Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 417 These bastards, they actually stood by and watched someone die!

"Hahaha, the enemy has fallen into the trap!"

Chen Chengxing saw a large number of Guo soldiers marching towards Leize from afar, and he was all smiles.

"The 119th Brigade of the Kuomintang Army is really too complacent; they haven't even set up a reconnaissance team."

"All the preparations we made beforehand were like lighting a lamp for the blind—a complete waste," Xu Wu said, holding up his binoculars.

Normally, when troops are marching, reconnaissance teams should be deployed around the perimeter.

But the 119th Brigade charged in headfirst like a wild boar.

To avoid being discovered by reconnaissance troops, the two forces set up a very large encirclement, with nearly 10 miles of open space in the middle.

"Better safe than sorry. It'll just be a little more work for us," Chen Chengxing said casually.

Who knows if the enemy will conduct reconnaissance? If we get too close and the enemy conducts reconnaissance, we won't have a chance to change course.

"Send messages to all units: Unit 1, attack from the southwest to the east and northeast; Unit 2, attack from the southeast to the west and northwest; Unit 3, the second echelon, will press on to expand the gains; Unit 4, advance to Yansi Town, and prepare to block enemy reinforcements," Chen Chengxing ordered.

"Yes!"

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"
After the encirclement was completed, the 120mm mortars of each team fired their shells first.

However, everyone is on a tight budget right now, so no one was willing to fire too many shots. Each shot was fired only two or three times before stopping.

Taking advantage of this brief moment, the infantry of the two branches launched a fierce attack.

"What's going on! Where did those shells come from?!"

The jeep came to a sudden stop, and Liu Guangxin immediately jumped out.

"Commander! Something's wrong! The shells seem to be coming from all sides!" Song Yongqiang shouted.

"So many heavy artillery pieces, these belong to Chen Chengxing's troops!" After realizing this, Liu Guangxin felt a cramp in his legs.

Seeing that Liu Guangxin was about to fall, Song Yongqiang immediately stepped forward to help him up.

"Commander! What should we do now?" Song Yongqiang asked anxiously.

"What do we do? It's all over!" Liu Guangxin said with a mournful face.

Chen Chengxing's Independent Second Detachment was a unit capable of directly confronting the 11th Division.

What makes his 119th Brigade so capable of going head-to-head with this Second Detachment?

"Commander! We still have heavy artillery! We still have support! We still have planes! We still have a chance!"

Upon hearing Song Yongqiang's shout, Liu Guangxin's mind started working again.

"Yes, yes, we still have two artillery battalions!" Liu Guangxin nodded repeatedly.

His 119th Brigade did not operate independently.

In addition to his three subordinate regiments, he also had two reinforced artillery battalions, bringing his total strength to over 8,500 men.

And most importantly, he also has reinforcements.

"Chief of staff, order the three regiments to immediately seize the Bell Tower, Guoziyuan, and Luwang Village, and the artillery battalion to construct artillery positions in Xinzhuang!"

The villages of Zhonglou, Guoziyuan, and Luwang are arranged in a triangular shape, with each village about two or three kilometers apart. Xinzhuang is located in the middle of the three villages.

Liu Guangxin also placed the brigade headquarters in Xinzhuang.

Of course, Liu Guangxin didn't spare the other villages in the area either.

Each regiment dispatched troops to construct fortifications.

"Commander, the G army has already encircled us and is now launching a strong attack on our outer fortifications."

"Hold the brothers at bay!" Liu Guangxin ordered.

Liu Guangxin then asked, "Has the telegram requesting assistance been sent? What did our allies say?"

"We haven't received a reply from the 11th Division and the 5th Army yet. The division commander told us to hold on a little longer; he has already dispatched the 81st Brigade."

"Damn it! Hu Ziqi and Qiu Feng are two bastards! They just stood by and watched someone die!"

The 81st Brigade traveled forty kilometers from Caozhou to their location.

Even if the 81st Brigade ran itself ragged, it would be impossible to arrive within 24 hours.

The vanguard of the 11th Division and the 5th Army were only ten kilometers away from this place!

"What about the others? Have you received any other telegrams?" Liu Guangxin asked.

"Uh, I only received the Chairman's telegram."

"Chairman? What did the Chairman say?" Liu Guangxin asked urgently.

He never expected that it would be the Chairman who would think of him at this moment.

"The Chairman said that the howitzer battalion is of paramount importance and that both personnel and artillery must be present."

"..." Liu Guangxin, who had been feeling a little warm inside, was immediately silenced.

The "artillery storage" mentioned here doesn't refer to the 119th Brigade; it refers to soldiers in the howitzer battalion.

Although Chiang Kai-shek had several hundred 105mm howitzers, he still regarded these artillery pieces as his most prized possessions.

After all, these cannons are non-renewable; once lost, they are gone forever.

Even if just one part is broken, Guo Jun can't fix it.

"Instruct all units to strengthen their defenses, and the artillery battalion to increase support! We'll have aircraft to support us during the day."

"We just need to hold out until the 81st Brigade arrives!"

At this point, Liu Guangxin could only hope that his troops were capable of fighting.

However, Liu Guangxin was clearly somewhat blinded by his own ideas.

In just half an hour, Team 1 and Team 2 broke through the 119th Brigade's defenses.

Immediately afterwards, the three teams began to freely move within the 119th Brigade.

Throughout the entire night, the 119th Brigade was utterly routed.

The next morning, seeing the sudden thick fog, Liu Guangxin was overjoyed.

"Quickly, assemble the remaining troops and break out to the east!"

Since those bastards from the Fifth Army and the 11th Division aren't coming, then the 119th Brigade can go instead.

They don't need to fight; just having them there is enough to deter the G army.

"Brigadier, what about the howitzer battalion? The Chairman's order is to preserve both personnel and artillery," Song Yongqiang asked.

"Damn it, forget about them." Liu Guangxin had a headache.

The artillery battalion transferred from the 68th Division headquarters was relatively easy to manage, as the Japanese mountain guns were quite lightweight and could be used for mule and horse marches.

But the 105mm howitzer battalion is different.

The American-made 105mm howitzer weighs two and a half tons each, and can only be towed by trucks when it is being moved.

But the 119th Brigade now needs to rely on the foggy weather to break through. If dozens of trucks are humming and rattling, wouldn't that expose them directly?

After hesitating for a long time, Liu Guangxin gritted his teeth and said:

"Find an excuse to leave the howitzer battalion behind! We'll break out secretly!"

The Chairman wanted both manpower and artillery to survive, and the same would be true if the troops had them.

As for whether he would be sent to military court after breaking through the encirclement, Liu Guangxin no longer cared.

Let's get out of here first and worry about whether we live or die later.

"yes!".
Song Yongqiang devised a pretext to disperse the mountain artillery to strengthen defenses, and moved the mountain artillery battalion out of its positions. Immediately afterwards, he ordered the howitzer battalion to increase its firepower, thereby diverting the attention of the G army.

As for whether the shots were accurate or not, and whether the men in the howitzer battalion believed it or not, Song Yongqiang didn't care at all.

Given a few tens of minutes, the 119th Brigade could escape this place.

Amidst the thunderous artillery fire, all the remaining soldiers of the 119th Brigade kept their mouths shut, trying not to make a sound, and silently retreated to the southeast.

However, the 119th Brigade had only gone less than two miles when they vaguely saw a dark object standing there in the fog.

The sentry at the forefront, disregarding the need for silence, immediately raised his gun and shouted:
"who?!"

"Who goes there? Li Chishui, commander of the 201st Regiment of the Second Detachment of the G Army!" Li Chishui said as he walked forward.

The southeast direction was the defense zone of Team 1. In the thick fog, the 119th Brigade plunged headlong into the embrace of Team 1.

However, due to the limited visibility, Zheng Hua did not open fire rashly, but instead tried to persuade the enemy to surrender.

Upon learning this news, Li Chishui immediately volunteered to come and show off.

This is why the 119th Brigade was considered a miscellaneous unit.

If the 11th Division were here, Li Chishui would have used up all his bullets and still wouldn't have come over.

"I want to see your highest-ranking officer!"

Standing before the bayonet, Li Chishui remained unfazed.

"But I advise you to put your guns away. If they accidentally go off, no one can save you!"

Upon hearing Li Chishui's words, several Guo army soldiers instinctively switched off the safety and pointed their guns diagonally into the air.

I was afraid of causing unnecessary trouble.

Given the current situation, they dare not make any rash moves.

"I can take you to see our brigadier general, but your weapons will have to do."

Before Guo Jun could finish speaking, Li Chishui waved his hand and said, "Nonsense! If you're disarmed, are you still a soldier?"

"Now I'm giving you a chance, don't be ungrateful!"

"If this drags on any longer, our detachment leader will give the order, and then we can't be sure what the outcome will be."

After hearing Li Chishui's words, the Guo army soldiers exchanged glances and ultimately decided to take Li Chishui to the brigade headquarters.

Even if he were to fire, he would aim for the brigade commander, not just a few soldiers.

"Come with me."

Guo Jun, the squad leader, gestured for the other two soldiers to follow him, and then led Li Chishui inside.

Along the way, the Guo army soldiers who saw Li Chishui were all somewhat stunned.

How can a member of the G army be so arrogant among them?
Once inside the 119th Brigade headquarters, Li Chishui didn't waste any words.

"Liu Guangxin, the commander of the 119th Brigade, right?"

"It is indeed I." Although Liu Guangxin's heart was pounding wildly, he still pretended to be calm and sat there.

"As long as it's the right person, that's fine." Li Chishui nodded.

"I don't need to explain the situation. The fact that I'm here means you're completely surrounded."

"However, our army is still willing to give you a chance. If you are willing to lay down your weapons, it can be considered that you have surrendered."

"Of course, if you don't want to, we can have another real fight, but then you'll be prisoners of war."

After Li Chishui finished speaking, he gestured for the staff officer next to him to get out of the way and give him the stool.

Looking at Li Chishui sitting there with an imposing air, everyone in the 119th Brigade headquarters had different expressions.

If it can truly be considered a defection, they can accept it.

Surrendering can earn you certain privileges.

After a few minutes, Liu Guangxin sighed, breaking the silence.

"This is what happens to ragtag troops!"

The 119th Brigade was first deceived by Chiang Kai-shek, and then the entire 11th Division and the 5th Army refused to come to its aid, which led to its complete annihilation.

"I am willing to surrender to your army on behalf of the 119th Brigade!" Liu Guangxin said as he stood up.

"Commander, good news! Guo Jun has accepted our terms and surrendered."

"This is the battle results as compiled by each department."

As he spoke, Xu Wu handed a document to Chen Chengxing.

After flipping through it a few times, Chen Chengxing nodded in satisfaction.

"Not bad, not bad, two artillery battalions, they brought over both the men and the cannons."

The entire operation lasted less than 18 hours, and all 8,500 men of the 119th Brigade were wiped out.

The two artillery battalions had a total of nine 105mm howitzers and twelve Japanese mountain guns.

In addition, there were 182 mortars and grenade launchers of various sizes.

As for firearms, ammunition, and military supplies, the quantities are countless.

"Commander, we've struck it rich this time! We can build our own heavy artillery battalion!" Xu Wu exclaimed excitedly.

"Heavy artillery battalion? Don't even dream about it. Those weapons will definitely be collected and put into unified use."

Leaving aside the transportation issues, the ammunition supply alone is a major problem.

Only through unified overall coordination can combat effectiveness be maintained.

"Xu Wu, I see there are a few Type 94 Japanese mountain guns this time. Take them out and exchange them with the Type 41 guns of the Second Artillery Battalion. As for the shells, keep all the Type 94 shells."

Regardless of the artillery's performance, the main 75mm shell produced by the Taiyuan Arsenal was the Type 94 shell.

This type of shell is compatible with the Type 38 field gun.

Although the Type 41 split-type shells were produced in considerable quantities, the Chinese army had a large number of Type 41 mountain guns.

The shells produced are divided into one or two portions, which is hardly enough to get many.

Moreover, the artillery currently being produced in Taiyuan, besides mortars of various calibers, includes the Type 94 mountain gun and the Type 92 infantry gun.

According to Wen Ying, the production of artillery shells has begun to gradually shift towards these two types.

The reason why the second unit has not been assigned the Type 94 mountain gun made in Taiyuan is that...

Besides the fact that other units are even more lacking, there is also the reason that the quality is temporarily inferior to that of the original Japanese products.

However, although Chen Chengxing wanted the original cannons, he didn't care about the shells, even if they had a shorter range and less power.

“I’ve already had it done,” Xu Wu said.

In previous battles, the two teams had already been switched multiple times.

After this adjustment, the four battalions of the mountain artillery regiment were completely transformed into two Type 94 artillery battalions and two M1 artillery battalions.

Chen Chengxing nodded, and just as he was about to speak, the phone next to him rang.

"Look, what did I say?"

Chen Chengxing answered the phone casually: "This is Chen Chengxing."

"Chen Chengxing, congratulations on your fortune!"

(End of this chapter)