Chapter 5: Unconventional Tactics
When daylight broke, the rain finally stopped.
Shōzō Koizumi, a lieutenant commander who had not closed his eyes all night, pushed open the window and was greeted by the fresh air after the rain, which was sweet and fragrant, reminding him of his hometown. Shōzō Koizumi's hometown was at the foot of Mt. Fuji in Shizuoka Prefecture, and he vividly remembered that the air in his hometown had this scent.
Koizumi Masao's spirit was stirred up, he turned around and picked up the war sword, walked into the courtyard, and swung it.
When he danced until his whole body was slightly sweaty, Koizumi Masao stopped and simply washed up. He called out to his orderly, "Thanks for your hard work! Please prepare my breakfast!"
The duty soldier took orders and left, at this time, the Japanese army's wake-up call sounded.
Koizumi Masao slowly savored his breakfast, a habit he had developed during his early years studying in Germany. He could go without lunch or dinner, but this breakfast was not only something he had to eat, it also had to be sumptuous.
After having breakfast and changing into uniform, the troops had already been fully prepared for departure.
Koizumi Masaaki made a brief mobilization to his subordinates: "Braves of the Great Japanese Empire, within 75 kilometers in front of us is our destination - Jiajiazhuang. Jiajiazhuang is the rear support point of the Chinese troops. Taking down Jiajiazhuang will plunge the Chinese troops into a state of panic, and our Great Japanese Imperial Army can gain an overwhelming advantage on the Taierzhuang battlefield. Xuzhou is within reach, and the strategic idea of connecting the headquarters from north to south will soon be realized. All this depends on today's combat action. Braves of the Empire, according to our highest confidential intelligence, the Chinese have not made sufficient preparations for blocking along this 75-kilometer assault route. We will break through like a hot knife through butter until we complete the strategic goal of occupying Jiajiazhuang! Braves of the Empire, His Majesty the Emperor is watching your actions. Now is the time for braves to show their loyalty to His Majesty! Let's go!"
In the midst of a loud and clear "Long live the Emperor" cheer, Koizumi's rapid deployment unit set off, embarking on what they thought would be a smooth and unstoppable charge.
Three hours later, around 10 o'clock in the morning, Li Zhongyun saw the vanguard of the Little Japanese: a reconnaissance squad consisting of five three-wheeled motorcycles.
In an ambush, attacking the scouts is the most foolish decision, not only is it inefficient but also exposes the ambush plan, this is a common sense in battle, even novice bandits know this principle. But Li Zhongyun insisted on attacking the scouts.
At six o'clock in the direction of the Japanese army scout squad, Li Zhongyun's three-man sniper team fired simultaneously, and one shot killed two Japanese soldiers.
The quality of the Japanese soldiers was indeed high, and when they encountered a sudden attack, no one panicked. The remaining thirteen people quickly jumped off the tricycle and formed a temporary combat position based on the terrain and motorcycles, with all gun barrels pointing in the direction of Li Zhongyun.
But all this is in vain!
Li Zhongyun and his men did not have a plan to fire a second shot, but instead took advantage of the reeds' cover to move nearly 100 meters to their flank.
Two minutes later, the Japanese scouting party did not wait for the expected battle and stood up with a hum, some went to take care of their comrades who were knocked down earlier, and others started the motorcycle. At this time, from another direction, there was another gunshot, and the little Japanese scouts fell again in response.
The remaining eleven people hastily lay down, this time losing the composure of the last time. They failed to form an effective combat formation and simply stuck close to the ground, reducing their chances of being shot.
Five minutes later, Koizumi's main force arrived, and the lead chariot immediately launched a rescue operation against the scouting party. Two light machine guns opened fire at the same time, suppressing the enemy with firepower. In fact, this suppression was just a deterrent, meaning that if the enemy sniper dared to act again, my machine gun would immediately turn you into a sieve.
Under the cover of machine guns, the lucky scouts found an opportunity to evacuate the dangerous area and reported to a vanguard commanding officer of the main force. Then, the Japanese mortars and heavy machine guns appeared on the scene.
Of course, all of this was ineffective for Li Zhongyun's sharpshooter team, as the combat squad that fired the second shot also withdrew from their original position.
The Japanese retreated, regrouped and prepared to advance again. At this moment, the remaining three combat teams of Li Zhongyun's Sharpshooter Team opened fire, with three consecutive gunshots, five little devils fell down again.
Ten minutes of fighting time, nine soldiers were injured and killed, but the enemy was nowhere to be seen. This is no longer a trivial matter, it must be reported.
Soon after, Koizumi received the report.
This was a sudden event, completely beyond his expectation. Koizumi calmed down in just one second, and he explained to himself that the enemy army was after all a regular army on the Chinese side, had fought many battles big and small, and it was normal to cultivate several excellent marksmen.
But this explanation was immediately overturned by itself. If it were just a few gunmen, how could they achieve long-distance transfers in a short period of time?
After making several assumptions, Koizumi Masao finally made the correct judgment that the enemy was a sniper team. They were divided into at least three sniper groups, with each group having at least two people.
"Order Ghost Troop to sweep through the reed marshes where the enemy is hiding, other combat units continue to advance!"
In the few minutes that Koizumi Masao was thinking and giving orders, Li Zhongyun's sharpshooter team had already withdrawn from the battlefield. As they withdrew from the battlefield, Li Zhongyun and his men deliberately made their tracks heavier, fearing that the little devils would not discover them and waste the hard work of Luo Zhonggang and others behind them.
After receiving the order from Koizumi Masao, Oniyakata Motoki immediately led his troops into action. He divided them into small units, with each soldier spaced three meters apart, and launched a sweep operation towards the reeds. Soon, they discovered the trail of Li Zhongyun and others.
Kiyomizu's squadron received orders for a pincer movement and pursuit.
Li Zhongyun withdrew from the reeds according to the pre-designed route and quickly approached a small hill five miles away. Three minutes later, a squad of Guizang's team also rushed out of the reeds, rapidly pursuing along Li Zhongyun's withdrawal route.
As a result, Luo Zhonggang and his brothers were caught off guard.
On a patch of land about 20 meters long and wide on the edge of a reed marsh, Luo Zhonggao laid out nearly fifty homemade explosives.
The destructive power of this bomb is not great, but the simultaneous explosion of fifty bombs with ordinary power is quite extraordinary. This good thing was suffered by the most active team in Kitaro's squadron, and after the explosion, almost no one could stand up.
Looking at the scattered little Japanese, Luo Zhonggang was thrilled to the extreme, waved his hand, hummed a little tune, and led the brothers along the route specified by Ye Tufei to withdraw towards Gengji.
This explosion was adding fuel to the fire for Gui Zong, who had already been blinded by rage and forgotten that Koizumi's order was only to sweep the reeds, leading the entire squadron in pursuit of Li Zhongyun.
The five-mile road was just over ten minutes for those who were chasing life and death. Li Zhongyun and his men ran fast, and the Oniyama squad chased after them just as quickly. Just as Li Zhongyun and his men arrived at the small hill and had not yet made preparations for battle, the pursuing troops of the Oniyama squad appeared at the foot of the mountain.
Both of us can see each other.
Then don't be polite, let's fight!
The little Japan still loses in this battle.
From a geographical point of view, Li Zhongyun's sniper team is at an advantageous position. From the combat conditions, Li Zhongyun's sniper team has some cover, although it's just a makeshift one. On the other hand, Kizuka's platoon is in an open area at the foot of the mountain with no cover. In terms of firepower, Kizuka's platoon didn't bring many heavy weapons due to their haste, resulting in a stalemate between the two sides.
A hail of gunfire, Li Zhongyun's sharpshooter team pinned down the Onizuka squad, unable to lift their heads.
Oniwa ordered the troops to retreat 50 meters back, then ordered the communication soldier to contact Koizumi. After getting online, Oniwa made a brief report to Koizumi.
Perhaps it was the shock of being defeated that had addled his brain and made him lose all sense of reason, for when he reported back to Koizumi, he committed a low-level mistake. On the surface, this mistake didn't seem like such a big deal, but in reality, it played a crucial role in determining the direction of the entire battle.
Ono's report to Koizumi was: He encountered the main force of the Chinese ambush unit and needs emergency support.
After Oniizuka sent out a distress signal, Koizumi's large army arrived in less than five minutes.
This was not Koizumi's emphasis on the distress call from Onigashima, but rather that the geographical location of this hill happened to be a necessary route for Koizumi's march to Kashima.
Only Koizumi's armored tank had to take the main road, while Li Zhongyun's sharpshooter team led by Onizuka's team took a small path through the fields, so the battle between the sharpshooter team and Onizuka's team broke out first, followed by the arrival of Koizumi's main force.
Koizumi didn't believe that the Chinese blocking detachment would make this earth mound their main position, but seeing the seven or eight corpses of Imperial warriors on the open ground at the foot of the mountain and the ring-shaped defensive works on top of the hill, he still chose to be cautious. The artillery squadron began to prepare, and eight tanks also entered firing positions.
Three minutes later, all the artillery of the Koizumi unit fired simultaneously, with only one target, the circular fortifications at the top of the hill. As the smoke from the artillery fire quickly enveloped the entire top of the hill, a sly smile appeared on Koizumi's face, and in his heart he was ridiculing the commander of the Chinese blocking detachment. Indeed, there was such a circular fortification, plus the gentle open space at the foot of the slope, which could indeed be used for some resistance. But that Chinese commander was too ignorant, the combat power of the Imperial Japanese Army was not just the combat capability of simple infantry, but also the empire's artillery and armored vehicles!
After a full five minutes of artillery coverage, the Onizuka infantry platoon launched a charge. As expected, the Onizuka platoon encountered no resistance during the charge and successfully charged to the top of the mountain, sending a victorious signal to the main force below.
But was this victory too easily won?
Long before Onitsuka Motoki withdrew his platoon, Li Zhongyun had already withdrawn his sniper team from the other side of the hill with ease. When Onitsuka Motoki sent out a distress call to Koizumi Masao, Li Zhongyun and his brother were already on their way back to their own lines.
Koizumi committed almost all his firepower to a five-minute barrage against an empty hill, against what looked like a ring-shaped fortification, and then Onizuka's platoon launched a "beautiful" charge into the smoke.
When the smoke cleared and Xiaquan finally knew the truth, he was furious and slapped Guiyuan twice.
