Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 140: Besiege and attack the reinforcements?

As the first battalion opened up its defense line, the Japanese began to pour into Xiaoxinzhuang.

At this point, the puppet army could no longer play any role and all they could do was continue to besiege Xiaoxinzhuang.

As the Japanese invaders poured in, the two sides began to fight for every street and every courtyard.

However, with the support of 60mm and 82mm mortars, the st Battalion actually had a certain firepower advantage.

The Japanese didn't dare to stay in one place for too long at their firing points.

The 60mm mortar, in particular, is like a fish in water in such a battle. Three people can form a team and then maneuver quickly.

Although the mortar's range advantage cannot be brought into play during street fighting.

However, compared with the standard 45-degree angle of launch by the Japanese grenade launcher, the mortar can hit the enemy behind the wall at a high elevation angle.

If your skills are good enough, you can even fire through a house, directly hitting the front from the back.

It’s just that no one in the new second group has such a level now.

The First Battalion did not fight the Japanese to the death in Xiaoxinzhuang, but retreated gradually in an orderly manner.

After all, the mission of the first battalion was to attract the Japanese. If they were to repel the enemy, the plan of encirclement and annihilation would fail.

Moreover, the first battalion’s mortar shells were very limited, and Xu Wu was reluctant to use them all in Xiaoxinzhuang.

As the first battalion gradually retreated, it finally shrank to the eastern corner of the village. There were several large houses in this place, built with bricks and stones. The Japanese incendiary bombs would not burn the entire house with one shot.

Looking at the Eighth Route Army that was trapped, Yoshida Yuma nodded with satisfaction.

"Yoshi. Order the Locust Association to enter the village to search for the remaining enemies and assist in besieging the Eighth Route Army." Yoshida Yuma ordered.

"Hi!" Liu Beixin stood at attention.

The Locust Association is most familiar with the task of cleaning up.

After entering the village, the Locust Association soldiers immediately acted like wild dogs on the loose, taking whatever they could find in the houses, even the bowls and chopsticks.

"Damn, are you beggars? I told you to search and wipe out the remaining enemies, but this bowl is for the Eighth Route Army?" Liu Beixin was so angry when he saw this scene.

Although this is a mopping-up operation, the Eighth Route Army is still fighting nearby. Is this the reason you're trying to do this?
"Captain, although this bowl does not belong to the Eighth Route Army, it is still their bowl. If we move it away, it will cause losses to the Eighth Route Army, and it can also be considered as contributing to the Locust Army." The puppet soldier argued.

"Bullshit! Hurry up and check every room to see if there are any remnants of the Eighth Route Army, and then sweep them away." Liu Beixin said angrily.

"Yes!"

Faced with Liu Beixin's rage, the puppet soldiers were helpless and could only turn around quickly.

"Commander, the Japanese have entered Xiaoxinzhuang. The first battalion has retreated to the east of the village and is now holding its ground," the combat staff reported.

"What is the current situation of other troops?" Chen Chengxing asked.

"Several strongholds around the Japanese have sent reinforcements, with varying numbers of troops. Now the 28th Regiment and the Independent Regiment are respectively carrying out blocking operations.

The 772nd Regiment and the New st Regiment have respectively advanced to Tacun and Daicun in the northeast of Xiaoxinzhuang, and Tianjiawa and Wulitun in the southeast of Xiaoxinzhuang, and are forming a counter-encirclement of the Japanese.

Chen Chengxing breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that the 772nd Regiment and the New st Regiment were basically in place.

As long as the encirclement is completed, there is no need to worry about the Japanese reacting.

"Zheng Hua, take three infantry companies and launch a surprise attack on Beima Village. At no time can we allow the Japanese mountain artillery to continue attacking the first battalion." Chen Chengxing ordered.

The biggest threat to the New Second Regiment now is the Japanese mountain artillery. As long as Zheng Hua can pose a certain threat to the Japanese mountain artillery, the Japanese artillery will definitely move.

When the Japanese moved, it was Zheng Hua's chance.

Without the mountain artillery, the New Second Regiment could do whatever it wanted to the Yoshida Battalion.

Moreover, a large encirclement had been formed, and the Japanese couldn't escape even if they wanted to.

"Yes!" After hearing Chen Chengxing's order, Zheng Hua immediately led the 567th Company and bypassed Xiaoxinzhuang from a distance and rushed towards Beima Village.

"Company 8 will cover Company 2 and Company 4 and set up artillery positions in a small forest 1.5 kilometers west of Xiaoxinzhuang, preparing to bombard the Japanese."

"The main force is ready to march towards Xiaoxinzhuang!" Chen Chengxing ordered.

According to the combat plan, the New 772nd Regiment and the nd Regiment were responsible for attacking Yoshida's Battalion from both sides.

The Japanese who were attacked would inevitably flee in panic, and mobile warfare was the forte of the Eighth Route Army, so they could then wipe out this group of Japanese at the smallest possible cost.

If the Japanese were really trapped to death, their dying counterattack would definitely cause considerable casualties to the 386th Brigade.

The strongholds around Xiaoxinzhuang sent out reinforcements, preparing to form an encirclement and then gradually squeeze inward.

However, not long after they left their stronghold, they were ambushed by the Eighth Route Army.

In addition to Ding Wei's 28th Regiment and Kong Jie's Independent Regiment, local guerrillas in the Hebei area also participated in the operation and continued to attack the Japanese.

The Japanese did not have many troops in each stronghold, and usually the number of Japanese and puppet troops would not exceed 500.

If the Japanese who were blocked retreated, it would be fine. If they were determined to fight the Eighth Route Army, Ding Wei and Kong Jie would teach them a lesson. As long as the troops were in place, they could immediately eat up the reinforcements of up to 300 to 400 people.

With the strength of the 28th Regiment and the Independent Regiment, it would be no problem to defeat the Japanese reinforcements.

Moreover, as long as the reinforcements are eaten up, this stronghold will immediately become extremely dangerous.

Now the whole Jizhong area has become a mess around Xiaoxinzhuang. When Ding Wei and Kong Jie go to attack the stronghold, the Japanese can't get any support at all.

Wuheng County, the Third Brigade Headquarters.

"Captain, urgent report! The Renqiao Town and Nimazhuang strongholds were broken by the Eighth Route Army, and all the locust troops in the strongholds have been destroyed!" Dong Shanming reported hurriedly.

As for the Locust Association troops in the stronghold, Dongshan Ming did not mention it. It is obvious that these people have surrendered and should come back on their own in two days.

"Where did so many Eighth Route Army soldiers come from in Ji Zhong?" Watanabe Sakon frowned.

This was completely different from previous intelligence. Just half a month ago, he led a team on a mopping-up operation. The main force and guerrillas in this area would not exceed three to four thousand people, and he had killed quite a few of them at that time. How come so many people suddenly appeared now?
Could it be that all the Eighth Route Army troops in the entire Jizhong Plain have gathered in Wuheng County?
Where does this place have such great value that it is worth the Eighth Route Army deploying all its troops here?

"Captain, what should we do now?" Dong Shanming asked.

The most important thing now is not to worry about where the Eighth Route Army came from, but to quickly come up with a response strategy.

"Immediately order all troops to return to the base. Their mission is to defend the base." Watanabe Sakon ordered.

Now Watanabe Sakon suspected that the Eighth Route Army was trying to encircle a point and attack its reinforcements again, which was the Eighth Route Army's favorite tactic.

The stronghold is the key for the locust army to maintain law and order. Without the stronghold, the area will be completely out of control.

"Hai!"

"Also, send a telegram to your superiors to explain the situation and request tactical guidance. At the same time, ask them to assist in investigating the Eighth Route Army in other areas of Hebei Province to see if any troops have disappeared," Watanabe Sakon added.

The total number of Eighth Route Army soldiers that have appeared now is about 7,000 to 8,000. Watanabe Sakon suspected that the Eighth Route Army was conducting a siege and rescue operation, and he did not dare to mobilize troops from various counties easily.

Losing one or two strongholds is not a big deal, we can just take them back. But if the county town is lost, it will be troublesome. I am afraid that I will never be able to make any progress in my life, and I may even be transferred to the garrison.

"Hai!"

After receiving the telegram, the North China Front Army Command immediately sent telegrams to troops in various regions requesting cooperation in the investigation.

However, after an investigation, the Japanese found that there were no fewer Eighth Route Army soldiers in the area under their jurisdiction. On the contrary, there were many more than in the previous raid.

However, the commander of the 140th Regiment, Yuta Shimada, who received the telegram, reacted immediately.

Perhaps among them are the elite Eighth Route Army troops that he had been tracking before.

Moreover, after returning to Changshan, he investigated and found that in addition to Hengxian being ambushed by the Eighth Route Army, there were also strongholds near Xingtai that were attacked by unknown Eighth Route Army troops. Shimada Yuta suspected that it was the Eighth Route Army from Shanxi that entered the Ji Zhong Plain.

After Shimada Yuta reported what he knew, it immediately attracted the attention of the North China Command.

If these were really reinforcements sent by the Eighth Route Army from Shanxi, they must be elite troops, and the central Hebei area would be in danger.

Inside the headquarters, Sugiyama Gen looked at the report in his hand and said, "We can't just let the Eighth Route Army run rampant in Hebei. Are there any troops ready to mop up the troops?"

Although Sugiyama Moto had previously ordered that preparations be completed within 10 days, he was well aware that it was not easy for the Japanese army to prepare supplies for large-scale operations.

After the Battle of Wuhan, although the headquarters had no plan to launch a large-scale battle involving hundreds of thousands of people, there were still 12 Japanese troops in the south fighting against the more than 30 troops of the Chinese Ninth War Zone in Nanchang.

This means that combat supplies and transportation capacity will be tilted towards the southern battlefield.

The supplies needed for the Ji Zhong mopping-up plan could only be accumulated and transported bit by bit.

"Only part of the Fifth Division's troops have completed their preparations," Dongshan Ming reported.

The Fifth Division suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Taierzhuang, with almost all of its elite troops lost, and it has not yet recovered.

They had been resting all the time, and the Type A divisions already had sufficient supplies, so there was actually no need to allocate additional supplies, and the Fifth Division could be dispatched.

However, they are now still responsible for the defense of the Jiaoji Line and the Jinpu Line, and can only barely mobilize most of the regiment to participate in the mopping-up operation.

"Send them a telegram and ask them to head north to the Hebei-Central area immediately to suppress the Eighth Route Army in that area, while waiting for the follow-up large force." Sugiyama Gen said.

According to the plan, the Fifth Division will send 2 troops.

The combat effectiveness of the Type A Division is still guaranteed. Sugiyama Gen believes that with this 2-strong force entering the Hebei-Central area, it will be enough to prevent the Eighth Route Army from acting rashly.

Now, if we just give them a few more days, the troops and supplies responsible for the mopping-up operation can be deployed.

“By the way, assign them a Locust Army troop to assist them.” Sugiyama Gen added.

The Fifth Division was not stationed in Hebei Province, so after arriving in Hebei Province, there was no Locust Army to assist them.

Although the combat effectiveness of the Locust Army is almost zero, it is good to be able to step over mines and block bullets.

"Hai!"

(End of this chapter)