Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 422 I Was Not Wrong
"Has this 140th Brigade gone mad?"

Upon receiving the investigation report, Xu Wu was stunned; he didn't know how to report it to Chen Chengxing.

Normally, if the 140th Brigade were ambushed, it should have immediately switched to a defensive posture, even if it did not retreat.

How do we interpret their movements? Are they aiming to pincer attack on both sides?
Who is attacking now?

Chen Chengxing, upon seeing the report, was also somewhat puzzled.

He couldn't understand the thought process of the 140th Brigade either.

"Are they treating us like the ragtag Nationalist troops from 37, and themselves like the Japanese devils?" Chen Chengxing was somewhat uncertain.

The enemy's movements look exactly like those of the Japanese invaders during their most rampant period.

"You know what, a frontal attack combined with a flanking maneuver, it's got the hang of it." Luo Ping nodded.

"Like a frog in a well, looking at the sky from the bottom of a well." Chen Chengxing shook his head speechlessly.

"Xu Wu, let the 212th Regiment be responsible for the enemy on the flank, and let the 207th, 209th and 210th Regiments encircle and annihilate the Guo Army in front, and then outflank and outmaneuver the flank."

"yes!".
While the artillery battalion of the 140th Brigade was roaring away, Xie Maoquan was extremely pleased with himself.

"Such intense artillery fire is truly spectacular, but it's hard to see clearly at night. I wonder what the G army's current situation is."

"Brigade Commander, facing such a fierce attack, these peasants of the G Army are probably scared out of their wits," Qiao Zhenyu said with a laugh.

"Yes, yes, yes, he peed, he peed, hahahaha!"

Before Xie Maoquan could finish laughing, a violent explosion suddenly came from the 280th Regiment's position.

"How is this possible?!" Xie Maoquan's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

Such intense artillery fire must have come from heavy artillery.

But how could the Turkish army have heavy artillery?

"Oh no! Oh no!" Xie Maoquan realized.

I was probably too optimistic before.

If the G army troops in front of us had heavy artillery, they would never be so easily defeated.

Moreover, when the G army was forced to retreat all the way by us, we did not deploy heavy artillery!
"Quickly! Order the attacking troops to retreat immediately! Shrink the defensive line!" Xie Maoquan said urgently.

The sudden appearance of heavy artillery in the hands of the G army is obvious.

However, Xie Maoquan's reaction was clearly a bit too late.

At this moment, continuous gunfire and artillery sounds were already ringing out around the 140th Brigade.

"Hold on! We have to hold on!"

Seeing that the outer lines of the G army were already shaky as soon as they began their attack, Xie Maoquan became even more anxious.

"Order the 279th Regiment to immediately return to reinforce and attack the G Army from the south, cooperating with the 208th Regiment to open a breach in the encirclement!"

"Send a telegram to the 88th Division, requesting the 62nd Brigade to send troops to provide immediate support. We are withdrawing to Fangyu!"

All Xie Maoquan could think of now was to rejoin the main force as soon as possible.

Just from the sounds of gunfire around him, he could tell that the enemy was at least twice his size.

With the added support of heavy artillery, the 140th Brigade was no match for them.

However, Xie Maoquan's order was clearly too late.

Even though the 279th Regiment received the telegram, it was unable to spare any resources to support the 280th Regiment, as it had already been beaten black and blue.

"Damn it, this can't go on, we have to break through!" Xie Maoquan paced back and forth in the command post.

Bad news kept coming from the front lines, and the casualties of the 280th Regiment were becoming unbearable.

But now not only is the 279th Regiment tied down by the G Army, but the 88th Division has also sent a telegram saying that the 62nd Brigade is in a tough fight and unable to provide support.

The only thing the 140th Brigade can rely on right now is itself.

"chief of staff!"

Before Xie Maoquan could continue speaking, the company commander of the guard company rushed in from outside.

"Brigadier! Something terrible has happened! The G Army has broken in!"

"What?! How could it be so fast?" Xie Maoquan exclaimed in horror.

It's been less than two hours since the battle started. Even if the G army is very capable, it shouldn't have been this fast, right?

"The G army has broken through a gap in the north and is penetrating deep into our territory."

"Haizi Village is in great danger! Brigade Commander, you need to evacuate this area immediately with the guard company!"

The brigade headquarters was not adequately defended, and by the time the main force of the G Army arrived, it would be too late to escape.

"Take the classified documents! We're going to the 280th Regiment!"

Xie Maoquan did not hesitate at all and immediately issued the evacuation order.

Only by staying with the military can our safety be guaranteed.

"Company commander! Company commander!"

"Look there! There are lights!" a young soldier shouted.

The company commander of the 9th Company of the 210th Regiment turned his head and saw the light coming from the village not far away.

"That must be the enemy's command post! Comrades! Follow me!" The 9th Company Commander waved his hand and led his troops over.

There are no electric lights in the countryside; the only source of electricity is the generator that Guo Jun brought with him.

When the 9th Company approached, they were immediately met with fierce resistance.

"Haha. Heaven has eyes!" The 9th Company Commander, who was blocked by the powerful firepower, was not angry at all, but instead laughed heartily.

A large number of automatic firearms—this must be the headquarters of the 140th Brigade!

"Mortars! Fire hard!"

A 60mm mortar weighs only 17 kilograms, and a 13-man squad can carry 3 mortars.

Although each gun was only equipped with 20 shells for the purpose of a surprise attack.

However, this is enough for one round of coverage. "Boom!" "Boom!"
Simultaneously with the mortar barrage, rocket launchers also conducted pinpoint strikes upon approaching the target.

The headquarters of the 140th Brigade was covered by an explosion.

The light and heavy machine gun positions that had been maintaining suppression fire were completely silenced amidst a series of explosions.

"Kill!"

"kill!".
The soldiers leaped up and charged toward the enemy command post.
After a fierce gunfight, Xie Maoquan was brought before the 9th Company Commander.

"Major General, haha, you deserve to have made a meritorious contribution in the 9th Company!"

"Take the supplies and the prisoners with you, and we're retreating!" the 9th Company Commander ordered.

They were deep behind enemy lines, and with prisoners and spoils, they were unable to fight.

When Bai Zekai, the commander of the 280th Regiment, learned that the brigade headquarters had been destroyed, he was completely stunned.

Although the G army's offensive in front of the position was fierce, the 280th Regiment could still fight for another half a day.

But now that the brigade headquarters is gone, once the soldiers find out about this situation, they'll be lucky to hold on for even half an hour, let alone half a day.

"Commander, what should we do?" the chief of staff next to him asked blankly.

"Contact the 279th Regiment immediately, and our two units will coordinate a retreat!" Bai Zekai ordered.

He doesn't have any better options right now, so he can only continue with the previous plan.

However, the reality was that he was directly given a huge slap in the face.

A few minutes later, the chief of staff returned with a mournful face: "Regimental Commander, the 279th Regiment has already retreated!"

Upon learning that the brigade headquarters had been cut off, the 279th Regiment did not utter a single word of nonsense. They left a company to cover the rear, and the rest of the troops immediately began to rush towards Fangyu County.

Wouldn't it be better to coordinate the retreat, allowing the 280th Regiment to hold off the G Army while the 279th Regiment safely withdraws?
In the time it took to make the call, they had already run two miles.

"What? These bastards!" Bai Zekai cursed angrily.

Running away without taking the 280th Regiment? What the hell is going on?

"Captain, what should we do?"

"Damn it! Let me think!" Bai Zekai kept pacing around inside the regimental headquarters.

Finally, Bai Zekai gritted his teeth and ordered, "For the sake of our brothers' lives, we surrender!"

It wasn't that Bai Zekai was unwilling to risk his life; the main reason was that the lives of the thousands of people in the 280th Regiment were still in his hands.

"Yes, sir!" The chief of staff breathed a sigh of relief.

"Commander, the 279th Regiment has retreated to Fangyu."

Originally, the second team was attacking Fangyu, but when they detected several thousand Guo soldiers rushing towards them, they immediately withdrew from the battlefield.

The fighting between Fang and the county has ceased.

Upon hearing that the 279th Regiment had returned, Fang Zishan immediately stood up and asked, "How many troops are left?"

"The losses aren't too great; there are still 2,500 people left," Zhou Yun said.

"The situation of the 62nd Brigade has also been reported. They have repelled three attacks by the G Army, but suffered heavy casualties. The 186th Regiment has less than a thousand men left."

"We're in great danger now," Fang Zishan said solemnly.

Fang Zishan breathed a huge sigh of relief that the 279th Regiment was able to return to Fangyu.

However, the situation of the 62nd Brigade made Fang Zishan keenly aware of the danger on his side.

Based on the current combat effectiveness of the G army, even if we have 7,000 men, we are very likely to be surrounded and annihilated.

Fangyu's city walls are far inferior to Dongmin's.

"You immediately send a telegram to the Pengcheng Pacification Headquarters, saying that the G Army has the intention to encircle and annihilate the 88th Division."

"The 88th Division is now unable to break the siege of Dongmin and requests an immediate retreat."

Fang Zishan felt something was wrong; if he went any further, he might not even survive.

However, after receiving Fang Zishan's telegram, Xue Xiaosong did not agree to Fang Zishan's request to retreat.

Xue Xiaosong was well aware of Fangzishan's current situation, but for the sake of the overall situation, the 88th Division had to move forward.

Of course, Xue Xiaosong also forwarded the 88th Division's request to Nanjing.

The battle to rescue Dongmin was personally commanded by the Chairman, so any decision had to be communicated to him first.

Looking at Xue Xiaosong's telegram, Chiang Kai-shek was caught in a dilemma.

Dongmin can still be saved, and it is necessary to save him, but this will put the 88th Division in an even more dangerous situation.

Growing increasingly angry, Chiang Kai-shek slammed his hand on the table again:
"Damn it! It's all Zhang Lanfeng and Liu Zitao's fault!"

"We sent them to provide support, but they're moving so slowly! Are they all turtles?!"

"Send a message to both of them immediately! Even if they're the only ones left, we must go and rescue Dongmin!"

My command was correct; the fault lay with Zhang Lanfeng and Liu Zitao. If they had cooperated properly, would this situation have occurred?

Upon hearing that the rescue operation was to continue, Guo Gui, who was standing nearby, immediately spoke up:

"Chairman, the 88th Division has suffered heavy losses. The 68th Division and the Provisional 4th Column alone are probably no longer able to rescue Dongmin."

According to intelligence, the G army attacking Dongmin and Lincheng numbered as many as 70,000 to 80,000.

The 68th Division and the Provisional 4th Column together only had 6 regiments, and even with the directly subordinate units, the total number of people was less than 25,000.

Even with a certain advantage in weaponry, it would be difficult to pose a fatal threat to the 70,000 to 80,000 troops.

"Director Guo is right. The pincer attack formed by the 68th Division, the Provisional 4th Column, and the 88th Division was enough to threaten the G Army."

"But with the 88th Division suffering heavy losses, they are no longer able to shoulder the responsibility of flanking attacks." Chen Chengbo nodded in agreement.

After thinking for a moment, Chiang Kai-shek issued the order again.

"The 75th Division was reorganized and sent across the Yellow River to participate in the rescue efforts."

The fact that large numbers of G troops appeared in Dongmin and Lincheng indicates that Diqiu was definitely bluffing.

(End of this chapter)