Chapter 158: Shouts
In a deafening explosion, the gun tower meticulously built by the Japanese collapsed with a crash, countless broken bricks and tiles were blasted into the air, and the Japanese and puppet troops inside flew into the sky along with those bricks.
One shot… four tanks only needed one shot to take out the stronghold that had been entrenched near Tiger Hill for nearly half a year, which countless civilians gnashed their teeth over and wished to eliminate once and for all. This scene also stunned two figures hiding in the darkness.
“My goodness… these iron turtles are too powerful.” A slightly younger and smaller man said to his companion beside him, “Big Brother Ma, look… one shot… just one shot blew it away, just like a father beating his son.”
Big Brother Ma gave him a knuckle on the head and cursed: “What nonsense are you spouting, kid? Hurry back and report, quickly call the county brigade, there are plenty of good things in the gun tower.”
“Oh… right…” The man suddenly realized. The Tiger Hill gun tower, as a notorious Japanese stronghold in the area, usually had over a hundred Japanese and puppet troops stationed there, with more than a hundred rifles alone, plus light and heavy machine guns and supplies like grain.
These things this wealthy team in front of them probably wouldn’t care for, but for these poor ghosts, they were all treasures. If they all went to the county brigade, they would strike it rich.
As the commander responsible for this attack, Li Gaoyuan naturally did not know that two county brigade militiamen in the darkness were eyeing the weapons in the Tiger Hill stronghold.
But even if he knew, he probably wouldn’t have the mind to care. At this moment, he called John over and unfolded the map to him.
“John… do you know why I called you here?”
“Li… you’re really treating me like a rookie.” John said discontentedly: “When I was fighting the Germans on the French battlefield, you were still playing with mud at home.”
“Hey…” Li Gaoyuan was furious inside; these foreigners really didn’t respect their superiors at all.
But no matter how unhappy he was, he could only roll his eyes. This foreigner wasn’t bragging; he was a veteran of the Great War, and the only officer in the militia proficient in armored warfare.
Soldiers respect the strong, but also respect seniors, and this guy had both.
“Alright.”
Li Gaoyuan pointed at the map and said to John: “This is Xincounty. According to intelligence, it stores ammunition for a Japanese division. If we blow it up, the Japanese 20th Division will have to fight us with bayonets.
Your task with your tank battalion is to reach Xincounty ahead of the 20th Division at the fastest speed, then blow up the ammunition there. Can you do it?”
John frowned and looked for a long time, then asked: “Li… how many guards in Xincounty? How many checkpoints and strongholds along the way? What if we alert those checkpoints and guards along the way?
You know, we’re driving 30-ton Sherman tanks, not 10-plus-pound bicycles; we can’t do concealed marches.
And there’s a biggest problem: what to do if we encounter Japanese planes? These all need to be considered.”
“You don’t need to do concealed marches; that’s not realistic.”
Li Gaoyuan said straightforwardly: “And I’ll assign the anti-aircraft battalion to you, have them form a mixed formation with you, so if Japanese planes come, you won’t be without a way to fight back.”
John’s thick brows knitted tightly; he still felt it was too risky, but he also understood that war always involves risks, and if successful, their gains would be huge.
War is like that; no one can guarantee certain victory, and no one knows whether danger or victory will come first.
“What about Xiangding, still attacking?”
“Why not… don’t we still have us?”
Li Gaoyuan smiled: “The Japanese and puppet guards in Xiangding number only about a thousand. I still have two battalions and one artillery regiment in hand; taking Xiangding is no problem. If not, there’s still the second regiment coming up later, right?”
“Alright.”
After the two discussed, Li Gaoyuan immediately ordered the troops to advance toward Xiangding. The Shanxi Militia’s equipment was much better now than during the Xuzhou Battle.
After several months of crazy expansion, the troops trained a large number of drivers; each regiment had its own truck company, the troops had achieved mechanization, and infantry marches no longer relied on No. 11 buses.
…………
Wang Fuguai sat in the truck compartment, hugging a Thompson M1928A1 submachine gun, squinting with a sleepy look. Several veterans were doing the same, cradling their guns with eyes closed resting, but many new recruits who had just enlisted were different, appearing exceptionally excited.
Although they didn’t dare speak loudly due to discipline, some still huddled together whispering.
Annoyed by the chatter, Wang Fuguai slightly opened his eyes, looking at those talking new recruits who were excited yet nervous, shaking his head helplessly in silence.
These rookie eggs really had boundless energy; after they took a few beatings, they probably wouldn’t think that way anymore.
“Squad leader… squad leader…” Monkey’s voice came from the side.
“What’s up?” Wang Fuguai didn’t even lift his eyelids, saying flatly.
“These bastards are too noisy, can’t sleep. Let’s have a smoke?”
“Smoke if you want, why ask me?”
“Hehe… I’ve run out of smokes.”
Wang Fuguai opened his eyes and saw Monkey’s gaunt smiling face.
“I’m so fed up with you.” Wang Fuguai irritably pulled a pack of Camel cigarettes from his pocket and tossed him one.
Before he could put the cigarettes away, several hands reached out all at once from around.
“You bastards, always thinking of mooching my smokes. Don’t you have any?” Wang Fuguai cursed while reluctantly handing out smokes to these bastards.
“Squad leader, as you say, us grunts get only five packs a month, not enough to smoke. You’re a staff sergeant, get a carton a month. If not yours, whose?”
Monkey’s righteous look made Wang Fuguai laugh in anger, “Then the regiment commander has unlimited supply; why not ask him?”
“I’d love to, but we have to run into the regiment commander first.”
“Fine… I can’t win against you guys.”
Wang Fuguai shook his head helplessly, lit one for himself too, and began puffing clouds of smoke in the truck.
Almost every soldier smokes; even those who didn’t before enlisting quickly pick up the habit in the army.
This is because the battlefield environment is under immense pressure; soldiers are long on the edge of life and death. Nicotine in tobacco quickly relieves anxiety, refreshes the mind, and even briefly suppresses hunger.
In trenches, bunkers, and other enclosed environments, smoking is one of the few entertainments available, helping soldiers endure long waits.
So countries around the world tacitly allow or even encourage soldiers’ smoking.
“Screech…”
Before finishing one cigarette, the truck made a sharp brake, and the soldiers in the compartment tumbled east and west.
“Get off… hurry off…” Soon, officers’ shouts rang out from outside.
