Anti-Japanese War: I have unlimited assistance

Chapter 238 You might as well make your words clearer.

Dozens of artillery pieces of various calibers fired thousands of shells, engulfing the Japanese and puppet army positions in explosions and smoke.

Five minutes later, Li Yunlong gave the order to stop the shelling.

As the sound of artillery gradually decreased, Guan Dashan loudly gave the order to blow the horn.

beep beep-

The exciting and rapid sound of the charge tore through the sky.

next second.

A high-speed rotating 6.5mm bullet hit the bugler's helmet, knocking his helmet off, but fortunately it did not hit his head.

Although the bugle calls stopped, the soldiers jumped up from their attacking positions.

"kill!"

The overwhelming shouts of killing rose into the sky.

Just as the artillery fire was preparing, the soldiers of the independent regiment took the opportunity to crawl forward and were already very close to the front line of the Japanese puppet army.

We knew that the closer we got to the positions of the Japanese and puppet troops, the more dangerous it would be and that we would be more likely to be hit by friendly artillery shells.

Although the independent regiment's charge tactics were rather poor, the soldiers were all good and enthusiastic soldiers, and none of them were cowards.

The soldiers knew very well that the closer they were to the Japanese positions, the easier it would be to rush into the Japanese and puppet army positions after the artillery bombardment.

Guan Dashan took the lead with a PPSh submachine gun, leading the assault team to charge and fire at the Japanese and puppet army positions.

The commando team of more than 60 people all held a PPSh submachine gun, and the intensive firepower made the positions of the Japanese and puppet troops fly with dust.

The remaining Japanese soldiers and puppet troops set up light and heavy machine guns and rifles and began to fight back.

The soldiers of the first battalion of the independent regiment kept falling, but they continued to fight.

In the distance, the sniper squadron led by Zhao Gang opened fire, launching a precise hunt on the machine gun fire points of the Japanese and puppet troops.

Under the cover of the sniper squadron, the soldiers of the 1st Battalion of the Independent Regiment took advantage of this opportunity and quickly rushed into the positions of the Japanese and puppet troops.

Seeing this, some puppet soldiers fled, but the Japanese supervision team in the rear opened fire, and the puppet soldiers fell down one after another.

Seeing this, the other puppet soldiers pretended to be dead. It was impossible to open fire, and only by pretending to be dead could they have a chance to save their lives.

At this time, the puppet soldiers were regretting their actions. Knowing how powerful the Eighth Route Army was, they would have run away long ago.

But unfortunately, it's too late to run now even if I want to.

"idiot!"

"Guards Squadron, attack and retake the position!"

Seeing that the Eighth Route Army had already attacked the position and the entire position was in danger of collapse, Li Dengxing, a major general, emerged from the regiment headquarters, quickly drew his major general's sword, and pointed it forward:
"Kill them!!"

There were no puppet soldiers left on the front line, only a few Japanese soldiers were struggling to hold on.

If there were no reinforcements, the entire position would have been captured by the Eighth Route Army in a short time.

In half an hour at most, the reinforcements will arrive, and Li Dengxingyi has no way to retreat.

Seeing the captain leading the charge, the Japanese soldiers in the regiment's guard squadron put bayonets on the muzzles of their guns and launched a counterattack against the Eighth Route Army.

But it's too late.

Because thousands of people from the New 1st Regiment and the Independent Regiment had already attacked the position.

The soldiers formed a dusty gray tide and soon completely submerged hundreds of Japanese devils.

Twenty minutes later, the battle was over. Many puppet troops surrendered, but none of the hundreds or thousands of Japanese soldiers escaped.

But at this moment, the Japanese's second wave of air support arrived, and another air-to-ground battle broke out.

This time, the Japanese flying formation carried out strafing and bombing at medium altitude. One Japanese plane was shot down and two were damaged. The Eighth Route Army suffered nearly 1 casualties.

"Pass on my order: the combat troops are to clean up the battlefield, rescue the wounded, and only pick up weapons and ammunition. Everything else is discarded."

"Transport and logistics forces keep moving forward!"

Li Yunlong gave orders loudly.

Li Yunlong immediately looked at the watch on his hand and saw that it was already four o'clock in the afternoon.

"It will be dark in about three hours."

"This time we should be able to escape the Japanese encirclement."

"This counter-raid was really fucking difficult."

"We have to find a way to hold on to our base from now on. Otherwise, it will be really troublesome to move like this every time."

Li Yunlong looked at the mule and horse transport team. Some of them were blown up by the Japanese planes, but most of them were still there.

In the future, the Jinzhong Military Region will become more and more wealthy, and it will be impossible to take it away by relying on mule carts alone, and it will be too troublesome.

"Old Li, what do you think this is?"

Kong Jie's voice sounded in his ears. Li Yunlong turned around and saw Kong Jie walking towards him with a samurai sword in his hand.

"Samurai sword?"

"Yes, this is the samurai sword of Colonel Koi Tokyu, commander of the 77th Regiment of the Japanese Army. This old devil was riddled with bullets from our independent regiment's submachine guns."

Kong Jie smiled and handed the samurai sword in his hand to Li Yunlong.

Li Yunlong took the half-broken blade and took a look at it. It was indeed a good knife. He immediately put the blade into the scabbard and handed it to Kong Jie.

"The deputy officer's sword is of no use. Keep it for yourself."

Now Li Yunlong is Kong Jie's immediate superior, and he can distribute this colonel's command knife at will.

"Then I won't hesitate. From today on, this will be my sword."

Kong Jie laughed.

Li Yunlong likes the general's sword, but Kong Jie is very content and thinks it is good enough to have a colonel's command sword.

then.

Li Yunlong, Kong Jie and Ding Wei led the troops, hurriedly cleaned up the battlefield, and continued to march south.

By the time the Japanese reinforcements arrived, the main force of the Jinzhong Military Region had already left for a full ten minutes.

"Captain, the body of the wing commander was found over there."

The Japanese captain hurried over to take a look, only to see that the regiment commander's head had been chopped off by the Eighth Route Army, leaving only a pair of crotch pants on his lower body.

"idiot!"

The captain was so angry that he drew out his major's sword and started slashing wildly.

Before Kenkichi Hirata, leading a field artillery battalion, reached Shouyang County, he received a telegram saying that the Eighth Route Army had crossed the Zhengtai Railway.

In desperation, Kenkichi Hirata had to move into Shouyang County.

"idiot!"

At the 20th Division Headquarters in Yangquan, upon receiving the news, Ushijima Tsunemi was so shocked that he was speechless. He then overturned all the maps and telegram documents on the table, and then slapped the communications staff officer who reported the news four times.

What made him angry was that the 20th Division's mopping-up operation had just begun and it was already over...

Moreover, the main force of the Eighth Route Army is gathering its main force to break out of the encirclement from the front!
The 20th Division lost a colonel and more than a thousand soldiers were killed or wounded, while the Eighth Route Army suffered only a few hundred casualties.

This is a great shame for the 20th Division!

"Commander, are you ordering a pursuit?"

On the side, Chief of Staff Uchida Ginnosuke asked in a deep voice with a grim expression.

Uchida Ginnosuke had never expected that the sweeping operation, which he had prepared for a full month, would end just as it began. If anyone had said before the sweeping operation that the sweeping operation would end with the Eighth Route Army breaking out of the encirclement, Uchida Ginnosuke would definitely not have believed it.

but!

No one had anticipated this situation, and there was no emergency plan.

Neither Ushijima Tsunemi, Hirata Kenkichi, Uchida Ginnosuke, nor even Major General Tanaka Takayoshi, the Chief of Staff of the First Army who personally formulated the battle plan, had expected this.

The Eighth Route Army was so bold that they dared to concentrate their forces and break out from the front of the locust army.

It caught the Japanese army off guard.

"Pursuit?"

"What are you going to use to chase them?"

Ushijima Tsunemi asked back coldly.

Uchida Ginnosuke was suddenly speechless. Lieutenant General Ushijima was right. The Japanese army was unable to pursue at all now.

The only unit of the 20th Division on the Zhengtai Railway was the 39th Brigade, which consisted of the 77th Infantry Regiment and the 78th Infantry Regiment.

The 78th Infantry Regiment had just returned to Yangquan, but the 77th Infantry Regiment had already been wiped out, which meant that the 77th Regiment was defeated.

Even if the 78th Regiment was sent deep into southeastern Shanxi to pursue the main force of the Eighth Route Army, it would probably be gone forever. The combat effectiveness of the main force of the Eighth Route Army in southeastern Shanxi was still very good.

As for the 40th Brigade, it continued to attack from the Beitongpu Railway and the northern part of the Jinzhong Military Region.

Now the 20th Division Headquarters is surrounded by a guard battalion, a cavalry regiment, and two field artillery battalions. These are life-saving troops, so Ushijima Tsunemi naturally does not dare to send them out easily.

If Yangquan is short of troops and the Eighth Route Army takes advantage of it, he will have to follow in the footsteps of Lieutenant General Kawaichi.

"Should we then stop the 40th Infantry Brigade?"

Uchida Ginnosuke asked.

Ushijima Tsunemi waved his hand and said, "No need!"

"Order the 40th Infantry Brigade to continue the sweep, destroy all crops in the Jinzhong Military Area, burn all houses, and release poison gas!"

According to the Japanese's original mopping-up plan, if this battle destroyed the main force of the Eighth Route Army, only a small amount of damage would be done to crops and houses would be burned.

When the autumn harvest season comes, the Japanese still have to go to the countryside to collect grain. If all the crops are destroyed, what grain can they collect?
After all, the Japanese invaders occupied North China in order to plunder various resources and materials such as food, minerals, and manpower.

but!

This mopping-up operation did not destroy the main force of the Eighth Route Army. Instead, the Eighth Route Army destroyed many troops of the 20th Division.

Now all they can do is destroy crops and reduce the survival ability of the Eighth Route Army and civilians in the Jinzhong Military Region.

“This is a way to defeat the enemy without fighting…”

Uchida Ginnosuke bit the bullet and flattered:
"Your Excellency, the division commander, is so wise, I admire you so much!"

……

The news of the Eighth Route Army's main force breaking through reached the First Army Headquarters, and Kazuki Seiji and Tanaka Takayoshi listened to the report from the communications staff.

I didn't slow down for a long time.

The raid began in the morning.

The raid ended in the afternoon.

Even if we lose, we should lose in a dignified way, right?

Isn't this a quick defeat?
"idiot!"

"Ushijima Tsunemi is a piece of shit!"

Kazuki Seiji drew his katana and chopped the chessboard in front of him into pieces.

The 20th Division, and even the entire First Army, will become a complete laughing stock because of this raid.

"Commander, although this raid failed, it was not a complete failure."

After Kazuki Seiji finished speaking, Tanaka Takayoshi stood by and spoke to Kazuki Seiji with a normal expression.

"Tanaka-kun, you might as well make your words clearer."

"What do you mean by failure, without complete failure?"

Putting the lieutenant general's sword into the scabbard, Xiangyue Qingji snorted coldly, looking a little dissatisfied.

This is the battle plan carefully formulated by you, Tanaka Takayoshi, but it was broken through by the main force of the Eighth Route Army in less than a day. You are such a complete waste.

"Commander," Tanaka Takayoshi explained in a deep voice, "The failure of this mopping-up operation is clearly due to the 20th Division not fully following my battle plan. It's not a problem with the battle plan..."

"Now is not the time to discuss who is responsible." Xiangyue Qingsi asked coldly, "What did you mean by what you said just now?"

Tanaka Takayoshi then said, "The reason why I said the mopping-up operation failed, but not completely failed, is because the 20th Brigade of the 40th Division and a division of the Locust Association Army damaged the crops in the Jinzhong Military Region."

Xiangyue Qingsi frowned and said, "What does it matter? How many soldiers and civilians are there in the Jinzhong Military Region of the Eighth Route Army? The Eighth Route Army can easily transfer food from other military regions to the Jinzhong Military Region to overcome this difficulty."

Tanaka Takayoshi asked, "What if the locust army doesn't allow food from other Eighth Route Army bases to enter the Jinzhong Military Region?"

Xiangyue Qingsi's brows relaxed. "You mean... completely block the Jinzhong base?"

"Hayi!"

Tanaka Takayoshi nodded, pointed at the map and said:

"Commander, please look at the map. There are only so many roads leading in and out of the Eighth Route Army's Jinzhong base. We only need a small number of troops from the Locust Army and the Locust Support Army to blockade all the roads leading into their base."

"If we build bunkers and watchtowers at key locations on roads and paths, it will be easier to block them and prevent all supplies from entering the Jinzhong Military Region."

"In a few months, the Eighth Route Army and the Chinese people in the Jinzhong Military Region will have no food or oil left, and will have no choice but to eat grass roots and tree bark. The Eighth Route Army and the Chinese people will starve to death in their so-called base areas."

Xiangyue Qingsi's eyes lit up. "Tanaka-kun, your plan is very good. This way, the locust army will not only block the entry of food and combat supplies to the Eighth Route Army, but also block the Eighth Route Army's economy. Then the so-called Jinzhong Military Region will collapse on its own."

"but…"

Kazuki Seiji changed the subject:
"The Tubalu of the Jinzhong Military Region is well-equipped. They even have a lot of mountain artillery and 20mm machine guns. I'm afraid ordinary brick and stone bunkers and artillery towers can't blockade them."

Tanaka Takayoshi said in a deep voice: "Then build reinforced concrete bunkers and artillery towers. The Eighth Route Army's 20mm machine guns and mountain cannons will definitely not be able to destroy reinforced concrete bunkers and artillery towers."

Xiangyue Qingsi said happily: "Yoshi, let's do it this way. Immediately apply to the North China Front Army for a batch of cement and steel bars."

"Several military trains carrying equipment and raw materials can also be sent to Peking via the Beitongpu Railway."

Tanaka Ryuji bowed his head and said, "Hayi!"

"General." At this moment, the communications staff officer hurried in. "We just received a telegram from the locust army stationed in Datong. The main force of the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army in northwest Shanxi attacked the Beitongpu Railway last night. The Beitongpu Railway is currently paralyzed."

Xiangyue Qingji: "Baga..."

……

Beiping.

Iron Lion Alley.

North China Front Army Headquarters.

After reading the battle report again, General Terauchi Juichi said coldly: "This battle against the Eighth Route Army's Jinzhong Military District can be called the most failed sweep in the history of the Locust Army, and it is also a shame for the holy war."

The 20st Army and the th Division were also troops of the North China Front Army. Terauchi Hisaichi naturally could not escape responsibility for the failure of this mopping-up operation.

Terauchi Hisaichi looked at Chief of Staff Yamashita Tomoyuki, his expression slightly softened: "Yamashita-kun, what do you think?"

Yamashita Tomoyuki said, "Commander, the blockade plan proposed by Xiangyue and Tanaka is quite good. There is a saying in Chinese military tactics that goes, 'Conquer the enemy without fighting.' If this blockade plan can be successfully implemented, the Locust Army may be able to wipe out the main force of the Eighth Route Army and the Chinese civilians in the Jinzhong Military Region without firing a single shot."

Terauchi Hisaichi snorted. "I originally wanted to replace the First Army with capable officers and the Chief of Staff, but since Yamashita-kun spoke for them, I'll give them another chance. If the First Army can't resolve the Shota Road security situation within three months, I'll remove Kazuki Seiji and Tanaka Takayoshi."

Yamashita Tomoyuki: “Hi…”

(End of this chapter)