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

Chapter 82 Annihilation of the Kawasaki Battalion
With the addition of the Third Battalion and the Sharp Knife Team, the Japanese soldiers who were locked in combat with the Second Battalion began to struggle to hold on.

Chen Ming did not order the remaining napalm bombs to be fired at the group of three hundred Japanese soldiers.

Because there are roads in the Huanglong Cave direction, petrol bombs hitting those areas would not cause significant consequences.

But these three hundred Japanese soldiers were taking a small path overgrown with weeds.

If a few petrol bombs were fired, it could very likely start a wildfire.

The Japanese could be easily wiped out, but the subsequent costs caused by the wildfire would be unbearable for the Second Independent Regiment.

In this era, without such advanced firefighting equipment, the power of a wildfire once it starts is simply unimaginable.

Compared to the might of nature, human power is still too insignificant.

South of Dagetun, the remaining 150-odd Japanese soldiers are facing an attack by more than 800 men.

"Comrades, charge! Don't let the First Battalion see us, the Third Battalion, and make a fool of ourselves."

Wang Gui took the lead, charging towards the Japanese's makeshift position with a Type 96 rifle.

Under Wang Gui's leadership, the soldiers of the Third Battalion charged at the Japanese invaders with great fanfare.

Their Third Battalion had already suffered enough humiliation during the ambush of the Japanese at Huanglong Cave; now their only chance was right in front of them.

In order to hold their heads high in front of other battalions in the future, the soldiers of the Third Battalion launched a fierce offensive.

When Li Yousheng saw that the men of the Third Battalion had arrived, he knew that the battle in the direction of Huanglong Cave was over.

"Damn it, the Third Battalion has already eaten the meat from Huanglong Cave, how come they're trying to steal meat from our Second Battalion again?" Li Yousheng was so angry that he jumped up and down, cursing loudly.

"Wang Gui of the Third Battalion is a scoundrel! He's greedy and always looking for something better. Comrades, charge with me!"

Li Yousheng shouted and began to rally his soldiers to charge.

At the top of Huanglong Cave, Chen Ming saw Wang Gui, the battalion commander of the Third Battalion, on the map. He led his soldiers in a direct charge against the Japanese positions, also engulfing the Second Battalion.

Chen Ming was so angry that he cursed loudly:
"Damn it, how does that son of a bitch Wang Gui fight? He abandoned his position without authorization and charged directly at the Japanese, even dragging the Second Battalion into it."

"I've already set up the artillery positions and adjusted the firing data, but he, for the sake of saving face, disobeyed orders and got entangled with the Japanese. What am I supposed to do?"

Chen Ming was angry for a reason.

The battle at Huanglong Cave has ended. The Third Battalion, based on the battlefield situation, decided to support the Second Battalion, which he could understand.

But Wang Gui actually ordered his soldiers to charge at the Japanese positions and get entangled with the Japanese.

This rendered Chen Ming's artillery ineffective; he couldn't very well fire on the Third Battalion, which was already entangled with the Japanese.

More importantly, in close combat with the Japanese, casualties could quickly become uncontrollable.

The Second Battalion had already engaged the Japanese soldiers, and all they needed to do was wait for Chen Ming to order the artillery to turn their guns around. A few rounds of mortar fire would then eliminate them with minimal casualties.

Wang Gui's reckless command this time will cost at least 100 soldiers if they are to eliminate the remaining 150-plus Japanese soldiers.

Instead of utilizing their superior weaponry, they chose to engage in close-quarters combat or even hand-to-hand fighting with the Japanese. Isn't that just reckless?
"Once the war is over, I'm going to give you a piece of my mind." Chen Ming looked at the map angrily.

Da Ge Tun South.

Wang Gui had already put down his machine gun, picked up a large knife, and was charging wildly through the Japanese troops.

His body was covered in blood, but it was all from the Japanese.

"Seven."

After killing another Japanese soldier, Wang Gui shouted excitedly.

"You son of a bitch Wang Gui, what right do you have to steal from our Second Battalion's enemy?"

Li Yousheng followed behind Wang Gui and stabbed a Japanese soldier who was trying to launch a sneak attack to death with his bayonet.

"They're all Japanese devils, so what difference does it make who kills whom? Why distinguish between yours and mine?" Wang Gui said shamelessly.

He couldn't tell Li Yousheng that during the ambush at Huanglong Cave, the Third Battalion not only failed to get any meat, but also injured more than 20 soldiers.

Only then did they rush to the Third Battalion's blocking position to seize some points and regain face for the Japanese.

"Bullshit! Your Third Battalion wasn't satisfied with eating the Japanese in Huanglong Cave, and now you're trying to steal from our Second Battalion."

Li Yousheng was furious.

In this battle, their 2nd Battalion suffered the greatest losses. Their 2nd Battalion Company withstood the attack of more than a dozen Japanese artillery pieces on the Cangshan position for six hours.

Many soldiers were sacrificed in the subsequent luring of the enemy deep into their territory.

Now that they've finally managed to surround three hundred Japanese soldiers, that shameless Wang Gui still brings people to rob them.

Li Yousheng felt wronged. He was a former puppet soldier who had surrendered, even though Chen Ming treated them all the same.

However, every time Li Yousheng was vying for a mission, he always felt inferior to the First and Third Battalions, and he always followed Chen Ming's arrangements.

He never competed or fought for anything, because he felt that as a former puppet soldier, he was inferior to Wang Gui and Wang Dafei, the original loyalists of the district squad.

Therefore, every time Li Yousheng went into battle, he resolutely completed his mission and fought bravely, proving to Chen Ming, who had given him a second life, that he had not let down his regimental commander.

More than 800 men surrounded and attacked more than 150 Japanese soldiers, and the battle ended quickly.

However, due to this final charge, 113 of the more than 800 soldiers were killed.

At the Lujiapo position, the 716th Regiment and the 4th Battalion fought very bravely.

Although the equipment of the 716th Regiment was not even as good as that of the 4th Battalion of the Independent 2nd Regiment, just as Commander Wang and Commander Tian said, they were absolutely not ambiguous in fighting the Japanese.

With the support of artillery fire from Chen Ming, the more than 200 Japanese soldiers were wiped out by the 716th Regiment and the 4th Battalion of the 2nd Independent Regiment.

The 714th Regiment, which cut off the Japanese retreat and attacked the Kawasaki Battalion's supply line, achieved considerable success.

The supply train of over 300 men was fiercely attacked by the 714th Regiment's more than 1,000 men plus two companies from the 4th Battalion of the Independent 2nd Regiment. The Kawasaki Battalion's supply train was no match for the field troops in terms of combat strength. Facing an enemy five times its size, it was driven back in defeat and forced to retreat to a small ravine to hold its ground.

"Hold on! As long as reinforcements arrive, we can launch a counterattack," the Japanese captain encouraged the Japanese soldiers around him.

He was unaware of the situation of the troops at the front. As soon as the battle began, his unit was cut off from the troops at the front by the Eighth Route Army.

However, upon hearing the intense artillery fire ahead, the Japanese captain assumed that it was their artillery firing at the enemy.

It possesses sixteen artillery pieces, including the regimental-level Type 41 mountain howitzer.

The Japanese captain was confident that the enemy ahead would collapse soon.

Once the troops at the front have eliminated or routed the enemy, they will turn back to support them.

However, the Japanese captain's fantasy could never be realized.

The support troops he had been hoping for had now turned out to be familiar faces, and even the artillery he had been longing for had been captured by the 2nd Independent Regiment.

They are now an isolated force, surrounded by enemy forces.

"Comrades, the battles of the Independent 2nd Regiment and the 716th Regiment are over, and our 714th Regiment can't be slack off either, follow me and charge!" Commander Tian shouted.

The bugler sounded the charge.

The 714th Regiment launched a general offensive!

The Japanese army of more than 300 men had suffered more than half casualties. The 714th Regiment was not as well-off as the Independent 2nd Regiment, even though Chen Ming had distributed some ammunition to them before the battle.

But Commander Tian and the soldiers of the 714th Regiment, who were used to being poor, were reluctant to use up all their ammunition at once.

This was the situation of our Eighth Route Army during this period; weapons and ammunition were more precious than life itself.

As the 714th Regiment launched its charge, the remaining Japanese troops began to slowly collapse.

After all, they were a supply unit with limited personnel and combat effectiveness. Faced with the charge of a main force regiment like the 714th Regiment, they were quickly wiped out.

"That was awesome! So awesome!"

Commander Tian looked at the large amount of supplies being transported by the Japanese supply convoy, along with more than three hundred Japanese corpses, and burst into laughter.

"Deputy Regiment Commander Xiao, please take stock of the casualties among the soldiers."

"Reporting to the regimental commander, our regiment has suffered a total of 83 casualties, 53 seriously wounded, and 102 slightly wounded."

"What about the 4th Battalion of the 2nd Independent Regiment?"

"I just asked. Two companies of the 4th Battalion of the 2nd Independent Regiment suffered 32 casualties, 21 seriously wounded, and 30 slightly wounded."

"Great, great!" Commander Tian was very pleased.

This time, their team only lost 115 soldiers, but they wiped out more than 300 Japanese soldiers.
Crucially, they also seized a large amount of Japanese supplies this time.

This is a supply train of over 1,400 Japanese soldiers!

With the battle over, the troops quickly cleaned up the battlefield and then retreated and hid.

The Japanese Kawasaki Battalion was wiped out here. The Japanese will definitely launch retaliatory actions next. We must withdraw immediately and consolidate our gains.

At the headquarters of the Independent Second Regiment, Chen Ming warmly shook hands with the two regimental commanders.

"The 714th and 716th Regiments fought bravely this time. They truly deserve to be called the main force regiments of our Eighth Route Army. They have shown the might of our Eighth Route Army."

"Haha, Comrade Chen Ming's Independent Second Regiment fought even better. Of the more than 1,400 Japanese soldiers, the Independent Second Regiment wiped out more than 1,000. They truly deserve to be called the heroic regiment of our Eighth Route Army."

Chen Ming and the two team leaders began praising each other.

As they talked, the conversation turned to the issue of spoils that the two regimental commanders were most concerned about.

"Regarding this capture, the rifles, light and heavy machine guns, grenade launchers, and the Japanese supplies and ammunition, I think we should divide them into three parts, one for each of our three regiments?" Chen Ming suggested.

He didn't mention the artillery; it was captured by the elite team of the 2nd Independent Regiment, and Chen Ming treasured it.

The two regimental commanders were overjoyed when they heard Chen Ming's allocation plan.

"That's amazing!!"

The two regimental commanders originally thought that they would be lucky to get two or three hundred guns if they helped the Independent Second Regiment this time.

After all, the Second Independent Regiment contributed the most this time; of the 1,400 Japanese soldiers, the Second Independent Regiment eliminated more than 1,000.

It would be good if we could get two or three hundred guns!
But now Chen Ming has proposed dividing it into three parts, so their Independent Second Brigade will get the lion's share.

These are weapons belonging to more than 1400 Japanese soldiers. The equipment they received alone was enough for more than a regiment.

If they go out to fight a battle and bring back the equipment of an entire regiment, their brigade commander will be overjoyed!

With so much equipment, the Independent 2nd Brigade could greatly alleviate its weakness after the Hundred Regiments Offensive and immediately reach a level exceeding that before the war.

Most importantly, Chen Ming's proposed distribution of the spoils included both light and heavy machine guns.

Their Independent Second Brigade didn't have many; their light and heavy machine guns were their most prized possessions!

Comrade Chen Ming is an honest man, the two regimental commanders thought to themselves.

"Comrade Chen Ming, if you ever need anything in the future, be sure to come to my 714th and 716th Regiments. No matter what it is, our two regiments will definitely lend a hand!"

The two team leaders made a happy promise.

"Haha, definitely. Our defense zones are now connected, so there will be many more opportunities for us to fight together in the future," Chen Ming said with a smile.

The current defense zone of the 2nd Independent Regiment, together with the two regiments of the 2nd Independent Brigade, forms the "Iron Triangle" of eastern Shanxi.

(End of this chapter)