Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 345 This is the real battlefield
"Damn it, when did the Eighth Route Army arrive?!"

Inside the watchtower, the drunken lynx was shaken awake and stared in disbelief at the scene before him.

My previously dazed mind instantly cleared up.

"What are the sentries doing? The Eighth Route Army is so close, and you didn't even notice?!"

"Do you only realize it when a knife is held to your throat?"

Before the Japanese company commander could react, Shanmaozi launched into a tirade of angry words at the sentries who had been on patrol the previous day.

Along with that came a slap.

After punishing his men, Yamanoko looked at the Japanese company commander standing to the side.

"Sir, there must be at least three thousand Eighth Route Army soldiers outside."

"What should we do? Should we ask Commander Takada to send troops to support us?"

There are still quite a few people in Luye. If they can support Zhumashan, then there's not too much to worry about regarding these 3,000 Eighth Route Army soldiers.

"I just called the battalion commander, but Lu Ye can't provide support." The Japanese company commander shook his head.

With so many strongholds attacked last night, there couldn't possibly be only 3,800 troops around Luye.

If we were to be ambushed by the Eighth Route Army while supporting Zhumashan, that would be truly fatal.

"However, the battalion commander said that he had already reported to the Taiyuan headquarters."

"If the situation becomes critical, the Fourth Division in Xinkou will send reinforcements."

"Order the troops to prepare for battle," the Japanese company commander said in a deep voice.

It's not impossible to desperately call for help before even starting the fight.

But then Takada Takashi can forget about getting the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Upon hearing the Japanese company commander's words, Yamanoko gritted his teeth: "Tell the brothers to prepare for battle!"

"Captain, all the troops that could be withdrawn from the various strongholds have been withdrawn."

"How many people does Lu Ye have now?" Takada asked anxiously.

"The locust army numbers four hundred, and the various locust allied forces total two thousand four hundred," Tsuchiya Kohei reported.

"Yoshi." Takada Takashi breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, the retreat was timely, and most of the troops were able to withdraw.

This is a major advantage for any potential battles that may break out in the future.

"Commander, we have sufficient troops at our disposal. Should we provide support to the Zhumashan position?" Tsuchiya Kohei asked.

Takada thought about it for a moment, then shook his head.

"Let's hold off for now and wait for the intelligence personnel to report back before making a decision."

The defenses at Zhumashan are extremely strong, and there should be no problem in the short term.

"However, we can provide some fire support to Zhumashan," Takada Takashi added.

"Have the artillery unit move the Type 41 mountain guns to the city gate tower in the north of the city to assist the garrison at Zhumashan in their defense."

"Hai!"

"Commander, the special forces report that the Japanese troops in Luye show no signs of making any moves," Zhou Weiguo reported to Chen Chengxing.

"Just as I expected." Chen Chengxing put down his binoculars.

For the Japanese, it's better to remain still than to make a move.

"Weiguo, take over the forward command post of the First Battalion."

Zhou Weiguo hurriedly went to the table next to him and started making a phone call.

"Zheng Hua, let me ask you, are you confident you can take down the Zhumashan watchtower?"

"Please rest assured, chief, and ensure that the task is completed!"

Immediately afterwards, Zheng Hua gave a detailed report of his plan over the phone.

"Okay! It's up to you now."

After hearing the plan, Chen Chengxing didn't say anything more.

He then hung up the phone, picked up his binoculars again, and began to observe the situation at the Zhuma Mountain front once more.

With the strength of the First Battalion, taking down the watchtower would not be a problem. What Chen Chengxing feared was that there would be heavy casualties.

If the First Battalion is severely damaged now, it may not recover by the time the Japanese surrender.

At 8:00 a.m., two signal flares soared into the sky.

Immediately afterwards, deafening cannon fire rang out.

The first battalion's six heavy mortars and eighteen 82mm mortars, along with the mountain artillery company's six mountain guns, simultaneously bombarded the Japanese positions on Zhumashan.

The Japanese surface fortifications were completely destroyed by continuous artillery fire.

"Attack!" Jiang Ming shouted.

In the first wave of attack, Jiang Ming committed two infantry companies.

One consecutive attack was the main offensive move, and the second consecutive assist was the supporting attack.

Two companies simultaneously rushed towards the Japanese position from the left and right flanks.

Although the artillery fire destroyed the surface fortifications, the bunkers still remained.

"Da da da".
The Japanese machine gunners hiding in the bunker began firing incessantly.

The first platoon that had just reached the outer trench was immediately pinned down below the trench embankment by intense fire.

The second and third platoons, following closely behind, entered the outer trench and triggered landmines that the enemy had laid in advance.

A dozen soldiers were knocked down by a series of landmines.

"Don't move! Rocket launcher!" the company commander shouted.

The Second Regiment did not produce many rocket launchers. Even now, they cannot be distributed to squads and platoons; each infantry company can only have three.

Hearing the company commander's shout, the rocket launcher operator braved the dense bullets and popped his head out from the trench.

"boom!"

The foremost bunker was silenced.

However, the thick smoke from the gunpowder also revealed the archer's position.

Several tongues of fire immediately swept over.

The rocket launcher operator instantly fell into a pool of blood.

The ammunition handler next to him quickly pulled the gunner down.

He then disregarded his sadness, picked up the rocket launcher, loaded it with ammunition, moved to another spot, and continued firing.

However, although the main offensive was thwarted, the second consecutive attack on the supporting front went very smoothly.

After clearing obstacles with demolition charges and cluster grenades, the demolition team quickly advanced.

Apart from a small number of Japanese soldiers, the main force defending this area was puppet troops.

Although these puppet troops were relatively strong in combat, they were still no match for the Japanese, especially since they were clearly short of machine guns.

After using rocket launchers to destroy the only two machine gun bunkers, the remaining soldiers charged in despite rifle fire. "Assault platoon! Take those four red houses!" the 2nd Company Commander shouted, pointing to the northeast corner.

If we can capture these four houses, we can create an opening for a deeper offensive.

"Comrades! Follow me!"

The platoon leader tossed his hat aside, picked up the light machine gun beside him, and rushed out.

"Kill!"
To ensure the firepower of the assault platoon, Zheng Hua specifically distributed several submachine guns from the guard platoon.

The submachine gun was a Shanxi-made Thompson submachine gun that had been obtained from the 358th Regiment.

Since there was no further ammunition replenishment, Chen Chengxing didn't take it to heart and assigned it to three main battalions.

Faced with overwhelming firepower, even the most fearless puppet troops are powerless.

Half an hour later, the assault platoon successfully captured the Red House.

Jiang Ming was overjoyed to learn that the Second Company had made a breakthrough in the rear.

"Company Commander, bring your entire company up here!"

"Follow me forward and give full support to the Second Company!" Jiang Ming shouted.

Meanwhile, the Japanese company commander inside the blockhouse also learned that the Eighth Route Army had opened a breakthrough in the rear.

"Baka yarou! We must plug this gap!"

"Shan Sang, allocate a company of soldiers to support the first squad in the attack!"

"We must take back those four houses no matter what!"

They were already outnumbered, and if the Eighth Route Army found a breakthrough, it would be even more difficult to fight them.

Moreover, once the Eighth Route Army breaks through to the blockhouse and blows it up, their defensive advantage will be immediately eliminated.

"Second brother, take some men and go!" Lynx shouted.

"it is good!"

The deputy captain drew his pistol: "Brothers, follow me!"

About fifty Japanese soldiers, along with more than a hundred puppet troops, launched a frenzied counterattack on the Red House.

"Boom!" "Boom!"
"Da da da".
The two sides exchanged fire continuously with mortars, grenade launchers, and light and heavy machinery.

Even the mountain guns on the top of the Japanese pillboxes and the heavy mortars of the First Battalion joined in.

The original red house had its roof blown through and its walls knocked down, quickly turning it into ruins.

The Japanese soldiers charged very fiercely.

Sometimes, the two sides were firing at each other face to face, and a single burst of fire could take down several people.

"You little devils, I'll fuck your mother!"

One soldier's stomach was blown open, and his intestines spilled out immediately.

After enduring excruciating pain to stuff his intestines back in, he tightened his belt, slung the explosive pack over his shoulder, and jumped over the wall.

They charged directly into the attacking Japanese troops.

With a loud "boom," blood and flesh splattered everywhere.

The Black Cloud Village bandits, known for their fearlessness, were so terrified by the sight of the battlefield, which resembled a grinding wheel of flesh and blood, that they wet themselves.

The brutality of the battlefield far exceeded their imagination.

However, once they're on the battlefield, it's no longer up to them to make decisions.

These puppet troops could only be coerced by the Japanese soldiers and sent to their deaths.
The battle for the positions was extremely brutal, with bloodshed every second and casualties every minute.

By 3 p.m., the First Battalion had repelled more than 30 Japanese counterattacks.

The corpses of Japanese soldiers and puppet troops even filled the waist-deep trenches.

The ground inside the trenches was also soaked with blood.

The two companies of the first battalion also suffered more than half casualties.

"Zheng Hua, what's the situation on the front lines?" Chen Chengxing called for the third time.

"Please rest assured, sir, we can still hold on!" Zheng Hua affirmed.

"The Second and Third Battalions are closing in from the other sides and will soon be able to launch the final assault."

"Good! Your First Brigade deserves the greatest credit for taking down the watchtower!" Chen Chengxing said.

By this time, the battle had lasted for more than six hours, and the Japanese soldiers had been almost completely wiped out.

"Sir, everyone has retreated to the fortress."

The lynx was now trembling slightly, and its arrogance had completely vanished.

No one had ever told him before that the Eighth Route Army fought so fiercely.

Aren't those guerrillas only good at sniping?
"How many more people are there?"

The Japanese company commander, his body completely blackened, sat on an ammunition box.

He just led the charge himself, but it had no effect.

“All together, it’s less than fifty,” said Lynx.

In the morning, there were still more than 800 of them.

As a result, in less than a day, only 5% remained.

At this moment, Shanmaozi even felt a little envious of those who had gone out to fight but were captured by the Eighth Route Army.

No matter what happens in the future, at least there is a future.

"Shan Sang, you and your men are very brave, I have seen it all."

"I just called Commander Lu Ye."

"Captain Takada will report your loyalty to your superiors, and I think you will be awarded honors," the Japanese company commander comforted him.

Upon hearing the words of the Japanese company commander, Yamanoko burst into tears.

He didn't want this honor at all.

The Japanese company commander standing nearby thought that Yamaneko was moved to tears because of the honor that was about to be bestowed upon him.

They are truly negligent in their dealings with our great friend.

"Shan Sang, take a rest. The final battle is coming soon."

The Japanese company commander stood up and patted Yamanoko on the shoulder.

A dozen minutes later, the soldiers of the Second Battalion, braving bullets and grenades overhead, successfully blasted a breach in the blockhouse with a series of explosions.

Then, more than 100 kilograms of explosives were piled up in and around the gap.

"boom!!".
With a loud explosion, a gap was blasted into the blockhouse.

The assault team immediately filed in, and gunfire erupted inside the bunker.

Half an hour later, the flag of the First Battalion was planted on the top of the watchtower.

Jiang Ming sat on the ruins, looking at the military flag on the watchtower.

His battalion suffered heavy losses this time.
(End of this chapter)