Bright Sword: Japs, times have changed

Chapter 328 The fight turned into a pot of porridge

Xiaowangzhuang battlefield.

The first charge by the Japanese army was repelled by artillery fire, and Yuanping Koizumi learned his lesson.

Knowing that the battlefield was not large enough to accommodate too many people fighting at the same time, the team was broken up into smaller units.

An infantry squad was dispatched to conduct a defensive operation in an attempt to consume the independent battalion's artillery shells at the lowest cost.

But his intention was seen through by Lin Qiang at a glance, not to mention that the independent battalion had no shortage of mortar shells.

In just over ten minutes, all 54 Japanese soldiers in a Japanese infantry squad were killed, without a single one spared.

It is true that under normal circumstances, an ordinary company may not be a match for a Japanese squad, but if it is a sneak attack, and a close-range attack, it can suddenly strike when the Japanese are completely unprepared.

Even as powerful as the Japs were, they were completely powerless to fight back.

This is the difference between hot weapons and cold weapons.

The strength of the Japs lies in their fighting will, physical fitness and marksmanship, but when it comes to close-range bullet attacks, they are no different from ordinary people and can be knocked down with one shot.

When Harahira Koizumi learned that the infantry squad was completely wiped out, he remained calm, as if he had expected it.

But he decided to change his strategy and ordered his men to secretly spread the news that they would launch another large-scale attack on Xiaowangzhuang tomorrow night.

After receiving the information, Lin Qiang was filled with doubts. He knew very well that this was most likely a trap set by the enemy, but he did not dare to ignore it completely.

In the battle with the Japanese, Lin Qiang did not dare to be careless at all.

So, on the one hand, he arranged for his soldiers to speed up the construction of fortifications, and on the other hand, he sent his most capable scouts to further spy on the enemy situation.

The scouts reported that there were unusual movements behind the Japanese camp, as if large weapons and equipment were being secretly transported.

Lin Qiang speculated that the Japanese might want to use heavy artillery to attack.

He came up with a plan and set up some fake military facilities on the front line to confuse the enemy, and quietly moved the troops on the position to the side valley to ambush.

The next night, the Japs launched the so-called "large-scale offensive" as planned, bombarding the fake targets. After several rounds of shelling, the Japs still didn't realize they had fallen into a trap.

On a night of continuous artillery fire, Harahira Koizumi swept away the gloom of previous defeat.

Under such intensive bombardment, he believed that no one would survive in the independent battalion's front-line positions.

Howitzers are not only owned by independent battalions, the Japanese also have them.

However, in previous battles with the independent battalion, they were often completely destroyed by the independent battalion's howitzers as soon as they appeared and before they had time to exert their true power.

This time, Harahira Koizumi deliberately used this despicable method to confuse Lin Qiang.

With the protection of night, mobile howitzers carried out saturation bombing on the independent battalion's forward positions.

Harahira Koizumi did not order the infantry to charge, but instead immediately withdrew the few remaining howitzers out of the independent battalion's artillery range.

Then, he comfortably crawled into the tent and prepared to sleep.

It seemed as if I had already seen Lin Qiang's furious scene the next day.

On the other hand, look at the independent battalion position.

The evacuated Fourth Company is now having dinner and is not affected by the Japanese artillery fire at all.

Not right either.

In addition to the ground vibrations and the dust stirred up, the ears were also a bit unbearable.

By the time the Japanese shelling ended, the soldiers of the Fourth Company had finished their dinner.

In the dark, carrying torches, they returned to their positions and rebuilt the destroyed defensive facilities.

After working for most of the night, the position was restored to its original state. The soldiers of the Fourth Company held their guns and waited quietly for the battle the next day.

At dawn, when Yuanping Koizumi walked out of the tent and saw that the independent battalion's position was intact, his face turned ashen in an instant.

He realized that he had been tricked again, and in anger, he decided to launch a general attack immediately.

Harahira Koizumi had absolute command authority, and because of his hatred for the Independent Battalion and Lin Qiang, he even refused to listen to the advice of his adjutant and others.

The Japs began to advance towards Xiaowangzhuang in full force.

However, Lin Qiang was well prepared for this.

What awaits the Japanese will be saturation bombing.

The monk rushed into the house and said to Lin Qiang, who was checking the map, "Battalion Commander, the Japanese vanguard has already engaged the Fourth Company, and the attack is very fierce!"

The monk was worried that the brothers of the Fourth Company would suffer heavy casualties, so he wanted Lin Qiang to order the artillery bombardment in advance to reduce the casualties of the Fourth Company.

Lin Qiang could see his intention and asked, "Have the Japanese follow-up troops entered the artillery range?"

"not yet."

The monk answered truthfully, "This time the Japanese were very clever. They sent a battalion to attack the Fourth Company's position. The follow-up force stayed out of the bombardment range and bombarded the Fourth Company's position with mortars and infantry guns."

Lin Qiang walked outside the house, picked up the telescope and saw that the cunning Japanese had stopped.

This created a very interesting situation, where the Japanese army was at the forefront but did not dare to launch an attack.

However, the Japanese were able to use mortars and infantry guns to bombard the Fourth Company's position, while the independent battalion's heavy artillery could not hit the Japanese artillery.

"It seems like we've really gained some experience from fighting the devils!"

Lin Qiang turned to the monk and said, "Go and tell the Fourth Company to evacuate their positions and hand over the frontline to the Japanese."

"Remember, don't leave a single bullet for the Japanese."

"Yes!"

The monk took the order and left. The Fourth Company quickly evacuated their position, taking what supplies they could carry with them and destroying what they couldn't.

Seeing that the Fourth Company had retreated, the Japanese advanced cautiously and occupied the front line.

Harahira Koizumi thought he had gotten an advantage and a smug look appeared on his face.

But he didn't know that this was exactly what Lin Qiang wanted.

Lin Qiang had calculated the distance long ago. When the large Japanese army slowly entered another preset encirclement, with a command, the heavy artillery of the independent battalion hidden in the mountains and forests on both sides fired at the same time.

For a moment, flames shot up into the sky and the Japanese were caught off guard.

Harahira Koizumi was horrified and hurriedly organized a counterattack, but it was too late.

The independent battalion's artillery fire continued, causing countless Japanese casualties.

Yuanping Koizumi gave the order to retreat with a dark face, and turned to look at the Xiaowangzhuang position. There was anger and helplessness in his eyes, but more of fear.

The Japanese were repelled again, and similar things happened in various places in northwestern Shanxi.

The battles varied in size but broke out more and more frequently.

In just one day, the entire northwest of Shanxi was turned into a mess, with fighting everywhere.

Even local troops joined in the battle. They did not have the support of the independent battalion, but even though they had sickles and hoes in their hands, they dared to launch a fearless charge against the Japanese troops.

The results of the battle were mixed, with some victories and some defeats.

Generally speaking, the battlefield pressure in other places is much smaller than the tens of thousands of Japanese devils that the independent battalion has to face.

Perhaps the headquarters also considered this issue and contacted the 386th Brigade Headquarters, asking the brigade commander to inquire about the situation of the independent battalion.

After the brigade commander learned about it, he called the independent battalion immediately.

To his surprise, no one answered the phone.