Anti-Japanese War: I have unlimited assistance

Chapter 618 Initially, the Locust Army scoffed at the Eighth Route Army's tactics.

Meanwhile, on the position of the Japanese 39th Brigade, the brigade headquarters.

More than 6,000 elite Japanese soldiers stared intently at the direction of the highway.

This operation marked the first time the 39th Brigade had ambushed both sides of a highway.

Although the Japanese had been learning the Eighth Route Army's guerrilla tactics such as ambush and guerrilla warfare, and even trained in related tactics, as well as night fighting and close combat, they were still learning them.

However, the Eighth Route Army did not give the Japanese any chance to ambush them.

Major General Min-o Iwasaki had no idea what had gotten into the headquarters, that they had suddenly sent them here to ambush the Eighth Route Army.

But things had come to this point, and Iwasaki Minoru could not retreat; they had to fight the Eighth Route Army here.

This was extremely risky; once they were discovered by the Eighth Route Army, they would be met with a barrage of aerial bombs.

It is said that the Eighth Route Army's incendiary bombs were extremely powerful.

In the brigade command post, Iwasaki Tamio kept giving tactical instructions to his two regimental commanders:

"Once the battle begins, the first wave of machine gun fire will wipe out half of the Eighth Route Army's infantry."

"Then all the soldiers immediately rushed down and engaged the Eighth Route Army in hand-to-hand combat."

"Be sure to organize suicide squads and demolition teams, use explosives to deal with the Eighth Route Army's tanks and armored vehicles, and remember to use smoke grenades for cover."

"The advantage of this tactic is that it can fully utilize the Locust Army's close combat skills and reduce the Eighth Route Army's firepower advantage."

"Also, the Eighth Route Army will definitely call for air support."

"However, by the time the Eighth Route Army's planes arrived, the Locust Army and the Eighth Route Army's vanguard battalion were already entangled, so their planes dared not drop bombs on the ground."

After hearing Iwasaki Minoru's instructions, Colonel Mano Goro, commander of the 77th Regiment, and Colonel Sora Tani, commander of the 78th Regiment, were both stunned.

This tactic seems so familiar.

Thinking about it carefully, damn it, isn't this the same tactic the Eighth Route Army used to deal with the Locust Army?
At first, the Locust Army scoffed at the Eighth Route Army's tactics.

Now, the Locust Army is analyzing the Eighth Route Army's tactics word by word.

"What's wrong?" Seeing the two regimental commanders standing there in a daze, Iwasaki Minoru's face darkened. "Can't you carry out orders?"

"Hi."

The two Japanese regimental commanders immediately lowered their heads.

Iwasaki Minoru then let out a cold snort:
"After the battle, each unit will disperse and advance towards Taiyuan in small squads, and must minimize the casualties of the Eighth Route Army Air Force bombing."

After the battle, the Eighth Route Army's vanguard battalion will be destroyed, and the Eighth Route Army's air force will inevitably retaliate by bombing the 39th Brigade.

Now that the Japanese army has no air superiority in North China, they can only disperse and flee.

"Hi."

The two regimental commanders bowed their heads again.

"General, the Eighth Route Army Vanguard Battalion has arrived."

Just then, a staff officer rushed in.

"Return to your respective units immediately and prepare for battle."

Iwasaki Minoru looked at the two regimental commanders.

"Hi."

Goro Mano and Shinichi Sora both lowered their heads and quickly walked out of the brigade headquarters, heading towards their respective units.

After the two Japanese regimental commanders left, Iwasaki Minoru immediately walked quickly to the observation window and raised his binoculars to look.

The brigade headquarters was located on a hilltop. The engineers built wooden fortifications covered with camouflage netting and various other camouflage netting, even the antennas were camouflaged to prevent them from being seen by the Eighth Route Army reconnaissance planes overhead.

In just one morning, the Eighth Route Army's reconnaissance planes flew along the highway three times.

Dazhaigou was a key reconnaissance location for the Eighth Route Army's reconnaissance aircraft.

Even the Eighth Route Army's reconnaissance planes conducted several dive-bombing runs on the hills on both sides of the road.

However, all the Japanese soldiers were lying prone under the grass, their bodies covered with the dry grass they had brought.

So far, the 9th Brigade's ambush positions have not been exposed.

In Iwasaki Minoru's telescope view, the decoy troops he sent out lost more than 100 men in less than three minutes after engaging the Eighth Route Army.

Upon seeing this, Iwasaki Minoru's expression immediately turned serious: "With equal troop strength, the fighting power of this Eighth Route Army is much stronger than that of the main force of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army."

After Hirata Kenkichi was killed by Wei Dayong's special forces team, Iwasaki Minoru was promoted from colonel to major general and became the commander of the 39th Brigade.

During this period, the 20th Division fought three battles against the 129th Division.

Each time they clashed, the 129th Division's fighting strength increased by several points compared to the last time.

Even during the last Jin-Sui Campaign, the 129th Division dispatched its main force to directly attack Taiyuan, leaving the entire First Army helpless.

The 129th Division's combat effectiveness was already that strong.

However, compared to the fighting strength of the Eighth Route Army in front of them, there is still a considerable gap.

With a 6x telescope used by generals, Iwasaki Minoru could see more clearly that the strength of this Eighth Route Army unit was not just its firepower.

There are also individual soldier skills, fighting will, and execution ability.

The entire team worked together seamlessly, with perfect coordination and strict adherence to orders.

It should be noted that the 20th Division was a Class A division. Although the individual soldier skills were not as good as those of the veterans and elites at the beginning of the war, every soldier was carefully selected, and their combat effectiveness far exceeded that of the infantry of a Class B division.

His half-brigade was completely unable to put up any resistance when they clashed with the enemy.

Just then, the Eighth Route Army soldiers on the distant highway stopped their pursuit and simultaneously moved to guard both sides.

Iwasaki Minoru's expression suddenly tensed up. Had he been discovered?
The 39th Brigade is now in a rather awkward situation. If it weren't for the ambush, the 2000-strong vanguard battalion on the other side could probably have fought his entire elite brigade to a standstill.

If the enemy were to provide additional air support, the 39th Brigade would most likely be no match for the enemy's vanguard battalion.

Several waves of dive bombing raids had already resulted in heavy casualties and low morale.

The enemy also has tanks and armored vehicles, how can we fight this battle?
However, Iwasaki Minoru's lips soon curled up again, and the Eighth Route Army, after a brief pause, resumed their pursuit.

exactly.

How could the commander of the Eighth Route Army's vanguard battalion possibly give up such an easy victory?

"Order all units to prepare for battle!"

Iwasaki Minoru issued the order in a cold tone.

As his orders were given.

All the Japanese soldiers lying in ambush immediately sprang into action, sneaking towards the ambush position.

To avoid detection by Eighth Route Army scouts, the Japanese troops are currently positioned some distance from the actual ambush site.

Min-o Iwasaki conducted a word-by-word analysis of the Eighth Route Army's ambush tactics.

Under normal circumstances, Eighth Route Army commanders would not immediately deploy their troops to ambush positions. Instead, they would hide and wait at a distance, allowing Japanese scouts to thoroughly survey the area before entering the ambush positions. Iwasaki Minoru also adopted this tactic.

Although no Eighth Route Army scouts came to conduct reconnaissance, Iwasaki Minoru judged that the enemy commander was in a hurry to pursue the fleeing soldiers and would not send scouts to Dazhaigou for reconnaissance.

Soon, the Japanese soldiers all entered the pre-arranged ambush positions.

Dazhaigou is an ideal ambush formation, with earthen slopes on both sides and the highway passing through it.

Although the earthen slope is about 200 meters away.

However, the earthen slopes were overgrown with weeds and covered with shrubs, making them ideal for soldiers to hide in.

Of course, it's also perfect for barbecuing.

Soon, the pursued Japanese soldiers entered Dazhaigou, but they dared not linger. To make the act complete, they continued to run forward in a panic.

"Frontline troops, cease pursuit and take cover!"

The front-line soldiers were about 200 meters away from Dazhaigou.

Wang Xikui used the walkie-talkie to perform micro-operations.

Upon receiving the order, the front-line soldiers, roughly a platoon long, immediately spread out to both sides of the road and lay prone for cover.

When Iwasaki Minoru saw this scene, his anus tightened instantly, and a sense of foreboding rose from the bottom of his heart.

(End of this chapter)