The expeditionary force began to dominate Southeast Asia by recruiting defeated soldiers

What if the leading mecha unit is ambushed and completely wiped out? (The Chinese characters for the Japanese mechanized unit are '机甲兵', which sounds like Gundam, which is quite childish.)

As the captain of the 2nd Battalion of the 148th Infantry Regiment, Nishikawa Daigo was not at all flustered.

He said: "The warriors of Tiannao Heika can fight even without chariots."

Unlike the rough feeling of the Japanese army tactics summarized by Meng Fanle in "The Regiment Commander" - "artillery bombardment and then infantry charge, and then artillery bombardment after the infantry charge", the infiltration operations of the grassroots Japanese infantry are actually extremely delicate and precise.

Under the command of Xichuan, an elite Japanese squad of more than 50 people launched a "fire reconnaissance" on the highway.

These Japanese veterans performed fairly standard tactical moves, leaping back and forth between countless bunkers, cautiously approaching the Second Battalion's defense line.

This was the Japs' tried-and-tested tactic of luring the enemy from the front, which had been in use since 37. By using a small number of infantry to feint an attack from the front, they could test the firepower configuration of the Chinese defenders and mark targets for their artillery fire from the rear.

At the same time, the small group of Japanese troops in the front attracted the attention of the Chinese defenders and provided cover for the Japanese infiltration troops that were circling around on both sides.

When the defenders' machine gun fire was eliminated by the infantry guns and grenade launchers in the rear, the main force of the Japanese troops that had flanked on both sides would suddenly launch a sudden attack, rush into the trenches and fortifications of the Chinese defenders, use bayonets and hand-to-hand combat to drive the Chinese defenders out of the trenches, and then use artillery and machine guns to inflict heavy casualties on the defenders.

The Japanese's offensive method has even become a standard procedure, and has achieved fruitful results in countless frontal battles in Qian's country.

"Yoshi, that's it."

At this time, Nishikawa Daigo looked ahead with a confident expression on his face. Although the burning steel wreckage on the road was a bit dazzling, he firmly believed that his brave warriors could defeat the enemy with their momentum.

However, this time Major Nishikawa encountered an enemy that was completely different from the Qianguo army on the previous battlefield - Zhang Chi's independent regiment.

Before the Japanese troops on the highway who were feinting and attacking could reach a distance of 400 meters where the grenade launchers and Type 99 light machine guns could better exert their firepower, the sniper hidden in the rainforest had already pulled the trigger.

The 4x scope of the M70 hunting rifle provides snipers with an excellent field of view. Under the compression of the rifling, the rotating bullet whizzes through the treetops and shadows, hitting the target accurately.

Each bullet was like a summons from the hands of the god of death, knocking down the Japanese sergeants, corporals, veterans operating grenade launchers and light machine guns, and others one by one.

Since the Japanese squad tactics were entirely centered around light machine guns and grenade launchers, as these veterans and junior officers fell, the combat effectiveness of the Japanese squad also collapsed.

On the road, the actions of the Japanese feint attack team gradually stagnated, and the remaining Japanese soldiers fired indiscriminately at the rainforest with their bolt-action rifles.

Major Nishikawa watched his soldiers fall one after another, his eyes filled with anger and helplessness.

He suppressed his inner anxiety and ordered the two Type 92 infantry guns assigned to the brigade to fire at the rainforest on both sides of the road, trying to suppress the deadly gunshots with artillery fire.

"Boom! Boom!"

The Type 92 infantry gun let out a dull roar, and the shells smashed into the depths of the rainforest on both sides of the road.

However, just as the Japanese artillery fire began, the second battalion's artillery counterattack came as fast as lightning.

The six John-made 81mm (3.2-inch) mortars assigned to the Second Battalion opened fire quickly, and several mortar shells from the first round of test firing soon fell on an open ground nearly 6 meters away from the Japanese artillery position.

Although the mortar gunners of the Second Battalion were not very skilled, they were able to constantly correct the firing parameters with the help of artillery observers who carried radios.

Each mortar shell was more accurate than the previous one, gradually approaching the position of the Japanese Type 92 infantry gun.

Seeing the bad situation, the artillery squad leader immediately ordered the artillerymen to quickly push the light infantry gun to move and hide.

Although their infantry artillery was able to temporarily avoid the attack, without artillery support, the Japanese squad that was exploring the road was quickly killed one by one on the road by bullets from several light machine guns and snipers in the rainforest, leaving behind only deathly silence and bloodstained corpses.

In the distance, Major Nishikawa tightly grasped the telescope and witnessed the last soldier who tried to escape from the road being shot down.

However, even so, he still refused to believe that failure was imminent.

He gritted his teeth and whispered to himself, "It's just a small problem. Although the frontal squad has been wiped out, as long as the flanking Locust infantry launches an attack, everything will be fine."

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Not long after, the hundreds of Japanese soldiers who were maneuvering through the rainforests on both wings encountered the soldiers of the Second Battalion who were well prepared.

"Japanese devils!" Wu Dali, the squad leader in charge of defending the rainforest, saw the vegetation in front of him moving and directly pulled the trigger of the M3 submachine gun in his hand. A series of .45 pistol bullets penetrated the thin leaves and bushes like a storm and rushed towards the Japanese devils squatting behind him.

Countless blood splattered, and the two Japanese soldiers fell to the ground with their eyes open, still holding the heavy and long Type 99 rifles in their hands.

The squad leader's gunshot was the signal, and all the soldiers in the squad pulled the trigger at the green "screen" in front of them.

When the smoke cleared, the bodies of several Japanese soldiers, which were like torn sacks, fell to the ground, crushing the green "screen".

Before Wu Dali could go forward to check, several Japanese scouts suddenly rushed out from the side.

The devils shouted, raised their Type 99 rifles and opened fire, but they just fired a shot and knocked down a soldier from the independent regiment.

Before they could pull the bolt again, the soldiers of the opposing independent regiment had already fired 4 or 5 shots from their M1 carbines. The rain of steel bullets that came at them directly turned the Japanese into sieves.

Although Wu Dali only paid the price of being shot to eliminate a dozen or so attacking Japanese soldiers, the continuous gunfire attracted more Japanese soldiers.

The dense rainforest blocked their view, and Wu Dali's team could only judge that there were a large number of attacking Japanese soldiers by the changes in shadows and sounds.

"Give me the assault!"

Two more Japanese soldiers rushed out of the rainforest. They held Type 99 rifles with bayonets on them, lowered their bodies, and walked with bow legs as they charged directly at Wu Dali.

Wu Dali didn't have time to change the magazine of his empty M3 submachine gun, so he directly pulled out the M1911 pistol from his waist and shot and killed two Japanese soldiers.

"Fuck! If the regimental commander hadn't given the squad leader a pistol, I would have been dead today."

Wu Dali wiped the cold sweat from his head, changed the magazine of the M1911 and put it back on his waist.

"Squad leader, just be happy. A pistol, a submachine gun, a watch, a telescope, all this equipment you have is only available to company commanders, even in the Central Army."

The squad leader next to Wu Dali looked at the watch on the squad leader's wrist and said enviously.

When Wu Dali heard this, he patted the assaulter on the shoulder and said:

"If you kill a few more devils with your shotgun, I'll commend you and guarantee you'll be given a devil's watch."

Although Zhang Chi required all captured items to be handed over, he was systematic in that he only wanted the captured gold and silver. He gave away other small items like watches, pocket watches, and samurai swords as rewards to the soldiers who fought bravely.