Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Changjin Lake, a Hundred Battles, a Hundred Victories

Chapter 109 Summer and Autumn: 150,000-strong army sweeps through the plains
More than half a month later, the entire base area became tense.

The frequent troop movements of the Japanese army could not be kept secret from headquarters.

According to existing information, the Japanese army is expected to mobilize five divisions, one brigade and two regiments after the Battle of Southern Shanxi.

In addition, there were local security forces, garrison forces, military police, and puppet troops.

With an estimated force exceeding 150,000, they launched a large-scale summer and autumn mopping-up operation against the Eighth Route Army's base areas in Taiyue, Taihang, Jizhong, and Jincha.

This sweep was unprecedented in scale, with the largest number of troops and the widest range of operations ever deployed!

The one who took charge was the newly appointed and infamous Okamura of the Japanese army.

This old Japanese soldier was very familiar with the mainland war zone, and the methods he used were also very cruel.

That is the "Three Lights"!
Kill them all, burn them all, loot them all!
By obtaining information about the location of the main force of the Eighth Route Army through the intelligence system, a multi-echelon sweeping attack was launched, while mobile forces were simultaneously deployed to penetrate directly into the core of the base area.

By employing the strategy of encirclement and containment, they gradually compressed the Eighth Route Army's operational space, ultimately annihilating its main force.

At the same time, the "Three Alls" policy was used to deplete the war potential of the base areas as much as possible.

This is an unprecedented test!

Inside the Independent Detachment Command Post.

Chen Ming received the intelligence from headquarters.

This time, the forces attacking the Independent Detachment's Fourth Military Sub-district alone consisted of one brigade, two infantry regiments, and two puppet army brigades.

With a force exceeding 20,000, they attempted to annihilate the independent detachment in one fell swoop.

Meanwhile, according to information from the front-line troops, the Japanese army was attacking from several directions simultaneously, advancing steadily and gradually driving the scattered troops into the mountains.

The situation is very serious.

"Damn it, we just wiped out the main force of a brigade, and now more than 20,000 Japanese and puppet troops have arrived. These devils are endless."

Inside the command room, Chen Ming stared at the Japanese army's attack direction on the map and cursed angrily.

The enemy mobilized too many troops for this large-scale mopping-up operation, and they were very well prepared.

Chen Ming knew very well that after this sweep, a large number of faces in the Independent Detachment would disappear.

"Hmph, those little devils have a big appetite, sending out so many troops, trying to devour us all, but I, Kong Jie, am not made of dough."

"The Japanese devils don't have the teeth to eat us up."

Kong Jie said loudly.

"Commander, how should we counter this sweep?"

Chief of Staff Wang Dafei asked the question.

Unlike other regiments, the independent detachment was well-equipped.

But that's precisely why the counter-sweep is even more difficult.

Ordinary guerrilla units, especially the core regiments, are relatively easy to manage. They are not many in number, so they can hide in the mountains, break into smaller groups, and wait for an opportunity to break through the Japanese blockade.

However, the independent detachment was a large target, possessing a large number of mules, horses, and supplies, making it difficult to evade Japanese aerial reconnaissance.

In addition, the Independent Detachment is now a thorn in the side of the Japanese, and they attach great importance to it. It will be very difficult for them to break through smoothly.

Chen Ming did not answer Wang Dafei's question directly, but turned to Political Commissar Zhang Zhengze and asked:
"Have the arsenal and hospitals been moved?"

"They've all been moved. The equipment from the arsenal has been moved to the caves that were dug earlier, and the entrance to the mine at Black Cloud Village has been blown up with explosives."

Zhang Zheng replied.

"Okay." Chen Ming nodded.

The equipment and materials at the arsenal were the hard-earned assets of the independent detachment, and they could not be lost.

After training, the soldiers in the detachment, apart from those carrying out combat missions, either help the villagers with farming or dig tunnels.

That's right, dig a hole.

In order to protect important facilities from being discovered and destroyed by the Japanese, Chen Ming organized his soldiers to dig tunnels in some hidden places in the base area.

In case of an emergency, important equipment and supplies can be moved into the cave for safekeeping.

Retrieve it after the emergency has passed.

Since arriving in the Wutai area, the independent detachment has excavated many large underground tunnels.

A cunning rabbit has three burrows; the Independent Detachment has no idea how many burrows they have.

After confirming with the political commissar that there were no problems with the arsenal and field hospital, Chen Ming looked at the map on the table and began deployment.

The Japanese army's offensive routes against the Independent Detachment's defense zone mainly consisted of four directions.

There are three infantry battalions in the direction of Guoxian, plus the puppet troops, totaling about six thousand men.

There is an independent mixed brigade in the Yangquan direction, which, together with the puppet troops, numbers about 10,000.

There is a regiment in the central Hebei region, which is an infantry regiment of a Class A division, the 237th Regiment, and its combat power is very strong.

An infantry regiment was also deployed from the Taiyuan direction to cooperate in the operation.

The three directions formed a pincer movement, with the intention of annihilating all the main forces of the Independent Detachment in one battle.

After understanding the strength of the Japanese attacking forces, Chen Ming made the following deployment.

"The first and second guerrilla brigades will attack Japanese and puppet army strongholds in the direction of Guoxian and Dingxiang to tie down the Japanese forces."

"Third, fourth, two guerrilla brigades, county brigades, and district squads, in Meng County and Shouyang Mountain area, adopted guerrilla warfare, leading the Japanese in circles."

"The Second Battalion of the Independent Detachment retreated into the mountains, relying on the favorable terrain to launch layered attacks and delay the Japanese offensive." "The Third Battalion of the Independent Detachment dispersed along the Tongpu Railway to harass the Japanese logistics."

"The First Battalion of the Independent Detachment, a unit directly under the detachment, followed me in the mountains, the 237th Regiment, ambushing the Japanese."

"At the same time, we destroyed all the bridges in the defense zone and damaged all the roads to slow down the Japanese advance."

Chen Ming's battle plan is not difficult to understand.

The Japanese soldiers in Shanxi Province had fought many battles with the Independent Detachment and were familiar with its combat capabilities.

Therefore, the Japanese troops on both the Yangquan and Guoxian routes will be very cautious, steadily and step by step compressing the Independent Detachment's operational space and not giving it any opportunities.

The 237th Regiment, which came from the Jizhong direction, was an infantry regiment of a Japanese Class A division and was extremely powerful.

They are known as the elite of the elite!

But there's a saying that goes, "What the hell are elite troops? I'm going to take down the elite troops."

Compared to the Japanese troops in Shanxi Province, this foreign regiment relied on the formidable combat power of a Class A division.

Even if they knew that the Independent Detachment had a record of annihilating the main force of the Independent Brigade, they would only think that the combat effectiveness of the security forces was too weak and could not be compared with the elite of their Class A division.

Having been used to being arrogant on the battlefield, they were extremely cautious about the Eighth Route Army, which was not in line with the arrogance of a Class A division.

Chen Ming was targeting this 237th Regiment. The fact that they were outsiders and their strength as an independent detachment was still unclear gave Chen Ming an opportunity to exploit.

Chen Ming planned to take advantage of the enemy's arrogance, lure them deeper into the mountains step by step, and cripple them in the mountains.

Once the operational deployment was issued, the officers and soldiers of the independent detachment began to carry it out.

This is the atmosphere of the Independent Detachment. In the military field, all actions are completely under Chen Ming's command, and even the political commissar will not have any objections.

In the direction of Guoxian County, the First and Second Guerrilla Battalions, under Chen Ming's orders, began to frequently attack the strongholds of the Japanese and puppet troops.

They took advantage of guerrilla warfare, using the issued flying thunder cannons to launch a few sudden shots under the cover of night.

After the fight, they don't linger; regardless of the outcome, they simply turn tail and run.

Meanwhile, booby traps were laid along the road to hinder the pursuit of the Japanese and puppet troops.

If the Japanese and puppet troops dared to come out at night and encountered landmines, booby traps would result in either death or serious injury.

If they don't come out and drive the guerrillas away, they will be attacked again soon, and they won't be able to sleep peacefully.

The guerrilla brigade was dispersed into small groups, carrying lightweight weapons, the heaviest of which were flying thunder cannons and explosive packs.

These small units could come and go as they pleased, rendering the Japanese defenses ineffective.

After all, under the cover of darkness, it would be very difficult to spot a dozen or so people running past from twenty or thirty meters away.

Even though the Japanese set up a large number of checkpoints, the checkpoints were of no use.

Because of their lightweight weapons, which allowed them to move freely, and their familiarity with the terrain, the guerrilla fighters did not follow the usual routes.

The Japanese soldiers couldn't possibly station guards on every mountain, in every forest, and in every ditch.

Unable to cope with the guerrilla attacks, the Japanese could only focus their main efforts on defending key areas and ensuring the logistical supply of the front-line troops.

The Japanese troops in the Yangquan direction were also constantly harassed by the guerrilla fighters.

The guerrilla brigade was no ordinary guerrilla force; backed by the Fourth Military Sub-district, its weaponry and equipment were comparable to those of ordinary main forces.

Apart from lacking powerful weapons like light and heavy machine guns and mortars, they were generally equipped with rifles and pistols.

In addition, there are powerful but short-range weapons like the Flying Thunder Cannon, so even hiding inside the stronghold is useless.

This forced the Japanese soldiers inside the stronghold to sleep in the basement where supplies were stored at night, leaving only a small number of troops to carry out reconnaissance missions.

Meanwhile, the Japanese troops who had penetrated deep into the base areas were also having a hard time.

Roads and bridges were completely destroyed, and the movement of cars, armored vehicles, and tanks was hindered.

The road was also riddled with booby traps and landmines, and many Japanese and puppet troops had already fallen on them.

The key issue is that these landmines and booby traps are ineffective even when sappers bring metal detectors.

The Eighth Route Army's landmine warfare tactics are quite remarkable.

In order to counter the Japanese engineers, many types of stone and ceramic mines, as well as cluster mines, were developed that could evade metal detectors.

These landmines couldn't be detected by metal detectors; the only option was to slowly search along the road step by step.

This greatly slowed down the Japanese army's advance.

In three days, the Japanese army only advanced ten kilometers and suffered a large number of wounded soldiers.

In order to slow down the Japanese army's advance, these landmines were laid with reduced explosive charges, so they wouldn't kill people but could cause injuries.

In combat, as long as there are a large number of wounded, it can tie down a large number of Japanese mobile forces.

At the same time, the presence of these wounded soldiers would also affect the morale of the Japanese troops.

Before even seeing the enemy, a large number of casualties had been incurred, and the puppet troops leading the way were under immense psychological pressure.

Some joined the puppet army to make money, while others did so to save their lives.

To carry out a mission where they could die at any moment, isn't that just asking for their lives?

As a result, a large number of puppet troops began to desert at night.

The Japanese advance slowed down further.

(End of this chapter)