Anti-Japanese War: I have unlimited assistance

Chapter 617 An Interesting Ambush
Soon, the 39th Brigade, stationed near the Xincheng Airport north of Taiyuan, received orders from the 20th Division headquarters.

Go to Dazhaigou, north of Yangqu County, to ambush the vanguard battalion of the Eighth Route Army!

Upon reading the orders issued by the division headquarters, Major General Minoru Iwasaki, commander of the 39th Brigade, almost jumped up and cursed.

The three previous brigade commanders of the 39th Brigade, Yoshito Takagi, Genroku Seki, and Kenkichi Hirata, were all killed by the Eighth Route Army.

Moreover, they were all killed by Li Yunlong's Eighth Route Army troops.

After Iwasaki Mino became the commander of the 39th Brigade, he also led his troops in several battles against the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army.

Although he lost more often than he won, at least his head was still on his neck.

This time, it was a battle against Li Yunlong's Eighth Route Army troops, and Iwasaki Minoru was constantly on edge.

It would be impossible for Iwasaki Minoru not to be afraid of Li Yunlong and his troops, who had killed the previous three brigade commanders.

However, since it was an order issued by the First Army Headquarters, military orders were absolute, and he had no choice but to obey.

Facing Li Yunlong's troops in northwestern Shanxi, Iwasaki Minoru dared not be careless in the slightest.

He immediately convened a meeting with his two regimental commanders and the brigade chief of staff to quickly formulate a specific ambush plan and begin preparations.

Mutaguchi's command style was impulsive; he only issued the order to ambush, leaving the specifics of how to ambush and how the troops should set up the ambush to their own devices.

The 39th Brigade Headquarters needs to make the decision itself.

Minoru Iwasaki is not good at ambushes at all, but he has no choice but to do it now.

but,

The 39th Brigade had never carried out an ambush before, but it had been ambushed by the Eighth Route Army quite a few times. Having been ambushed so often, it had gained experience, so an ambush plan and emergency response plan were quickly put into action.

To boost morale, Iwasaki Tamio summoned officers of battalion commander rank and above to the brigade headquarters for an operations meeting.

After explaining the mission, Iwasaki Minoru gripped the hilt of the Major General's sword bestowed upon him by the Heavenly Locust with his left hand:
"Gentlemen!"

"At this moment, our brigade stands at the crossroads of the rise and fall of our nation! Though the enemy may seem powerful, we are driven by the noble mission of uniting the world under one roof! Every battle we fight will determine the fate of our kinsman nation!"

"Every soldier must dedicate everything to His Majesty the Locust!"

"The enemy's material advantage is nothing to fear!"

"They rely on the sheer number of guns and steel, but we possess the indomitable spirit of Yamato! Even if we fall in the hail of bullets, we will take the enemy down with us! For every one man who dies, ten enemies will be killed; for every ten men who sacrifice themselves, a hundred will be annihilated—this is the invincible war strategy of China!"

"I will stand with you all on the front lines!"

"Has anyone considered backing out?"

"No, absolutely not! All Imperial Army soldiers should be prepared to die and become the cherry blossoms that wither at Yasukuni Shrine! They would rather die than suffer the humiliation of being captured, and vow to become ghosts who protect the nation!"

"So, everyone!"

"Now is the time to 'serve the country with our lives'! With divine blessing and assistance, we will crush the enemy with the 'Long Live Charge'!"

"Long live the Heavenly Locust Emperor!!"

"Long live the Heavenly Locust Emperor!!"

The eyes of the Japanese officers immediately filled with fanaticism as they raised their hands and shouted.

In the Japanese army, those who could be promoted to officers of major rank or above were not only outstanding in tactical command, but more importantly, they had a high understanding of the Bushido spirit and were determined to die for the enemy.

After a burst of enthusiastic cheers, Major General Min-o Iwasaki nodded in satisfaction and continued:

"When my 20th Division first entered Shanxi, it was ambushed by the Eighth Route Army on the Guang Highway. General Kawagishi Fumichu died in battle at the hands of Li Yunlong's troops, and thousands of soldiers also perished."

"The former commander of the 39th Brigade, Major General Kenkichi Hirata, was ambushed by special forces under Li Yunlong 30 kilometers northwest of Yangquan, and Major General Hirata died in battle."

"Li Yunlong's troops and my 39th Brigade have a blood feud!"

There is an old Chinese saying: "Treat others as they treat you!"

"Back then, Li Yunlong used ambush tactics to deal with the Locust Army."

"Today, we will use the same tactics against Li Yunlong."

Looking at his wristwatch, Iwasaki Tamio said in a deep voice:

"We'll set off promptly at 8 p.m. to ambush Li Yunlong's vanguard battalion at Dazhaigou and wipe them out tomorrow."

"Yes, sir." The group of Japanese officers bowed their heads in unison, their tone filled with murderous intent and fanaticism.

Now that the Japanese have no air superiority, they only dare to march at night.

Otherwise, the Eighth Route Army could have easily inflicted significant losses on the Japanese with a single bombing raid involving dozens of aircraft.

Fortunately, the Japanese First Army still had several hundred small trucks.

In order to achieve the element of surprise in the ambush, maintain the combat effectiveness of the troops, and have enough time to lay in wait, Yoshio Shinotsuka directly dispatched hundreds of small trucks to transport the 39th Brigade to Dazhaigou overnight.

……

the next day.

morning.

Li Yunlong dispatched Wang Xikui to lead the vanguard battalion to search and advance towards Yangqu.

Last night, Koshino Toranosuke led the remaining 200-plus men of the 9th Brigade and the Yoshino Regiment to launch an attack on the Eighth Route Army.

Not surprisingly.

After two waves of attacks, the entire 9th Brigade and Yoshino Regiment were killed on the spot by machine guns and submachine guns.

Major General Toranosuke Koshino, Colonel Takeo Yoshino, and Lieutenant Colonel Hideo Miki were all killed in action.

The Japanese had laid many landmines on the highway, and the vanguard battalion was responsible for clearing them.

As for the small groups of Japanese troops that were waiting for an opportunity to harass them, they were attacked by the Xinxian guerrillas.

When the mine-clearing vehicle of the vanguard battalion was 3 kilometers away from Dazhaigou.

A part of the 3rd Infantry Battalion of the 39th Brigade, which was lying in ambush here, emerged from the ditches on both sides of the road under the leadership of Battalion Commander Major Yoshitomi.

The Japanese planned to use explosives to blow up the Eighth Route Army's mine-clearing vehicle.

Unfortunately, the Eighth Route Army's mine-clearing vehicle only had its tracks damaged by the bomb.

Immediately, Wang Xikui led the vanguard battalion to the scene, and in one attack, they wiped out more than 100 Japanese soldiers.

The Japanese soldiers were outnumbered and fled towards Dazhaigou.

"Reporting to the battalion commander."

Just as Wang Xikui was preparing to lead his troops in pursuit, a scout with camouflage paint on his face and wearing a ghillie suit reported to him:
“Enemy ambush force spotted 2 kilometers ahead at Dazhaigou, number unknown.”

As a veteran reconnaissance soldier, sharpshooter, and former special forces captain of the Sharp Blade Assault Team, Wang Xikui never gave up on training special operations soldiers after becoming the main battalion commander. Every member of his reconnaissance platoon 1 was at the level of a special operations soldier.

The one who reported to Wang Xikui was the squad leader of the reconnaissance squad 1, who had been sent by Wang Xikui early in the morning to scout the enemy situation in order to prevent the Japanese from ambushing them.

The Japanese ambush tactics were rather crude, far inferior to those of the Eighth Route Army. They could barely evade aerial reconnaissance, but could not escape the eyes of the special forces.

"Planning an ambush at Dazhaigou?" Wang Xikui looked in the direction of Dazhaigou through his binoculars. "This is getting interesting."

The Dazhaigou Valley is flanked by hillsides, with the highway passing through the middle, making it a fairly good ambush location.

Previously, it was the Eighth Route Army ambushing the Japanese, but now it's the Japanese ambushing the Eighth Route Army; it's like the heavens and earth have been turned upside down.

Next, Wang Xikui planned to teach the Japanese a lesson, to let them know that the Eighth Route Army was the Japanese's ancestor when it came to ambushes.

Is it acceptable to disrespect our ancestral masters?

Wang Xikui issued the order: "The troops continue the pursuit!"

"Battalion Commander..." the squad leader asked doubtfully, "That group of Japanese soldiers ahead is probably bait. If we continue to pursue them, won't we be walking into their encirclement?"

The vanguard battalion had only two thousand men, while the Japanese army had at least six thousand.

Although they had strong firepower, as well as tanks and armored vehicles, the Japanese were not to be underestimated.

Even though they were in a disadvantageous position, the Japanese still had the strength to annihilate them completely.

Wang Xikui explained and issued the order again: "The fighter jets and attack aircraft that took off from Jinzhong Airport are only five minutes away from us. The communications soldier should immediately call the headquarters flight regiment and let the Japanese taste the napalm."

The squad leader's eyes suddenly lit up.

(End of this chapter)