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

Chapter 267 All-Out Offensive! Firepower Coverage!
When the hands of the pocket watch jumped to exactly twelve o'clock, a signal flare was launched into the sky precisely on time.

The signal flare flashed a dazzling red, its bright light standing out conspicuously in the darkness.

Upon seeing the signal flare, the 150mm heavy artillery company and the 107mm rocket battalion, which were already prepared, immediately fired their shells!

"Bang bang bang bang!"

"Shhhhhh!"

"Shhhhhh!"

"."

In an instant, a large number of "meteors" appeared in the sky, which looked particularly spectacular.

Some of the Japanese soldiers who were still on guard saw countless lights rising into the night sky in the distance, approaching them.

Some Japanese soldiers who had witnessed the 107mm rocket attack were terrified!
"It's artillery fire! Take cover!"

The Japanese soldiers shouted loudly and used all their strength to crawl into the nearest cover.

Some slow-reacting Japanese soldiers only realized they needed to find cover when the flames were flying towards them.

"Boom boom boom!"

"."

A series of exploding fireballs appeared, illuminating Baotou brightly.

In an instant, Baotou was completely destroyed by the terrifying barrage of 107mm rockets.

The rockets ignited some wooden houses in the outer city, and the fire spread, burning countless Japanese soldiers to the ground.

Such a scene was only possible because Chen Ming wasn't there; otherwise, he would have at least said something like, "Who said only Li Mei can do barbecue?"

The 150mm howitzer also hit the target accurately.

Unlike the 107mm rocket launcher, the 107mm rocket launcher was designed to strike densely populated areas of Japanese troops, causing casualties.

The 150mm howitzer had only one purpose: to destroy the two Japanese oil depots in Baotou.

The 150mm howitzer has greater power and accuracy than the 107mm rocket, making it the most suitable weapon for this mission.

The howitzer's terrifying caliber accurately launched shells weighing tens of kilograms onto the Japanese oil depot.

The explosion immediately ignited the open oil drums, causing a raging fire.

Some of the Japanese soldiers in the fuel depot were killed directly by the explosion of the 150mm howitzer.

They were lucky; they were killed instantly in the explosion, ending their sinful lives quickly and painlessly.

Others were ignited by the splashing oil and turned into fire men.

The shelling has not ended; it continues.

Then came the second and third rounds, until the last shell was fired before the 150mm heavy artillery battery ceased firing.

One of the Japanese army's two oil depots suddenly exploded during a round of shelling.

This was caused by heavy artillery blasting open the Japanese oil depot, igniting the fuel inside.

As for the other oil depot, it was fortunate to escape the massive explosion and was not blown apart by heavy artillery, thus preserving some of its oil.

This was also because the 150mm heavy artillery was short of shells. If there had been enough shells and they had kept firing, they would have definitely been able to break through.

After the shelling ended, the heavy artillery company commander looked at his four heavy guns and felt a sense of emptiness.

He knew that unless he captured new 150mm shells, his four "old buddies" would never have the chance to go back to the battlefield.

After expressing his feelings, he immediately ordered the heavy artillery positions to be moved to prevent a Japanese counterattack.

Although the possibility of a Japanese counterattack in Baotou is very small, according to the artillery training regulations, the position must be moved immediately after the shelling ends.

After the shelling ended, the main forces of the two battalions of the Independent Detachment launched an attack on the puppet army's positions from the east and west flanks respectively.

At the same time, the puppet army division commander gave an order and, with his trusted men, immediately attacked the Japanese soldiers in the ranks, killing those who were trying to avoid the shelling inside the fortifications.

The fortifications outside Baotou were built by a force of puppet troops whose numbers far exceeded those of the Japanese soldiers.

The sudden attack caught many Japanese soldiers off guard, and they fell in the blood-soaked slope before they even knew what had happened.

Some vigilant Japanese soldiers discovered the puppet troops' intentions and immediately launched a counterattack.

However, with the puppet troops outnumbering the enemy and occupying advantageous terrain, their counterattack was quickly extinguished.

Although the puppet troops are cowardly and lack fighting ability, they have no choice but to fight desperately in the current situation!
They've already rebelled; if we don't eliminate these Japanese devils, they'll be the ones who die.

Faced with life and death, they were forced to fight desperately; killing the Japanese soldiers meant survival, or being killed by them.

Even a rabbit will bite when cornered, let alone a person.

Of course, this is based on the premise that they have a large number of people and the advantage lies with me.

If there were more Japanese soldiers, they wouldn't dare to attack them.

"Brothers, hurry, run west! We'll be safe once we reach the Eighth Route Army!"

The commander of the puppet army division stood up high and shouted loudly.

As agreed, after eliminating the Japanese soldiers on the position, they would retreat westward, where troops would meet them.

However, at this moment, an accident occurred.

A bullet accurately struck the chest of the puppet army division commander, who was standing in a conspicuous spot.

The puppet army division commander felt a small stone hit his back, followed by a chill in his chest.

He looked down and saw a hole the size of a bowl in his chest, gushing blood.

The puppet army division commander stared blankly at the wound on his chest for a moment, then collapsed limply to the ground.

"Master's seat!"

"Master's seat!"

"Big brother!"

The surrounding puppet troops panicked; their division commander had been killed by bullets!
It turned out that when the puppet army division commander was standing in a conspicuous place, a Japanese soldier hiding in the shadows aimed his gun at him and pulled the trigger.

It was already dark, and the winter night was so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Even if there was light on the battlefield, it was difficult to see every corner clearly.

This Japanese soldier had managed to escape the sudden attack by the puppet troops while going to the toilet, and hid behind a dark bunker.

Later, when he saw the commander of the puppet army division stand up and call on the troops to rebel, he shot and killed the commander.

After killing the puppet army division commander, the Japanese soldier was immediately shot to death by the enraged puppet troops.

However, even if the Japanese soldiers who launched the sneak attack were killed, their division commander could not possibly come back to life.

This incident illustrates that one must always keep a low profile on the battlefield, and senior officers should not easily reveal their positions.

"Chief of Staff, the division commander is dead. What should we do now?"

After losing their division commanders, some puppet troops could only place their hopes on the division commanders' trusted chiefs of staff.

"As the division commander just said, we should run west, where the Eighth Route Army will meet us."

The pseudo-military division chief of staff immediately spoke.

Since it's all about uprisings and surrender anyway, whether there are division commanders or not is no longer important.

The most important thing now is to save their lives and prevent the Japanese soldiers in Baotou from attacking them from behind.

At the call of the puppet army's chief of staff, a group of puppet soldiers immediately fled westward in a swarm.

Originally, with the puppet army division commander keeping order, the retreat was somewhat orderly.

Now that the puppet army division commander is dead, the remaining puppet troops have become a complete rabble.

Even the chief of staff of the puppet army mingled in the crowd and ran with the main force.

At this time, the Japanese troops inside the city were in complete chaos. A barrage of artillery fire was launched, including weapons like the 107mm rocket launcher, capable of delivering instantaneous artillery barrages.

Many Japanese soldiers died or were wounded before they could even react.

The casualties were heavy.

Conservative estimates suggest that at least 1,500 people were killed or wounded in the shelling.

At the same time, a large number of facilities were attacked, resulting in significant material losses.

Most importantly, the two oil depots were also targeted by heavy artillery.

"Reporting to the division commander, one of our two fuel depots was completely destroyed by enemy heavy artillery, and the other was set on fire. We are currently working to salvage it."

"But the fire is too big, we request more manpower."

"Reporting to the division commander, our ammunition depot was hit by a shell, causing a secondary explosion and resulting in heavy losses."

"Report: Our lines have been destroyed by artillery fire, and we have now lost contact with troops outside the city."

"."

One bad news after another came in, and the commander of the Japanese 3rd Tank Division was extremely busy.

He couldn't understand why the Eighth Route Army would launch an attack in the dead of winter.

Winter is not suitable for large-scale operations, and therefore, the Japanese did not choose to organize a rescue operation during the winter.

They anticipated that it would be difficult for the Eighth Route Army to organize a campaign in winter to capture a tank division defending a city.

Moreover, the Eighth Route Army only launched a major battle two months ago, and in two months, the enemy had not even had enough time to sort out the occupied territory.

How could they possibly be capable of launching an attack so quickly, especially in winter?

However, the current situation has truly slapped him in the face.

The Eighth Route Army not only launched an attack, but did so with overwhelming force.

They destroyed his oil depot and a large amount of other supplies.

"Baka, don't panic, organize defenses immediately and re-establish communications."

"According to intelligence from other units, the main force of the Independent Detachment is tied down, and the troops outside the city will definitely not exceed 15,000."

"We will hold firm and be safe once we get through tonight."

The Japanese division commander immediately shouted to reassure his subordinates.

Under the reassurance of the Japanese division commander, the Japanese officers calmed down.

However, another piece of bad news followed.

"Report! Report to the division commander! The puppet troops from both the north and south have wiped out the Imperial soldiers supervising the positions and have rebelled!"

A Japanese communications soldier ran up to the division headquarters, panting, and reported.

Upon hearing this, the Japanese division commander was immediately alarmed.

"The puppet troops have rebelled?"

He could hardly believe it; the Eighth Route Army's offensive had just ended, and the puppet troops had already rebelled.

Even if the puppet troops are the worst, they wouldn't rebel and surrender so quickly, would they?
Soon, the Japanese division commander realized that this was a premeditated rebellion.

The puppet troops on both the north and south sides had definitely been colluding with the Eighth Route Army for a long time.

This attack was the time they had agreed upon for their rebellion and surrender.

No wonder the oil depots in the city were the focus of the Eighth Route Army's heavy artillery.

The Eighth Route Army had only four 150mm heavy artillery pieces, yet they accurately hit the fuel depot, leaving the rest of the area unaffected by the heavy artillery fire.

It turned out that the puppet troops had betrayed them and provided the Eighth Route Army with the location of the fuel depot.

"Baga, Baga, way to go!"

"Damn puppet troops, they've screwed over the empire again!"

"Those despicable Chinese people, they can't be trusted at all!"

The Japanese division commander cursed angrily.

"Immediately organize all available troops to strengthen the defenses on the north and south sides. Under no circumstances should the Eighth Route Army be allowed to enter the city."

The Japanese division commander immediately gave the order.

Originally, there was a puppet army in the outer defensive chain as a buffer, and the Eighth Route Army was worn down.

These puppet troops could buy some time when the Eighth Route Army launched its attack.

The Japanese could use this time to calmly deploy their forces and organize their defenses.

But now, the puppet troops from the north and south have rebelled, and they have even wiped out the Japanese soldiers among them and escaped.

This means that the north and south sides have become vulnerable, and the Eighth Route Army can advance straight to Baotou City.

If we don't organize a defense quickly, and the Eighth Route Army breaks through the city walls and firmly occupies them, we risk them being captured.

Once reinforcements arrive, it will take the Japanese even greater effort to drive them out.

Of course, Baotou is not in immediate danger of being lost.

The main force of the Japanese 3rd Tank Division is still intact, and its elite armored forces have not suffered significant losses in the shelling.

Although the fuel depots have been bombed, one of them is completely destroyed and the other is still being fought, making it impossible to obtain fuel from the depot.

However, the tanks of the Japanese armored forces were already fully fueled.

This is so that armored units can be deployed immediately to engage the enemy in the event of a sudden attack.

With armored units at their disposal, the Japanese division commander felt confident.

However, if the city walls fall and the Eighth Route Army enters the city to fight street battles, they will suffer heavy casualties if they want to drive the enemy out completely.

In urban warfare, tanks cannot exert their full strength and will fight in a very frustrating way.

Under the orders of the Japanese division commander, large numbers of Japanese soldiers rushed to the north and south to strengthen the defenses in those two directions.

Even some of the Japanese division's defensive forces were mobilized.

In this urgent situation, we must act expediently. Since communications have not yet been fully restored, we can only mobilize all available troops.

Meanwhile, the special operations team, hidden in the shadows, noticed that the defenses of the Japanese division headquarters had weakened and immediately realized that their opportunity had arrived.

"Quick, get the grenade launchers ready, look for an opportunity to fire a few shots at him!"

"Then the first company attacked from the rear, and the second company attacked from both flanks."

"If we can paralyze the Japanese command system, the troops outside the city can inflict even greater casualties on the Japanese!"

Duan Peng excitedly issued the orders.

He wanted to replicate the scene of the Battle of Datong, and paralyze the enemy's command system by directly attacking it.

Although this did not allow the troops outside the city to directly occupy Baotou, since the Japanese had lost the command of the division headquarters, the command system of the underground regiment was still intact.

When a city is defended, the troops outside the city lack heavy firepower and find it difficult to enter the city.

However, if the Japanese division headquarters were destroyed, the troops outside the city would have plenty of time to complete the attack on the outer defense chain of Baotou.

Once Baotou's outer defenses are broken, Baotou will become a completely isolated city, utterly losing its ability to launch an offensive.

When the great war breaks out next year, the Japanese troops in Baotou will become like iron turtles, unable to pose a threat to the Independent Detachment from within.

In order to infiltrate Baotou and enter the city during the five-minute gap, they carried only grenade launchers as support weapons and some explosives.

Under Duan Peng's command, the soldiers of the special operations brigade immediately carried out the order.

(End of this chapter)