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

Chapter 268 The Hot-Tempered Chief of Staff

After the order was given, the special operations demolition team immediately set up the grenade launchers and fired them at the Japanese firing positions.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

Four grenades hit the Japanese machine gun bunker precisely, destroying the Japanese heavy machine gun.

The Japanese never expected that someone would dare to attack the command post.

You must understand, this was the Japanese stronghold in Baotou, surrounded by countless Japanese soldiers.

To dare attack the division headquarters here is simply outrageous.

The Japanese soldiers responsible for guarding the division headquarters were the essence of the Japanese divisions. The Japanese also learned from the lessons of the last Datong battle and deployed a large number of defensive measures at the division headquarters.

As the special forces soldiers advanced along the houses, the Japanese machine gun emplacements hidden in the shadows immediately opened fire.

Faced with overwhelming machine gun fire, the soldiers were unable to advance.

In narrow terrain, a single heavy machine gun can block off a street.

Moreover, the Japanese heavy machine guns were hidden behind the bunkers, firing through the firing ports.

Before the advent of individual rocket launchers, relying on indirect-fire grenade launchers as firepower made destruction extremely difficult.

"Captain, we can't break through! The Japanese firepower is too intense!"

"Damn it, those Japanese devils have gotten smarter. They've turned their division headquarters into an ironclad fortress, just to keep an eye on our special forces."

"It seems impossible to destroy the Japanese command system. Even if we manage to break through with a forced attack, few of our special forces soldiers will survive."

"Besides, if this goes on for too long, the Japanese division commander will have already fled!"

"We have no choice but to retreat temporarily. Tell the soldiers to retreat and execute the second contingency plan."

Duan Peng said, cursing.

Duan Peng is not like Yamamoto Ichiki, who, knowing that the sneak attack plan had been exposed and thwarted, still forced an attack and used the special forces team as a commando unit.

He is very clever and will adopt different offensive methods according to the situation on the battlefield.

"Yes."

After the order was given, the special forces began an orderly retreat, breaking free from the Japanese soldiers' entanglement.

The Japanese soldiers wanted to give chase, but a dozen of them were killed by a trap set by the special forces. Seeing that the enemy had run far away, they returned to the division headquarters.

They feared this was a diversionary tactic by an unknown enemy within the city, designed to lure them away and leave the division headquarters vulnerable.

The most important thing for the guards at the Japanese division headquarters now is to protect the division headquarters and ensure the safety of the command system.

As for the troops inside the city, their numbers are small, and we can deal with them gradually later.

After leaving the Japanese division headquarters, Duan Peng continued to issue orders to the special forces team.

"The Japanese command post was an ironclad machine, but their communications soldiers were not."

"Each squad and group shall operate separately, targeting the Japanese communications soldiers and preventing them from restoring their communication system."

If Duan Peng couldn't break the Japanese command chain, then he would attack their communication chain.

Without a communication system, the Japanese could only send signalmen to relay orders.

Special forces can also intercept and kill Japanese communications soldiers, indirectly destroying the Japanese command system.

If a heavily fortified command post is difficult to attack, how difficult can a communications soldier be?
Meanwhile, inside the Japanese division headquarters, the division commander was still somewhat shaken after the attack on the headquarters.

However, he was relieved to learn that the unknown enemy who had attacked the division headquarters had been repelled.

"Do you really think the empire's generals won't grow in ability?"

"In the Great Battle of Datong, the Empire suffered a loss due to its lack of preparedness. The Empire will not make the same mistake twice."

"As expected, the Eighth Route Army once again used decapitation tactics in an attempt to destroy our command system."

"However, the command post is now as solid as a rock. If the Eighth Route Army dares to come, we will make sure they don't return."

After defeating the special forces, the Japanese division commander puffed out his chest and said confidently.

"The division commander is wise!"

"General, your strategy is brilliant!"

The Japanese officers praised him, making no mention of how many men they had lost or how much damage they had inflicted on the special forces during the attack.

"There's no need to say such meaningless things. The Eighth Route Army's artillery fire has weakened, and their decapitation strike failed, which means that the Eighth Route Army is out of steam."

"Order all units to stabilize the defensive line and organize manpower to salvage supplies within the city!"

The Japanese division commander gave the order.

"Hai!"

The Japanese soldiers immediately relayed the orders, and those who had lost telephone communication sent messengers to deliver the orders.

However, the messenger they sent out did not return for several hours.

Even the telephone lines that are still in use are inexplicably decreasing.

Needless to say, it was definitely the work of the special forces.

When the Japanese division commander found out, he was furious, but he was powerless to do anything about the special forces.

"Those damned Eighth Route Army guerrillas, you bastards!"

The special operations team is now divided into squads and groups, with 36 people in a squad and 11 people in a group.

A force of this size could easily disappear without a trace in any place in the bombed city of Baotou.

The darkness made the search even more difficult.

The Japanese sent out many soldiers to search for these special forces members, but they couldn't catch the slippery ones.

The Japanese division commander was furious. A whole division was helpless against a small force of about a hundred men.

"Hold on until dawn, repel the troops outside the city, and then slowly deal with the rats inside the city."

"Order the garrison on the city wall to tighten their defenses; under no circumstances should a breach appear!"

The Japanese division commander gave the order.

at the same time.

The defense line of the puppet army deputy division commander's troops outside the field was teetering on the brink of collapse under the combined attack of Li Yousheng's Independent Detachment and Wang Gui's troops.

The deputy division commander had gone out to keep an appointment and had not yet returned. Without unified command, their defense appeared chaotic.

The key point is that the Japanese were also watching from behind, showing no intention of sending troops to rescue them, and just watched them fight the Eighth Route Army.

The puppet troops on the position were desperate. Even if they knew that the Japanese wanted to wear down the puppet troops and the Eighth Route Army, they shouldn't just stand by and watch.

A back-and-forth battle, a tug-of-war on the front lines, is called attrition.

Now, the two detachments of the Eighth Route Army are attacking from both the east and west flanks simultaneously, encircling them.

This is clearly an attempt to make dumplings and wipe them all out at once.

The Japanese soldiers just stood by and watched without doing anything, not even sending troops to reinforce the puppet army's rear to prevent the Eighth Route Army from completely encircling the puppet army's positions.

This puzzled the military officers in the puppet army who possessed military talent.

Little did they know, the Japanese division commander had ordered the Japanese troops inside the city to hold their ground and not to move out easily.

Of course, the Japanese soldiers on the city wall also knew that the Eighth Route Army wanted to outflank the puppet troops, and had already reported the situation to the division headquarters.

However, the phone inexplicably couldn't get through, so they had to send troops to deliver the message.

However, these soldiers who were sent out have already been intercepted and killed by Duan Peng's men.

Therefore, the Japanese division headquarters is still unaware that the Eighth Route Army is encircling the puppet troops on the east and west sides, intending to wipe them out.

On the puppet army's position, facing a pincer attack from two battalions, the puppet army of only two thousand men quickly succumbed. Without unified command, the chaotic troops, even with the added benefit of fortifications, could not hold out much.

Before long, their organization was completely wiped out, and they began to flee.

One of the slower-moving puppet troops was stuck with a battalion of Li Yousheng's forces and couldn't shake them off without reinforcements.

"Commander Wang, for the sake of us being colleagues, please help me out, please help me out."

The puppet army commander shouted loudly to the puppet army commander surnamed Wang who was running ahead.

However, upon hearing the sound, the puppet army commander Wang ran even faster.

Now, if he had grown two more legs, he wouldn't dare stop to help.

If we stop the rescue, not only will we not be able to rescue the other person, but even if we do, it will waste time.

When the Eighth Route Army arrived, he couldn't escape either.

Now he only hopes that the puppet troops running behind can delay the Eighth Route Army a little longer, giving him more time to escape.

Without the help of the puppet troops who were running ahead, the puppet troops that were running behind were quickly caught up by a battalion of Li Yousheng's troops and were quickly divided and surrounded.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the remaining puppet troops surrendered.

In any case, for ordinary soldiers, as long as they did not commit serious crimes, the Eighth Route Army would not exterminate them; they would still have a chance to survive.

If they resist to the end, all they will get in return is bullets and shells.

They didn't want to eat purple eggs or poached eggs, and they wanted to drink cauliflower soup; surrendering was their only way to survive.

The commander of the puppet army lost his sight, knowing he was doomed.

As the commander of the puppet army, he had committed countless atrocities and was a leader, so he had virtually no chance of survival.

But everyone wants to live; survival is an instinct.

The fake legion commander could only find an ordinary soldier's uniform to change into, hoping to get away with it.

However, in the puppet army, betraying one's brothers and treacherous behavior were already basic practices.

Before he could even begin to pretend to be an ordinary soldier, he was identified by some junior officers in the puppet army who were eager to make a name for themselves.

"Damn it, still not honest? Trying to fool me?"

One of the soldiers kicked the puppet army commander in the leg.

The puppet army commander stumbled and knelt on the ground. Soldiers immediately rushed forward and tied him up with ropes.

The way they were tied up was like tying up a pig for the New Year.

As for ordinary puppet soldiers, those who have already surrendered don't need to go through this trouble.

Once they've taken off their guns, there's no need to tie them up; just have them stand obediently to the side.

After all, they were just ordinary soldiers. If they hadn't done anything wrong during the subsequent investigation and were willing to turn away from evil and embrace the light, they might become comrades-in-arms in the future.

Li Yousheng's troops left a portion of their soldiers to deal with the prisoners, while the rest continued to pursue another puppet army regiment.

The current situation is that as long as we catch up with the other side, we can achieve merit.

However, if you want to make a contribution, you have to do it before Wang Gui's troops.

If Wang Gui's troops intercept this puppet army from the other side, then the credit will be theirs.

On the battlefield, credit is earned at the front, and it's all about first come, first served; whoever gets it first gets it.

Their troops under Li Yousheng had already broken through the puppet army's defenses and annihilated one puppet army regiment; they should have continued their attack.

Just because Wang Gui's unit and their unit were carrying out the same mission, they can't stop after eliminating a puppet army, can they?

What was Wang Gui's troops doing at this time?
The perspective shifts to Wang Gui's troops, where one of his battalions is locked in a fierce battle with the puppet army's fortifications to the east.

The eastern side of Baotou has a three-dimensional defense system consisting of mountain high ground, artificial ice walls, and deep firepower, which significantly increases the difficulty of attacking.

To the west lies the gentle Hetao Plain, devoid of any strategic high ground, making it convenient for large-scale troop deployments.

This allowed Li Yousheng to deploy half of his main force to the west, launching an attack like sweeping the floor with a broom.

Wang Gui's troops, however, could only attack one company at a time, which naturally slowed them down.

In addition, the Japanese headquarters was located near the east of the city, where more troops were stationed, and the east gate of Baotou was adjacent to the Japanese supply warehouse, making the defense density even higher.

The Japanese had deployed two more elite companies at the East Gate.
So Wang Guibu ran headfirst into this lump of iron.

After three hours of fighting, they had only advanced two hundred meters.

Meanwhile, Li Yousheng's troops had already wiped out the Japanese and puppet troops at the west gate and began their attack on the east gate.

Wang Gui was truly unlucky. Ever since he was dealt with by Chen Ming when he was still in the Independent Second Regiment, he has not made any great contributions.

So much so that even though he was quite capable, daring to fight, and was the captain of one of the three squads in the initial district team.

Even now, he's still just the captain of an ordinary brigade.

Of the three squad leaders, Wang Dafei became chief of staff and went to the rear for further training. Even He Jianxin, who was under Wang Dafei's squad, is now one of the three main forces of the independent detachment.

This time, when choosing a task, Wang Gui originally intended to choose a more difficult one, to tackle a tough challenge and prove himself.

As it turned out, this time the challenge was truly tough.

The Japanese troops to the east relied on their strong fortifications and advantageous terrain.

They managed to hold off an attack by Wang Gui's forces, which outnumbered the Japanese and puppet troops, with just over four hundred Japanese soldiers and some puppet troops.

Such a record made Wang Gui lose face.

News has also come that Li Yousheng's troops have cleared the western flank and are now flanking from the west.

What made Wang Gui even more upset was that everyone else had eaten the meat, while he was left to gnawing on this tough nut, and to make matters worse, he couldn't even get it over with.

Wang Gui's troops reported their offensive progress to the front-line command via telegram.

"What? What? You can't even speak clearly while stammering!"

The chief of staff said on the other end of the phone.

Wang Gui continued his report with a long face.

"What? Too many casualties? What are you doing? You can't even break through the defenses on the east side."

"What? Still can't get up there?"

"Listen, reorganize the attack. If we don't inflict serious damage on the troops outside the city, the Japanese inside won't come to our aid easily."

"Yes, no matter what method you use, you must attack and take the eastern position."

The chief of staff said on the phone.

You could tell from his tone that the chief of staff was very angry.

He has a fiery temper, acts decisively, and is ruthless when criticizing his subordinates.

During previous troop training sessions, many officers in the unit had been scolded by him.

Among the officers and soldiers, there was even a saying: "I'm not afraid of hardship, I'm not afraid of death, I'm just afraid of the chief of staff giving me a lecture."

At the same time, his combat style is as swift and powerful as thunder, precise and efficient, and tough in style.

Wang Gui's several thousand troops were held up by several hundred Japanese and puppet soldiers for several hours, advancing only a hundred meters.

How could the chief of staff not be angry?

On the phone, he was ruthless when he started cursing.

After hanging up the phone, Wang Gui could only grit his teeth and reorganize his troops to continue the attack, determined to overcome the tough challenge ahead.

(End of this chapter)