Chapter 1 The Battle Continues

The Beifeng Youxiang squadron was annihilated, but the battle had to go on! At this point, Captain Eikawa Shu no longer just had a bad feeling.

He could see the end of the entire battalion, but he still had several hundred Japanese soldiers under his command. He wanted to salvage the failed mission and find a way out.

But this time, he dared not send a team to charge forward to clear the path. After mourning for the Beifeng Youxiang squadron for three minutes, he issued the order: "Advance in the direction of the Asahi Taiyo squadron, break through from the unnamed hill."

As his order was issued, a burst of gunfire erupted on the unnamed hill occupied by the Asahi Taiyo squadron, and many shells landed on it.

Company Commander Wu arranged a platoon on the high ground to fire down on the Japanese soldiers occupying the hill. Sun Minghao, the newly arrived company commander of the Ninth Company, was leading a full company to attack the hill.

He had been at the foot of the mountain with his entire company for a while, guarding the road for the Japanese soldiers to escape down the mountain. Now, after waiting for the heavy machine guns, infantry guns, and mortars to arrive, he began to attack the hilltop.

He left all the heavy machine guns, infantry guns, and mortars of the five companies behind, ordering the infantry guns and mortars to help with a few rounds of fire.

This made the shells fall very densely on the small hill, and the Japanese soldiers of the Asahi Taiyo squadron could not withstand such a bombardment at all.

The fortifications they had built temporarily on the hill were blown to pieces.

Company Commander Sun personally led the charge. The fortifications of the Asahi Taiyo squadron leader were built on the side facing the highway, and they had not expected an attack from behind the mountain at all.

The battle did not last long. Before the Nikko Aosaki squadron, which Eikawa Shu had ordered to retreat in this direction, had arrived, the Asahi Taiyo squadron leader had already led his team down from the unnamed hill.

The Ninth Company, which had hastily occupied the unnamed hill, immediately entered the position and established a defense line under the command of Company Commander Sun, using the simple fortifications built by the Asahi Taiyo squadron.

All the mortars and infantry guns that had just helped the Ninth Company returned to their respective companies. The Ninth Company's heavy machine guns, infantry guns, and mortars were also moved to the hilltop.

With six heavy machine guns deployed on the hill, the Ninth Company's defense line was now complete.

Captain Eikawa Shu was so angry that he spat blood when he saw the Asahi Taiyo squadron leader at the foot of the unnamed hill.

He was beside himself with rage, and slapped the Asahi Taiyo squadron leader more than ten times.

While hitting him, he shouted furiously, "Baga!" (Idiot!)

Each time he was slapped, the Asahi Taiyo squadron leader's body was knocked to the side by the captain's force.

He quickly stood at attention: "Hai!" (Yes!)

He straightened his face to make it easier for the captain to bestow the next slap. At first, the "Hai!" was clear and bright, but later the sound became muffled.

Captain Eikawa Shu's hand was burning with pain, so he stopped and looked at the fifty or sixty Japanese soldiers who had fled down the hill.

After venting his anger, he finally calmed down a little.

This wave of anger came very quickly, partly out of dissatisfaction with the Asahi Taiyo squadron leader, but more to cover up his own hesitation in command decisions.

If he had ordered the entire battalion to retreat from here when the rear route was first bombed, he would now be walking on the mountain road.

If he had ordered the battalion to break through here when he ordered the Beifeng Youxiang squadron to make the final charge, the entire battalion would have already broken through.

But he had given up these opportunities himself. Now, looking at the one hundred and eighty-odd soldiers of the Asahi squadron, only fifty or sixty were left. He could imagine the difficult resistance they had put up on the hill.

They must have resisted, but their resistance was ineffective!

Having calmed down completely, Captain Eikawa Shu began to issue orders.

He looked at the Nikko Aosaki squadron leader: "You! Immediately take the hill, the final fate of the entire battalion rests on your shoulders."

Yes! The entire battalion had reached a critical moment of life and death. Whether they lived or died depended on whether the Nikko squadron could take this small hill.

This was the survival gate for the entire battalion, the place that led them to paradise.

"Hai!" the Nikko Aosaki squadron leader replied, his heart feeling a little bitter.

This was a very difficult task to accomplish, but now only his squadron was relatively intact.

The Ueda Kota squadron had sixty or seventy soldiers left, the Asahi squadron had fifty or sixty soldiers left, and the battalion still had several hundred soldiers in the remaining engineer team, medical team, and logistics team.

But their combat effectiveness could not be compared with that of the infantry squadron.

Thinking of this, the Nikko Aosaki squadron leader regretted it. He wished he had sent a batch of soldiers in his team to die earlier.

At least that way, he wouldn't have to take on this impossible mission now.

No matter how dissatisfied he was, he still ordered the entire squadron to attack the unnamed hill.

As soon as the entire squadron reached the foot of the hill and began to reorganize, the shells came down.

Mortar shells fell into the team one after another. There was no need to reorganize the team.

Just launch an attack on the mountain! The desperate Nikko Aosaki squadron leader ordered: "The Takahashi squad will attack immediately."

Squad Leader Takahashi Kazuki immediately directed his team to charge towards the hilltop.

The hill was only twenty-odd meters high. As they began their attack, they were met with fierce fire from the Ninth Company.

Takahashi Kazuki's squad of dozens of soldiers were hit by a hail of bullets before they could even spread out. In less than five minutes, a full squad was reduced to only a dozen soldiers retreating.

It wasn't that these soldiers weren't working hard, it was just that the current situation was no different from suicide.

The Nikko Aosaki squadron leader felt a mouthful of bitterness: what to do? Should he continue!

"Hatsune squad! Go!"

The Hatsune Yuto squad still had forty-odd soldiers, and they could give it another try.

"Hatsune-kun! The fate of the entire battalion rests on your shoulders." The Nikko Aosaki squadron leader transferred Captain Eikawa Shu's expectations of him to the Hatsune squad.

"Hai!" The Hatsune Yuto squad had already made up their minds to die. The fate of the Takahashi squad was seen by all the soldiers in the entire squadron, and they were afraid in their hearts.

But what could they do?

They had chosen their own path, and they had to walk it to the death. The Hatsune squad of forty-odd soldiers began their charge.

They did not create a miracle. However, the Hatsune squad did try harder. The entire squad was wiped out, and not a single soldier returned.

What to do now? The Nikko Aosaki squadron leader was very helpless.

He, the squadron leader, had only sixty-odd soldiers left, and when he looked back, there were no messengers sent by the captain.

Was he going to let the entire squadron die here!

With no way out, the Nikko Aosaki squadron leader could only order the entire squadron to charge together. He really didn't want to do this.

Captain Eikawa Shu was watching them from afar, leaving the Nikko Aosaki squadron leader with no way to retreat.

The Second Regiment of the Special Brigade had already formed a tight encirclement on the battlefield, leaving the entire Eikawa Shu battalion with no way out.

In any case, he had to let the Nikko Aosaki squadron struggle a little longer. There was always hope; what if they broke through?

Ninth Company Commander Sun Minghao was now grinning from ear to ear. The entire company had performed very well today, and the Japanese soldiers were very cooperative.

After fighting this battle today, the winning streak would boost the team's morale, and they would be able to fight hard battles and tough battles just like the old companies.

This time, the Nikko Aosaki squadron leader also personally took the field. All the soldiers in the entire squadron who could still move were in front of him.

The situation did not change in any way because they set off as a whole team this time. Shells continued to fall, and machine gun bullets continued to whistle past them.

The soldiers in the squadron were constantly falling, and the closer they got to the hill, the more difficult it was to advance.

Captain Eikawa Shu no longer needed to watch; he already knew that breaking through from this position was the wrong direction.

But looking around, there were mountains everywhere. Which mountain didn't have a defense line of the National Army soldiers?

Captain Eikawa Shu didn't know. Looking at the team rushing along the highway not far away, he only knew that he didn't have much time left.

Looking at the remaining four or five hundred soldiers, Captain Eikawa Shu ordered: "Turn around and break through towards Gao'an!"

Seeing the Japanese soldiers' team turning back, Ji Wudi ordered: "Each company takes the initiative to attack and strike the Japanese soldiers."

Now, each company had occupied the high ground and had brought up the heavy machine guns, mortars, and infantry guns, making it less convenient for the Japanese soldiers to move on the highway.

These Japanese soldiers of the Eikawa Shu battalion, braving the shelling and suffering machine gun fire, struggled to walk back along the road they had just come from.

Ji Wudi immediately assigned tasks to the Fifth and Sixth Companies: immediately send out reconnaissance platoons to scout towards Gao'an.

The remaining soldiers prepared for emergencies in the positions, while the others cleaned up the battlefield.

Any accident could happen on the battlefield, and what she had to do was take everything into account.

In Gao'an, the Ishiguro Sansaburo, the commander of the 116th Division of the Japanese Army, could not contact the Eikawa Shu battalion again. He wondered if they were finished too.

But his reinforcements had already been sent out. The entire regiment had only one infantry battalion left in Gao'an County, and he really dared not send out more Japanese soldiers.

This time, he sent only one infantry company. Captain Hyakutai Takeo led the entire company, traveling in eight cars, and rushed towards Zhonggang Ridge.

This company was originally the reserve team for the troops stationed in Gao'an County. He had just received an order from the regimental commander: to immediately meet the Eikawa Shu battalion.

Captain Hyakutai Takeo was a little surprised to receive this task: didn't the Eikawa Shu battalion leave Gao'an this morning?

He heard Regimental Commander Ishiguro say that the Eikawa Shu battalion was ambushed by the National Army near Zhonggang Ridge, and the entire battalion was breaking through towards Gao'an, so the Hyakutai company should go to assist.

This made Captain Hyakutai even more confused: shouldn't the correct way to deal with an ambush encountered by the Eikawa Shu battalion be to counter-kill the ambushing team directly?

They had a tank squadron acting with them. Even if they couldn't counter-kill, wouldn't breaking through be a matter of minutes with the tank team charging forward?

Regimental Commander Ishiguro didn't explain too much, and Captain Hyakutai Takeo didn't dare to ask anything, so he could only leave immediately.

He already knew in his heart that the Eikawa Shu battalion must have encountered an insurmountable obstacle, and he was going to drag them out of it.

But thinking about it, they were a battalion plus a tank squadron. In addition, there was the Nozoe battalion and an artillery company on that road.

They had two infantry battalions with luxurious equipment, a tank squadron, and a field artillery company. They had a complete configuration for long-range and close-range attacks, so they still needed his infantry company to go.

He thought it was just a last resort.

With this thought in mind, Captain Hyakutai ordered the machine guns to be mounted on the roofs of the cars and told all the Japanese soldiers to remain vigilant.

It was only ten kilometers from Gao'an County to Zhonggang Ridge. The cars could arrive in twenty minutes at the slowest.

During the war, there were not only no vehicles on the road, but also no pedestrians.

These cars of the Hyakutai company simply couldn't slow down. When they were still several miles away, they saw smoke rising straight into the sky ahead.

This confirmed that there was a battle ahead. Captain Hyakutai became even more careful and ordered all the Japanese soldiers in the entire company to pay attention to the surrounding situation.

This order was really too difficult. On both sides were lush trees. It was impossible for anyone to discover someone hiding in the forest when the car drove by.

Not to mention when the car drove by, it was not easy to discover whether there were people in the forest even when standing still.

Therefore, the Japanese soldiers of the entire company only watched the trees receding quickly behind them vigilantly, but did not find anyone inside.

Ji Wudi, in the defensive positions of the Fifth and Sixth Companies, actually received a report from the reconnaissance platoon in front: seven cars full of Japanese soldiers were coming!

Each car had a machine gun mounted on the roof!

It could be seen from the report that this group of Japanese soldiers was very vigilant.

Ji Wudi had only one order: "The reconnaissance platoon blocks the Japanese soldiers' retreat. If the Japanese soldiers retreat, resolutely block them."

She ordered the Fifth and Sixth Companies to immediately send troops to move the positions forward in the direction of Gao'an.

The soldiers who were cleaning up the battlefield on the highway immediately returned to their teams and ordered the nearby First Company to prepare for battle.

Regiment Commander Shi Junxia was overjoyed to learn that more Japanese soldiers were coming: today the Japanese soldiers were really generous.

He had already received a complete field artillery company, with twelve field guns and transport vehicles intact, and he had also received fifty-seven cars on the road, all of which could be driven.

Now that seven more cars were coming, Regiment Commander Shi Junxia didn't feel like he was receiving gifts until his hands were soft. He only hoped that the Japanese soldiers could send gifts over more vigorously, and even more vigorously.

Company Commander Jing was the fastest to act. After receiving the order, he immediately ordered the first platoon leader to go ahead and set up bombs.

Seven cars of Japanese soldiers were coming. He ordered the two infantry guns and six heavy machine guns of the First Company to prepare behind a prominent position on the road.

His planned ambush point was here. The First Company was hidden behind the bend, and the Japanese soldiers coming over would not be able to find them at all.

The two infantry guns and six heavy machine guns only needed to advance a dozen meters to completely cover the entire bend. At least 400 meters of the road would be controlled by heavy machine guns and infantry guns. Even if the seven cars had wings, they would not be able to fly away.

Company Commander Jing also had people set up directional mines on the road section inside the bend. The Fifth and Sixth Companies were already ready on the hillside.

Captain Hyakutai Takeo took a thousand precautions and warned his team ten thousand times, but they still plunged headlong into the ambush circle. It couldn't be blamed on them for not being careful; it could only be said that the Special Brigade's current combat method was too unforgiving.

Ji Wudi was going to use up all the opportunities to annihilate the Japanese soldiers.

"Boom!"

When the explosion sounded, Captain Hyakutai Takeo couldn't believe what he was seeing: the explosion started from the first car and continued to the last car.

The entire road was exploding. It was like the end of the world. Although his entire company was in the cars, there were still many casualties.

In this round of explosions, all the cars stalled. Before the Japanese soldiers of the Hyakutai company could react.

Gunfire accompanied by explosions rang out from the hillside at the same time. He didn't know how many ambush soldiers there were on the hillsides on both sides, all of whom were firing at the Hyakutai company.

Of the seven machine guns mounted on the roofs of the cars in the Hyakutai company, only three started firing back in the first moment. The gunners of the other machine guns had all died in the attack just now.

Then it was of no use. The machine gun fire from the hillside did not decrease by half because of this.

In a hurry, Captain Hyakutai Takeo could only order all the Japanese soldiers to get out of the cars and resist by the side of the road.

He was secretly complaining in his heart: he hadn't even seen the shadow of the Eikawa Shu battalion that he was supposed to reinforce, and he had fallen into an ambush circle.

He wouldn't believe it even if he was beaten to death that this ambush circle wasn't carefully designed by the National Army.

The seven cars of the entire company were useless, and the number of Japanese soldiers had also been reduced. Captain Hyakutai Takeo did not hesitate: "Break through towards Gao'an."

He didn't need to continue to reinforce the Eikawa Shu battalion. It would be a blessing if he could break through and return to Gao'an.

Captain Hyakutai Takeo's order was issued quickly, and the heavy machine guns and infantry guns that First Platoon Leader Jing Liquan had prepared appeared quickly.

As soon as the explosion sounded, he ordered: "Quick! Push the heavy machine guns and infantry guns out, and the mortars will bombard them immediately."