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

Soon, the Japanese were stuck in the quagmire of close combat in the complex terrain of the rainforest.

Relying on the cover of the woods, the soldiers of the independent regiment used shotguns and M1 carbines to catch the Japanese off guard and cause heavy casualties.

"What? Hundreds of casualties?"

Major Nishikawa asked in disbelief.

He was originally expecting the flanking troops to achieve results, but he did not expect the news to be so devastating.

His eyes widened, and he could hardly believe his ears.

"Baga, how come there are so many casualties?"

Nishikawa questioned angrily, his face slightly red with anger.

At the same time, doubts arose in his heart, because he did not hear any "roaring sound" similar to heavy artillery bombardment, nor did he hear the continuous "da da da" shooting sound unique to heavy machine guns.

This old-fashioned officer, who was overly superstitious about rifles and bayonets, was completely unable to understand the devastating lethality of automatic weapons at close range.

"Could it be that the warriors of the Locust Country lost to those cowards of the Dry Country even in a bayonet fight?" He was so angry that he couldn't help but slap the two squadron leaders in the face.

A squadron leader covered his red face and replied in a low voice:

"Major, in fact, our brave warriors were killed by their submachine guns and shotguns on the way to the charge before they even engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy."

The Japanese high-ranking officials have always advocated that "a submachine gun that hits the target only once out of a hundred shots is not as good as a rifle that hits the target only once out of a hundred shots." This erroneous thinking has long dominated the Japanese equipment and tactical decisions.

Therefore, a large number of grassroots officers have a one-sided superstition about bayonet fighting under this kind of propaganda.

Also, on the battlefield of Qian State, the Chinese army was unable to stop the Japanese bayonet charge due to insufficient firepower density, which made the Japanese believe that equipment upgrades were not imminent.

Therefore, this boomerang of "no need for a submachine gun at all" finally fell on Nishikawa's head many years later.

After patiently listening to the explanations of the two squadron leaders, he finally realized that his soldiers did not suffer heavy casualties in hand-to-hand combat, but simply fell in the dense rain of iron.

Major Nishikawa began to panic after a moment of thought.

Based on his previous experience on the Chinese battlefield and the common miscellaneous troops, he believed that his battalion could easily destroy the defenses of an enemy regiment, so he blindly launched an attack. (There are many examples of Japanese battalions or even squadrons chasing after entire regiments in China.)

However, the reality before him ruthlessly shattered his fantasy.

It turned out that the enemy's firepower far exceeded his expectations.

"Without the tanks' protection, a mere infantry battalion like mine wouldn't be able to break through the enemy's defenses and reinforce them. We might even get eaten alive."

However, before Xichuan issued the order to retreat, Qi Quan's second battalion decisively launched a counterattack, like a long-dormant beast that suddenly awakened and pounced on the enemy with thundering force.

Qi Quan, realizing that the Japanese troops on the opposite side were not that strong and that he seemed to have been too cautious before, directly ordered the Second Battalion to open fire at full power.

He stood at the front line, holding up the microphone of his walkie-talkie and shouting: "Attack with all your strength! We still have plenty of ammunition, let's cook a pot of steel broth for the devils!"

Then there was a roar of artillery fire, and mortar shells fell from the sky like a rainstorm, landing on the Japanese positions and blasting the surrounding trees and bunkers one by one.

At the same time, dozens of infantrymen advanced steadily along the road under the cover of LVT-A1 amphibious tanks.

"Go ahead and kill these bastards."

Behind the tank, a soldier roared, raised his Bren rifle, and fired a short burst of shots at the Japanese hiding behind the broken trees. The gunshots were crisp and clear, and each one sounded like a death knell for the Japanese.

The second and third companies took advantage of the situation and launched an assault from the rainforest on both sides.

The soldiers used shotguns, Bren machine guns and submachine guns as the core of their firepower, and used dense firepower to suffocate the Japanese in the rainforest, trying to directly encircle the remaining 600-odd people of the Japanese Xichuan Battalion from both sides.

Wu Dali, with a 30-round magazine inserted in the leather magazine holder on his chest, rushed to the front. The fire from the muzzle of the M3 submachine gun illuminated the shadows in the forest.

The heavy footsteps and rapid shouts of the soldiers intertwined together, creating an irresistible sense of oppression for the Japanese.

"Kill them all and avenge the death of General Dai!"

The assaulter holding the shotgun was a veteran from the 200th Division. He pulled the bolt to load the 12-gauge shotgun shell, and then suddenly fired at a Japanese soldier who was trying to escape.

The shotgun shell was fired, and dozens of small steel balls in front of the cartridge case scattered after leaving the barrel, cutting into the devil's body like a sharp blade, making it full of holes.

The Japanese soldier fell down with his last desperate scream.

With the arrival of several assault squads that had been interspersed and flanked, the encirclement was officially achieved.

The Xichuan Battalion's only two infantry guns and several grenade launchers were quickly destroyed by the firepower of mortars and LVT-A1 tanks.

Snipers equipped with M70 ruthlessly killed the Japanese grassroots officers and machine gunners who dared to show their heads and give orders.

Because Xichuan was in an offensive position before, he did not dig any fortifications, so the Japanese outer defense quickly collapsed.

As the encirclement continued to tighten, the remaining 600-plus people of the Xichuan Battalion were trapped in the firepower network of the Second Battalion.

Every gunshot meant the end of a Japanese soldier's life, and every round of artillery fire was a heavy hammer that crushed their last will.

Xichuan stood in the center of the encirclement, looking at the flames and smoke on the battlefield, his heart filled with endless panic and regret.

He instinctively wanted to issue a warning, telling his superiors that this "Qian State guerrilla force" had abundant firepower and should not be underestimated. It was far superior to the common Qian State regular army.

However, at this moment, the radio station at the brigade headquarters broke down due to the humid and hot environment, as if even fate was against him.

He gritted his teeth in despair, his voice muffled by pain and helplessness:

"Destroy the radio station, burn the materials, and destroy the weapons."

After a pause, Xichuan's eyes became determined.

"Let's break out in a scattered manner."

This was his last order, and also his helpless fate. The once invincible elite troops were now reduced to a state of rout and flight.

As the independent regiment's tanks approached, Xichuan knew that he had no power to turn the tide and was not even qualified to return to headquarters to face the humiliation of failure.

"Coach Oda, please be my advisor."

After saying this, Nishikawa slowly drew out his samurai sword and committed seppuku in a clean and decisive manner.

----------

On the other side, according to Qi Quan's order, the Bofors 40 anti-aircraft gun and the M15 self-propelled anti-aircraft gun were still waiting quietly in place, ready to deal with any possible attack from the Japanese planes at any time.

Because Zhang Chi, a time traveler, has repeatedly mentioned the horror of air raids, the independent regiment has become overly cautious about air defense operations.

In fact, in this era without GPS, on this battlefield with dense rainforests and rolling mountains, the Japanese planes that still rely on "human brain" navigation mainly rely on observing rivers, mountains and other terrains with the naked eye to locate.

However, it is simply a fantasy to expect to get air support in a short period of time for a sudden battle on a jungle road.

Similar to the kind of on-call air raid support from the White Eagle Country that Zhang Chi saw in the TV series before he traveled through time, not to mention the current Japanese, even the current White Eagle Army Aviation itself can't do it.

Most bombers of this era relied on visual navigation using landmarks such as mountains and rivers, and attacked key areas such as cities, airports, and bridges that were easy to identify from high altitudes.

The more advanced Western countries can only roughly locate the aircraft's position using radio triangulation.

In most cases, air strike support in this era requires a fairly complex communication and scheduling process, and due to limitations such as weather and terrain, it often fails to achieve the expected efficiency.

If you want to achieve close ground support that responds immediately, you can only learn from the Russians and send a large number of Il-2s to patrol at low altitude in a fixed area in advance to ensure that there is aircraft support at any time. (And then Hans's BF109 will also come to catch the Il-2)

However, this combat method requires a large amount of aviation fuel and engine hours to be wasted, which the stingy Japanese will definitely not be able to use.

Therefore, the main purpose of the self-propelled anti-aircraft guns currently equipped by Zhang Chi's independent regiment is to sweep away infantry after being leveled. (Desert Camel's machine gun pickup: Are you thinking about me?)