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

Chapter 148: The Battle of Ping'an-Gol Ends! A Review of the Gains!
These were heavy artillery pieces; the entire First Army only had 32 of them, and four of them were destroyed in his hands.

They destroyed it using precision artillery fire without suffering any losses to the Eighth Route Army.

Yamada is determined to take on this responsibility.

Thinking back on his mission to rescue Ping'an County, he realized that not only had he failed to achieve his goal, but he had also lost a large number of troops and even destroyed the heavy artillery squadron.

Yamada felt his blood rush to his head, his blood pressure spiked, and he fainted.

"Brigade Commander!"

"Sir!"

Yamada's sudden fainting caused a commotion in the Japanese command post.

The Japanese field doctor immediately treated Yamada.

An hour later, Yamada slowly woke up, still muttering "Impossible" and "There's a traitor."

To be honest, no one could accept this situation.

The Eighth Route Army's artillery barrage was extremely strange. They accurately located the heavy artillery positions 12 kilometers away from the main Japanese force at night and then used all their resources to bombard them with a large number of shells.

This was a gamble. If the heavy artillery position turned out to be fake, the Eighth Route Army's ammunition reserves would not be able to support any further artillery fire.

But it's pointless to delve into these details now.

Yamada is determined to take responsibility for the destruction of four heavy artillery pieces by the Eighth Route Army using mortars.

It would be one thing if infantry guns or even mountain guns were destroyed, but this was a heavy howitzer with a shell diameter of over 100 millimeters, which was destroyed due to defensive lapses during the battle with the Eighth Route Army.

Yamada's political life, and even his life, has come to an end.

In the minds of the Japanese high command, heavy weapons were "the property of the heavens," and losing heavy artillery was tantamount to desecrating imperial authority, for which death was the only punishment.

Taiyuan First Army Headquarters.

When the telegram was delivered to Iwamatsu, he, like Yamada, looked completely incredulous.

The defense of two regiments plus an infantry battalion couldn't even protect a single heavy artillery company.

This was a battle against the Eighth Route Army, which had no heavy artillery or aircraft, and yet the Eighth Route Army managed to destroy the heavy artillery. This was a very serious dereliction of duty.

"Immediately suspend Yamada's command and have an officer from the 41st Division take over. Also, tell Yamada not to let the First Army suffer humiliation as a result!"

Iwamatsu directly issued an order to suspend Yamada's command.

Yamada's mistakes were so great that they could not be covered up.

The four heavy artillery pieces were also extremely important to the First Army, and could not and should not be concealed.

Removing Yamada from his post requires reporting to headquarters, but temporarily suspending his command is still feasible.

Iwamatsu was furious. In one battle, Yamada had destroyed four of Iwamatsu's limited heavy artillery pieces, which were Iwamatsu's trump card.

Iwamatsu wished he could fly right up to Yamada and watch him commit seppuku.

When the telegram reached Yamada, he was ashen-faced and utterly dejected.

"Damn the Independent Detachment, damn Chen Ming!"

Yansong's telegram made it very clear: the First Army must not be humiliated.

This was essentially an order for Yamada to commit seppuku, rather than waiting until he returned to headquarters and was sent to a military court to be ordered to commit seppuku, at which point he would lose all face.

Finally, under the supervision of the two regimental commanders, Yamada's humiliating end came to a tragic conclusion.

After daybreak, due to Yamada's seppuku, the new Japanese commander had not yet arrived, and the Japanese remained in place, waiting for the commander dispatched by headquarters to arrive.

It wasn't until noon that Colonel Tanaka, the chief of staff of the Japanese 41st Division, arrived and successfully took over command.

When Tanaka learned about the situation of the troops, he immediately started cursing.

"Damn Yamada, he caused my 41st Division to lose more than 900 men. Is he an idiot?"

The Japanese army dispatched two regiments and one battalion this time, including the 238th Regiment of the 41st Division and the 222nd Regiment of the 36th Division.

The remaining battalion was a battalion of Yamada's Independent Mixed 3rd Brigade.

During this retreat, in order to preserve the strength of his troops, Yamada chose to have one of his battalions protect the heavy artillery company, while two regiments covered the rear.

Of the two rearguard regiments, the 238th Regiment suffered the heaviest losses, with more than 900 men killed.

That's what made Tanaka so angry.

However, since Yamada has already committed seppuku, there is no way to pursue the matter further now.

"Continue the retreat and return to provide support," Tanaka ordered.

With the order given, the Japanese troops began to move, heading back towards the Tongpu Railway.

However, after a night and half a day of delay, the four infantry battalions and two artillery battalions dispatched by the Independent Detachment to intercept them were already prepared.

The Japanese army's strength has been severely damaged, and coupled with Yamada's previous erroneous command, morale has plummeted.

Facing the independent detachment that had constructed strong defensive fortifications, the attack had not made much progress even after a whole day of work until nightfall.

Without the support of heavy artillery, the Japanese were left with only mountain guns, infantry guns, and mortars. Compared to the two artillery battalions of the Independent Detachment, they only had an advantage in the number of mountain guns.

One battalion that previously attacked Luyang has returned to its original unit, along with two battalions defending Ping'an, four battalions holding the defensive positions, and two artillery battalions.

The independent detachment's blocking force consisted of seven infantry battalions plus two artillery battalions.

In terms of troop strength, the Independent Detachment has already overtaken the enemy.

In this situation, it was wishful thinking for the Japanese, who had lost their heavy artillery, to try to break through the Independent Detachment's defenses.

"The First Artillery Company of the Third Artillery Battalion and the Special Operations Brigade must be commended; this is crucial." Chen Ming was very happy, and the smile on his face hadn't stopped since yesterday.

"The destruction of the Japanese's four heavy artillery pieces has an immeasurable impact, and no amount of commendation is too much," the brigade commander said.

It destroyed four of the Japanese heavy artillery pieces, which could save the lives of 2 to 6 soldiers and civilians in the short term, and protect more people in the long term by changing the balance of the battlefield.

Such a significant victory deserves no amount of praise.

At present, completing the headquarters' blocking mission is no longer a problem. Now the question is how to kill as many Japanese soldiers as possible while completing the blocking mission.

Annihilation is impossible. The Japanese still have less than two regiments of troops left. The Independent Detachment can't handle such a large force; forcing them to take it would be like bursting its stomach.

After so many days of fighting, the ammunition of each unit has been severely depleted, and the remaining ammunition is no longer sufficient to support the troops in a decisive battle.

The key issue was that the Japanese also had mountain artillery, which severely limited the effectiveness of the Independent Detachment's artillery units, making it difficult to strike the main force of the Japanese with superior firepower as before.

"Order the troops to launch a tiered attack on the positions, gradually wearing down the Japanese devils' morale, and make those damned Japanese devils suffer and be terrified!"

"Except for the troops holding the blocking positions, all troops, in company units, will carry two mortars and harass the Japanese from the flanks."

Chen Ming made the battle plan.

The situation on the battlefield is constantly changing and not static; commanders need to make adjustments according to the circumstances.

Chen Ming's plan was to avoid a decisive battle with the Japanese, but instead harass them from the flanks to prevent them from focusing all their efforts on attacking the blocking positions.

If they couldn't break through the blocking positions, the Japanese could only continue to be passively attacked.

Chen Ming's deployment was very useful. The Japanese were eager to return to reinforce, but were constrained by the constant attacks on their flanks and were unable to concentrate their forces to break through the Independent Detachment's blocking position.

After a day of fighting, suffering continuous losses, they had advanced less than five kilometers.

At the current rate, it would be impossible to successfully evacuate Shuiquan in less than five days.

Taiyuan Headquarters.

Upon learning that the reinforcements were making slow progress, Yansong became so anxious that his hair turned quite a bit white.

On this day, the northern section of the Tongpu Railway was attacked everywhere.

Guoxian, an important railway city, suffered nearly 700 casualties under the firepower of the Eighth Route Army's mountain artillery regiment, and the entire county was paralyzed.

In order to support the operation on the Tongpu Railway, the Eighth Route Army in other base areas also moved around, constantly tying down the Japanese forces.

If the two regiments and one infantry battalion sent out don't return soon, the entire northern section of the Tongpu Railway will fall under the control of the Eighth Route Army.

6 PM: "Telegram to Tanaka, instructing him to return to Guoxian County by noon tomorrow."

At 2 a.m.: "Telegram to Tanaka again, instructing him to speed up and stop entangled with the Eighth Route Army!"

Nine o'clock in the morning: "Send another telegram to Tanaka, ordering him to speed up the return to the front line. Guoxian County is in an extremely critical situation. Send reinforcements to Guoxian County immediately."

"."

The telegrams from Iwamatsu urging the troops to speed up their march were delivered to Tanaka every few hours.

In just two days, he had received no fewer than ten urging telegrams.

But the headquarters kept sending him telegrams ordering him to speed up.

The field is filled with unspeakable suffering. Who exactly said that the Eighth Route Army was easy to defeat?

Does he not know whether it's easy or difficult to hit?

In just the last two days, the Eighth Route Army has gradually worn down the strength of two regiments and one infantry battalion, leaving them with less than 5,000 men.

Tian Xin felt bitter inside, regretting that he hadn't gotten involved in this mess.

Not only will they not receive any credit, but they will also be held accountable for the excessive losses suffered by the troops when they return.

Although most of the blame can be placed on Yamada, who has already committed seppuku, Tanaka, as the current commander, still bears a considerable responsibility.

There's not much hope for a promotion in the future.

In order to resolve the crisis on the Tongpu Railway, Iwasatsu had no choice but to seek help from the North China Area Army, requesting the headquarters to dispatch the 26th Division from the north as reinforcements.

This was extremely humiliating for Yansong. As the commander of the First Army, he couldn't even protect a railway and had to ask the Army Group for help.

This would make the headquarters question Iwamatsu's abilities, even though his abilities were not good to begin with.

Yansong is historically regarded as skilled in political maneuvering but inept on the battlefield. His tactical flexibility, logistical management, and ability to command respect among his soldiers were all extremely poor!
He was a mediocre general who was corrupted by power struggles. His final fate was to die suddenly of a heart attack on the day Japan surrendered. His tombstone was even vandalized by the masses after his death.

With the Japanese 26th Division heading south to reinforce, the battle, which had lasted for nearly a week, officially came to an end.

The Independent Detachment was also ordered to end its blocking mission and withdraw back to the mountains to avoid being attacked from both sides by the Japanese.

After the battle, Chen Ming began to tally up the spoils of the campaign.

The Independent Detachment, with two main reinforced regiments, successfully captured Ping'an County and Lan County, two important county towns.

They annihilated nearly five battalions of Japanese troops, including one battalion from Ping'an County, two battalions of the first batch of Japanese reinforcements from the Luyang direction, and nearly two battalions from two Japanese regiments and one battalion that were Japanese reinforcements.

The only pity was that the Japanese troops in Lan County had reinforcements sent from Taiyuan, and the main force of the Independent Detachment was focused on the Jingxin Highway, so they didn't have the extra energy to deal with them.

More than 500 Japanese soldiers in Lan County successfully broke through the encirclement, but failed to achieve the goal of annihilation.

However, despite winning such a great victory, the Independent Detachment was not in a good mood.

Two reinforced battalions, totaling ten infantry battalions and two artillery battalions, lost three infantry battalions and two artillery companies.

The casualty ratio reached 1:2, meaning that one soldier from the Independent Detachment could take down two Japanese soldiers.

This was a resounding victory.

In this single battle, the Japanese completely lost control of northwestern Shanxi, suffered heavy troop losses, and were forced to shrink their defensive lines.

The northern section of the Tongpu Railway has also been severely damaged and will lose its ability to transport supplies in the coming months.

The Independent Detachment's outstanding performance in this battle earned them praise from all sides.

Ping'an County.

Chen Ming and the brigade commander stood at the breach created by the Japanese heavy artillery, smiling as they took a meaningful photo together.

"Well done! You're a hero this time. You stand in front," the brigade commander said to Chen Ming with a smile.

"That won't do. The success of this battle is entirely due to the effective command of headquarters and the valiant fighting of all the soldiers. I was just one of them," Chen Ming said modestly.

"Alright, stop being modest, stand still for the photo." The brigade commander said with a smile, taking off his leather jacket and preparing to drape it over Chen Ming's shoulders.

"You've been eyeing my leather jacket for a while now, and this time you've got what you wanted," the brigade commander said.

"Alright, but I'll return the photos to you after I take them. This is a bet we made when the Japanese surrendered. How can I give them back to you now?" Chen Ming said with a smile.

"Hahaha."

Chen Ming put on the brigade commander's leather jacket and stood side by side with the brigade commander to take a series of photos.

In the photo, Chen Ming and the brigade commander stand side by side, with a Type 95 tank destroyed by the Japanese bomb under their feet, a blown-up city wall behind them, and a dense mass of Japanese corpses in the distance, along with smiling Eighth Route Army soldiers.

"If possible, please develop a few more photos," Chen Ming said to Wang Dabiao, who was taking the photos.

"no problem."

Wang Dabiao said happily.

Taking photos of Chen Ming has become one of Da Biao's hobbies.

Every time Chen Ming finished taking photos, Da Biao would print an extra copy for himself, creating a thin photo album.

This photo album contains a collection of important photos, including the battles won by the Independent Detachment, as well as photos of Chen Ming's life and studies.

This is the route the Independent Detachment took. Wang Dabiao treasures this photo album immensely and won't show it to anyone except Chen Ming.

After taking a photo with the brigade commander, Chen Ming called over the commanders of the several units he had led in this battle, as well as the cadres who came to observe, to take a group photo.

The reactions varied; some were shy about appearing in the photos, while others stood tall and proud.

Finally, a flash of white light captured the moment in the photos.

Chen Ming and the brigade commander naturally stood in the center, with the others arranged on either side according to their rank and merit.

Besides Li Yunlong, Li Yunlong is now particularly afraid of the brigade commander.

Just after taking the photos, Li Yunlong tried to slip away, but then he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Li Yunlong, where are you going? Are you so afraid of me?" The brigade commander looked at Li Yunlong with a smile.

Upon hearing the voice, Li Yunlong turned around with a forced smile: "No, no, what are your orders, Brigade Commander?"

"Li Yunlong, congratulations on your fortune!" the brigade commander said with a smile.

Upon hearing the brigade commander's familiar words, Li Yunlong tensed up, and his smile faded.

"What kind of fortune are we going to make? The Independent Regiment has lost everything this time, and now we're so poor we're practically selling our pants."

"Don't play dumb with me. Do you think I don't know how many supplies Luyang has?" the brigade commander said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Li Yunlong's face immediately fell into a worried expression.

Seeing Li Yunlong like this, the brigade commander laughed, a very happy laugh.

"Alright, I know your Independent Regiment had a tough time this time. You can keep the spoils for yourself."

Besides meeting the independent detachment's own needs for weapons and ammunition, Chen Ming handed over most of the spoils to the brigade commander and a portion to the division headquarters.

The brigade commander obtained nearly two thousand guns and a large amount of supplies from the independent detachment, and no longer cared about Li Yunlong's paltry sums.

Upon hearing what the brigade commander said, Li Yunlong, who had been looking sullen, immediately broke into a smile.

"Brigade Commander, thank you so much, thank you so much, Brigade Commander, I'm kneeling before you, Brigade Commander." Li Yunlong, with his dog-like face, was immediately moved to tears.

What a turn of events! This time, the brigade commander only congratulated himself on his fortune and didn't take any spoils, allowing the Independent Regiment to achieve great progress.

For Li Yunlong, who was often lavishly rewarded by his brigade commander, this was nothing short of a windfall!

"Alright, alright, you better lead the Independent Regiment well. If the Independent Regiment falls apart under your command, I won't let you off the hook," the brigade commander said with a smile.

"Yes. Hahahaha!" Li Yunlong laughed heartily.

This scene made everyone else laugh.

After the event, Chen Ming approached the brigade commander to discuss Ding Wei, whom he had his eye on.

"Brigade Commander, Ding Wei did a good job this time. The New First Regiment is currently in Northwest Shanxi, together with the Independent Detachment. In order to facilitate unified command in the future, I would like to transfer the organizational affiliation of the New First Regiment to the Fourth Military Sub-district."

Chen Ming stated his purpose directly: he wanted to recruit Ding Wei and Ding Wei's new regiment.

After the counter-mopping-up operation, the New First Regiment and the Independent Regiment moved to northwestern Shanxi, while the Taiyue Military Region was in southern Shanxi.

To facilitate unified command, and because Chen Ming also valued talent, he wanted to incorporate Ding Wei's new regiment into the Fourth Military Sub-district.

Chen Ming simultaneously led the Independent Detachment and the Fourth Military Sub-district, which was a military sub-district under the Taiyue Military Region.

The transfer of organizational affiliation of the new regiment is considered an internal matter within the military region, not an inter-military region transfer.

Upon hearing Chen Ming's words, the brigade commander's smile froze: "You little rascal, I didn't take these spoils for nothing. You took one of my generals before, and now you're eyeing my new regiment, aren't you?"

"I'm doing this to better coordinate the troops in fighting the Japanese. Besides, this is a matter for our Taiyue Military Region. No matter where Ding Wei goes, Ding Wei and I are both your soldiers, Brigade Commander," Chen Ming said with a smile.

"Haha, if you want to snatch one of my top generals away, that depends on your sincerity," the brigade commander said, squinting his eyes.

"I think your artillery battalion is quite good," the brigade commander added.

"What are you doing, brigade commander? Are you robbing me?!" Chen Ming shook his head repeatedly.

Although I already knew that the brigade commander had designs on my three artillery battalions, I didn't expect him to stop pretending.

"Hey, how can you call this robbery when it's consensual?"

"No, no, that's my most treasured possession, absolutely not." Chen Ming shook his head repeatedly.

The three artillery battalions, the sharpshooter brigade, the special operations brigade, and the two reinforced brigades are the strongest fist of the independent detachment. Chen Ming would be heartbroken and unable to sleep if any of them were lost.

But Chen Ming also wants Ding Wei, this talented leader. What should he do?
"Brigade Commander, how about this? From this spoils, I'll take two infantry guns and twelve mortars, plus the latest batch of trainees from the Fourth Military Sub-district's artillery training class, and give them priority allocation to you to form an artillery battalion."

Chen Ming offered a compromise solution.

"Okay!" the brigade commander agreed with a smile.

This time, Chen Ming was stunned.

Something's not right. Why did the brigade commander agree so easily? Chen Ming had originally planned to try to persuade him a little more, and if that didn't work, he would add more money.

Seeing Chen Ming's stunned expression, the brigade commander burst into laughter.

He never intended to extract the Independent Detachment's treasures from Chen Ming. Making this demand was merely an exorbitant price to wait for Chen Ming to negotiate a different price.

I didn't expect Chen Ming to fall for the trap so easily.

Two infantry guns, plus twelve mortars and trainees from the Fourth Military Sub-district's talent training program, are enough to train a highly effective artillery battalion.

The talent training program in the Fourth Military Sub-district produces highly skilled personnel who are well-regarded in various military units.

The allocation of graduates for each cohort has now been transferred from the four regional offices to the headquarters, where it is now handled by the headquarters.

However, since it was Chen Ming who established the school and invested resources to cultivate these talents, Chen Ming also has the right to make suggestions and some decision-making power.

The brigade commander had been eyeing the talents trained by the Fourth Military Sub-district's talent training program for a long time, but he never expected to be able to recruit the entire artillery squad, which was held every three months!

Watching Chen Ming's performance, the brigade commander continued, "Although I personally agree, you also need to see if Ding Wei is willing."

Hearing the brigade commander's words, Chen Ming nodded and stopped wondering why the brigade commander had agreed so quickly: "Well, I'll go talk to Ding Wei later and ask for his opinion."

Neither of them mentioned Li Yunlong's Independent Regiment, which was also in northwestern Shanxi.

This time, Li Yunlong was disciplined on the battlefield by Chen Ming and was directly suspended from his post.

Chen Ming was strict in managing military discipline, and Li Yunlong's temperament, which caused minor trouble every three days and major trouble every five days, was not suitable for the atmosphere of the Independent Detachment.

After parting ways with the brigade commander, Chen Ming called Ding Wei over.

"Ding Wei, what do you think of the Independent Detachment?"

P.S.: It's over. This battle took too long to write, almost half a month!
(End of this chapter)