Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 54: The Japs still don't retreat? (Votes requested)
While the New Second Regiment and the Japanese reinforced squadron were engaging in hand-to-hand combat, the other two groups of Japanese had already rushed back to Niuwei Village as quickly as possible.

When Luo Ping learned that the Japanese reinforcements were about to arrive, he fled with the guerrillas and mortars.

The Japanese supply squadron did not dare to leave the bunker and pursue.

So when the reinforcements arrived, all they saw was the baggage company cleaning up the battlefield.

The Japanese captain Hideo Shimada looked around and realized something was wrong.

What does this mean?
"Yoshino-kun, where is the Morita Squadron?" asked Hideo Shimada.

According to the previous route division, Morita Squadron should have returned to Niuwei Village at about the same time as them, but he didn't see any trace of them at all.

"Captain, when we were returning to support Niuwei Village, I heard gunshots from the direction of Morita's squadron, but it was very short. Captain Morita should have led the team to change the route. I think they should be here soon." Deputy Captain Yoshino Munehiro replied.

"Send out scouts immediately and search along the way!" ordered Shimada Hideo.

He now only hoped that the purpose of the Eighth Route Army's attack on Niuwei Village was to force them to return for reinforcements, and he did not have any other ideas.

However, the final result brought by the scouts made Hideo Shimada almost vomit blood in anger.

The Morita Squadron had been completely wiped out! The battlefield had also been cleared, leaving only the naked bodies of the Locust Army soldiers on the ground.

"Bagaya road!"

"Send out all the scouts immediately! I want to tear this group of Eighth Route Army into pieces!"

Hideo Shimada now wishes that the New Second Regiment was right in front of him. He must let the Eighth Route Army know the consequences of offending him.

"The baggage squadron will immediately send the wounded back to Sanhe Town and use packhorses to transport the food and fodder."

Hideo Shimada decided to eliminate the logistics weakness even if it meant bringing less food.

Moreover, although the troops did not capture many civilians after entering the village, they still seized some food, which was still a problem to sustain short-term consumption.

Hideo Shimada rested in Niuwei Village for a night, and led his team into the mountains again for a sweep early the next morning.

Without the influence of baggage trucks, the dilapidated roads could no longer affect the Japanese advance.

Hideo Shimada led his troops straight to Liangzhuang.

At the temporary base of the New Second Regiment, Luo Ping smiled so hard that his teeth were showing as he looked at the captured supplies.

"Is this a pheasant neck? That's great! It's a pity that two of them are damaged." Luo Ping said regretfully as he looked at the two obviously broken heavy machine guns next to him.

"It's good to have two. The two broken ones can be dismantled and used as spare parts." said Chen Chengxing.

Apart from its heavy weight and slow rate of fire, the Type 92 heavy machine gun is excellent in terms of stability, shooting accuracy, and firepower sustainability.

However, the slow rate of fire is not a disadvantage for the New Second Regiment. After all, the New Second Regiment has less ammunition and needs high precision rather than high rate of fire.

Just as everyone was circling around the seized weapons to admire them, the investigator suddenly came running over to report.

"Captain, Political Commissar, the Japanese have entered the mountains again, and the guerrillas have launched an attack."

"Are the Japanese angry and humiliated? They don't even want to retreat." Luo Ping said.

"Don't worry about it. Since the devils have made a move, let's just take it."

Chen Chengxing immediately distributed the captured equipment to the soldiers, asking them to familiarize themselves with it as they might need it later. As the Japanese invaded again, the guerrillas began to attack frequently, but the Japanese invaders built a defense in small teams 2 meters outside the main force.

This means that the guerrillas can only attack small teams, and cannot bypass the small teams to attack the large forces inside.

Although the attacking squad could also cause casualties, the density of the Japanese squads was very high. A volley from a guerrilla group could only kill or injure one Japanese at most, which was a significant reduction in the results compared to previous battles.

Inside the regiment headquarters, Chen Chengxing looked at the map carefully. The Japanese were furious and humiliated, which was both a danger and an opportunity for the New Second Regiment.

If the Japanese retreated directly, there would be nothing I could do. But if the Japanese went deep into the base, it would give me a certain opportunity, but I haven't found this opportunity yet.

Chen Chengxing looked along the direction the Japanese were advancing, and his eyes gradually stopped on a hill.

"Lao Luo, what do you think about us ambush the Japanese here?" Chen Chengxing said, pointing to a point on the map.

"Xingjiashan?"

"How can we ambush in this place? There's no way to form an ambush circle. The best we can do is catch the Japanese off guard, which is totally useless." Luo Ping said in surprise.

Although Xingjiashan is relatively steep, it is an isolated hill. Even if the New Second Regiment ambushed on the hill, it could only engage in an offensive and defensive battle at most, but not an ambush.

If it was an ambush, the New Second Regiment and the remaining 4 or so Japanese soldiers could still put up a fight, but if it came to an offensive and defensive battle, the New Second Regiment simply could not withstand the Japanese firepower attack, even if the guerrillas were added and the number of people could reach 1:, it would be of no avail.

"There are many types of ambushes. This time I plan to use a different ambush method," said Chen Chengxing.

"We have previously wiped out a squadron of the Japanese. Although the Japanese still have nearly 800 troops, their main front-line infantry is less than 400. This is our chance!"

As long as the New Second Regiment could launch a sudden attack, the Japanese's firepower advantage would not be able to be brought into play, which would be equivalent to a direct cut to the Japanese's combat effectiveness, and a cut to the knee.

Xingjiashan is the most suitable place that Chen Chengxing can find. If he cannot kill the Japanese here, the Japanese will officially penetrate into the base. Once the Japanese start burning, killing and looting on a large scale, the base will suffer great losses.

"Send a message to the guerrillas immediately, tell them to stop harassing the main force of the Japanese and focus on attacking the Japanese vanguard."

"I have only one request, which is to reduce the distance between the Japanese vanguard and the main force as much as possible, at least to within 100 meters. If it can be 50 meters, it would be even better." Chen Chengxing ordered. This was the key to determining whether his plan would succeed.

"Yes!" The combat staff officer walked out of the regiment headquarters to arrange for the communications squad to pass the order.

Hideo Shimada led his team southward, and all the villages along the way suffered misfortune.

Although the common people had fled to the mountains, they could not escape with their houses. The Japanese would loot every village they passed by, and then set fire to the houses when they left.

In response to this, Chen Chengxing also arranged for people to tell the villagers that after the Japanese left, the New Second Regiment would be responsible for rebuilding the villagers' houses.

If the New Second Regiment does not take action in this matter, the people whose houses were burned down will immediately become homeless, and it will be difficult for them to complete the reconstruction relying on their own strength.

As Shimada Hideo continued to burn his way south, he did not notice that the distance his vanguard troops were advancing was getting shorter and shorter.

Or he noticed it, but didn't care.

There were no suitable places for ambushes along the way, and the main task of the vanguard troops was to detect and clear mines.

Therefore, it doesn’t matter how close the vanguard is to the main force, as long as it is in front of the main force.

However, when the Japanese soldiers braved the cold gunfire and compressed their formation to climb up Xingjia Mountain, the leading Japanese vanguard was stunned by the scene in front of them.

　Another Chapter 5 p.m.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)