Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 390 Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!

"Commander Liu, the G Army has retreated," Meng Zhifeng, commander of the 91st Regiment, said excitedly.

Seeing the G army withdraw from Shengquanzhuang, Liu Wanfang breathed a sigh of relief.

The fighting power of the G army is truly astonishing.

After putting down his binoculars, Liu Wanfang ordered his troops to quickly repair the fortifications before returning to the command post.

As soon as Liu Wanfang entered, he asked the communications soldier standing to the side:
"Have you made contact with the 5th Cavalry Division? How are they now? Where are they?"

The radio operator immediately stood up and reported:
"Reporting to the commander, the 5th Cavalry Division has sent a message that they did not retreat towards Shengquanzhuang, but instead returned directly to Jining."

"Sigh, they're being way too cautious."

Upon hearing that the 5th Cavalry Division had chosen to return directly to Jining, Liu Wanfang shook his head helplessly.

At dawn, when Shengquan Village was attacked, Liu Wanfang immediately sent a message to the 5th Cavalry Division.

However, Liu Wanfang was thinking that after the 5th Cavalry Division withdrew from the watershed, they could come to support Shengquanzhuang.

With a pincer attack from both inside and outside, the G army will surely suffer heavy losses.

Once the G army is repelled, they will have more options.

Liu Wanfang did not expect that the 5th Cavalry Division would choose to run away without even fighting.

The golden opportunity has vanished.

"Commander, the 5th Cavalry Division has returned to Jining. If we stay in Shengquanzhuang, the chances of survival are slim," said Jia Wei, Chief of Staff of the 4th Cavalry Division.

The G army withdrew from Shengquanzhuang, but did not leave.

Instead, they established a position on the western hilltop, creating a standoff with Shengquanzhuang.

It's obvious that the G army is waiting for reinforcements.

"We have to retreat." Liu Wanfang nodded. The G army had reinforcements, but they didn't.

Although Shengquan Village has set up multiple defensive positions, it is impossible to hold on if the G army troops advance.

Therefore, Liu Wanfang did not hesitate at all and immediately decided to flee.

However, there is a strategy to running away; you can't just run away directly.

Liu Wanfang looked at the map and thought about it carefully.

"Chief of staff, assemble the troops, we're retreating south."

"South? Where to?" Jia Wei was puzzled. There was no suitable place to go south.

"Given the G Army's style, if we head straight for Hongshaba in the east, we'll definitely fall into an ambush."

"So we'll head south first, and then turn around and head west." Liu Wanfang drew a line on the map with his finger.

"This should ensure that everything goes perfectly," Liu Wanfang said confidently.

He had dealt with the G army too many times and knew very well the G army's common tactics.

Jia Wei had no objection to Liu Wanfang's plan, but he had one more question.

"Commander, what about the 91st Regiment? Should they come with us?"

"This is a troublesome matter," Liu Wanfang said, stroking his chin.

"So, tell Commander Meng to leave an infantry battalion, and we'll leave a cavalry battalion as well."

"Let these two battalions pretend to be the main force and continue to engage in combat with the G army in Xishan."

"When the G army attacks again, they will immediately retreat."

Meng Zhifeng had no objection to Liu Wanfang's plan.

Only the battalion commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 91st Regiment remained, cursing and swearing.

However, faced with orders from his superiors, he had no choice but to instruct his troops to prepare for a breakout.

Under these circumstances, the Guo soldiers who remained behind had no fighting spirit whatsoever.

The 203rd, 204th, and 206th Regiments of the Second Detachment launched their attack and instantly stormed into Shengquanzhuang.

Upon seeing the G army break in, the enemy's 3rd Battalion and cavalry, who were defending Shengquan Village alone, immediately turned tail and broke through to the west.

At this point, whoever is slower will be in an awkward position.

The Guo army cavalry battalion did not bring infantry as planned; instead, they mounted their horses and rode off.

"Damn the 4th Cavalry Division, I curse your ancestors!" The battalion commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 91st Regiment cursed angrily as he looked at the cavalry in a long line.

But no matter how harsh the insults were, the cavalry had already gone far away, and the 3rd Battalion of the 91st Regiment could only keep its head down and run westward at breakneck speed.

However, just as they left Shengquan Village, they saw hundreds of G Army cavalry charge out from their flank.

Half of them went to hunt down the cavalry, while the other half charged towards him.

However, in just a few seconds of brief respite, the cavalry regiment's semi-automatic rifles fired over a thousand rounds.

"Damn! It's a semi-automatic rifle!"

"Brothers! Surrender with me!" shouted the enemy's third battalion commander, who then lay down on the ground.

We had no choice but to surrender. In the short time it took to break the encirclement, nearly a hundred of our seven-hundred-man battalion had been killed.

Who can bear such casualties?
To reduce casualties, we had to lie down and fight, but there were still G Army infantry behind us.

Since surrendering is the only option, it's better to surrender sooner rather than later.

Unlike the surrendered enemy battalion 3, the fleeing Guo army cavalry sped away at breakneck speed.

Despite the setback, they managed to escape to Hongshaba by virtue of their mobility.

Upon learning that the enemy forces in the Shengquanzhuang area had fled, Chen Chengxing immediately ordered his troops to advance eastward in preparation for encircling Hongshaba.

正在红沙坝观望的35军32师、骑4师、32师91团，听说了G军开始东进。

Without uttering a single wasted word, the advance troops of the Second Detachment had already all rushed to Jining before even arriving.

When the 67th Brigade of Zhenning learned that their retreat was about to be cut off, they did not hesitate at all.

Using the mobility of trucks, they made a frantic advance towards Jining.

"How was this battle fought?!"

Looking at the battle reports from various departments, General Liu angrily threw his pen onto the map.

In the past two days, apart from the Second Detachment, the other columns have also been invincible.

So far, the troops have captured several cities, and the first phase of the mission can be considered complete.

However, it's impossible to say that we won this battle.

The pre-battle objectives of annihilating the enemy were not achieved at all. "Fu Yi is truly cunning and shrewd; no wonder he's a renowned general in the War of Resistance against Japan," the political commissar said, looking at the map.

"Although our formation was thrown into disarray, we did not lose many troops."

The enemy lost all the outer strongholds, but they were not seriously injured.

Now they've all flocked to the Suicheng, Zhuozishan, and Jining area.

"I think Fu Yi will definitely retreat westward next. What are your thoughts?" the political commissar asked.

"I think so too," Mr. Liu nodded.

"We must cut off the enemy's retreat, and ideally annihilate their main force in open battle."

Just as the field headquarters was holding a meeting to discuss how to intercept Fu Yi, Fu Yi in Suicheng had already learned about the latest situation on the battlefield.

"Jining cannot be defended. Our troops must be withdrawn, and we must do everything we can to protect Suicheng and Jiuyuan!"

Fu Yi decisively proposed a retreat tactic.

He knew the G army too well; they had an extremely strong desire for revenge.

Since they've chosen to abandon the attack on Cloud City, they certainly won't be satisfied with just taking down one Jining.

Upon hearing that Fu Yi wanted to retreat, Deng Yu immediately reminded him, "Sir, what about the Chairman?"

"Ignore him." Fu Yi completely disregarded Chiang Kai-shek.

If you have troops under your command, no matter what you do, Chiang Kai-shek will treat you kindly.

If you don't have any troops of your own, it's useless to call Chiang Kai-shek "father."

“Order the 35th Army to retreat to Suicheng, and the Provisional 3rd Army, the 4th Cavalry Division, and the 5th Cavalry Division to retreat to Zhuozishan, and then lure a wave of G Army there.”

"Once the G army catches up, we will immediately retreat westward and lure them to Sandaoji, where we will ambush them!"

"Then we will retreat to Suicheng and defend it at all costs."

Fu Yi knew that the retreat could not be a blind one; it was necessary to dampen the G army's momentum in pursuit.

Otherwise, let alone withdrawing these troops to Suicheng, they might be chased to death by the G army.

"What about the 67th Brigade and the Independent Artillery Regiment?" Deng Yu asked.

Fu Yi just gestured on the map, but he didn't mention the 67th Brigade and the artillery regiment that Chairman Chang sent to provide support.

Fu Yi paused for a moment, thought for a moment, and then said:

"Didn't Chairman Chiang Kai-shek want Jining? Then let the 67th Brigade guard Jining!"

"As for the independent artillery regiment, they will all be withdrawn to Suicheng."

After thinking for a long time, Fu Yi still couldn't bear to part with those thirty-six large-caliber howitzers.

Even if there's only the slightest chance of him keeping it, he can't bear to let it go.

"Team Leader, I have received orders from the commander." Xu Wu handed a document to Chen Chengxing.

"The Second Detachment is responsible for attacking Jining, and the Sui-Meng Column will cooperate with us to block the enemy."

According to the discussion at the meeting, the Second Detachment was originally supposed to infiltrate Zhuozi Mountain and block the enemy's escape route to the west.

However, before the mission could be issued, the latest intelligence indicated that the enemy had begun to retreat westward.

At this point, it was already too late to try and slip in.

Therefore, General Liu decisively changed the plan, assigning the remaining troops from the Jin-Sui and Jin-Cha-Ji regions, which were closer in distance, to carry out the infiltration.

The Second Detachment first recaptured Jining, then attacked from east to west, and finally cooperated with the main force to annihilate the enemy.

However, it is still unknown how many people Fu Yi will leave in Jining.

Therefore, in addition to the Second Detachment being responsible for the attack, General Liu also transferred the Sui-Meng Column, which was pursuing the Suiyuan Cavalry Brigade in northern Jining.

The Sui-Meng Column will infiltrate to Balitai, west of Jining, to cooperate with the Second Detachment in cutting off the enemy's escape route.

"Balitai? I'm afraid this place won't be able to stop the enemy." Chen Chengxing glanced at the orders and immediately made a judgment.

"I don't think so. If the enemy wants to retreat westward, this is the only road." Luo Ping had a different opinion.

"The enemy isn't stupid; the chances of them advancing straight west are slim."

Although all units have made very good progress in the past two days, they have not killed many enemy soldiers.

This shows that the enemy has been on guard against this move.

Since we've taken precautions before, there's no way we won't take precautions this time.

"what do you mean?"

"In the past, we always had three players but were missing one; this time, we'll have one player but be missing three!"

"Based on the current battlefield situation, we will attack Jining from the south."

"The Suiyuan-Mongolia Column is responsible for blocking the enemy in the west, and the Jin-Cha-Ji Liberated Area is in the east, so the enemy can't go there. Now only the north is left."

Chen Chengxing judged that the enemy would make a detour from the north and retreat westward.

Luo Ping had no objection to Chen Chengxing's judgment.

When it comes to logistics, he claims he's better than Chen Chengxing, but if it comes to commanding battles, he can only command a regiment at most.

After discussing the matter with Luo Ping for a few more minutes, Chen Chengxing picked up the phone and called the 201st Regiment.

"Li Chishui, I have a mission for you."

"Thank you, Captain! Thank you, Captain! Captain, I'm kneeling before you!"

Before Chen Chengxing could even mention any mission, Li Chishui was already incredibly excited.

Since he launched a surprise attack and captured Xuande and Tiancheng towns, he has gotten himself into big trouble.

The other regiments blamed the 201st Regiment for failing to capture any enemy troops.

He's received a lot of complaints these past few days; he desperately needs a victory to turn things around.

"Stop talking nonsense." Chen Chengxing interrupted Li Chishui.

"You and Sun Desheng will secretly infiltrate Duanjia Village, north of Jining."

"We need to conduct more reconnaissance. If the enemy tries to escape by flanking to the north, you must keep them pinned down!"

"Don't worry! If the enemy escapes again, I'll offer my head to you!" Li Chishui patted his chest and assured him.

With cavalry present, the enemy forces would have no chance of escaping if they came out from the north.

(End of this chapter)