Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 148 Retreat (5K)

Matsushita Heyou, the Japanese captain in charge of the Huangzhuang front, immediately dispatched a squadron from the battlefield to provide support after learning that the regiment headquarters had been ambushed by the Eighth Route Army. He even handed over the Huangzhuang battlefield to the deputy captain for command.

Matsushita and You knew very well that the Eighth Route Army's night attack in Huangzhuang would not wipe out the entire large force, but if the command center and mountain artillery positions were lost, it would be difficult for them to organize a powerful offensive again.

These four mountain cannons were their greatest advantage over the Eighth Route Army.

To this end, in addition to sending orders to the troops on the opposite side of the river to ask them to provide roundabout support, Matsushita and You quickly dispatched troops to support the artillery positions after the troops arrived at Zhangzhuang.

The battle in Zhangzhuang has stopped after all. No matter what the situation is at the command center, the outcome is a foregone conclusion, and the artillery positions are still holding. If they can hold on to the artillery positions, then they still have a chance.

At the same time, Matsushita and You personally rushed to the headquarters of the 9th Army of the Locust Association and forced Wu Xiongfei to lead the team forward.

Although the combat effectiveness of the Locust Army is worrying, at this time even if there are 1 pigs, Matsushita and You will have to rush to the battlefield.

Faced with the cannibalistic Matsushita and You, Wu Xiongfei didn't dare to say much and could only order his troops to move forward and join the battle.

Even if Matsushita and You really killed him, he would not end up well, but by that time he would have already met his death, so what would be the point of punishing him further?

A wise man never suffers a loss in front of him. It is better to do as Matsushita and You said.

"Divide the 91st Regiment into two. Commander Wu, you take half of the troops to support Zhangzhuang, and I will lead the other half to support the artillery position!" Matsushita Heyou ordered.

The battle at the artillery position was intense, and Matsushita and You were really worried about letting the Locust Army go by themselves.

"Hi!" Wu Xiongfei did not express any opinion.

Looking at Song Xia and You who were hurriedly leading the team away, Wu Xiongfei curled his lips, then turned his head and ordered: "Speed up, let's go to Zhangzhuang."

Matsushita and You have already issued a death order that they must rush to Zhangzhuang to join the battle within 10 minutes, otherwise they will be tried by military law.

In contrast, Wu Xiongfei did not dare to disobey openly, but Wu Xiongfei was confident that even if the troops arrived at the battlefield, they would not be able to play any role.

Family members know their own business. Wu Xiongfei knows very well what the combat effectiveness of the 91st Regiment is.
Matsushita and You led more than 500 puppet soldiers and rushed towards the artillery position as quickly as possible.

Along the way, Matsushita and Yu's shouting and cursing could be heard all the time, and even the sound of Wangba Box's gunfire was heard several times.
In front of the artillery position, Lu Ze led the second platoon, with the assistance of the artillery platoon, to block the hundreds of Japanese soldiers who came over.

Just as Lu Ze stabilized the battle line and was about to attack the artillery first, the scout ran over and said, "Captain, the puppet army is coming this way!"

“TND, you’re causing more trouble at a critical moment!” Lu Ze cursed.

What is a traitor doing on the battlefield instead of just standing back and watching the fun?
"Give the first row a message, abandon the captured Japanese artillery and blow it up directly! Then retreat quickly!" Lu Ze ordered.

Originally, Lu Ze thought that even if he couldn't take away all the mountain cannons, he should at least take away one or two. Now it seems impossible.

After receiving the order, the soldiers of the reconnaissance platoon immediately organized a team, and under the full cover of other soldiers, they forcibly broke through the Japanese defense line and directly attacked the Japanese artillery.

Although the Japanese gunners tried their best to stop them, a head-on battle between artillery and infantry would be a dead end.

The Japanese artillery positions could be bombarded at any time, so the shells were not far from the artillery, which gave the assault team an opportunity.

A shell entered the chamber, and then a grenade slid down the barrel.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"

After several explosions, the Japanese artillery positions were in ruins and all the mountain cannons were blown into pieces. It was difficult to repair them, let alone rebuild them.

Even though the soldiers of the squad took precautions and hid behind cover, they were still shocked.

Fortunately, this did not cause other shells to explode, otherwise the soldiers of the squad might not have survived.

When Lu Ze learned that his goal had been achieved, he immediately began to fight and retreat.

A few minutes later, the third and fourth platoons, who had received the order, also took what ammunition they could carry, set fire to the other supplies, and quickly reunited with Lu Ze.

Because the Japanese had a large number of trucks, they also carried a lot of fuel. With the help of fuel, the fire in Zhangzhuang was extremely fierce.

Moreover, there were occasional explosions in the flames.

"Stop the pursuit! Put out the fire immediately! Hayaku! Hayaku!" When Matsushita and You saw the fire in Zhangzhuang, they did not bother to chase the guards company, but immediately gave the order to put out the fire.

Zhangzhuang’s supplies were also stored in several places. If they acted faster, they might be able to rescue some of them.

The guard company, which was not pursued by the Japanese, directly broke through the puppet army's line and quickly retreated to the south.

There were constant gunshots from the puppet troops behind, but the muzzles of their guns were all pointed upwards, and it was unclear whether they were seeing off the Eighth Route Army.

After dawn, the disheveled Matsushita and You met other troops.

"What's going on?" Matsushita and You asked several squadron leaders.

Several people looked at each other, and then one of them said: "The reinforcement squadron of the Nanwang position was all killed, Major Kuroki also died, and the Huangzhuang position suffered more than 100 casualties."

The original intention of bringing Chen Chengxing to the 2nd Battalion was just to play a diversionary role and support the Japanese, so he did not launch a full-scale attack at the beginning, but only harassed the outside. After all, the number of Japanese on the position was not less than that of the nd Battalion.

As a result, Matsushita and You ran away with their men. Chen Chengxing then changed his plan and began to intensify the attack. If it were not for the timely support of the Japanese troops to the north of Ping River, their casualties would have been even greater.

After hearing the report, Matsushita and You sat down on the ruins nearby in a dejected manner.

Matsushita and You had already found out the situation in Zhangzhuang that evening. The entire command center was wiped out, and only a few lucky people survived after being stabbed several times.

More than half of the casualties in the artillery positions were also caused. Although the casualties were all ammunition handlers and the casualties among the soldiers in the artillery unit were not heavy, all the mountain artillery were destroyed.

In this case, artillery would be useless, after all, no one could throw a cannonball by hand.

"Captain, what should we do now?" someone asked.

That night, the 42nd Regiment was badly beaten and suffered nearly 600 casualties.

Although they still have nearly a thousand main combat troops, if the Locust Army is added, the total number is more than 2.

But anyone with a discerning eye knew that the 42nd Regiment had lost the possibility of continuing the attack.

Of course, if they choose to defend their position with so many troops, the New Second Regiment of the Eighth Route Army on the opposite side will be unable to do anything to them.

Matsushita and You were silent for a moment, then he let out a long breath and said, "Send a telegram to the division commander, explain the situation, and request tactical guidance."

The current situation is no longer decided by Matsushita and Youneng.

If Matsushita and You take the lead and give the orders, it will be fine if they win, but if they lose, they will have to take the blame.

But if I hand the problem over to my superiors directly now, no matter what happens, I will not be able to escape the credit for being able to take charge of the situation in a critical moment.

For Matsushita and You, it is better to quit while the going is good than to take risks.

Just as the Japanese were shrinking their defenses and waiting for instructions, all the troops of the New Second Regiment retreated to their respective defense areas. The guard company and reconnaissance platoon also made a big circle and returned to the regiment headquarters.

"Hahahaha. The Nanwang devils were completely wiped out! The guard company wiped out the devil's headquarters and artillery positions in one fell swoop! Good, good!" Luo Ping couldn't stop laughing as he listened to the battle results reported by each party.

That night, the New Second Regiment killed 300 Japanese soldiers at the cost of less than 600 casualties, which was a great victory.

Although all troops will be replaced by junior officers in order when the commander is killed in war, the junior officers are only there to respond temporarily and their abilities are definitely inferior.

Moreover, after the Japanese mountain artillery was destroyed, the New Second Regiment suddenly became the party with firepower advantage on the battlefield.

The Japanese rapid-fire gun has a long range, but its caliber is only 37mm. It is fine for hitting bunkers and firepower points, but it is not enough to kill infantry.

"From the ambush in Huangzhuang to tonight, I estimate that the Japanese casualties are at least 1 if not . The remaining force is just a reinforced battalion, which is no longer a concern." Chen Chengxing smiled as he looked at the map.

As for Wu Xiongfei's Ninth Army, Chen Chengxing didn't even look at them.

"It's a pity that we don't have much ammunition. If we had enough ammunition, we could send our entire army forward now!" Luo Ping said with regret.

The ammunition problem is not only the biggest problem for the New Second Regiment, but also the biggest problem for the entire Eighth Route Army. If there are enough weapons and ammunition, the Eighth Route Army can at least fight back against the Japanese, if not be on par with them.

"Although we are short of ammunition, we are still capable of fighting. Now it depends on what the Japanese do," said Chen Chengxing.

Due to the ammunition problem, the New Second Regiment might have a hard time in field battles, but it still has the ability to use several villages for defensive counterattacks.

"All troops should rest first. I don't think it's likely that the Japanese will take action during the day." Chen Chengxing looked at everyone and said. "Yes!" Everyone from the regiment filed out.

After a night of fighting, both the New Second Regiment and the Japanese had to lick their wounds.

Quancheng, Fifth Division Headquarters.

"Division Commander, I received a telegram from the 42nd Regiment. During the battle with the Eighth Route Army last night, the 42nd Regiment was ambushed by an Eighth Route Army unit, resulting in the death of most of the 42nd Regiment's personnel, including Colonel Yamaguchi, and the artillery positions were also destroyed. Major Matsushita of the 42nd Regiment is now in charge of the situation."

"However, more than half of the troops have been killed or wounded. Major Matsushita requests further instructions," Chief of Staff Takeshi Sakurada reported.

"What's wrong with Yamaguchi Jusanro? How did the war turn out like this?" Imamura Jun said angrily.

As far as Imamura knew, the opponent of the 42nd Regiment was just a regiment of the Eighth Route Army. This was arguably the worst battle the Locust Army had ever fought against an army of the same level on the Chinese battlefield.

Even though the 42nd Regiment is not fully staffed, it cannot fight like this.

"Division Commander, judging from the battle report, this group of Eighth Route Army suddenly appeared near the headquarters of the 42nd Regiment. I speculate that this is a trap set by the Eighth Route Army long ago, deliberately luring the 42nd Regiment to fight here." Sakurada Takeshi said.

Sakurada Takeshi has carefully read all the battle reports of the 42nd Regiment. There is nothing wrong with Yamaguchi Jusanro's arrangements, which are completely in line with combat regulations. However, no one could have expected that the Eighth Route Army would hide a surprise force.

"No matter what the reason is, defeat is defeat!" Imamura Junichi slammed the table.

"Hai!" Seeing that Imamura Jun was dissatisfied, Sakurada Takeshi could only stand at attention.

"But commander, although the 42nd Regiment can still barely maintain the situation, it is no longer able to defeat the New nd Regiment of the Eighth Route Army. Should we send reinforcements?" asked Sakurada Takeshi.

According to intelligence, the New Second Regiment can be regarded as the absolute elite of the Eighth Route Army. Its equipment is even better than that of the Guo Army, and it has more than 3,500 people. Even if there are casualties after the battle, Sakurada Takeshi estimates that there are only 2,700 or 2,800 casualties.

Although there are more than 10 troops of our own in Zhangzhuang now, of them are not even as good as one of the puppet soldiers, and are completely useless.

If the 42nd Regiment is now supported with a battalion of troops, there will still be a chance to destroy the New nd Regiment.

After hearing what Sakurada Takeshi said, Imamura Hitoshi thought for a moment and said, "Let the remaining troops of the 42nd Regiment withdraw to Jiao County and blockade the area around Jiao County and Cang County to prevent the Eighth Route Army from breaking through the Jinpu Line."

Originally, according to the order, the mission of the 42nd Regiment was to block the areas of Jiao County and Cang County and sweep forward to squeeze the Eighth Route Army's space for movement.

As a result, in order to seek revenge, Jusanro Yamaguchi led his team directly to Anyang area. In order to avoid the disclosure of the blockade, the 5th Division had already dispatched a troop to Cang County, and Imamura Jun did not want to continue to dispatch troops.

The 9th Division entered South China and Guangzhou to fight in September last year, and only returned to Shandong for rest and recuperation during the Chinese New Year. The 42nd Regiment was deployed to participate in the war out of consideration for Sugiyama Gen.

You know, although the 5th Division is in North China, it does not belong to the North China Expeditionary Force, so there is no need for me to work hard for Sugiyama Gen.

"Yes!" Division Commander Takeshi Sakurada made up his mind and said nothing more. After leaving the office, he sent a telegram directly to the 42nd Regiment.

After receiving the telegram, Matsushita and You immediately ordered the army to be reorganized without any nonsense.

However, for safety reasons, Matsushita and You did not lead the team to evacuate directly.

Now the Eighth Route Army is right beside us, watching closely, and if we retreat blindly we will inevitably be harassed.

Matsushita Heyou chose to move in at night. In his opinion, if the Eighth Route Army discovered that the 42nd Regiment was missing tomorrow, they would probably not be able to catch up with them even if they wanted to harass them.

However, what Matsushita and You didn't know was that at night, the 42nd Regiment had just left Zhangzhuang.

Chen Chengxing's system started to ring.

[The battle is over, battle evaluation: victory!]

【Obtained 2430 honor points. 】

[Current Honor Points: 36569/100000.]

[Side quest: No enemies, no conflicts (defeat). Completed! ]

【Rewards are waiting to be claimed! 】

[Rewards are being distributed]

[Intelligence obtained: On the afternoon of May 5, part of the 8rd Regiment responsible for the Jizhong sweep seized a large number of chickens, ducks and pigs in the Xiaojia Town area in the northeast of Qi County. The Japanese army was delighted and began to fry chicken nuggets. However, this move accidentally caused collective food poisoning. All soldiers vomited and had diarrhea and completely lost their ability to move. The estimated recovery time is 403 hours.]

"The Japanese retreated?" Chen Chengxing was a little surprised when he saw the system suddenly respond.

According to Chen Chengxing's experience, if the Japanese did not retreat, the battle would not be considered over as long as there was still a possibility of a battle.

As for the honor points, Chen Chengxing was not surprised. Although the New Second Regiment killed about a thousand enemy troops in the battle with Xiaoxinzhuang, the enemy was completely wiped out in the battle of Xiaoxinzhuang, so the New Second Regiment's results were quadrupled, but this time it was only doubled.

For Chen Chengxing, the harder the battle, the harder it is to gain honor points.

Then, Chen Chengxing's attention was focused on the reward application.

May 5? Isn't that this afternoon?

Part of the 403rd Regiment lost its combat effectiveness? This is really like a sleepy head and hungry pillow!
Just when Chen Chengxing was filled with joy, Xu Wu hurried in from outside: "Captain! The brigade has sent urgent information!"

"The Japanese sent out nearly 1 troops, equipped with more than 5 cannons and hundreds of vehicles, divided into six groups, and launched a large-scale sweep of the Hebei area!"

Chen Chengxing immediately took the document from Xu Wu's hand and looked at the map.

This time, the Japanese adopted a steady and cautious approach, first conducting a mopping-up operation in the peripheral areas, and then advancing in six directions in an attempt to encircle and annihilate the main force of the 6th Brigade.

There is information here that the 403rd Regiment has been divided into two groups, departing from Baoding and Zhongshan respectively, and is carrying out a large-scale mopping-up operation.

"Old Chen, we have to get out of here as soon as possible." Luo Ping said seriously.

Although according to the report, the enemy's target this time is most likely the brigade headquarters and the main force of the 386th Brigade located in the Wuheng County area, the New Second Regiment must not continue to stalemate with the enemy here.

If some Japanese troops were to turn around and head this way, the New Second Regiment would be in trouble.

The nearest enemy line was less than 50 kilometers away from the New Second Regiment, which was only a day's journey.

"We really need to leave quickly." Chen Chengxing nodded.

"So should we break through to the south, or directly to the southeast?" Luo Ping asked.

"Northwest, Xiaojia Town." Chen Chengxing said affirmatively.

"Xiaojia Town?" Everyone was a little confused.

However, when everyone saw the location of Xiaojia Town on the map, they were all shocked.

"Aren't there some Japanese soldiers in Xiaojia Town? Why are we going here?!" Luo Ping said anxiously.

Now the trouble of the 42nd Regiment in front of the New 42nd Regiment has not been resolved. If it goes northwest to Xiaojia Town, once the nd Regiment catches up, the New nd Regiment will be attacked from both sides.

"With so many Japanese troops conducting a sweep, the 386th Brigade will definitely have to disperse to break out. The brigade headquarters and the 28th Regiment are in the most dangerous positions. We must support the brigade headquarters' actions," said Chen Chengxing.

He couldn't say that he knew the Japanese in Xiaojia Town were unable to stand up, so he could only find an excuse.

"What about the 42nd Regiment? What if the 42nd Regiment catches up with us?" Luo Ping asked.

"42nd Regiment? Haha. I guess the 42nd Regiment has already withdrawn." Chen Chengxing looked mysterious.

"Withdrawn? There was an exchange of fire between the reconnaissance forces of both sides during the day." Luo Ping said he didn't understand.

Judging from the movements on the battlefield, the 42nd Regiment seemed to be waiting for reinforcements. This was one of the reasons why Luo Ping wanted the new nd Regiment to move quickly.

"Whether we retreat or not, it will be enough to just do some reconnaissance," said Chen Chengxing.

"Send a message to the reconnaissance platoon immediately and ask them to go to Zhangzhuang and see if the Japanese are still there!" Luo Ping turned his head and ordered.

If the 42nd Regiment really withdrew, the situation of the New nd Regiment would improve. It would not matter if they went to Xiaojia Town to harass the Japanese and then turned around to retreat.

In terms of marching ability, Luo Ping was confident that the Eighth Route Army was no weaker than the Japanese.

(End of this chapter)