Chapter 21

The left and right wing defensive lines of the main position on the summit of Mount Cangyun.

"Company Commander, these damned little devils are disgusting; even though they're dead, they destroyed all weapons and supplies, damn it, leaving me with hardly any spoils this time."

A soldier, holding the recently captured Type 38 rifle, swept the battlefield while telling his company commander.

"What are you complaining about, kid? With this little spoil you still want to share it with sister units; if the regimental commander finds out, he'll surely curse again."

Through Li Yunlong's gamble-like command, the Eighth Route Army won a complete victory on the left and right defensive lines: first, using favorable terrain and new weapons to catch the devils off guard, then successfully holding them off until the st Regiment and nd Regiment arrived as reinforcements.

The supporting sister units, plus the original garrison and reserve, totaled only six hundred men, yet they killed nearly eight hundred devil soldiers and seized some spoils; fewer than two hundred of those devils who sneak-attacked the left and right lines could make it back.

Moreover, the strategic significance of this blocking battle is also great: the Sakata Regiment's Devil 4th Brigade, 3rd Regiment is a full-strength infantry regiment of 3,800 devils, an elite unit of the devils in Shanxi, equipped with seventy-six grenade launchers and mortars, about fourteen field and mountain guns, and a combined total of twenty-six hundred light and heavy machine guns and rifles, not to mention over five hundred horses.

However, after the initial blocking action and just now's big defeat, this full-strength devil regiment was reduced to twenty-four hundred men. Having suffered a heavy loss, Sakata Ishichi will surely set aside his contempt, rally his troops together to prevent being picked off one by one by the Eighth Route Army's three regiments. In this way, the 386th Brigade's rearguard mission was satisfactorily completed.

On the other side, the devil's perspective.

At that time, Sakata Ishichi was leisurely sitting in his forward headquarters, believing his arrangement had completely fooled the Eighth Route Army. All he needed to do was wait for his two battalion commanders to occupy the enemy's left and right positions; once he saw the victory signals from both units, he could turn the feint into a main attack on the front battlefield, coordinating with the two battalions to annihilate these country Eighth Route soldiers.

Although at the start of the battle it seemed the opposing commander had left a reserve, Sakata Ishichi wasn't overly worried, given the strong combat capability of his two battalions; even if they encountered an Eighth Route ambush, they could still accomplish the mission perfectly, because the equipment and individual fighting quality gap cannot be bridged by fighting spirit alone.

But not long after, Sakata Ishichi had to accept the bad news that his recent attack mission had failed: the two battalions had retreated in disgrace, with only about two hundred locust troops left.

This old devil was nearly furious to the point of apoplexy, his old face showing an unhealthy flush, as if he wanted to write "what the hell is this situation" on his face. His doubt didn't last long; just a few minutes later, among the locust troops that had fled back, a company commander came to the headquarters to report the situation.

This devil company commander was also in a miserable state: not only had half of his left palm been shrapnel-scraped away, but his face also suffered extensive burns. After returning to the regiment, he received only a simple treatment before being escorted here.

"Your Excellency Colonel, our Kazama Battalion, under the battalion commander's leadership, launched an attack on the Eighth Route Army's left and right positions according to the original plan. However, we encountered fierce resistance, and the enemy used a large number of new-type hand grenades; the Kazama Battalion commander was killed on the spot. Afterwards, at least one enemy company appeared from our rear, and our battalion suffered over half casualties in the ensuing crossfire."

The devil company commander's face turned ashen with cold sweat pouring down, whether from pain or fear unknown, yet he still lowered his head and closed his eyes.

"Baka!" Sakata Ishichi slapped the company commander's face, then regardless of whether this devil could still speak, he continued asking, "What is this new-type hand grenade you speak of?"

"The beaten devil company commander struggled to stand straight and said: "This grenade is unlike the junk the Eighth Route used before; its power is astonishingly great,"

"and after detonation it produces a large amount of shrapnel and some unknown liquid that can burn soldiers."

"That's no excuse for your defeat! Next time you charge, you must be at the front to redeem your battalion's honor" Sakata Ishichi waved his hand, and the devil company commander was taken away.

At this moment, a Japanese army lieutenant colonel carrying documents walked toward Sakata Ishichi.

"Report to the regiment commander, the brigade commander is calling!"

Sakata Ishichi first looked at the terrain map, then said to the lieutenant colonel: "Read."

"Lieutenant Colonel Puyou unfolded the document and said to Sakata: "According to reliable intelligence, the enemy directly before your unit is the main force of the 129th Division of the 18th Group Army of China. The North China Front Army Command orders your regiment to seize the summit of Mount Cangyun by noon. You must annihilate the defending enemy, leaving none alive. Long live the Heavenly Locust Majesty, long live the Great Japanese Locust Army.""

"Seeing Sakata Ishichi silent, adjutant Lieutenant Colonel Puyou tentatively said to him: "Regiment commander, I just went to ask the withdrawn soldiers. Their battalion commander, wanting to seize credit, didn't maintain even a skirmish line during the charge, and when ambushed he failed to reorganize the troops for an immediate counterattack. These two pig beasts didn't even conduct prior reconnaissance; it's due to command error that so many of our country's soldiers have been slaughtered. Moreover, the enemy seems to lack heavy weapons, at most a few mortars; judging from gunfire, their firepower is sparse. In my view, committing a single battalion's strength is sufficient.""

After a day of fighting, exchanging many rounds, the entire regiment suffered over a thousand casualties. Even Sakata Ishichi had to admit that the enemy commander defending the Mount Cangyun summit position was a remarkable figure, and his troops were a tough nut to crack. Sakata Ishichi had long since set aside his prejudice against the Eighth Route Army.

"Puyou, let me ask you. Do you know which regiment of the Eighth Route Army's 129th Division is occupying the main position on Mount Cangyun?"

"Seeing Lieutenant Colonel Puyou's troubled expression, Sakata Ishichi continued: 'We've been fighting half a day and still haven't figured out the designation of our front-line enemy. You just called those two battalion commanders pig beasts, yet how is your behavior any different from theirs? One battalion? From the start of the battle to now, I've already lost an entire battalion.'"

"Yes, regiment commander, your admonition is correct; I will shortly order each squad to try to capture a prisoner for interrogation."

In the end, Sakata Ishichi still opposed Lieutenant Colonel Puyou's suggestion, demanding that aside from leaving necessary troops to monitor the Eighth Route Army on both flanks, all remaining forces should simultaneously attack the Mount Cangyun summit position.

"The Eighth Route Army opposite us has established a trench system consisting of several trenches connected by communication trenches, with troops deployed in depth in echelons. Fighting positions, machine gun bunkers, and other fortifications are arranged quite reasonably. The firepower arrangement and obstacles are also well developed, with a strong reserve in hand, forming a firepower system centered on infantry weapons, combined with artillery."

"In combat against the locust troops, tactics such as counter-charge and counterattack have been used extensively."

"Moreover, we haven't captured a single prisoner all day, which shows strong fighting spirit; therefore this time we must exert our full effort and not underestimate the enemy again."

"However, although the enemy is strong, we are stronger. No matter how ingenious their firepower arrangement, it cannot conceal their shortage of firepower: they have few heavy machine guns, and the number of their light machine guns is less than that of one of our battalions. Moreover, after a day of fighting their ammunition must surely be running low. Hmph, one thousand against twenty-four hundred—the advantage is ours!"

At this moment, the staff officers in the headquarters also began to echo.

"Exactly! No matter how strong an ant may be, it remains an ant. During our previous feint, the enemy's firepower points were much fewer, and their mortars didn't hit our heavy machine guns; they have already run out of ammunition and supplies."

"This time we have truly faced the enemy; let's concentrate our forces and break through them!"

Today we will definitely capture the enemy's position!

Ban Tian Xin Zhe looked satisfied at the high-spirited crowd and said: "Tell the assault units, it's best to capture this person alive; I want to see what kind of person this is!"