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

Chapter 113 Special Forces Raid Japanese Command Post
The battalion of 800 soldiers had suffered more than half casualties after a day of bombing and relentless attacks by the Japanese army.

Only a little over three hundred soldiers remain who are still capable of fighting.

The only consolation is that the soldiers of the First Battalion still have enough ammunition to sustain their operations.

However, the soldiers were exhausted and their hands were so weak that they could barely lift their guns, and the Japanese army charged onto their positions several times.

If it weren't for the soldiers risking their lives to fight the Japanese soldiers who charged onto the position, the position would have been breached.

Fortunately, it was already dark, and the Japanese planes were no longer bombing indiscriminately as they had during the day.

In mountainous areas, bombers are less effective at bombing. Flying too high makes bombing inaccurate, and even with ground guidance, it's easy to accidentally hit friendly fire.

If you fly too low, you could easily crash and kill yourself if you're not careful.

With the absence of powerful bombs dropped by Japanese bombers, the soldiers on the First Battalion's position faced much less pressure.

However, facing the fierce retaliatory attacks of the Japanese army, they were still in grave danger.

At this critical moment, Chen Ming's cavalry brigade arrived.

Even in mountainous areas, where plains are not conducive to cavalry warfare, cavalry can still travel faster than infantry on short marches using mountain trails.

The cavalry battalion consisted of only 450 soldiers, each on a single horse and equipped mostly with rifles, with a small number of light machine guns and grenade launchers.

After the cavalry battalion arrived, they dismounted and temporarily settled their warhorses in a suitable place.

Night cavalry can march by moonlight, with cavalrymen in front scouting ahead, but it is very inconvenient for combat.

In order to improve combat effectiveness and reduce losses, the warhorses had to be temporarily placed somewhere.

The cavalry dismounted and became infantry, continuing the battle.

After securing their warhorses, the cavalry battalion began harassing the flanks of the Japanese 237th Regiment to relieve pressure on the 1st Battalion's position.

The Japanese flank was subjected to a fierce attack by a cavalry battalion, and suffered heavy losses in a short time. The Japanese soldiers who were charging towards the First Battalion's position also retreated.

"Sir, a large enemy force has appeared on our flank. Judging from the density of their firepower, there are about seven or eight hundred of them." The Japanese staff officer reported the intelligence to Colonel Okabe.

"Baka! Send a portion of your forces to hold off this enemy, and the rest of the troops will continue to attack the Eighth Route Army's positions and annihilate them," Colonel Okabe ordered.

They've been fighting all day, from morning till night. Even with air support, the main force of a Class A division couldn't take down the position held by the 800-strong Eighth Route Army.

This is simply a disgrace.

If they can't even take down this small position, he and his 237th Regiment will lose face when they get back.

The resistance from the Eighth Route Army at the front lines is now weak, and Colonel Okabe knows that as long as the offensive continues, it won't be long before they take the positions.

Therefore, Colonel Okabe was determined to capture the Eighth Route Army positions that were still barely clinging to life, no matter what.

As for the fact that a large battalion of troops was wiped out by the Eighth Route Army, given the precedent of the annihilation of the Independent Mixed Fourth Brigade, their 237th Regiment's defeat in this battle was not so bad.

"Hai!"

Upon receiving the order, the Japanese staff officer immediately redeployed some of the troops protecting the regimental headquarters and some mobile forces to reinforce the flank defenses.

With reinforcements, the Japanese troops on the flank withstood the attack of the cavalry battalion.

After all, they were elite old Japanese soldiers. Relying on the advantage of their position, it would be difficult for the light firepower of the cavalry battalion alone to break through their defenses.

The situation remained deadlocked. The cavalry battalion was unable to break through the Japanese lines, and the Japanese dared not launch a counterattack against the cavalry battalion, whose situation was unclear, at night.

Meanwhile, the Japanese soldiers attacking the First Battalion's position continued their assault with renewed vigor after losing the threat from their flank.

But this attack didn't go so smoothly.

"Comrades, our reinforcements have arrived! Hold on! As long as we hold our ground, once the main force arrives, we'll give these damn Japanese devils a good beating!"

Luo Jian shouted at the top of his lungs to encourage the soldiers.

The soldiers on the position also noticed that the Japanese flank was under attack and knew that it was their own troops.

Their reinforcements have arrived!
"Attack the Japs!"

The soldiers' exhausted bodies miraculously surged with new strength at this moment.

It's like a person who has been starving for a long time and has no strength, suddenly drinking a mouthful of porridge, and their body regains its strength.

Reinforcements had arrived, and the soldiers no longer conserved ammunition, firing bullets and grenades at the Japanese soldiers as if they were free.

A company of Japanese soldiers charging toward the 1st Battalion's position suffered heavy casualties before even reaching the position and were forced to withdraw.

However, the Japanese had a large number of soldiers. When one company was decimated, another company immediately took its place.

Brainwashed by the Bushido spirit, the Japanese soldiers were equally fearless, charging forward at all costs to attack the First Battalion's position, even amidst a hail of bullets.

The battlefield was deadlocked, with soldiers falling on both sides, but the number of Japanese soldiers falling was always greater than that of the soldiers in the first battalion.

In the chaos of the battlefield, a small squad of fifty men, dressed in Japanese military uniforms, stealthily made their way to the vicinity of the Japanese command post under the cover of night.

This small team was composed of special forces soldiers led by Zhou Weiguo.

After receiving Chen Ming's orders, they remained hidden around the Japanese army, waiting for an opportunity. The cavalry battalion's harassment drew away some of the Japanese regimental headquarters' forces, creating some defensive weaknesses.

The Japanese didn't take it seriously. Even though some of their troops were transferred out, the regimental headquarters still had a considerable number of guards.

Meanwhile, the regimental headquarters was located in the middle of the Japanese camp, surrounded by defensive forces.

Even if the Eighth Route Army wanted to attack the regimental headquarters, it would first have to break through the surrounding Japanese troops. In that time, the Japanese would have enough time to send their troops back to reinforce.

However, the Japanese did not expect that the Eighth Route Army had a small detachment led by Zhou Weiguo that was proficient in Japanese and skilled in special operations infiltration.

Zhou Weiguo seized upon the Japanese army's evacuation of its regimental headquarters' security forces and decisively launched a surprise attack on the Japanese regimental headquarters.

Using their Japanese military uniforms and Zhou Weiguo's fluent Japanese, the squad successfully infiltrated the Japanese camp.

"The Japanese regimental headquarters is just ahead. After I fire, we will immediately charge into the Japanese regimental headquarters at all costs and blow it up with grenades."

Zhou Weiguo lowered his voice and spoke to the soldiers around him.

The soldiers nodded, knowing their mission.

Their small detachment had a special mission. The soldiers were prepared to sacrifice themselves to take over the Japanese regimental headquarters and create an opportunity for the soldiers on the front lines.

Zhou Weiguo led his soldiers as they ran toward the Japanese regimental headquarters.

"Halt! Which company are you from? Why aren't you on the battlefield? What are you doing here?"

Just then, a Japanese major staff officer called out to Zhou Weiguo's squad.

"Sir, we are the Second Company of the Third Battalion. We have heard that our flank is under attack and are ordered to provide flank support."

Zhou Weiguo answered calmly in fluent Japanese.

"The Second Company of the Third Battalion? Isn't the Second Company supposed to be defending the right flank? How come you've come to the left?" the Japanese staff officer asked, somewhat puzzled.

Zhou Weiguo's Japanese was very fluent, and the special forces members were about the same height as the Japanese soldiers, with no one showing any unusual height.

Therefore, the Japanese staff officer was only puzzled as to why the other side had left the defensive position, and did not suspect that the other side was a special forces soldier in disguise.

PS: The selection criteria for soldiers in the Japanese Army's Class A divisions were 158-163cm in height, which was on average about three centimeters taller than our soldiers.

"The defensive forces on the left are sufficient. Now return to your defensive positions immediately," the Japanese staff officer said.

"Hai!"

"Wait, judging from your accent, you're from Kyoto. I don't remember having a squad leader from Kyoto in our unit! Baka, who exactly are you people?"

The Japanese staff officer belatedly realized that the unusual behavior of Zhou Weiguo and his group was due to Zhou Weiguo's accent.

The soldiers of the Japanese 41st Division were mainly recruited from the three prefectures of Hokuriku and were skilled in mountain warfare.

Zhou Weiguo, however, spoke with a distinct Kyoto accent.

The Japanese conscription system was mainly based on "local conscription," and the soldiers in each division were basically from the same place.

Reserves are only drawn from neighboring areas when replenishing troops during wartime.

The three prefectures of Hokuriku are 300 kilometers apart, so even if reinforcements were needed, they couldn't be recruited to Kyoto.

The 237th Regiment of the Japanese did have people from Kyoto, but they were staff officers sent by their superiors to their regimental headquarters. The Japanese staff officers often heard about them.

So when I first heard Zhou Weiguo's accent, I didn't suspect anything.

However, the unusual behavior of Zhou Weiguo's squad made the Japanese staff officer think of more things, and combined with his accent, they began to suspect Zhou Weiguo and his group.

Once Zhou Weiguo realized his identity had been discovered, he stopped hiding and immediately shot and killed the Japanese staff officer.

The remaining special operations team members immediately split into three small teams to carry out the mission according to plan.

One squad was responsible for blocking the Japanese troops supporting the regimental headquarters, while another squad split up to set fires and cause damage throughout the Japanese camp to distract the Japanese troops.

Zhou Weiguo led the remaining men in a fierce attack on the Japanese command post.

The special forces soldiers were equipped with powerful submachine guns and had exceptional marksmanship.

The soldiers of the Japanese Army's security regiment were all highly elite soldiers.

But when faced with the independent column equipped with advanced weapons and special operations team members selected from among tens of thousands of people, these elite soldiers seemed to have become lambs to the slaughter.

Upon contact, most of the Japanese regimental headquarters' guard force of more than sixty men was wiped out.

The remaining men were forced to tighten their defenses while preparing to cover the regimental commander's temporary relocation.

The submachine guns spewed out dense bullets, blood mist flew everywhere, and the Japanese soldiers fell one after another.

In just a few minutes, Zhou Weiguo's squad had already reached the Japanese regimental headquarters.

In close-quarters, small-scale combat, the submachine gun is undoubtedly the king of firepower.

After eliminating the last defensive force outside the regimental headquarters, a special operations soldier kicked open the door of the Japanese regimental headquarters.

(End of this chapter)