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

Chapter 97 The Confident Japanese

In an instant, spurred on by the bugle call and under the cover of artillery fire, the Eighth Route Army soldiers, covering the mountains and plains, launched a final and fierce attack on the Japanese positions.

The goal is to eliminate the remaining enemies in one salvo.

In the current situation, there are no tactics left; it's a contest of raw strength.

The shelling had just ended when the fastest-rushing soldiers from the First and Third Battalions reached the Japanese positions and began fighting the Japanese.

Machine guns, grenades, and grenade launchers were rained down on the Japanese soldiers as if they were free.

The soldiers of the two battalions concentrated their strongest firepower and rampaged through the Japanese positions, cutting the Japanese into small pieces.

The pursuing troops then annihilated the divided Japanese soldiers one by one.

The battle lasted for half an hour, and all the Japanese soldiers on the battlefield were completely wiped out.

Kong Jie's broadsword was covered in blood, the blade was chipped and dulled, and his hand holding the sword was trembling.

"That was awesome! So awesome!"

The feeling of slashing the Japanese soldiers' heads with a broadsword filled him with immense joy; he hadn't fought such a satisfying battle in ages!

Commander Wang of the 714th Regiment was also wiping the sweat from his forehead and panting heavily.

"Comrades, I have avenged you!" Commander Wang roared.

During the three days he was besieged by the Japanese, he watched as countless soldiers sacrificed themselves under the guns of the Japanese.

Many soldiers lost their lives before his eyes because they were surrounded, faced harsh conditions, and lacked medicine.

Commander Wang felt incredibly aggrieved, but now he had finally avenged the fallen soldiers.

After observing through a three-dimensional combat map that there were only a few red dots left on the battlefield.

Chen Ming knew that they had won this battle.

After the initial joy subsided, Chen Ming ordered his soldiers to immediately clean up the battlefield, replenish weapons and ammunition, and examine the Japanese soldiers' corpses.

After eliminating this enemy force, the next challenge was to face two battalions of Japanese soldiers.

These two battalions of Japanese soldiers belonged to the Japanese Independent Mixed Brigade No. 4.

If we can cripple them and form an independent Fourth Brigade, they will pose no threat to the Fourth Division for a short period of time.

The Independent Mixed Brigade No. 4, with a total of only 5200 men, lost 2,000 men and killed its major general brigade commander.

If the two supporting battalions could be crippled, the Independent Mixed Brigade 4 would be completely destroyed.

The troops were able to clear the battlefield very quickly, a speed honed through countless battlefield clearing exercises.

The Eighth Route Army mainly relied on guerrilla warfare. If the cleanup was slow and the Japanese reinforcements arrived, they would get nothing.

Therefore, many troops are like iron brooms, able to sweep away all valuable things on the battlefield in the shortest amount of time.

After the troops finished cleaning up the battlefield, Chen Ming immediately issued subsequent combat orders.

"Order: Kong Jie, the First and Third Guerrilla Battalions, move along the northwest direction to the Huangtupo area to block the Japanese reinforcements."

"Li Yousheng moved to the Wangzhuang Village area and attacked the flank of the Japanese reinforcements."

"He Jianxin and the cavalry battalion, use the fastest speed to bypass Xiamadi and give the Japanese a good thrashing in the rear, block their retreat, and make sure the Japanese don't get away safely."

"The fourth and fifth guerrilla battalions will escort prisoners and wounded soldiers in a retreat toward the northwest, with fraternal units providing support."

Chen Ming issued the next combat orders.

He didn't give the soldiers much time to rest; he had to race against the Japanese and cripple the 4th Independent Mixed Brigade before other Japanese reinforcements arrived.

After the order was issued, the various units quickly sprang into action.

At the same time, Chen Ming also sent the battlefield situation to headquarters by telegram, hoping to dispatch troops to block other Japanese reinforcements and buy time for the Independent Detachment.

After the commander saw that the Independent Detachment had wiped out more than 3,000 Japanese and puppet troops and killed the major general brigade commander of the Independent Mixed Fourth Brigade in just a few hours, the commander was shocked.

The commander laughed right there in the operations conference room.

"Hahaha."

"Commander, what's the matter? Why are you laughing so happily?" The division commander asked with a faint smile.

"See for yourself, this battle was exhilarating!" the commander said with a smile.

The division commander took a look and saw the battle report of the independent detachment.

At the cost of 720 lives, they annihilated more than 2,000 Japanese soldiers and more than 1,000 puppet troops of the Independent Mixed Fourth Brigade, and killed the brigade commander, a major general.

The 714th Regiment, which had been surrounded, was also successfully rescued.

The entire battle lasted only a few hours, yet such an impressive record was achieved.

"This was a miraculous battle. Under Comrade Chen Ming's command, the Independent Detachment has become the most combat-effective unit in our Eighth Route Army," the division commander said.

To be honest, Chen Ming's record has surpassed that of many well-known generals.

Battles where a large number of Japanese soldiers are wiped out in a single engagement are not uncommon, but those were mostly ambushes. This time, the Independent Detachment fought the Japanese soldiers head-on, right in front of them, and still achieved such an outstanding result.

This demonstrates that the independent detachment's combat capabilities have developed to a very strong level.

These field troops, in no way inferior to the Japanese, have become one of the few units in the Eighth Route Army capable of attacking fortified positions and fighting tough battles.

The Independent Detachment was a unit that came from the 129th Division. The division commander was very pleased that they had fought such a brilliant battle.

"Yes, the decision to let Chen Ming go out and develop was absolutely correct," the leader nodded and said.

"However, the telegram states that after the Independent Detachment annihilated 3,000 Japanese and puppet troops, it is preparing to turn around and attack the two supporting battalions. Isn't that too risky?" the division commander said.

After listening, the commander nodded: "It is a bit risky, but we must trust the judgment of the frontline commanders and soldiers."

"Since Chen Ming has chosen to fight, he must be confident. What we need to do now is to set up a stage for him to perform."

"Order the troops that can still be mobilized to block the enemy's reinforcements at every turn, destroy all bridges and roads, and do everything possible to buy time for the Independent Detachment."

In the direction of Huangtupo, two infantry battalions of the Japanese, totaling about 1800 men, were less than two kilometers away from the advancing Second Battalion.

"Reporting to the commander, a large enemy force has been spotted marching towards our position, estimated to be over two thousand men."

After the Japanese scouts spotted the soldiers of the Second Battalion, they immediately reported to the chief of staff of the Independent Mixed Fourth Brigade.

"Is there still no news from the troops in Baijiazhuang?" the Japanese chief of staff asked.

"Sir, not yet," the Japanese scout replied.

After thinking for a moment and observing the situation of the soldiers of the Second Battalion through binoculars, the Japanese chief of staff immediately made a judgment.

He concluded that an accident must have occurred on the battlefield, causing a malfunction in the communication equipment of the unit led by the brigade commander, resulting in the loss of contact between the two sides.

The troops in front of them must have been Eighth Route Army soldiers who knew that reinforcements from the Locust Army were about to arrive and tried to retreat and escape, but ended up running right into the arms of the two battalions.

The Japanese chief of staff's judgment was, normally speaking, quite reasonable.

Because in the Japanese soldiers' ingrained mindset, they would not believe that a force of more than 3,000 men, who had been in contact with the Japanese just a few hours ago, could be wiped out by the Eighth Route Army in a few hours.

With so many troops, even against the entire main force of the Eighth Route Army, they could hold out for at least a day.

The fact that the Yamazaki Battalion held out for a day against an attack by 20,000 Eighth Route Army soldiers, ultimately succumbing to overwhelming odds, is the best proof of this.

The only possibility is that due to an accident, communication broke down, and because the brigade commander's troops were used as bait and surrounded by the Eighth Route Army, the communications soldiers were unable to break through the blockade and thus lost contact.

The troops in front of us are the ones we encountered because we were in a panic and didn't know where to go.

"Immediately order the troops to split into two groups, east and west, and rush up to engage this Chinese army. Don't let them escape," the Japanese chief of staff issued the battle order.

He did not order his troops to build positions on the spot and wait for the Eighth Route Army to attack.

His long experience in maintaining order and combating crime made him realize that the Eighth Route Army was extremely adept at guerrilla warfare.

If they had built positions on the spot, the Eighth Route Army would not have engaged in a direct confrontation with him. They would likely have broken up into smaller units and retreated in different directions.

At that time, facing the Eighth Route Army, whose forces outnumbered their own, it would be extremely difficult to completely intercept them.

If we split our forces into two groups and rush forward to block the retreat route of this army, then the enemy will either launch a strong attack on their position or return the way they came.

If the enemy retreats along the same route, it will just fulfill the wishes of the Japanese chief of staff. Once the reinforcements arrive, the encirclement will be gradually tightened, and this unit will be trapped even if it had wings.

Sure enough, when the two Japanese battalions rushed forward, the soldiers of the second battalion collapsed at the first contact and began to retreat.

"Yes, order the troops to continue the pursuit." The Japanese chief of staff had a knowing look on his face after seeing the performance of the Second Battalion.

His guess was correct; this was a force eager to escape, otherwise they wouldn't have collapsed at the first encounter with his troops.

What he needs to do now is to hold this force in place and drive them into a corner.

In Chen Ming's battlefield command post, when he saw through the three-dimensional combat map that the Japanese soldiers were being lured into a trap by the soldiers of the Second Battalion, a smile appeared on Chen Ming's face.

It was worth it that he paralyzed the communication system of the Independent Mixed 4th Brigade from the beginning, and also sent a cavalry battalion plus two guerrilla battalions to intercept and kill the enemy's communications soldiers.

This completely cut off the Japanese troops from all communication.

The two battalions of Japanese soldiers are unaware that the surrounded Japanese have been wiped out, and they still fantasize about annihilating the Independent Detachment by flanking it from both sides.

On the battlefield, the key to victory often lies in exploiting information asymmetry.

Because of the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain, the Japanese had deployed most of their already limited reconnaissance aircraft to southern Shanxi to fully support the battle.

This gave Chen Ming the opportunity to use the information gap to lure two infantry battalions into the encirclement.

If Japanese planes had appeared during the Battle of Baijiazhuang, Chen Ming would never have wanted to wipe out those two battalions.

Instead, they should know when to stop, break out of the encirclement first, and then make further plans.

After half an hour.

"Haha, the Japanese are now completely in our pocket! The First Battalion is in position, and now it's time for my Independent Detachment to make a name for itself!"

As Chen Ming watched the Japanese soldiers enter the encirclement, a sense of ambition rose within him.

P.S.: Requesting votes as usual!
(End of this chapter)