Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 123 Defense War

At the headquarters of the New Second Regiment, when Chen Chengxing was discussing the problems of the New Second Regiment with Luo Ping, a communicator ran over in a hurry.

"Report! Commander! It's bad. The Japanese have set out from Taiyuan and they look like they are heading into the mountains!"

"The Japanese are going into the mountains? How many people?" Luo Ping asked anxiously.

"Looking at the number of people, there are at least four to five thousand. It should be a regiment. In addition, they also have large-caliber heavy artillery." said the communicator.

The heavy artillery the correspondent was talking about was a 75mm mountain cannon. A Japanese regiment was standardly equipped with four Type 4 75mm mountain cannons.

But this time, in addition to its own four regimental guns, the Japanese regiment also brought an additional mountain artillery battalion.

The standard equipment for a Japanese mountain artillery battalion was 12 Type 75 mm mountain cannons.

In Shanxi, 75mm mountain cannon is considered a large-caliber artillery.

The base areas had dirt roads, mountain roads, or narrow paths. Road construction was extremely backward, with bridges being the most backward.

The best bridges in the base could only withstand a weight of 2 tons. Except for the 75mm mountain cannon, it would be too time-consuming to push and pull other artillery pieces with people or horses.

This is also the reason why the Italian artillery of the New Second Regiment never came down after being moved to Erlang Mountain. It was really too troublesome.

During each raid, the Japs would drive to the vicinity of the base and then get off and walk. As for tanks and armored vehicles, that goes without saying. Even the Japs' lightest tank weighed three or four tons, and there was no chance for them to wreak havoc in the base.

"Which road did the Japanese take?" asked Chen Chengxing.

"The Japanese went straight to Nantun Town after leaving Taiyuan. They should be heading into the mountains from the Xiguan stronghold," said the communicator.

Nantun Town is located in the north of Taiyuan, surrounded by mountains on three sides, and only the south faces Taiyuan. Since the Japanese have arrived in Nantun Town, they must have entered Dayun Mountain.

"You must immediately send a message to the third guerrilla team, asking them to use the terrain advantage to block the enemy layer by layer and slow down the enemy's advance." Chen Chengxing ordered.

"Yes!" The communicator left in a hurry.

"Old Chen, a regiment of the Japanese invaders is not easy to deal with. Should we avoid their attack for the time being?" Luo Ping said after the communicator left.

Luo Ping could tell from Chen Chengxing's tone that he wanted to fight the Japanese.

"Retreat? I'm afraid it's too late." Chen Chengxing said.

"The Japanese entered the mountains from the Xiguan stronghold and must be heading for Erlang Cave." Chen Chengxing said firmly.

There are so many roads leading into Dayun Mountain, and the road from Xiguan stronghold to Hongni Bay is almost one of the longest ones.

During the past year or so, whenever the Japanese wanted to sweep Hongniwan, they would either go through Laolongshan, Zhangjiakou, or at the very least, Gezhuang. They had never entered the mountain from the west and then went around to the east.

"The devils in Erlang Cave have very sharp noses." Luo Ping said seriously.

On weekdays, the New Second Regiment paid more attention to the confidentiality of the arsenal. The transportation of materials was the responsibility of the Special Security Company and the arsenal's transport team. Civilian workers had never been used to transport materials. Even the previous gun-making equipment was sent to Hongni Bay and then to Erlangdong by the New Second Regiment itself.

"The Japs will realize sooner or later that we can't defend ourselves against it." Chen Chengxing didn't care too much.

On the first day the arsenal was established, Chen Chengxing knew that this day would come, but he did not expect the Japanese to make such a big move and directly dispatch an entire regiment of troops to attack.

"Lao Luo, although the New Second Regiment is now very strong, it is still not strong enough to fight against a regiment of the Japanese head-on. We must be prepared for both situations."

"I will take four battalions and the regiment's direct troops to Erlang Mountain to fight the Japanese. You will lead the regiment headquarters and logistics to cooperate with the arsenal to relocate. Those that can be buried should be buried on the spot, and those that cannot be buried should be moved out of Erlang Cave and transported to the rear for hiding. Wait until the Japanese withdraw and then move them back." Chen Chengxing said.

"Okay! Let's move to the Land Hall." Luo Ping said.

The Land Hall is already very deep, and it is unlikely that the Japanese can penetrate deep into there. After all, the road in front of the Land Hall can only accommodate a small team of troops for attack at most.

"No problem." Chen Chengxing nodded.

After confirming that we would confront the Japanese head-on, the side quest also popped up.

[Side quest released: Defend the Arsenal. ]

[Mission objective: Prevent the invading Japanese army from destroying the arsenal.] [Mission reward: Skill points 0-3 (depending on the extent of the arsenal's destruction).]

Chen Chengxing glanced at the system and closed it, then walked out of the room: "Communications class, assemble!"

"Pass my order, the first, second, third and replacement battalions must assemble immediately!

Guerrilla Teams 1, 2, and 8 will keep a close eye on the Japs' counties and strongholds to prevent them from launching surprise attacks!"

"Yes!" The communications squad immediately dispatched troops.

All of a sudden, the entire New Second Regiment was on the move. Luo Ping also led the non-combat personnel of the New Second Regiment away from Hongni Bay and drove all the livestock to Erlang Cave. The transportation equipment still required the help of the livestock.

At the Erlang Mountain position, Chen Chengxing was observing carefully with a telescope.

At this time, the soldiers were reinforcing the fortifications and carrying dry food and ammunition into the position.

Because time was tight, the tunnel in Erlang Mountain had not been completed yet. However, with the help of the engineering company, the independent guard company had already built many semi-permanent bunker fortifications around Erlang Mountain using civil engineering. As long as one or two light machine guns were placed in each fortification, it would be able to cause great damage to the Japanese.

In addition, Hu Yong led his soldiers to dig 11 tunnels, 9 kilometers of trenches, more than 3 bunkers and hidden firing points in Erlang Mountain, in addition to minefields.

Each position is a mixture of light and dark bunkers, and can support each other.

"Old Hu, you are quite good at defensive battles." Chen Chengxing said with a smile.

The defense line constructed by Hu Yong clearly bears the shadow of the trench defense warfare during World War I.

"Well, I learned this from you." Hu Yong said with a smile.

After Chen Chengxing was carried back to Yan'an during the Western Expedition, although he had become a different person on the inside, his original obsession was to defend again and again.

The reason why he was seriously injured during the Western Expedition was because he was ambushed, and coupled with his lack of familiarity with defensive battles, this caused the troops to transition too slowly and eventually suffer heavy losses.

Since Chen Chengxing took over the original owner's body, he naturally had to take over his karma. So after he recovered from his injuries, he studied defensive warfare in depth and consulted many people.

Chen Chengxing would also teach various combat command skills to commanders at all levels on a daily basis. Hu Yong learned defensive warfare from him and put it into practice in Erlang Mountain.

"People say that you, Hu Yong, are honest and simple, but I think that's not entirely true." Chen Chengxing said with a smile.

"Hehe." Hu Yong just smiled and didn't say anything.

"Xu Wu, the front-line position will be handed over to the first battalion." Chen Chengxing turned his head and said.

Xu Wu has always followed Chen Chengxing and is considered Chen Chengxing's confidant. The First Battalion is also the most capable unit in the New Second Regiment, so the First Battalion always takes the lead in the most difficult tasks.

"Yes! I will ensure that the mission is completed." Xu Wu stood at attention.

"Have the positions for the mortars and infantry guns been constructed?" Chen Chengxing asked.

This was a major war, so Chen Chengxing transferred all three 82mm mortar companies to the regiment headquarters and organized them into a temporary artillery battalion under unified command.

"It has been basically completed and is now being reinforced," reported the combat staff officer on the side.

"Okay, tell the communications platoon to make sure the phone lines are unobstructed." Chen Chengxing nodded.

"Yes!"

Just then, the scout ran over.

"Captain, the Japanese vanguard has arrived at Changqing Village!"

"The Japanese are finally here! Order all troops to prepare for battle!" said Chen Chengxing.

"Yes!"

The people who were originally behind Chen Chengxing immediately dispersed, and each of them had their own tasks.

(End of this chapter)