Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 73 Encirclement and reinforcements
Early the next morning, Chen Chengxing led a large force through Wohu Township, and the scouts who had gone out ran back to report:
"Captain, we have spotted a Japanese army ahead, there are more than a thousand of them!"

"Immediately seize the northeastern vent!" Chen Chengxing ordered.

The New Second Regiment suddenly encountered the Japanese and had to launch an attack on the enemy before the Japanese.

The most suitable place in this area is the Qifengkou. As long as we can occupy the Qifengkou in advance, we can occupy the advantageous terrain and attack the Japanese by surprise.

"Yes!"

"Battalion Commander Yang." Chen Chengxing turned his head and looked at the battalion commander of the third battalion of the 772nd Regiment.

"Have!"

"You take the 3rd Battalion and detour from Hutou Mountain on the east side to the Japanese flank, waiting for an opportunity to launch a surprise attack," said Chen Chengxing.

With the troops Chen Chengxing currently has, he can defeat the 1000 Japanese puppet troops in a head-on battle without an ambush, but the casualties would probably be considerable.

Chen Chengxing also could not accept the result that the New Second Regiment was crippled again.

At this time, choosing a flank attack is a good idea, and this is also a tactic often used by the Japanese.

"Yes!"

After successfully seizing the Qifeng Pass, the New Second Regiment immediately launched a sudden fire attack as soon as the leading puppet army troops approached.

"Da da da", "Da da da", "Da da da".
"Thump, thump, thump." "Thump, thump, thump."
"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!".
The sudden opening fire of light and heavy machine guns and grenade launchers immediately knocked down the puppet troops.

Yu Deshui, the head of the 2st Regiment of the 21nd Independent Brigade, was horrified and shouted repeatedly: "Retreat! Retreat quickly!"

There were less than 500 people in his regiment, and in just the past half minute, he could see with his own eyes that forty or fifty of them had fallen.

This is definitely the main force of the Eighth Route Army, and he cannot afford to mess with them.

But Yu Deshui's shout was still a little late. The puppet soldiers who were suddenly attacked had already fled back. Why wait for orders? They were dead.

After they got the water and retreated to a safe location, they took inventory and found that in just a short period of time, the 21st Regiment had lost nearly 1/5 of its members.

"Taijun! The main force of the Eighth Route Army is definitely in the front. They are equipped with heavy machine guns and artillery. We suffered heavy losses in just one encounter." Yu Deshui went to the Japanese to complain.

"I understand your loyalty. You can take a rest and then work." The Japanese captain Masasuke Otsuka patted Yu Deshui on the shoulder and said.

Now that the 21st Regiment's mine-traversing mission has been completed and the Eighth Route Army has been exposed, the next step is its main battlefield.

"1st Squadron will attack, and the heavy machine gun squad will assist."

"The artillery squad will immediately build the artillery position," Otsuka Masasuke ordered.

This time, in support of Wulong County, in addition to two infantry companies, Otsuka Masasuke also brought 2 heavy machine guns and 6 infantry cannons belonging to the battalion.

This is also the reason why he is confident of defeating the Eighth Route Army in front of him.

Otsuka Masasuke had already heard the sound of the Eighth Route Army's attack just now, and the cannons that Yu Deshui mentioned were just grenade launchers.

It would be impossible for the Eighth Route Army to have too many grenade launchers and grenades simply by relying on captured weapons. It was only because the Locust Army's formation was densely packed that they caused considerable casualties. Once the Locust Army opened up a skirmish line, a small number of grenade launchers were not enough to affect the troops' offensive.

As for those heavy machine guns, infantry artillery can easily deal with them.

He had experienced many such battles when he was fighting against the Chinese army.

Looking at the skillful movements of the Japanese, Chen Chengxing knew that a fierce battle was inevitable.

The Japs in front of him were not the same ones he met in Mazigou. Not only had they lost all their heavy weapons, but they were also being chased around like stray dogs. Their combat effectiveness had long been reduced to only one tenth of what it was.

"Tell the heavy machine guns to find a few firing positions in advance and to be careful about their diversion.

Also, the four heavy machine guns in each battalion should be divided into two groups, and they should take over from each other to prevent large gaps in firepower." Chen Chengxing ordered.

"Yes!"

The communicator nearby hurried to convey Chen Chengxing's instructions.

"Captain, the Japanese are coming." Wei Dayong said suddenly. Chen Chengxing looked up and saw that the Japanese had deployed a large force in the first wave of attack, which was at least a squadron of troops.

"TND, these little Japanese guys are a bit contemptuous of us." Chen Chengxing said angrily.

There were only 500 Japanese soldiers in total, which, excluding heavy weapons, was equivalent to two infantry squadrons.

Now that half of the infantry has been deployed at once, they must have thought that they would not be severely damaged.

"Everyone get ready. Hit hard. Don't save bullets!" Chen Chengxing ordered.

Since the Japanese look down on the New Second Regiment, we must teach them a lesson.

"Yes!"

When the Japanese approached within a hundred meters, Chen Chengxing raised his pistol and fired the first shot.

"boom!"

The leading Japanese flag bearer responded immediately.

"Da da da" "Da da da".
"Thump, thump, thump." "Thump, thump, thump."
"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!".
As Chen Chengxing fired his gun, the New Second Regiment immediately opened fire at full force.

When the Japs heard the gunshots, they immediately lay down and began to cover each other with fire.

In particular, the Japanese light machine guns and grenade launchers, after occupying advantageous positions, continuously attacked the positions of the New Second Regiment.

The Japanese grenade throwers are worthy of the title of elite. If a light machine gun dares to stay in one place for more than one minute, grenades will fall from the sky, and within two shots, they will definitely be able to destroy the firing point.

After the New Second Regiment fought fiercely with the Japanese for more than 10 minutes, Chen Chengxing suddenly heard two artillery shots.

"Boom!" "Boom!"

A heavy machine gun firing point came under fire.

Although the heavy machine guns had been moved away at Chen Chengxing's request, many ordinary soldiers around the firing point suffered casualties.

"Find the Japanese infantry artillery immediately!" Chen Chengxing shouted.

In any case, the New Second Regiment could not allow the Japanese infantry artillery to attack, as that would have a huge impact on firepower and morale.

Although the artillery of the New Second Regiment is not very skilled, as long as they can make their own voices, they can prevent the Japanese from wantonly bombarding the New Second Regiment's positions.

After hearing Chen Chengxing's order, the artillery observer immediately looked behind the Japanese.

The Type 62 infantry gun is only centimeters high, not much taller than a heavy machine gun. It is not an easy task to find it in a short time.

A few minutes later, the artillery observer finally found the Japanese artillery position through the flames that appeared when the artillery was fired.

"One o'clock! Behind the hill!" the artillery observer reported loudly.

Following the observer's instructions, Chen Chengxing immediately found the Japanese artillery.

"Fire! Move immediately after firing!" Chen Chengxing ordered.

He only has these two treasures in his hands, and there cannot be any loss. Even if the parts are damaged, the Eighth Route Army has no possibility of repairing them now.

"Boom!" "Boom!"

After two gunshots, the Japanese artillery position immediately fell silent.

Chen Chengxing knew that the Japanese were moving their artillery.

Italy's resources are very scarce, and they cannot accept their artillery being destroyed easily.

Therefore, after their position was exposed, they had to choose to move.

(End of this chapter)