Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 216: The Japs Didn’t Even Spare Their Own People
"Boom!" "Boom!".
The artillery battle between the New 2nd Regiment and the Ishiguro Battalion gradually stopped until no one could be seen after nightfall.

However, the mortars of the New Second Regiment would still fire a few rounds from time to time to prevent the Japanese from getting too bored.

"Commander, we received news that the Japanese Third Mixed Brigade has sent troops northward, and it seems that they want to eat us up." Xu Wu reported.

"All?" Chen Chengxing was a little confused. Did the Japanese really trust his back?
"Judging from the number, it should be all of them. The Japanese soldiers are divided into two groups, each with about 2 people." Xu Wu said.

"The Japanese are really bold. They don't take our New Second Regiment seriously." Chen Chengxing said, "Send a message to the Second Battalion, and have them advance north to Tuolu Mountain to harass the Japanese strongholds in Zhangdian, Minzhuang, and cut off their logistical supplies."

"I want to see how the devils respond!"

At 10 o'clock in the evening, Xu Wu and Sun Xun each led a company of troops and approached the Japanese position from both sides.

"The spearhead team will go forward to check the sentry posts, and the rest of you should be prepared to launch a surprise attack at any time!" Xu Wu ordered in a low voice.

On the other hand, the orders issued by Sun Xun were exactly the same.

Several soldiers who had been prepared immediately sneaked forward silently. A few minutes later, Xu Wu also waved his hand and led the large troops forward.

Knowing that there would be a night battle, Ishiguro Shosuke naturally made sufficient preparations, and there were many visible and hidden sentries around the position.

Therefore, the spearhead group was discovered after just moving forward a few Japanese sentries.

"boom!"

The moment the Japanese heard the gunshots, they immediately began firing indiscriminately in the direction of the sound.

"Disperse! Disperse!" Xu Wu didn't care about organization now. He just wanted to disperse first to reduce casualties.

Chen Chengxing, who was at the frontline, saw that a sneak attack was no longer possible, so he didn't say anything more and immediately ordered, "Suppress with fire!"

The heavy machine guns and infantry artillery, which had been prepared for work, immediately began to fire at full capacity.

"Da da da"

"Boom!" "Boom!".
At this time, the mortar with an impressive hit rate can only watch from the sidelines. After all, if it really fires, no one knows whose head the shell will hit.

"Comrades! Follow me and kill!"

Xu Wu and Sun Xun took advantage of the opportunity when the Japanese firepower points were hit and the firepower density decreased, and threw a round of grenades, then quickly crossed the last 30 meters and rushed to the Japanese position.

"Kill!"
When the Japanese soldiers in the position saw the Eighth Route Army rushing up, they immediately rushed towards them with bayonets in hand, and the two sides fought fiercely.

Although there were many more Japanese soldiers on the Lijiazhang position than two companies, due to the limitations of the terrain, it was impossible for Ishiguro Shosuke to deploy all his infantry on the front line. Therefore, in the hand-to-hand combat, the New Second Regiment had a certain advantage in a short period of time.

Therefore, within just a few minutes, the Japanese tended to collapse and retreat.

"Captain, the front line can't hold on any longer. Should we send out support immediately?" the Japanese deputy captain asked anxiously.

If the Eighth Route Army occupies the front-line position, they can attack from both sides. Once the locust troops on both wings are defeated, they can send in additional troops at will.

Ishiguro Shosuke looked at the front line that was showing signs of collapse and suddenly ordered: "Let the heavy machine guns open fire to suppress the Eighth Route Army and drive them back!"

"Captain! This..." The Japanese deputy captain was stunned. What was going on?
Although the Eighth Route Army is now standing in a dense formation and is not on guard, there are also soldiers from the Locust Army among them. If they just shoot them directly, won't their own people also die?

"This is an order!" Ishiguro Shosuke said firmly.

Of course he knew that this would lead to the death of the Locust Army soldiers, but in Ishiguro Shosuke's view this was a win-win. At this time, the enemy-to-us ratio on the front line was definitely more than 3:1. If one Locust Army soldier could be exchanged for three Eighth Route Army soldiers, he would not even frown.

"Ha!"
A moment later, the Japanese heavy machine guns suddenly began to fire wildly.

"Da da da" "Da da da".
Many soldiers of the New Second Regiment were knocked down unexpectedly. Of course, the Japanese soldiers who were fighting with the soldiers with bayonets also fell to the ground.

"Fuck! The devil is crazy!"

Xu Wu looked at the soldiers who had the upper hand and were suddenly knocked down by machine guns, and immediately shouted: "Retreat! Retreat!"

The soldiers and the Japanese were already mixed together, so even if they wanted to lie down it was impossible. If you dared to lie down, the Japanese would directly assassinate you.

Therefore, the most important thing now is to escape from danger first, otherwise the soldiers who attack Lijiazhang will be wiped out.

After seeing this scene, Chen Chengxing in the front-line command post directly called the infantry and artillery positions: "Immediately provide fire support for the 2nd and 9th companies to withdraw!"

"Boom!" "Boom!".
The infantry artillery began to continuously bombard the exposed firing points of the Japanese. At night, the position of the Japanese heavy machine guns was very clear.

Xu Wu and Sun Xun also took the opportunity to retreat. After counting, they found that both companies of infantry had suffered thirty to forty casualties.

"Damn it, the Japs are such a beast, using our own people as bait!" Xu Wu cursed all the way as he entered the forward command post.

In the past, everyone always thought that the Japs were extremely brutal, but now I see that they were not wrong in calling them names. The Japs are not human beings! There is no army in the world that does this.

"Okay, stop talking nonsense here." Chen Chengxing interrupted.

"You two go and get ready. Since the sneak attack failed, just attack." Chen Chengxing said as he looked at the Li family's high ground that fell into darkness again.

"Yes!"

Xu Wu and Sun Xun both held their breath, ready to give the Japanese a good beating.

Although there is not as much room for heavy firepower to be used in night battles as in daytime battles, the brutality is even greater.

Because of the line of sight, the fighting distance between the two sides is much closer than during the day, so hand-to-hand combat occurs almost every time, but the scale varies.

By 4 a.m., the two sides had already fought several night battles and the Japanese were beginning to feel unable to hold on.

"Captain, the troops have been counted. Now there are less than 200 combat-capable troops. If the Eighth Route Army attacks two more times at most, we will be wiped out." The Japanese deputy captain reported.

During the several hours of fighting, the Ishiguro Battalion had almost played all its cards and even ran out of artillery shells.

"We can't go on like this!" Ishiguro Shosuke gritted his teeth.

Ishiguro Shosuke was not as optimistic as the deputy captain. He judged that it would be very likely that they would not be able to stop it next time.

"Immediately gather all soldiers who can still move, discard all supplies, and prepare to cross the western cliff with light equipment!" ordered Ishiguro Shosuke.

Now Ishiguro Shosuke no longer puts his hope in reinforcements. If he wants to survive, he must break through.

The Eighth Route Army surrounded Lijiazhang from the north and south, so the only options for a breakout were the east and the west. Lijiazhang was originally located on the west side of the canyon, so breaking out from this side was naturally the best option.

More than ten minutes later, Ishiguro Shosuke stood in front of many Japanese soldiers, but he did not say a word. Instead, he waved his hand and led the troops down the mountain directly from the west in the dark.

At the same time, more than 20 Japanese soldiers who were still able to move but unable to climb over the cliff left their positions from the east and rushed towards the Eighth Route Army at the foot of the mountain. The remaining seriously injured soldiers who could not move operated machine gun fire on the positions to provide cover.

"Da da da".
Looking at the Japanese who suddenly launched an attack, the soldiers at the foot of the mountain were a little confused, but their hands did not stop and the machine guns continued to fire.

"Captain, what are the Japanese doing? Breaking out?" Xu Wu said that he couldn't figure it out. There was no way to break out by attacking to the east. The only way to break out successfully was to go in the north and south directions.

Before Chen Chengxing could say anything, gunshots suddenly sounded from the west of Lijiazhang. "Now we can't be wrong. The Japanese are making a feint to the east and attacking in the west. They must be trying to break out from the west!" Chen Chengxing said.

"West? There's a cliff on the west? How can they break through?" Xu Wu asked.

"They must have broken out with light equipment. With the Japanese's training, climbing over a cliff seven or eight meters high is not a difficult task." Chen Chengxing said, putting down the telescope.

"Lightly equipped? So the heavy weapons are left on the top of the mountain?" Xu Wu said excitedly.

"Heavy weapons? Don't dream. I think they've already tied explosives to them."

"boom!!!"

As soon as Chen Chengxing finished speaking, an explosion occurred on Lijiazhang Heights.

"Oh my! This is such a pity!" Looking at the explosion on the top of the mountain, Xu Wulian slapped his thigh.

Chen Chengxing did not feel any pity about the Japanese's actions. No matter whether it was a cannon or a gun, it was the ammunition that was fired that killed people. Without ammunition, it would just be a pile of scrap metal.

However, Chen Chengxing couldn't let the Japanese get away like this.

"Sun Desheng!" Chen Chengxing shouted.

"Yes!" Sun Desheng ran in from outside.

"You must take the cavalry company to the west and intercept the Japanese immediately!" Chen Chengxing ordered.

If it were just infantry, it would be difficult to chase them now, but with cavalry in hand, the Japanese will definitely not escape.

"Yes!"

After Shosuke Ishiguro led his team over the cliff, he looked at the flames of the explosion behind him and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Turn around!" Ishiguro Shosuke waved his hand and led his troops quickly to the west.

As long as they move 7 kilometers west, the Ishiguro Brigade will reach the Zhen'an Village stronghold, and they will be safe then.

However, what Ishiguro Shosuke did not expect was that after leading the team to run in the dark for half an hour, he felt something was wrong.

"Wait! No one, be quiet!" Ishiguro Shosuke stopped and shouted.

After the surroundings were quiet, Ishiguro Shosuke listened carefully.

A few seconds later, Ishiguro Shosuke opened his eyes suddenly and said in horror: "Baga! There are cavalry!"

He had heard a lot of horse hoof sounds, but neither the 3rd Mixed Brigade, the 9th Mixed Brigade, nor the 1st Division had any cavalry units. The only one with cavalry was the 8th Mixed Brigade of the Locust Army, but the cavalry battalion had been taken away.

"Everyone move to Duanjiagou Village immediately! Hayaku!" Ishiguro Shosuke shouted.

Comparing speed with cavalry is seeking death. Now the only way to survive is to enter the village.

Duanjiagou Village was not far from the Japanese, but the cavalry company was faster.

As soon as the Japanese saw the shadow of Duanjiagou Village, Sun Desheng and his cavalry company swept in.

Looking at the cavalry rushing over, Ishiguro Shosuke knew that he had no way to escape this time, because he was breaking out with light equipment and the troops did not carry any heavy machine guns.

It is wishful thinking to rely on less than two hundred infantrymen to fight against hundreds of cavalrymen.

In despair, Ishiguro Shouke drew out his command knife and shouted, "Gentlemen! For the Sky Locust! For the Empire!"

"Taoci, go ahead!" Ishiguro Shosuke raised his command knife and rushed towards the cavalry.

Ishiguro Shosuke wanted to die in the charge, but Sun Desheng did not give him this opportunity.

If there were more than 200 Japanese soldiers and they laid their Type 38 rifles upright on the ground, a cavalry company would suffer more than a dozen casualties in one charge.

“Swoosh!~~”

A military whistle sounded, and the cavalry company that seemed to be charging straight ahead suddenly split into two groups, passing through the two wings of the Japanese army, and at the same time a burst of gunfire rang out.

"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!".
Seeing the Eighth Route Cavalrymen attacking him with guns instead of confronting him head-on, Ishiguro Shosuke was almost angry to death.

"Bakayaro! If you have the guts, do it like a man! You cowards!" Ishiguro Shosuke cursed.

In the cavalry company that had regrouped, Sun Desheng asked curiously, "What are the devils saying?"

"I don't understand. He's probably scolding you." Ma Zhiyuan said.

Although I couldn't understand what the Japs were saying, Bakayaluo could still understand them.

"Damn it! How dare the Japanese curse me?" Sun Desheng said angrily.

"Machine gun platoon! Set up your guns! Shoot to death!" Sun Desheng ordered.

You Japanese devils don’t have heavy machine guns, but I do. So shouldn’t I bully you to death?
After taking the heavy machine gun off the horse and putting it back together, the heavy machine gun began to fire at Ishiguro Shosuke who was still cursing.

It's late at night and it's hard to see clearly. You keep reporting your location there. Who else should I hit if not you?

"Da da da" "Da da da".
Ishiguro Shosuke never expected that the Eighth Route Cavalry would be so unmartial. After taking a few bullets and singing and dancing for a while, they fell to the ground.

"Baka." Ishiguro Shosuke spat out blood foam and looked at the three heavy machine guns that were still firing, unable to speak.

Seeing that all the Japanese had fallen to the ground, Sun Desheng signaled to the artillery platoon nearby that was ready.

Then he raised his cavalry sword again and shouted: "Cavalry Company! Attack!"

"kill!".
The Japanese soldiers who were originally lying on the ground saw the heavy machine gun stop firing and heard the rumbling sound of horse hooves. They immediately half-knelt up in panic, raised their guns, and prepared to wait for the Eighth Route Army to approach so that they could fire a shot and then meet the charge.

However, what the Japs waited for was not charging cavalry, but artillery shells falling from the sky.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!".
The single-piece killing range of an 82mm mortar shell is 15 meters. The three mortars in the artillery platoon fired five rounds rapidly in one round, killing a large number of Japanese soldiers who were half-kneeling on the ground.

Just as the Japanese were preparing to lie down, Sun Desheng didn't say a word. He just blew his whistle and led the cavalry company to turn a corner and charge towards the Japanese.

"Boom boom boom"

By the time the cavalry company had passed the Japanese positions, there was no Japanese left standing, only some round objects rolling on the ground.

"Clean up the battlefield! Go back and report!" Sun Desheng ordered.

This is because the Japanese reacted quickly. If they were like the puppet soldiers who lay on the ground motionless and were shot from behind, it would be difficult to end the battle so quickly.

(End of this chapter)