Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 185 Only I can hold the position of captain (monthly ticket +2)

Chen Chengxing's plan went smoothly at the beginning.

As the vanguard, Ryotaro Toyama led more than 400 Japanese soldiers and swept into Mafang.

Just by looking at the slogans in the stable, Toyama Ryotaro knew that this must have been an important territory of the Eighth Route Army.

"Captain, we've searched everywhere, but found nothing." An infantry squadron leader ran over to report.

"Have you searched the mountains around the town?" asked Ryotaro Toyama.

"This..." The Japanese squadron leader looked at the endless mountains around him and said with a headache: "We haven't searched yet."

If we search this entire mountain area, we may not be able to do anything tonight. We may not be able to finish the search even if we search all night. So why are we still stationed here? It would be better to find a ravine directly.

"Let's search the nearest hills." Toyama Ryotaro ordered. He felt something was not right.

Mafang is such an important place, but the Eighth Route Army retreated without even trying to stop the enemy. This is not normal no matter how you think about it.

Even if the main force of the Eighth Route Army was still at Yanwei Cliff, there should have been guerrilla activities in the Mafang area, but he entered Mafang without any obstruction.

When the Japanese squadron leader led his troops out for a mop-up operation, Toyama Ryotaro specifically ordered the transport team not to untie the horses for the time being.

After the Japanese squadron leader led his troops to tour the surrounding hills, they found that there was nothing there, which was even safer than the safe zone.

After receiving the report, Toyama Ryotaro was not as optimistic as the Japanese squadron leader. He was now in the Eighth Route Army's territory, so how could there be no Eighth Route Army?
He had seen the Eighth Route Army guerrillas outside the county town before, but they were nowhere to be seen here? This was absolutely impossible.

"Order the troops to assemble urgently and we will withdraw from Mafang!" Toyama Ryotaro said solemnly.

"Retreat?" The Japanese squadron leader beside him was stunned. Did he report wrongly? Didn't he say there were no Eighth Route Army?

"Withdraw from Mafang as quickly as possible and move towards the second battalion." Time was running out and Toyama Ryotaro had no intention of explaining.

The 3rd Mixed Brigade adopted the strategy of divide and conquer, and the 2nd Battalion was led by the brigade commander, and the Independent Mountain Artillery Battalion was along the way.

Since the all-out war with China, the captain of the Independent First Battalion has changed several times, and only he has finally secured the position.

Ryotaro Toyama knew very well that the reason why he could become the captain was not because of his fighting ability, but because of his strong ability to save his life.

Now, as long as he could reunite with the brigade commander, he would be safe.

Although he didn't know what the captain meant, the Japanese squadron leader quickly conveyed the order, and everyone left Mafang as quickly as possible and evacuated northward.

"What did you say? The Japanese suddenly retreated?" Chen Chengxing asked in surprise.

It would be strange if both the New 316nd Regiment and the th Regiment were not exposed. Why would the Japanese suddenly retreat?

But now Chen Chengxing didn't bother to guess, and immediately ordered: "Send flares, two white and two red!"

At this critical moment, if we rely on manpower to pass on orders, the Japanese would probably have run far away by the time the troops set out.

According to the agreement, the two whites were the siege troops launching the attack, while the two reds were the outer guerrillas blocking the Japanese who were trying to break out.

Four flares were launched into the air, and not only the Eighth Route Army in the Mafang area saw them, but even the Japanese saw them clearly.

"Damn! I knew there was an ambush! Retreat quickly!" Toyama Ryotaro's face changed drastically when he looked at the flare in the air.

"Also, send a telegram to the brigade commander immediately, requesting that troops be sent to support them! Hayaku!"

If the Eighth Route Army in this area can quickly wipe out Colonel Ishimura's mixed brigade, they can wipe him out even faster. Now the only ones who can save him are his own two legs and the support of the brigade commander.

When the guerrilla teams 2 and saw the signal flares, they immediately rushed out of the ravines where they were hiding, ready to block the Japanese troops who were trying to break out to the north. Chen Chengxing's blockade force in the north consisted of only two guerrilla battalions, with a total of about a thousand people. Normally, it would not be a problem to block the Japanese troops.

After all, all they need to do is hold out for a while, and the troops following up from behind will quickly complete the encirclement.

But something went wrong in such a short period of time. After the arrival of Guerrilla Team 3, they quickly launched an attack. However, Guerrilla Team 4 was a little slow in its actions because its captain had just been replaced, and failed to arrive at the critical moment.

Originally, Toyama Ryotaro was in despair, thinking that he had no way to escape this time, but after seeing the situation clearly, he was overjoyed.

The Eighth Route Army had not completed the entire blockade, and they could break out by going around the nearby hill.

After sending out the vanguard and finding that there was no problem, Ryotaro Toyama immediately led the large force to prepare to pass through the gap.

By the time the Fourth Guerrilla Team arrived, the Japanese vanguards had already occupied the positions they were supposed to occupy.

"Comrades! Follow me! We must take back the position!" Qiu Wei grabbed a big knife and shouted.

If we can't take the position, we can't block the gap, and all our hard work for the night will be in vain.

"kill!"

"Kill!"

The fighters of Guerrilla Team 4 launched an attack on the high ground without any hesitation.

"Kill the chickens!" The Japanese squadron leader immediately ordered as he looked at the Eighth Route Army who launched the attack.

"suddenly"

"Boom!" "Boom!".
Both sides knew the importance of this high ground, so no one retreated and the battle became intense from the beginning.

However, the Fourth Guerrilla Team lacked siege weapons, and faced with a squadron of Japanese soldiers, it was difficult for them to attack quickly.

By the time the follow-up troops arrived, Toyama Ryotaro had already successfully broken through with a large force. Only one squadron of Japanese soldiers was held tightly by the Guerrilla Team 4, and the Guerrilla Team 3 also cooperated to cut off their retreat.

As for Toyama Ryotaro, he didn't even turn his head and ran away with his troops.

"First Battalion, kill them, quick and decisive battle!" Chen Chengxing ordered as he looked at the two parties who were fighting hand-to-hand.

"Yes!" Xu Wu waved his hand and rushed forward quickly with a battalion.

Although the Japanese and the guerrillas were able to fight back and forth, they had no power to fight back against the First Battalion and were divided and suppressed in an instant.

Then, in just a few minutes, the Japs were completely wiped out.

Qiu Wei, with his arm hanging, looked downcast at Chen Chengxing and said, "Captain, the mission of the fourth team has not been completed. I feel guilty towards the organization. Please punish me."

"This has nothing to do with you. Just take good care of your injuries." Chen Chengxing said to Qiu Wei.

Ultimately, it was because the Eighth Route Army's communication conditions were too poor. If the scouts could report the situation directly by radio, the Fourth Guerrilla Team would not have been late by a minute, which ultimately led to the gap not being blocked.

Moreover, Chen Chengxing had discovered that the guerrillas had become accustomed to fighting independently due to their long-term separation. It was difficult for them to adapt quickly when they were suddenly required to fight in a regular group with strict military discipline and strict enforcement of orders.

But there is no way around it. The Eighth Route Army still has to rely mainly on guerrilla warfare, and regular combat is not the mainstream of the Eighth Route Army.

Although we didn't completely wipe out the Japanese vanguard this time, at least we killed a squadron of them, so it wasn't all in vain.

(End of this chapter)