Chapter 61: Fierce Battle in the Village, Each Showing Their Divine Powers

"Order the artillery squad to shell the enemy positions immediately!"

"Hai!"

The Third Battalion's only flaw was its lack of supporting weapons. This was their Achilles' heel.

As an exceptional commander, Kamimura Nan realized this within fifteen minutes of engagement. It seemed this detachment of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army was not the main force.

As the battle progressed, three minutes later, the soldiers uncovered the heavy machine gun positions hidden behind the sandbags.

"Give it to them hard!"

"Understood!"

The eager heavy machine gunners quickly pressed their triggers.

*Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat! Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!*

Heavy machine gunners required extremely high combat proficiency. Those who could serve as heavy machine gunners were essentially elite, seasoned veterans.

Once a master made a move, the sound of the gunfire felt entirely different. Judging purely by the reports, every single burst was a precise, long string of fire.

A single belt of ammunition mowed down four or five advancing devils.

Heavy machine gun positions were difficult to relocate. According to the combat habits of the 358th Regiment, unless absolutely critical, they tried their best not to expose the locations of their heavy machine guns. While maintaining continuous fire suppression, the gunners were extremely vulnerable to casualties.

"Stop reloading, you damn fool! Wait until the devils finish bombing, then fire!"

"Understood!"

Leaving the heavy machine guns in place, the soldiers withdrew directly. Weapons like grenade launchers were difficult to destroy unless scored with a direct hit. However, correspondingly, the probability of heavy machine gunners perishing was also the highest.

While the soldiers, positioned on the heights, held a tactical advantage of terrain, they naturally had to face the bombardment of the Japanese invaders' heavy weapons.

The fight for the commanding heights of this nameless ridge was exceptionally fierce. During the assault, a portion of the enemy soldiers had their flanks exposed to the village. This meant that while these devils were fighting to capture the high ground, they also had to guard against bullets flying from the village. Under such circumstances, how could they possibly make any headway?

At this moment, Kamimura Nan frowned deeply.

The ammunition and reinforcements previously dispatched to them had lost all contact. In all likelihood, they had been annihilated by the enemy along the way. Coupled with the skirmishes leading up to their detour days prior and a day and night of relentless harassment...

This left the Japanese troops under his command operating understrength and with insufficient ammunition.

The ninety-millimeter mortars fully flexed their might against the Third Battalion, which lacked heavy weapons. For a time, the soldiers stationed on the high ground truly had no countermeasure. Aside from taking hits, they could do nothing else.

Conversely, for the devils, relying solely on artillery fire was not enough to eliminate the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army troops on the hilltop.

Ten kilometers away, at the 386th Brigade's temporary command post, forward observation posts continuously reported battlefield developments.

The scheduled active offensive had been turned into a positional defense by Luo Weiguo. Although it did not follow Brigade Commander Chen's operational plan, judging from the current progress, the soldiers of the 358th Regiment's Third Battalion were fighting surprisingly well.

Inside the temporary command post at that moment, Regiment Commander Xu of the 771st Regiment, Regiment Commander Cheng of the 772nd Regiment, and New First Regiment Commander Li Yunlong—serving as the reserve force—had gathered.

The group had yet to reach a consensus on whether to launch an active offensive.

Regiment Commander Cheng of the 772nd Regiment and New First Regiment Commander Li Yunlong both advocated seizing the opportunity to quickly flank the rear, encircle the devils, and wipe them out. Regiment Commander Xu, however, stated that they needed to observe the shifting battlefield situation before making a decision. After all, the Third Battalion had altered the operational plan without authorization, turning a neat mobile encirclement into a defensive positional battle. This left Regiment Commander Xu somewhat displeased.

Yet, he also leaned toward launching an active assault to relieve the siege on the 358th Regiment's Third Battalion. After all, this unit was fighting truly well.

During this era, the main battalion for most regimental units was predominantly the first battalion; the third battalion... possessed a relatively much weaker combat capability. Yet a mere third battalion of the 358th Regiment was able to hold out against the fierce onslaught of the Kwantung Army's elite forces.

Brigade Commander Chen voiced his perspective: "A unit like this is completely different from the warlord armies we've encountered in the past. Our 386th Brigade must never sit idly by and watch them get wiped out by the devils!"

Just as the men were holding their meeting, a scout hurriedly burst inside. His chest heaved rapidly as he panted heavily.

He quickly saluted the officers: "Reporting to the brigade commander, latest battle update!"

"The main force of the Japanese invaders has now completely charged into the village!"

Regiment Commander Cheng turned pale with shock: "Oh no, Brigade Commander, I recall that the Third Battalion's headquarters is set up right at the village primary school in Zhuanshui Village!"

Regiment Commander Xu nodded: "If anything goes wrong, it won't be easy to explain to our superiors, and Chu Yunfei might turn hostile as well... These goddamn devils look like they intend to devour the whole lot of them. Such a big appetite and they aren't afraid of choking to death!"

Li Yunlong let out a cold snort and stated his stance: "Brigade Commander, give the order! Let's wipe out these motherfuckers!"

Brigade Commander Chen nodded: "In accordance with the original operational plan, the 771st Regiment will immediately attack the eastern flank of the devils. The 772nd Regiment, excluding the first battalion, will move to Zhangjiayuan and Guojiadu. Do not let a single devil escape!"

"Understood!"

Seeing his two old comrades receive their orders to attack, Li Yunlong grew anxious: "Brigade Commander, what about me?"

"You?" Brigade Commander Chen raised an eyebrow. "Chenjiaba area is the devils' final retreat route. Unless driven to desperation, they won't break out from that direction..."

Li Yunlong nodded, somewhat wary: "These damn devils are at the end of... the end of their rope."

"At the end of their rope!"

Li Yunlong nodded: "Right, Brigade Commander, these goddamn devils are very difficult to deal with when they're at the end of their rope."

Brigade Commander Chen repeatedly emphasized: "Your New First Regiment must hold Chenjiaba for me. If you let even a single devil slip away..."

"If I let a single devil run, I'll unscrew my head and use it as your nightstool!"

Hearing this, Brigade Commander Chen laughed and scolded: "What would I want with a big head like yours? Enough, go make your preparations early!"

Back in Zhuanshui Village, upon hearing that the Japanese invaders had finally entered the village for urban combat, Luo Weiguo felt a wave of relief.

This kind of combat was precisely their Third Battalion's home turf!

*Boom~!*

Relying on their familiarity with the terrain, the soldiers used grenades and ubiquitous firing ports to inflict heavy casualties on the Japanese invaders.

At the same time, the well-trained Japanese troops also relied on sound localization to counterattack with grenades and other weapons. For a time, both sides traded blows, each displaying their tactical prowess. The battle was deadlocked.

The Shanxi-Suiyuan Army soldiers seemed to be everywhere. The advancing devils were forced to fight for the village house by house, room by room.

When searching certain rooms, the inner chambers often lacked doors, separated only by door curtains. As the devils entered the inner rooms to search, the hidden Shanxi-Suiyuan Army soldiers would seize the opportunity to step forward quickly, thrusting their bayonets straight into the enemy's chests.

This tactic was simple and efficient. It was known as the "curtain-lifting battle."

(This illustration shows a schematic diagram of the guerrilla forces' curtain-lifting battle in the Central Hebei region.)

Slightly different from the guerrilla tactics, because walls blocked the path between houses, rapid movement was restricted. The solution provided by Chu Yunfei was naturally to knock down walls.

This style of fighting thoroughly tested the tacit coordination among the soldiers and demanded even higher combat proficiency. If a squad retreated without authorization, it would leave the soldiers still holding their ground exposed to attacks from two fronts.

Compared to the tunnel warfare employed by the Central Hebei guerrillas, when fighting in the villages of the Shanxi region, this method was very convenient to use, making it better suited for the 358th Regiment.

Once their whereabouts were detected by the Japanese invaders, they could set up firing positions using the windows of the inner rooms (places similar to bedrooms and living rooms in modern self-built houses). When necessary, they could also voluntarily abandon positions to avoid artillery fire and grenade casualties.

For a time, this rogue style of fighting drove the Japanese invaders to utter misery...