Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 189 Don’t feel sorry for the shells, just shoot them hard!
After Li Yunlong and Kong Jie led their teams to arrive, the intensity of the Eighth Route Army's offensive immediately doubled.

Yukio Nara immediately felt the pressure, and the Japanese troops of the first battalion attacking westward were also pushed back to the Xiaoxiaoying Heights.

Xu Wu finally breathed a sigh of relief. In just over an hour, the Japanese fired four to five hundred artillery shells on hills No. 3 and No. 4.

The intensity of the attack was much stronger than when the Sakata Brigade attacked Erlang Mountain before.

"Let the soldiers from the third and fourth companies and the guerrillas repair their fortifications immediately, then take a short rest, and send all the seriously injured to Hill No. 2." Xu Wu ordered.

Hill No. 2 does not face the Japanese directly. The second company responsible for the defense has the main task of covering the flanks of the other three hills.

Xu Wu placed the battalion headquarters, baggage train, medical team, and artillery company here.

Now only one company of Japanese soldiers in the front is still attacking, but their attack power is much weaker. There are only 4 mountain cannons and 8 81mm mortars involved in the attack. With such attack intensity, it is no problem for one company plus a guerrilla battalion to stop it.

Moreover, the artillery company of the first battalion is not just for show; it can provide fire support at any time.

Looking at the Eighth Route Army whose offensive suddenly intensified, Toyama Ryotaro said, "Brigade Commander, the Eighth Route Army must have reinforcements."

"What do you mean?" Yukio Nara glanced at Ryotaro Toyama.

Yukio Nara knew very well about the captain of the first battalion under his command.

"Brigade Commander, can we request tactical guidance?" suggested Ryotaro Toyama.

Even though Yukio Nara knew that Ryotaro Toyama was a coward, he didn't expect him to be so cowardly.

The battle hasn't even started yet and you're already asking for support. It's simply laughable if you tell others about it.

"Lieutenant Colonel Toyama! We haven't been defeated yet, so don't ask for guidance." Nara Yukio said in a hostile tone.

"Hi!" Toyama Ryotaro immediately stood at attention and bowed his head.

Ryotaro Toyama knew very well what Nara Yukio was thinking. He was just afraid of losing face.

But wouldn't it be more shameful to ask for help after the defeat? And it would also put his own life and the lives of his soldiers in danger.

However, Nara Yukio is the brigade commander. He has made the decision and he can only obey orders.

Just as Toyama Ryotaro was racking his brains for ways to save his life, the regiments that had completed their deployment were ready to attack.

"Fire!" Li Yunlong ordered.

After receiving the order, the flagman of the artillery company waved the flag and shouted, "Fire!"

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!".
Immediately afterwards, the 4th artillery company in the direction of the independent regiment also began to pour artillery shells.

Looking at the enemy's frontline positions covered in a sea of fire, Li Yunlong laughed excitedly: "That's it! This is how war is done!"

"Tell the artillery company to bomb hard and don't worry about the ammunition!" Li Yunlong shouted.

"Yes!"

Zhang Dabiao, who was standing by, pursed his lips tightly, fearing that he would laugh out loud in the next second.

It's not that they don't care about the ammunition, but why should they care about the ammunition? If Wang Chengzhu used this method, he would have jumped up and down and cursed.

A few minutes later, feeling that it was almost time, Li Yunlong turned around and ordered: "Artillery, the New Second Regiment has already fired, this attack depends on your First Battalion, launch a few feints first, and let the infantry artillery pull out the enemy's firepower."

"Yes!"

"First Battalion! Follow me!"

Zhang Dabiao bent his body and took the lead in leaving the trench. After leaving the trench, the soldiers immediately dispersed into a skirmish line and moved forward.

Although the Japanese soldiers in charge of defense knew what the Eighth Route Army meant by coming up, they had no choice but to open fire.

"Kill the chicken for me!" the Japanese captain shouted.

"Da da da".
Seeing the enemy's heavy machine gun firing, Li Yunlong immediately shouted: "Zhu Zi! Shoot down the enemy's heavy machine gun for me!"
"Zhuzi! Are you blind? Didn't you see the enemy's heavy machine guns change positions and open fire again?"
"Zhu Zi! Are you going to save the shells for the cubs?!"
By the evening, more than half of the Japanese had been wiped out, and the remaining troops had retreated with all their strength, preparing to hold their position in a dangerous place.

"Brigade Commander" Ryotaro Toyama opened his mouth but didn't continue speaking.

But Nara Yukio had already understood his thoughts: "Toyama-kun, I have sent a telegram requesting tactical guidance."

"Hai! The brigade commander is wise."

In fact, Toyama Ryotaro had already cursed in his heart. If he had asked for help earlier, there would not have been such heavy casualties.

There are only a thousand people left now, and there are many wounded. It is impossible to fight back at this time. The only way left is to break through.

"It's getting late now, the Eighth Route Army probably won't attack again, but we have to prevent a night attack from the Eighth Route Army. Mr. Dongshan, this task is left to you," said Nara Yukio.

Now Nara Yukio values ​​Toyama Ryotaro's ability to save his life very much.

"Hai!"

Chen Chengxing also came to the front-line command post.

"Old Chen, how was it? Did you fight well? We have another morning tomorrow and we will definitely win!" Li Yunlong said with a smile after seeing Chen Chengxing.

"I'm afraid there's no chance." Chen Chengxing shook his head. The Japanese had a keen sense of smell. If they had moved forward a little more this morning and waited for the New 1st Regiment and the Independent Regiment to arrive, an ambush would have wiped out most of the Third Mixed Brigade, even if it didn't wipe them out.

After all, during an ambush, the Japanese's heavy firepower did not have time to be deployed and basically could not exert its power. However, when it came to an offensive battle, the Japanese's artillery threat was too great.

Although the New Second Regiment has a lot of mortars, the Japanese have more artillery.

单单小校营就有14门山炮和12门81毫米迫击炮，下马庄则是有4门山炮和8门81毫米迫击炮。

If there weren't so many artillery pieces, Li Yunlong and his men would have already rushed into the small school camp.

Hearing Chen Chengxing say that there was no chance to completely wipe out the Japanese, Li Yunlong and Kong Jie immediately became anxious: "No chance? What do you mean?"

They have run hundreds of miles, they can't just go back here. They haven't made any money yet. You can't have your New Second Regiment eating up a large group at Yanwei Cliff and then working for nothing when you get to the New First Regiment and the Independent Regiment, right?

"According to a telegram sent by the brigade commander, part of the Japanese 110th Division, 26th Division, and 2nd Independent Mixed Brigade have given up their mopping-up operations and are now heading here to provide full support. The vanguard troops are all riding in trucks. The brigade commander estimates that they will definitely arrive before noon tomorrow."

"Eight bombers have also landed at Taiyuan Airport, and they will definitely come to bomb us tomorrow," Chen Chengxing explained.

"It's just two thousand people. Why did the Japs make such a big fuss? With divisions and planes?" Li Yunlong said with some dissatisfaction.

How can he eat meat when the Japanese reinforcements come?

"Don't underestimate them because there are only 2,000 people. This is most of a mixed brigade, and they have a major general as the brigade commander. Yoshio Shinozuka will not let us kill him," said Chen Chengxing.

Killing a major general is no small matter. In the battlefield behind enemy lines, the Japanese have never been surrounded and annihilated by a major general. If the first honor falls on the First Army, Yoshio Shinozuka will be so angry that he will vomit blood.

This is also the reason why Yoshio Shinozuka ordered the nearby troops to provide support at all costs.

"What a pity, there is no meat to eat." Li Yunlong sighed.

Breaking through, defeating, and annihilating the enemy will all have different results. The Japanese will also take away whatever supplies they can when they flee.

"Not necessarily." Chen Chengxing said.

The New Second Regiment had produced so many supplies, it couldn't be that they only got a few Type 38 rifles, right? That would be a huge loss.

"Do you have any ideas?" Kong Jie became interested.

"The Japanese are now mainly divided into two parts, each occupying the small camp and the high ground next to it. As long as we can cut off the connection between the two, we can eat up the Japanese in the small camp."

Although the Japanese were divided into two groups and were pincer attacking each other, due to the attack of Li Yunlong and his men, the number of Japanese in the small camp was obviously less than that on the high ground. Moreover, due to the artillery bombardment, the small camp had been basically reduced to ruins.

"I have adjusted the deployment. The third battalion and the mountain artillery will be in place soon. I decided to use artillery to directly block the road leading to the small school camp from the high ground, and then storm the small school camp." Chen Chengxing said firmly.

Li Yunlong and Kong Jie looked at each other. This was simply a gamble.

The artillery blockade is not as easy as it sounds. After fighting this battle, if there is no major spoils of war, the New Second Regiment may have to live on coarse food.

Chen Chengxing saw clearly the little movements of the two people and naturally knew what they were thinking, but Chen Chengxing did not explain too much.

What a joke, when has the New Second Group ever done anything at a loss?

This time, the Japanese brought more than 300 large trucks of supplies, and most of them were moving with the Japanese command center, which means that at least 200 large trucks of supplies were intercepted by them.

People can go up to the high ground, but horse-drawn carriages cannot, so most of the Japanese's baggage must be in the small school camp.

If they could capture the Japanese's baggage supply, the New Second Regiment would surely make a profit.

At midnight, after all preparations were completed, Chen Chengxing issued the order for the general attack.

Zhongxiong Zhizheng, the captain of the second battalion of the Japanese army who was in charge of the small camp, felt something was wrong when he heard the noise outside.

"Have the mortars fire a flare!"

"Tom!"

As the flares rose into the air, the situation outside immediately came into Zhongxiong Zhizheng's eyes.

Looking at the endless Eighth Route Army outside, Zhong Xiongzhi's eyes almost popped out, and in the darkness where the flares could not reach, the Eighth Route Army continued to pour out.

"Enemy attack! Kill the chickens!" Zhongxiong Zhizheng shouted.

At the same time, light and heavy machine guns of various units of the Eighth Route Army also opened fire.

"Da da da"

"Boom!" "Boom!"

The density of firepower erupted by both sides in an instant far exceeded the intensity of the battle during the day.

Yukio Nara, who was on the nearby high ground, also raised his telescope when the flares were launched into the sky.

"Order Lieutenant Colonel Takeuchi to lead two infantry companies to attack the Eighth Route Army from the side immediately! Artillery immediately bombard the Eighth Route Army!" Nara Yukio ordered immediately.

"Hai!" The captain of the Fourth Battalion, Takeuchi Matsu, immediately left in a hurry, ready to lead the team to attack the rear of the Eighth Route Army.

However, what Takeuchi Matsu did not expect was that just as he had led his troops away from the position and had not yet descended the high ground, he saw a red flare suddenly rising in the air not far away, and then a white one also rose into the air.

(End of this chapter)