be self-sufficient.
easy to say, hard to do.
Only the Japanese and puppet troops nearby had ammunition, and all the Japanese and puppet troops were huddled in their strongholds. Unless the strongholds were captured, they would not be able to grab a single bullet.
It is obviously impossible to capture the stronghold.
The smallest stronghold nearby also has a Japanese squadron and a puppet battalion.
Even if all the nearby guerrillas were mobilized, they would not be able to take it down.
Zhang Youcheng also thought of luring the snake out of the hole, killing a few Japanese and puppet troops outside the stronghold, and seizing the ammunition on them, so that a little would make a lot.
But the Japanese and puppet troops were too cautious.
Either we don't dispatch, or if we dispatch, it will take two to three hundred people together. I can't chew such a big bone with my small number of people.
Even if you use guerrilla warfare and sneak attacks to kill a few enemies.
The Japanese and puppet troops would also take all the corpses, weapons and ammunition back to their strongholds when retreating, without giving themselves a chance.
As a result, after one operation, not only did not a single bullet be seized, but several were used. The gain outweighed the loss.
After both methods were rejected, no matter how hard Zhang Youcheng racked his brains, he could not think of a third solution.
At this time, the deputy captain suddenly rushed in, followed by a young man, dressed as a vendor selling goods in the streets.
"Captain, the traffic officer who was contacted by our superiors is here."
Then he pointed to the young man behind him and introduced: "He is the traffic officer sent by the superior. He brought a letter of introduction. I have confirmed it. It is genuine. Comrade Gong Haoyun, this is our captain Zhang Youcheng. The superior sent you here. Do you have any?"
Task."
Gong Haoyun quickly saluted and reported: "Hello, Captain Zhang."
"The mission is still the same as before and has not changed. I am here to convey another order from the regiment headquarters."
"Considering that the guerrillas captured little in combat and lacked ammunition, the regiment headquarters issued a special order to solve this problem for you."
"The regiment leader asked you to find ways to consume the ammunition in the hands of the Japanese and puppet troops, collect the bullet casings they left on the battlefield, and then return the bullet casings to the base area to exchange for bullets."
"Five bullet casings are exchanged for one bullet, whether it is 79-caliber or 65-caliber."
Zhang Youcheng's frown suddenly relaxed, he stared at the traffic officer and asked: "Comrade Gong Haoyun, what you said is true. We can really use bullet casings to exchange bullets at the base area."
"It's true. I'm sure that as long as the bullet casings are returned to the base, five bullet casings can be exchanged for one bullet." Gong Haoyun nodded and confirmed.
"Very good……"
Zhang Youcheng shouted excitedly.
"I was worried about how to get ammunition for the guerrillas, and the regiment headquarters helped us solve the problem."
"Bullet casings are easy to handle. As long as we are willing, we can get as many as we want."
"Vice-captain, if I remember correctly, the last counter-mopping operation lasted for three whole days, and the exchange of fire between us and the Japanese did not stop."
"I estimate that by sending people over now and collecting along the marching route of the Japanese and puppet troops, four to five thousand bullet casings will definitely be found."
"In this way, we will act separately."
"Leave me the squad with the strongest combat effectiveness, and you can take the remaining squads to collect bullet casings."
The vice-captain did not move, and asked with a worried look: "Captain, where are you?"
"Of course I'm going to ask the kid for bullet casings," Zhang Youcheng replied with a sneer.
"We can't get the bullets the Japs are equipped with, but I have plenty of bullet casings and I can get my hands on them."
"Call the squad leader over immediately, I have a task for him."
In the Japanese and puppet stronghold of Chengguan Town, the low morale of the attacking troops recovered after two days of rest.
The squadron leader regained his energy and began to consider the issue of the troops entering the guerrilla activity area for the second time.
"Bang bang..."
Several gunshots suddenly rang out outside the stronghold, followed by a scream from the top of the turret.
"Sir, it was the Eighth Route Army guerrillas who attacked us. One sentry on duty on the roof was killed and one was injured." The second lieutenant hurried over and reported.
"Bageya Road, cunning guerrillas, I was thinking about how to launch a new round of raids to kill them, but I didn't expect them to come to my door."
"Now that you're here, don't leave."
"The 1st and 2nd infantry squads, the mortar squadron, the heavy machine gun squadron, and the 1st company of the Imperial Army, follow me immediately and kill them."
"The others stay at the stronghold."
"According to intelligence, the three offensive forces that re-entered the area occupied by the imperial army are not active in this area. We just took the opportunity to kill the nearby guerrillas."
Outside the stronghold, Zhang Youcheng looked serious.
What he is most worried about now is that the Japanese will remain cowardly and not come out!
In this case, no matter how much ammunition you consume, you will not get a single bullet casing in the end.
Keep your eyes on the gate of the stronghold, praying that it will open soon.
"Captain, the Japs are out." A squad leader suddenly shouted, his face full of excitement.
"More than a hundred Japanese soldiers, more than a hundred puppet troops, and they also brought heavy machine guns and mortars. They came just in time." Zhang Youcheng also had a smile on his face.
Immediately ordered: "Squad leader Li, take two people to run in front of the Japanese, shoot twice from time to time, and lead the Japanese to look uphill. The others follow me, bring the prepared things, and meet them there for a while."
"Bang bang...ta da da..."
Looking up the hill is a hilly area. As soon as the Japanese and puppet troops walked in, a series of gunshots rang out on the hilltop flanking the troops. There were rifles and machine guns.
Bullets flew over, and the Japanese reacted quickly. Four people were still killed or wounded.
"Counterattack, machine gun fire immediately, repel them." The squadron leader subconsciously ordered, and then a pair of eyes began to shine.
"There are machine guns on the mountain. We must have encountered the main force of the guerrillas."
"All machine guns fired, suppressing them with firepower."
"The first team will circle around and outflank them. The second team and the Imperial Alliance Army will attack from the front and kill them."
The emergence of machine guns gave the squadron leader the opportunity to wipe out all the enemies, and he decided to seize it and kill them here.
The heavy machine gun was quickly set up and opened fire on the hilltop where the gunshot was fired.
The six light machine guns equipped by the two teams were not far behind, firing bullets into the mountains as if they were free.
The riflemen shot while charging toward the hilltop.
"Da da da……"
The sound of gunfire on the hilltop has not stopped, especially the sound of machine guns, which is very dense.
Seeing that the guerrillas ran away without starting the fight like before, the smile on the squadron leader's face grew wider. He seemed to have seen the scene of the guerrillas being killed by him, and continued to shout.
"Fire with grenades and kill their machine guns. Our machine guns will continue to increase their firepower and cover the infantry assault. We will first encircle them and then eat them. This time, nothing can be done to prevent them from escaping again."
"Boom boom boom..."
Explosions soon sounded on the high ground, and the intensive gunfire finally stopped.
Five minutes later, the attacking troops also successfully rushed up the hill.
But the squadron leader was disappointed again.
Apart from a dozen bullet casings, there was not a single guerrilla on the hilltop.
No, there is a steaming iron bucket, which is full of paper scraps produced by the explosion of firecrackers.
It turns out that except for the fact that the gunshots were real at first, they were all caused by exploding firecrackers.
It was equivalent to attacking for a long time, but the target turned out to be a tin bucket filled with firecrackers.
The squadron leader obviously understood all this, his face immediately turned the color of pig liver, and anger was boiling out, like a powder keg that could explode at any time.
In the end, he endured it, because the entire attack was decided and ordered by him, and there was no target if he wanted to get angry.
He asked solemnly: "Have you found the guerrillas' retreat route?"
"Hi." The second lieutenant team leader lowered his head and replied.
Knowing that the squadron leader was very angry right now, I didn't say any nonsense.
The squadron leader decided to vent his anger on the guerrillas that he had not yet caught up with, and immediately ordered: "Then what are you waiting for? Let's pursue them immediately."
"The machine guns are here, and their main force must be here too."