Resistance against Japan: Starting with the local militia

Chapter 198 The Japanese Suffer a Setback

"Company commander, well done! We just wiped out four Japanese soldiers in one go, right? Company commander, look, the Japanese don't dare to attack anymore. Company commander, I only need to wipe out four Japanese soldiers at once!" A soldier standing nearby shouted with envy.

"Don't rush, you'll have your chance later. Come on, let's go to another place." After saying that, the fifth company commander carried the Czech rifle and moved it from the wall's partition to another defensive position.

"Where are the guns firing?" the hidden kids asked cautiously, lying on the ground.

"Reporting, squad leader, it looks like a wall in front of us."

A clever Japanese soldier pointed to an inconspicuous gap in the wall opposite them.

"Hey, you two, go around to the flank and blow them up!" The Japanese squad leader said, pointing at two Japanese soldiers.

"Hai." Upon receiving the order, the two Japanese soldiers each took a grenade from their grenade pouches and headed around the base of the wall toward the enemy's previous firing position.

After the two Japanese soldiers arrived at their destination, they touched the pins of their grenades to their helmets, waited three seconds, and then shoved them one after the other toward the firing port. The two soldiers immediately dodged.

"Boom, boom." After two explosions, the entire wall collapsed, revealing a narrow space inside, but it was empty.

"Baka yarou! Kill the chicken!" Upon seeing this, the Japanese captain stood up from the ground. This time, instead of walking directly on the road, they carefully advanced along the walls on both sides of the road.

"Company commander, those Japanese devils are too cunning. Luckily we moved quickly, otherwise they would have really bombed us."

"The commander is right, we should fire one shot and move on to another."

"Company commander, should we attack the Japanese soldiers ahead?" Through the observation hole, the soldiers of the Fifth Company looked at the Japanese soldiers who had reappeared in front of them.

"beat."

"Bang, bang, bang." Gunshots rang out again.

The Japanese squad, which was on high alert, was shot again and fell to the ground.

"Baka! Take cover!" Before the Japanese squad leader could finish shouting, all the Japanese soldiers in the squad found places to hide.

"Company commander, company commander, I hit him! I've eliminated a Japanese soldier!"

"Well done, keep it up. Okay, everyone, get out of here." The fifth company commander led his men to the next location again.

"Reporting to the two colonels, our advance has been stalled. Each squad reports that they are ambushed by the enemy with every step they take, and it is very difficult to spot the enemy. Even if they do spot them, the enemy quickly disappears," the staff officer reported.

"How much progress have we made in these two hours?" Aoki Kuroto asked.

"It only advanced 500 meters."

"What?! It's so short?"

"It is Colonel. Our squads are fighting the enemy house by house. Progress is very slow and the troops have suffered heavy casualties."

“Aoki-kun, it seems we underestimated the militia. They must have built a complete defense system, connecting the underground and the surface, to block us on the surface and then move through the tunnels,” Matsukawa Maki said after a moment’s thought.

"Matsukawa-kun, what should we do in this situation?"

"Aoki-kun, let's halt the attack for now, then have the artillery bombard the enemy's buildings to continue destroying them. Also, order the engineers to start digging in the occupied areas to find the enemy's tunnels. We need to destroy those damned tunnels first!"

"Yoshi, Matsukawa-kun, your idea is excellent." Aoki Kuroto said with a look of agreement.

"Order all units to halt the attack and immediately notify the artillery to open fire. Also, instruct the engineers to start digging out the enemy's tunnels immediately," Aoki Kuroto ordered his staff officer.

"Hay."

As soon as the order was given, the attacking squads all stopped.

"Battalion commander, battalion commander, the Japanese have suddenly stopped their attack."

"Well, what's going on?"

"Boom, boom, boom."

Just as Tang Xiaohu was about to ponder this, the Japanese artillery fire suddenly rang out again in Tangjia Town.

"Immediately notify all units to retreat to the tunnels." Hearing the artillery fire ring out again, Tang Xiaohu's heart tightened. This time, the Japanese artillery fire was too fast, and most of the troops had not yet retreated to the tunnels.

"Yao Xing, quickly tally the casualties for each unit."

"Yes, I'll go right away."

"Shen Lei, take some men to scout out the Japanese-occupied area. Be careful what tricks the Japanese are up to now," Tang Xiaohu instructed.

"Don't worry." Shen Lei patted his chest and walked out of the command post.

"Boom, boom, boom." The sound of artillery fire outside continued to ring out, and the constant explosions of shells shook the soil falling into the tunnel. Tang Xiaohu picked up the map from the table, shook off the dirt, and then spread it back on. Afterward, Tang Xiaohu clearly marked the areas occupied by the Japanese.

"The Japanese are advancing a bit too slowly and are not reaching the expected position. I need to have the troops slow down and lure the Japanese into the town."

"Communications officer," Tang Xiaohu called out.

"arrive."

"Notify all companies to carry out the plan to lure the enemy deep into the town."

"Yes."

A dozen minutes later, Yao Xing returned to the command post and said.

"Battalion Commander, in the last defensive battle, we lost more than 90 soldiers. Most of them died because they didn't have time to retreat in the last round of artillery fire. In addition, there are more than 70 seriously wounded and more than 100 lightly wounded. The wounded soldiers have now been arranged to go to the treatment point set up by the regimental hospital."

"Yao Xing, please take a count of how many of our lightly wounded soldiers can be treated and rejoined the fight. Also, contact Dean Chu and ask her to help transfer our seriously wounded soldiers to the regimental hospital."

"Yes, Commander, I'll take care of it right away."

"Damn it, the Japanese bombardment hasn't stopped." Tang Xiaohu glanced at his watch; the bombardment had lasted for more than 20 minutes.

Five or six minutes later, the Japanese artillery fire finally stopped.

"Aoki-kun, we've been bombing for a full 30 minutes this time. There are hardly any intact buildings left in Tangjia Town," Matsukawa Maki said with a smile, looking at Tangjia Town through his binoculars.

"Matsukawa-kun, I think it will be difficult for the enemy to launch a sneak attack this time. Now we should take the surface positions of Tangjia Town in one fell swoop, and then catch them one by one from underground like catching mice."

"Aoki-kun, since that's the case, I suggest we send another company of troops. What do you think?"

"Matsukawa-kun, we'll do as you say."

"Staff Officer Yasi, immediately carry out the mission according to Colonel Matsukawa's orders."

"Hay."

With the order given, the Japanese soldiers, who had previously stopped, resumed their advance.

Following the battalion commander's orders, each company of the First Battalion organized only sporadic counterattacks, slowly luring the Japanese into Tangji Town.