Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 516 Independent Brigade, Attack!

In the lounge, the leader was somewhat lost in thought as he looked at the maps covering the wall.

At this moment, his old headache flared up again. He didn't even dare to touch a single strand of his hair, because if he did, it would feel like steel needles pricking him, causing him excruciating pain.

However, at this moment, the physical pain was still less than the immense psychological pressure he was under.

All signs at this time indicated that Du Guangting was about to break out, and the direction of the breakout was southeast.

But at this point, he still didn't believe that Du Guangting would go to Lianghuai.

Just as I was enduring a severe headache and preparing to perform the simulation again, the door was suddenly pushed open.

The deputy chief of staff rushed in and said urgently, "Sir, Du Guangting is out!"

"Which route did you take?!"

"Your judgment is absolutely correct; the enemy did indeed retreat towards Yongcheng."

After taking the intelligence from the deputy chief of staff and glancing at it, the commander immediately got up and strode to the operations room.

As they walked, the leader asked, "What are your thoughts?"

"All seven columns on the northern front caught up, some following closely and others pursuing at a parallel pace."

"Seven columns, seven columns, it's as if having seven columns means you can conquer the world!"

Faced with Du Guangting's 300,000-strong army, seven columns would be absolutely no match for them.

After walking quickly to the operations room and gesturing on the map for a while, he suddenly felt a severe spinning dizziness.

This is Meniere's disease, a condition caused by his previous overuse of his brain.

The medic outside the door immediately noticed something was wrong and quickly came over.

However, the medic was locked out by the commander.

After leaning against the door and thinking for a few minutes, the commander gave the order:

"Order: K Column, L Column, and 2nd General Staff, advance westward at full speed from the enemy's flank, reach the enemy's vanguard at a forced march pace, and make every effort to block them!"

"Tell them not to linger in battle. The artillery and staff can be left behind. The combat troops must get ahead of the enemy."

"Then order was given to the local troops in Henan, Anhui and Jiangsu to immediately set up defensive lines to block and delay the enemy while waiting for the main force to arrive."

"We must control the boat crossings on the Wohe and Shahe rivers and use all obstacles that can delay the enemy's escape to the southwest to block them."

"In addition to resolutely preventing the enemy from escaping, all local troops must report the enemy's location by telegram immediately!"

"The four columns of Suxian County advanced westward at top speed to block Du Guangting's escape route!"

"yes!".
With a command given, an unprecedented chase officially began.

With over 600,000 troops on both sides, a frantic chase ensued.

This was a completely chaotic chase, with both sides possessing massive formations of more than ten armies.

In this relentless chase, the organizational structure of almost every unit was thrown into disarray.

As the fastest running unit, the 22nd Battalion of the Third Company was in the lead.

"Battalion Commander! There's a village ahead," the advance squad reported as they ran back.

After thinking for a moment, the battalion commander decisively ordered, "Ten-minute break ahead!"

The Third Battalion has been without rest for more than two hours, and its speed has slowed down significantly. A short rest would allow them to wait for the troops behind them.

"Yes!"

The battalion commander, wearing a newly captured American military overcoat, found a house to sit down in after entering the village.

However, just as he was about to take a rest, he saw a soldier dressed in the uniform of the Kuomintang army run into his room without saying a word.

And they immediately started removing the door flaps.

The battalion commander thought these were prisoners of war who had just revolted and felt that this was extremely impolite.

Which company are you from?

"I'm from the 8th Company."

"The 8th Company?" Upon hearing it was his own company, the 3rd Battalion Commander immediately ordered, "Go! Call your company commander here!"

"Yes!"

A moment later, a report came from the doorway.

The battalion commander turned his head and was startled.

He saw a Nationalist Army officer wearing a peaked cap standing at the door, saluting him.

Because of the policy of replenishing troops as soon as they are killed, there are now a large number of prisoners of war in the G army.

They would wear the clothes and hats of the KMT soldiers, and some would also wear the captured military overcoats, helmets, and rubber shoes.

However, within the entire G army, no one wore the uniform of a KMT officer, and no one wore a peaked cap.

The only people dressed like that could be Guo Jun.

"It's Guo Jun! Get him!"

The battalion commander shouted and, together with the communications officer beside him, rushed towards the Guo army company commander.

The third battalion commander's shout immediately enlivened the small village.

It was only then that both sides suddenly realized that they were resting in the same village as the enemy.

The two sides immediately began to fight.

Meanwhile, local troops have also received orders from the field headquarters.

The commander did not order the local troops to resolutely resist, after all, their combat effectiveness was far inferior to that of the regular troops.

Local troops were formed by merging local county brigades, guerrilla units, and other second-line forces; having an old rifle was considered quite good.

Homemade grenades and explosives were already their most powerful firepower.

The Yudong Independent Brigade is such a unit.

The only advantage they had over other units was that nobody used spears anymore, and they still had several brigade-level machine guns. Although these machine guns were prone to malfunctioning, they were still the brigade's prized possessions.

"Brigade Commander, we have been ordered to advance towards Zhangzhuang immediately to intercept the enemy fleeing from Pengcheng."

"Sound the emergency assembly call! The entire army must depart immediately!" Brigade Commander Zhu Chun ordered immediately.

Although the Pengcheng army numbered 300,000, Zhu Chun was not afraid at all.

A dozen minutes later, the independent brigade, having completed its emergency assembly, chased after Du Guangting in the direction he had retreated.

The Independent Brigade marched at breakneck speed until midnight, when Zhu Chun suddenly heard countless buzzing sounds in the distance.

"Order the troops to halt their advance."

As he spoke, Zhu Chun quickly ran up a nearby high ground.

What Zhu Chun saw next stunned her.

An endless convoy was crammed onto the road, cars and countless infantrymen moving forward together.

The road was lit up with a chaotic mix of lights—all kinds of car headlights, lanterns, flashlights, and torches—which illuminated almost the entire night sky.

After observing for a moment, Zhu Chun returned to the front of the group.

The soldiers knew their predicament, but they remained silent, waiting for the brigade commander to give the final order.

Zhu Chun glanced at the soldiers: "Comrades, the political commissar and I have already checked, and ahead is Du Guangting's 300,000-strong army."

"But what I want to say is that there's nothing to be afraid of."

"As everyone knows, this is our biggest and last battle in Jiangbei."

"If we win, Jiangbei will never have to fight again, and our loved ones will live a peaceful life; if we lose, the people will suffer for who knows how long."

"If we let the enemy in front of us pass, how can we face the people of Jiangbei?"

"I've decided that even if it wipes out the Independent Brigade, I will hold the enemy back until the main force arrives!"

No one in the Independent Brigade raised any objection to Zhu Chun's decision.

They had already made plans when they left their camp and marched here.

"Independent Brigade! Attack!"

"Kill!"
The soldiers shouted and, gripping their makeshift weapons, charged towards the enemy, who outnumbered them dozens of times over.

The Independent Brigade ran headlong into Qiu Feng's Fifth Army.

As the elite force of the Kuomintang army, they did not panic at all after being suddenly attacked, but reacted immediately and engaged in a fierce battle with the First Brigade.

"Deputy Siren, the Fifth Army has been suddenly attacked by the G Army."

"Which unit is it?" Du Guangting asked anxiously.

"Commander Qiu reports: The gunfire is very chaotic, with only a few light and heavy machine guns and no artillery. It should be local troops of the G Army."

Upon hearing that it was a local unit of the G Army, Du Guangting breathed a sigh of relief.

"Commander Qiu, eliminate the G army in front of us as quickly as possible. The rest of the troops, bypass this area and continue advancing!"

Zhu Chun noticed the adjustments made to the rear troops of the Guo army, but there was nothing he could do about it.

The Fifth Army alone was not something the Independent Brigade could handle, not to mention that Qiu Feng's Second Army Corps was behind the Fifth Army.

Faced with the Fifth Army's fierce attack, the First Brigade quickly suffered heavy casualties.

Fierce hand-to-hand combat with bayonets was taking place on almost every position.

Seeing the casualty figures rising sharply, Zhu Chun hesitated whether to send out the last reserve force, the Second Battalion.

After all, less than an hour has passed.

Just as Zhu Chun hesitated, the Second Battalion Commander had already arrived in front of him.

"Brigade Commander, our battalion is ready. I plan to lead my comrades to directly attack the enemy headquarters."

"If we can destroy the enemy's command post, we have a very good chance of holding out until dawn."

According to previous telegram communications, the nearest main force was still more than 20 kilometers away, and it would take until dawn at the earliest to arrive.

Zhu Chun glanced at the explosives strapped to the Second Battalion Commander's body and patted him on the shoulder.

"The heavy machine gun will provide you with fire support."

The three old heavy machine guns of the Independent Brigade were all the help Zhu Chuneng could provide.

"Thank you, Brigade Commander." The Second Battalion Commander turned and returned to the Second Battalion.

The soldiers of the Second Battalion had already prepared all the explosives and grenades and hung them on their bodies.

Without wasting words, the second battalion commander waved his hand and gave the order:
"Target! Enemy command post!"

"Comrades! Follow me and attack!"

"kill!".
Under the leadership of its battalion commander, the Second Battalion launched a full-scale assault into the heart of the Fifth Army.

However, the Fifth Army was extremely fierce in combat. Given the absolute disparity in strength, the Second Battalion's desperate charge only opened a gap, but it was immediately surrounded by the superior forces of the Fifth Army.

Despite being surrounded, the soldiers of the Second Battalion showed no fear.

After running out of bullets, the soldiers pulled the fuses and ran as fast as they could overtake the enemy.

"Boom!" "Boom!"
With the final few huge explosions, the entire Second Battalion was wiped out.

Looking at the dust kicked up by the explosion, Zhu Chun felt very heavy-hearted, but he had no time to be sad now.

As the number of troops at the front dwindled, the KMT army advanced at an increasingly rapid pace.

Zhu Chun ripped off his hat and looked at the remaining special agent company beside him.

"Independent Brigade! Attack!"

"kill!"

(End of this chapter)