Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 412 Sleeping? Sleep your ass!

After all units reached their designated positions, the D Column established a blocking line in the direction of Guzhen.

The 13th Brigade, as the first echelon, set up a defensive line in the Gulou and Guanyinji area.

"What a pity! What a pity! This time, I won't get to eat meat again!"

Seeing the vanguard platoon of the Guo army approaching from afar, Li Yunlong shook his head.

For the 13th Brigade, which already has over 10,000 members, a platoon of a few dozen people is not even a drop in the ocean.

"Zhang Dabiao."

"Have!"

"Call the 311th Regiment and tell the front lines to concentrate their firepower. The first wave must wipe out half of the enemy!"

The vanguard platoon of the Guo army is currently in a state of dispersed searching, and even if the soldiers on the front line were to ambush them, it would be impossible to wipe them out in one fell swoop.

"yes!".
The vanguard platoon of the Guo army was unaware that they were being targeted by gunfire and continued to search and scout ahead in a loose manner.

"Da da da".
The sudden burst of gunfire startled the Guo army.

"Get out! Get out!"

Platoon Leader Guo didn't care about anything else; he turned around and scrambled away as fast as he could.

After running two miles to confirm safety, Platoon Leader Guo Jun finally took a breath and counted the remaining men.

As a result, only one class remained out of the three.

"Damn it! The G army is going too far! Let's go back and get reinforcements!"

"Gulou? The G Army's front line is quite far forward." Qiu Feng, commander of the 5th Army, threw down his pencil.

"Commander, how about we send a regiment from the 45th Division to launch a probing attack?" Chief of Staff Guo Qian asked.

The 89th Division, the strongest unit in the 5th Army, was a mechanized force, while the 45th and 46th Divisions, being infantry, were naturally tasked with reconnaissance.

“We definitely need to send a regiment to try,” Qiu Feng nodded.

"Then I'll give the order now," Guo Qian said, preparing to leave.

"and many more."

"Call the artillery regiment too, and send the 2nd Artillery Battalion over there to flatten the G Army's positions!"

"Yes!"

As Chiang Kai-shek's elite main force, the Fifth Army's directly subordinate artillery regiment had two battalions with a total of twenty-four heavy artillery pieces.

The first battalion was a battalion of American-made M2A1 105mm howitzers, and the second battalion was a battalion of Japanese Type 91 105mm field guns.

When the 133rd Regiment of the 45th Division of the 5th Army arrived at the battlefield, Li Yunlong did not pay much attention.

However, when the twelve Type 91 105mm field guns opened fire, the intense firepower made Li Yunlong's expression change.

"Damn it, this Fifth Army truly lives up to its reputation as Chiang Kai-shek's ace; the artillery they have are all over 100mm in diameter."

Previously, when fighting against the 41st Division, the opposing division didn't have many mountain guns, and the D Column was beating them down.

However, after being transferred to the 5th Army, every time a regiment launched an offensive, heavy artillery would bombard the ground.

"Brigade Commander, didn't you envy the Japanese weapons before? But what happened later? We now have the Type 92 rifle and the Type 92 rifle too."

"I think the Nationalist army is just keeping these cannons for us temporarily; they'll all be ours sooner or later," Zhang Dabiao said from the side.

"Hahaha, not bad! Sooner or later, we'll all be surnamed Li, along with our cannons!" Li Yunlong laughed.

However, although Li Yunlong was trying to boost his morale, the enemy's firepower was undeniable.

Faced with heavy artillery bombardment, the 311th Regiment on the front line suffered heavy casualties.

A dozen minutes later, the artillery fire ceased, and the infantry began their charge.

"Zhang Dabiao! Call the artillery battalion! It's our turn! Give that son of a bitch a good beating!" Li Yunlong shouted.

The 13th Brigade is no longer what it used to be.

In addition to six American-made 107mm mortars, they also had six 120mm mortars produced by the Taiyuan Arsenal.

"Boom!" "Boom!"
The power of the 12 heavy mortars was no less than that of the Fifth Army's howitzers.

After holding out for a while, the Guo army that participated in the attack eventually retreated, leaving behind only corpses on the ground.

In the following period, the two sides engaged in fierce fighting in the Guanyinji area.

In addition to bringing up all 24 heavy artillery pieces belonging to the general, the Fifth Army also deployed its tank regiments to the battlefield.

Li Yunlong's artillery shells also ran out at one point, and the D Column's logistics had to draw shells from other brigades for support.

The fierce fighting between the two sides lasted for two days and two nights.

Only after the 13th Brigade completed its mission did Li Yunlong voluntarily withdraw to Guzhen, changing from a front-line unit to a reserve unit for rest and recuperation.

"Where did this team come from? Is their commander insane?"

Qiu Feng was quite surprised to stand on the Guanyinji position.

On the original G army position in Guanyinji, there were shell craters one after another, but his troops still couldn't break through.

If anyone says that the Fifth Army's troops are not elite, Qiu Feng will slap them twice.

But if asked why such an elite Fifth Army failed to capture the position in two days, he didn't know how to answer.

"Commander, the battlefield has been cleared, and the wounded have been transported back to Shangdu by trucks from the supply regiment," Guo Qian reported as he approached.

"Reconnaissance troops have discovered traces of the G Army in Shaojialou and Guzhen. Should we continue the attack?" The Fifth Army's target is Lincheng, and taking the highway requires passing through Shaojialou and Guzhen.

"Bring me the map."

Although Qiu Feng's nickname is "Madman," he is never reckless when it comes to fighting.

"Shaojialou and Guzhen will inevitably be the main defensive directions of the G army. If we continue to advance along the highway, we will suffer considerable casualties."

"Although we have the advantage, a direct attack is not advisable."

"We can completely outflank Guzhen from the south, bypass the G army's defensive positions, and outmaneuver it from the flank!"

As he spoke, Qiu Feng drew a line on the map with his pencil.

"Call the 45th Division and have Gao Shanting send a small detachment to conduct fire reconnaissance of Balian."

"If enemy forces are spotted, a small detachment will be responsible for containing them, while the rest of the main force will encircle Guzhen along the north bank of the Zhu River!"

If they can capture Guzhen, the G Army will immediately become meat on the Fifth Army's chopping board, and they can eat it however they want.

"Yes!"

A battalion dispatched by the 45th Division was discovered by the 2nd Battalion of the 214th Regiment of the 14th Brigade, which was stationed outside Bali'an, as soon as it reached the outskirts.

"Something's not right! Why are the KMT troops here?" The second battalion commander held up his binoculars, sensing that something was amiss.

This place is not near the highway, and the Second Battalion's purpose here is only to protect the flank of the Shaojialou position.

Logically speaking, no Guo army would come from the remote Bali'an.

The second battalion commander, who couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he tried, decided to launch an attack first.

"Get the comrades ready! Get close and fire."

Unaware of the situation, Guo Jun continued to advance cautiously.

When they got within 30 meters of Bali'an, a series of grenades were suddenly thrown from the opposite side.

"Boom!" "Boom!"
"Retreat! Retreat! Cover fire!"

Despite the blow, the Guo army did not panic.

The supporting troops immediately set up light machine guns, while the attacked troops quickly retreated.

A fierce firefight ensued between the two sides.

The battalion commander saw that the enemy had retreated but not withdrawn, and instead began to launch a fire counterattack. He felt something was wrong again.

"What is the Guo army trying to do? They're neither retreating nor launching a full-scale attack, and they're even digging fortifications. It looks like they're going to defend."

"Never mind that, let's call the regimental commander first," the instructor said from the side.

They are only seeing a local area and cannot see the overall battlefield situation. Even the 314th Regiment may not be able to understand the KMT's thoughts.

Only by reporting the problem to superiors can they determine Guo Jun's intentions based on the overall situation in other areas.

After receiving the report, the 204th Regiment also realized that something was wrong, but they couldn't quite put their finger on what it was.

They could only report the issue while simultaneously preparing to make adjustments.

However, the 45th Division of the National Revolutionary Army moved very quickly, giving the 204th Regiment no chance to adjust.

Shortly after the intelligence was reported, the vanguard of the 45th Division arrived at Denglou Village.

Denglou Village belongs to the 204th Regiment's defense line and is also the outer defense line of Guzhen. Guzhen is two kilometers further north.

"How did Guo Jun arrive so quickly!"

"Order the Third Battalion to engage the enemy immediately! They must hold off the enemy at all costs!"

Upon receiving the order, the Third Battalion immediately opened fire at full capacity.

The 45th Division of the Kuomintang Army was on a strike mission, so it did not bring 105mm heavy artillery.

However, the twelve American-made 75mm mountain guns belonging to the 45th Division also caused the 3rd Battalion a lot of trouble.

After nightfall, the 45th Division finally ceased its offensive and prepared to fight again the next day.

The 14th Brigade urgently dispatched an additional battalion of reinforcements to Denglou Village, along with several 107mm mortars to strengthen its defenses.

"Third Battalion Commander, the First Battalion has taken over the position. The Third Battalion, go down and take a rest."

"Okay!" The battalion commander nodded expressionlessly.

"Hurry up! Where are your men?" the battalion commander asked, somewhat surprised.

Not many people stood up and walked out with the Third Battalion Commander.

The battalion commander didn't turn around and kept walking forward, but his voice trembled slightly.

"It's all here."

"."

Watching the Third Battalion leave the battlefield, the First Battalion Commander was speechless.

The Third Battalion used to be a full-strength battalion, but now fewer than eighty men are still able to leave the battlefield standing.

"Damn it! Go! Send out all the sharpshooters in the battalion! Give them a good sniping attack on the enemy!"

"Even if it's 60, pull two doors up!"

"Guo Jun, you still want to sleep? Sleep your ass!"

(End of this chapter)