"Company commander, something happened!" The liaison caught up and hurriedly reported.

"A Japanese puppet army killed Dongzhuang, it must have wanted to harm the people."

"In order to cover the retreat of the villagers and buy time for the guerrillas to transfer the people, our platoon commander led the main force, local troops, and supplementary troops, and had to block it head-on."

The company commander's good mood disappeared all at once.

The nerves that had just been relaxed also tightened again, and he stared at the liaison officer and asked, "Is there anything wrong with the villagers?" ”

Protecting the villagers is one of the two requirements that the head of the regiment gives to everyone, and it must be done.

If an accident happens, no matter how many little devils you exclude, you can't make up for it.

"No accident, all safely transferred!" The liaison officer hastened to answer.

"It'......s good if nothing happens," the company commander let out a long breath.

But before he could rejoice, the liaison officer spoke again: "But the casualties of the troops are very large. ”

"Of the 119 troops who participated in the battle, only 18 survived in the end, and all of them were wounded, and all the remaining 101 soldiers died."

"What? All sacrificed! The company commander's eyes immediately widened, staring at the company commander, and asked with a look of disbelief.

The liaison officer replied stubbornly: "They were all sacrificed, and the platoon commander was also injured." ”

"Bastard ......"

The company commander slammed his fist on the trunk of the tree next to him, gritted his teeth and cursed.

Originally, I thought that the Seventh Company had a big victory today, killing more than 100 Japanese puppet troops, which was a very good start. Now, with the loss of a platoon of troops covering the transfer of civilians, this battle can be considered a draw at best.

The instructor comforted: "Company commander, although the loss is a bit big, the sacrifice of the soldiers is worth it. ”

"There are nearly 300 people in Dongzhuang, if they fall into the hands of little devils, with the devils being very spicy, they will definitely be slaughtered."

"When the time comes, the morale of the anti-Japanese soldiers and civilians in the guerrilla zone will definitely suffer a huge blow."

"Now with this battle, not only has the morale of the army and the people not been affected, but we have also won the hearts of many people, so that the villagers can see the determination of our Eighth Route Army to protect them, so that they can believe in us and support us."

The company commander's anger dissipated a lot, stared at the liaison officer and continued to ask, "Where are these Japanese puppet soldiers now?" ”

"After burning Dongzhuang with a fire, he retreated, and now he must have joined the main force of the devils." The liaison replied.

"Cheap them." The company commander scolded hatefully.

Then he gritted his teeth and replied: "This account will be recorded by the little devil first, as long as there is a chance, we must pay the debt with blood." ”

"Go back and tell your platoon commander, and immediately return to the garrison to replenish the troops and restore combat effectiveness. The battle is not over yet, and there are many tough battles ahead of us. ”

For the garrison, a draw meant a loss.

On the battlefield, the Japanese army had an absolute superiority in strength, and if there was not much difference between the enemy and our casualties in every battle, the main force of the garrison regiment operating in the guerrilla zone would be completely wiped out, and it would only be able to kill less than one-third of the strength of the independent mixed brigade.

When the time comes, the rest of their troops will be able to drive straight into the base area directly.

In that case, the garrison would be completely defeated.

Thinking of this, the expression on the company commander's face became more and more solemn, and he was also full of worries about the next battle.

As soon as he returned to the temporary station, before he had time to catch his breath, the reconnaissance squad leader who was focusing on the main force of the devil suddenly appeared in front of him.

The company commander's heart jumped, and a hint of bad premonition appeared, and then he asked anxiously.

"You're not staring at the devils on the front line, what are you doing when you come back!"

"Could it be that the little devil has stopped advancing and is ready to camp and rest."

"Probably not, there are still at least two hours before dark, and the rapid march can advance ten kilometers, and the soldiers are fast, and the devil will definitely not waste it in vain."

The reconnaissance squad leader hurriedly replied: "Company commander, something is wrong." ”

"Just now, the devil soldiers divided into three ways and killed three villages at the same time."

"We only noticed two of them, and ignored the third."

"Because they didn't have the main force to intercept them, they drove all the way in, and after killing one of our guerrillas, they went directly to Liuzhuang, and the more than 200 villagers in the village who didn't have time to transfer were all captured by the devils."

The company commander rubbed himself up from his chair, nervous and anxious.

Protecting the safety of the villagers is something that the regiment commander has given to him at each level and must be completed.

If there is an accident in his own place, causing more than 200 villagers to be poisoned by devils, then he is a sinner.

Staring at the reconnaissance squad leader, he asked, "How are these folks doing now?" The little devil has no poisonous hands. ”

"Safe for now!" The reconnaissance squad leader replied.

Then I felt that the tense nerves of the company commander instantly relaxed, and his face was also a lot soothed.

But it didn't last long, and the reconnaissance squad leader's next words made him nervous again, and his solemn expression reappeared on his face.

"But the devil brought them to their main force and marched with the main force, and the specific purpose is not clear."

"Surely not a good thing?" The company commander replied with a calm face.

The more I thought about it, the more solemn my face became.

The instructor suddenly spoke: "Company commander, did you think of something?" ”

The company commander did not deny it: "If you march with the villagers, the speed of the troops' march will definitely be greatly affected." ”

"The little devils would rather take the villagers with them than the speed of the march, there is only one possibility, they want to take the villagers as hostages, force us to appear, and fight them in a decisive battle."

The instructor was anxious: "What should I do then?" ”

"The Japanese puppet army adds up to more than 1,000 people, and even if we count all the supplementary troops and local troops, the total strength is only more than 600 people." ”

"No, minus the platoon that just lost, it's less than six hundred people now."

"Just this little force to fight the devil, isn't that a sheep into the tiger's mouth and a self-defeating net?"

The company commander replied with a calm face: "If this is really the purpose, even if we throw ourselves into the net, we will go!" ”

"The little devil clearly knows that the villagers are the weakness of our Eighth Route Army, and then he will hit with one blow."

"If this trick is used well, for our garrison regiment, it is no less than a draw from the bottom of the kettle."

"To rescue the hostages in the hands of the devils, we are throwing ourselves into the net and dying in battle. If we don't go to the rescue, once this incident comes, the popular support that our Eighth Route Army has built up with great difficulty will be gone. ”

"At that time, the Japanese will definitely make a fuss about this matter, saying that our Eighth Route Army is fake benevolence and righteousness, regardless of the life and death of the people, only caring about themselves, and dividing the relationship between us and the villagers, so that the people no longer believe in us, and shake the foundation of our Eighth Route Army."

"Of course, this is only the worst outcome, maybe things are not as bad as we think.

The reason why the devils caught the villagers was just so that we could have scruples and not use artillery to sneak attack them from a distance. ”

The last words of the company commander were completely self-comforting, and the instructor was clear in his heart.

Therefore, the solemn expression on his face not only did not dissipate, but became thicker and thicker. ()

。 m.