Devil's Army

Lieutenant Colonel Ike stopped to rest when he saw that the soldiers of the Devil Army did not continue to pursue them.

Lieutenant Colonel Ikezaki ordered each squadron leader to count the losses in their own squadrons.

The squadron leaders of the Japanese Army's Fifth Battalion quickly counted the losses of their squadrons.

Lieutenant Colonel Chi Zhong was overwhelmed when he saw the damage report. The battle had just begun, and before Ji County was even in sight, nearly one-third of his troops had been killed or wounded.

Considering the heavy artillery firepower of the Devil's Army and the fact that their positions were hidden in the mountains and forests, their air force had no way to destroy it. Lieutenant Colonel Chi Zhong decided to disperse the troops in squadrons to attack Panshan.

Facing Lieutenant Colonel Chi Zhong's plan, the deputy captain said worriedly:

"Judging from the scale of the Devil's two attacks on us, their numbers and firepower are not inferior to ours. Can we win by dispersing our attacks like this?"

"So what? Are we just going to retreat back to Peking in disgrace?"

Lieutenant Colonel Ikenaka was not unaware that the Devil's troops had more manpower and firepower than him, but he was already being roasted on the fire. If he attacked, even if he won, it would be a pyrrhic victory. If he didn't attack, would Commander-in-Chief Terauchi Juichi let him go?

After a short rest, the 2nd Company of the 5th Battalion of the Japanese Army began to act as the vanguard and attack Panshan.

The Second Squadron of the Japanese Army arrived at the corner of the path in front of Panshan and began to accelerate their charge towards Panshan.

It is still more than 200 meters from here to Panshan. The artillery fire of the devil troops is fierce, and it is a deadly path.

Seeing that there was only one squadron of Japanese soldiers, the Second Regiment Commander was reluctant to waste precious 150mm grenades and simply ordered the mortar troops to bomb the Second Squadron of the Japanese Army.

The mortar shells of the Second Regiment kept exploding in the Japanese army. The Japanese soldiers who were hit could only blame themselves for their own sins. The Japanese soldiers who were not hit accelerated and rushed into the winding mountain, running through the deadly 200 meters.

The Japanese troops that rushed into Panshan exchanged fire with the vanguard of the Second Regiment. Fierce gunfire rang out in the Panshan forest.

When Lieutenant Colonel Ikezhong saw that his Second Squadron had successfully rushed into the Panshan Forest, he immediately ordered the Third Squadron to follow suit.

The Japanese troops and the First Army’s troops fought repeatedly in the forests that snaked into the mountains.

As the soldiers of the Japanese Third Squadron broke through the mortar blockade of the First Army and joined the battle, the pressure on the First Army's vanguard troops began to increase and they gradually retreated.

Soldiers from the First Battalion of the Second Regiment then joined in the encirclement of the Japanese army from both sides.

Lieutenant Colonel Ikezhong was left with only a small number of guards, and the other soldiers were asked to reinforce the vanguard troops that had already entered Panshan.

The Japanese army gradually gained a foothold at the mountain pass leading into Panshan and continued to shoot at the soldiers of the First Army.

At this time, the Second Battalion also joined the battle, blocking the Japanese army in a small area at Panshan Pass.

The two sides fought until dark, and Lieutenant Colonel Chi Zhong was unable to advance further into the heart of Panshan.

Lieutenant Colonel Ikezaki was afraid of being ambushed by an army at night, so he had to order the Japanese troops to withdraw from Panshan.

After a whole day of fighting, the Japanese army left behind hundreds of corpses, and the war situation returned to the state before the war.

This time, the Second Regiment had the advantage in terrain and firepower, but still suffered about 200 casualties.

The Japanese army will definitely not accept defeat and will definitely attack again tomorrow. The second regiment commander and Political Commissar Huang thought of countermeasures while inspecting.

The Japanese troops destroyed by the Second Regiment Commander's artillery today were mainly concentrated in the 200-plus meters from the Panshan Pass to the corner of the path. The most effective way to increase Japanese casualties was to extend the time it took the Japanese to pass through this 200-plus meter path.

The second regiment commander and Political Commissar Huang stood at the corner of the path, observing the terrain.

"Captain, are you planning to set up an ambush on both sides?"

"We have set up ambushes on both sides. How can we retreat after ambushing the Japanese? The Japanese also have artillery. The two hundred-meter-long path leading to Panshan will also become a deadly path for our ambush troops."

"I haven't thought of that. So what's your idea?"

The Second Regiment Commander and Political Commissar Huang were pointing and talking at the corner of the path, while the guards were looking around nervously.

Suddenly, a guard saw a ray of sunlight reflected from the opposite hillside.

"Be careful!" The guards knocked down the second regiment commander and Political Commissar Huang.

"Bang", a gunshot rang out, and a bullet flew past the place where the second regiment commander had just stood.

"Protect the commander, the commissar!"

The guard captain and several guards stood in front of the second regiment commander and political commissar Huang. Several other guards escorted the second regiment commander and political commissar Huang to quickly retreat to Panshan.

When the second commander reached the path, he suddenly stopped, stamped his feet and shouted happily:

"Got it, let's go back to the headquarters."

When they arrived at the command center, the second regiment commander immediately asked the guards to call the first battalion commander over.

After a while, a battalion commander came trotting over.

A battalion commander just ran into the headquarters, picked up the water cup on the table, took a big gulp of water and asked:

"Captain, is there a mission?"

"Yes, you immediately arrange the soldiers..."

After hearing this, the battalion commander happily responded:

"Yes, I'll arrange it right away!" The battalion commander put down the cup of water and trotted out of the command center in two steps at a time.