Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 280 Do you understand what I mean?

"Brigade Commander, should we readjust the plan and change the direction of the operation?"

The operations staff officer standing to the side, watching the increasingly feeble offensive, said...

The reinforcements that arrived to surround Shezhuang numbered only a little over 2,500.

A quarter of them have already fallen. If the fighting continues like this, the casualties will be unbearable.

After a moment's thought, Hiratsu Yuu finally gritted his teeth and said, "Change the direction of the battle!"

"Order the artillery positions to be moved to the south of Shezhuang and rebuilt!"

Because there were no large, organized troops this time, and the nearby strongholds and pillboxes did not have large-caliber artillery.

Therefore, Pinglu Yongfu only had four infantry guns and a dozen or so grenade launchers at this time.

Without heavy firepower, Hiratsu Yuufu could only choose easy targets.

After a day of attack, Pinglu Yongfu discovered that this small area south of Shezhuang was the weakest point of the Eighth Route Army's defenses.

"Hai!"
Seeing the Japanese soldiers stop attacking and gradually retreat, the soldiers of the first and second platoons breathed a sigh of relief.

After fighting continuously for so long, the barrels of their rifles were already getting hot, and the bullet trajectories were not as stable as before.

To ensure proper use, they barely drank any of the water they carried with them, mostly pouring it onto the gun barrels.

Many people have cracked and bleeding lips.

If the Japanese keep recklessly cramming people in, their guns might explode.

"Platoon leader, platoon leader, something's happened!"

On the front line south of Shezhuang, an observer pointed to the cemetery two hundred meters away and shouted.

The fourth platoon leader heard the shouts and quickly went over.

In the cemetery, many Japanese soldiers were busy at work.

Some were setting up cannons, while others were building fortifications; it seemed they were going to use this place as an artillery position.

There was another officer nearby, who would lie down and sit up intermittently, seemingly continuing to command despite being wounded.

"Those Japanese devils are really audacious, placing their artillery positions right under our noses!" the fourth platoon leader roared.

Knowing that the Japanese attacks were feints, the fourth platoon did not deploy heavy machine guns or 60mm mortars.

So now the Japanese are taking advantage of us?

If the Japanese set up their artillery positions here, the grenade launchers could directly fire grenades onto the fourth platoon's position.

Although hand grenades are not as powerful as dedicated high-explosive grenade launchers, their sheer quantity makes up for it.

If the Japanese keep firing grenades, the fourth platoon will be at a disadvantage.

"Bring the heavy machine guns and mortars over here!" the fourth platoon leader ordered.

He decided to strike first.

In any case, we cannot allow the Japanese to place their artillery positions so close together.

A few minutes later, after the heavy machine guns and mortars were set up, the fourth platoon leader immediately ordered a test firing.

"boom!"

The first mortar shell hit the Japanese flag that they had planted on the grave.

"It's off target! Adjust it one degree to the right!" the mortar commander ordered.

"rapid fire!"

"put!"

"Boom!" "Boom!"
"Da da da" "Da da da".
As the mortars began firing, the heavy machine guns also began suppressing the Japanese soldiers in the cemetery.

Machine guns suppressed the operation, while mortars reaped the kills.

The new Second Regiment was already intimately familiar with this process.

The Japanese officer, who had been doing sit-ups, jumped up the moment the first shell landed.

"Evacuate! Evacuate immediately!" the Japanese officer shouted.

They've been exposed now; if they stay any longer, they'll all be wiped out.

Upon hearing the order, the Japanese soldiers nearby grabbed whatever they could carry and started running.

When the Japanese officer saw that no one was paying attention to him, he didn't bother cursing anymore.

He quickly lowered his head and bent over, covering his wound, and retreated under the cover of the grave.

The next second, the heavy machine guns and mortars on the four platoons opened fire simultaneously.

Those Japanese soldiers who couldn't escape in time were immediately mowed down.

A moment later, the firing stopped, and there wasn't a single Japanese soldier left standing in the graveyard.

The fourth platoon leader wasn't particularly excited as he watched the Japanese soldiers escape.

He had already seen the main force of the Japanese troops moving in this direction.

Around 3 o'clock, the Japanese troops reformed their attack formation south of Shecun.

"Launch the artillery fire! Order Daigo's squadron to prepare for the attack!" Hiratsu Yuu ordered, holding up his binoculars.

"Boom!" "Boom!"
The soldiers were not surprised at all by the Japanese attack strategy and had already retreated into their foxholes.

A few minutes later the shelling stopped, and the Japanese company commander drew his command sword and shouted.

"Kill the chicken and give it to me!"

"Da da da" "Da da da".
The soldiers, who had already returned to their bunkers, showed no concern in the face of the Japanese fire.

The Japanese were attacking in deserted areas, so they could attack anywhere they wanted.

However, the Japanese soldiers who launched the attack did not fare so well against the fire of the fourth platoon.

According to Chen Chengxing's orders, the soldiers would only launch an attack when the Japanese soldiers entered within 50 meters.

At such close range, it wouldn't be difficult to kill the Japanese soldiers with either rifles or grenades.

Moreover, semi-automatic rifles can keep firing at you; if you miss the first shot, you can immediately fire a second and a third.

Even if the Japanese soldiers lay on the ground, it wouldn't work.

The firing ports on the roof were prepared for them.

Looking at the troops who charged repeatedly but made no progress.

Pinglu Yongfu felt that the Eighth Route Army's fortifications were really disgusting.

Isn't this a pillbox? How come I never noticed how disgusting pillboxes are before?
Pinglu Yongfu does have infantry guns, which can be used to bombard the guard company's firing positions.

But with so many houses in Shezhuang, he didn't have enough shells to destroy them all.

An infantry gun typically has only 40 rounds of ammunition per load.

Some of these shells had been used by various units during their mopping-up operations.

I fired a lot of shots when I was in Shezhuang North.

With the amount of ammunition he currently has, it won't be easy for him to break into Shezhuang South.

Just as Hiratsu Yongfu was having a headache, a Japanese sentry ran over.

"Brigade Commander, the 22nd Regiment of the left flank has arrived."

"Yoshi! Colonel Kasahara did a great job!" Hirachi Isao exclaimed excitedly.

He hadn't expected the left flank troops to arrive so quickly.

Although the left flank force was only half the size of the 22nd Regiment, it still had nearly 2 men.

Most importantly, they carried two Type 41 mountain guns and four 81mm mortars.

With these cannons, the troops can storm into the village.

"Order the 22nd Regiment to immediately take over the southern positions."

"The artillery should concentrate all its firepower to destroy the Eighth Route Army's defensive fortifications."

"Infantry, use the ruins as cover and launch an attack!"

Pinglu Yongfu originally planned to attack the small area south of Shezhuang from three sides and wipe out all the Eighth Route Army soldiers there.

It seems unlikely that the chances are high now, so we should concentrate our forces to capture one point first.

Then, by expanding from specific points to a broader area, it would be acceptable to squeeze the Eighth Route Army out of Shezhuang South.

"Boom!" "Boom!"
As shells rained down, the houses and walls that had served as the front lines collapsed. The soldiers, sheltering in their bunkers, suffered minimal casualties from the shelling.

However, once the houses weren't completely destroyed, it became much more difficult for the soldiers to defend them.
A few minutes later, the shelling ended, and the Japanese concentrated all their firepower on this one spot.

Under the suppressive fire of dozens of grenade launchers and light machine guns, the fourth platoon had no choice but to retreat to the front line, and now the Japanese were being let in.

"Yoshi! The Eighth Route Army can't hold out any longer! Order reinforcements to come immediately!"

Seeing the Eighth Route Army retreat voluntarily, Pinglu Yongfu was extremely excited.

Once we get into the village, the rest will be much easier.

The two sides began a fierce struggle over the houses.

However, as a large number of Japanese soldiers poured in, the fourth platoon gradually could not hold out, and the Japanese soldiers gradually formed an encirclement.

Although semi-automatic rifles have relatively strong firepower, they cannot withstand a large number of light machine guns.

After the fourth platoon leader killed a Japanese lieutenant who had scaled the wall with his bayonet, he reluctantly gave the order to retreat.

Although the situation has not collapsed yet, if the fighting continues, once the Japanese complete the encirclement, there will be no way to retreat.

"Take the wounded comrades and retreat to Shezhuang North!"

"Use grenades to stop the Japanese pursuit!"

It's already 5 PM, and we can use Shezhuang North to complete the final defense.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"
Dozens of grenades were thrown, halting the Japanese advance.

Taking advantage of those few dozen seconds, the soldiers of the fourth platoon quickly retreated to the north of Shezhuang.

"Brigade Commander, the frontline troops reported that after entering the village, they found that there weren't that many Eighth Route Army soldiers, at most only a few dozen."

"A few dozen people? That's just the Eighth Route Army's rearguard," said Pinglu Yongfu.

Regardless of whether what the frontline troops saw was true or false, to Pinglu Yongfu it could only be false.

He couldn't possibly write in his battle report that he was held up by dozens of Eighth Route Army soldiers for two hours, could he?

Does he still want to be the brigade commander?
"Have you identified which unit this is?" Hiratsu Yuufu asked.

Previously, the troops had never gotten close, so they naturally couldn't determine the enemy's unit number. Now that close combat had occurred, they should have made some discoveries.

"Smimasai, not confirmed yet." The staff officer shook his head.

According to reports from the front-line troops, they didn't even find any bodies, let alone any survivors.

"They're all utter trash!" Hiratsu Yuufu roared.

The battle has been going on for a whole day, and we still don't know the enemy's unit number. If word got out, people would laugh their heads off.

“This must be the main force of the new Second Regiment, otherwise they wouldn’t have such strong combat power!” Pinglu Yongfu affirmed.

"The Locust Army has now completed the encirclement of the Eighth Route Army. Pass down the order to tighten the encirclement and continue the attack!"

Reinforcements are still arriving on the battlefield in a steady stream, and Pinglu Yongfu is confident that he can wipe out the main force of the New Second Regiment.

"Hai!"
As night was approaching, Pinglu Yongfu, determined to achieve victory in one fell swoop, ordered his troops to launch a frenzied attack from all directions.

Under the fierce offensive, the positions of each platoon were fought over repeatedly, and most of the fortifications north of Shezhuang were destroyed.

However, the Japanese casualties also began to increase sharply, and their morale had also greatly diminished.

Seeing the troops' offensive slow down, Pinglu Yongfu's face turned ashen.

He saw a small squad rush out, and after engaging in combat, they immediately retreated.

"Somebody come!"

"Court-martial that cowardly squad leader! The soldier will be reassigned to another unit!"

"Order Captain Nakagawa to take over the front-line attack, and then personally lead the charge!"

In order to accomplish something before it got completely dark, Hiratsu Yuu had already withdrawn all the troops from the surrounding outposts.

Therefore, Pinglu Yongfu absolutely could not accept having troops who were afraid to fight.

These third-line garrison troops were never as strong in fighting spirit as the field troops.

If we cannot act decisively, we may not be able to fight this battle.

"Hai!"
Masao Nakagawa, the Japanese company commander at the Fengbao stronghold, was furious with his squad leader for being so disrespectful.

To retreat like this is tantamount to courting death, and it will also cause him, the company commander, to suffer a setback.

Given the current situation, the danger of charging to the front lines is no less than dancing in a minefield.

"Company Commander Huang, this time you will lead your troops to participate in the attack."

"This is what Masao Nakagawa said to the puppet army company commander who came with him."

"Huh? Me? Attack?" Huang Youfu's legs started trembling.

You bastard, don't you even know what kind of battlefield this is?

You Japanese have already lost a lot of your troops, and even the Locust Army, which is just doing some minor work, has suffered one or two hundred casualties.

Moreover, this is the most intense moment; going up is easy, but coming down is difficult.

"I'm having the Locust Army participate in the attack so that I can properly assist the Locust Army, do you understand?" Nakagawa Masao said.

"Hey! Help the Locust Army launch a proper attack on the Eighth Route Army." Huang Youfu was almost in tears.

"Baka! Use your skills to assist the Locust Army! Do you understand what I mean?!" Nakagawa Masao roared.

"Huh?" Huang Youfu was dumbfounded.

“The Locust Army is trash! I know that. You’re the one who helps the Locust Army survive,” Nakagawa Masao said in a low voice.

Now, Masao Nakagawa couldn't help but have some thoughts.

A squadron from the Malian outpost, which arrived several hours earlier than his troops, now has only 18 men left.

The squadron leader, seeing so many of his fellow townsmen and comrades-in-arms dead, was devastated.

In a moment of despair, he prayed towards Tokyo and then committed seppuku.

Of the squad that was in the Dingzhuang blockhouse next door, only 7 remained.

If this continues, there probably won't be many left in the Nakagawa Squadron.

"Survive? Huh? Ah! I understand, I understand!" Huang Youfu realized.

Isn't this the signature move of the Locust Army? I never thought a Japanese person would resort to this trick.

"Don't worry, sirs, I will definitely teach you all the life-saving techniques," Huang Youfu said, patting his chest.

"Yo-ho, Company Commander Huang, you're a great friend." Nakagawa Masao nodded.

This is not because he or the Nakagawa squadron were afraid of dying.

He just felt that losing his life in such a small village was not worth it.

Even if we risk our lives to take this village, what good will it do?

There are no benefits whatsoever.

Italy started the war to seize profits, not to die here.

"Brothers, the commander has ordered us to join the battle and help the locust army survive."

After Huang Youfu returned to the team, he immediately announced Nakamura Masao's orders.

"Company commander, this is making things difficult for us. How are we supposed to help the Japanese survive?" the puppet army soldier said helplessly.

If they went up there, they themselves might not survive.

"How could you be so stupid?"

"Just teach them how to fire at air targets," Huang Youfu said, waving his hand.

We don't know what the future holds, so we can't hand over all our skills to the Japanese.

What if they use this to control the Locust Army in the future?
"Oh, I understand, I understand." The puppet soldiers next to him nodded in agreement.

The Japanese keep talking about Bushido, but they're not as fearless as the legends say.

Seeing this battlefield, which resembles a meat grinder, is frightening.

The Japanese soldiers from the Nakagawa Company next to them also received the signal.

Although some people were blinded by greed and wanted to fight for the empire, no one uttered a single unnecessary word.

Raising objections at this point could lead to a fight, with bullets flying in from who-knows-where.

(End of this chapter)