Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 150 Erxian Bridge (5K) (asking for monthly ticket)
Because of the Japanese's large-scale sweep, most of the troops in the Hebei-Central Military Region, except for a part of them who switched to underground warfare on the spot, had already dispersed and escaped from the encirclement.

The 386th Brigade, which was an important target of the Japanese, also moved its main force to Wangzhuang along with the Ji Zhong local government.

In the brigade headquarters, Brigade Chen held a meeting to confirm the next action plan.

In order to understand the situation in this area, Brigade Chen also specially invited local comrades to come over.

"According to the latest news, the Japanese have sent reinforcements from Baoding, Wenxian and Cangxian. I have decided to temporarily avoid the attack and the main force will continue to move southwest. Does anyone have any opinions?" said the brigade commander.

During this mopping-up operation, the Japanese felt that as long as they eliminated the main force of the Eighth Route Army, the remaining Eighth Route Army would not be a concern. Therefore, the Japanese shifted their main target from the local forces in Central Hebei to the 386th Brigade.

Judging from the map, the three directions of Baoding, Wenxian and Cangxian formed a large arc-shaped encirclement of Wangzhuang. Only the southwest direction had fewer troops, and the 386th Brigade had some opportunities.

"Brigade Commander Chen, if we are moving to the southwest, I suggest we cross the Baihe River and then continue to move southwest to develop in the Angu area," said local official Zhang Junyi.

From Angu to the south, there is no large county town in the nearly 500 square kilometers of land from east to west, north to south, only some towns and villages.

The Japanese usually don't place too many troops in town strongholds, so large troops won't encounter any obstacles in that area.

It can just help the local government in that area to establish local armed forces.

After hearing Zhang Junyi's words, everyone turned their eyes to the map.

Angu is located in the southwest corner of central Hebei. About 100 kilometers to the northwest is Changshan, and 50 kilometers to the southeast is Guan County.

A few dozen miles further south is the southern Hebei region. If necessary, the troops can withdraw to southern Hebei for rest and recuperation.

"This place is good. There are no strong enemies, so it can give us enough time to rest." Li Yunlong said while looking at the map.

"If the local armed forces in this area develop, the Ji-Central Military Region will be much better off," said Ding Wei.

After the Eighth Route Army became stronger in this area, the Japanese would have to leave enough forces to defend if they wanted to sweep Jizhong again, or disperse to carry out the sweep.
After a period of discussion, everyone agreed that the Angu area was more suitable for the 386th Brigade at this stage.

"Okay, since everyone thinks this area is suitable for development, let's go to Angu!" the brigade commander affirmed.

"The troops directly under the brigade will move to the southern area of ​​Angu with the independent regiment as the vanguard; the New 772st Regiment will move to the area south of Linping County and west of Anyang County; the 28nd Regiment will move to the area east of Angu County; the th Regiment will continue to fight on the interior lines, use tunnels to launch guerrilla warfare, and deal with the enemy." The brigade commander gave orders one after another.

Overall, this is a plan to break through in three directions: west, southwest, and south.

Because the enemy was imminent, after the meeting, each unit immediately began to act separately overnight.

That night, the independent regiment crossed the Baihe River first as planned, and the brigade headquarters and its subordinate troops followed closely and moved south to prepare to cross the river.

However, after the brigade arrived at Zhuzhuang on the north bank of the Baihe River, they found that the situation was somewhat unexpected.

"Brigade Commander, on the south bank of the White River, there is a fire every one or two hundred meters!" the scout reported.

Upon hearing the scout's report, Brigade Chen immediately found a commanding height for observation.

I saw more than ten bonfires on the south bank of the Baihe River. From a distance, it seemed that the bonfires had connected into a line.

"The Japanese came too quickly. Baihe River has been blocked." Chen Lu said seriously.

Brigade Captain Chen judged that the campfire was probably guarded by puppet troops, so the independent regiment could disperse its forces and pass through smoothly in squads and platoons.

But it was not possible to get to the brigade headquarters, as the brigade had a large number of mules and horses with baggage, and they were also pulling large and small artillery pieces. The target was too big, and if they chose to pass between the two fires, they would most likely be exposed.

"We can't cross the river, let's turn around!" Chen Lu said firmly.

Brigade Chen decided to turn around and head north to join the New 1st Regiment which had already arrived in the Erxianqiao area, and then move together to the target area.

At the same time, Brigade Chen also ordered: "Send a messenger to the independent regiment to pass the message, let them continue to advance with a big fanfare, and after passing Ze County, disperse the troops and march secretly!"

The brigade's baggage train had all kinds of large and small luggage, plus heavy objects, so they couldn't move fast at all.

Since the Japanese have reached the south bank of the Baihe River, there must be many reconnaissance troops in this area, and someone must be able to attract the Japanese's attention.

After the independent regiment left Baihe for a few miles, it immediately made a big move. This move really attracted the attention of the Japanese, and the Japanese scouts put their main reconnaissance forces on the independent regiment.

At dawn, Brigade Chen and his brigade arrived at the Erxianqiao area.

However, when the Chief of Staff of the 386th Brigade, Chen Can, led the secret agents through Wanggezhuang and prepared to meet up with the New st Regiment across the bridge, they suddenly heard fierce gunfire coming from the front.

Near Erxianqiao, Li Yunlong and the New 1st Regiment had already engaged in a firefight with the Japanese.

"Zhang Dabiao, I will give you the heavy machine gun. You take the first battalion to capture the position on the east side of the bridge for me. Hurry!" Li Yunlong ordered as he looked at the Japanese troops that had occupied Erxian Bridge.

"Yes!" Zhang Dabiao immediately led a battalion forward and launched an attack.

However, not long after Zhang Dabiao launched the attack, artillery shells came from the other side of the river, and the shells began to spread to the rear of the New 1st Regiment.

This resulted in Brigade Chen and his brigade headquarters being suddenly bombarded as soon as they walked out of Wanggezhuang.

This sudden situation caused the mules and horses of the transport team to run around in panic, and some local personnel and government officials who had never experienced a major war also became somewhat panicked.

"Control the mules and horses immediately! The guard company should disperse to cover the local comrades!" Brigade Captain Chen ordered decisively.

It is never advisable for the troops to be in chaos at any time.

Brigade Commander Chen listened to the battle in the direction of Erxianqiao and ordered his staff to take out the map while saying, "The road to the west has been blocked. We can't go any further!"

The situation was very serious at this time. The Japanese acted too quickly, so quickly that it was beyond Brigade Chen's expectations.

Brigade Captain Chen judged that the Japanese must have used trucks to quickly mobilize part of their forces and seize various key points.

These small groups of Japanese devils do not need to have any major battles with the 386th Brigade. It is enough to block the 386th Brigade's space for movement.

Moreover, Captain Chen knew without a doubt that there must be a large number of Japanese troops advancing rapidly towards this side.

"Order the troops to immediately switch to defense on the spot and seize the surrounding villages. Local comrades should immediately organize the people to evacuate!"

"Order the 2st Battalion of the New st Regiment and the two infantry guns of the brigade's artillery battalion to seize the position east of Erxianqiao Bridge and deploy defense to prevent the Japanese from raiding across Erxianqiao Bridge!" Brigade Lieutenant General Chen gave the order quickly.

The enemy's position is unknown now. If the 386th Brigade headquarters rushes around in a marching state, it is likely to be ambushed.

The only thing the 386th Brigade can do now is defend and counterattack.

Brigade Commander Chen was now glad that he had caught up with the New 1st Regiment overnight. If the brigade headquarters was left alone, it would not even have the possibility of a defensive counterattack.

After receiving the order from Brigade Leader Chen, Li Yunlong immediately ordered the second and third battalions to seize the village and establish defensive positions, while he personally commanded the first battalion to attack the Qiaodong position.

Now only by taking the position east of the bridge can we form a basic box-shaped defense, which is crucial for the 386th Brigade to hold its ground.

Just as Li Yunlong led his troops in a fierce attack, the communicator sent by Chen Chengxing finally found the temporary brigade headquarters of the 386th Brigade.

"Brigade Commander, good news!" Cannon Chen led the communicator and rushed into the brigade headquarters.

"This is the communicator of the New Second Regiment. The New Second Regiment is now in Xiaojia Town in the northeast of Qi County!" Chen Can said excitedly.

"Qi County?" Chen Lu immediately looked at the map: "Okay! Okay!"

"TND, this kid Chen Chengxing really comes as a timely help!" Chen Lu laughed.

Qi County is only 40 kilometers away from Erxianqiao, so it is fully possible to provide support here.

"Isn't your New Second Regiment in Anyang area? How come you suddenly appeared in Xiaojia Town, Qi County?" The brigade commander looked at the communicator and asked.

The last time the two sides communicated, the New 42nd Regiment was still fighting the Japanese 50nd Regiment, but now it suddenly appeared in Qi County, 42 kilometers away. This is simply a surprise attack from heaven. "Report to the brigade commander, the night before yesterday we attacked the Japanese headquarters and destroyed the nd Regiment. Then the Japanese suddenly retreated for some reason, and then the regiment commander led the New nd Regiment to Xiaojia Town."

"We originally wanted to launch a surprise attack on the Japanese mopping-up force, but when we arrived at Xiaojia Town, we discovered that the entire Japanese force had food poisoning and had lost its combat effectiveness."

After listening to the communicator's report on the situation of the New Second Regiment, Brigade Commander Chen and Canon Chen looked at each other.

What kind of luck is this? Half of the Japs in the regiment lost their combat effectiveness at the same time? And then the New Second Regiment arrived in time to pick them up for free. Why does it sound so strange?
However, at this time Chen Lu didn't think too much and immediately began to consider how to break the deadlock.

According to the report of the New 403nd Regiment, one of the two Japanese troops heading southwest is now gone, so the ones that appeared at Erxianqiao must be the other half of the rd Regiment.

If they can wipe out this group of Japanese invaders, the 386th Brigade will have escaped the encirclement.

"Go back immediately and tell Captain Chen Chengxing to lead the New Second Regiment to head north to Erxianqiao as quickly as possible to launch a surprise attack on another group of troops from the 403rd Regiment." Lieutenant Colonel Chen ordered.

"Yes!"

In order to ensure that the order could be conveyed to the New Second Regiment, Brigade Chen also specially dispatched several more communicators to prevent any accidents.

Now the only thing the 386th Brigade can count on is the New nd Regiment.

While Brigade Chen was waiting for the new 386nd Regiment to arrive, the Japanese troops on the periphery had already surrounded the th Brigade in the Erxianqiao area.

The total number of the 386th Brigade, including the New 7st Regiment, was less than 8 at this time, but the Japanese encirclement force had two and a half regiments, with a total number of more than .

On the west side of Erxian Bridge, the commander of the 403rd Regiment, Murakami Yusuke, observed the situation of the Eighth Route Army on the other side and asked in a bad tone, "Did you contact Lieutenant Colonel Yoshino by telegram?"

According to the established plan, the right column led by Yoshino Kotaro should have arrived at the Erxianqiao area five hours ago, but no one has been seen until now.

Moreover, there was no response to the telegram, and Murakami Isamu was getting impatient waiting.

"Reporting to the commander, we still haven't made contact. I have sent scouts to investigate the right column's route. We should have news later." Chief of Staff Suzuki Shunji said.

"I understand, but we still need to continue communicating via radio," said Murakami Isamu.

Now, neither Murakami Isamu nor Suzuki Shunji believed that the right column had been completely wiped out.

There is no army in China that can wipe out a 1600-man locust army in a short period of time.

Murakami Isamu thought that the radio was most likely damaged accidentally. After all, the radio was precious and even if it was dropped accidentally it could cause damage.

"Ha!" The telegraph soldier on the side received the message.

"Where are the 32nd and 45th Regiments now?" asked Murakami Isamu.

"The 32nd and 45th Regiments just sent a telegram saying they will be in place soon and will launch an offensive together at 12 noon," said Suzuki Shunji.

Of the six Japanese troops that swept through Central Hebei, except for the 6rd Regiment which was split into two, the other four regiments were each divided into separate groups.

According to the predetermined plan, after cutting off the north-south communication in central Hebei, the 32nd and 45th Regiments would squeeze the 386th Brigade's space for movement and cooperate with the 42nd and 403rd Regiments to eliminate it.

However, an accident occurred here. After the 42nd Regiment retreated to Jiao County, it only carried out the blockade mission and did not carry out the mopping-up mission.

However, in Murakami Yong's opinion, it doesn't matter. Even if he is facing the entire force of the 386th Brigade, the strength of nearly three regiments of the Locust Army is enough to completely destroy it.

Not to mention that judging from the current battlefield situation, the opposing side only has two regiments of troops at most.

"Let the artillery squadron get ready and cooperate with the 12nd and 32th Regiments to carry out deep artillery strikes at 45 o'clock. The infantry artillery is responsible for attacking the Qiaodong position, and the Qiaodong position must be recaptured!" Murakami Isamu ordered.

Because the main force had not arrived, there was only a small team of troops at the Qiaodong position, and it was captured by the Eighth Route Army under the cover of infantry artillery.

This blocked the 403rd Regiment's route to continue its attack. If the 403rd Regiment wanted to attack the main force of the Eighth Route Army on the other side of the river, it could only retake the position east of the bridge.

The troops dispatched for this mopping-up operation were all infantry regiments, and there were no engineers to build a bridge over the river. Even if the 403rd Regiment wanted to launch a roundabout attack, it was unable to do so.

Moreover, the 403rd Regiment needed to block the Eighth Route Army's breakout route and could not take a detour to other places to participate in the attack, otherwise the Eighth Route Army would escape.

Just as the Japanese were preparing to attack, at 10: in the morning, Chen Chengxing met the returning communicator.

"Commander, Political Commissar! The brigade commander has ordered the new second regiment to rush to Erxianqiao as quickly as possible to participate in the battle!" As he spoke, the communicator handed over the brigade commander's order, which contained the current battlefield situation.

"Erxianqiao?" Chen Chengxing and Luo Ping never expected that the 386th Brigade would appear here.

Chen Chengxing looked at the battlefield situation on the map and said, "The brigade headquarters and the New 1st Regiment have been blocked in an area of more than ten square kilometers east of Erxian Bridge. Facing the attack of a large number of Japanese devils, I estimate that they can only hold out for one to one and a half days at most. We have to move faster."

"Pass my order! The entire regiment must assemble urgently! March quickly to Erxianqiao!" Chen Chengxing ordered decisively.

After the whole regiment was in motion, Chen Chengxing said to Luo Ping, "In order to ensure speed, I plan to send the mules and horses of the baggage train to each battalion and company to carry heavy weapons. For the subsequent transportation of supplies, Lao Luo, find a way to borrow large carts nearby for transportation."

"You don't have to worry about this, just leave it to me." Luo Ping affirmed.

Even if he cannot borrow a large truck, he can always ask the local government for help in coordination, and it would just be a matter of paying some rent.

"Okay! I'll leave the guard company to you. If there's any danger, you can abandon the baggage." Chen Chengxing instructed.

Luo Ping nodded without saying anything. If there was real danger, the guard company, the baggage train and the staff of the regiment headquarters would have about 600 to 700 people. They could carry the important large luggage and run away. As for the small luggage such as food, it would not be a problem to abandon it.

Ten minutes later, Chen Chengxing led three infantry battalions and an infantry artillery company and rushed to Erxianqiao as quickly as possible.

Just as Chen Chengxing was leading his troops on the journey, the Japanese in the Erxianqiao area had already launched an attack.

At 12 o'clock, two signal flares appeared in the sky above Erxianqiao, and then more than a dozen mountain cannons opened fire on Wanggezhuang and the surrounding villages.

In other words, the 386th Brigade quickly evacuated the civilians, otherwise it would be unknown how many casualties would have occurred in this wave of sudden fire attack.

After intensive artillery fire, the Japanese invaders from all around began to attack Wanggezhuang.

Faced with an extremely difficult situation, Brigade Chen could only deploy all available troops to the front-line positions around the area, leaving almost no reserves.

No matter what, he had to hold on until night.

The first to engage in firefight with the Japanese were the Second Battalion of the New First Regiment, which was defending Huangshi Village in the northeast.

The Japanese offensive was extremely fierce, which resulted in a huge consumption of ammunition by the Second Battalion. Just one hour after the battle began, the ammunition for both light and heavy machine guns was used up. In the end, they had to engage in hand-to-hand combat to stop the attack. If the brigade headquarters had not quickly replenished some ammunition, the consequences would have been disastrous.

Seeing that the Second Battalion had suffered heavy casualties, Brigade Leader Chen immediately called the Second Battalion.

"Our troops are too densely packed, and will be killed in large numbers by the Japanese artillery fire. You have to tell your comrades not to have the mentality of a 'one-shot deal', and don't just risk your life to fight, you have to have a global perspective! The most important thing for you now is to hold on until night! If you continue fighting like this, your troops will be wiped out in less than three hours!" Brigadier General Chen said sternly.

According to the Second Battalion's fighting style, it will indeed cause considerable casualties to the Japanese, but what the troops want now is not how many Japanese are killed, but time!

After restocking ammunition, the Second Battalion held a brief combat meeting and readjusted its tactics.

When the Japanese shelled, only a few people were left on the Huangshi Village position to observe. When the Japanese attacked, in addition to defending the position, they also organized a small force to counterattack, using offense as defense and striving for the initiative in the battle.

Compared with the battle in Huangshi Village, the fighting in Mazhuang, southeast of Wanggezhuang, was more intense.

There is a slope nearly 100 meters high near Mazhuang, which is the commanding height of the entire Erxianqiao area.

It can be said that whichever side controls the Mazhuang Gaopo will have the initiative on the battlefield.

The Japanese naturally knew the importance of the high ground, so they mobilized heavy troops to prepare to capture it.

(End of this chapter)