"Platoon commander, a Japanese and puppet army is heading towards Dongzhuang..." A soldier rushed to the platoon leader of the seventh company and reported.
The face of a guerrilla captain next to him suddenly changed, and he cried out: "No, the folks in Dongzhuang haven't been transferred yet."
"Because it was far away from the road, we judged that the Japanese would definitely not pass. Moreover, our mass base there was too poor, making it very difficult to move, so we did not move."
The platoon leader was anxious.
The distance of five kilometers can be covered by a quick march of forty minutes.
This little time is definitely not enough for everyone to convince all the hundreds of villagers to leave the village.
He immediately ordered: "Then why are you still standing there? Immediately contact all nearby guerrillas, be sure to rush into the village in front of the Japanese, and then mobilize the people to move."
"If there are villagers who don't listen, the guerrillas will take them out of the village."
"Follow me the main force and local troops, and hold off the Japanese for at least two hours at all costs to buy time for the villagers to move."
"Da da da……"
Gunfire soon rang out on the high ground next to the Japanese commandos.
To the platoon leader's dismay, the Japanese commandos did not stop, but split into two.
The main force continued its rapid march toward Dongzhuang along the path. Under the supervision of a few Japanese soldiers, more than thirty puppet troops broke away from the army and rushed towards the top of the mountain.
The expression on the platoon leader's face became more solemn.
A flash of excitement flashed across the face of the deputy platoon leader. Before the platoon leader could speak, he looked eager to fight and said: "Platoon leader, the Japs sent over thirty puppet troops and several Japs to supervise the battle. They just put it on our lips."
I suggest you ignore the main force of the Japs and eat this Japanese and puppet army."
From the perspective of guerrilla tactics, the deputy platoon leader's proposal is definitely the best.
Seize the opportunity, take advantage of the weak, kill one enemy group with minimal casualties, and then find a way to deal with their main force.
But the platoon leader refused.
"no!"
"We can definitely swallow the thirty or so puppet troops in one go, but if we swallow them, the folks in Dongzhuang will be in misery!"
The deputy platoon leader still didn't want to let this fighter go. He hesitated and reminded: "Maybe things are not as bad as we thought."
"This is not a base area. To a certain extent, the villagers are good citizens in the eyes of the Japanese. Even if the Japanese go to Dongzhuang, they probably won't be cruel to the villagers."
"Otherwise, the villagers will hate them so much that even if the Japanese occupy this place again in the future, they will not get the support of the villagers."
"If I were a little devil commander, I would definitely not do such a thing that would destroy my own foundation."
The platoon leader shook his head and replied: "But you are not a little devil."
"If every kid could think like you, then there wouldn't be so many soldiers and civilians being brutally killed by the devils in our base areas and the kid-occupied areas."
"The head of the regiment said that the policy of obscuring the people implemented by the little devils in our country has always been a combination of kindness and force. Only when there is a threat will there be kindness, and in the end the villagers are forced to become obedient people."
"And we can't afford to gamble on this."
"There are nearly 300 people in Dongzhuang, which means 300 lives."
"If we lose the bet for dozens of puppet troops, these 300 lives will probably be lost."
"When the time comes, our platoon will become criminals. No matter how many little devils we kill, we will not be able to save the lives of hundreds of villagers."
"So we can't fight this puppet army. The troops will immediately move around and go in front of the Japanese to stop them head-on."
"The Japanese would rather go to Dongzhuang if dozens of puppet soldiers were eaten by us. There must be some ulterior conspiracy."
"No matter what the conspiracy is, our mission is just one, to hold them back at all costs and buy time for the guerrillas to clear the country."
A small high ground stuck next to the road is the next battlefield.
As soon as the troops arrived, the Japanese rushed over.
"It's too late to build positions. The troops will disperse immediately. Find positions by yourself and block them at all costs for at least half an hour before retreating." The platoon leader squatted behind a stone and ordered in a deep voice.
The box cannon in his hand has been replaced by a rifle, which is mounted on a rock and steadily aimed at the approaching Japs on the mountain road.
The supplementary soldier he brought with him squatted next to him, feeling very nervous. Although he held the rifle in his hand, the muzzle of the gun kept trembling.
This was their first face-to-face battle with the Japanese as the Eighth Route Army.
You know, these Japs were still their masters two months ago, and their strong fighting power has always been imprinted in their hearts.
He was about to fight against these former masters, and he didn't have any advantage yet, so it was impossible not to be nervous.
"do not be afraid."
The platoon leader freed his right hand, patted the rifle in the hand of the supplementary soldier and comforted him.
"Japanese have nothing to be afraid of. Just like us, they all carry a head on two shoulders."
"If a bullet flies past and hits the target, it will definitely kill them."
"Stay steady, you can fight like you normally do after training for a while, three points and one line, aim at the Japanese, if you can't aim at the head, aim at the chest, even a single bullet can kill them."
"But there is one thing, you must pay attention to concealment."
"No matter whether the shot hits the target or not, squat down immediately and take cover."
"The Japs' marksmanship is more accurate than ours. If you squat and play, the Japs will definitely be used as live targets and shot in the head."
After finishing speaking, the platoon leader picked up the rifle again.
By this time, the Japs at the front had already rushed fifty meters away.
Within a hundred meters, at least fifty Japs had gathered.
The platoon leader aimed directly at a Japanese squad leader who had just entered a hundred meters away.
"boom……"
Gunshots rang out, and the squad leader was shot in the chest and fell to the ground.
The platoon leader reacted quickly and immediately pulled the bolt of the gun, pushed the second bullet into the chamber, and simply aimed to determine the vulnerability of the trigger.
At this time, gunshots were heard all around, including rifles, machine guns, and a heavy machine gun.
The Japanese reacted faster than he expected. As soon as the second bullet was fired, a string of machine gun bullets flew towards him.
The supplementary soldier obviously forgot what he had just explained.
After pulling the trigger, he was stunned on the spot.
The platoon leader subconsciously retracted his head and shouted loudly.
"Hidden, squat down..."
Without stopping, he grabbed the belt of the replacement soldier and pulled it back.
The supplementary soldier was caught off guard and fell to the ground on his back. The bullet hit just at this moment.
Some flew backwards against the rocks, and finally stuck into the soil behind them, and some hit the rocks, causing dust to fly and sparks to fly.
This supplementary soldier was lucky and survived because of his platoon leader. Other supplementary soldiers and veterans with slower reactions were not so lucky.
Soldiers continued to be killed.
On the other hand, the Japanese had more than a hundred rifles, four light machine guns, and one heavy machine gun. They suddenly shot at the Japanese, but they only killed less than thirty Japanese.
All the other Japs were slumped in the bushes beside the mountain road, holding rifles and machine guns, and shooting at their subordinates.