Chapter 144 Safe Distance

Captain Yefang Yousuke was safe. He was still thousands of meters away from the camp. The dozen or so Japanese soldiers in his guard were secretly rejoicing: following the captain definitely had its advantages.

Raising his binoculars, he looked at his camp. Through the smoke, he could see the Japanese soldiers scrambling around in the explosions, running in all directions.

From his high vantage point, Captain Yefang Yousuke’s peripheral vision caught sight of artillery shells flying into the air and hitting the ground in fiery bursts further back on his route, where the artillery positions were located.

“They’re bombing the artillery positions at the same time?” With this thought, Yefang Yousuke immediately ordered, "Kato Hayato, immediately order the Fifth Company to support the artillery positions."

Although the artillery bombardment was still ongoing, reinforcements were essential.

Captain Yefang Yousuke could only watch from afar. Even if he returned to the camp to command now, what could he command?

It would only put himself in danger. Of course, he wasn't the only one with this thought; his guards shared the same sentiment.

The artillery bombardment came quickly and ended quickly. In less than ten minutes, the bombardment of the Yefang Battalion's camp ceased.

However, Captain Yefang Yousuke showed no signs of relief. He saw teams of soldiers rushing out from all directions, charging towards his main infantry force.

Gunfire erupted! What to do?

He looked at the dozen or so guards beside him, then at the thousands of soldiers charging towards the camp in the distance.

Captain Yefang Yousuke suddenly felt like a mere bystander, only able to watch the battle unfold from afar.

Of course, he could also organize these dozen or so guards to charge down and attack the attacking force from behind. He believed this would definitely catch the attacking force off guard.

Captain Yefang Yousuke looked at the number of attackers, which was more than double the number of his battalion's remaining Japanese soldiers.

In this situation, leading a dozen or so Japanese soldiers to charge down and launch a surprise attack might succeed temporarily, but it would definitely not turn the tide of the battle.

Without being able to turn the tide of the battle, it would be pointless. Charging down would only be a pointless sacrifice.

"I'll lead the team to charge forward, you cover our rear." Now was not the time for modesty. Company Commander Oi Masaya immediately assigned tasks.

"Understood!"

Ji Wudi and his five companies did not completely encircle the entire camp, using the old tactic of "leaving one side open."

Company Commander Oi Masaya, leading the charge, fell with half of his Japanese soldiers, but still managed to push through. Company Commander Honkawa Kaname left half of his Japanese soldiers behind, but also managed to push through.

Ji Wudi ordered the Tenth Company to clean up the battlefield, and the remaining four companies to pursue.

Fourth Company Commander Yun Yangping of the Second Regiment led his team to hide along the roadside. He had already ordered the installation of several directional mines on both sides of the road.

At 10:40, they saw a group of Japanese soldiers fleeing frantically from the front.

The Fourth Company soldiers all held their breath and waited for orders. There were only four or five Japanese soldiers running at the front, with a group of about a hundred Japanese soldiers fifty or sixty meters behind them.

"Let those few Japanese soldiers go!"

When the main force of Company Commander Oi Masaya entered the blast radius of the directional mines, Company Commander Yun gave the order to stop.

"Rumble! Rumble!"

"Da-da-da! Da-da-da!"

Explosions and gunfire erupted. The five Japanese soldiers who had been allowed to pass were also shot down by the soldiers who had been watching them with submachine guns.

Heavy machine guns and machine guns swept through the hundred or so Japanese soldiers caught in the ambush. Company Commander Oi was shot and fell immediately.

Company Commander Honkawa Kaname, who was behind him, was lucky enough to survive the explosion, but his team suffered heavy casualties and could not organize an effective counterattack.

Behind them, Ji Wudi had already led four companies in pursuit.

Company Commander Honkawa Kaname looked at the fierce firepower of the blocking force in front, which they could not possibly break through. Looking back at the pursuing force, which numbered over a thousand, it was also impossible for his company to resist.

In despair, Company Commander Honkawa Kaname pointed at the Fourth Company's sniper defense line and ordered, "Charge!"

He hoped that if they could break through, they could return to Gao'an City and escape with their lives. If they charged back, even if they broke through, there would still be Chinese soldiers in front of them.

Company Commander Honkawa Kaname organized the last remaining fifty or sixty Japanese soldiers and launched a desperate charge. Such a charge was simply courting death under the sweeping fire of six heavy machine guns, twenty or so machine guns, and over a hundred submachine guns.

Ji Wudi led four companies to clear out the straggling Japanese soldiers along the way. When she passed by, she ordered, "Fourth Company, clean up the battlefield!"

She led four companies to continue charging towards the Japanese artillery positions. By the time she arrived with her troops, the battle here was already over.

Shi Junxia had already ordered the Fifth Company to immediately head to Zhonggang Ridge to assist the anti-aircraft machine gun company in guarding the intersection, preventing the Japanese troops from Gao'an from breaking through.

Captain Yefang Yousuke, with his guards, was far away on the opposite side of the artillery positions, quietly watching the entire battalion being annihilated, watching the artillery company being wiped out.

These dozen or so Japanese soldiers didn't dare to make a sound, only able to lie on the ground and watch quietly.

Captain Yefang Yousuke finally calmed down and whispered, "Go behind the mountain and head towards Gao'an."

He dared not walk on the hillside that could see the highway again. Being able to see the highway also meant being seen by the people on the highway.

If these dozen or so Japanese soldiers were discovered by the ferocious soldiers below, they would definitely not be able to escape.

Shi Junxia did not know that there was a group of Japanese soldiers watching his team from the opposite side of the mountain.

He was only organizing three companies to clean up the battlefield. The soldiers were already experienced, finishing off the wounded, collecting weapons, and stripping off all the Japanese soldiers' equipment.

He was stopped by Company Commander Zhang: "We've already planted them!"

"You planted them?" Company Commander Wu was surprised.

"We're also infantry, who in the old army hasn't planted them?" Company Commander Zhang sounded somewhat dissatisfied.

The anti-aircraft machine gun company in the entire infantry regiment was not like the rocket artillery company, which was used in every battle.

Nor was it like the ten infantry companies in front, who could charge forward with their weapons. Anti-aircraft machine guns were too heavy and difficult to move on the battlefield.

Therefore, they could only be used as suppressive firepower behind the lines when the front lines encountered enemy strongholds or during sieges, and then they would be used to shoot down Japanese planes.

Today, they finally got the task of stopping the Japanese reinforcements, but after only an hour, an infantry company was sent over.

Company Commander Zhang was naturally unhappy. Company Commander Wu sighed, "I was a reserve team over there, and I didn't even get to shoot a single Japanese soldier.

This time, our brothers are working together, and if any Japanese soldiers come, we'll take them all, and not leave a single one for them."

Company Commander Zhang said with a bitter face, "The problem is whether the Japanese soldiers are willing to come!"

He was worried that no Japanese soldiers would come from Gao'an.

This time, he was pessimistic. As soon as he finished speaking, there was a report: "The Japanese are coming! There are twelve tanks in front, and dozens of cars behind, stretching as far as the eye can see."

Hearing about dozens of cars, they knew that there were a lot of Japanese soldiers coming.

Company Commander Zhang quickly said, "Let the Japanese soldiers get to the foot of the mountain. Don't use the distant mines yet. Right here below, the anti-aircraft machine guns can penetrate the tanks. As long as the tanks can't move, those cars won't be able to pass."

"If your anti-aircraft machine gun company eats meat, you have to let us drink some soup!" Company Commander Wu was unwilling.

"You can go and block the Japanese soldiers' retreat, blow up the last few cars, and they'll be trapped in the middle, unable to move," Company Commander Zhang said, unafraid of having too many Japanese soldiers, only afraid of not having enough.

"We'll sweep them with a round of fire, blow up the Japanese tanks, lure those infantrymen over, then detonate the directional mines and charge up together for a bayonet fight," Company Commander Zhang said.

"Your anti-aircraft machine gun company is still going to charge with bayonets?"

"I'll leave three people to operate each machine gun. The entire company still has over two hundred people who can charge," Company Commander Zhang said with a smile.

His anti-aircraft machine gun company had twelve anti-aircraft machine guns, but the company of two hundred and fifty men did not only have twelve anti-aircraft machine guns.

Mortars, infantry guns, heavy machine guns, light machine guns, submachine guns, they had everything.

The firepower of the anti-aircraft machine gun company was much stronger than that of an ordinary company. They were truly a team that could shoot down enemy planes in the air and strike enemy tanks and armored vehicles on the ground.

"Just do as you say! I'll have the reconnaissance platoon pay attention and blow up the last few Japanese cars coming from Gao'an.

We'll slowly fight on this middle section of the road," Company Commander Wu said with a happy smile.

"The Japanese are coming, we need to report to the regiment commander," Company Commander Zhang reminded.

"Report what needs to be reported, and we'll fight as we should.

First, break the Japanese soldiers' legs. When the regiment commander brings the other brothers over, we can all eat meat," Company Commander Wu was very happy now.

While they were discussing the battle plan, Company Commander Ichihara Yuta was sitting on top of a tank, looking at the surrounding scenery.

As a tank company commander, his company was an invincible presence on this terrain. As long as he led his team onto the battlefield,

there were no weapons in the Chinese army that could pose a fatal threat to him. If the soldiers wanted to attack the tanks, they could only rush up close and blow them up with explosives or grenades.

Other than that, they had no other way. Although they occasionally had mortar bombardments, the accuracy was completely negligible.

As for direct-fire guns, there were none in the Chinese infantry ranks at all.

Yesterday, he led the team to charge at the front, all the way into Gao'an County, and easily occupied the county town.

Today, he was leading the tank company to Dacheng, and he believed that the situation would be no different.

It was precisely because the tanks had no natural enemies on this battlefield that Company Commander Ichihara Yuta led his team at the very front.

The mountains ahead were a bit high, making it a good place for an ambush.

Company Commander Ichihara Yuta picked up the machine gun on the top of the tank and fired a string of bullets at the green hillside, "Da-da-da!"

Apart from startling a flock of birds, there was no other movement. The sound of the gunfire hitting the distance and bouncing back was drowned out by the noise of the tank engine.

The presence of birds meant that there were no ambushes in the woods, because the movements of an ambush would have scared the birds away long ago.

Company Commander Ichihara Yuta praised his own wit: "I am just that excellent!"

On this rare straight stretch of road ahead, the tanks could have accelerated a bit for some excitement. However, Company Commander Ichihara was a cautious commander and did not ask the tank driver, Rikuzen Yuki, to drive faster.

No matter how fast or slow, they would always reach Dacheng today!

Company Commander Ichihara had no doubt about this. Just then, he seemed to see many flashes of fire in the woods where he had startled the flock of birds earlier.

With a "Boom!" an explosion rang out right beneath him.

This was the lead tank of the Japanese. Company Commander Zhang ordered the two direct-fire guns and three rocket launchers in the company to aim their first shot at it.

They aimed for a guaranteed hit with five weapons against one target.

Company Commander Zhang's plan was perfect, and the reality was also perfect. They blew up the target in the first round.

Twelve anti-aircraft machine guns fired fiercely at the last tank, cutting off both ends.

The tanks in the middle would be unable to move, unable to advance or retreat.

Company Commander Ichihara Yuta died in the first round of attack. Even if he hadn't died, he would have been useless to the entire tank company.

The twelve tanks of the entire tank company were lined up in a row, completely exposed to the direct line of fire of the anti-aircraft machine guns and infantry guns.

There was nothing to hide behind in the middle. The lead and last tanks were blown up without any reaction.

The tanks in the middle lurched forward and backward, unable to find a way out. Even if they wanted to fire their cannons at the hillside, they couldn't adjust the angle.

Only the machine guns on the tanks turned around and fired at the hillside for a while, but they were quickly suppressed by the machine guns on the hillside.

The power of the anti-aircraft machine guns was not fake. The bullets pierced the side armor of the tanks, and even if Kinjouya Yuki hid inside the tank, he was shot to death by the bullets that came in.

In fact, none of the Japanese soldiers inside each tank survived. Although mortars did not aim directly like infantry guns, the special operations brigade's mortars had one characteristic: they had a lot of shells!

By firing a few more shells, they could always hit them.