Bright Sword: Japs, times have changed

On the battlefield.

As the smoke bombs dissipated, the Japanese's every move became very clear. The tanks were slowly retreating to avoid being destroyed by the independent battalion's howitzers.

The battle never stopped. Harahira Koizumi knew that he had no other options. The only thing he could do now was to take advantage of this opportunity and once again launch a full-scale attack on the independent battalion's frontline.

If you succeed, then the battle will really begin; if you fail, then it will be the end of the battle.

Yuanping Koizumi gritted his teeth and gave the order to charge, and the Japanese soldiers rushed towards the independent battalion position with guns in hand and howling.

The second company opened fire at full power and coordinated with the artillery to stop the Japanese charge.

Inside the command post.

The monk accompanied Lin Qiang outside the house and observed the specific situation on the battlefield through a telescope.

"Battalion Commander, you said the Japs didn't gain anything from this show. What were they trying to achieve?"

Hearing this, Lin Qiang responded, "The Japanese want to put enough pressure on the front battlefield to make us focus all our attention on this, creating an opportunity for Yamamoto Ikki and his special forces to launch a surprise attack on the artillery positions."

"Humph!"

After saying that, Lin Qiang snorted coldly.

The final result was that the Japanese shot themselves in the foot. The sneak attack failed, Yamamoto's special forces were wiped out, and Yamamoto Ikki himself became a prisoner of the independent battalion and was being held in a cell in the independent battalion base.

The Japanese did not fare well on the front battlefield. Not only did they lose two tanks, but their troops were also sharply reduced.

It can be said that the Japanese did not gain any benefit from the implementation of this plan.

Once again repelled by the independent battalion, Harahira Koizumi knew that there was no hope of winning this battle. Unless Lin Qiang volunteered to die, he would not find any opportunity.

Order each unit to count the remaining troops as quickly as possible, which will determine whether to continue the stalemate or retreat directly.

After a whole morning, Harahira Koizumi finally got the troop statistics.

After just one glance, his face darkened to the point of dripping water: "Including the wounded, there are less than 40,000 people left?"

Before the war, the army had a total of more than 80,000 people, but now even the wounded are less than half of them...

Even with such a large number of troops, including bombers, tanks, and even secret weapons such as poison gas bombs, they were unable to destroy even a battalion-level team.

The loss of more than half of the total force was undoubtedly a huge failure for any commander.

It is an even greater shame and humiliation!

Haradaira Koizumi had even foreseen his own fate, which was probably similar to Hirano Wataru's, the only difference being the crime.

Although half of the lost troops were not entirely caused by him, strictly speaking, the number of casualties in the troops he commanded after Hirano Wataru's death would not exceed 3,000.

But he knew that the higher-ups wouldn't care.

The final commander-in-chief of this battle was Harahira Koizumi, so he must take responsibility for this.

The Japanese lieutenant colonel who came to report didn't dare to breathe. He lowered his head and avoided looking, not daring to meet Harahira Koizumi's almost cannibalistic gaze.

The Chief of Staff asked cautiously, "Sir, Brigade Commander, what should we do now?"

There are only two options before Yuanping Koizumi at the moment. No matter how many troops he loses, as long as he can solve the huge trouble of Lin Qiang, the higher-ups will only reward him and not blame him.

But the question is, if we wipe out all our troops, can we still win the battle?

Having already lost half of his troops, Lin Qiang still had the ability to eliminate the remaining half.

The second option is obvious, which is to withdraw troops immediately, with the main force retreating back to the county town, and waiting for punishment or new instructions from superiors.

The former is a big gamble, but Harahira Koizumi knows the chances of winning are very small;

The latter was also a gamble, but relatively speaking, the risk was small. Having already lost three brigade commanders, Haradaira Koizumi had reason to believe that his superiors would not let him commit seppuku to apologize.

After thinking about it, Harahira Koizumi's expression gradually relaxed.

"Order all troops to withdraw to the camp. The infantry battalion under the 17th Infantry Regiment will conduct the attack. Each charge must not exceed meters. Once within the range of the independent battalion's forward positions, retreat immediately."

"Every day, we rotate a regiment to lead the charge. Just keep fighting them like this!"

A smile gradually appeared on Yuanping Xiaoquan's face, but his tone was very cold: "We have sufficient logistical support. I don't believe that Lin Qiang has enough food to feed so many people!"

It is winter now. Even if there are many wild vegetables in the mountains, they are impossible to find. Forget hunting. There are wars every day and the birds have all flown away.

The area around Xiaowangzhuang can be said to have become a deserted place.

According to intelligence, the independent battalion not only has more than 5,000 soldiers, but there are also thousands of civilians inside the base, all of whom need to eat. The daily food consumption is a terrifying number.

Harahira Koizumi smiled and said to the Chief of Staff, "The independent battalion is very powerful. They probably snatched a lot of supplies from us before, but these supplies can't withstand consumption."

"Great idea!"

After praising him, the Chief of Staff said, "But there are still many villages around. I have to admit that the people's resistance has been high in recent times. If Lin Qiang sends people to the surrounding areas, he can also raise a lot of food."

"Isn't this difficult to handle?"

Yuan Ping Xiaoquan looked confident of victory and said, "Immediately order the troops to conduct a thorough sweep of all the villages within the Laiyuan County area. Don't leave even a grain of rice for Lin Qiang!"

"Also, notify the Anhua County garrison in my name to simultaneously conduct a sweep of the villages within the county."

"This time, I'm going to starve Lin Qiang and his independent battalion to death!"

"Hi Yi!"

The Chief of Staff was about to leave when he was stopped by Harahira Koizumi: "Wait a moment."

"Inform everyone: strengthen the defenses between county towns, remove all artillery towers and strongholds, and form a massive encirclement. The goal isn't to encircle and destroy the Eighth Route Army, but to prevent them from gathering food and reinforcing Lin Qiang's independent battalion!"

"Remember, no matter what the price, not a single grain of rice will be allowed into the Independence Camp!"

"Hi Yi!"

This plan made Harahira Koizumi very satisfied. The independent battalion was surrounded and without food source, they would starve to death sooner or later.

Even if there is arable land in the independent camp base, there will be no harvest from winter planting.

However, what he didn't know was that the independent battalion's material reserves had reached a terrifying amount.

Lin Qiang didn't know the exact amount. He only knew that even without adding the supplies in the super warehouse, the supplies in the system space would be enough for everyone in the independent camp to consume for more than ten years, or even twenty years.

Moreover, these supplies are of various kinds, not just a single type.

Not to mention being surrounded by the Japanese, even if the end of the world comes, Lin Qiang can ensure that the base will have enough food and clothing for a hundred years.