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

Chapter 266 I can be patriotic too!
With the help of the puppet army division commander, the two soldiers successfully returned to their special operations brigade to report for duty.

"Reporting to the battalion commander, we have successfully located the Japanese oil depot."

"Currently, two of the Japanese's fuel depots have been discovered, and it is speculated that the Japanese only have one fuel depot left that is not in use."

"At the same time, the weaknesses in Baotou's defenses have been identified and all of them have been drawn on the map."

"In the southwest corner of Baotou, we also discovered a weak point in the Japanese patrol."

"The Japanese soldiers here have a five-minute gap when the night patrol changes shifts."

"We can take this opportunity to transport the troops into the city."

The special forces soldier handed the map to Duan Peng.

Duan Peng looked at the map in his hand, which was clearly marked with various annotations.

The details of key facilities in the Japanese-occupied city of Baotou were clearly marked.

This includes, but is not limited to, civilian areas, fuel depots, key defense zones, ammunition depots, and other similar locations.

Although many facilities were not observed up close, it was unclear what unit they belonged to.

However, the soldiers also marked the locations, adhering to the principle that areas heavily guarded by the Japanese were definitely their key facilities.

Who cares if it's an ammunition depot, fuel depot, or anything else? Just mark it and wait for the main force to blow it up.

Their special operations team's mission was to find out the situation inside the Japanese-occupied city and provide guidance for the main force's artillery.

Chen Ming wouldn't be like that blockhead Yamamoto Ichiki, treating special forces like a commando unit.

The core operational role of special forces is special reconnaissance and intelligence gathering, infiltration and reconnaissance behind enemy lines, and target identification to provide intelligence support for strategic decision-making by the command center.

Secondly, it involves attacking high-value targets, such as destroying enemy command centers, communication nodes, and artillery positions, thereby paralyzing their combat system.

The primary purpose of Chen Ming sending the special operations brigade to Baotou was to scout the location of the oil depots within Baotou and guide the artillery in carrying out precision strikes.

The second objective was to create chaos in the city while the artillery was attacking the Japanese oil depots, thus throwing the enemy's command structure into disarray.

This would allow the troops outside the city to achieve greater victories and weaken the Japanese forces in Baotou before the major battle next year.

Now, the special operations brigade has fulfilled the prerequisites for two missions.

“Great, I’ll have the map and intelligence sent to command post right away.”

Duan Peng looked at the map and said excitedly.

After saying this, Duan Peng ordered someone to send the intelligence to the chief of staff in the northwest of Baotou as quickly as possible.

Then, Duan Peng looked at the two special forces soldiers, noticing the undisguised fatigue on their faces, their gaunt cheeks, and the countless wounds on their bodies.

He knew that the soldiers who had infiltrated Baotou must have had a very tough week, enduring pain that most people could hardly bear.

"Good job, comrades."

Duan Peng said solemnly.

Upon hearing Duan Peng's words, the two soldiers immediately saluted and loudly replied:
"For the revolution, hardship is nothing!"

"Okay, go and rest first. Medical staff will come to check you up later."

Duan Peng spoke up.

While in Baotou, the soldiers ate a lot of dirty food, and upon returning, they had to be examined by professional medical personnel to prevent infection with parasites or other diseases.

"Yes!"

After listening to this, the two soldiers left Duan Peng's command post.

The temporary command post northwest of Baotou was where the chief of staff coordinated the assembly of various units and the transportation of supplies.

"Report, intelligence on the special forces!"

A communications soldier entered the command post and reported.

Upon hearing this, the chief of staff was moved and quickly walked over.

"Give it to me quickly."

Upon receiving the maps and documents, the chief of staff immediately began to quickly review them.

Two minutes later, a happy smile appeared on his face.

"Good, now all the Japanese soldiers' weaknesses have been exposed."

"Have the 150mm heavy artillery company and the 107mm rocket artillery battalion been transferred yet?"

the chief of staff asked.

"Report: They have been mobilized to Baotou and are ready to be deployed at any time."

"A staff officer began to report."

"Okay, give these coordinates to the artillery units so they can calibrate them in advance. As soon as the order comes, they should immediately bombard these areas and destroy them."

"Infantry units, get ready. As soon as the battle begins, launch an attack according to the pre-arranged plan and cut off the communication between the Japanese and their puppet troops."

The chief of staff gave the order.

"Yes!"

As the chief of staff issued one order after another, the entire Baotou military unit sprang into action.

Baotou currently has three battalions of troops: Li Yousheng's, Wang Gui's, and Luo Jian's.

There were a total of fourteen battalions of infantry, each with about seven hundred men.

To prevent any unforeseen circumstances, the special forces unit was deployed in Guihua, ready to provide support to Baotou at any time.

With so many troops, it would be enough to confine the Japanese troops within Baotou.

Of course, this is based on the premise that the Japanese are unwilling to give up their armored forces.

If the Japanese abandon most of their armored forces and concentrate their elite medium tanks within the division to cover the infantry's breakout.

These troops could only serve to delay the enemy; they could not annihilate the Japanese tank division in Baotou.

After all, the Japanese tank division in Baotou, after Chen Ming annihilated a tank regiment, still had more than 8,000 men left, including those killed in succession during this period.

The infantry forces were roughly equal in strength, while the enemy had armored support, and the forces attempting to break out were concentrated in one area.

With only three ordinary battalions, it was indeed difficult to stop the Japanese tank division, which was determined to break out.

However, given the limited support the Japanese received, it is highly unlikely that they would abandon most of their armored tanks.

If they abandon most of their tanks, wouldn't one of their armored divisions become an infantry division with tank technology?

The Japanese could only produce fewer than 30 tanks per month, so it would be impossible to rebuild a tank division in less than half a year.

Moreover, the Japanese are now prioritizing the Pacific theater over the mainland, and tanks are being supplied to the Pacific theater first.

If the Japanese tank divisions in North China had been destroyed, the Japanese would not have been able to rebuild them until at least four or four years ago.

This is under the condition that the situation can be stabilized. If the situation deteriorates further, then this tank division will really be unable to be reorganized.

Therefore, the Japanese tank division in Baotou would not easily abandon its tanks and choose to break out with infantry unless absolutely necessary.

This is also why Chen Ming dared to besiege Baotou with only three ordinary brigades.

Let's turn our attention back to the special operations brigade.

After receiving orders from the command, Duan Peng immediately organized his men and, relying on the weak points in Baotou's defenses that had been previously identified, infiltrated the city into Baotou overnight.

It took two days, and a total of about eighty people entered.

As for the authority to contact the commander of the puppet army division, it has now been taken over by the command headquarters, so Duan Peng no longer needs to worry about it.

After entering Baotou, Duan Peng and his men followed the markings on the map and lay in wait near their target location, hiding in several cellars.

This time, they will be deploying 107mm rocket artillery, and they are aware of the accuracy of this rocket artillery.

Sometimes the error can reach several hundred meters. If you don't find a place to hide, it would be bad if the rocket artillery hits your own people.

If someone sacrifices their life fighting the Japanese invaders, it's for the greater good of the nation.

But if they were to be killed by their own side's artillery fire, it would be heartbreaking.

As Duan Peng entered Baotou, the chief of staff also made contact with the commander of the puppet army division.

The uprising was scheduled for midnight on December 21st.

When the time comes, the independent detachment's artillery fire will immediately strike the Japanese troops inside Baotou. While the Japanese are thrown into chaos, the uprising troops will immediately stage a battlefield uprising and make contact with the vanguard.

At the same time, the defensive line was opened to allow the attacking troops of the Independent Detachment to outflank and annihilate the stubborn puppet troops.

Now that the commander of the puppet army division has surrendered, the other deputy commander, who controlled nearly half of the puppet army, is no longer of any use.

Moreover, the other party was not a good person either. During the period when Baotou was besieged, the people in the city suffered a lot at his hands.

They bullied men and women, killed indiscriminately, and helped the Japanese invaders to harm the people in the city.

They even suggested to the Japanese that all the people in the city be gathered together, kept in captivity, and their food supplies be confiscated so that they would starve to death.

This is intelligence gathered by the special operations brigade from within the city, as well as intelligence provided by some of the puppet army division commanders.

Chen Ming gave direct instructions regarding this person who was unworthy of being called a human being: the deputy division commander of the puppet army must be put on trial after the battle begins.

Time passed slowly, and before we knew it, it was December 21st.

That day, the commander of the puppet army division found an excuse to invite the deputy commander of the puppet army division to the command post outside the city to discuss the situation.

The fake deputy division commander, without suspecting anything, went directly to the appointment.

After all, he had half of the troops under his command, so whatever the puppet army division commander wanted to do, he certainly couldn't bypass him.

If he doesn't agree, it will be difficult for the other party to get things done.

The deputy commander of the puppet army division had already figured out what price the puppet army division commander would pay to get his support after they met.

Just as the deputy commander of the puppet army was making plans and heading to the appointment, he and his guards were taken into custody as soon as they entered the camp.

"What are you doing? I'm here to keep an appointment, let me go."

The deputy division commander of the puppet army was puzzled. Even if he had a conflict with the division commander, surely the other party wouldn't treat him like this?

After seeing that the other side had been brought under control, the commander of the fake military division appeared.

"I didn't arrest the wrong person. I've arrested you, you traitor who helped the Japanese devils harm our own people. Today is your death day."

The fake military division commander said with an air of "righteous indignation".

If it weren't for the fact that he was wearing the skin of a puppet soldier, anyone who didn't know better would have thought he was a righteous patriot.

The deputy division commander of the puppet army was also deceived.

What's going on? The other party called me a major traitor, so what is the other party?
He was only a deputy division commander, while the other party was indeed a division commander.

If I am a major traitor, then what is the other party?
Is he a major traitor?
wrong!

The deputy division commander of the puppet army quickly realized what was happening.

The other side has surrendered to the Eighth Route Army!

"You surrendered to the Eighth Route Army?"

The deputy division commander of the puppet army asked in a trembling voice.

"What do you mean by surrendering to the Eighth Route Army? My original intention was to save the country through a roundabout way. I pretended to join the puppet army, waiting for the right time to rise up and rejoin the ranks of the anti-Japanese forces."

"I'm doing this out of patriotism, responding to the call to abandon darkness and embrace the light!"

The fake military division commander said with an air of "righteous indignation".

Upon hearing this, the deputy division commander of the puppet army felt his legs go weak and could not believe the news.

He, the deputy division commander, hadn't even surrendered yet, but the other side had surrendered first.

Now they even have the audacity to call themselves traitors!

Now that I've fallen into their hands, I'm afraid my chances of survival are slim.

Thinking of his future fate, the deputy division commander of the puppet army panicked and loudly begged for mercy:
"Commander, I was wrong. I can abandon darkness and embrace light. I can love my country too!"

However, the puppet army division commander could only snort coldly:
"Subdue him and control him. We absolutely cannot allow any accidents to happen."

"Have the brothers wear a conspicuous badge on their right shoulder."

"As soon as the cannons fire, we will immediately annihilate the Japanese and provide support for the main force."

The deputy commander of the puppet army division was suppressed, and the commander of the puppet army division could not allow the other side to surrender, as this would affect his future status and bargaining power.

After taking control of the deputy division commander of the puppet army, half of the puppet army's strength lost unified command.

The commander of the puppet army division immediately relayed the information to his chief of staff.

The chief of staff was planning the attack route based on the map of the outer defense chain provided by the commander of the puppet army division.

Time passed slowly, and before we knew it, it was 11:30 p.m.

All units of the Independent Detachment outside the city are ready.

The artillerymen pushed their cannons into position and adjusted the firing parameters according to the coordinates.

The infantrymen checked the loaded bullets and the condition of the ammunition.

The medics were also ready at any time to rescue wounded soldiers who had come down from the battlefield.

One by one, the information was compiled and sent to the chief of staff. As he searched and summarized the information, he felt a sense of pressure.

This was the first time he had commanded a battle as a frontline commander.

He never expected that he would get such a valuable opportunity so soon after joining the Independent Detachment.

This shows that Chen Ming values ​​him highly and has high expectations for him.

He certainly couldn't let Chen Ming down; he had to fight this battle well.

"Order all units that the general offensive will begin at midnight."

"As soon as the battle began, all units immediately arrived at their designated positions according to the combat plan."

"We must break through the defensive chain outside Baotou City as soon as possible and eliminate the enemies inside."

The chief of staff issued the order.

The communications soldier relayed the order to each unit.

On the heavy artillery position.

"Company commander, we've brought our last stockpile of artillery shells. If we run out of them, we'll be completely out of ammunition."

"It's heartbreaking," said one of the artillerymen from the 150mm heavy artillery company.

This time, the Chief of Staff only deployed four 150mm howitzers in terms of heavy artillery.

These are the weapons that the Independent Detachment has already revealed. As for the Soviet-made artillery, it will remain hidden, waiting to deliver a major blow to the Japanese in next year's big battle.

In order to accomplish the mission of destroying the Japanese oil depot, the 150mm heavy artillery company used all its shells.

After this battle, the heavy artillery company was completely out of ammunition.

The 150mm heavy artillery battery will be disbanded and merged into other heavy artillery batteries.

"What are you worried about, kid? Our heavy artillery company has fought so many battles, we've already had our money's worth."

"We'll use the remaining shells to trade for an entire Japanese armored division. That'll be a good deal."

"Stop your nonsense and get ready to blow those damn Japanese devils to smithereens."

The heavy artillery company commander grumbled as he spoke, but he also felt sorry for the company.

As the first heavy artillery unit of the independent detachment, these four 150mm howitzers held a place in his heart more important than anything else.

However, in order to eliminate the Japanese devils, he would fire not only artillery shells, but even gold ingots.

"Company commander, command orders: artillery fire at 12:00 sharp!"

Upon hearing the command from headquarters, the heavy artillery company commander put aside his thoughts and began the final preparations.

We will launch the attack as soon as the time is right.

It's exactly twelve o'clock!

P.S.: Holiday over, time to speed things up!

Also, I'm planning to change my name. What do you readers think of the new title: "The Rise of a Great Power Begins with Bright Sword!"

(End of this chapter)