Resistance against Japan: Starting with the local militia

Chapter 180 Battle Stalemate

Meanwhile, Ikeda Maken, who was heading towards Sanjiaji, received a telegram from Tanaka Itsuki informing him of the attack.

"What?!" Masaki Ikeda exclaimed in surprise after reading it.

"Ikeda-kun, what's going on?" Suzuki Ichiro asked upon seeing this.

"Tanaka-kun has been attacked by the enemy, and he requests that we advance our attack on Sanjiaji as soon as possible." Ikeda Maken told Suzuki Ichiro this news, which they found astonishing.

"What?! How dare this militia split their forces to launch a proactive attack on a full-strength battalion?!"

Suzuki Ichiro found it hard to believe that a Chinese army would dare to launch a preemptive attack on a Japanese battalion!

“They’ve always been daring; there’s nothing they won’t do. Heh heh heh, this militia seems quite confident; they plan to wipe out Tanaka-kun’s large force in a short time.” Ikeda Maken’s eyes gleamed coldly.

"This militia group's appetite is far too big! Tanaka-kun's large brigade is not so easily devoured."

"Now that we know this news, let's launch an attack on Sanjiaji immediately. There's a Chinese idiom, 'besieging Wei to rescue Zhao,' which will force the militia to return to defend. We can even cooperate with Tanaka's battalion to take down this force in one fell swoop," Suzuki Ichiro suggested.

"Speed ​​is of the essence in war, let's launch the attack immediately." Masatoshi Ikeda nodded.

"it is good."

"The entire army is mobilized."

The two Japanese battalions began to advance faster towards Sanjiaji.

"Report, Commander, two Japanese battalions plus two regiments of puppet troops from Wolongshan County, totaling more than 4000 men, are now advancing towards Sanjiaji."

Intelligence about the Japanese troops' deployment was immediately gathered and sent to Tang Weiguo's command post.

"It seems the Japanese already know about our attack on the Japanese battalion in Qingshan County, otherwise they wouldn't have launched the attack so quickly."

"Yes, I'm not afraid of them being anxious, I'm afraid of them being cautious, that would be a big problem for us. The more hurried they are, the more opportunities we have to find their weaknesses."

"I'm not afraid of their sharp edges, I'm afraid of their steady and methodical approach."

Tang Weiguo said with a smile.

“That makes sense!” Zhang Haoshan nodded in agreement.

"Commander, let me first inform Tang Xiaohu of the intelligence."

"Ah."

After Zhang Haoshan finished speaking, he picked up the phone and called Tang Xiaohu's front-line command post.

To ensure communications for this defensive operation, the communications department had set up telephone lines connecting to Sanjiaji, Tangjia Town, and Yixiantian well in advance.

"Hello, hello, is this the regimental headquarters? This is Tang Xiaohu."

"Battalion Commander Tang, this is Zhang Haoshan. I'm informing you of the situation. The Japanese troops in the county town have begun advancing towards Sanjiaji. Please prepare for battle."

"Yes, Deputy Regiment Commander Zhang."

"Deputy Regiment Commander Zhang, bring me the phone. I want to say a few words to Tang Xiaohu."

"Yes." Zhang Haoshan then handed the phone to Tang Weiguo.

"Hey, Xiaohu, this is Tang Weiguo. Now I'm telling you, you must not fight the Japanese head-on. Remember to fight the Japanese using the defensive positions you've built, and preserve your manpower to the greatest extent possible."

"Also, don't be stingy with the mountain artillery battalion's shells, fire as much as you want."

"Yes, Captain."

"Okay, and report any other developments immediately."

"Yes."

"Now we're just waiting for news from Niu Dali. They've been talking for about an hour now," Tang Weiguo said after hanging up the phone.

"Now, let's wait patiently," Tang Weiguo said, looking at the sand table in front of him.

"Ah."

Niu Dali was engaged in battle with the Japanese troops of the Tanaka Battalion. When he realized that the Japanese were trying to break through to the left flank, Niu Dali immediately adjusted his deployment and ordered part of the 3rd Company of the reconnaissance battalion and the Flying Thunder Artillery Company to support Zhou Liansheng's left defensive position.

"Battalion Commander, I think we are currently in a stalemate with the Japanese. The Japanese can't break through our encirclement, and we can't do anything about them. I'm afraid that if this goes on for too long, it will be bad for us."

"Commander, how about I lead the platoon to charge?" Qin Yang said somewhat anxiously.

"No rush. The war has only just begun. Now that we have a favorable position, let's wear down the Japanese and reduce their numbers."

"The Japanese are not as easy to attack as the puppet troops. Don't underestimate the Japanese, or we will suffer a great loss."

"Yes, Battalion Commander, I understand."

"Alright, but you still need to be prepared to launch an attack at any time. Remember to make good use of the infantry-artillery coordination tactics this time, and let the shells always clear the way for you."

"Battalion Commander, just you wait and see. We haven't been training for nothing all this time."

"Alright, go down and prepare to launch an attack at any moment."

"Yes."

In the initial stages of the battle, Niu Dali did not allow Qin Yang to lead the company into the fight, but instead kept him in the rear to await orders to launch a surprise attack.

"Communicator."

"arrive."

"Order the sniper platoons of the second and third companies to eliminate key targets and create an opportunity for the first company to launch an assault."

"Yes."

After the communications officer left, Niu Dali continued to observe the battlefield through his binoculars. As Niu Dali had expected, the Japanese defense was very resolute. They had even begun digging makeshift fortifications, seemingly preparing for a protracted battle.

"I'm sorry, Commander, but our unit is unable to break through the enemy's left flank. If we continue to attack, we will suffer very heavy casualties," Staff Officer Onimaru reported.

"I saw it. The enemy has supported a unit with very strong firepower. If there are more units like this, we will be in danger."

Tanaka said very calmly, as if he had already expected this outcome.

"Commander, what should we do now?"

"Continue to organize defenses in place. Right now, our goal is to buy as much time as possible. Once Ikeda and Suzuki's squadrons break through the Sanjiaji defense line, our difficulties will be resolved."

"Not only that, we can also hold them off and, together with Ikeda's support troops, launch a pincer attack from the north and south to wipe out this force."

"Commander, I will now order the engineering corps to build defensive fortifications on the spot."

"it is good."

"Hay."

After saying that, Chief of Staff Onimaru hurriedly ran over to make arrangements.

"Heh heh heh, they want to build defensive positions? They really don't take my artillery seriously!"

Niu Dali couldn't help but laugh as he watched the engineers opposite begin constructing fortifications.

"Correspondent, tell the first company to bring up that Type 92 infantry gun and blast it to smithereens."

"Yes."

The artillery platoon of the first company pushed out the assembled cannons and, based on the target instructions reported by the artillery scouts ahead, cleared away the makeshift fortifications built by the Japanese one by one.

"You bastards! The militia are inhuman! They've gone too far!" Tanaka Shu was furious when he saw that the makeshift fortifications that the engineers had just built were destroyed by the militia's artillery shells before they could even use them.

What distressed Tanaka was that not only were the fortifications destroyed, but many of his engineers were also lost. Seeing that only a few engineers remained, Tanaka was furious.

As he watched his troops suffer increasing losses, Tanaka Hisashi's heart sank, and he couldn't help but worry again.

"Officer Onimaru, immediately send a telegram to inquire about the progress of Ikeda-kun and the others."

"Yes."