Quartermasters can also fight the devils

After the attacking Japanese army entered the vicinity of the tank trap, all the attacking Japanese officers and soldiers clearly felt that the defensive strength of the Chinese army on the opposite side had become completely different from before. The fierce shooting made it impossible for the attacking Japanese officers and soldiers to move forward at all. The tank trap was only forty or fifty meters away from them, but this distance made all the Japanese soldiers feel so far away.

The Japanese army launched three consecutive attacks, but was unable to get close to the tank trap, let alone rescue the tank soldiers whose lives were in the tanks.

When Zhang Wenwu was commanding the officers and soldiers of the new 100th Division to dig tank traps, he designed it based on the fact that the Japanese tanks were generally about two and a half meters high. He asked all the officers and soldiers to dig the tank traps to a depth of four and a half to five meters. In this way, with the height of the Japanese officers and soldiers in the tanks, they would not be able to climb out of the deep pit on their own. They also didn't need to arrange people to watch these tanks and wait until the battle was over to deal with them one by one.

After three consecutive failures in the offensive, Chief of Staff Fukutaro Nishiyama did not care about his own safety and came to the front line with his guards to supervise the battle. He asked the 101st and 103rd Regiments to organize more "vanquishes" to attack the Chinese army on the opposite side. If they could not occupy the defensive positions of the Chinese army, they had to at least get close to the tank trap and rescue the tank soldiers. This was the combat mission set by the division commander and must be completed.

However, the multiple "vanguard teams" organized by the Japanese army were unable to advance the attack line even a little bit before dark. After suffering heavy casualties, the officers and soldiers of the new 100th Division managed to block the frenzied attack of the Japanese army.

But the attack of the "Volunteer Squad" was not completely ineffective. In the last attack before dark, some Japanese troops still rushed to the edge of the tank trap. But when they finally got to the edge of the trap and looked down, they were surprised to find that the Chinese had dug the trap too deep. If they wanted to rescue the people in the tank, they would have to use tools, or at least a rope. Moreover, even if the tank soldiers could successfully climb up using the rope, they would be shot to pieces by the Chinese army not far away.

When Chief of Staff Fukutaro Nishiyama received the news from the attacking troops, he comforted himself helplessly in his heart. He thought that he was not prepared and should have prepared some tools. This was not the fault of the officers and soldiers responsible for the attack. He also had a reasonable reason to explain to the division commander why he failed to complete the assigned task.

When it got dark, Li Zhengying, with three companies of officers and soldiers selected from the special forces battalion and all the members of the suicide squad, were entering the tunnel they had discovered earlier in an orderly manner. In a small woods two kilometers north of Hongcheng City, officers and soldiers who had crawled out of the tunnel in advance were vigilantly guarding the surroundings.

As soon as Li Zhengying emerged from the tunnel, he immediately came to an officer of the suicide squad who was on guard at the edge of the woods and whispered, "How is it? Did the Japanese patrol team find anything?"

After the officer pulled Li Zhengying a little further into the woods, he reported in a low voice: "Captain, a patrol of Japanese cavalry passed by the front of the woods before, but they did not dismount to check inside the woods. I have sent several brothers from the local gang to investigate the surrounding area to see if they can find the Japanese headquarters."

After hearing the officer's report, Li Zhengying felt relieved. As long as the Japanese army did not find the exit of the tunnel in the grove, after all the officers and soldiers came out of the tunnel, he would lead the troops to search for the Japanese command post in the dark.

When Zhang Wenwu told the division headquarters during the day that he would be given a mission tonight, Li Zhengying immediately became excited. He had been waiting for so many days and finally a mission was given to him. But after Zhang Wenwu gave him the mission, Li Zhengying felt that the difficulty of this mission was too great.

He needed to quickly find the Japanese division headquarters outside the city in the dark, and lead his men to successfully destroy this headquarters where no one knew how many people were defending it. The difficulty was extremely high, and he only had one night to carry out this mission.

Although the troops in the city will cooperate with his actions and launch a large-scale night attack on the Japanese troops in the city within the specified time to attract the Japanese troops' strength and attention, it is also very difficult for him to complete the task assigned by the division commander. It can be said that he and these officers and soldiers are facing a life-or-death situation.

But such an exciting battle plan made him very excited. If he completed this task, he would definitely be remembered by people in the future. The temptation was too great.

After all the officers and soldiers came out of the tunnel safely, Li Zhengying had the tunnel entrance restored, and then he led everyone to quietly follow the route previously specified by Chief of Staff Ouyang Heng, making a big detour to the place where the Japanese headquarters might be.

Li Zhengying also sent out more than 30 former members of the Hongcheng gang, who were dressed in plain clothes to scout around and search for the Japanese army's headquarters. He needed to find the Japanese army's headquarters as quickly as possible, and then launch a surprise attack on the Japanese army's headquarters when the troops inside the city launched a counterattack.

Chief of Staff Fukutaro Nishiyama is now reporting to Lieutenant General Masayoshi Ito on the progress of the troops today in the division headquarters only 2.5 kilometers away from Hue Gate, and explaining the reasons why the rescue of the officers and soldiers in the tanks was not completed.

"Yo, Mr. Nishiyama, thank you for your hard work. That damn and despicable Chinese commander actually dug such a deep trap. I hadn't thought of that before. But it doesn't matter. Now the offensive front has advanced to near the designated position. If we let the attacking troops push the front line forward a little tomorrow, we will be able to complete this tactical task." Lieutenant General Masayoshi Ito did not blame his chief of staff. He knew that the morale of the troops was not high and Fukutaro Nishiyama was already doing his best to supervise the battle.

Besides, who could have thought that the hateful Chinese commander would dig such a deep trap? He now seriously suspected that this despicable Chinese commander was making a sarcastic remark about the height of the warriors of the Empire of Japan. This Chinese commander was the most hateful person he had ever met in his life, no doubt about it.

"Mr. Nishiyama, thank you for organizing the troops in the city to defend tonight. At the same time, prepare the necessary rescue tools as soon as possible. We must rescue the officers and soldiers in the tanks tomorrow. In the absence of food and drinking water, they will not be able to hold on for long." Lieutenant General Masayoshi Ito rubbed his aching head and instructed Fukutaro Nishiyama.

Major General Fukutaro Nishiyama also quickly said that he was not tired, and he would return to the city immediately to organize the defense of the troops and prepare the ropes and ladders for rescue. He would rescue all the tank officers and soldiers tomorrow.

After Lieutenant General Masaki Ito sent Major General Fukutaro Nishiyama away, he returned to the tent next to the headquarters. He felt a headache and needed a good rest. What had happened in recent days really made him a little irritated. Nothing happy happened.

Li Zhengying was now sweating with anxiety. He had led his troops in a covert search for nearly two hours. Following the guidance of the soldiers from the local gang around him, they had now reached three kilometers outside Yonghe Gate. However, they had not encountered any Japanese patrol troops along the way. This made him wonder if the Japanese headquarters was located on the west bank of the Gan River, otherwise there would be no patrol team at all.

Li Zhengying looked at his watch. It was already past nine o'clock in the evening. According to the plan Zhang Wenwu had explained to him before, the troops in the city would launch a counterattack at one o'clock in the morning. He needed to find the location of the Japanese headquarters before twelve o'clock, and take advantage of the fighting in the city to attract the attention of the Japanese army, and suddenly launch an attack on the Japanese division headquarters. Only in this way would he have a chance to complete this mission.

"Has the Japanese headquarters not been found yet? Those scattered reconnaissance personnel still haven't sent back any news?" Li Zhengying asked an officer beside him a little anxiously.

"Battalion Commander, the people who went out to scout and search for the Japanese headquarters have not sent back any news yet." The officer knew that his battalion commander was anxious. He had been asked the same question many times along the way.

Li Zhengying can now only lead his troops to continue searching along the roundabout route given to him by Ouyang Heng. Now he needs a little bit of luck. In order to complete this mission more smoothly, Li Zhengying has also made a lot of preparations, but the prerequisite is to find the Japanese army's headquarters.

Zhang Wenwu was also constantly pacing in the command center of the new 100th Division. He knew that this mission was very difficult, but if successful, it would turn the situation in Hongcheng around in an instant, and the new nd Army might even be able to create another brilliant record.

"Battalion commander, news has come back from the people we sent out." An officer trotted over to Li Zhengying and reported excitedly in a low voice.

"Where are the people? Where are they? Have you found the Japanese headquarters?" Li Zhengying was so anxious that he was sweating. It was almost twelve o'clock, and he still hadn't been able to find the location of the Japanese headquarters.

Li Zhengying had just finished asking questions when he saw a man in civilian clothes trotting up to him and whispering, "Captain, I found a place with a lot of Japanese soldiers. That place is about two kilometers outside Hue Gate. There are Japanese sentries around. I didn't dare to go in and take a closer look, but I saw some people in Japanese officer uniforms walking out of that place."

When Li Zhengying heard what the soldier said, he felt that this place was most likely the Japanese division headquarters, otherwise there wouldn't be so many Japanese officers coming in and out.

So, Li Zhengying asked the soldier to lead the way, and everyone checked their weapons and moved forward covertly towards the discovered Japanese headquarters.

(Thanks to I am Liu Erge, Past. Unbearable to look back, Yuanshou who loves tofu with black bean sauce, Zhixiaxia, Weisen who loves to eat matsutake mushrooms, Tianle, Lu Yilin who likes to cut melons, users, Paopao, for their gift support! Thank you all for your support and encouragement!)