The War of Resistance: My Expedition, My Country

Nakamura led the second squadron headquarters and a small group of more than 100 Japanese soldiers and marched about 1000 meters upstream of the river. A ridge blocked their way. After carefully observing the surroundings, Nakamura believed that the terrain here was easy to defend but difficult to attack. The guerrillas obviously knew that the Japanese would not launch an attack here, and there should be no ambush. The main thing to do was to guard against various booby traps and mines of the guerrillas.

Nakamura ordered a squad to cautiously advance and carefully check for booby traps. The rest of the team dispersed and hid in the surrounding bushes and weeds, awaiting the results of the search.

About 20 minutes later, a Japanese soldier came back to report that the detachment had reached the bottom of the cliff. No traces of human activity were found around, nor were there any booby traps. However, the cliff was about 7 to 80 meters high and the terrain was steep, making it difficult to climb.

Nakamura brought a few people to the cliff and after carefully observing the terrain, decided to let a few climbing experts climb up first, lower the rope from the top, and then the rest of the people climb up.

Several Japanese soldiers struggled to climb the cliff, and soon, several ropes were lowered. Nakamura was very happy. He immediately ordered the entire team to climb the cliff in stages...

Wu Quankuan and his men watched the Japanese army's actions coldly from the other side of the cliff. Seeing that the Japanese troops had all entered the ambush area on the cliff, they immediately activated the explosion. With a loud bang, the cliff side near the river collapsed completely, and Nakamura's squadron headquarters and the first squadron disappeared in the rumbling smoke.

"Boom!" A resounding roar echoed down the river gorge, startling both sides. Xiushui, on the other side, and Tanaka, who was battling the guerrillas, were taken by surprise. A Japanese observation post immediately informed Xiushui of a cliff break more than 1000 meters upstream. Horrified, Xiushui wondered, "Could something have happened to Nakamura's detour?"

Tanaka obviously had a premonition and ordered a team of Japanese soldiers to go and investigate. About an hour later, the Japanese soldiers who had been investigating came back to report that Nakamura and his men had suffered heavy losses in front of the cliff. Now there were only a dozen of them alive, most of them were seriously injured, and many were still buried in the rubble, waiting for rescue.

Tanaka had to stop the attack, report the situation to the captain of the Xiu Shui brigade on the other side, and organize his men to go to the rescue.

The Japanese army suddenly stopped attacking, and Liu Xiao knew that the enemy was going to rescue those buried in the rocks. Liu Xi did not order the troops to counterattack. At this time, the 3rd Battalion also needed to take the opportunity to rest, review the gains and losses of the previous battle, and repair and consolidate the position.

Xiushui received the message from Tanaka and knew that it was no longer possible to organize an attack today, so he ordered all units to rest on the spot and ordered the engineering team to swim across and rush to rescue the trapped people.

The Japanese army spent several hours digging and rescuing people, only stopping when the engineering team leader shook his head at Tanaka, signaling that no further digging and rescue was necessary. Most of the more than 100 Japanese soldiers, including Nakamura, were killed by the collapsed cliff. Only a handful of those who survived or were rescued had lost their legs and arms, rendering them incapable of combat.

Tanaka stared blankly at the collapsed cliff, his heart trembling: Could this be a punishment from heaven? Fortunately, he wasn't leading the team, otherwise, he might have been buried underneath.

Tanaka said secretly: "Nakamura-kun, I'm sorry, this is how war is. If you don't die, it will be my turn. When you see the God of Omens, you must ask him to protect us. The Empire of Japan still needs us to continue to conquer more lands!"

A die-hard militarist like Tanaka would never reflect on the actions of the Japanese invaders because of such an incident. Instead, he complained to the seriously injured soldiers, "Why don't you die in the chaos? That way, we don't need to stop the offensive to save you. You are no longer useful to the empire, so you might as well die with dignity."

Upon receiving the report of the rescue of over 20 seriously injured soldiers, Xiu Shui's thoughts resonated with Tanaka's, and he was currently contemplating how to deal with these wounded. Adjutant Kimura, clearly understanding his intention, approached him and whispered in his ear, "Captain, please transport the wounded back. I will escort them with the execution team."

Xiu Shui immediately understood Kimura's intention. He pretended to think for a moment and said, "We must properly accommodate them. They are all warriors who have dedicated themselves to the empire!"

Kimura nodded, "Your Excellency, I understand. They are all imperial warriors who died heroically in battle against a brutal enemy!"

After Kimura left, Kyomizu Seisuke began to calculate his own forces and the next phase of the operation. The Kyomizu Battalion had 1135 men before its departure, but after removing the wounded, the battalion now had 918 men. In other words, in less than three days of pursuit, 217 men had already been killed.

Xiu Shui was shocked! Such heavy casualties were unimaginable during the guerrilla campaign against China. According to the Front Army's plan, the campaign would continue for a long time. If this continued, his brigade might not be able to hold out until the end.

Xiu Shui, already a seasoned veteran, immediately understood the military's rationale for transferring these troops from China to the desolate Southeast Asian land of Burma. These troops, originally responsible for maintaining public order in China, had become disorganized, losing the passion and sense of honor of imperial soldiers. The military clearly intended to use them as cannon fodder.

Xiu Shui immediately thought of a solution. Even with his military prowess, he made the necessary adjustments. He called in the other two squadron leaders, and after careful discussion, they decided to withdraw the first and second squadrons, allowing the third squadron (Akino Shotaro) to cross the river and launch the attack tomorrow. Akino understood; shooting was fine, but attacking with caution!

The 32nd Battalion of the 2nd Brigade decided to dawdle, waiting for other battalions to make progress so they could reap the benefits. Meanwhile, the 32rd Battalion of the 3nd Brigade faced the 1st Battalion of the 1st Detachment of the Guerrilla Column, commanded by Qin Shi himself. Similarly, Major Duanmu Xiangyun, facing off against the st Battalion's endless tactics, had no chance of gaining any advantage. As a last resort, he adopted the same approach as Kyomizu Kiyosuke.

The Japanese 2nd and 3rd Battalions simultaneously reported to Brigade Commander Yanbu Jingrui: "We have captured the main force of the guerrillas. They are putting up a desperate resistance, but our battalions are short on manpower and firepower, making it impossible to break through their defenses." To prevent the guerrillas from making a feint to the east and escaping to the west, Brigade Commander, please quickly coordinate the movement of other units to completely encircle the guerrillas. We will pin down the enemy in the XX zone to secure the decisive opportunity for the main force!

"Baga! Xiushui, Duanmu, you have such bad consciences!" Yanbu Jingrui angrily drew out his saber and killed a packhorse with one blow!

Zhibu secretly laughed. These troops converted from the Security Force had clearly learned to find the right excuses to fight. Not to mention a commander like Yanbu, who came from a staff officer background, even a commander like him, who came from a main combat unit, sometimes felt helpless against his war-weary subordinates!