Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 181: Craftsmanship
"Report to the regiment commander, the pockets are tied tightly! The Second Battalion has also squeezed the Japanese troops that were divided into groups to a high ground south of Yanzi Cliff!" The combat staff officer put down the phone in his hand and reported.

"Okay, let the first and third battalions launch the attack immediately, and the second battalion will push the Japanese who have been divided into groups back into the canyon and give them a complete defeat!" Chen Chengxing stood up and gave the order.

"Yes!" The combat staff immediately conveyed Chen Chengxing's order.

There are only a few Japanese soldiers left, and we cannot let them tie up the entire Second Battalion. We have to leave them a path and then push them back to the canyon and bombard them directly with artillery fire.

The four artillery companies of the New Second Regiment have already set up their positions, with 4 mortars, which are enough to give the Japanese a good beating.

The infantry artillery company and the two Type 2 mountain guns have also been deployed. If necessary, they can launch artillery fire with just a single order.

Because the positions had been set up in advance, the telephone had already been connected to the battalion headquarters. With the telephone communication, each battalion began to move forward from its own ambush site at the same time, preparing to launch an attack.

Tomoki Ishimura looked at the three red flares hanging in the air not far away, which was a signal for help.

"It seems that Lieutenant Yokoi is in trouble, and it must be the main force of the Eighth Route Army, otherwise he would not send out a signal for help so quickly!"

The two teams had just separated for a short time when Yokoi Sugi sent out a signal for help, which meant that the enemy he encountered was invincible.

Ishimura Tomoki held the command knife in his hand and said confidently: "The Eighth Route Guerrillas are really cunning. If I hadn't taken the initiative to divide the troops, their main force would have escaped. But no matter how cunning the fox is, it can't escape the clever hunter!"

"Pass my order! All troops!"

Before Ishimura Tomoki could finish his words, he heard the sound of "da da da" from a heavy machine gun, and then he was knocked to the ground by the soldiers next to him.

"Da da da" "Da da da".
"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!".
After arriving at their positions, the 60st and rd battalions launched an attack together, using heavy machine guns and mm mortars to catch the Japanese off guard.

Ishimura Tomoki was thrown to the ground but did not get up. He rolled directly to a pit nearby. After making sure he was safe, he shouted, "Counterattack! Counterattack! Machine gun fire cover! Artillery team fire artillery immediately!"

This time, Tomoki Ishimura brought two artillery teams, with four Type 2 4mm mortars and two Type 81 2mm mountain cannons. He did not think that the Eighth Route Army could do anything to him. He had a battalion of troops in his hands. As long as they formed a defensive formation, two or three thousand Eighth Route Army could not do anything to him.

However, this time the Japanese had to cross mountains and hills, so they did not bring horse-drawn carriages. All supplies were transported by pack horses, so there were no ready-made shelters for them to use.

If you dare to let the mule and horse gangs block the bullets, they will run away so fast that you won't be able to stop them.

Therefore, the Japanese could only hide behind rocks or in pits, and hurry to dig foxholes for themselves.

As for the puppet soldiers, they didn't even bring an engineering shovel, so they couldn't dig even if they wanted to. They could only lie on the ground and didn't move.

At this time, there is no other way except to fight hard.

Just as the First and Third Battalions launched an attack on the Japanese in Yanzi Cliff, the Second Battalion also launched an attack on the small group of Japanese soldiers stationed on the high ground.

"Mortar! Fire hard!" Zheng Hua ordered while looking at the Japanese on the hill.

Just as Chen Chengxing collected the 82mm mortars from each battalion, the battalion commanders also collected the 60mm mortars from each company.

No matter the size of the artillery, its power will be greater when formed into a cluster.

Using artillery to launch a wave of attacks before attacking has become the standard procedure of the New Second Regiment.

"Boom!" "Boom!".
Yokoi Sugi on the top of the mountain was huddled on the ground with his head in his hands, listening to the continuous explosions without being too worried.

These are just 12 small cannons. Although the number is twice as many as the grenades in his hands, their power is not as great as that of the grenade launcher.

When the Eighth Route Army launches an attack, he can naturally use grenade launchers to kill a large number of them. Once the chief of staff leads the team to arrive, he can completely wipe out this group of Eighth Route Army.

The 60mm mortar shell weighs 1.3 kilograms, but it only contains 100 grams of explosives. The Japanese grenade launcher's special grenade weighs only 0.8 kilograms, but it contains 145 grams of explosives.

Not to mention that the explosives used by the New Second Regiment are not as powerful as TNT.

The advantages of mortars are that they can fire at a longer distance and the shells can be cast directly with cast iron.

Seeing that the Japanese refused to retreat on the top of the mountain, Zheng Hua understood after just one thought. It turned out that the gunfire from the Second Battalion was too loud. The Japanese on the mountain could not hear that the main Japanese force was being beaten at Yanwei Cliff, and they were still thinking of attacking the center.

"Pass my order! Stop the attack!" Zheng Hua shouted.

As long as the Japanese had some brains, they would know that the remaining sixty or so people could not withstand the siege of nearly a thousand people from the Second Battalion. If they were given the opportunity, there was a high possibility that they would directly join up with the main force.

If the Japs are really determined to fight to the death, it won't be too late to deal with them slowly.

As the Second Battalion stopped attacking, the battlefield suddenly became quiet.

Yokoi Sugi looked at the Eighth Route Army who had stopped attacking and was a little confused. What were they doing?
But then his ears moved. There were explosions coming from the Yanwei Cliff in the distance, and faintly the sound of heavy machine gun fire. He knew it was the Type 92 heavy machine gun as soon as he heard the sound.

After hearing the sound, Yokoi Sugi's face changed immediately. If the main force was attacked, he would have no chance of getting reinforcements. Without reinforcements, it would be like being possessed by a locust if he could only hold out for an hour with such a small number of people.

At this time, the other Japanese soldiers also heard the fighting sounds coming from Yanwei Cliff, and everyone became a little agitated. They naturally understood what Yokoi Sugi could figure out.

Looking at the Eighth Route Army that had stopped attacking, Yokoi Sugi understood their sinister intentions. It was obvious that the Eighth Route Army wanted his troops to join the main force and then form a siege.

However, even if he understood the intentions of the Eighth Route Army, Yokoi Sugi knew that they could only act according to their ideas.

The battle at Yanwei Cliff was extremely fierce, and the large force might not be able to end the battle in a short time. Keeping the troops divided at this time would only give the Eighth Route Army a chance to defeat them one by one.

Even though he knew there might be a pit ahead, he had to jump in to test the depth. After all, the main force was already in the pit. "Gentlemen! I'm afraid Colonel Ishimura is in trouble. We can't stay here any longer. We must quickly join up with the main force."

"Everyone, get ready. Charge towards Yanwei Cliff in 2 minutes. If anyone is injured and can't keep up with the troops, immediately switch to blocking positions on the spot to create opportunities for the troops' charge."

"Please!" Yokoi Sugi bowed to everyone.

"Hi!" The others also bowed in return and immediately began to prepare.

Since we are going to attack, speed is the key. All unnecessary things must be discarded and we must try to lighten our burden as much as possible.

Two minutes later, Yokoi Sugi drew out his command knife and pointed it at Yanwei Cliff, shouting, "Taoci, give it to me!!"

Then Yokoi Sugi led the team to rush out.

Looking at the Japanese soldiers who broke through, Zheng Hua did not order to block them, but ordered to follow and pursue them. It didn't matter how many Japanese soldiers were killed, his goal was just to drive them to Yanwei Cliff.

When all the Japanese gather, the 82mm mortars that have been prepared long ago will teach them a lesson.

For the New Second Regiment, bullets are now more valuable than mortar shells.

The mortar shells are made of iron and can be made by yourself, but the raw materials for bullets are not so easy to get once they are used up.

Although the Erlangdong Arsenal used copper coins and copper utensils to refine copper ingots, it was very troublesome and the output was very small. It can only be said to be a drop in the bucket and better than nothing.

Therefore, the New Second Regiment should use artillery as much as possible to deal with any problem that can be solved with artillery, especially against the enemy's area-based attacks, which is an excellent opportunity to use mortars.

As Yokoi Sugi retreated back into the canyon, the New Second Regiment completely completed the encirclement of the Japanese.

However, at this time, Tomoki Ishimura did not realize the seriousness of the problem, and he still had the idea of turning defeat into victory.

"Expand the foxholes into a circular position! Be prepared for defensive counterattacks!" ordered Tomoki Ishimura.

After being suddenly attacked, the Japanese did not panic too much. While fighting back, they dug trenches on the spot and also allocated manpower to assist the artillery in completing the construction of the position.

For the Japs, the four mortars and two mountain cannons in their hands were important means for them to hold their ground and they could not be easily destroyed in any case.

Looking at the Japanese soldiers digging the ground, Chen Chengxing put down his binoculars and asked, "Have all the troops arrived?"

"Report to the regiment commander, the encirclement has been tightened, and the Japanese are now trapped in the canyon. We can launch a general attack at any time."

Because of the terrain, the position held by the Japanese was generally elliptical in shape, with the longest part being only four or five hundred meters. Although they built several layers of internal and external fortifications to withstand the attack, due to time constraints, these fortifications were only in their infancy.

"The Japanese are working so hard to dig fortifications, we have to give them a hand." After listening to the combat staff, Chen Chengxing picked up the phone next to him.

"Mortar position? Let's give the Japs a quick round of fire to whet their appetite!"

After receiving Chen Chengxing's order, the messenger on the mortar position waved a small flag, and the soldiers who had been prepared immediately fired the shells into the muzzle.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!".
In less than half a minute, all the mortars completed five rapid shots.

One hundred and twenty shells landed on the ground, and the dirt on the Japanese position was immediately splattered everywhere. Even though the Japanese were lying on the ground, they suffered considerable casualties.

The 82mm mortar shells are filled with 400 grams of explosives, and the shrapnel from more than a hundred shells can cover the entire enemy position.

Tomoki Ishimura, squatting in the trench, looked at the position covered by artillery fire with his eyes almost popping out.

Is this the Eighth Route Army?

The battle report submitted by the Sakata Regiment did not mention that the Eighth Route Army in Zhongyun Mountain had so many mortars. Weren't the casualties of the Sakata Regiment all caused by mines? !
If I had known that the Eighth Route Army had so many cannons, I would never have sent them out in advance!

Nobutsu Sakata never expected that the battle report he "slightly polished" to save face would cause Tomoki Ishimura to fall into a trap.

If Tomoki Ishimura escaped and went to settle accounts with Nobutsu Sakata, Nobutsu Sakata would probably have no choice but to bow.

Because the Japanese quickly withdrew their defense line, more than one hundred puppet soldiers responsible for exploring the front were directly abandoned.

In desperation, they could only charge at the Eighth Route Army with their hands raised high, but eventually they fell to the ground due to exhaustion and were captured.

They were sighing a little at first, but now, listening to the endless explosions, they felt that they were lucky.

A total of one battalion followed the Japanese this time. One of the companies was split up and no one knows what happened to it now. Another company was responsible for the transportation of supplies and was being bombed in the Japanese position.

But I have been "protected" by the Eighth Route Army. No matter what happens in the future, I am the lucky one now.

"Brothers, Master Ba has treated us well. Let's have a good rest now. We will have to help Master Ba transport supplies later!" said the puppet army company commander.

As long as the supplies are transported back and the Eighth Route Army conducts another screening, everyone will be released.

"Don't worry, Captain. We all understand." They were already familiar with this process. Everyone among them had a red and black account book.

In Shanxi, if you have not been captured several times, you are not considered a qualified traitor.

(End of this chapter)