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

Chapter 131 The Shocked Brigade Commander: Chen Ming Has Three Artillery Battalions?

After boosting morale, Chen Ming continued:
"Once we start fighting here, the Japanese will definitely send reinforcements. There are three directions from which they will come."

"One line is the Japanese troops from Shenchi County, who are reinforcing the area southwestward along the Fen River."

"One route was reinforced by Japanese troops from Shuiquan (Xinzhou) via the highway between Ping'an County and Shuiquan."

"One route is the Japanese troops from Luyang, heading north along the Fen River to reinforce them."

"Even the Japanese troops in Taiyuan will send reinforcements."

"What we need to do is take the two county towns as quickly as possible and block the Japanese from three directions."

Chen Ming explained the situation of the enemy and our side to everyone.

Everyone began to think about how to fight this battle.

The brigade commander was also thinking about how to fight this battle if he were in command.

After everyone had thought about it for a while, Chen Ming spoke up.

"Chief of Staff Wang, please take note of the following adjustments I've made to the deployment."

"The Second Independent Brigade, along with the First and Third Guerrilla Detachments, will reinforce the defenses of Fengrun Town and besiege Lan County; the First Independent Brigade, along with two battalions of the Second Independent Brigade and an artillery battalion, will be responsible for the peace."

"The New First Regiment, the Second Guerrilla Team, and the Fourth Guerrilla Team, two guerrilla battalions, are to block reinforcements from the direction of Shuiquan along the Erdaohuzi line."

"The Independent Regiment of the 386th Brigade and the 4th Regiment of the 1st Independent Brigade will block reinforcements from the direction of Luyang along Jiaoqu Town."

"The Third Independent Brigade is monitoring Shenchi, and the Fifth Guerrilla Team is monitoring Taiyuan."

"The cavalry battalion will harass the logistics units of the Japanese reinforcements to slow down their progress."

"The machine gun battalion and sharpshooter battalion of the detachment shall remain in the general reserve. County brigades, district squads and guerrillas in various places shall destroy all bridges and roads in the surrounding area to prevent the Japanese army from quickly reinforcing."

Chen Ming issued the battle plan.

After the order was issued, all units received their combat orders.

The brigade commander was also considering Chen Ming's deployment.

The Independent Detachment's Second Battalion, consisting of three infantry battalions and two guerrilla battalions—roughly three regiments—besieged Lan County, preventing the Japanese troops from Lan County, the closest county to Ping'an County, from reinforcing Ping'an County.

Two infantry battalions and one artillery battalion from the Second Battalion of the Independent Detachment, along with the First Battalion of the Independent Detachment, totaling 7,000 men, were dispatched to besiege Ping'an County.

The remaining troops were to act as a blocking force to guard against Japanese reinforcements from the directions of Shenchi, Luyang, and Shuiquan to Ping'an County.

After eliminating the Japanese troops in Ping'an County and cutting off the road from Ping'an County that could support Lan County,

Lan County will be isolated within the base area, and it will be unable to escape once the time comes.

The general reserve force, consisting of the elite machine gun battalion and sharpshooter brigade of the independent detachment, can serve as a powerful mobile force to provide support at any time.

This is an excellent operational deployment.

After thinking it through, the brigade commander nodded.

However, he suddenly realized what was happening and looked at Chen Ming in shock.

Chen Ming actually has three artillery battalions?!
To attack Ping'an County, an artillery battalion from the Second Battalion of the Independent Column was dispatched, while the most elite unit of the Independent Detachment was the First Battalion.

This means that the First Battalion of the Independent Detachment also had an artillery battalion.

Adding the machine gun battalion directly under the detachment, it means that the independent detachment actually has three artillery battalions. If they are gathered together, it would be equivalent to an artillery regiment.

The brigade commander looked at Chen Ming with a hint of jealousy in his eyes, thinking to himself, "Damn it, my 386th Brigade only has one artillery battalion, and the Independent Detachment has already amassed an entire artillery regiment!"

The brigade commander squinted at Chen Ming, as if he were looking at a plump, fat sheep.

He has decided that he will have a proper talk with Chen Ming about their relationship after the war is over.

The other observers also understood that the Independent Detachment actually had an artillery regiment's worth of artillery, and they were all extremely surprised.

If they had that kind of firepower, they would dare to attack Ping An too!
After the order was issued, the various units began to move out.

The first step was to clear out the Japanese strongholds outside the county town, trapping all the Japanese soldiers inside and turning the county town into an isolated city.

Attacking a city is not just about attacking the city itself; the defensive positions, bunkers, and outposts surrounding the city must be eliminated first.

Otherwise, during a siege, if the enemy around the county town suddenly attacks the siege troops from behind, no army could withstand that.

Similarly, once all the defensive structures around the city are removed, the city is essentially lost.

The reason why the Battle of Nanjing was essentially the same as the fall of Nanjing once the Yuhuatai position was lost is this:

Shuangqu Town.

The Independent Regiment of the 386th Brigade, specifically the 4th Regiment of the 1st Independent Brigade, was tasked with capturing Shuangqu Town and constructing defensive positions to block reinforcements from the Luyang direction.

When the two regiments arrived in Shuangqu Town, Li Yunlong and Zhang, the commander of the Fourth Regiment, began to discuss things.

"Old Zhang, our mission is to capture Shuangqu Town. I've found out that there are over four hundred puppet troops stationed in the town, while the Japanese only have about fifty."

“Let’s take over the town together tonight. After we succeed, I’ll take 70% of the weapons and you can take 70% of the supplies, how about that?” Li Yunlong said.

Commander Zhang thought for a moment. In the previous anti-mopping-up operation, because of the special location of their regiment, and the fact that the independent detachment had advanced into northwestern Shanxi.

Therefore, they were not swept away by the main force of the Japanese army, and their weapons and equipment were not greatly damaged. On the contrary, they were relatively short of supplies.

Commander Zhang was quite interested in Li Yunlong's suggestion.

The target is a town, a distribution center for supplies from surrounding outposts, where the value of the supplies is definitely higher than that of the weapons.

In the end, Li Yunlong actually benefited from the distribution plan.

So Commander Zhang thought about it and agreed.

“Alright, I agree to this allocation plan,” Commander Zhang said. “Good. Since we’re going to attack the town, the Japanese and puppet troops inside aren’t too difficult. The challenge is blocking the Japanese reinforcements while attacking the town,” Li Yunlong continued.

"How about our Independent Regiment takes the lead in the attack, and your Fourth Regiment takes the lead in the blocking action, Lao Zhang?"

Upon hearing this, Regiment Commander Zhang shook his head repeatedly: "That won't do. In terms of weaponry and manpower, our Fourth Regiment is definitely stronger than your Independent Regiment. Our regiment should be the main force in the attack."

Upon hearing what Commander Zhang said, Li Yunlong's expression froze.

Thinking to myself, if the Independent Regiment hadn't lost all its resources during the counter-sweep, would the Fourth Regiment dare to say it was stronger than the Independent Regiment?

However, since this is a coordinated operation, and Li Yunlong is not very familiar with the other side, one is from the 129th Division and the other is from the 120th Division, belonging to different military regions.

So he said, "Alright, alright, this time I, Old Li, will play the supporting role, and your Fourth Regiment will play the main attack. I, Old Li, will also be a supporting actor."

Seeing that Li Yunlong was so easy to talk to, Commander Zhang smiled.

After discussing it, the two decided to take action immediately.

Two regiments of troops were already giving the Japanese and puppet troops a lot of face by attacking a small town garrisoned by only fifty-odd Japanese soldiers and four hundred puppet troops.

Elite troops were deployed to begin clearing out small outposts around the town.

These small strongholds had few people and weak fortifications. They were fine for defending against small guerrilla groups, but against main forces, they were no different from straw mats.

As the outposts on the outskirts of Shuangqu Town were successively destroyed, the Japanese and puppet troops in the town became vigilant and began to send out scouts to check the situation.

Before the reconnaissance personnel even reached the battle site, they were killed by ambushes from two regiments.

The Japanese and puppet troops in the town did not wait for the scouts to return, and guessed that something must have happened to them.

The enemy did not choose to attack the town; they were likely just a small force carrying out a harassment mission, specifically designed to lure the enemy into sending out reconnaissance personnel for interception.

However, despite their thoughts, the Japanese and puppet troops in the town did not relax their vigilance and remained on alert.

It was 4:30 a.m.

This is the coldest time of the season, and also the time when people are most tired.

The Japanese and puppet troops on guard were almost at their breaking point, their eyelids began to droop, and most of the Japanese soldiers chose to go to sleep, leaving a portion of them to continue the guard duty.

The soldiers of the two regiments began to move.

The troops approached the defensive fortifications, cut the barbed wire, and laid ladders across the trenches to facilitate passage.

Afterwards, the soldiers carrying explosive packs quietly approached the Japanese machine gun bunker.

The fuse of the explosive charge was lit.

"Boom!"

With a loud bang, the Japanese machine gunner, who was drowsy, was killed instantly, and the machine gun bunker collapsed.

The Japanese and puppet troops in the town were all awakened by the explosion.

"When two armies meet on a narrow path, the brave shall prevail! Brothers, charge!"

Li Yunlong roared and personally took the lead as the assault captain, leading his soldiers to charge towards the Japanese fortifications and the town.

This left Commander Zhang completely stunned.

Wasn't it agreed that the Independent Regiment would provide support while their regiment would lead the attack?

Why did the Independent Regiment charge towards the town so quickly?

However, since the battle had already begun, this was not the time to worry about such things. Commander Zhang immediately ordered his troops to attack the Japanese strongpoints while simultaneously constructing defensive positions to defend against Japanese reinforcements.

Led by Li Yunlong, the soldiers of the Independent Regiment charged quickly and soon broke in, clashing with the Japanese and puppet troops.

Li Yunlong personally wielded a large, ghost-headed broadsword, hacking and slashing through a group of Japanese and puppet troops, amidst the continuous screams of those who had severed limbs.

The remaining soldiers of the Independent Regiment were also exceptionally brave.

With the regimental commander leading the charge, how could their morale not be high?

The puppet troops were weak in combat, so after Li Yunlong rushed in, he didn't pay much attention to them and went straight towards the Japanese.

Along the way, the puppet troops made way for them, not daring to clash head-on with the assault team led by Li Yunlong.

After storming the Japanese camp, Li Yunlong charged into the position and cut down a Japanese soldier with a single blow. The rest of the soldiers immediately followed.

After eliminating the Japanese soldiers scattered in two camps, the remaining puppet troops lost their will to fight and began to flee in all directions, with a small number surrendering.

The puppet troops were more familiar with the terrain than the soldiers of the Independent Regiment, and since it was now pitch black, most of them managed to escape.

Only a small number were caught up and killed before they even had a chance to surrender.

The battle lasted for about twenty minutes before it ended.

A nighttime raid with superior forces can achieve this effect.

"Zhang Dabiao, clean up the battlefield immediately. Take whatever you see and drag it all away."

Zhang Dabiao was taken aback when he heard this. Hadn't the distribution of supplies been discussed in advance?
"What are you still doing?"

"Yes." Zhang Dabiao was quite helpless about Li Yunlong's selfish and domineering personality.

Li Yunlong also knew what Zhang Dabiao was thinking.

It's one thing to talk about it, but it's quite another to actually fight it out.

On the battlefield, isn't it right whoever captures it to keep it? The Fourth Regiment was too slow to catch up, can we blame them for that?
When Commander Zhang arrived with a dark expression, the soldiers of the Independent Regiment had already cleaned up almost completely.

Commander Zhang's face darkened further as he looked at the pile of supplies that Li Yunlong had gathered.

Are you kidding me? With this little bit of supplies, how could a town garrisoned by fifty-odd Japanese soldiers and four hundred puppet troops possibly have enough?
(End of this chapter)