Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 206 The Taste is Really Good

"Report! The 8th Company has captured the enemy's artillery position, but the enemy had already blown up the artillery. We only seized some shells and damaged artillery."

"The Japanese in Mahe Town have now retreated to the nine mansions in the center of the town. The first and second battalions are organizing an attack!"

The real-time battle situation on the battlefield was transmitted back.

"It's a bit of a pity, but it would be nice to have some shells." Luo Ping said.

Although the new Second Regiment does not have many artillery pieces, they are barely enough. The reason why they are not used easily is that there are not enough artillery shells. With this wave of additional artillery shells, they should be able to relax a lot.

"Old Chen, how about letting the First and Second Artillery Companies support the First and Second Battalions?" Luo Ping suggested.

After taking down the Japanese artillery positions, the mortar companies of the two battalions were freed up and could enter Mahe Town to provide support.

After thinking for a while, Chen Chengxing said, "The effect is not very great. Let them go to Xiaolinling."

The hit rate of the mortar is still a bit low. It is not so easy to accurately strike the Japanese in the mansion. After all, the first and second battalions have surrounded the Japanese, and the distance between the two sides is very close.

Moreover, the mortars produced by the New Second Regiment had no sights at all, and aiming could only be done with one thumb, so the hit rate was even lower.

Whether it is a 60mm or 82mm mortar, its main function is to kill infantry and suppress machine gun positions.

Even if the 82mm mortar can fire horizontally, it can only destroy the outermost wall at most. Facing the mixed shelter composed of 9 large houses, the 82mm mortar is still somewhat powerless.

But the situation is different when we reach Xiaolinling. Once the Japanese break out and lose their cover, the mortar's killing power will be maximized.

"Yes!" The combat staff officer on the side sent a messenger to the artillery position.

Chen Chengxing, who was standing at the observation port holding a telescope and observing Mahe Town, suddenly said after observing for a while: "Send a message to the first and second battalions, tell them to stop the assault and maintain the siege, and make plans after daybreak."

After receiving Chen Chengxing's order, Xu Wu and Zheng Hua breathed a sigh of relief. If they had attacked by force, there would definitely be casualties in their two battalions.

Now that the captain has given the order, it means that there is a countermeasure and they just need to act according to the order.

When the Japanese in Yaotou Village and Wuyi County were attacked in Mahe Town, they had already received a telegram for help from Mahe Town.

But after looking at the darkness outside, the Japanese thought for a long time and did not dare to send out reinforcements immediately. They could only send a telegram to encourage the troops in Mahe Town to hold on and wait for help.

Although Sakamoto Tomo was a little annoyed by this, he also knew that the locust army was not dominant at night, and it was too dangerous to go out to support at this time, so he could only let his men hold on.

However, after a period of fierce fighting between the two sides, the First and Second Battalions took the initiative to slow down their offensive, and Tomoya Sakamoto breathed a sigh of relief. Judging from the current situation, it would not be a problem for them to hold out until reinforcements arrived.

Although the offensive of the first and second battalions slowed down, they did not stop. They would launch a small-scale attack from time to time. This forced the Japanese to concentrate on their combat positions and not dare to slack off in the slightest.

When daybreak came, Chen Chengxing looked at the battlefield clearly visible in the telescope and turned his head to order: "Call the mountain artillery position and destroy the nine mansions in the center of Mahe Town!"

Due to its trajectory and hit rate, mortars cannot accurately destroy these sturdy brick houses, but mountain artillery has no problem doing so.

The mountain artillery position is only 2 kilometers away from Mahe Town, and it is equipped with a sight, so it can basically hit whatever it points to.

After receiving Chen Chengxing's order, the mountain artillery company, which had been prepared in advance, launched artillery fire on the target.

"Boom!" "Boom!".
Facing the attack of Type 94 mountain artillery, the mansion in the center of the town was no different from a paper-made one. As long as it was hit by a shell, whether it was the courtyard wall or the house, it would all be blown down.

Sakamoto Tomo looked at the house that was constantly collapsing with an extremely ugly expression on his face.

Faced with the attack of mountain artillery, no one dared to hide in the house. If they were hit by a shell, they would be buried alive even if they did not die.

Without the protection of the house, it would be very difficult for them to stop the Eighth Route Army's attack.
With the last house destroyed, the mountain artillery company stopped shelling.

"Comrades! The artillery has finished its work, now it's our turn!"

"Attack!" Xu Wu shouted.

"Boom!" "Boom!".
At the same time as the mortar strikes, the 1st and 4th companies launched their offensive.

Looking at the Eighth Route Army launching an attack, Sakamoto Tomo drew out his command knife and shouted, "Kill the chicken!"

"Da da da".
All the houses were destroyed, and the Japanese could only use the ruins to defend themselves.

Moreover, after losing the protection of the bunkers, the 60mm mortars of each company were enough to pose a fatal threat to the Japanese.

Therefore, even though the Japanese resisted very tenaciously, their casualties were increasing.

More than an hour later, just as the Japs were about to collapse, fierce gunfire and artillery fire suddenly rang out from the east.

At the Yaotou Village stronghold, after daybreak, the Japanese soldiers in the stronghold immediately set out in large numbers. More than 150 Japanese soldiers pulled two mountain cannons and rode nine trucks to search towards Mahe Town.

As for the puppet troops in the stronghold, they followed on foot, but they only had two legs, and even if the Japanese walked and stopped, they could not keep up. After all, they were going to fight, not to share money.

The Japanese soldiers of the 3rd Mixed Brigade had fought against the guerrillas many times when they were in northern Shanxi. After arriving at Zhongyun Mountain, they were beaten several times. They had some understanding of the Eighth Route Army's combat methods and knew that the Eighth Route Army's favorite method was ambush.

The events in Mahe Town made them feel extremely familiar. The atmosphere of besieging a point and attacking its reinforcements was just too authentic, especially in the second half of the night when the Eighth Route Army took the initiative to slow down its offensive, which made the supporting Japanese soldiers constantly worried.

It’s hard to say who the Eighth Route Army’s real target is!

Therefore, after leaving the stronghold, they would send out scouts to investigate all possible places for ambushes along the way. They would even conduct firepower reconnaissance in places that seemed unsuitable for ambushes, taking caution to the extreme.

At the Dashikou position, Sun Xun was speechless after receiving the report from the scout. Could it be that the Eighth Route Army would ambush them?

"Order Company 11 and Company 12 to withdraw from their positions and retreat to the second-line position at Dashimen," Sun Xun ordered.

Originally, Sun Xun had already set up a pocket formation. As long as the Japanese got in, he could easily wipe them out with a three-sided attack. However, the Japanese were so stable now that the possibility of a successful ambush was very slim.

When the ambush was unlikely to succeed, the positions of the 11th and 12th companies were easily broken by the Japanese.

It was almost 8 o'clock when the Japanese reinforcements from Yaotou Village finally arrived near Dashikou.

After parking the car, the Japanese squadron leader Kento Takagi got out and raised his binoculars to look at the terrain ahead.

"Order the reconnaissance team to go forward for reconnaissance, and the heavy machine guns to prepare for cover!" Takagi Kento ordered.

The canyon from Yaotou Village to Mahe Town is about 15 kilometers long. The widest part is about 1 kilometer, and other narrow places are to meters wide. Only the Dashimen area is less than meters wide, and the hillsides on both sides are extremely steep.

Kenjin Takagi felt that this was truly a holy place for ambush.

Not long after the Japanese reconnaissance team went out to conduct reconnaissance, they heard intensive gunfire, and then only less than half of the reconnaissance team ran back.

"There are indeed Eighth Route Army soldiers here!" Takagi Kento said seriously.

"The captain is indeed very good at foresight. The conspiracy of the Eighth Route Army cannot escape your eyes." The team leader beside him gave a thumbs up. "Humph! You dare to show off your skills in front of an expert." Takagi Kenjin said disdainfully. He is a student who graduated from the Army University. How can the Eighth Route Army deceive him?

"Seize the high ground in the left front and establish a position; the artillery squad immediately deploys the artillery and prepares to launch an attack!"

"Ha!"
Looking at the Japanese troops deploying below, Sun Xun readjusted the troops on the position. The firepower configuration for an ambush and a blocking battle was completely different.

After the Japanese completed their preparations, the first to launch the attack was still artillery.

Under the guidance of the artillery observer, the Japanese artillery began to attack the exposed fortifications of the Third Battalion.

"Boom!" "Boom!".
In Mahe Town, just when Sakamoto Tomo felt that he could not hold on any longer, he suddenly heard fierce gunfire coming from the east.

"Hey, reinforcements are here!" Sakamoto Tomo shouted.

The rest of the devils also heard the sound of gunfire, and their morale was boosted.

However, Sakamoto Tomo was very clear about the current situation. The Eighth Route Army in the east was blocking the enemy, and it was unknown when the reinforcements would arrive.

It is not a solution to hold on any longer. The right solution now is to break out to the east and join the reinforcements.

However, the Eighth Route Army is very close to them now, almost facing each other tip to tip. If they break out blindly, the Eighth Route Army will definitely press on, and then their troops will be easily wiped out.

If you want to break out successfully, you must leave behind a blocking force, but this blocking force is almost certain to die.

After thinking for a while, Sakamoto Tomo looked at Kimura Satoru, the captain of the 4th Infantry Squadron.

"Kimura-kun"

"Hai! For the Sky Locust! For the sake of our empire! Please give the orders, Captain!" As soon as Kimura Satoru saw his expression, he knew what he was thinking.

However, Kimura Satoru was not afraid at all. Since he was recruited into the army through a postcard, his life no longer belonged to himself.

Seeing that Kimura Satoru was ready, Sakamoto Tomo said seriously: "Kimura-kun, I hope you can take the wounded soldiers and stay to block the Eighth Route Army to create conditions for the large force to break out."

"Captain, please leave Captain Sakamoto's back to me!"

"Please!" Sakamoto Satoshi bowed.

"Hai!"

"Everyone! Gather! Prepare to break out to the east!" shouted Sakamoto Satoshi.

A few minutes later, Sakamoto Tomo, who was ready, walked up to Kimura Satoru again and said, "Kimura-kun! Good luck to you!"

"For the sake of our empire! It's dark and the sky is dark!" Kimura Satoru had a determined look on his face.

Sakamoto Tomo glanced at Kimura Satoru, then turned around and ordered, "Fire all the shells from the grenade launchers immediately, and clear the way for the light machine guns!"

"Boom!" "Boom!".
"Thump, thump, thump." "Thump, thump, thump."
The fierce firepower caught the soldiers on the east side off guard, and they were unable to react for a while.

"Taoci, come on!" Sakamoto Tomo pulled out his command knife and shouted as he led the charge out.

When Xu Wu saw the Japanese suddenly rush out of their positions shouting and rushing towards the east, he immediately realized that the Japanese were planning to join the reinforcements.

"We can't let the two groups of Japs join together. Bugler, blow the charge!" Xu Wu shouted.

"Tick-tick-tick-tick-tick" several charge bugles sounded at the same time.

The soldiers rushed out from behind their hiding places and pounced on the Japanese.

"Da Da Da" "Tu Tu Tu".
Suddenly, machine gun fire was heard in the ruins of a house to the east of the Japanese position.

The sudden appearance of flames knocked many Eighth Route Army soldiers to the ground.

"Damn, the Japs are so cunning. They broke out all the way to the east and I tried my best to cover them all the way!" Xu Wu hammered the wall angrily.

The Japanese's sneaky move not only caused more than a dozen casualties in the New Second Regiment, but also blocked the New Second Regiment's pursuit.

"I think the Japanese are going to meet up with the reinforcements and then turn around to rescue the enemy who are responsible for covering them," Zheng Hua analyzed.

As time goes by, there will definitely be more and more Japanese reinforcements. As long as these Japanese soldiers responsible for cover can hold on, they will be rescued.

"wishful thinking!"

"Order each artillery platoon to concentrate on attacking the enemy's breakout front!" Xu Wu ordered.

Because of the Japanese blocking, the troops on other fronts were unable to provide timely support to the east, but there was no problem with the artillery, as the artillery shells could directly pass over the Japanese blocking positions and hit the Japanese who broke through.

"Boom!" "Boom!".
Watching the shells continue to fall on the Japanese who broke through the encirclement, Xu Wu turned his head and shouted: "First Platoon Leader, pull up the infantry artillery for me!"

"Infantry gun? The first battalion also has infantry gun?" Zheng Hua asked in surprise.

"We captured a stronghold in Zhongshan before. Who would have thought that there was an infantry gun inside? But there were not many shells, only about twenty." Xu Wu pretended to be cool silently.

But Xu Wu reacted immediately. "Also? Who else has it?"

"The fourth battalion, the regiment commander led them to attack Caojiaji and seized one gun, and the regiment commander did not take it away." Zheng Hua said.

"Tsk!" Xu Wu didn't expect the head of the group to be so generous. Why was he still hiding it?
After the infantry artillery was pushed over, Xu Wu pointed at the Japanese blocking position and gritted his teeth and said, "Bomb it to death!"

"Yes!"

The infantry artillery is very close to the Japanese sniping position and can be aimed directly through the barrel, so naturally there will be no error.

"Boom!" "Boom!".
Faced with the ruins that still had some protection from the heavy machine guns, they had no power to fight back against the infantry artillery. After a few shells, the Japanese firepower was greatly weakened, and the heavy machine gun that was still "da da da" also stopped firing.

"kill!"

"Kill!"
Seeing the Japanese soldiers stop firing, the nearby soldiers immediately rushed forward and swarmed around, turning the blocking Japanese soldiers into a hornet's nest.

Without even bothering to clean up the battlefield, Xu Wu immediately ordered his troops to pursue the Japanese who had broken through.

Just then, a messenger arrived on horseback.

"The regiment commander ordered that the first battalion continue to pursue the Japanese who broke through the encirclement, and complete the encirclement and annihilation of the Japanese at Xiaolinling with the first guerrilla team; the second battalion immediately detours from Beishan and launches an attack on the Japanese at Dashikou from behind!"

After receiving the latest order, Xu Wu and Zheng Hua did not say much and immediately left with their troops.

(End of this chapter)