Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 277 Taking advantage of the situation
Inside the Taiyuan First Army Headquarters.

Yoshio Shinozuka frowned as he looked at the battle reports submitted by various troops.

It's not that the troops were not making good progress, but several troops reported that they were hit by heavy artillery fire.

Moreover, judging from the battle reports, the heavy artillery of the Eighth Route Army has shown a clear trend of increasing compared to the previous Yamazaki Battalion.

This is very bad news for the First Army.

If it was a field battle, Yoshio Shinozuka would not be afraid of the Eighth Route Army's heavy artillery.

He had 8 Type 150 8mm howitzers and 105 Type mm cannons.

These artillery pieces are enough to blow any Eighth Route Army into pieces.

Not to mention that the First Army also has a large number of 75mm mountain and field artillery.

But once you move to the mountainous area, the situation is completely different.

He couldn't pull any of the heavy artillery into the mountain.

But according to intelligence, the Eighth Route Army's heavy artillery can not only operate in mountainous areas, but also run very fast.

"Sir, judging from the battle report, this is most likely a large-caliber mortar." said Yamaoka Shigehou on the side.

Mortars have high ballistic trajectories, so the explosion effect is circular, while the shells of barreled artillery are fan-shaped.

"Soviet Union?" Yoshio Shinozuka reacted.

During the Battle of Nomonhan, the Kwantung Army was hit by the M1938 heavy mortar and suffered severe damage.

"That's right. I believe it must be the Soviet Union that is interfering." Yamaoka Shigehiro nodded.

Although all the Soviet Union's support is now given to the Guo Party in Chongqing, no one can guarantee that they will not give it to the Eighth Route Army.

After all, China and the Soviet Union are both members of the Communist International, and the Soviet Union is the boss.

"Japan and the Soviet Union have already signed a ceasefire agreement, yet they dare to provide assistance privately!"

"Report this matter to the headquarters immediately!" ordered Yoshio Shinozuka.

Although Yoshio Shinozuka sounded indignant, he was still very scared inside.

The Soviet Union is a behemoth if it really shifts its attention to the Far East.

That is definitely not a good thing for Yiben.

The Japanese headquarters was also greatly surprised when they received the news that the Soviet Union had begun to secretly assist the Eighth Route Army.

If this is true, then it may not be that easy for Italy to take over China.

The devil Tian Huang immediately sent someone to contact Hans.

Only by letting Hans and the Soviet Union fight can Italy continue to invade China.

As for how to stimulate Hans Hu's ideas, it depends on the level of the diplomats.

"Captain, we have received a report from our scouts that the Japanese are continuing to advance westwards after occupying Hongni Bay."

"The Japs are going to conduct a deep sweep into our territory," Luo Ping said seriously.

This time the Japanese raid was different from previous ones.

Not only were there a lot of them, but they were also chasing very closely.

In the past, the Japanese would not easily enter the mountains.

"It's time for us to move." Chen Chengxing said as he looked at the movements of the Japanese.

"Pass on my order, the troops will continue to move northeast."

After the Japanese invaders’ deep sweep, the next step must be to clean up the areas in sections.

Now all the main battalions of the New Second Regiment have jumped to the external lines for combat.

If the regiment headquarters continues to stay in Kongjiazhuang, the danger will be too great.

"yes!".
As Chen Chengxing's order was issued, the troops set off immediately and arrived at Shima Village in the early morning.

However, not long after they arrived at Shima Village and set up camp, Japanese planes flew over.

The shrill sound of air raid sirens filled the air.

"Hidden! Hidden immediately!"

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!".
More than a dozen bombs fell, and the originally small Shima Village was suddenly covered by explosions.

Looking at the bomber that swung its butt and flew away again, Chen Chengxing was so angry that his teeth were itching.

With the current equipment level of the New Second Regiment, it is barely usable for land warfare.

But there is really no good way to deal with the air.

A few minutes later, the operations staff came running over.

"Captain, Political Commissar, 7 killed, 24 wounded, but none seriously injured."

"Where are the people?" Luo Ping asked.

"There were no civilian casualties. Many of the military casualties were caused by protecting civilians."

"We must treat the wounded as soon as possible. As for the houses, tell the villagers that once the Japanese withdraw, the New Second Regiment will be responsible for building new ones for them." Chen Chengxing said.

"yes!".
The Japanese planes bombed once and did not bomb again.

Therefore, Chen Chengxing stayed in Shima Village for a few more days to see the situation.

However, a few days later, the situation changed significantly.

The Japanese troops originally on the western and northern fronts were still carrying out repeated raids in the deep encirclement areas.

However, the Japanese on the eastern front suddenly divided their troops into several groups and advanced forward.

In addition, a troop has also set out from Taiyuan and is sweeping northwards.

These two troops have already reached Qijiazhuang, Bazhangwan, Chenzhuang and Sanchatou.

In addition, another group of Japanese soldiers had bypassed Nanshan and entered Houyang Village.

"Shima Village is no longer safe. We have to continue moving," said Chen Chengxing.

These groups of Japanese troops were only 20-25 miles away from Shima Village, and the group leading to Houyang Village was only about 10 miles away.

"The troops will set out immediately, cross the Kangsha River, escape the Japanese encirclement, and then turn to Zhanshan."

As Chen Chengxing spoke, he drew a route on the map.

However, things did not develop as simply as Chen Chengxing had imagined.

As soon as the troops crossed the Kangsha River, Chen Chengxing received the scout's report.

"Captain, we encountered local comrades ahead. There are more than a thousand of them."

"Lao Luo, let's go and see what's going on." Chen Chengxing said.

The two had only taken a few steps when they saw Wang Shuji from Wuyi County, walking over with several people from the county and district committees.

"Hello, Captain Chen, Political Commissar Luo." Wang Shuji breathed a sigh of relief.

"Wang Shuji, what's going on?" Luo Ping asked.

"The Japanese set up layers of encirclement ahead, and we were worried, and then you came."

"The Japanese are still lingering around. Old Chen, what do you think? Attack them?" Luo Ping said.

"We can't fight here. We are still surrounded by the Japanese. Once we start, all the Japanese will be attracted here." Chen Chengxing shook his head.

If I didn't encounter any local comrades, I would just beat them.

By then, the new second regiment will be able to break out by relying on its speed.

But there are thousands of people, both men and women, young and old, in the local agencies, schools, branches and other departments.

These were the rear-line staff, and they brought a lot of luggage and horses.

Once you start, there's no way to escape.

"Recross the Kangsha River and look for other opportunities!" said Chen Chengxing.

With so many people staying here, there is too little space to turn around, it is really too dangerous.

After the new Second Regiment brought in comrades from the headquarters, the entire team expanded to nearly 2 people, and the movement speed also slowed down a lot.

Xiaoleiling, located 30 miles north of Kangzhuang, is a small mountain village with only a few households.

Chen Chengxing temporarily set up his command center here, and the main force was dispersed around.

The scouts' reports were delivered to Chen Chengxing one after another.

The movements of the Japanese were densely marked on the map.

The enemy in the east had already reached Liushuya, less than 10 miles away from Xiaoleiling. In the west, the Japanese had already occupied Ziyangling, only 20 miles away from Xiaoleiling.

The Japanese on the northern front have already entered Majiazhuang, which is only separated from Xiaoleiling by a mountain.

The Japanese in the south also reached the Matang line.

It can be said that Chen Chengxing was completely surrounded by heavy Japanese troops on all sides.

And at noon, the Japanese planes flew over again and began to bomb continuously.

"These bastards are still chasing and bombing!" Luo Ping cursed as he listened to the explosions outside.

We started to move from the New Second Regiment, and the Japanese chased us all the way.

Chen Chengxing, who was originally looking at the map, suddenly looked up and said:

"Lao Luo, how do you think the Japanese planes found us?"

It was bombed in Shima Village before, and then it was bombed again when it arrived at Xiaoleiling.

How did the Japanese manage to discover the whereabouts of the New Second Regiment so accurately?

"Do you think there might be a traitor?" Luo Ping asked in a low voice.

Apart from this, he couldn't think of any other reason.

"It's unlikely to be a traitor." Chen Chengxing made the request.

Even if there was a traitor, the Japs couldn't have reacted so quickly.

The large force had just settled in Xiaoleiling not long when the Japanese planes arrived.

Now there is no mobile phone that can directly locate.

position?

Chen Chengxing suddenly reacted.

The Japanese must have determined the location of the New Second Regiment through positioning.

Chen Chengxing turned his gaze towards the radio station that was still beeping.

The New Second Regiment has had its radio station for a long time, and the Japanese have long been familiar with the radio's call sign.

By using radio direction finding, the direction of the radio station can be determined.

Then, several locations can be converged into one point by simply drawing a line on the map.

After confirming the location of the radio station, the Japanese planes can come to bomb, and the infantry will follow and attack together.

This must be the reason why the Japanese in Taiyuan suddenly headed north.

"The Japanese may have found our location through radio direction finding," said Chen Chengxing.

Everyone in the regiment headquarters immediately turned their eyes to the radio station.

"Then let's go into radio silence immediately." Luo Ping said anxiously.

"No, let's take advantage of the situation." Chen Chengxing waved his hand.

Chen Chengxing had already thought of a way for the large force to break out.

"Monk, go and call Ma Zhiyuan for me." Chen Chengxing said.

"Hey!" Wei Dayong ran out.

"Communicator, immediately tell the military district and headquarters that the Japanese can track the location of the radio station through signals." Chen Chengxing ordered.

"The New Second Regiment will now cut off contact with its superiors until it is safe."

"Also, tell the chief that it would be best for them to act separately from the radio station."

Chen Chengxing didn't know whether his telegram could save the chief of staff's life, he just hoped that it would be helpful.

At this time, the military region and the headquarters had each broken out of the first encirclement.

With the radio station's antenna temporarily safe, it was put up again.

"Commander! Let's go!" The commander of the 1st Company of the Headquarters Guard Battalion ran in.

"Captain Tang? Why are you back? Didn't I ask you to protect the boss? Who asked you to come back?!"

"Commander, the boss and the team directly under the headquarters have already broken out of the second encirclement of the Japanese. The boss ordered me to assist you in the transfer!"

"Not yet." The chief of staff shook his head.

"Thousands of people from the Field Political Department, Logistics Department, and schools did not evacuate."

"Besides, the comrades in charge of the confidential department and selecting documents have not arrived yet. If those confidential documents fall into the hands of the enemy, the consequences will be disastrous."

"Captain Tang, I order you to cover the civilian staff of various agencies and evacuate first!"

"I'll be there soon," said the Chief of Staff.

"Commander! I beg you, please withdraw first. I will leave with my comrades from the agency!"

"Captain Tang! Follow the order!" the chief of staff said firmly.

Captain Tang was so anxious that he was running around in circles, but he didn't know how to change his commander's mind.

Just then, the communications staff officer ran over.

"Commander, we received a telegram from the New Second Regiment. They have escaped the Japanese encirclement."

"But Captain Chen discovered that the Japanese would locate themselves based on the radio signals, and they will stop communicating next!"

At first, it was nothing to hear about the New Second Regiment, but when he heard that the Japanese behind him could locate them through the radio, Captain Tang jumped up.

Doesn’t this mean that the Japanese already know this location?
"You two, take good care of the leader! Retreat!" Captain Tang decisively wanted to take the chief of staff away.

"What are you doing?! Let me go! The devils haven't arrived yet!"

The soldiers ignored the chief of staff's shouts and carried him out.

One of the important tasks of the guard force is to protect the safety of the leader, so you can't listen to the leader at this time.

"Take what you can and retreat!"

"Burn down this house!" Captain Tang ordered his men to bring kerosene.

Now that it’s too late to burn a little bit at a time, just put in the big one.

Just as the soldiers of the guard battalion carried the chief of staff out of the village, two Japanese bombers appeared in the sky.

And what followed was a dive bombing.

Of course, the Japanese planes were targeting the headquarters, not the scattered soldiers outside.

Therefore, all the bombs were dropped on the village, and the originally small village was directly covered by the explosion.

"This is too dangerous." Captain Tang was sweating.

If it had not been dealt with decisively, it would be hard to say what the situation would be like now.

"You guys take the leader out of the breach, I'll go cover the comrades in the agency."

Captain Tang divided his men into two groups and started to act separately.

Ma Zhiyuan ran into the temporary headquarters of the New Second Regiment.

"Captain!"

"Ma Zhiyuan, I think the Japanese are probably using the radio to locate them."

"So I need you to lead the cavalry platoon to Maweiyu in the east to set up the radio station."

As soon as Ma Zhiyuan heard it, he knew what the captain meant.

Ma Zhiyuan agreed to this task without any hesitation.

"Guaranteed to complete the mission!"

"Go and prepare." Chen Chengxing said.

"Yes!"

After returning to the Mounted Reconnaissance Platoon, Ma Zhiyuan immediately organized a team of more than 50 people consisting of communications, confidentiality, and reconnaissance personnel.

After leaving the horse behind, Ma Zhiyuan took the radio and marched to Mawei Valley.
Chen Chengxing's plan was very successful. As the radio station began to send telegrams everywhere again, the Japanese planes began to bomb Mawei Valley continuously.

At the same time, the Japanese troops changed their original direction and approached Mawei Valley in an offensive combat formation.

"Let everyone get ready, we will set off after nightfall!" Chen Chengxing ordered, putting down the telescope.

The small team cannot occupy too much time, and by night they will also leave over the mountains and hills.

"yes!".
(End of this chapter)