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

Chapter 146 Preparing for the Counterattack! A Bet with the Brigade Commander!

Ding Wei breathed a sigh of relief after receiving the order to retreat.

The New First Regiment and two guerrilla battalions were under immense pressure, having withstood attacks from two regiments and a battalion of Japanese troops.

It was impossible to harass them like before. The Japanese could easily send out a large battalion to drive them away while the rest of the troops continued to advance.

In order to carry out the blocking mission, Ding Wei had to lead his troops to fight a positional war against the Japanese.

Having lost the advantages of mobile and guerrilla warfare, casualties suddenly increased significantly.

It can be said that in the past few hours of blocking the enemy's advance, the soldiers of the New First Regiment and two guerrilla battalions have completely used their flesh and blood to withstand the Japanese attack and hinder the Japanese advance.

In just a few hours of fighting, the casualties of the three regimental-level units exceeded three times the original number.

However, although Ding Wei received the order to stop the blocking action, he did not completely open up the position to let the Japanese pass.

Ding Wei divided his troops into three groups to harass the Japanese, forcing them to divert some of their forces to engage him, thus relieving pressure on the defense of Ping'an County.

at noon.

After the blocking troops withdrew from their positions, the main force of the Japanese army finally arrived at the outskirts of Ping'an County.

"Has Ping'an County been lost?"

Major General Jiro Yamada, commander of the Independent Mixed Brigade No. 3, who was leading the team, frowned as he observed Ping'an County in the distance through binoculars.

The news I received this morning indicated that Ping'an County was still putting up a stubborn resistance, but judging from the current situation, Ping'an County has completely fallen into the hands of the Eighth Route Army.

Even the flags on the town's gate tower have been changed.

"This shouldn't be happening. How could it have fallen so quickly? Could the air force's information be wrong?" Brigade Commander Yamada was puzzled.

But that's the reality, and there's nothing he can do about it no matter how hard he tries.

He was able to serve as the commander leading the team this time because the Independent Mixed Third Brigade was familiar with the terrain of northwestern Shanxi and had rich experience in fighting against the Eighth Route Army.

Secondly, the troops in Ping'an County and Lan County were both his independently formed Third Mixed Brigade.

Ping'an County has already been lost. If the Japanese troops in Lan County are not rescued, the Third Brigade will suffer huge losses.

"A telegram was sent to the Taiyuan Command that our troops arrived in Ping'an County at noon, but Ping'an County has already fallen and been occupied by the Eighth Route Army."

At the Taiyuan headquarters, Iwamatsu frowned after receiving Yamada's telegram.

Despite their best efforts, they were unable to rescue Ping'an County, which fell into the hands of the Eighth Route Army.

"Let Yamada take back Ping'an County. We must not let the Eighth Route Army occupy Ping'an County," Iwasatsu replied.

Ping'an County must be taken back, otherwise we cannot rescue Lan County, which is under siege.

The Japanese troops in Ping'an County have been completely wiped out, and there is no way to turn the tide, but the battalion in Lan County absolutely cannot be lost.

Moreover, the Eighth Route Army chose to defend the city even though they knew that a large number of Japanese troops were coming to reinforce Ping'an.

Yansong felt this was an opportunity.

If the Eighth Route Army had continued its guerrilla warfare, he really wouldn't have had much of a way to deal with them.

Now that they have gathered together, as long as they surround Ping'an County, they can wipe out the main force of the Independent Detachment in Ping'an County in one fell swoop and completely destroy the Independent Detachment, which is a major threat to the First Army.

This time, Yansong dispatched a heavy artillery squadron to reinforce Ping'an County, and he was full of confidence.

After receiving orders from headquarters, Yamada immediately ordered his troops to surround Ping'an County from three directions, and at the same time began to order his troops to attack the Tianzhushan position.

To conquer Ping'an, you must first conquer Tianzhu Mountain.

Without capturing Tianzhu Mountain, the Japanese could not attack Ping'an County with peace of mind.

The troops on Tianzhu Mountain numbered only 500, and were led by Yang Dong.

Yang Dong looked at the surging crowd of Japanese soldiers below the mountain with a solemn expression.

He still remembered what Chen Ming said to him during the operational meeting this morning when he volunteered to defend the Tianzhushan position.

After the morning meeting, Chen Ming kept Yang Dong behind alone.

"Commander, may I call you Commander?" Yang Dong asked.

"Hmm." Chen Ming nodded with a serious expression.

"This mission is extremely difficult. It is very likely that all the soldiers in the Third Battalion will be wiped out. You need to be mentally prepared."

"Commander, if I can't stop the Japanese devils, I won't have to come back to you with my head in my hands, because I'll definitely be lying on the position by then. I can only assure you that no one from our Third Battalion will leave the position alive."

Chen Ming's eyes welled up with tears, and his hand gripping Yang Dong's shoulder trembled slightly: "Comrade, I need you to hold out for two more days, and you must come back alive. This is an order, and it must be carried out."

Chen Ming knew that once the battle began, the Tianzhushan position would be an extremely difficult battle, given the Japanese army's heavy artillery.

After the battle, it was possible that one out of ten of the five hundred soldiers of the Third Battalion stationed at Tianzhu Mountain would survive, or even be completely wiped out.

When Yang Dong accepted this mission, he never intended to come back alive.

"Bang bang!"

Two test shells landed on the Tianzhushan position, kicking up a cloud of mud.

After seeing the shells explode, the soldiers immediately hid in the foxholes in the reverse slope trenches.

At the Tianzhushan position, Chen Ming adopted a reverse-sloping trench tactic to evade the Japanese artillery in order to deal with their heavy artillery.

The troop deployment adopted a light-in-the-front, heavy-in-the-back configuration, with only a small number of troops deployed on the front slope, and the troops in the trenches on the reverse slope would reinforce after the Japanese artillery bombardment.

This would greatly reduce the chances of being hit by Japanese artillery fire.

The Japanese direct-fire artillery was completely rendered ineffective. Indirect-fire artillery, such as howitzers and mortars, could theoretically hit the targets, but because they could not be directly aimed at, they could only use saturation bombardment.

Did the Japanese really have that many artillery shells?
Meanwhile, the reverse slope faces Ping'an County. With firepower from the direction of the county, even if the Japanese occupy the mountaintop position, they will not dare to directly charge down the reverse slope position from the mountaintop.

The most famous battle using this reverse slope tactic is undoubtedly the Battle of Shangganling.

Even the US military, with its unlimited ammunition supply, couldn't take it down, let alone the Japanese, whose heavy firepower was far inferior to that of the US military.

Not long after the Japanese artillery test firing ended, a barrage of artillery fire came toward the Tianzhushan position.

Under the cover of artillery fire, the Japanese infantry launched an assault on the position.

This is the Japanese army's classic tactic: artillery bombards, then infantry charges after the artillery has finished.

However, it was already December 41, and the quality of the Japanese soldiers had declined significantly, making it impossible for them to cooperate as well as they had before 39.

As a result, many Japanese soldiers died directly from their own side's artillery fire.

The Japanese soldiers charging ahead were worried about being hit by their own artillery, so their charging speed was not very fast.

This gave the soldiers of the Third Battalion in the reverse slope trenches enough time to replenish the front-line positions.

"Quickly! The Japanese artillery fire will stop as soon as the Japanese infantry arrive. Get back to your positions immediately."

After the artillery fire subsided, the soldiers of the Third Battalion immediately returned to their positions and fiercely attacked the charging Japanese soldiers.

On the Tianzhushan position, artillery fire raged, with Japanese machine guns and grenade launchers exchanging fire with each other, taking away one life after another.

After half an hour of fierce fighting, the attacking Japanese troops, suffering heavy casualties, were unable to continue their offensive and were forced to retreat.

The soldiers of the Third Battalion on the position, along with the main force, retreated to the reverse slope to avoid Japanese artillery fire.

The battle at Tianzhushan continued in this back-and-forth struggle.

Ping'an County.

While attacking the Tianzhushan position, the Japanese also dispatched troops to attack the outer positions of Ping'an County.

This time, the Japanese troops, under the cover of eight Type 95 light tanks, attacked the outer perimeter positions.

This is a lightly armored Japanese tank. Although on the European battlefield, this type of tank was not even considered a junior, but rather a junior.

However, on the Chinese battlefield, the Japanese Type 95 light tank did indeed play a significant role.

Machine gun and rifle bullets can only leave a white mark on the armor of the Type 95 light tank.

In order to stop the Japanese tanks, the Chinese army had no choice but to rely on their own flesh and blood, using cluster grenades to blow up the tank tracks.

However, while other units might have difficulty destroying Japanese tanks, the Independent Detachment was different.

"Quickly, aim at the Japanese iron turtle and fire! Take down the Japanese iron turtle!"

On the position, a company commander shouted loudly as his soldiers pushed out two 37mm rapid-fire guns.

This is an anti-armor artillery piece captured from the Japanese. It's incredibly effective against the Japanese's lightly armored tanks.

"Bang bang!"

Two shells were fired at the Japanese tanks, hitting them precisely and destroying both Type 95 tanks instantly.

"I hit it! I hit it!"

Seeing that two shots had destroyed two Japanese tanks, the gunner operating the rapid-fire cannon shouted excitedly.

"Quickly, keep aiming!"

The Type 94 rapid-fire gun is equipped with a magazine with a capacity of six rounds, so it can fire continuously without reloading one round at a time.

With the gunner's adjustment, after emptying the remaining shells in the magazine again, this time only three Japanese tanks were destroyed.

After the Japanese tanks learned that the Eighth Route Army had anti-tank weapons, they began to take evasive maneuvers. With only two anti-tank guns, it was indeed difficult to accurately hit the Japanese tanks.

Meanwhile, the Japanese tanks had approached the front lines and began using tank cannons and machine guns to suppress the soldiers inside the positions.

"Quickly move the guns back! Our detachment only has these two guns to fight the Japanese tanks, we can't just lose them like this!" the company commander shouted.

With anti-tank guns, even if they are not used, they can still threaten the Japanese tanks and prevent them from acting recklessly.

Even under the threat of Japanese attacks, he was determined to move the precious anti-tank gun away.

Our soldiers value their weapons more than their lives.

In order to cover the soldiers on the front lines, the artillery units in Ping'an County also opened fire on the Japanese troops.

"Direction due south, elevation 55 degrees, distance 1,500 meters, eight rapid-fire rounds, fire!"

At the command of the artillery company commander, all the artillery pieces loaded their mortar shells into their barrels.

"boom!"

"boom!"

"Bang!"

After a series of shells tumbling through the air, the artillerymen continued to load shells into the cannons.

The shells exploded in the midst of the Japanese attacking troops, causing chaos and casualties among them.

After firing eight shells, the artillery company commander immediately ordered: "Hurry up, move to a new position immediately, the Japanese artillery counterattack will be coming soon."

Sure enough, not long after the artillery positions were moved, the Japanese mountain artillery launched a counterattack.

After calculating the impact points of the shells and determining that the artillery positions inside the city were surrounded, the Japanese immediately launched a counterattack.

Fortunately, the artillery company moved its position in time, and apart from some houses being destroyed, there were no casualties.

Chen Ming deployed only one such artillery company in the county town to support the defending troops.

The majority of the remaining artillery firepower was concentrated in the rear of the Japanese forces, waiting for them to receive news of the attack on their rear before launching ambush attacks on their retreat.

On the front lines, the Japanese tanks were largely undamaged, but the infantry suffered heavy losses and still maintained their offensive capabilities.

Under the cover of the remaining three tanks, the Japanese soldiers charged into the forward defensive positions of the Independent Detachment.

"Quickly, throw Molotov cocktails at the Japanese tanks and let them taste the barbecue!"

Molotov cocktails were thrown at the Japanese tanks.

For anti-tank weapons, the Independent Detachment had more than just two 37mm rapid-fire cannons; Molotov cocktails were also a major weapon.

This weapon performed exceptionally well on the European battlefield, and it would be even more effective at destroying the Japanese's lightly armored tanks.

Under the barrage of Molotov cocktails, the remaining three Japanese tanks were instantly turned into three fireballs.

Under the influence of high temperatures and toxic fumes, the Japanese soldiers inside the tank let out screams like pigs being slaughtered.

The smell of gunpowder and burning gasoline is accompanied by the peculiar smell of burnt protein.

"The Japanese tanks are full of familiar faces now, haha."

After destroying the Japanese tanks, the soldiers concentrated their firepower and drove the Japanese infantry back.

Even without heavy weapons like tanks, the Independent Detachment was in no way inferior to the Japanese in terms of light weapons.

The quality of our soldiers has even surpassed that of ours!
Inside the command post, Chen Ming smiled as he saw that the Japanese army's first wave of attack had suffered such a great setback.

"These Japanese devils are like Wang Xiaoer celebrating the New Year; they're getting worse every year."

"Yes, Japan is an island nation with scarce resources. More than four years have passed since Japan began its full-scale invasion of China, and the Japanese fighting strength and firepower have declined significantly."

"Our troops have also changed from avoiding the enemy's sharp edge to now being able to seize county towns from the Japanese and garrison them for a long time. This is progress."

"I think the Japanese will be defeated in a few years," the brigade commander said.

"I bet the Japanese will surrender in four years at most," Chen Ming said with a smile.

"Alright, I'll bet you. If you lose, your sharpshooter battalion will be transferred to my command, how about that?" the brigade commander said with a smile.

"Brigade Commander, why are you still thinking about my sharpshooter battalion? You still haven't returned my platoon of soldiers, have you?" Chen Ming said with a laugh.

"Haha, what platoon of soldiers? I don't know anything about that." The brigade commander pretended to be confused.

"Sigh, it's like lambs to the slaughter. Once something's in your pocket, brigade commander, there's no going back."

“But since you want to gamble, I’ll gamble with you. If the Japanese surrender within four years, I don’t want weapons or talent, I just want your sidearm and leather jacket, Brigade Commander,” Chen Ming said with a smile.

“Fine, I’ll wait for you to take my gun and leather jacket,” the brigade commander said.

He genuinely wanted Chen Ming to win this bet.

The front line.

When Brigade Commander Yamada learned that the first wave of attacks had resulted in the loss of eight tanks and a large number of infantry, he was furious.

When did we suffer such heavy losses in the battles against the Eighth Route Army?
"Order the heavy artillery company to bombard the Eighth Route Army! I refuse to believe that the Eighth Route Army can withstand heavy artillery!" Yamada angrily issued the order.

Upon receiving the order, the Japanese army's four 105mm howitzers immediately launched a fierce bombardment on the positions outside Ping'an County!

Heavy artillery is indeed heavy artillery. Although it is only a 105mm howitzer, not the most elite 150mm howitzers deployed by the Japanese in Shanxi Province, its power is still formidable.

A single shell can create a huge crater more than two meters wide and half a meter deep, with a kill radius of thirty meters.

Without the cover of fortifications, a single shell could wipe out an entire company.

Under the bombardment of Japanese heavy artillery, the soldiers on the front lines suffered heavy losses, even with the cover of fortifications and trenches.

The fortifications can block most of the shrapnel, but they cannot block the shock wave and sound generated by the explosion.

Many soldiers had their internal organs shattered by the powerful shells, and those who were far away also suffered temporary hearing loss.

It can be said that the damage this shelling inflicted on the soldiers on the front lines exceeded the effect of the eight Japanese tanks.

Artillery truly lives up to its reputation as the king of war!

The Japanese had limited artillery ammunition, so they stopped after two rounds of bombardment and ordered the infantry to continue the attack.

The soldiers who had been hiding in the anti-artillery bunkers in the trenches immediately returned to their positions and continued to stubbornly resist the Japanese attack.

The battle lasted until nightfall.

After a five-hour attack, the Japanese suffered over 700 casualties but still made little progress.

After dark, we arrived at the Independent Detachment's home ground.

First, the soldiers of the Third Battalion on Tianzhu Mountain organized a counter-offensive and, under the cover of several mortars deployed on the reverse slope, recaptured the lost position on the main slope.

At the front lines outside Ping'an County, soldiers were reinforcing their fortifications. Fortifications were also being set up on the city walls that had been breached by heavy artillery fire to prevent the Japanese from breaking through the front lines and entering the county through the gaps.

Inside the Independent Detachment Command Post, Chen Ming spoke.

"Each unit, please report your casualty figures."

"Report: 271 casualties on the Tianzhushan position and 610 casualties on the front lines of the county town," Chief of Staff Wang Dafei said.

"Hmm." Chen Ming nodded heavily.

The Japanese heavy artillery was indeed formidable; after only half a day of attack, the Independent Detachment suffered such heavy casualties.

Most of the damage was caused by artillery.

The Japanese heavy artillery's range of over ten kilometers made it impossible for the Independent Detachment's artillery to even retaliate.

The two mountain guns of the independent detachment had a maximum range of only 6400 meters, which was far from reaching the Japanese heavy artillery positions.

"What about the situation of each unit?" Chen Ming asked again.

"The four infantry battalions and two artillery battalions of the reinforced battalion have successfully bypassed the route and moved to the vicinity of the Jingxin Highway (the highway from Shuiquan to Ping'an). They are now setting up blocking positions."

"The reinforced 2nd Battalion is still besieging the Japanese in Lan County. The Independent Regiment, the 4th Regiment, and a battalion of the reinforced 2nd Regiment returned at 6 p.m. tonight."

"In addition, headquarters will launch a general offensive tonight and has ordered us to prepare for a counterattack."

Upon learning that headquarters was about to launch a general offensive, Chen Ming nodded.

When fighting positional warfare against the Japanese, and lacking superior heavy firepower, casualties were simply uncontrollable.

Only by mobilizing the Japanese troops and fighting them in motion can we concentrate superior forces to inflict heavy casualties on them.

Once headquarters launched a general offensive, the Japanese rear would be severely weakened due to the withdrawal of two regiments and an infantry battalion.

They would certainly also order the Japanese troops in Ping'an County to return to their aid immediately.

Compared to the Xiangpu Railway, which was the lifeline of the Japanese, Ping'an County and Lan County were much less important.

"Alright, order the troops to prepare for a counterattack. If the Japanese dare to march at night, they won't return unscathed. As for that heavy artillery company, since they're here, let them stay." Chen Ming said firmly.

Once the Japanese start moving, the heavily fortified artillery company will have weaknesses.

Under the cover of night, Chen Ming could use the three-dimensional combat map in his mind to attack the Japanese troops transporting heavy artillery with artillery.

The Japanese First Army currently possesses only 32 heavy artillery pieces with a diameter exceeding 100mm.

If the Japanese lose four gates in this battle, it will be enough to make them feel bad for a long time.

Moreover, when marching at night, the Japanese soldiers lose the cover of fortifications, exposing more weaknesses and making them easier to defeat.

Eliminating Japanese soldiers during campaigns was Chen Ming's specialty.

With a 20-kilometer-wide three-dimensional combat map, Chen Ming was able to accurately identify the weaknesses of the Japanese troops and concentrate his forces to achieve great results with superior numbers.

At that point, the blocking battle might turn into a local annihilation battle.

Eleven o'clock at night.

With a cannon shot fired in Guoxian County, followed by a series of explosions, the Japanese invasion of key cities along the Tongpu Railway began!
This time, headquarters brought out all its resources, directly mobilizing its own captured artillery plus the mountain guns surrendered by Chen Ming to form a mountain gun regiment (14 guns).

Taking advantage of the moment when the Japanese rear defenses were weakened, they launched a fierce artillery bombardment on the Japanese railway hub city.

The soldiers fought bravely, eliminating numerous Japanese strongholds, dismantling railways, and transporting supplies away.

For a time, the entire northern Shanxi was in chaos, with fighting everywhere.

First Army Headquarters.

After receiving telegrams from multiple locations reporting attacks and requesting reinforcements, Yansong was furious.

"Is the Eighth Route Army going to launch another Hundred Regiments Offensive?"

Yansong was afraid. The aftereffects of the Hundred Regiments Offensive were still lingering, and he was really worried that the Eighth Route Army would launch another similar campaign during his term.

The trigger was his decision to transfer elite troops from northern Shanxi to reinforce Ping'an County.

If the railway line suffers a devastating blow, Yansong will be held responsible.

"Immediately order the troops in Ping'an County to return to their posts—it's an extremely urgent matter! At the same time, dispatch troops from southern Shanxi to provide rapid reinforcements!"

Yansong immediately issued an order for the two regiments and one infantry battalion from Ping'an County to return to reinforce.

Ping'an County is gone anyway, so let it go.

As for Lanxian County and the more than one thousand Japanese soldiers, Yansong chose to turn a blind eye.

Compared to a large battalion of Japanese soldiers, the most important thing right now is to protect the Tongpu Railway, a lifeline, and the important cities along the line.

(End of this chapter)