Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 335 The Demolition Team Takes the Stage

"Eighth Route Army has been spotted in the village ahead!"

"Surround Luo Family Village immediately!"

"Hayaku! Hayaku!"

Upon arriving near Luojia Village, Nomura Satoru immediately ordered his troops to encircle the village.

These are all Eighth Route Army soldiers; we absolutely cannot let a single one escape.

The puppet troops captured in the village had already been spotted by the Nomura Regiment when they were encircled.

They also saw the Eighth Route Army soldiers guarding them run away.

"Brothers! It's the Japanese! The Japanese have come to save us!"

"Great! We're saved!"

Many of the puppet soldiers wept with joy.

They miss the days when they were traitors and tyrannical.

Since entering Dayun Mountain, there has been endless work and unbearable hardship.

Unexpectedly, they were rescued by the Japanese during this transfer.

From now on, I must be a loyal dog to the Japanese!

Looking at the crowd pouring out of the village, Nomura Satoru laughed.

He prefers things to come to him directly, saving him the trouble of searching door-to-door.

"Kill the chicken!" Nomura Satoru shouted, drawing his command sword.

"Da da da".
The puppet troops who rushed out were immediately killed or wounded.

"Sir, don't fire! Don't fire!"

"We're on the same side! We're on the same side!"

The puppet soldiers shouted and yelled as they frantically tried to find cover from the bullets.

Faced with the cries of the puppet troops, the Japanese soldiers who were firing showed no pity whatsoever; instead, they laughed loudly.

"Cease fire! Tao Ci, give it your all!"

"Onboard!"
The Japanese soldiers charged forward with bayonets fixed.

We should save bullets if possible.

What you save is all yours.

Watching the soldiers charge forward with incredible ferocity, killing people like chickens, Nomura Satoru nodded in satisfaction.

They truly deserve to be called the elite of a Class A division.

"Yo-shi! Telegraph soldier!"

"Send a telegram to General Shinotsuka."

"Our army has abandoned the truck flanking support, but in the Luojia Village area, it has been blocked by the main force of the Eighth Route Army."

"The battle became intense from the very beginning, with fierce artillery exchanges between the two sides."

"Our artillerymen, undaunted by danger, launched a fierce counterattack, inflicting heavy casualties on the Eighth Route Army."

"However, the Eighth Route Army is putting up a very stubborn resistance, and I'm afraid they won't be able to reach Anqiu in time. Please, General, dispatch other troops to provide support!"

"Hai!"
"How could the Eighth Route Army appear in Luo Family Village? And not just their main force!"

After receiving the telegram, Yoshio Shinotsuka looked at the map and became increasingly confused.

Luojia Village was not a major transportation route, so how did the Eighth Route Army predict that Nomura's regiment would go there?

“Sir, now is not the time to think about these things,” said Michifumi Yamaoka.

"The situation in Anqiu and Ping'an is already very dangerous."

"But the Nomura team was blocked."

"And once they lose their trucks as a means of transportation, it won't be so easy for them to retreat, even if they want to."

"We must find a way to provide some support to Anqiu and Ping'an."

Hearing Yamaoka Michifumi's words, Shinotsuka Yoshio said helplessly.

"Support? That's easier said than done. We simply don't have any troops available to support Ping'an County in a short period of time."

At this moment, the only thing Yoshio Shinotsuka could think of was the decapitation operation that Ichiki Yamamoto had mentioned.

However, Yamamoto Ichiki's special forces were completely wiped out by the Eighth Route Army.

Even the newly formed Takeshita Special Forces team was wiped out in one wave, with two-thirds of them being wiped out.

The remaining ten or so people were also trapped in Ping'an County.

It seems that this tactic of using special forces is not going to work.

Just as Yoshio Shinotsuka was having a headache, the new Second Division had already launched a renewed attack.

"Boom!" "Boom!"
The mountain guns and heavy mortars on each position opened fire, and the Japanese positions were covered by artillery fire.

"Kill!"
Taking advantage of the Japanese troops being suppressed by artillery fire, the regiments launched an attack.

"Kill the chicken and give it to me!"

"Da da da".
Several tongues of fire shot out from the city walls of Ping'an County.

Using the crenellations of the parapet, the Japanese soldiers could fire relatively safely.

The parapet could not stop the direct fire of mountain guns.

However, there are numerous gaps in the city wall, which stretches for several kilometers.

The Japanese could move their machine gun positions at any time.

The Second New Regiment, however, did not consume as many artillery shells.

"Old Chen, the troops' attack isn't going very smoothly. Should we open fire with the heavy artillery?"

Inside the temporary command post, Luo Ping looked at the stalemate on the battlefield and took the initiative to make a suggestion.

The cannons of the New Second Regiment were only 105 mm in diameter.

However, with the initial velocity, firing a few more shots would definitely be enough to break down the city walls of Ping'an County.

"No need to rush, I already have plans."

"Xu Wu, have the First Battalion fire signal flares, and intensify the attack from the other directions!" Chen Chengxing ordered.

"yes!".
"Bang!" "Bang!"

Two signal flares, one red and one white, shot into the sky.

"What does 'Eighth Route Army' mean?" Takeshita Shun frowned as he looked at the signal flare in the sky.

These two signal flares were definitely sending a signal, but he didn't know what it meant.

However, the news of the battle that followed left him no time to think about it.

"Colonel, the west, south, and north walls are under attack! The Eighth Route Army has launched a fierce assault!"

Naoshi Takeda rushed in, looking disheveled.

"Immediately dispatch all reserves and stop this attack at all costs!" Takeshita Shun ordered.

All the city gates in Ping'an County have been blocked with sandbags.

As long as the city walls are not breached, they should be able to hold out for a short period of time.

"Hai!"
Just as the reserve forces were providing support in various places, a group of Japanese soldiers headed straight for the East Gate.

"Quickly! Get up to the city gate tower!" Zhou Weiguo ordered.

The city wall is a straight line, so as long as you can occupy the city gate tower, you can use the height and defense to suppress the Japanese soldiers on both sides of the city wall.

By then, the soldiers of the first brigade would have climbed up.

Zhou Weiguo used fluent Japanese and a Japanese soldier's uniform as a disguise.
The special forces team easily scaled the city gate tower. "Quickly clear the area, then form groups of four and establish firing positions on the first, second, and third floors."

"The Japanese soldiers at the barricade were dealt with using hand grenades."

"action!"

At Zhou Weiguo's command, the special forces team immediately rushed into the city gate tower.

There were a dozen or so people inside, but they were no match for the firepower of submachine guns and semi-automatic rifles.

As the special forces captured the city gate tower, the Japanese soldiers on the east city wall could no longer stay there.

The city walls only provide defense to the outside; they are completely ineffective against flank attacks.

"Baka yarou! How could there be Eighth Route Army soldiers in Ping'an County?!"

When Takeshita Shun heard that the eastern city gate tower had been occupied, he was so anxious he was about to jump up and down.

"Order the troops defending the eastern city to launch a full-scale attack immediately and make sure to recapture the city gate tower!" Takeshita Shun urgently ordered.

"Hai!"
After the messenger hurriedly left, Takeshita Shun looked at Takeda Naoji.

"Takeda-kun, the situation is not optimistic. Ping'an County is probably in great danger."

The gate tower at the East Gate was originally reserved by Takeshita Shun as a last line of defense, so it was specially reinforced.

As a result, the Eighth Route Army has taken over the area first.

If it cannot be retaken within half an hour, then Ping'an County will fall.

"Colonel, all the warriors of Heian County are prepared to die for their cause!" Takeda Naoshi said solemnly.

Upon hearing what Takeda Naoshi said, Zhao Sanlei became extremely anxious.

Although he didn't understand everything, he could understand Ping'an County and Yu Sui.

But he didn't want it to break. He wasn't Japanese, so there was nowhere for him to go if it broke.

However, Zhao Sanlei had no room to interrupt now.

"Yoshi, Takeda-kun, the locusts will see our bravery!"

"Prepare for street fighting!" Takeshita Shun said solemnly.

Even if they were no match for the Eighth Route Army in street fighting, it would still be good to inflict one more casualty.

"Hai!"
"Reporting, Commander! The First Battalion reports that they have captured Ping'an County!"

"Report! The 2nd Battalion, the Special Service Regiment, the 2nd Independent Regiment, and the 3rd Independent Regiment report that the Japanese have completely retreated!"

Upon hearing the operations staff's report, Luo Ping exclaimed excitedly, "Great! Ping'an County has been captured!"

"Old Luo, don't rush, the Japanese aren't all dead yet," Chen Chengxing said.

"Someone, go and fetch Zeng Cheng from the engineering battalion."

"Yes!"

A few minutes later, Zeng Cheng ran into the temporary command post.

"Commander, you wanted to see me."

"How's the preparation of the explosive charges I asked your engineering battalion to make going?" Chen Chengxing asked.

Chen Chengxing naturally wanted to study tactics more thoroughly, as this was a rare opportunity to attack the city.

The subsequent Liberation War would inevitably involve sieges.

Therefore, before the war, Chen Chengxing had Zhang Chu train together with the engineering battalion and the guard company.

“Ready.” Zeng Cheng nodded.

"Very good, have the demolition team report to the guard company immediately!"

"yes!".
“Lu Ze.” Chen Chengxing then looked at the guard company commander beside him.

"Have!"

"The demolition tactics were trained together by the guard company and the engineer battalion, and you will be in charge of this actual combat exercise."

"Yes! I guarantee I will complete the mission!" Lu Ze replied, standing at attention.

"Go ahead! Experiment with it more and find out what's lacking."

The demolition tactics are not complicated; they are simply the addition of a demolition team to the existing fire support team, assault team, and support team.

When fighting in urban areas, they never take the main road, so as to avoid being ambushed by enemy pre-set firing positions.

As Lu Ze led his team into the battlefield, the Japanese soldiers, who had been putting up a stubborn resistance, realized something was wrong.

How did the Eighth Route Army soldiers all emerge from behind me?

Who is ambushing whom?

The newly researched tactics, although they have many shortcomings and unexpected aspects.

However, the Japanese soldiers, who had never seen this move before, were completely bewildered and disoriented.

They had no idea where the Eighth Route Army would appear from.

Just one hour later, the Japanese troops in Ping'an County were wiped out.

Of the original garrison, fewer than forty clever puppet soldiers survived.

"Yamaoka-kun, the Eighth Route Army's strength is probably even greater now than it was before the Hundred Regiments Offensive."

At the Taiyuan Command Headquarters, Yoshio Shinotsuka stood at the window looking out.

On the table was a farewell telegram sent by Takeshita Shunsuke.

In 41 and 42, the Locust Army held an absolute advantage in the enemy's rear battlefield.

Unexpectedly, in just a few short years, the Eighth Route Army has been able to launch such a large-scale campaign.

"Sir, after the Pacific War, a large number of elite troops of the China Expeditionary Army were transferred, and their combat effectiveness naturally declined significantly."

"Currently, within the First Army, only the Fourth Division can still be considered elite; the rest of the units..."

Michifumi Yamaoka stopped speaking.

Apart from the 4th Division, the rest of the First Army was basically a garrison force.

Many of the soldiers were elderly or young, and their equipment was incomplete.

Some squads even had only one light machine gun.

However, the Fourth Division
That's a long story.

While they weren't exactly uninvolved in this reinforcement effort, the Nomura Regiment did inflict heavy damage on a main force of the Eighth Route Army, annihilating over two thousand enemy soldiers.

However, the most crucial counties of Anqiu and Ping'an could not be saved.

"Sigh," Yoshio Shinotsuka sighed helplessly.

He was just a division commander; he couldn't change his superiors' minds.

"Order the troops in northwestern Shanxi to retreat and rebuild a defensive perimeter with Luyang as the core."

Yoshio Shinotsuka's current plan is to temporarily keep the Eighth Route Army trapped in the mountainous region of northwestern Shanxi.

To prevent the Eighth Route Army from affecting the core area of ​​the First Army.

However, Yoshio Shinotsuka did not intend to let the Eighth Route Army occupy the Shanxi-Northwest region so brazenly.

He plans to request additional supplies from his superiors.

The Eighth Route Army's attack on Anqiu and Ping'an must not be left unresolved.

Yoshio Shinotsuka believed that the defeat in this battle was due to a sneak attack by the Eighth Route Army.

If they really laid out their forces, the Eighth Route Army would be no match for the Locust Army.

If we can retake Ping'an County and Anqiu, the situation will return to what it was before.

"Hai! I'll go right away." Michifumi Yamaoka nodded and left the office.

(End of this chapter)