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

Chapter 253 Ding! Your subordinates have brought back a tank for you!

As darkness fell, flickering shadows began to appear in the woods surrounding Yuanbaoshan Town.

These shadows, illuminated by the darkness, appeared sinister and terrifying, like deadly demons.

They were the main force of the advance team, the soldiers of the advance assault battalion built around the reconnaissance company.

Suo's life was naturally that of a puppet army that betrayed the nation.

Meanwhile, the soldiers in the forest were making tense preparations.

"Artillery company, push the position closer to me, as close as you can."

"The Flying Thunder Artillery Platoon must provide fire support as soon as the vanguard attacks, and take down the puppet troops' forward defensive positions!"

"Even if it has to be carried on the shoulders of the vanguard, we must destroy the puppet troops' bunkers as soon as possible!"

Liu Tengjie was on the front lines, inspecting the final preparations for battle.

The advance team initially consisted of only one artillery platoon, equipped with just two mortars, plus some grenade launchers from the rest of the troops.

However, after such a long period of development, the artillery force has expanded to a single artillery company.

The artillery company consists of two mortar platoons, one infantry artillery platoon, and one flying mine artillery platoon.

It possesses 8 mortars, 2 infantry guns, and 8 flying mine cannons.

The flying thunder cannon was naturally modified by the soldiers of the advance team's maintenance squad. They used captured oil drums to create flying thunder cannons, thereby enhancing the troops' ability to attack fortified positions.

The advance team's maintenance squad has now become a maintenance platoon, similar to other units in the advance team, almost all of which have been expanded by one level.

"Report: The Second Battalion on the east side is ready to attack."

A communications soldier ran up to Liu Tengjie and reported.

"it is good!"

"Soldiers of the First Battalion, the Second Battalion is ready. You cannot fall behind. You must be fully prepared for the final attack before eight o'clock!"

Liu Tengjie addressed the soldiers of the First Battalion.

"Yes."

Time passed slowly, and before we knew it, it was ten o'clock at night.

It was already quite cold in Chifeng at the end of October, and last night there was a heavy snowfall, which lowered the temperature even further.

In the pitch-black night, the soldiers rubbed their hands together, occasionally exhaling a puff of hot air that emitted white smoke.

This was both a pre-battle eagerness and an act of keeping warm in the cold weather.

The troops expanded too quickly, and many soldiers had not yet put on winter clothes. In the snow-covered nights, in order to keep their hands and feet agile and at the same time avoid being discovered by the enemy, they could only use this method to keep warm.

Liu Tengjie saw this and was very anxious.

He knew that winter clothes were already being transported from the rear, but the heavy snowfall last night was too sudden and caught the logistics department off guard, causing the soldiers to not put on their winter clothes immediately after the snowfall.

“Those damned puppet soldiers are wearing cotton-padded clothes and sitting by the fire, they’re more comfortable than me.”

"After this battle, our soldiers will have winter clothes to wear."

Liu Tengjie spoke to Political Commissar Deng Feng.

"Yes, an armored battalion of puppet troops. If we wipe them out, it will be enough to make up for our shortage of winter clothing."

"The rear is too far away from us, and it is often difficult for them to provide timely assistance. We have to solve the problems ourselves."

Deng Feng didn't complain; he just knew that their advance team had a special mission and that going deep into enemy territory alone meant they couldn't rely on the main force behind them.

"We should rely on ourselves to have enough to eat and wear. If we lack something, we can't always ask the people behind us for it. We should rely on our own hands to get it."

"If the soldiers don't have winter clothes to wear, they can ask the Japanese devils or their collaborators for some."

"No money, no cannons, let the Japanese transport them for us. Aren't the Japanese our transport captains? Haha."

Liu Tengjie said with a smile.

"That makes sense. We need to stand on our own two feet. If we always rely on the rear for resources, we might as well go home and sell sweet potatoes!"

"But those days are numbered."

"Once the weather warms up next year, the commander will send troops to Rehe. At that time, we will be able to make contact with the main force, and our mission will be complete!"

Deng Feng said optimistically.

Their generation possesses a spirit of finding joy even in hardship and maintaining a positive and optimistic outlook.

Unafraid of hardship, fatigue, or sacrifice, these are revolutionary fighters with ideals and beliefs!

Time quickly approached midnight.

At this time, most people were already asleep, with only a few puppet soldiers on guard.

However, they didn't pay much attention to security, only assigning people to stand guard in key locations, and there weren't even any hidden sentries.

It wasn't that they didn't set up hidden sentries, but rather that the sentries found it too cold and went back inside to warm themselves by the fire.

Such low vigilance stemmed from the fact that the puppet army's armored battalion was located relatively far back, in the middle of the Japanese and puppet army's sweeping force.

There's a large army ahead of them, and they're in the middle, so they shouldn't be attacked, right?

In the minds of the puppet army armored battalion, there were only a little over a thousand Eighth Route Army soldiers active in the Chifeng area. Would they dare to risk their lives under the protection of thousands of soldiers?
If an armored battalion is attacked, reinforcements from surrounding units can arrive in as little as two hours.

As an armored unit within the puppet army, the puppet army's armored battalion was confident that it had withstood the enemy's attack for eight hours and launched a counterattack.

They had no doubt about their fighting capabilities; after all, even a tank, jokingly called "little bean" or "bean tank," was still a tank!

This is what is meant by the greater the advantage, the easier it is to let your guard down.

It was based on this mentality that the advance team decided to launch a night raid on this puppet army armored battalion, to let them know what it means for an arrogant army to be defeated!
It's exactly twelve o'clock!

Liu Tengjie, as the highest-ranking military officer of the advance team, issued the order to attack!

"Order the artillery company to immediately bombard the enemy camp, emptying all the shells and leaving no reserves."

"The First Assault Battalion will immediately attack from the west after the artillery bombardment ends."

"The Second Assault Battalion, in coordination with the First Battalion, will launch a pincer attack on the puppet army's armored battalion from the east."

"Assault the 3rd Battalion, provide cover for the Flying Mine Artillery Platoon to advance and attack!"

After the order was issued, it was transmitted to all units by telephone.

"boom!"

A signal flare emitting a green glow rose from the dark night sky, faintly illuminating the darkness.

This is a signal flare for an attack!

Before the signal flare had even died down, countless more lights rose up.

"Bang bang bang!"

Mortar shells flew into the sky and landed on the puppet army's camp.

"Bang bang bang!"

Several fireballs erupted from the puppet army camp, and several puppet soldiers were taken away with them.

Many of the puppet troops were already in hell while they were still asleep.

This is actually a good thing for them; they end their lives without even realizing it, without suffering.

The surviving puppet soldiers were not so lucky.

The shells severed their hands and feet but missed vital organs, causing them to writhe on the ground in agony and howl in pain.

In an instant, the puppet army camp fell into chaos. They only knew that they had been shelled and fled in a frenzy, not knowing how many enemy troops were attacking or from where they were coming.

"Enemy in sight! Move the tanks in and counterattack!"

The puppet army battalion commander shouted desperately, trying to organize a counterattack.

This puppet army battalion was, after all, an elite armored force, unlike the puppet troops inside the Great Wall.

They quickly recovered from the initial chaos following the attack, and most of the puppet troops had calmed down. However, tanks of this era were not like those of later generations; they started very slowly in low temperatures.

Last night's heavy snow not only affected the advance team, but also had a greater impact on the puppet army's armored battalion.

In low temperatures, the tanks of the puppet army's armored battalion need to be heated by burning fuel tanks and engines to start smoothly, requiring at least half an hour of preheating time.

Those half hours became a nightmare for the puppet army's armored battalion.

Half an hour is enough time to kill the puppet troops several times over.

Armored units without armor are like birds without wings; they can only flutter around in place.

After the shelling ended, the advance team assaulted the first battalion, and the second battalion, under the cover of artillery fire, had advanced to within 100 meters of the puppet army's defensive line.

Seeing that the puppet troops had not put up any decent resistance, the assaulting soldiers simply stopped waiting for the artillery platoon to set up their cannons and directly carried explosives to the puppet troops' bunker.

After detonating the explosives, they immediately retreated!
"boom!"

Huge fireballs rose up, and the outer defensive bunkers of the puppet army's armored battalion were destroyed.

"Comrades, charge!"

After overcoming the biggest obstacle to the attack, the assault battalion soldiers surged into the camp of the puppet army's armored battalion like a tidal wave and engaged in close combat with the puppet army!

In terms of close combat ability and skills, the soldiers of the advance team were clearly no match for the puppet army armored battalion.

The most shocking battles were the hand-to-hand combat, with the blood and flesh of the puppet troops flying everywhere on the battlefield, and severed arms and legs scattered all over the place.

The puppet troops were quickly terrified. Seeing the advance team soldiers covered in blood and looking like demons, they eagerly raised their hands and gave a French military salute.

They worried that if they were any slower, they would be among the severed limbs lying on the ground.

The battle ended quickly, so quickly that the tanks of the puppet army's armored battalion hadn't even warmed up yet.

It became a real-life version of the cold-cart execution of the puppet troops!

This was a battle with almost no suspense.

The cold weather prevented the tanks of the puppet army's armored battalion from starting quickly, turning them into a tiger without claws.

In the pitch-black night, the soldiers triumphantly pushed their positions very close, catching the puppet troops off guard with a surprise attack.

The puppet troops themselves were not vigilant enough, and after being attacked, they were unable to quickly organize a defense, allowing the advance team to break through the outer bunker defense chain in the first instance.

It can be said that the timing, location, and popular support were all on the side of the advance team.

In this situation, is there any possibility of not winning?

"Report: Our army has killed 198 puppet soldiers and captured 220. More than 60 puppet soldiers are still missing, possibly having escaped into the town."

"Six Type 94 tanks, three Northeast Army Renault FT-17 tanks, and three Type 92 cavalry armored vehicles were captured."

"The remaining firearms and ammunition are also present."

The officer in charge of cleaning up the battlefield reported.

After listening, Liu Tengjie nodded.

However, upon hearing about the Northeast Army's Renault FT-17, I felt a sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a complex feeling of mixed emotions, including regret and nostalgia).

The Renault FT-17 tank was originally owned by the Northeast Army and marked the beginning of China's armored forces history.

However, after the main force of the Northeast Army withdrew into the interior of China, these precious tanks fell into the hands of the Japanese Kwantung Army almost without firing a single shot.

Now it has fallen into the hands of the puppet army and was captured by the advance team.

"Old Liu, what should we do with these captured tanks? We don't have any soldiers who know how to drive them."

Political Commissar Deng Feng asked the question.

When the advance team first set off, they hadn't considered the possibility of capturing tanks, so there were no soldiers in the team who could drive tanks.

Now, even if we capture the tanks, we can't bring them back.

"Let's blow them all up. Tanks are too big of a target. There are enemies all around us now. Even if we know how to drive them, we can't bring them back."

Liu Tengjie spoke up.

This kind of trouble wouldn't happen if the fighting took place around the base of the Independent Detachment.

With the strength of the independent detachment, they could simply capture the tanks and drive them into the base area without any problems.

The Japanese soldiers dared not easily pursue them into the base area, fearing an ambush and the risk of annihilation.

So when they captured 32 Japanese tanks, the Japanese didn't dare utter a single word, except for sending some planes to search for them.

The situation was different for the advance team, which was isolated and had ventured deep into the Chifeng area to establish a base, surrounded by enemies.

Tanks are too big of a target; driving them away would only cause trouble for the troops.

"Captain, reporting to the captain, I can drive a tank!"

At that moment, a soldier ran out and loudly reported to Liu Tengjie.

Liu Tengjie was somewhat surprised to see who had arrived.

This soldier was recruited after the advance team arrived in the Chifeng area.

"Little Tiger, you said you can drive a tank?"

He was unaware that there was a technician hidden in his team!
"Reporting to the captain, I was originally a tank soldier in the Northeast Army. After the main force withdrew into the interior, our tank unit was left behind."

"I didn't want to fight for the Japanese with the others, so I left the main force and later joined the army."

"This is what the soldier, whom Liu Tengjie called Little Tiger, said."

When the Northeast Army withdrew into the interior of China, technical troops were not included in the withdrawal sequence.

At that time, many of the tank soldiers trained by the Northeast Army remained in the Northeast, and some were incorporated into the Iron Tiger Unit of the puppet Manchukuo regime by the Japanese.

The vanguard team wiped out the puppet army armored battalion, which was the Iron Tiger unit (armored battalion) of the puppet army's Iron Stone troops.

Among the puppet troops captured by the advance team were several acquaintances of Xiao Hu.

However, different people have different fates. Xiao Hu joined the revolutionary ranks, while these tank soldiers became puppet troops and were captured.

"I see."

Upon hearing this answer, Liu Tengjie understood.

Having been in Chifeng for so long, he has also learned a lot about the situation in Northeast China.

It is indeed possible that the Northeast Army tank soldiers who did not retreat and were left behind could join their own troops by chance.

Knowing that he had soldiers under his command who could drive tanks, Liu Tengjie had a new idea in mind.

Originally, there were no people in the army who knew how to drive tanks, and he didn't trust the puppet army prisoners, so he had no choice but to order all the tanks to be destroyed.

Now that someone knows how to drive a tank, Liu Tengjie has become a bit bolder.

The commander looked down on a mountain gun, but if he could bring back a tank, wouldn't the commander look at him with new respect?

It's impossible to bring back all that tanks, but by using most of them as cover, we can bring back one tank.

Liu Tengjie was confident in this regard; it was nothing more than using deceptive tactics and feints.

Chen Ming used this method when he captured infantry artillery.

"Reporting, Captain, there are two people I know among the puppet army prisoners. I can try to persuade them to work for us."

Xiao Hu started talking again.

After hearing Xiao Hu's words, Liu Tengjie thought for a moment and then said:

"We only have ten minutes. If we can't convince them in ten minutes, we'll have to give up."

"Yes!"

Xiao Hu agreed and started walking towards the two puppet army prisoners he recognized.

(End of this chapter)