Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 225: One set after another (It’s the end of the month, please give me a monthly ticket)
"The Japanese really fell into our trap! At least two hundred of them were killed in this wave!" Luo Ping said excitedly as he watched the Japanese fleeing in a panic.

Although there was only one main battalion, the Four Battalions, in the ambush, and the rest were guerrillas, the firepower they burst out in a short period of time was not weak at all.

The light machine gun's firepower sustainability is just worse than that of the heavy machine gun. In just a few minutes, the impact is not that big.

Looking at the Japanese corpses on the ground, Chen Chengxing smiled and said, "We have planned it intentionally, but the Japanese can't escape from our grasp."

"The two groups of devils should have met up. It's time to move on to the next step." Chen Chengxing said as he put down the telescope.

"Pass my order, the Fourth Battalion will launch an attack, and the guerrillas will cooperate from the outside!"

"yes!".
Ando Kazutaka, who had just escaped the ambush circle and had not had time to catch his breath, saw the Eighth Route Army rushing over from all over the mountains and immediately shouted, "Keep turning! Target Erlipu Village!"

The troops are now in chaos and have no positions to defend. They are no match for the four or five thousand Eighth Route Army soldiers rushing up.

At this time, the most appropriate solution that Ando Kazutaka could think of was to retreat to Erlipu and then use the houses and walls of the village for defense.

As long as he could hold his ground and cooperate with the Morita Battalion that would arrive soon, he would be able to form a confrontation with the Eighth Route Army and even have the possibility of a counterattack.

In Erlipu, as soon as Ando Kazutaka and Morita Haruji met, they received bad news.

Eight routes appeared on the left and right wings, which meant they were surrounded!
Moreover, with the arrival of the Eighth Route Army on the left and right wings, the number of Eighth Route Army troops besieging Erlipu has now reached six to seven thousand.

"Damn! This is definitely the main force of the New Second Regiment!" Morita Haruji stood on the roof, observing the surrounding hills with a telescope. They were all filled with Eighth Route Army soldiers.

The two of them never imagined that the Eighth Route Army would ignore the locust troops still in the heart of the base, and instead focus all their attention on their own troops.

I'm about to leave, but the Eighth Route Army won't let me go. Wouldn't it be better for you to go and fight the brigade commander and his men?

"I have already sent a telegram to the brigade commander. His order is for us to delay the Eighth Route Army. He is leading his troops on a rapid march over here." Ando Kazutaka said on the side.

"With the strength of our two battalions, it won't be a problem for us to defend Erlipu."

Although the village of Erlipu is not big, the terrain is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Even if the Eighth Route Army has a main force of 6,000 to 7,000 people, it is impossible to capture it in a short period of time.

"Mr. Ando, the Fifth Battalion was ambushed by the Eighth Route Army this time and suffered heavy casualties. You should first transfer soldiers from the communications team, baggage team, and engineering team to your unit," suggested Haruji Morita.

According to the rules of the Locust Army, as the captain of the 4th Independent Infantry Battalion, Haruji Morita will automatically gain command of this team.

An independent mixed brigade, in addition to 5 independent infantry battalions and 1 artillery battalion, also has engineering corps, baggage corps, communications corps and other units.

Technical arms such as telegraph soldiers and artillerymen certainly cannot be deployed to the front line, but it doesn't matter for other troops.

"Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Morita." Ando Kazutaka did not refuse.

Although these soldiers are not as combat effective as frontline infantry, it is better to have them than not.

Just as the New Second Regiment surrounded Erlipu on three sides, Nara Yukio also ordered his troops to speed up their march and prepare to rush to the support of the Fourth and Fifth Battalions.

However, just three hours later, they encountered a problem. An ambush position appeared on the road they had to take.

"The Eighth Route Army is really bold. Do they think they can definitely defeat half of the brigade?" Nara Yukio put down the telescope, looking a little unfriendly.

Just looking at the size of the position of the troop that appeared in front of him, he knew that there were at least a thousand people.

With so many people standing in front of him, it was definitely not to slow down his speed, but to prevent him from supporting Erlipu. In other words, the Eighth Route Army in Erlipu wanted to swallow up that locust army in one bite.

"Order the troops and prepare for battle!"

After conveying Nara Yukio's order, Toyama Ryotaro thought for a moment and asked, "Brigade Commander, should we send a telegram to the headquarters to request reinforcements from Taiko?"

Although Taigu is 50 kilometers away from Erlipu, there should be no blocking forces at present. If support can be provided, they will definitely arrive at the battlefield earlier than our side.

"First try to see if you can break through the position in front of you. If it doesn't work, it won't be too late to send a message."

Yukio Nara still didn't want to report the matter directly to the headquarters, as that would make him seem incompetent.

Looking at Nara Yukio standing there without looking back, Toyama Ryotaro retreated helplessly.

Just as Nara Yukio deployed his troops and launched an artillery bombardment on the first battalion's position, Chen Chengxing also issued an order to bombard Erlipu.

"Boom!" "Boom!".
Three 82mm mortar companies with 18 mortars continuously fired shells at Erlipu, and the entire village was within the range of the fire attack.

"Everyone! Retreat to the room!" Haruji Morita shouted.

Mortars are mainly used to kill unprotected targets above their heads. After hiding in the house, most people will not be hit, except for a few unlucky ones.

Squatting in the house, Ando Kazutaka and Morita Haruji observed the situation outside through the shooting holes they had dug.

"I think the Eighth Route Army will stop shelling in five minutes at most. Let the soldiers get ready and return to their positions immediately after the shelling stops."

"The artillery units are also ready. If the Eighth Route Army attacks, bombard them!" Morita Haruji looked at the densely falling shells outside and could easily judge the shooting frequency of the Eighth Route Army.

If this frequency is maintained, each gun can fire 5 shells in just 50 minutes.

This kind of consumption, let alone the Eighth Route Army, even the Locust Army could not bear it for a long time.

Haruji Morita's judgment was correct. Before even 3 minutes had passed, Chen Chengxing was planning to stop.

Most of the mortars of the New Second Regiment are processed with axles, which can withstand the chamber pressure of the artillery shells, but their heat resistance is not as good as that of special gun barrels. If they continue to fire, the gun barrels will overheat.

Chen Chengxing stood on the top of the mountain and looked at the situation in Erlipu from afar. At this time, the frequency of shelling had begun to decrease.

"Detonate!" Chen Chengxing suddenly ordered.

"Detonate!" Zeng Cheng, the company commander of the engineering company next to him, shouted and waved the small flag in his hand.

As several soldiers pressed the detonators in their hands, Erlipu was immediately enveloped by a series of explosions.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!".
A large number of houses in Erlipu were razed to the ground, and the entire village was filled with smoke and dust.

Seeing that they couldn't see anything, everyone put down their telescopes.

"In this wave, the Japanese will be at least crippled if not killed!" Luo Ping said excitedly.

"There shouldn't be that many. I estimate the casualties to be at most three or four hundred. We still don't have enough explosives." Chen Chengxing was not that optimistic.

From the exchange of fire between scouts, to the ambush, and then to Erlipu, Chen Chengxing led the Japs step by step to make their choices.

The previous shelling was also intended to drive the Japanese into houses or yards as much as possible, so that the explosives pre-buried by engineers in various houses could have a greater effect.

For this explosion, Chen Chengxing specially brought out the remaining explosives from the arsenal, a total of less than 4 kilograms of high explosives.

If there were enough explosives, and if three or five tons were buried, most of these two thousand Japanese would be turned into pieces.

At this time, in Erlipu, the Japanese were stunned by the sudden explosion and were unable to react for a while.

The outermost Japanese soldiers were not hit by the explosion because they were holding their positions. Therefore, when they saw the Eighth Route Army launching an attack, they immediately launched a counterattack.

"Da da da" "Da da da".
The fierce gunfire made Ando Kazutaka and Morita Haruji, whose brains were a little confused, gradually wake up.

"Counterattack! Counterattack now!"

"Quick! Order the artillery to fire! Rapid fire! Rapid fire!"

After waking up, Ando Kazutaka and Morita Haruji immediately started shouting and screaming.

The troops had just been attacked by an explosion and were unable to respond quickly. The only thing they could rely on now was the artillery set up in the threshing ground.

They had already seen the situation in Erlipu clearly. The explosions occurred in houses occupying prime locations, while the threshing ground was a large open space, and even if it was attacked it would not have much impact.

The Japanese judged correctly that the artillery in the threshing ground was indeed not hit by the explosion. Therefore, after receiving the order, several mountain cannons began to fire shells continuously at the fastest speed.

Within one minute, 10 mountain cannons fired nearly 5 shells, and in the following minutes they maintained a firing rate of rounds per minute.

The Japanese's frenzied artillery bombardment blocked the offensive of the New Second Regiment. Although the front troops had reached the Japanese front line, the troops behind could not keep up.

Faced with the Eighth Route Army rushing up to the position, the Japanese on the front line counterattacked fiercely. They needed to buy time for the main force to react. If the Eighth Route Army directly rushed into the village, everything would be over.

Seeing that the attack route was blocked by artillery fire, Chen Chengxing could only order a temporary retreat.

On the Japanese position, after receiving the signal to withdraw, Li Chishui shouted without hesitation: "Retreat! Retreat!"

After hearing the order, the soldiers immediately used grenades to separate the two sides and then quickly withdrew from the Japanese position.

Seeing the Eighth Route Army retreating, the Japanese on the front line did not pursue them. They had not gained any advantage in the previous fight.

Looking at the withdrawing troops, Luo Ping said with some regret: "This was a great opportunity, what a pity."

"The New Second Regiment is still poor." Chen Chengxing sighed.

The New Second Regiment was in short supply of both explosives and artillery shells.

If there are enough mountain artillery shells, when the Japanese set up a barrage of bullets to provide cover, the New 13nd Regiment can also do the same, and the th Company will definitely be able to take down the Japanese's front-line positions.

However, the New Second Regiment now has 6 mountain cannons, but less than 400 artillery shells. Chen Chengxing is reluctant to use them easily.

There was still some mortar shells in stock, but the barrel had been heated up in order to force the enemy into the house, and it would take more than half an hour to cool down.

(End of this chapter)