Chapter 455: Strengthen Precautions to Prepare for the Unexpected

After returning to his unit, Pingyuan Yilang immediately reported to Brigade Commander Shanyuan Dashan the news that Yamamoto Ichiki, leading the Special Forces, had successfully taken the National Revolutionary Army's forward outpost.

Upon hearing the entire course of the battle, Shanyuan Dashan's eyes widened; he had not expected Yamamoto Ichiki's Special Forces to possess such remarkable capabilities.

"So desu ne!" Shanyuan Dashan exclaimed in admiration: "It seems I still underestimated the strength of Yamamoto-kun."

Sonoda Meiling said from the side: "Your Excellency Brigade Commander, we still cannot underestimate the power of the Special Forces!"

"As the saying goes, even a person walking can trip; one unfavorable operation by Yamamoto-kun's Special Forces cannot completely negate their combat effectiveness."

"Miss Meiling, you are right!" After Shanyuan Dashan replied, he immediately ordered his Adjutant: "Order the artillery units to advance immediately and set up the artillery positions."

"Report to the Division Commander, the telephone line has been unreachable."

For now, Yamamoto felt he should first guard this outpost well and wait for the Imperial Army to arrive before doing anything else.

At this moment, Yamamoto Ichiki looked like a bloodthirsty beast, a sharp glint emerging from his eyes; by launching a surprise attack on the enemy command post and throwing the National Revolutionary Army's command system into chaos, Yamamoto Ichiki chose to wash away his shame.

At the National Revolutionary Army's forward outpost, Yamamoto took a look at the positions they had set up and discovered that the National Revolutionary Army's strength was mainly concentrated on the front and sides.

There were no defensive forces at the cliff in the rear, and seeing this, Yamamoto's mind became active: if he led the Special Forces to sneak behind the National Revolutionary Army and take out their command post.

The Shanyuan Dashan Brigade had reinforced its artillery configuration, possessing not only Mountain Guns and Field Guns but also large-caliber Howitzers, and in particular, the Shanyuan Dashan Brigade also had 150 mm Heavy Artillery.

"Your Excellency Brigade Commander!" Yamamoto naturally understood Shanyuan Dashan's subtext: "I want to lead the Special Forces to launch a surprise attack on the National Revolutionary Army's command post."

After hearing this, Wang Yaowu said: "The forward outpost has likely been taken out by the Japanese Army; being able to wipe out the forward outpost without anyone noticing shows that the Japanese Army's reconnaissance unit is very capable."

"Adjutant Luo mentioned at the time that the soldiers of the Sichuan Army's Special Operations Battalion were also the best of the best, yet a Reinforced Company of Special Forces members was actually beaten by the Japanese Army until only a dozen or so survived."

"But!" Yamamoto's face became ferocious: "I can lead the Special Forces to climb up from the cliff, launch a surprise attack on the National Revolutionary Army's command post, and destroy their command system; I am still interested in this point."

"Oh... so it is Yamamoto-kun!" Shanyuan Dashan responded coldly: "The war is busy now, Yamamoto-kun, say what you have to say quickly, I still need to hurry and handle military affairs."

Although according to the Japanese Army's Infantry Manual, the Japanese soldiers usually set up camp and do not fight at night!

However, this is an extraordinary time, because the 6th Division is trapped in the Sichuan Army's encirclement, and the Independent Mixed Brigade must go to rescue them.

"The outpost didn't even fire a shot; this group of Japanese soldiers is not simple!"

Li Zhengxian shouted loudly!

On this highland, his defensive fortifications had not yet been completely renovated, and now, facing the Japanese Army's powerful artillery fire, many trenches had directly collapsed.

"I think Old Feng is right; our forward outpost being wiped out by the Japanese Army this time was also likely done by this group of Japanese soldiers."

This will inevitably cause chaos in the National Revolutionary Army's command system, allowing the Imperial Army to defeat the enemy in one go and take these two highlands.

Yamamoto Ichiki arrived at the Brigade command post, "Your Excellency Brigade Commander!"

"Usually, after our Imperial Army uses infantry for probing attacks and then artillery bombardment, doing this a few times, the opponent will definitely collapse."

Sonoda Meiling, who was on the side, heard Yamamoto Ichiki's plan and also expressed: "Your Excellency Brigade Commander, I think Yamamoto-kun's plan is feasible."

Shanyuan Dashan put down the Telescope in his hand and dispatched an infantry battalion to conduct a probing attack.

"From the probing fire of the battalion just now, it can be seen that the National Revolutionary Army opposite is the elite of Chang Kaishen."

"This group of Japanese soldiers has good combat capabilities, caused heavy casualties to the Sichuan Army, and furthermore, they slipped away."

"The combat effectiveness of this group of Japanese soldiers has far exceeded that of ordinary Japanese soldiers; we must attach importance to it."

"To hell with what Special Operations Squad!" Wang Yaowu was very angry, "In front of me, if he comes, I will still use a Machine Gun to mow him down."

"Brigade Commander, I, Yamamoto Ichiki, naturally know that the opponent has tens of thousands of people; I don't have such a big appetite to swallow so many of them!"

"Adjutant Luo mentioned to us that a group of well-equipped Japanese soldiers put on our uniforms, preparing to ambush the Sichuan Army."

Now that the battle had begun, there were no seniors in the army, so Yamamoto Ichiki could only call Shanyuan Dashan Brigade Commander.

"Hai!" Shanyuan Dashan's Adjutant nodded and bowed as he left.

"I can!" Yamamoto Ichiki responded decisively: "Your Excellency Brigade Commander, look here!"

The Japanese Army's artillery fire stopped, and Li Zhengxian knew that after the Japanese artillery stopped, the Japanese infantry would be coming up next, so he had the front-line troops get ready.

"Tens of thousands of National Revolutionary Army troops?" Shanyuan Dashan looked at Yamamoto Ichiki playfully: "Yamamoto-kun, your Special Forces only have a dozen people left; with this number, can you take on their tens of thousands of people?!"

Thirty minutes later, the Japanese Army unit launched an artillery strike on the National Revolutionary Army's positions on time.

Therefore, the Japanese Army's 24 75 mm Mountain Guns launched an artillery strike on the National Revolutionary Army's positions.

Fortunately, Li Zhengxian did not place too many troops on the front-line fortifications, otherwise, they would have all become live targets for the Japanese Army by now.

"Thirty minutes later, I want to launch a full-scale attack on the National Revolutionary Army's positions!!"

Li Wen nodded, "Not bad!"

Feng Shengfa mentioned: "We had better be careful, notify the guard unit to strengthen patrols around the area to prepare for the unexpected!"

The Japanese infantry probing attack began, and the troops of Li Zhengxian and Wang Yaowu also carried out counter-fire.

"Brigade Commander, the National Revolutionary Army's command post must be established behind the cliff of this high peak."

"Yamamoto-kun?" Seeing Yamamoto Ichiki's intense fighting spirit, Shanyuan Dashan asked: "Can you guarantee that you will find the National Revolutionary Army's command post?"

Shanyuan Dashan raised his Telescope and looked in the direction Yamamoto Ichiki was pointing.

He wanted to use this battle to tell everyone that his Special Forces were still quite powerful.

"Has the telephone to the forward outpost been connected?"

Inside the command post, everyone discussed for a while and decided to strengthen the guard of the command post.

The Japanese Army suddenly shelled them without any warning; the sudden strike made their mood somewhat heavy.

However, among the artillery units this time, only the Mountain Guns were ready; the Field Guns and Howitzers had not yet arrived.

Yamamoto Ichiki's muscles were now constantly knotted, like a fierce tiger about to hunt its prey; his chilling gaze made some cowardly Japanese officers in the brigade command post feel afraid.

"Give me a squad of warriors, I will lead the Special Forces to climb up from behind the cliff, while the Imperial Army increases the intensity of the attack on the front and flanks to attract the enemy's firepower."

The silent Feng Shengfa immediately said: "Everyone, do you still remember our previous encounter at Xiaowangzhuang."

On the Highland!

The expressions of the four people, Wang Yaowu, Feng Shengfa, Li Zhengxian, and Li Wen, were also not very good.

"However, now the enemy's positions, although plowed by the Imperial Army's artillery fire, the defenders are still holding their posts, and they even have 75 mm Mountain Guns to counter-attack."

Shanyuan Dashan pondered for a moment; the combat effectiveness of the Central Army before him was acceptable, and although their fortifications were somewhat crude, their will to fight had not collapsed.

The task given to him by the Central China Area Army was to link up with the 6th Division as quickly as possible; he could not afford to delay here for too long.

(End of this chapter)