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

Chapter 287 Ding Wei's Disdain, the Arrival of the Japanese Class A Division
Early the next morning.

The Japanese launched their attack precisely at dawn.

This time, the Japanese no longer held back and concentrated their main force to launch a fierce attack on Ding Wei's Mituo Mountain position.

During yesterday's attack, the Japanese believed they had a clear understanding of Ding Wei's unit's strength and were confident that their all-out offensive would yield even greater results.

A large number of shells were dropped on the Amitabha Mountain position, and the main position of Amitabha Mountain was bombarded with dust.

The Japanese attacking force doubled, with hundreds of Japanese soldiers launching a frontal assault on the main position at Mita Mountain.

Several hundred more Japanese soldiers launched a flanking attack from the flanks to support the main assault.

Undeterred by enemy artillery fire and fortifications, the soldiers on the main position fought back against the Japanese invaders on the steel and fire-filled battlefield.

This time, a battalion of soldiers on the position put up a much stronger resistance than yesterday.

They would not yield an inch, vowing to defend their position with their guns and their lives.

"Only by alternating between loosening and tightening can we put the Japanese at ease. Yesterday we let them advance two kilometers, but today we must not give an inch and let the Japanese know our strength."

Inside Ding Wei's command post, Ding Wei said with a smile.

Having fought against the Japanese for a long time, he understood one thing.

To catch a big fish, you can't be too relaxed, nor can you keep the fishing rod taut all the time.

If you let the line out too loosely, the fish will swim away, creating a tug-of-war that will break even the thickest line.

If you hold the rod too tight, the fish will struggle violently, which can easily damage the fishing rod.

Only by alternating between loosening and tightening, pulling and tugging, can one become a qualified angler.

Ding Wei was well aware of this strategy. In yesterday's battle, he used a two-kilometer-long defensive line to weaken more than three hundred Japanese soldiers.

This both weakened the Japanese troops and gave them hope, preventing them from panicking too much.

Today, he will defend the position with a tough stance, keep the Japanese at bay, and quickly deplete their strength.

This also made the Japanese soldiers lower their guard.

This unauthorized brigade was unaware of the independent detachment's strength. Although the other side acted without authorization, it was impossible for them to completely avoid contact with their superiors.

The Independent Detachment's opponents were not only this regiment and the Kwantung Army Division, but also that old Japanese devil, Okamura.

Given the opponent's cautious nature, they would definitely become suspicious if this team played smoothly.

Ding Wei had to be even more cautious with the cunning fish.

On the battlefield of Amitabha Mountain.

The Japanese attacked all morning but achieved little success; the difference compared to yesterday was obvious.

The Japanese regimental commander also put aside his contempt.

"This local Eighth Route Army has made a name for itself in the interior of China; it must have some real strength."

"Order the Third Battalion to bypass the Nineteenth Gully, the Fifteenth Gully, and the Twelfth Gully from the left flank, circle around to the White Hair Gully, and outflank the rear of Mount Amitabha to cut off the rear of the Chinese army on Mount Amitabha."

The Japanese regimental commander used their favorite and most proficient tactic of flanking maneuvers.

Throughout the War of Resistance against Japan, the Japanese army's favorite tactic, as anyone familiar with history knows, was the flanking maneuver.

During the Battle of Shanghai, the Japanese army achieved victory by landing at Jinshanwei and outflanking the National Revolutionary Army from the flank and rear.

During the Battle of Nanjing, the Japanese Kunisaki Detachment also crossed the Yangtze River and outflanked the Nationalist troops at Pukou, cutting off their retreat.

During the Battle of Taiyuan, the Japanese army again outflanked the National Revolutionary Army from Niangziguan, cutting off their retreat route in the Xinkou area.

During the Battle of Xuzhou, the Japanese army deployed ten divisions to advance from both the north and south, forming a massive encirclement of Xuzhou.

Ultimately, this forced the 600,000-strong garrison in Xuzhou to abandon this strategically important location.

In short, for the Japanese army, a battle without a flanking maneuver felt like something was missing.

Flanking maneuvers seem like an outdated tactic.

The problem is that Japanese generals replicated this model time and time again, and succeeded each time.

This shows that this tactic is indeed effective on the domestic battlefield.

This time, the Japanese regimental commander used this tactic that the Japanese usually used.

What were Ding Wei's tactics in response?

"We've set up an ambush here, just waiting for the Japanese to come in so we can trap them and devour them in one bite."

Ding Wei looked at the sand table map in the command post and said.

This sand table was created by Chen Ming over several months, with the help of a large number of exploration personnel and his own three-dimensional combat map.

It is worth more than a thousand pieces of gold; it is a priceless treasure that cannot be bought with anything.

The location of the Japanese troops and the other units of Ding Wei's army were clearly marked on the sand table map.

At this point, a pocket formation had been formed. They were just waiting for the Japanese to enter so they could hold the entrance, preventing them from advancing or retreating, and ultimately annihilating them.

The so-called pocket tactic is roughly to deploy a U-shaped formation, first luring the enemy deep into the territory, and then flanking them from both sides.

During the Battle of Tannenberg in World War I, the German army on the Eastern Front used this tactic to completely annihilate the Russian Second Army.

One advantage of this formation is that it allows for both offense and defense.

When attacking, the two flanks can be used like scissors to cut at the enemy, causing them to be attacked from both sides and unable to defend themselves.

When defending, it's like a revolving door; if the enemy attacks the left flank, the right flank will suddenly open, and if they attack the right flank, the left flank will suddenly open.

However, even though this formation can both attack and defend, it also has its weaknesses.

The weakness of this formation is obvious. With such a large net, your troops will inevitably be scattered. If the enemy is too strong and advances too quickly, this will make you vulnerable.

It wasn't even necessary to destroy the troops on both flanks simultaneously; a frontal assault was sufficient to break through the formation. This explains why we observed this in the early stages of the full-scale war of resistance.

Although Chinese generals have used this tactic countless times, the results seem to be less than satisfactory.

For example, during the Battle of Taiyuan, Yan Xishan repeatedly planned to lure the enemy into a pocket formation, but because the enemy advanced too quickly, the formation was often broken through before it could be fully deployed, and ultimately none of his plans succeeded.

Wei had also planned a pocket formation during the Battle of Xinkou, but the firepower of the Japanese 5th Division was too strong, and the frontal defense was not able to hold them back at all.

As a result, the troops on both flanks could only send reinforcements continuously, and the frontal forces were unable to launch an attack.

It can be said that from the start of the Battle of Shanghai until the eve of the Battle of Wuhan, Li only successfully implemented one beautiful pocket formation at Taierzhuang.

However, apart from that, Chinese generals who used this tactic did not achieve any particularly outstanding results.

Until August 1938, Okamura, the Japanese commander in charge of attacking Wuhan along the Yangtze River, still used the tactic of flanking maneuvers.

He set off from Huangpi in Jiujiang, went up the Yangtze River to take Wuhan, and another route went south to attack De'an, then detoured to Nanchang and Changsha to cut off the Yuehan Railway and block the retreat of the Chinese defenders on the Wuhan battlefield.

But on the other side, in the direction of De'an, a general nicknamed "Tiger Boy" was watching this southward-bound Japanese army with predatory eyes.

He also set up a strangulation formation here, determined to annihilate the Japanese army and avenge the shame of Nanfeng.

Ultimately, the great victory at Wanjialing occurred.

At this time, Ding Wei also adopted the pocket tactic to counter the Japanese army's flanking maneuver.

At Shiwugou, Shiergou, and Baimaogou, the defense was handled by two battalions of Ding Wei's newly formed Fifth Battalion, totaling about a thousand soldiers. After the reorganization, Ding Wei's troops were divided into three battalions: the newly formed Fourth Battalion, the newly formed Fifth Battalion, and the newly formed Sixth Battalion.

The newly formed Fifth Battalion was the strongest fighting force under Ding Wei, second only to the newly formed Fourth Battalion.

After the Japanese Third Battalion entered Shiwugou, they quickly engaged in combat with the soldiers of the newly formed Fifth Battalion.

In terms of troop strength, the two battalions had more combat personnel than the Japanese.

In terms of terrain, the defending troops have an absolute advantage.

In terms of artillery firepower, these two battalions were slightly inferior, but this was because Ding Wei concealed his true abilities, further luring the Japanese deeper into the territory.

The Japanese Third Battalion faced extremely difficult fighting during their outflanking maneuver.

In just one day, they lost 30% of their troops, and most importantly, the proportion of officers killed in action was extremely high.

Of the three battalion's four company commanders, two were killed in action.

Officers below the rank of company commander suffered more than half of their casualties.

The officers suffered heavy losses, all thanks to Ding Wei's instructions during the defense to specifically target the Japanese officers.

This would deplete the Japanese soldiers' fighting strength, while minimizing their losses due to limited manpower.

This Japanese regiment belonged to the 57th Division of the Japanese Kwantung Army.

This division was a special division, also known as a Class B division, which was reorganized from an independent mixed brigade in 42.

Its personnel are mostly reservists over 30 years old, and officers below the rank of battalion commander are all veterans.

The soldiers were all retired soldiers who had spent many years working in society before being re-enlisted.

Without the command of active-duty officers, these soldiers would find it difficult to exert their combat effectiveness.

This situation was remarkably similar to that of the Japanese 106th Division during the Battle of Wuhan.

The Japanese Third Battalion suffered heavy casualties and had essentially lost its fighting capacity. It was locked in a stalemate with two battalions of Ding Wei's newly formed Fifth Battalion at the Shiergou position.

They couldn't break through and couldn't maneuver smoothly, and because Ding Wei's troops were on their flanks, retreating would easily leave them sandwiched between two sides.

They could only helplessly remain where they were.

Two days into the battle, a Japanese regiment had exhausted all means but failed to achieve the expected results.

The Japanese regimental commander was starting to feel uneasy.

However, since he's already out here, if he suffers too many losses without achieving much, Okamura will definitely hold him hostage.

His superiors couldn't protect him either; at that time, he was lucky to even be transferred to the reserve force, let alone be promoted to general.

After all, his appearance this time was no different from slapping Gangcun across the face.

Okamura also has some connections within the Kwantung Army, so dealing with him, a mere regimental commander who made a mistake, shouldn't be difficult.

The Japanese regimental commander had no choice but to send the already heavily damaged First Battalion to reinforce the Third Battalion in an attempt to break through the Shiergou and Baimaogou positions.

Once Baimaogou is captured, the Eighth Route Army on Mituo Mountain will lose its retreat route and will have no choice but to withdraw.

Then he still has a chance to win.

On the third day, after resting, the Japanese once again sent out their heavily damaged First Battalion, along with the Third Battalion, to launch a fierce attack on Ding Wei's Twelve Ditch position.

The result, naturally, was that no major breakthroughs were achieved.

After two days of attrition, the Japanese troops' fighting strength has been greatly reduced.

If this method were used on the first day, it might be possible to successfully outflank the enemy using two large battalions when their morale had been low.

However, the First Battalion suffered heavy losses on the first day, and the Third Battalion lost a large number of officers on the second day due to its inferior manpower, resulting in a serious decline in combat effectiveness.

Two rotten oranges together are still rotten oranges.

After a morning of attacks on the third day, the Japanese not only failed to achieve much, but were also outmaneuvered by two battalions of Ding Wei's troops at Shiergou and trapped at Shiwugou.

The Japanese troops on the main battlefield of Mituo Mountain were also entangled with the defenders on Mituo Mountain, unable to withdraw or provide support to the two battalions of remnants trapped in Shiwugou.

The Japanese regimental commander was completely at a loss. He slumped down in despair in the temporary command post, as if all his strength had been drained.

He knew that if he couldn't withdraw his troops, the losses would be even greater.

But now, the two sides' forces are entangled, and he can't just withdraw whenever he wants.

After all, he was deep in enemy territory alone, surrounded by Eighth Route Army troops.

Ding Wei's headquarters.

Ding Wei was very happy: "After fighting for three days, I realized that the Japanese Kwantung Army was nothing special after all."

"Their combat effectiveness is even inferior to that of the Japanese Class B Divisions inside the Great Wall. What a waste of those weapons."

Ding Wei's tone was disdainful; this reckless brigade's combat effectiveness was completely mismatched with their arrogance.

He had assumed that a unit that dared to launch an attack alone, even if not exceptionally elite, would at least be of considerable fighting strength.

But when the fighting actually started, the Japanese soldiers' performance disappointed him.

They were even inferior to the Japanese Class B Security Division inside the Great Wall.

After some officers were eliminated, they seemed to have lost their fighting ability, and their combat effectiveness was about the same as that of newly trained recruits.

The Japanese Class B divisions inside the Great Wall, although the Japanese forces near the Independent Detachment were suppressed, were experienced in counterinsurgency warfare.

Even if an officer is killed, the soldier with the higher rank will temporarily take command, organize resistance, and maintain combat effectiveness.

The gap between the two sides is obvious.

Ding Wei deployed only one newly formed Fifth Battalion and one battalion of the newly formed Fourth Battalion at the Amitabha Mountain position, and they managed to hold off an entire Japanese regiment, inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy.

He also had two battalions, the newly formed Sixth Battalion and the newly formed Fourth Battalion, still on the Fengzhen defense line, and had not even seen a trace of the Japanese.

If the Japanese 57th Division had this level of combat capability, Ding Wei felt he could cripple the entire division.

"We still can't be careless. The reconnaissance unit reports that the remaining troops of the Japanese 57th Division have arrived."

"Tomorrow we may face a full-scale attack from an entire Japanese division."

"Another division of the Japanese Kwantung Army, the 14th Division, is also eager to make a move. This division is not as powerful as the 57th Division."

"We still need to be cautious and not underestimate the enemy, like that reckless Japanese regiment."

Political Commissar Ding Wei began to speak.

The Japanese 57th Division was not very strong, but the 14th Division was a proper, standing Class A division.

They have extensive experience in combat within the Great Wall.

It was involved in the Battle of Baoding, the Battle of Taiyuan, and the Battle of Lanfeng.

They were also the main enemy in the Jin-Sui-Re-Cha region.

P.S.: This chapter focuses more on basic military tactics, in order to make the tactics easier for readers to understand.

(End of this chapter)