The War of Resistance Against Japan: Starting with a Calm View of Life and Death

The captain who took over command looked at the dense mass of Eighth Route Army soldiers surrounding them, then glanced at the regimental commander behind him, gritted his teeth, and shouted, "Forget about what's behind us! Charge to the river! Build a bridge! As long as we cross the Fen River, we'll survive!"

These two hundred-plus Japanese soldiers displayed astonishing fighting power.

Ignoring the machine gun fire from their flanks, they charged through the bullets to the banks of the Fen River.

Engineers braved a hail of bullets and jumped into the icy river to build a pontoon bridge by carrying planks on their shoulders.

Bullets struck the water, splashing up sprays of water. Engineers were hit and sank into the water, their blood turning the river crimson.

"Faster! Faster!" The captain brandished his sword, slashing down a soldier who hesitated out of fear. "Anyone who dares to stop will suffer this fate!"

Finally, a simple pontoon bridge was built.

The surviving Japanese soldiers rushed onto the bridge.

But the bridge is too narrow, only a few people can cross at a time.

Just then, the Second Battalion of the Independent Regiment arrived as reinforcements.

Commander Li, mounted on his horse, stared at the Japanese troops on the riverbank, his eyes practically bulging with rage: "Machine guns! Shoot down the bridge! We can't let Chita escape!"

The Maxim heavy machine gun was set up.

Da da da da—

Bullets swept across the pontoon bridge, sending planks flying into the air in splinters.

The Japanese soldiers who had just stepped onto the bridge were instantly shot in two and fell into the river.

But Chida and his main force had already dug through the city gate and rushed out.

Seeing the pontoon bridge blocked by fire, he immediately dispatched his guard squad: "Go and take out the machine gun positions! Even if you have to bite them, bite your way through!"

Dozens of Japanese guards, carrying cluster grenades and explosive charges, charged recklessly toward the machine gun position of the Second Battalion.

Boom! Boom!

Several loud explosions followed, and the heavy machine gun of the Second Battalion was destroyed, killing the gunner.

A gap has appeared in the firepower network.

Chida seized the opportunity and led the remaining four hundred-plus men in a final charge.

Half of these four hundred people were wounded.

"Charge! Go home!" Chida roared.

This was a fierce battle to break through the encirclement.

Zhou Jindong had a clear view from the flank. He changed his magazine and fired three shots at the Japanese soldiers charging at the front, killing three of them.

But the Japanese troops behind them surged up like a tide, and they couldn't kill them all.

"Captain, we can't hold them off! There are too many Japanese soldiers!" Zhao Laosi shouted, his arm grazed by a stray bullet, blood gushing out.

"Retreat to the second line of defense! Let them pass, then strike at their tails!" Zhou Jindong made a decisive decision and issued the retreat order.

He knew that with the limited number of troops he had, it was impossible to annihilate this frenzied Japanese army. Now he could only try to kill as many as possible.

As soon as the guerrillas withdrew, Chida led his men across the pontoon bridge.

But the price they paid was devastating.

The remnants of Fujita's squadron, who remained on the opposite bank of the river to provide cover, along with the six hundred suicide squad members, were almost entirely wiped out.

The riverbanks, trenches, and pontoon bridges were littered with the corpses of Japanese soldiers.

Some bodies were piled up together, while others remained in their charging postures.

After crossing the river, Chida dared not linger. Leading his remaining four hundred or so soldiers, he stumbled and fled towards Yangfangkou.

As dawn approached, Commander Li led the main force of the Independent Regiment to the riverbank.

Looking at the corpses scattered on the ground and the destroyed pontoon bridge, Commander Li's face turned ashen, and he slammed his fist into a tree trunk beside him.

"That old bastard Chida got away!"

Zhou Jindong walked over, the barrel of the gun in his hand still emitting blue smoke.

He looked across the river in the direction the Japanese troops had fled, leaving behind a long trail of blood and abandoned equipment.

"Some of them ran away, but not all of them." Zhou Jindong pointed to the mountains of corpses piled up on the riverbank. "In this battle, the core members of the Chida Brigade were basically wiped out. Of the remaining four hundred men, half are wounded soldiers and the other half are deserters who were terrified. They won't be able to cause any more trouble for a while."

Commander Li sighed, turned to look at Zhou Jindong, his eyes filled with complex emotions: "You always manage to surprise me, and you always make me feel apprehensive. If you hadn't been on the flank last night, the north gate really wouldn't have been able to be defended."

......

Chida, leaning on his sword, trudged along the gravelly beach, his steps uneven.

His yellow woolen military uniform was so worn that its original color was no longer discernible.

Behind them, more than four hundred remnants of the defeated army helped each other as they ran toward Sanjing Town.

"Commander, have some water."

Chida didn't answer.

His mind was filled with images of the corpses on the riverbank and the pontoon bridge that had been blown up.

With the Fujita Company gone, most of the elite core members of the entire regiment were replaced. Of the four hundred men they now have, no more than three hundred can hold a gun steady.

How much further?

"Mitsui Town is just five miles ahead." Yoshino Yuto pointed to the hazy outline in the distance. "There used to be a company of puppet troops stationed in the town, and there were also strong walls. Once we entered the town, we could hold our ground and the Eighth Route Army wouldn't be able to bite us even if they had teeth."

"Hold your ground..." Chida chewed on those two words, a smile more like a grimace tugging at the corners of his mouth. "What else can we do now but hold our ground? Pass down the order: full speed ahead. We must reach the town before nightfall."

The order was relayed, and a commotion arose in the ranks, but no one dared to utter a sound.

Several seriously wounded soldiers heard the commotion and silently took the grenades.

Several muffled thuds exploded at the rear of the column.

At the same moment, on the riverbank north of Kelan City, Regiment Commander Li was yelling at the First Battalion Commander.

"I told you to guard the north gate! I told you to guard the north gate! And you fucking lost the position!" Commander Li lashed his horsewhip across the sand, leaving a white welt. "If it weren't for Zhou Jindong leading the guerrillas to stab the Japanese in the flank, Chida would already be eating dumplings at Yangfangkou!"

The battalion commander kept his head down, his face still bearing the bloodstains from the hand-to-hand combat, and dared not utter a sound.

Zhou Jindong leaned his Type 98 sniper rifle against a tree root, took out a handful of roasted soybeans from his pocket, and distributed them to Wang Quan and Zhao Laosi who were standing next to him.

He chewed on beans and walked up to Regiment Commander Li: "Commander, stop cursing. The First Battalion fought hard enough; the Japanese fought with their lives to break through the defenses. Besides, Chida is just a toothless tiger now; he won't go far."

Commander Li, panting heavily, tucked his riding whip back into his waistband: "Nan Dong, don't you dare say anything nice to them."

The current situation is that Chida has fled to Mitsui Town. Although Mitsui Town is small, it has high walls and deep moats, and there are still several hundred puppet troops inside. Once they join forces, it will be difficult to take it again. Our Independent Regiment suffered considerable casualties in the battle of Kelan and urgently needs reorganization.”

"Commander Li, what do you mean?" Zhou Jindong spat out a piece of bean curd skin and looked up at Commander Li.

"I will lead the First and Second Battalions to stay in Kelan to clean up the battlefield, treat the wounded, and at the same time guard against Japanese reinforcements from Yangfangkou." Commander Li walked to the map and pointed heavily at the location of Sanjing Town. "You, with the main force of the guerrillas, will be assigned to the newly arrived 717th Regiment."

Commander Zhang of the 717th Regiment is an impatient man. You follow them closely and keep a close watch on Chida. Remember, you don't need to attack the city; just keep them occupied, don't let them catch their breath, don't let them drink or eat. Once the main force has rested, we'll go and close the net.