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

Chapter 194: Conquering the County Town in Hourly Measure
The puppet army commander pressed down on the head of a Japanese lieutenant and pulled him out.

The Japanese officer was wounded; his hands hung limply, and his other leg had been blown off.

He had no ability to resist the fake legion commander.

"Baka! Traitor to the Empire! Let me go!"

The Japanese lieutenant was being held captive by the puppet army commander, and he was angrily cursing.

"Snapped!"

The puppet army commander, seeing that even the Japanese lieutenant dared to insult him in such a manner, slapped him across the face.

"Damn it, I'll f*** your mother!"

After finishing the attack, he looked at our soldiers and asked pleadingly, "Sir, I captured a Japanese officer. Does that count as a meritorious service on the battlefield? Can you treat me leniently?"

The soldier looked at the Japanese officer being held captive by the puppet regiment commander and said angrily:

"Prisoners don't count!"

This statement left the fake legion commander dumbfounded!

'If capturing a Japanese officer doesn't count as meritorious service, then what does? And this Eighth Route Army soldier seems quite angry that I captured a Japanese officer,' the puppet regiment commander thought to himself.

His mind was working, and suddenly the word "prisoner" came to mind, and he immediately understood.

He quickly picked up a knife from the ground and stabbed it directly into the body of the Japanese officer.

The Japanese officer's eyes widened in fury as he broke free from the puppet corps commander's restraints and struggled on the ground like a maggot.

Seeing this, the puppet army commander quickly added a few more blows, and only then did the Japanese officer stop struggling.

"Sir, I killed a Japanese officer. Does that count as a meritorious service? Can I be treated leniently?" The puppet regiment commander asked our soldier as if seeking credit.

Seeing the fake regimental commander's expression, the soldier said, "Fine!"

They've finally become more sensible. If they capture a Japanese officer, shouldn't they treat the prisoner well according to discipline?

Those inhuman Japanese devils deserve to stay in hell.

After saying this, the soldiers ignored the puppet troops and continued to rush into the county town, looking for and eliminating the Japanese soldiers.

As for these puppet troops, they were naturally taken over by the artillery soldiers who were slower to run.

The vanguard soldiers were all elites, and each one of them was a master.

Against the defending troops whose military skills were inferior to those of the Japanese field troops, the battle became one-sided.

If we're talking about combat effectiveness, the soldiers who survived the early Long March were no less capable than the Japanese soldiers; they could fight the Japanese to a standstill.

By the middle of the war, the Japanese were chasing and attacking them, partly because the army had expanded too quickly and the quality of its soldiers had not yet improved.

Secondly, there was a severe lack of weapons and equipment, with a huge gap in weaponry compared to the Japanese.

Today, the main force of the independent detachment has improved to a very high level in terms of personnel quality, and its weapons and equipment are better than those of the Japanese.

Fighting the Japanese is no longer a difficult task.

At 5 p.m., after two hours of fighting, Yanggao County was captured by the vanguard.

Inside the county town, the soldiers gathered together, excitedly reporting the situation to the command post at the rear.

The message was relayed to the rear command post.

Chen Ming was quite surprised to learn that the advance team he had sent out to carry out reconnaissance missions had actually taken over Yanggao County.

Taking down a county town garrisoned by more than 200 Japanese soldiers and more than 600 puppet troops with only 200 men was truly the first such case since the start of the War of Resistance.

This is a comparison of the enemy and our side, showing how we captured the county town despite being outnumbered by the Japanese and not through a surprise attack.

It has high value for tactical research.

"Well done, Chief of Staff. Make a note of this. We'll personally commend this unit after the battle," Chen Ming said happily.

"Yes."

After capturing Yanggao County, the army can then advance unimpeded and directly attack Wucheng.

"Now, I order the entire army to advance straight into Tianzhen. After capturing Tianzhen, the army will split into two routes."

"He Jianxin's three battalions will advance directly from the north and capture Huai'an."

"Ding Wei's troops marched through Xihe, Hutun, and Taipingzhuang, crossed Mantou Mountain, and headed straight for Wucheng!"

"The two forces are launching a pincer attack and must reach Wucheng by 5 p.m. tomorrow."

Chen Ming gave the order.

After taking Yanggao, the only roads leading to Wucheng are Tianzhen and Huai'an counties.

Once Huai'an is captured, the gateway to Wucheng will be opened.

Chen Ming ordered He Jianxin's troops to attack Huai'an, while ordering Ding Wei's troops to march south of Huai'an, bypass Huai'an, and go directly to Wucheng.

Launch an attack on Wucheng as quickly as possible to force the Japanese to send more troops to reinforce Wucheng.

Of course, if we're fast enough, we might even be able to take on Wucheng, launch a strong attack, and then run away.

However, the chances are very small.

The Japanese army could send reinforcements from Beiping to Wucheng via the Ping-Sui Railway at any time; the speed of a train was definitely faster than a person's two legs.

Even if only one battalion of Japanese soldiers arrives at Wucheng, it will be very difficult to capture Wucheng, and the losses will outweigh the gains.

After all, this raid was primarily focused on speed, and no heavy weapons were brought along. Lacking offensive capabilities, it would be difficult to capture Wucheng, one of the key towns in the north.

After the order was issued, the troops accelerated their entry into Yanggao County in accordance with Chen Ming's command.

After a short rest, they immediately set off for Tianzhen overnight.

At 8:30 p.m., the main force arrived in Tianzhen and launched an attack without stopping!

A small county town garrisoned by just over four hundred Japanese and puppet troops faced a main force of an independent detachment with an absolute advantage in both manpower and firepower.

If you still can't be quick, then you'll be making a fool of yourself.

If a vanguard of two hundred men could take Yanggao, how could their army of tens of thousands not be able to take Tianzhen?

The mountain artillery units, towed by tracked vehicles, launched the first artillery barrage, and the infantry attacked under the cover of artillery fire.

Half past nine in the evening.

Ke, Tianzhen County.

The troops began to split up and set off, continuing their advance towards their designated positions.

Four o'clock in the morning.

He Jianxin's troops launched an attack on Huai'an County, which was the last line of defense for Wucheng.

The battle was quite difficult. He Jianxin's troops numbered only four thousand, while the Japanese and puppet troops in Huai'an numbered over a thousand, and the county town served as a defense.

Huai'an, as the gateway to Wucheng, has a well-constructed defense system, making it difficult to attack.

However, the soldiers in He Jianxin's unit liked to tackle the toughest challenges.

At eight o'clock in the morning, after four hours of attack, Huai'an County was captured.

After capturing Huai'an, the troops rested for an hour before continuing their advance toward their target, Wucheng.

Headquarters of the Beiping Expeditionary Army.

Okamura has already urgently returned to headquarters by plane.

The large-scale cleanup operation was aborted, so what use was it for him to stay in Shimen and continue to command?

Okamura received messages from various departments inside the headquarters, his face full of anger.

"Baka! They're all useless! Two hours, one hour, four hours! When did the Imperial's defended county towns become so easily captured by the Chinese troops, measured in hours?"

"The Eighth Route Army is almost at the gates of Wucheng, but the reinforcements still won't arrive for another day. What are they doing?" "Pass on my order to send two more battalions to reinforce Wucheng and make sure to block the Eighth Route Army at the gates of Wucheng."

Okamura angrily gave the order.

His original plan was to use Yanggao, Tianzhen, and Huai'an as three lines of defense to hold off the independent detachment for more than 36 hours.

With just 36 hours, his troops could reach Wucheng smoothly and reinforce its defenses.

At the same time, it can also maneuver around to the rear of the independent detachment and directly cut off the independent detachment's retreat.

But now, the Independent Detachment is making a move toward Wucheng, and just 20 hours later, the Eighth Route Army has captured Huaian.

This speed terrified Okamura.

At the current rate, the Eighth Route Army could launch an attack on Wucheng by 4 p.m. at the latest.

While unclear about how the Eighth Route Army was able to capture Datong in eight hours, Gangcun was genuinely worried that the Eighth Route Army might take Wucheng under cover of night.

After all, Datong was captured by the Eighth Route Army at night, and the Eighth Route Army arrived in Wucheng and launched their attack just as it was about to get dark.

If Wucheng were to fall into the hands of the Eighth Route Army, Gangcun dared not even imagine the consequences.

Therefore, Gangcun sent two more battalions to reinforce the city, bringing the total number of soldiers in the Takeshiro garrison to eight thousand.

The troops in Beiping have been almost completely withdrawn, leaving only a little over two thousand soldiers. In addition, there are troops directly under the headquarters of the dispatched army, which shows how worried Okamura is about the offensive of the Independent Detachment.

Now, the Japanese troops sweeping through are all heading towards the Datong-Wucheng area, and they don't care about blocking the road between Datong and the Independent Detachment's base.

Okamura really dared not divide his forces.

He feared this was a plot by the Independent Detachment, intending to draw away their forces by advancing towards Wucheng, and then eliminate their isolated units in the process.

In Gangcun's mind now, a regiment appearing alone in front of an independent detachment was already considered isolated, so how could he dare to divide his forces?

These sweeping troops were not the elite units of the Class A divisions, and their combat strength was far less than that of the independent detachment.

"It's all the fault of the General Headquarters for making a mess of things. They should have concentrated their efforts on solving the problems on the China battlefield instead of spreading resources to support the Pacific battlefield."

"Now we're even hampered in our fight against the Eighth Route Army."

"Okamura complained."

He simply couldn't understand why so many resources had to be invested, and why troops from the mainland had to be diverted south to get involved in the quagmire of the Pacific War.

To support the Pacific War, many of the Japanese elite troops on the mainland were transferred out.

His North China Expeditionary Army no longer has any standard-organized Class A divisions.

Using Class B or even Class C divisions to contain hundreds of thousands of Eighth Route Army troops and other Nationalist Army troops within their jurisdiction was simply beyond their capabilities.

Now they are forced to use cities and transportation lines to confront each other, and are unable to launch a major offensive.

The final large-scale sweep prepared by the forces also failed because the Independent Detachment attacked Datong.

Now, Okamura only hopes that the Pacific War can end quickly so that he can reconcentrate his forces to deal with the China battlefield.

However, his idea was clearly doomed to fail, as the Japanese would suffer a disastrous defeat at Midway in another month.

At that time, the Japanese will withdraw more troops to the south, and the situation of the North China Expeditionary Army in Okamura will become increasingly difficult.

Southwest of Wucheng.

Ding Wei's troops had arrived in Wucheng, and all the soldiers' faces were flushed and their breathing was rapid.

This is a reaction to a long, forced march.

After splitting up in Tianzhen, Ding Wei's troops took a detour and rushed towards Wucheng without stopping, in order to reach Wucheng as quickly as possible.

After a long march, they finally arrived at Wucheng by taking a detour.

"Hurry up, bring our rocket launchers up and launch an attack on the fortifications surrounding Wucheng immediately."

Ding Wei immediately gave the order.

Upon arriving at the outskirts of Wucheng, he received Chen Ming's order to launch a feint attack and then immediately turn south.

Chen Ming had confirmed, through the map in his mind, that the Japanese forces in Wucheng numbered eight thousand.

With such a large force, Wucheng no longer has the conditions for an attack. The possibility of attacking Wucheng, seizing its resources, and then running away is now dashed.

Therefore, Chen Ming immediately ordered an attack on Wucheng with 107mm rocket launchers to simulate the effects of a heavy artillery attack.

If the Japanese are misled into believing that the Independent Detachment's four heavy artillery pieces have been moved to Wucheng, Chen Ming's objective will be achieved.

After all, heavy artillery was an absolute treasure for the Eighth Route Army, which lacked heavy weapons.

Heavy artillery has been deployed, doesn't that mean the main force of the Eighth Route Army is about to attack Wucheng?

At the same time, the heavy artillery also served as a deterrent. Once the Japanese discovered that there was heavy artillery from the Eighth Route Army outside Wucheng, it meant that the Eighth Route Army already had the ability to attack Wucheng.

The 150mm howitzer is a powerful weapon for attacking fortified positions; with it, taking down a city becomes a simple matter.

The Japanese soldiers dared not gamble on whether the Eighth Route Army was launching a real attack or a feint; they could only rush to reinforce the area regardless of the consequences.

After Ding Wei's troops launched a feint attack, they immediately moved south to attack Xuanhua, cutting off that section of the Ping-Sui Railway and further disrupting the Japanese army's logistical capabilities.

Ding Wei's rocket artillery was being deployed rapidly.

This time they only brought ten, which was the entire output of the arsenal, all of which Chen Ming had allocated to Ding Wei.

Its use on Wucheng marked the first combat deployment of the 107mm rocket.

At the rocket artillery position, a rocket launcher has been deployed, with a total of ten rockets assembled from its barrels, aimed at the Japanese fortifications surrounding Wucheng.

"Ready your guns!"

"put!"

At the order of the rocket artillery company commander, the rocket artillery operator immediately connected the battery and pressed the launcher.

"Boohoo!"

"Boohoo!"

The rockets, trailing plumes of flame and making a pleasant sound, flew towards the distant Japanese fortifications.

"Boom boom boom!"

Ten rockets, each with the power of a 150mm howitzer, exploded densely among the Japanese fortifications.

The Japanese fortifications were largely destroyed, and all the Japanese and puppet troops hiding inside were killed.

After the explosion, only ruins remained of a small group of fortifications in the southwest of Wucheng.

Although the margin of error is relatively large, it cannot hit the target precisely like precision artillery.

But who can blame it for being so powerful?

The margin of error is 20 meters, but the effective range of the explosion exceeds 50 meters.

Is this still considered an error?

"That was so exhilarating! And this was only ten shots. I can't even imagine how spectacular it would be if there were a hundred or a thousand shots," Ding Wei exclaimed.

Having lived this long, this was the first time he had ever witnessed the effects of using a rocket artillery cluster.

The damage caused by just ten rockets is outrageously powerful.

If we wait until the equipment from Datong is moved back to the base area, and the arsenal's production capacity increases dramatically, then we will be able to produce more rocket launchers.

That was truly awesome!

This was the first time Ding Wei had fallen in love with the 107mm rocket!
"Enemy attack! Heavy artillery attack!"

The Japanese soldiers in Wucheng were now in a state of panic!
The Eighth Route Army's heavy artillery launched an attack!

P.S.: Those who cursed my Air Force yesterday were so awful!
(End of this chapter)