Under the silent command of the head of education, the soldiers quickly split into groups and approached their respective targets. Some went to the machine gun near the gate, some followed my example and greeted the Japanese sentries in hushed tones, and others quietly carried explosive packs and grenades to the pillbox in the corner.
These were all troops from the Third Battalion. Their mission was to quickly eliminate the surrounding threats and prevent the Japanese reinforcements outside the barracks from coming to their aid once the fighting started! We stood in a line, quietly watching the Japanese civilians in front of us, watching the wounded soldiers groaning in pain, watching the medics and soldiers running around among the wounded...
"Hey! Chinese!"
I looked in the direction o
