Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 146 Don’t play by the rules
Inside the temporary command post, Chen Chengxing watched the puppet troops slowly moving forward and knew what the Japanese were planning.

"Tell the front line not to fire randomly. When the enemy is at a distance of 200 meters, the soldiers with good marksmanship will fire."

"Comrades, please note that you should fire no more than two bullets in one place and then move to prevent Japanese artillery fire!" Chen Chengxing ordered.

The best way to deal with a sharpshooter is to use a cannon directly. If you stay in one place, you will inevitably be hit by artillery or heavy machine guns.

The Japanese themselves have the most say in this regard.

"Yes!"

After receiving the order, Xu Wu and Zheng Hua arranged a group of veteran soldiers with good marksmanship to go to the front line.

When the puppet troops approached within 200 meters, gunfire began to rang out.

"Snap!" "Snap!" "Snap!".
After hearing the gunshots, all the puppet soldiers fell down and then began to shoot indiscriminately.

Yamaguchi Jusanro looked at the puppet army fighting fiercely but with the front line remaining unchanged, without any surprise on his face.

He had already expected this scene to happen. He only needed the Locust Army to draw out the firepower of the Eighth Route Army. As for the rest, it didn't matter. The Locust Army would not suffer any losses anyway.

From the current perspective, although the Eighth Route Army's firepower points have not been exposed, many of the elite shooters on the positions have been exposed. If these elites can be eliminated, the subsequent attack will be much easier.

"Let the artillery fire freely and eliminate the Eighth Route Army shooters at specific locations." Yamaguchi Jusanro ordered.

"Hai!"

"boom!"

"boom!".
The Japanese continued to bombard the front-line positions, and the soldiers who were firing could only speed up their movement. After all, the firing rate of both rapid-fire cannons and infantry cannons was very fast. As long as they hesitated, a shell would be fired immediately.

After speeding up the transfer, although the frequency of the Japanese artillery attacks was very high, the casualties of the New Second Regiment were not heavy. After all, rifles are different from machine guns, they can be picked up and run with.

Half an hour later, the puppet troops responsible for the attack retreated.

It’s not that they couldn’t bear the casualties, but that they had run out of bullets and it was time to get off work.

"Taijun, the attacking troops have used up all their ammunition. Do we need to send new troops?" Wu Xiongfei asked with his arm hanging beside Yamaguchi Jusanro.

If the Japanese still demand to go forward to fight, then send more people forward to consume another wave of ammunition.

"No need. The Locust Association troops should retreat and block the periphery to prevent the Eighth Route Army from breaking through." Yamaguchi Jusanro shook his head.

It now seems that the Eighth Route Army had clearly prepared a plan for this situation. It was impossible to force out the opponent's heavy firepower points, and simply bombarding the Eighth Route Army's infantry would not have much effect.

"Hi!" Wu Xiongfei was immediately delighted when he heard that the Locust Army was no longer needed.

As long as I'm bad enough, no one can exploit me!
Wu Xiongfei led the 91st Regiment to form a large encirclement on the periphery, but although it was called an encirclement, in fact each company was gathered together with a gap of more than one mile between them.

There is nothing wrong during the day, but at night, no one would notice the New Second Regiment walking around here.

"Order the mountain artillery squadron to open fire and destroy the Eighth Route Army's outer defense positions." Yamaguchi Jusanro looked at King Nan and Huang Zhuang and gave the order.

Although the Eighth Route Army had not exposed its heavy firepower before, their defense line was clearly exposed.

The Eighth Route Army in these two villages rely on houses as cover. As long as these houses can be destroyed, the Eighth Route Army will lose their cover.

Although the ruins can serve as a defense, they are no match for an intact house.

The mountain artillery squadron had been prepared long ago, and upon receiving the order, they immediately began bombarding Nanwang and Huangzhuang in groups of two.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!".
Because the combat goal was to destroy the Eighth Route Army's first-line defense positions, the Japanese artillery did not conduct rapid fire, but maintained a rate of 2 rounds per minute for each gun, continuously firing shells into the village.

Chen Chengxing looked at the houses being destroyed without any change in his expression.

This was all expected. As long as the Japs had artillery, they would definitely carry out artillery coverage before attacking.

"How many artillery shells does each artillery company have now?" asked Chen Chengxing.

The mortar is the key to forcing the Japanese 42nd Regiment to deploy all its forces on the front line.

"On average, each mortar gun has 35 shells left, and each infantry gun has 38 shells left," said a staff officer on the side.

They didn't bring many shells this time, and after two battles, they had used up half of them.

Chen Chengxing sighed. If there were enough artillery shells, the 42nd Regiment would not be a problem at all.

"Let the first artillery company support Nanwang and Huangzhuang respectively. The second and fourth artillery companies are not allowed to fire without orders." Chen Chengxing said.

Chen Chengxing estimated that it was normal for this battle to last two or three days, and that artillery shells must be planned well. If there were no artillery shells in the later stages, the New Second Regiment would be in trouble.

"Yes!"

A mortar company has six mortars, and three mortars are barely enough to support one position. The other two artillery companies only need to be ready at all times and provide support when necessary.

Half an hour later, the Japanese artillery fire gradually stopped.

Although this shelling did not cause heavy casualties to the New Second Regiment, the houses on the periphery were completely destroyed. The First and Fourth Battalions lost a large number of shelters and can only rely on the ruins for defense.

Now that the New Second Regiment's heads were no longer covered, the Japanese grenade launchers could fire at will, which was also the main purpose of the Japanese artillery fire.

When it came to fighting, it was the grenade launchers in the hands of the devils, not the slow-reacting mountain artillery, that could truly provide front-line fire support and quickly strike the Eighth Route Army's firepower points.

As the smoke cleared, the Japanese infantry began to attack forward.

Because it was the first attack, the Japanese did not send a large army, but instead dispatched two squadrons to launch separate offensives under the cover of heavy machine guns and artillery.

The main attack direction was Huangzhuang. After all, they had just been ambushed in Huangzhuang. Given the Japanese's temper, it was impossible for them not to retaliate.

"Kill the chicken for me!" The Japanese captain in charge of the front-line command drew out his command knife and shouted.

"Da da da", "Da da da", "Da da da".
Seeing that the Japanese were still using the same old tricks, Chen Chengxing simply let Xu Wu and Zheng Hua do it on their own.

The Japanese only sent out a squadron, so there was no need for the first and second battalions to participate in the battle, so they each sent out a company for defense.

The Japanese opened up squad fire at a distance of 200 meters and began to attack rapidly forward.

"Comrades! Hit them hard!" shouted Zhao Feng, the commander of the 5th Company who was at the front line.

"Thump, thump, thump." "Thump, thump, thump."
"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!".
The two sides engaged in a fierce battle.

Although the 5th Company also had its own artillery platoon, the Japanese infantry artillery and rapid-fire artillery that provided support clearly had an absolute advantage.

Moreover, after knowing that the Eighth Route Army had 82mm mortars, the Japanese infantry guns and rapid-fire guns did not get too close to the positions, which made it difficult for the mortars of the New Second Regiment to attack the Japanese artillery.

别看82毫米迫击炮和92式步兵炮的最大射程都在2800米左右，但是最大射程看看就好，一般真正能用到的射程也就是1/2-2/3，再远就很难起到作用了。

However, after half an hour of fierce fighting, the Japanese infantry gradually retreated.

No matter how good the food is, the enemy's physical strength is not unlimited. Constantly leaping forward to attack is extremely exhausting. If they cannot attack the position in a short time, they will naturally retreat and replace people.

Seeing the Japanese begin to retreat, the soldiers on the position immediately prepared for artillery defense.

This is the standard tactic of the devils.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!".
After the Japanese infantry withdrew from the battlefield, the Japanese mountain artillery immediately began shelling. The previous machine gun fire points were important targets of this shelling.

Luo Ping looked at the Japanese who started to fire again and said with some regret: "If we had brought our mountain artillery, the Japanese wouldn't dare to be so rampant."

Zhangzhuang is only two or three kilometers away from Nanwang and Huangzhuang. If the New Second Regiment had mountain artillery that could threaten them, the Japanese would never dare to place their artillery positions in Zhangzhuang.

The farther the distance of the artillery, the lower the hit rate.

Therefore, even if the Japanese artillery positions cannot be destroyed, as long as the Japanese artillery is forced to keep a distance, it will have an impact on them.

"Let's not talk about whether we can reach Ji Zhong so quickly with mountain artillery. If we really bring artillery, I think the Japanese will definitely send planes to bomb." Chen Chengxing said casually.

The Eighth Route Army has several infantry guns, but the Japanese may not care too much about them. Infantry guns can only attack artillery towers at most, but mountain guns are weapons that can directly threaten the safety of Japanese strongholds.

The Japanese had no way to stop the New Second Regiment when they were in the mountains, but once they reached the plains, the Japanese would never let them go easily once they knew their location.

This is not an application to bomb the Eighth Route Army. If it was an application to bomb the Eighth Route Army's mountain artillery positions, Sugiyama Gen would definitely approve the dispatch of aircraft.

"I understand that, but it's a bit of a pity." Luo Ping said.

Of course he knew how much importance the Japs attached to artillery. During the Battle of Erlang Mountain, the Japs had sent out planes with the intention of bombing the artillery of the New Second Regiment, but the New Second Regiment did not give them this opportunity.

"Old Chen, I think the Japanese will have to test the waters for a while. Why don't you take a rest first and I'll keep an eye on it." Luo Ping said.

"You can just keep an eye on it. I just happened to be going to the Fourth Battalion." Chen Chengxing said.

The Japanese had to launch at least three or five exploratory attacks in the early stages, and only when the fortifications were almost destroyed would they send out a large army.

"Okay!" Luo Ping nodded.

When Chen Chengxing arrived at Jiajiaying, he saw Qin Sheng and his soldiers nailing wooden rafts.

"How is the preparation going?" Chen Chengxing asked.

"Captain." Qin Sheng quickly stood up and reported, "We have already made about twenty of them. I estimate that if we make a few more, we will have enough for three floating bridges."

"Very good, you must do it solidly. The retreat of the New Second Regiment depends on you." Chen Chengxing said.

"Don't worry." Qin Sheng patted his chest and said.

Qin Sheng, who came from the guard platoon, knew very well that his own captain was a person who always considered defeat before victory, and would always try his best to prepare a retreat.

The water depth of Pinghe River is about one and a half meters. After preparing the floating bridge in advance, we can rely on manpower to quickly build a floating bridge to cross the river when necessary.

Although there were Japanese soldiers building firing points on the opposite bank of the river, in terms of numbers, there was only an infantry company plus a machine gun squad.

For this purpose, Chen Chengxing specially allocated two infantry guns to the Fourth Battalion. With the infantry guns in hand, Qin Sheng was not too worried about the Japanese blockade.

If necessary, the 4th Battalion could fully utilize its firepower advantage to force a crossing.

"Well, we need to be more vigilant." Chen Chengxing added.

Since the New Second Regiment can build a pontoon bridge, the Japanese can naturally use it to sneak across the river. Even if it is just a small team, it will cause considerable trouble to the New Second Regiment.

After confirming the progress of the pontoon bridge, Chen Chengxing inspected along the Ping River again and found no problems, then returned to the regiment headquarters.

The Japanese offensive continued until the evening.

The entire battlefield was very quiet that night. Apart from sporadic gunfire, there were no other night attacks.

At dawn, Yamaguchi Jusanlang looked at the battlefield which had been peaceful all night and asked in surprise: "Do the Eighth Route Army want to defend to the death?"

According to his prediction, the Eighth Route Army would choose to attack at night, because only a night attack could balance the firepower advantages of both sides.

However, the Eighth Route Army did not make any movement that night, which made all his arrangements go to waste.

"Captain, it's almost dawn, should the troops launch an offensive?" asked Otsuka Tomotomo.

"Don't attack for now." Yamaguchi Jusanro shook his head.

According to his arrangement, the entire regiment was waiting for the Eighth Route Army's night attack and no one slept. If they launched an attack at this time, the soldiers would be too tired.

"Let the mountain artillery carry out the fire attack, and the troops can take a rest first." Yamaguchi Jusanro ordered.

He has already trapped the Eighth Route Army, and the rest of the mopping-up forces are also rapidly gathering and preparing. Time is on his side.

For the 42nd Regiment, it makes no difference whether it defeats the New nd Regiment today or tomorrow.

"Yes!"

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!".
Looking at the Japanese soldiers who were bombarding continuously but never launching infantry attacks, Luo Ping smiled and said, "It seems that the Japanese soldiers really waited all night yesterday and should be resting now."

"Fighting on the plains is more suitable for the Eighth Route Army to operate at night. Not only do we know this, the Japanese are also very clear about it." Chen Chengxing said.

The Japs only had three ways of attacking, while the Eighth Route Army's guerrilla warfare also remained essentially the same. Both sides were well aware of the other's style of fighting.

"Should we use the mortars to add more fuel to the enemy's attack?" Luo Ping suggested.

Although the New Second Regiment's use of 82mm mortars to attack Zhangzhuang was more symbolic than effective in actual combat, as long as the shells fell on Zhangzhuang, it would definitely distract the Japanese.

Chen Chengxing thought about it and gave up the idea: "Forget it, firing a few shells won't improve the situation on the battlefield, so let's keep them."

Although firing a few artillery shells was unlikely to cause the Japanese to adjust their artillery positions and headquarters, Chen Chengxing decided not to create any additional trouble.

The New Second Regiment's fatal blow has been prepared, and now it's just a matter of focusing on this move.

As long as the New Second Regiment can block the Japanese attack head-on, the Japanese will naturally become more and more anxious, and that is when the New Second Regiment will use its killing moves.

Over the next two days, the 42nd Regiment launched more than a dozen attacks on Nanwang and Huangzhuang.

Although several attempts were made to break into the village, the 1st and 2nd Battalions managed to hold their positions with the support of mortar fire.

Faced with the battlefield situation that had never made any progress, Yamamoto Jusanro became more and more impatient.

Other mopping-up troops were already prepared and were beginning to advance according to their established objectives, but they were dragged behind here.

In order to break through the defense of the New Second Regiment, Yamaguchi Jusanro almost pushed all his forces to Huangzhuang and launched a fan-shaped attack in the southern part of Huangzhuang.

As long as Huangzhuang can be captured, the 42nd Regiment will be able to divide and surround the Eighth Route Army of Nanwang and Jiajiaying, and then defeat them one by one.

(End of this chapter)