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

Chapter 46 Combat Order
Two shells, without any mishaps, precisely destroyed the command system of the Sakata Regiment.

When Chen Ming saw on the map that the New First Regiment was still charging towards the Sakata Brigade, he sighed.

When I saw that the command post of the Sakata Regiment had been destroyed, I felt relieved.

"To the 386th Brigade Headquarters: The New 1st Regiment has engaged the enemy and has failed to retreat as planned. We request guidance from headquarters."

Chen Ming spoke to the communications soldier.

In the last battle to eliminate the Japanese stronghold, the 2nd Independent Regiment captured a radio, but it could not be handed over in time because the Japanese launched a mopping-up operation too suddenly.

Considering that the Japanese had already begun their mopping-up operations, headquarters sent a radio operator to the Independent 2nd Regiment instead of taking the radio back, in order to contact the troops below more quickly.

Therefore, among the regiments in and around Cangyunling, the Independent Second Regiment was the only one with a radio station.

Even numbered regiments like the 772nd Regiment were not equipped with radios at this time; they were only temporarily equipped with radios during the Hundred Regiments Offensive.

Other regiments could only rely on messengers to relay messages, which took hours or even days, severely impacting tactical coordination.

Afterwards, Chen Ming relayed the general battlefield situation he had observed on the map to headquarters through a radio operator.

The headquarters is far from the main battlefield, and the information obtained is delayed, which sometimes leads to misjudgments due to inaccurate information.

We hope that headquarters can obtain more accurate information about the battlefield and respond accordingly.

The telegrams were transmitted quickly, and soon headquarters received news that Li Yunlong had led his troops in a frontal breakout and destroyed the command post of the Sakata Regiment.

"It's that Li Yunlong again. He disobeyed orders on the battlefield and refused to submit to commands. This time, I will have to execute him."

The boss slammed his fist on the table angrily.

"Boss, even if we're going to execute Li Yunlong, we have to finish the war first."

"Now that the Japanese Sakata Regiment has lost its command system, I think this is an opportunity. Even if things don't go well, we must rescue the soldiers of the New First Regiment."

The chief of staff spoke up.

After hearing the chief of staff's words, the general's anger subsided somewhat.

He was just saying that in anger; he wouldn't really want to execute Li Yunlong.

After all, Li Yunlong was a cunning strategist who knew how to fight and was also good at developing his troops.

The New First Regiment initially had only a few hundred men and limited weapons and ammunition. In just one year, Li Yunlong transformed it into a formidable force, achieving the combat capability of a main force regiment.

The fact that we were able to withstand the firepower of the Sakata Regiment and destroy its command system was also due to the development of our troops.

"Once the war is over, I'm going to give that idiot Li Yunlong a good beating," the boss said.

Next, he took out a map and, referring to the battlefield information mentioned in Chen Ming's telegram, began to formulate a battle plan.

With the firsthand battlefield information provided by Chen Ming, coupled with the superior military capabilities of the commander-in-chief and the staff at headquarters, they quickly located the weak points of the Japanese forces.

"Send a telegram to Chen Ming of the Second Independent Regiment and have him relay the order."

"Order: The 16th Regiment and the 771st Regiment shall launch a fierce attack on the flank of the Sakata Regiment to cover the New 1st Regiment; the withdrawn Independent Regiment shall move to the Eagle Beak Cliff area to take over the mission of the New 1st Regiment."

"Independent Second Regiment, outflank the Sakata Regiment from behind. I want to prevent the Sakata Regiment from being able to support both its front and rear."

"772nd Regiment, support the New 1st Regiment and draw the Japanese troops on the Cangyunling position of the Sakata Regiment from the front."

"At the same time, order the artillery battalion to bombard the Sakata Regiment hard and let them taste what it's like to be bombed."

The boss quickly issued the battle order.

The Japanese Sakata Regiment, relying on its superior weaponry and well-trained soldiers, dared to be so arrogant as to penetrate so deep into the base area.

If it weren't for the need to cover the evacuation of the field hospital and civilians, and the concern about being bogged down by the Sakata Regiment and attracting a large group of Japanese soldiers from the rear, it would have been much better.

A regiment of over three thousand men, with only one artillery company (centered around six Type 6 infantry guns), and not even equipped with mountain guns or field guns, dared to be so arrogant.
Now, the command system of the Sakata Regiment has been destroyed, and the entire regiment is temporarily in chaos.

The commander astutely seized the opportunity; even if he couldn't completely wipe out the entire regiment, he would still take a piece of the flesh before leaving.

Let the Japanese devils know that the Eighth Route Army's base area is not a place they can come and go as they please!
After this period of development, with the three Type 92 infantry guns captured by Chen Ming and the artillery pieces captured sporadically from other units, the commander-in-chief had also formed an artillery battalion. Although a lot of artillery shells had been used up in eliminating Japanese strongholds, there was still enough ammunition to support the front-line troops.

At the front lines, after receiving the telegram from headquarters, Chen Ming looked at the battle plan formulated by headquarters and couldn't help but sigh.

"As expected of headquarters, their sense of smell is so sharp. They seized the opportunity so quickly and found the enemy's weak point."

"In this case, the Sakata Regiment will have to suffer a major blow."

Looking at the operational plan formulated by headquarters, Chen Ming felt deeply aware of his own shortcomings.

He was able to gain the upper hand against the Japanese time and time again by relying on the three-dimensional battle map in his mind.

Headquarters, based solely on the intelligence provided by Chen Ming, was able to accurately identify the weaknesses of the Sakata Regiment, precisely seize opportunities, and formulate plans.

The difference is clear at a glance.

"The communications squad, assemble! Immediately transmit the headquarters' orders to all units as quickly as possible. Even if you have a broken leg, you must still get the combat orders through."

Chen Ming issued orders to the communications squad.

The situation on the battlefield changes rapidly, and not a minute can be wasted.

The faster the news spread, the fewer soldiers of the New First Regiment who charged alongside Li Yunlong would be killed.

Didn't you see that after Li Yunlong's New First Regiment successfully broke through the encirclement, only a few men were left in his First Battalion? Even Zhang Dabiao almost got lost.

"Make sure to complete the mission."

The communications squad leader accepted the task and quickly carried out the order.

As the orders reached the regimental commanders, the troops quickly sprang into action.

Chen Ming opened the map and began to think about how to carry out the headquarters' orders.

Chen Ming loved nothing more than poking the Japanese in the backside.

Since headquarters wants to attack this Sakata Regiment that has lost its command system, Chen Ming must do his best to block this Japanese force.

It's impossible to escape unscathed.

By observing the map, Chen Ming came up with a plan.

"Order the Second Battalion to move to the Xiaoqingshan area and establish a blocking position to cut off the Japanese retreat."

"The battalion plus the machine gun company, at all costs, will infiltrate to the Niujiaoshan Cliff Pass and cut off the Japanese devils. Tell Wang Dafei that even if the troops are wiped out, they must be held on the position."

"The regimental artillery company and the 1st company of the 3rd battalion, with all their artillery, fire a basic load of shells at coordinate xx, and then immediately support the 1st battalion to take the cliff pass."

"Third Battalion, Second Company, Third Company, Guard Platoon, Sharpshooter Company, follow me and stab the Japanese devils in the buttocks."

The Xiaoqingshan area was the only way for the Japanese regiment to retreat. If that area was blocked, the Japanese would have to break through the Second Battalion's defenses if they wanted to retreat.

Otherwise, they would have to take a detour, which would invite attacks from other units.

The Niujiaoshan Cliff Pass was a key point connecting the front and rear of the Japanese army. As long as the cliff pass was occupied, the Japanese troops would be divided and surrounded.

It was extremely difficult to penetrate to the cliff pass, as they would have to face attacks from both the front and rear by the Japanese. Therefore, Chen Ming dispatched the strongest and largest battalion to carry out the mission.

In addition, there was the powerful firepower of the machine gun company, and the support of the artillery company with eight mortars and one Type 92 infantry gun.

With almost the entire regiment's strongest firepower assembled, and given that the Japanese had lost their command system and were in a state of brief chaos, there was still a good chance of completing the mission.

However, in the end, the First Battalion will suffer heavy casualties, as it will face attacks from both sides by the Japanese.

The coordinates at which Chen Ming ordered the artillery company to attack were the Japanese artillery positions, which had a total of six Type 92 infantry guns.

It was the biggest threat to the First Battalion's attack on the cliff pass. From the very beginning, Chen Ming had to destroy the enemy's artillery positions.

(End of this chapter)