Chapter 60: Fierce Battle at Zhuanshui Village, the Japanese Forces Caught in a Dilemma

The sound of engines drifted over.

Once it was confirmed that the Japanese war machines were wheeled armored cars, the soldiers' minds were put at ease.

Anti-armor combat of this nature was part of the standard daily training for the 358th Regiment.

These vehicles had thin armor and bulky interiors. In close-range combat, Molotov cocktails and bundled grenades could easily restrict their mobility and destroy them. Compared to the enemy's tanks, they posed no real threat at all.

The Japanese troops, having fought continuously for a long time, were clearly suffering from high levels of mental fatigue. Their leveled rifles almost never left their ready positions. They scanned their surroundings vigilantly, ready to be alerted by the slightest extraneous sound.

Commanding the unit was the infantry regiment's deputy commander, Major Kamimura Dan, who was currently walking amidst the ranks of the infantry.

As a distinguished graduate fresh out of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy, Kamimura was deeply influenced by Germany's total war theory and held the Republican army of the time in profound contempt. That went doubly for these Eighth Route Army units that could not even manage a complete set of matching uniforms.

Even though he had been harassed for a full day and night by this very Eighth Route Army force he so despised, Kamimura still did not take the possibility of enemy action seriously.

As the Japanese scouts continuously reported back, the village remained utterly silent.

Just as Kamimura was about to lead the main force through, a sharp crack split the air.

"Bang!"

A high-velocity bullet spun through the air and pierced a Japanese soldier's chest.

"Looks like a private first class..."

"Help me keep track... I have to report this to the company commander after the battle."

With that single shot, the village fell silent once more.

Kamimura's anger instantly flared.

This tactic again. A sudden shot out of nowhere, followed by vanishing completely without a trace.

Tormented by this style of combat for a full day and night, Kamimura could no longer contain his fury.

"Charge! Banzai!"

A Japanese squad plunged directly into Zhuanshui Village along the trajectory of the gunshot.

The elite soldiers kicked open a courtyard door, only to spot a grenade rigged just above the lintel.

"Danger!"

The soldiers instantly scattered, diving to the ground.

*Boom!*

The grenade detonated. Although it caused no casualties among the Japanese, it made their search all the more cautious.

"Get your grenades ready, cook them for two to three seconds before throwing!"

A veteran squad leader's ears twitched slightly as he began issuing orders to the four soldiers behind him.

"Ready!"

The soldiers unscrewed the dust covers and pulled the fuse cords in their hands.

"Throw!"

Four grenades flew in four different directions, landing inside a courtyard less than forty meters wide.

The three Japanese soldiers searching the yard had nowhere to hide and could only drop to the ground.

Explosions echoed continuously across the outskirts of the village. In less than three short minutes, over a dozen casualties were inflicted. Among them, three Japanese soldiers were struck by bullets originating from unknown positions and killed on the spot.

Kamimura immediately turned and waved his hand once more.

Over a hundred more Japanese soldiers surged out from the marching column. Formed into combat search formations, they rapidly scaled the mid-levels of the hills on both sides of Zhuanshui Village, preparing to encircle the area.

Only when they actually put the plan into motion did they discover that Zhuanshui Village was considerably larger than they had imagined.

In Shanxi under the rule of Governor Yan, any village connected by a "highway" consisted of at least a hundred households. Zhuanshui Village even boasted a primary school, which had previously served as the headquarters for the 386th Brigade, though it was now being used as the 3rd Battalion's headquarters.

To ensure this battle was fought well, Luo Weiguo had established his command post right inside the village, not only directing operations from the front lines but even participating in combat personally when necessary.

"When leaders possess a mortal resolve, soldiers harbor no desire to survive."

Knowing that their commander was stationed right within the village, the frontline soldiers shared a common destiny, naturally unleashing formidable combat power.

As the Japanese on both sides climbed the slopes, grenades came raining down under the command of their respective company commanders.

*Boom, boom!*

Explosions rang out continuously. Several Japanese soldiers were blown down the hillside like tumbling gourds by the sudden barrage of grenades.

"Baka!"

"Open fire!"

"Rat-tat-tat!"

Light machine guns immediately opened fire with precision bursts for suppression.

Although the high ground on the flanks of Zhuanshui could not overlook the entire highway, they were more than capable of assisting in the defense of the village.

After studying the operational map, Kamimura quickly issued his deployment orders: "The 1st and 3rd Infantry Companies, under artillery cover, will launch an assault on the left flank hill."

The nameless high ground on the left flank was not as steep as the right flank of Zhuanshui Village. Standing only about a hundred meters high, it also offered a vantage point overlooking the village. If machine guns could be mounted up there, it would provide effective fire support to any corner of the village.

However, by the same token, the high ground had already been occupied first by the 3rd Battalion's soldiers.

Occupying the high ground, they held the tactical advantage of terrain. They also held a certain advantage in the firepower of their small arms. For instance, the two Czech-style light machine guns deployed on the high ground possessed a rate of fire noticeably faster than standard Czech-style guns.

Compared to them, the Japanese Type 11 light machine guns were utterly pathetic.

That said, as an elite unit of the Independent Mixed 1st Brigade, they were equipped with a relatively more advanced light machine gun, known within the Japanese military as the Type 96 light machine gun.

This weapon was a Japanese imitation of Czechoslovakia's ZB26 light machine gun, attempting to rectify the flaws of the original Czech design while incorporating the advantages of the Type 11. It was much like breeding a donkey with a horse to produce a new creature called a mule.

Compared to the Type 11, this machine gun allowed for much easier reloading. Relative to the almost subhuman ergonomics of the Type 11, the Type 96 light machine gun was noticeably more humane—yes, only slightly.

Its half-witted designer had even added a bayonet lug to the front of the barrel. If the magazine broke or the barrel became impossible to change, it mattered not; according to the logic of these moronic designers, soldiers could still charge into a "banzai" assault holding the weapon with a fixed bayonet.

"Rat-tat-tat!"

"Rat-tat!"

The drawback of the Shanxi-made Czech-style machine gun compared to the Type 96 lay in sustained firepower, but its advantage naturally lay in a faster rate of fire. It fired 6.5mm caliber ammunition, which offered comparable lethality while being better suited for the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army. Because the bullet caliber was universal, ammunition replenishment was far simpler.

Governor Yan's original rationale for choosing the 6.5mm caliber was simply that smaller caliber bullets required less copper resources. The copper mines in Shanxi were of low quality, and copper was primarily imported. With Governor Yan's meticulous and thrifty nature, every expense naturally had to be compressed to the absolute limit—a true master of the farming simulator playstyle.

Of course, every cause has its effect. This also laid the groundwork for future troubles, when Chiang Kai-shek would provide 7.92mm Mauser ammunition that the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army could not use.

The Japanese Type 11 machine guns and grenade dischargers quickly launched counterattacks.

Although the 3rd Battalion's soldiers had not fought the Japanese invaders before, they had absorbed plenty of operational experience regarding combat against them. After firing a burst, their light machine guns swiftly relocated to new firing positions.

For a time, the Japanese were battered into utter misery.

Kamimura lowered his binoculars, his brow deeply furrowed.

He knew that this battle had brought him face to face with a genuine adversary.

The immaculate Shanxi-Suiyuan Army uniforms, the superb combat proficiency, the echeloned firepower configuration, and the deployment of enfilade fire were entirely incomparable to the Eighth Route Army units they had encountered previously.

This high-achieving graduate of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy finally began to take his opponents seriously...