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

Chapter 193 200 vs. 800, the advantage is mine!
Yanggao County, northeast of Datong.

This is a railway city along the Ping-Sui Railway, garrisoned by more than 200 Japanese soldiers and more than 600 puppet troops.

At this moment, all the Japanese and puppet troops in Yanggao County were on high alert, keeping a close eye on the distant southwest direction.

They received a telegram from the dispatching army that the main force of the Eighth Route Army's Independent Detachment was heading towards Yanggao County.

The estimated number of participants is over 10,000.

The dispatched army ordered the Japanese and puppet troops in Yanggao County to hold their positions for more than twelve hours and prevent the main force of the Independent Detachment from continuing to Wucheng.

If they can hold out for more than twelve hours, the dispatched army will have enough time to intercept the main force of the independent detachment before reaching Wucheng.

However, this task is extremely difficult, practically hellish.

Even Datong, a fortress with a garrison of 10,000 men and powerful cannons, fell within eight hours to the Independent Detachment's fortifications.

How could their small county town, garrisoned by only a few hundred people, possibly withstand an attack by an army of over ten thousand?

Let alone twelve hours, even if it were six hours, the Japanese and puppet troops in the city would have no confidence whatsoever.

The Japanese were somewhat better; they were brainwashed by the Bushido spirit and never lacked the courage to die.

But the puppet troops had already fallen into disarray.

"Brother, what do we do? Are we really going to die with the Japanese commander?" a close confidant of the puppet army commander asked the puppet army commander.

"Still calling them 'Taijun'? Those damn Japanese devils have sent us to our deaths! I'll never forgive them!" the puppet army commander said angrily.

"Keep your voice down, or we'll be in big trouble if the Japanese find out."

The puppet army commander's confidant crouched down and looked around. Seeing that no Japanese soldiers were paying attention to them, he whispered a reminder.

"What's there to be afraid of? The Japanese are already sending us to our deaths anyway, so why can't we complain a little?" the puppet regiment commander said nonchalantly.

"Brother, why don't we run away? I haven't married yet, I don't want to die," said the confidant of the fake legion commander.

"Where do you think you're going? The Japanese are monitoring us so closely these days, it's obvious they're worried we'll run away."

"As soon as we make a move, the Japanese machine guns will kill us all."

"We're caught between a rock and a hard place; going either way means certain death."

The fake legion commander sighed, his expression ashen.

The puppet army commander did consider running away or surrendering, but the Japanese received the news before they did.

Before he could react, the Japanese soldiers held guns to the city wall and ordered him to defend the city.

Anyone who dares to retreat will be shot immediately.

To the Japanese, the puppet troops were less valuable than dogs; once a batch died, another batch was recruited. They were even less valuable than the dogs the Japanese kept.

While the puppet troops were sighing and complaining, Chen Ming's vanguard had already arrived in Yanggao County.

This was a cavalry unit of over two hundred men, but it was not a cavalry battalion. Instead, it was an advance force composed of scouts, guerrilla artillerymen, sharpshooters, and engineers.

They were responsible for reconnaissance and exploration, to gather information for the army's subsequent march.

Reconnaissance units are essential on the battlefield; otherwise, if the main force were to crash into the enemy's encirclement or get lost, the consequences would be extremely serious.
The commander of the advance team was a company commander from the reconnaissance company, an experienced veteran.

"Yanggao is just ahead, the only way for us to attack Wucheng. Once we pass Yanggao and then Huai'an, we won't be far from Wucheng," the company commander said.

A scout was observing Yanggao County through binoculars.

"I don't think there are many Japanese soldiers in the county town. It's mostly puppet troops guarding the city, with only a few Japanese soldiers here and there," the scout said.

Upon hearing this, the company commander took the binoculars, looked at them, and said:
"The Japanese devils are using the puppet troops as bullets; the Japanese have even sneaked up behind them."

"However, judging from the ratio of Japanese and puppet troops on the city wall, there should only be one company of Japanese soldiers inside the county town," the company commander judged based on his experience and the battlefield situation.

"Is it reliable?" the artillery squad leader asked doubtfully.

"You need to learn the ropes here. I can become the company commander of the reconnaissance company and the eyes of the army. How could I do that without some skills?" the company commander said with a smile.

"Under normal circumstances, the number of Japanese soldiers can be judged based on the importance and size of the county town."

“In counties surrounding our base areas, where we often waged guerrilla warfare, the Japanese troops usually consisted of only a small squad.”

“In ordinary county towns, there is usually only one company, while in large county towns or strategic county towns, the number of Japanese soldiers will reach three hundred to a battalion.”

"Yanggao County, which is in front of us, is a railway city, but the Japanese troops stationed in Mongolia have suffered heavy losses and do not have enough troops to relax."

"In addition, two more battalions were transferred out during the previous southward sweep of the Jizhong base area, making our troop strength even more scarce."

"Therefore, the number of Japanese soldiers in Yanggao County must not exceed three hundred."

The reconnaissance company commander explained the basis of his judgment.

"Won't the Japanese send reinforcements and then use puppet troops to confuse us?" the artillery squad leader asked.

"No, although Yanggao County is the first line of defense for Wucheng, its flat terrain makes it difficult to defend and easy for our army to capture."

"Even if the Japanese reinforce their troops, they will reinforce Huai'an and use Huai'an's terrain, which is surrounded by mountains on three sides and a river on one side, to hold us back."

"At the same time, the Japanese will use Huai'an as a key defensive line, which will lure us deeper into the territory. Then they will use the troops in Suiyuan to cut off our army's rear."

"Of course, none of these are the most crucial factors. The most crucial factor is that we attacked too quickly. We captured Datong in eight hours, and the Japanese simply didn't have that much time to reinforce their troops."

The reconnaissance company commander spoke up.

"I see. So the Japanese troops in the county town are few now. What should we do? Should we fire a few shots?" the artillery squad leader suggested.

"Of course we have to try, otherwise why would I say all this?" the reconnaissance company commander said with a smile.

"Our mission, as assigned by the commander, is to scout out the enemy situation ahead and at the same time create a disturbance so that the Japanese know we are attacking towards Wucheng."

"Nothing can cause as much of a stir as attacking a county town."

The artillery squad leader's eyes lit up when he heard that!
"Great! I've been wanting to fire a shot for ages. I've been so pent up riding this horse all this time."

The reconnaissance company commander chuckled and asked the artillery squad leader, "So, let's see how you perform later. Are your skills still up to par?"

"Don't worry, if I can get into the reconnaissance unit, my skills will be absolutely top-notch!" the artillery squad leader assured him.

The reconnaissance battalion of the independent detachment is the most elite unit besides the sharpshooter battalion and the special operations battalion, and each soldier is selected from the best of the best.

The advance force was mainly composed of a company from the reconnaissance battalion, with elite soldiers drawn from other units.

Each of them possesses military skills worthy of being called a top soldier.

After making the decision, the advance troops stopped behind a small earthen slope in the northwest of Yanggao County.

Two artillerymen, led by their platoon leader, began to set up their mortars and aim them at the Japanese soldiers on the town walls.

They carried a total of three mortars as medium-range support weapons.

The shells used were captured shells, which were more accurate than those produced by the arsenal.

In the hands of three elite artillerymen, three mortars could even be used as snipers!
"Are you ready?"

"Ready."

"Alright, there's only one target—the Japanese! Once we kill the Japanese, the puppet troops will collapse on their own," the artillery squad leader said.

"Bang bang bang!"

Three mortar shells were fired from the barrel, targeting the Japanese soldiers 500 meters away.

"Bang bang bang!"

The shells exploded, and three streaks of fire instantly erupted from the Japanese soldiers' posts on the city wall.

Of the six Japanese soldiers on the southwest city wall, five died instantly!

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

"The Eighth Route Army is here! The Eighth Route Army is here!"

Yanggao County immediately descended into chaos, and the Japanese soldiers blew their whistles, instantly entering combat readiness.

The puppet troops on the southwest city wall were completely terrified.

"Brother, am I seeing things? The Eighth Route Army fired three shells, and they all hit the Japanese!" The puppet army commander's confidant asked in disbelief.

The fake regimental commander frowned, his expression grave.

"You read that right, five of the six Japanese soldiers were gone in an instant. The Eighth Route Army's shells seemed to have eyes, hitting exactly where they were pointed."

"If they had been aiming at us, we would be the ones who are dead."

"However, judging from the targets of the Eighth Route Army's artillery fire, their target should be the Japanese, not us."

"Otherwise, it would have been our brothers who just died."

After hearing the puppet army commander's words, the confidant asked in a panic, "Then what do we do? The Eighth Route Army is so powerful, if we go against them, we're sure to die!"

"We can only take it one step at a time now," the fake legion commander said.

Temporary artillery position.

The artillery squad leader smiled when he saw that all three of his squad's cannons had hit their targets.

"Well played, you didn't embarrass me."

The reconnaissance company commander, through his binoculars, noticed that all the puppet troops on the city wall had huddled up and gave the order.

"Slowly move forward, find cover and avoid being caught by the Japanese machine guns. The artillery team will provide cover and be ready to take out the Japanese machine guns at any time."

"The sharpshooter team moved forward to find favorable firing positions, specifically to snipe the Japanese soldiers."

"The grenade launcher teams will provide cover for the engineer teams during the attack." "The engineer teams will prepare for demolition."

The reconnaissance company commander quickly made his deployment.

Since the goal is to attack the county seat, simply firing a few shots won't suffice; we need to project an offensive posture.

With the order given, the soldiers began to advance rapidly towards the county town.

"Brother, Eighth Route Army! I see the Eighth Route Army! Should we attack?" shouted a close confidant of the puppet army commander.

"Snapped!"

The puppet army commander slapped him on the head: "Fight my ass! If we kill any Eighth Route Army soldiers, do you think they'll let us off the hook?"

"Then the shells won't be falling on the Japanese, but on our heads."

"Listen to me, tell the brothers to fire their guns into the air, but don't kill any Eighth Route Army soldiers."

The puppet army commander's confidant thought it made a lot of sense.

They fired their guns into the air, not caring whether they hit anyone or not, but at least they could make the Japanese soldiers think they were fighting fiercely, so as not to offend them.

But without killing any Eighth Route Army soldiers, they also avoid offending the Eighth Route Army.

This way, no one will be offended.

Whether or not the Eighth Route Army actually attacks the city, they can maneuver around it.

If the Eighth Route Army really attacked the city, they would surrender after the city fell. If it was just a fake attack, they could still gain credit from the Japanese for driving back the Eighth Route Army.

Under the command of the puppet army commander, the puppet soldiers began firing indiscriminately, making a great show of force, but not a single bullet hit the soldiers near the county town.

The fact that the puppet troops were working so "hard" finally gave the Japanese major in the county town some comfort.

"Yosh, even these cowardly puppet troops are working so hard. It seems that only machine guns can make these scoundrels brave."

"But these Eighth Route Army soldiers are too despicable; they only target my troops."

Since the vanguard launched its attack, more than 30 of the 200 Japanese soldiers in the county town have died.

Basically, anyone who went up to the city wall would be killed by the vanguard's mortars, grenade launchers, and sniper bullets.

The machine gun positions could not be established at all, which made it impossible for them to stop the advance of the independent detachment's vanguard.

Fortunately, the city wall of Yanggao County is 11.7 meters high, so the Eighth Route Army, mainly composed of cavalry, could not get through, and the county town was not in any danger.

If they can hold out for a few more hours, reinforcements from Tianzhen County, more than 20 kilometers away, will be able to reach Yanggao.

With reinforcements from Tianzhen County, they will be able to hold out for longer, and perhaps even complete the 12-hour mission.

However, the Japanese major was celebrating too soon.

After discovering that the puppet troops were firing randomly, the attacking soldiers became bolder and advanced even faster.

Meanwhile, the artillery, grenade launcher soldiers, and sharpshooters of the vanguard all shifted their targets to the Japanese.

The Japanese soldiers couldn't hold their ground on the city wall at all; they would be killed as soon as they came up.

As casualties mounted, the Japanese major could no longer sit idly by.

"Baka! We can't let our soldiers die in vain like this anymore. If we don't have enough troops, the puppet army won't be able to be suppressed, and then we'll fall into chaos ourselves."

The Japanese major knew that the puppet troops were fighting so "risky" because they were being held back by machine guns from behind.

If our own forces decrease and we can no longer suppress the puppet troops, then these puppet troops will definitely betray us just like they betrayed the 110th Regiment back then.

At that point, the task of defending the county town would become a pipe dream.

Therefore, the Japanese major ordered his soldiers to stop climbing the city wall and instead supervise the puppet troops guarding the city from behind the wall.

Use puppet troops to deplete the Eighth Route Army's manpower and ammunition.

However, the Japanese major's decision directly hastened his demise.

Without the Japanese soldiers observing from the city wall, the puppet troops fought even more fiercely, advancing faster and faster until they reached the foot of the city wall.

"Sappers, prepare to blow up the city wall!" a platoon leader shouted.

"Yes."

The engineers immediately placed explosives, preparing to blow up the city wall.

"Brother, the Eighth Route Army is going to blow up the city wall, what should we do?"

"What do we do? Run! They're blowing up the city wall right under our feet! If we don't run, we'll be blown to bits!" The puppet army commander grabbed his confidant and took off running.

The puppet troops next to them also ran away.

The area above where the engineering team blasted the city wall was cleared out.

"Baga, what's going on?"

The Japanese major looked at the puppet troops on the city wall who suddenly dispersed from one position, somewhat puzzled.

"Go up and check it out right now!"

He immediately ordered several soldiers around him to go up and check, and he himself came down to the city wall, ready to get a report from his soldiers as soon as possible.

"Prepare to retreat!"

After the engineers placed the explosives, they lit the fuse and immediately ran to the rear.

Because of the need to save time, this blasting did not use a detonator, but instead used the most traditional method.

The fuse was burning rapidly, and at that moment, four Japanese soldiers arrived at the empty city wall.

When they looked down, the four Japanese soldiers were terrified.

A huge explosive charge had been lit, and the fuse was almost completely burned out; it was about to explode!
"Escape! Explosives! (Run quickly, there are explosives!)"

The Japanese soldiers screamed in terror.

"What?" The Japanese major looked up at the four soldiers.

"boom!"

A huge explosion rang out, and four Japanese soldiers, including a Japanese major, along with a section of the city wall, were all blown to pieces.

Not far away, the reconnaissance company commander saw that the city wall had actually been blown open by them, and realized that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"Comrades, our chance to make a name for ourselves has arrived! If we take the Japanese county town, the commander will personally celebrate our victory! Charge!"

The company commander's eyes burned with the desire to achieve great merit!
Upon hearing this, the other soldiers also looked intently at the county town that had been blown apart not far away, as if it were not a county town, but a collection of medals!

If we could take down a county town garrisoned by 200 Japanese soldiers and 600 puppet troops with only 200 men, it would be a great achievement.

This is a classic example of a siege where a smaller force defeated a larger one, defying conventional wisdom, and worthy of being included in military textbooks.

At the very least, they should receive a collective first-class merit award and be commended throughout the entire army!

Their unit will also be able to receive honorary titles, and the reconnaissance company commander, as the leader, may even have the opportunity to receive the title of combat hero.

The soldiers were in high spirits and their fighting spirit soared at the thought of receiving so many honors!
"Come on!"

"Da da di—da da di—du ——————!"

As the bugle sounded, the soldiers charged towards the Japanese county town like tigers descending a mountain.

The Japanese soldiers at the breach are still in a state of chaos due to the massive explosion.

The soldiers on horseback were the first to rush into the county town, wielding their sabers and beheading the Japanese soldiers one by one.

"Haha, the battle was awesome!"

More than 130 soldiers formed a local numerical advantage against the Japanese at this southwestern city wall.

The battle was one-sided.

Soldiers who were able to remain in Yanggao to guard the city, rather than being transferred to Datong to confront the Independent Detachment or going south to participate in the mopping-up operations, generally had relatively poor military skills.

These Japanese soldiers were no match for the elite vanguard force.

"Kill them all! Don't let a single Japanese soldier escape! We will not accept Japanese prisoners!"

"Some Japanese soldiers have already fled into the county town," the reconnaissance company commander immediately ordered.

As for the puppet troops on the side, they had already given the French military salute when the cavalry entered the city.

"Sir, we surrender! We surrender! We were firing into the air!"

The puppet soldiers threw their guns aside and shouted loudly.

The soldiers, seeing these cowards who dared not fight back even while leaning against the city wall, didn't bother with them.

"Go tie yourselves up. If anyone dares to run, let's see if your legs are faster or my gun is faster!"

After saying that, the soldiers continued their pursuit of the Japanese soldiers.

Suddenly, the puppet army commander rushed into the alleyway next to him.

The soldier who saw it was about to raise his gun to fire when he saw the puppet regiment commander capture a Japanese lieutenant.

"Sir, I captured a Japanese officer. Does that count as a meritorious service on the battlefield?"

PS: I finally broke the turtle's shell today! I caught three big fish in a row, so I'm rewarding myself by only updating 5,000 words.

(End of this chapter)