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

Chapter 155: Planning for Datong, Two Aircraft Seized!
Ding Wei deployed two battalions of troops in Hunyuan County, which, according to the organizational structure of the Independent Detachment's reinforced battalion, consisted of more than 1,600 soldiers.

The 110th Regiment of the 110th Division of the Japanese army was actually quite famous in the later history of our army.

However, it wasn't because they played too well, but because they played too poorly!
During the May 1st Great Sweep, the Japanese launched the "May 1st Great Sweep" and the Iron Wall Encirclement in central Hebei in order to eliminate the anti-Japanese forces in North China.

The Eighth Route Army's guard brigade encountered the main force of the Japanese army during its transfer and held its ground in Beiyangbao Village, awaiting reinforcements.

The guard brigade, with more than 500 combat personnel, fought against a regiment of the Japanese 110th Division and a puppet army of about 5,000 men, who had built positions at Beiyangbao.

In this battle, the Japanese troops were ambushed on the first day of their attack. The Eighth Route Army relied on houses and earthen walls to form a crossfire network, inflicting heavy losses on the enemy and killing more than 600 enemy soldiers on the first day.

The Japanese army subsequently launched a sustained offensive using a combination of artillery bombardment and infantry assaults, all of which were repelled by the Eighth Route Army relying on its fortifications.

Unable to break through the Japanese defenses, the Eighth Route Army soldiers resorted to poison gas. They used cotton cloth soaked in garlic juice to protect themselves from the gas. The flamethrowers exploded due to corrosion, rendering the Japanese tactics ineffective.

After a day of fighting, a sudden storm broke out at night. Taking advantage of the enemy's confusion, the Eighth Route Army, carrying the wounded and villagers, successfully broke through the encirclement. By dawn the next day, when the main Japanese force stormed in, only an empty village remained.

The battle resulted in approximately 600-630 casualties per day, with the Japanese army suffering a total loss of up to 1,000 men. Armored vehicles and weapons were severely damaged.

Our army suffered only 20 dead and about 70 wounded, successfully preserving its manpower and party and government organs.

The casualty ratio alone reached an astonishing 1:30 or more.

Such an exaggerated victory is hard for many to believe, as they feel it shouldn't be something the Eighth Route Army could achieve at that time.

In fact, the high casualty ratio was achieved for two reasons: first, Beiyangbao Village was easily defensible; second, a large amount of ammunition had been captured beforehand, ensuring an "endurance supply." The suppressive force of machine guns and grenades was highly effective.

Third, the brigade's platoon-level officers were mostly veterans of the Red Army with extremely rich combat experience. Fourth, the Japanese underestimated the enemy and mistakenly thought that this unit was a guerrilla force.

But no matter how you look at it, you can see the combat effectiveness of the Japanese 110th Division.

The Japanese assessment of the 110th Division was that it had "no significant victories" and "weak combat effectiveness and low morale."

This division was also the only Japanese division to be downgraded due to poor combat performance, becoming a Class D division in 44.

Even the death of Abe, the "flower of Japanese generals," was closely related to the 110th Division.

Before his death, Abe left three wills, two of which were: if he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, hang it on his grave on the anniversary of his death; and his family should continue to serve the Locust King.

The most important point was the accusation against the commander of the 110th Division, to which he instructed his family:

I must join my good friend in filing a lawsuit against Sangmu Chongming, the commander of the 110th Division. It was he who, when I was besieged at Huangtuling, sent several urgent reports but still refused to come to my aid, deliberately delaying the rescue, which caused me to fight bitterly for several hours before finally encountering danger.

It can be said that the 1,600-strong force of the two battalions of the Independent First Battalion, with the county town as a defensive fortification, was more than capable of holding off this regiment and more than 3,000 puppet troops.

Sure enough, the 110th Division's poor combat resilience became apparent just hours after the battle began.

Faced with the powerful crossfire of the Independent 1st Battalion's defending forces, the 110th Regiment of the 110th Division lost more than 500 corpses in just a few hours, and its fierce offensive came to a halt.

The Japanese began to resist attacking the county town and started sending puppet troops as the main force to launch the attack.

The puppet troops were unwilling to go to their deaths at the hands of the Japanese, but they had no choice. If they didn't go, the entire regiment of Japanese soldiers behind them would not let them go.

As a result, the puppet troops could only launch a hesitant attack on the county town. After a day of fighting, they had not even captured the front lines of Hunyuan County, and more than 300 people had died.

While Hunyuan County was fighting a defensive battle, He Jianxin's troops, who were besieging Ying County, were not idle.

Now they have to race against time with the Japanese and capture Ying County before the Japanese reinforcements arrive.

The Japanese troops in Ying County numbered only about 500, and even with the puppet troops, the total defensive force was only about 1,500.

Facing the elite He Jianxin unit of the Independent Detachment, a reinforced battalion of over 6,000 men, this small number of Japanese soldiers was simply no match for them.

In order to capture Ying County as quickly as possible, He Jianxin deployed three battalions plus the directly subordinate troops of the brigade, totaling about 3,700 men, to launch a fierce attack on Ying County.

The remaining troops were deployed in the Huai Ren area to sabotage Japanese strongholds and facilities, thus drawing the Japanese attention.

The other part was responsible for blocking a Japanese regiment coming to reinforce from the direction of Datong.

The Japanese troops in Ying County were overwhelmed by the attack of more than 3,700 men.

Even though the Japanese soldiers were deeply brainwashed by the Bushido spirit, they were not lacking in the courage to die.

But what good is fearless courage when facing bullets and shells? Can courage allow the Japanese to withstand two more shells or a few more bullets?
Aside from leaving the Japanese soldiers who charged into battle with their lives riddled with holes, this courage served no other purpose.

Two hours after the battle began, He Jianxin's reinforced First Battalion entered Ying County and began clearing out the Japanese soldiers who wanted to continue their stubborn resistance through street fighting.

As for the puppet troops, they quickly laid down their weapons and surrendered after the First Battalion entered the city.

After capturing the county town, He Jianxin immediately ordered his troops to quickly transport all the supplies in the county town away, and then withdraw from the county town to transfer the troops.

The battle report was also sent to Chen Ming's command post.

Inside the command post, Chen Ming looked at the battle reports sent by several units, a happy smile on his face.

"Well done, you've made our Independent Detachment famous. Ding Wei, in particular, captured four county towns in just a few days. In the Battle of Hunyuan, we successfully annihilated more than 900 Japanese and puppet troops at the cost of 32 lives and 76 wounded."

Chen Ming's mission for Ding Wei was to enable Ding Wei to achieve merit and establish his prestige.

Otherwise, if a parachuted battalion commander were to become the commander of the main reinforced battalion as soon as he arrived at the Fourth Division, even if Ding Wei was already a regimental commander with sufficient qualifications and abilities, there would still be some people in the Independent Detachment who would be dissatisfied.

Even if they don't say it, they'll have other thoughts in their minds.

Speaking of combat achievements, which battalion commander in the Independent Detachment didn't have a distinguished record of battles?

Why did Ding Wei become the captain of the reinforced brigade right from the start?

Now, after Ding Wei captured four county towns in succession, he also held off nearly 7,000 Japanese and puppet troops in Hunyuan County with a force of 1,600 men for an entire day.

This blocked the Japanese reinforcements in Hunyuan and dealt a heavy blow to them with an exaggerated casualty ratio.

The military admires the strong, and since Ding Wei is such a capable fighter, none of the other officers dared to disobey him.

Inside the command post, Wang Dafei, the chief of staff of the independent detachment, looked at the battle report sent by Ding Wei's unit, and after seeing the comparison of the casualties of both sides, he asked his question.

"The First Independent Battalion fought a brilliant battle, killing more than 900 enemies with fewer than 100 casualties. However, judging from the First Independent Battalion's deployment in Hunyuan County, this casualty ratio is not quite normal."

The independent detachment fought many positional and defensive battles against the Japanese, gaining a clear understanding of the combat capabilities of the Japanese Class B divisions.

Take the previous Battle of Ping'an County as an example; the enemy they faced was the Japanese Class B Division.

If we don't count the losses caused by heavy artillery, the casualty ratio is not as exaggerated as that of the Independent 1st Battalion.

Moreover, the defense of Ping'an County was personally commanded by Chen Ming, and the city's defenses were even stronger than those of Hunyuan County.

None of them achieved such an exaggerated casualty ratio as the 1st Independent Battalion.

Wang Dafei questioned the combat effectiveness of this infantry regiment of the Japanese Class B division.

You can't say Chen Ming is inferior to Ding Wei, can you?
Chen Ming is now a famous general, known as "Chen the Ten Thousand". The Japanese call him "Tiger of North China", which is enough to highlight that Chen Ming is a major thorn in the side of the Japanese, like a fierce tiger lying next to their pillow, ready to devour them.

Even if you beat Wang Dafei to death, he would never believe that Chen Ming is inferior to Ding Wei.

If Ding Wei were really that good at fighting, how could he have been a regimental commander before being incorporated into the Independent Detachment?

Since it's not a matter of ability, there's only one possibility—this Japanese regiment has a problem with its combat effectiveness.

Hearing Wang Dafei's question, Chen Ming also focused his attention on the situation of the Hunyuan Defense Battle.

Looking at the details in Ding Wei's report, Chen Ming began to think and recall.

It took me a while to realize that this was the Japanese 110th Division, which had killed Abe and achieved a disgraceful record at Beiyang Fort, ultimately being downgraded to a D-class division in 44.
After thinking it through, Chen Ming made up his mind.

"This is a regiment of the Japanese 110th Division. Although it is a Class B division, its combat effectiveness and resilience are among the worst of the Japanese Class B divisions," Chen Ming said.

"So that's how it is," Wang Dafei said.

"It seems that old devil Okamura is out of troops; he's even sent the 110th Division as reinforcements," Chen Ming said with a smile.

The North China Expeditionary Army, with a total strength of over 100,000 men, was already stretched thin trying to defend such a large territory.

Meanwhile, the Japanese headquarters was also preparing to transfer a large number of aircraft and some elite troops from the North China Expeditionary Army to the Pacific theater.

The order has been issued; it's a no-holds-barred order, and Okamura must carry it out.

The troops that had been transferred were already secretly preparing and could not be deployed to battle at this time. Therefore, the North China Expeditionary Army actually did not have enough mobile forces.

To mobilize a large number of troops, several months of advance preparation are required.

At present, the only troops that the North China Expeditionary Army can draw from Hebei are this 110th Regiment.

Everyone in the command post laughed when they heard what Chen Ming said.

"The Japanese are already showing signs of fatigue, and the scales of victory are tipping in our favor. As long as we continue to hold on, I believe the Japanese will be finished soon," Political Commissar Zhang Zhengze said.

“The political commissar is right. You don’t know, but yesterday I ate a can of Japanese canned food that we captured. The Japanese canned food doesn’t taste as good as it used to, which means that the Japanese logistics are slowly getting strained,” Wang Dafei said.

It must be said that Wang Dafei has grown tremendously.

The changes in the quality of Japanese canned beef now indicate that the Japanese are showing signs of fatigue.

Although it was only a minor change, the quality of the Japanese canned beef did not drop too much, and you could still eat beef.

However, no change happens overnight, and the decline in quality is a fact that requires a process.

Forty-four years later, the beef in the Japanese canned beef would have completely disappeared, replaced by cow blood and mixed grains, which the Japanese soldiers called "pig swill." Our army was also greatly disappointed when they captured it, and after trying it, they "spit it out immediately."

“That’s right. As long as we get through this year, it will be time for our great counterattack,” Chen Ming said.

Nothing is more joyful than seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Chen Ming knew the exact time of the Japanese surrender, and that the Japanese would surrender in a little over three and a half years.

However, the war of resistance against Japan remained extremely difficult on the domestic battlefield. Many Nationalist troops, unable to find hope in the face of the protracted and arduous war, surrendered directly to the Japanese and became puppet troops.

The number of puppet troops in North China has exceeded 300,000.

Now that the dawn has broken, Chen Ming believes that the performance of the Independent Detachment will let the Chinese people know that the Japanese are beginning to weaken, and as long as we continue to fight, victory will eventually belong to us.

“Since the troops coming from Hunyuan County are a regiment of the Japanese 110th Division, I think our battle plan should be adjusted,” Chen Ming said.

Chen Ming's original battle plan was to use Hunyuan and Yingxian to block two large Japanese regiments and puppet troops in southern Shanxi and northern Hebei, while the independent detachment would concentrate its main force to first eliminate the Japanese regiment from the direction of Datong in the Huai'ren area.

That would damage the mineral resources in Huai'ren area and the surrounding areas of Datong, further exacerbating the already scarce resource production of the Japanese.

Perhaps after annihilating the Japanese regiment, we can take advantage of the weakened Japanese forces and launch a probe attack on Datong.

If Datong could be captured, it would be a heavy blow to the Japanese.

However, now that the enemy force heading towards Hunyuan is the 110th Regiment of the Japanese 110th Division, they are easy targets for the Independent Detachment.

Chen Ming changed his mind and decided to eliminate this group of Japanese soldiers first, and then see how the Japanese would handle the situation.

After we've wiped out the Japanese 110th Regiment, if this regiment from the Datong direction dares to come again, we can wipe them out then.

However, in Chen Ming's plan, as long as the Independent Detachment wiped out the Japanese 110th Regiment, the regiment in Datong would be afraid of following in the footsteps of the 110th Regiment and would also be afraid of losing Datong, so it would certainly not dare to come to support them again.

The Japanese's plan to encircle the Independent Detachment and annihilate its main force in one fell swoop will fail.

The independent detachment could also take advantage of the situation to capture the Huai Ren area, and thus disrupt the Japanese coal mining operations.

After Chen Ming shared his ideas in the command room, everyone agreed.

“That’s right. Once we wipe out this regiment from northern Hebei, the Japanese will only have two regiments left, plus some puppet troops. If they dare to come again, our Independent Detachment will be able to feast to its heart’s content,” said Chief of Staff Wang Dafei.

“I also support it. If we fight the 26th Division’s regiment, we can win, but the casualties will definitely be high.”

“I’m not afraid of sacrifice, I just feel that it would be better if strategic objectives could be achieved at a lower cost.”

"By destroying the 110th Division, our detachment's initial strategic objective—to raid northern Shanxi and disrupt the Japanese mining operations—will have been achieved," the political commissar said.

The other officers in the command center also shared their opinions.

“Alright, now that we’ve decided to fight, let’s think about how to fight,” Chen Ming said.

Even if a regiment of a Class B division, along with more than 3,000 puppet troops, is the weakest in a Class B division, it is not so easy to wipe out in one bite.

After all, there are more than 6,000 enemies. To completely wipe them out, we need to make careful plans.

The Japanese don't admit that the Independent Detachment has ever annihilated their regimental-level or higher units in an organized manner.

In the battle against the Independent Mixed 4th Brigade, because the Japanese had other logistics units in addition to their main fighting forces, only their main force was annihilated, not their entire unit was wiped out.

This time, Chen Ming was going to show the Japanese whether the Independent Detachment could actually annihilate their regiment as a whole.

After some discussion, Chen Ming finally finalized the revised battle plan.

He decided to mobilize Ding Wei's and He Jianxin's troops, a total of seven battalions, about 7,500 men, to encircle and annihilate this regiment of Japanese soldiers in Hunyuan County.

The remaining troops were responsible for blocking the enemy, while local armed forces and other brother units that cooperated with the independent detachment were responsible for pretending to be the main force of the independent detachment.

To prevent the Japanese from finding out and letting the 110th Regiment and the puppet troops escape.

After the combat orders were issued to all units, the Independent Detachment launched a new offensive.

Meanwhile, the troops responsible for taking down Daixian Airport arrived five kilometers away from the airport.

The troops involved in the raid on the airport included the Special Operations Brigade led by Zhou Weiguo, the Sharpshooter Brigade led by Li Yong, and the machine gun battalion directly under the Independent Detachment.

And the Third Battalion of Li Yousheng's Independent Detachment.

The Japanese had only about 300 men responsible for the defense of the airport in Daixian County; the sharpshooter squadron and the special operations squadron could complete the mission on their own.

Chen Ming transferred the Third Battalion and the detachment's direct machine gun battalion here because he had designs on Daixian County and wanted to lure the Japanese troops there to provide support while attacking the airport.

At that time, the Third Battalion of the Independent Detachment will be able to ambush the Japanese reinforcements and take Daixian County in the process.

Combat missions like attacking county towns require the use of main force troops, while the role of special operations battalions and sharpshooter battalions is more about infiltration operations.

Chen Ming wasn't so insane as to think he could let special forces fight the Japanese regular army.

"I reiterate, this mission is very important. Everyone must report any situation. We must act in squads. Anyone who acts without authorization will be treated as a deserter and shot on the spot."

Li Yousheng reiterated battlefield discipline to the soldiers of the Third Battalion.

A significant portion of the Third Battalion consisted of members who had joined after surrendering or revolting as members of the puppet army. Despite the long period of fighting, the soldiers' style had changed.

But it's hard to guarantee that nothing unexpected won't happen; after all, you can't judge a book by its cover.

It's never too bad to be afraid of something going wrong, but it's always better to be safe than sorry.

Under the cover of darkness, the soldiers of the Third Battalion constructed a blocking position between Daixian Airport and Daixian County.

Once the battle begins in the direction of the airport, the Japanese reinforcements from Daixian will arrive, catching them off guard.

Meanwhile, Zhou Weiguo led his special operations team, dressed in puppet army uniforms, and began to infiltrate the Japanese airfield.

During the day, Li Yousheng coordinated with a guerrilla force of about twenty men from Daixian County to attack a squad of puppet troops patrolling outside the airport. They killed three puppet soldiers, captured two prisoners, and then let the remaining puppet soldiers escape.

This guerrilla force was frequently active in this area and had dealt with the puppet troops many times.

Therefore, the escaped puppet troops did not have much suspicion about the attack, but they felt that the guerrillas had become much stronger, with the number of guns increasing from less than ten to sixteen.

The puppet troops cursed the puppet troops in their hearts, saying that the guerrillas had captured their weapons, which led to the fact that now that this guerrilla force had more weapons, they dared to attack them outside the airport.

Through the two prisoners captured, Zhou Weiguo learned about the general defense layout of the airport, with only the core areas such as the airport control tower, oil depot, and hangar remaining unknown.

But this is enough.

With the help of intelligence provided by the puppet troops, Zhou Weiguo led his special forces team to successfully infiltrate the airport and began to quietly eliminate the puppet troops on the perimeter.

Wearing the uniforms of the puppet army, and with their faces obscured at night, the special operations team moved with ease around the airport perimeter.

They directly captured the puppet army battalion commander responsible for patrolling the area inside the airport, and learned about the situation in other parts of the airport from him.

"Go back and tell the machine gun battalion about the airport's defenses, and have them use artillery to destroy the Japanese's core airport facilities," Zhou Weiguo said.

"Yes."

Once the machine gun battalion obtained the specific deployment of the airfield, they immediately began to adjust the firing parameters.

The hour hand ticked away, and the moment it pointed to the predetermined time, it ticked away.

"fire!"

A flag bearer roared, and the red flag in his hand suddenly fell to the ground.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

All four cannons fired simultaneously, heading towards the Japanese barracks.

"Bounce, bounce, bounce!"

The shells exploded, and in an instant, many Japanese soldiers who were still asleep were killed.

"Quickly, continue!"

Shells were fired one after another, giving the Japanese no time to react.

The shelling stopped only when the barrel overheated and continuing to fire risked a barrel explosion.

Now it was time for the special operations brigade and the sharpshooter brigade to make their appearance.

"The First Company will attack from the left flank and eliminate the Japanese soldiers at the oil depot. The Second Company will attack from the right flank and join the comrades of the sniper battalion to take out the Japanese hangars."

"The rest of you, come with me to the Japanese barracks and wipe out the remaining Japanese soldiers."

Zhou Weiguo quickly issued the order.

Following intelligence provided by the puppet army battalion commander, the Japanese suffered heavy losses in this round of shelling.

Under the precision of the sharpshooter squad, who eliminated an enemy with every bullet, they were quickly overwhelmed and could only hide behind the airport fortifications, unable to put up any resistance.

Because if anyone dares to peek out and resist, they will be met with a hot bullet through the firing port.

Blindly firing without considering the situation is also not advisable. Without a line of sight, it's difficult to hit the enemy, and they might sneak up and blow up your fortifications with grenades or explosives.

The battle lasted only fifteen minutes.

Even after the Japanese major in charge of airport defense was killed by the special forces soldiers who rushed in, he still couldn't understand it.

Why was a defensive force of over 300 men defeated by the Eighth Route Army in just over ten minutes?

What kind of unit is this that is so powerful?

It can be said that the combination of special operations battalion and sharpshooter battalion was a devastating blow to the Japanese in small-scale raids.

The battle had just ended when the captain of the second company of the special operations brigade ran over excitedly.

"Reporting, Captain! We've captured two Japanese planes!"

P.S.: Why isn't anyone voting for me with monthly tickets? It's almost the end of the month, please give me a few!

(End of this chapter)