The War of Resistance Against Japan: Starting with a Calm View of Life and Death

"We can't stop. If we stop, the Eighth Route Army will swarm us like flies." Okada Tomohisa's eyes were sinister. "Pass on my order: leave a small squad to clear the roadblocks, the rest of you travel light, abandon all heavy equipment and wagons, take only ammunition and food, march quickly, and retreat towards Yangfangkou!"

"Hai!"

The Japanese troops began frantically clearing roadblocks, pushing bombed-out trucks off the road, and throwing dead horses and corpses aside.

Meanwhile, on a hillside five miles away, Zhou Jindong was watching all of this through binoculars.

"Dongzi, that old Japanese devil is ruthless, he even abandoned his heavy artillery?" Wang Yuan exclaimed in astonishment.

"He's scared." Zhou Jindong put down his binoculars, a cold smile playing on his lips. "The more he rushes to run, the more likely he is to make a mistake. Pass down the order: Zhang Fang and the second platoon continue laying mines ahead. They don't need to kill anyone, just make a noise, enough to scare them to death."

Wang Yuan, you take a platoon of men and circle around to their flank.

"And what about you?" Wang Yuan asked.

"I'll lead three platoons and follow them closely," Zhou Jindong said, pointing to the road below. "The moment they stop, we'll fire sniper shots. I'll make sure Okada Tomohisa doesn't even have time to take a piss!"

Gunfire never stopped on the highway outside Ningwu County that night.

As the Japanese soldiers walked ahead, sniper shots came from behind, and as they walked, a mine exploded by the roadside.

Although the casualties were not high, the psychological torment caused the Japanese soldiers to break down.

They dared not sleep, dared not leave the group; their nerves were taut like a string about to snap.

As dawn approached, the Japanese troops finally reached an open area—Shilipu.

The terrain here is flat and there are no obstructions.

Okada Tomohisa thought he had finally shaken off the guerrillas and ordered them to rest for ten minutes before cooking.

Just as the Japanese soldiers took out their mess kits and hadn't even had time to pour water, a burst of gunfire suddenly erupted from all around.

This time it wasn't a sniper shot, it was a volley of shots!

"Da da da... bang bang bang..."

Bullets flew in from all directions, and the resting Japanese soldiers fell in droves in an instant.

"Enemy attack! Take cover!" Okada Tomohisa drew his command sword and shouted.

The Japanese soldiers quickly lay down and sought cover to launch a counterattack.

But the attack came and went quickly. The gunfire stopped abruptly after less than five minutes.

Tomohisa Okada lay on the ground and waited for a while, but there was no movement.

He cautiously raised his head and found that the surroundings were empty, without even a ghost in sight.

"Captain, it was a small group of Eighth Route Army soldiers; they've already fled," Fujita Hiroshi reported.

"Damn it!" Okada Tomohisa trembled with rage. This was clearly Zhou Jindong's strategy of wearing down his troops, preventing them from resting and eating.

"Keep going! No rest! We must reach Yangfangkou before dark!" Okada Tomohisa roared.

The Japanese troops, exhausted, set off again.

By the afternoon, the Japanese troops had slowed down considerably.

The soldiers were exhausted and hungry, and many of them fell asleep as they walked.

Just then, the scout ran back to report: "Captain, we've spotted the main force of the Eighth Route Army ahead, and they're building fortifications!"

Okada Tomohisa's mind went blank.

"Where did these Eighth Route Army soldiers come from?"

"It's true! The hill ahead is full of Eighth Route Army soldiers!"

Tomohisa Okada immediately raised his binoculars and looked ahead.

On the two hills ahead, a large number of troops were indeed active, and the fortifications were well-constructed. You could even see the barrels of several mortars reflecting the sunlight.

"It's over..." Fujita Hiroshi's face turned deathly pale. "Captain, we're surrounded!"

Tomohisa Okada's hands began to tremble.

With ambushes ahead and pursuers behind, the troops were already at their last gasp.

But he was an old hand at this, and he quickly calmed down.

He stared at the two hills for a while, then suddenly sneered, "That's not right. If it's the main force, why aren't they firing artillery? Why are they just building fortifications?"

He observed carefully for a while and found that although the "Eighth Route Army" moved quickly, their formation was somewhat scattered, and they did not have heavy machine gun positions or even proper trenches, only simple foxholes.

"This is a feint!" Okada Tomohisa roared. "It's that bastard Zhou Jindong's doing! He's trying to trick us!"

"Then... what should we do?" Fujita Hiroshi asked.

"Charge! Once we break through this line, the plains ahead are wide open!" Okada Tomohisa drew his sword. "Order the troops to concentrate all firepower and attack the high ground on the left! Once we defeat them, the enemy will scatter!"

The Japanese army adjusted its deployment, leaving a small number of troops to cover the rear, and concentrated two companies to launch an assault on the high ground on the left.

Behind a reverse slope on the left-hand high ground, Zhou Jindong was watching through binoculars as the Japanese troops swarmed in like ants.

"Dongzi, the Japanese are really charging in! This old devil really knows his stuff!" Wang Yuan lay down next to Zhou Jindong, holding a pull-string grenade in his hand, his palms sweaty.

"It's good that they know their stuff, but I'm afraid they won't dare to come." Zhou Jindong was frighteningly calm. "Pass down the order: wait until the Japanese are within fifty meters before attacking."

Zhang Fang, aim your machine gun at that commander and take him out as soon as you fire. Wang Quan, your men are in charge of throwing grenades; after one round, retreat to the second line of defense.

"clear!"

The Japanese army began preparing artillery fire.

Several grenade launchers bombarded the high ground, sending dirt and rocks flying everywhere.

Immediately afterwards, hundreds of Japanese soldiers charged forward, bayonets at the ready and yelling.

Fifty meters... forty meters... thirty meters...

Zhou Jindong could even see the ferocious expression on the face of the Japanese sergeant at the very front.

"beat!"

At Zhou Jindong's command, the pistol in his hand fired first.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Three bullets, and three Japanese soldiers fell to the ground.

Immediately afterwards, gunfire erupted from the high ground.

Zhang Fang's Type 96 machine gun fired, the dense bullets reaping the lives of Japanese soldiers like scythes.

The first row of Japanese soldiers fell like wheat being harvested.

Lei Laohu and his men opened the lids of the boxes of grenades, pulled the pins, and threw them down.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The explosions erupted amidst the Japanese troops' charging formation, sending limbs and severed bodies flying everywhere.

The Japanese army's offensive momentum was halted.

They lay on the ground and exchanged fire with the guerrillas.

However, the guerrillas had the advantage of terrain and had plenty of ammunition, so they didn't care about the cost.

Bullets were rained down like they were free.

Tomohisa Okada, watching from behind, nearly popped his eyes out.

"Baka! This firepower doesn't look like guerrilla warfare at all! It's even fiercer than a regular army!"

"Captain, we really can't get through! The terrain is too unfavorable for us!" Fujita Hiroshi shouted.

Just then, three red signal flares suddenly rose from the high ground on the right.

It turned out that the real main force of the Eighth Route Army had arrived.