Chapter 97: The Little Devil

Li Yi's operation here is relatively smooth.

But the th Division moving north along the road from Taunggyi does not have such luck.

The Japanese Army's 56th Division's 113th Regiment, after being defeated and withdrawing from Taunggyi, learned that the Expeditionary Force had left Taunggyi and immediately turned back to occupy Taunggyi.

They also dispatched their own troops and a unit of the Myanmar Independent Volunteer Army, forming small squads of three to five people that closely followed the th Division.

They did not engage the th Division in direct combat, only continuously harassed it from behind.

This caused many th Division soldiers to die from the Japanese Army's Cold Gun, but the th Division's orders were to rush north, pass through Yinduo, north to the line from Mandalay to Lashu at Jiaomei, then return via Xibu to Lashu and garrison there.

Du Lvming also considered that after more than two months of combat, the Expeditionary Force's th Division's combat effectiveness had severely declined and its personnel kept being lost, yet it received no reinforcements.

There was no other way; the th Division was Du Lvming's trump card.

Now sending the th Division to the rear to support Lashu, first to hold Lashu, second to give the th Division a rest.

From Lashu, the th Division left the Armored Corps, numbering nine thousand men, having fought two months across the entire Myanmar campaign, and now the whole th Division has fewer than 5,500 combat‑ready troops, thanks to the Eighth Company's Quan Zong in Taunggyi, who with one shot knocked out the 113th Regiment's commander DaSuJiaShi, a stroke of great luck.

Jiang Anguo even regretted why they didn't send a few more companies at the time.

That directly caused the 113th Regiment to fall into chaos and withdraw from Taunggyi; otherwise, with just one regiment's strength and the help of the Myanmar Independent Volunteer Army, even if the Fifth Army deployed over 15,000 troops, it would still be very difficult to capture Taunggyi quickly.

Dai Anlan stared expressionlessly at the corpse on the ground; it was a soldier of the 600th Regiment, who fell during the retreat, his head struck by a 6.5mm bullet, killed instantly without any pain.

His eyes never closed even in death.

"Zhang Zhi Ge, which number is this?" Dai Anlan asked expressionlessly.

Zhang Zhi Ge, the th Division's Chief of Staff.

"Division Commander, it's already the twelfth warrior," Chief of Staff Zhang Zhi Ge said softly.

The 600th Regiment, as the rear guard, naturally fell at the very end; the 600th Regiment's Regiment Commander Shao Yizhi, and the other officers, remained silent.

Regiment and the 599th Regiment suffered heavy losses; currently only the 600th Regiment can still maintain combat capability.

Dai Anlan's arrangement was also out of concern that the Japanese Army might pursue from behind, but he never imagined that the Little Devil had already moved ahead of him.

"Division Commander, shall we send soldiers into the jungles on both sides to search? Continuing like this won't work; many of our troops now have especially low morale," 600th Regiment's Regiment Commander Shao Yizhi said.

Dai Anlan thought for a moment, "No. Are you familiar with the jungle terrain? The Burmese are unwilling to cooperate; the guide we found only knows the terrain of northern Myanmar. We also don't know if the Japanese are pursuing from behind. We only have about five thousand of our own men left, plus many wounded."

Dai Anlan was right; previously there were still army‑direct units, but after the battle of Taunggyi, everyone received their own missions and the forces were divided.

The army‑direct units also followed Du Lvming back to Mandalay for the uncertain Mandalay Battle.

Shao Yizhi could only sigh on the spot, "Alas."

It's true that using the enemy's black gun is futile; even if we retaliate, the effect isn't great.

But everyone is fearful, because no one knows when the Little Devil's bullets will come, creating huge psychological pressure on the soldiers.

"Damn Little Devil, playing hide‑and‑seek with me, at ten o'clock, you see?" Eighth Company Commander Quan Zong, leading several of the Whole Company's better shooters and two snipers.

He took two MG42 machine guns for cover.

Quan Zong had already detached from the main force and did not report to Dai Anlan; after all, he was just a small Company Commander and not part of the th Division; he was only after the Japanese Devil.

"Machine Gunners, fire toward that direction, conserve ammo; we don't have much left," Quan Zong snarled.

In the battle of Taunggyi, the Eighth Company's ammunition was heavily consumed; if another battle of Taunggyi's scale occurred, the Eighth Company would run out of ammo and be forced to bayonet the enemy.

Remember, Taunggyi faced a single Japanese regiment of three to four thousand Little Japan soldiers; even though the Eighth Company launched a rear ambush, Quan Zong gave his all.

Quan Zong, holding a binocular, spotted the enemy's position from a distant reflection; the enemy was hiding among the trees.

He ordered two Machine Gunners to aim at a large tree three hundred meters away.

Rat-a-tat.

The MG42 emitted a terrifying roar; bullets flashed like silver lightning toward the distant treetop, instantly killing a Japanese soldier hiding in the tree, while the other Little Devils hadn't even reacted.

They were riddled by over a dozen bullets; fortunately a clever Burmese was crouched on the ground.

Quan Zong raised his hand, clenched his fist, and the Eighth Company soldiers behind him ceased fire.

When the gunfire stopped, the disheveled Burmese rolled into the nearby thicket, ignoring what happened behind, and ran straight away.

After waiting a few minutes, Quan Zong waved his hand, "Maintain battle formation and advance; Machine Gunners stay in place, ready to cover."

Everyone crouched low; Quan Zong hadn't fired because he was holding an MP40 Submachine Gun, which was out of effective range, and shooting would waste ammo.

"Hand Grenade," Quan Zong shouted.

Even though the enemy hadn't fired and their fate was uncertain, Quan Zong decided to throw a Hand Grenade for his team's safety.

"Yes."

The Hand Grenade was thrown at the tree, and the Eighth Company soldiers instantly took cover behind it to avoid exposing their position.

"Boom."

A huge blast.

After a minute, Quan Zong heard no sound and let the soldiers keep moving.

Approaching, they looked.

"Dammit," Quan Zong kicked the Japanese man lying on the ground.

The Japanese man held only a simple Type 38 rifle, with no scope.

Yet this single Japanese man not only harmed the th Division, but also Quan Zong's Eighth Company lost two soldiers due to the Japanese sneak attack.

Beside the Japanese soldier were two Burmese, now bloodied on the ground.

Quan Zong initially thought they were all Little Devils, but it turned out to be just one Little Devil with a few Burmese, coming to ambush.

The gunfire also startled the officers of the th Division.

"What's happening," Dai Anlan asked.

Soon a soldier reported, "Report, Division Commander, the Eighth Company is firing."

"Let's go, we'll check it out," Dai Anlan followed the gunfire to Quan Zong's firing spot.

"Whole Company Commander, what's going on?"

Dai Anlan had already seen the corpses on the ground, but he was still uncertain about some matters.

"Division Commander, this is the Little Japan that attacked us, but there should be many more groups. Look at the ropes on their waists and on the trees; they have tied themselves to the trees, so we have never been able to spot them." Quan Zong said, pointing at the broken rope on the Little Japan's waist.

"Damn, this Little Japan is really sneaky."

"So that's why. No wonder the soldiers we sent out always say they didn't find anything."

"They actually hide in the trees."

Dai Anlan nodded, "Company Commander, do you have a way to deal with this Japanese ambush?"

Quan Zong's specialty is mountainous terrain, not jungle; jungle warfare is not his strong suit.

Quan Zong shook his head, "Division Commander, it can only be a one‑for‑one; otherwise we are in the light while the enemy is in the dark, and we won't be able to locate the enemy."

Dai Anlan understood what Quan Zong meant by a one‑for‑one: they have to wait until the enemy fires before they can pinpoint the enemy's position.

Quan Zong wasn't unwilling to get ahead of the enemy, but they were retreating northward while the Japanese Army kept harassing from behind. Only if they turned around and headed south to Taunggyi could they catch the Little Japan off guard.

But now it was even more difficult; as he spoke, a Japanese Army plane swooped overhead again. Fortunately, the th Division was already prepared, and the cavalry immediately slipped into the jungle. It was a Japanese Army reconnaissance plane.

It merely strafed the convoy, causing the th Division to lose a few transport vehicles.

Fortunately, night fell, and the Japanese Army's fighter planes dared not take off.

Otherwise, for the th Division, the losses would have been especially severe.

What gave the Expeditionary Force a headache were the Japanese planes; the th Division's troops rested in the jungle during the day and only increased their marching speed at night and in the morning.

(The main firepower of German‑style weapons is the Squad‑level mg42. My route actually didn't go through the jungle; to make it easier for everyone to view, I added a map at the end. It seems I still can't add it within the article. PS: I've typed from start to finish and have 1.7 million characters, can't change a bit.)