Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 58: War Clouds
Headquarters.

The deputy commander-in-chief felt indescribable as he read the battle report of the New Second Regiment forwarded by the 386th Brigade.

Logically speaking, the New Second Regiment had won a victory and seized a large amount of spoils, so they should be happy. However, after this battle, it might take the New Second Regiment three or two months to recover.

But is there time for the new second regiment to rest now?

As early as February, the Japanese sent troops from Suxian and Fu'an, and successively occupied seven counties including Wulong, Shuiquan, Qifeng and Xiaoxian.

Now the troops are heading straight for the Shaanxi-Northern Border Region.

According to the instructions of the Central Committee, we must destroy the Japanese idea of continuing to advance.

The headquarters had already made a plan to retake the county town when the Japanese army launched the Southwest Shanxi Campaign, but the plan was interrupted by the Japanese's sudden raid.

However, the Japanese raid is now nearing its end, and next month the 129th Division will launch a major campaign to recapture these counties.

Of course, the Japanese can occupy the county town again in the future, but they can only reach Shuiquan at most and must not threaten the security of the border area.

The deputy commander-in-chief didn’t know whether the new second regiment would be able to hold the field by then.

Chen Chengxing doesn’t know the headquarters’ plan yet, as he is holding a combat meeting in Hongni Bay.

"Captain, we have suffered such heavy casualties now, should we let the Japanese transport team go this time? We can fight them later, and this road will not be accessible." Luo Ping advised.

The information Comrade Luyang received was not general, and he did not know what was inside. He only knew that a guard team of 170 people and 300 puppet troops were gathering to escort supplies, and according to the plan, they would set off after nightfall.

Although Xu Wu and his men wanted to fight, their current situation did not allow it. The previous casualties were too great, especially for the First Battalion and the Special Forces Company, which were the main forces in bayonet fighting.

This time, the Japanese escort team has nearly 500 guardsmen. If the New Second Regiment wants to take over this supply, it may have to mobilize the entire army.

After all, an ambush is not just a simple ambush, there must also be troops to attack the reinforcements.

"Opportunities are rare and will never come back." Chen Chengxing shook his head.

"You have all ambushed the Japanese's transport team. Let me ask you, when have the Japanese ever transported supplies at night?" Chen Chengxing looked at Xu Wu and the others and asked.

Xu Wu and his men recalled carefully and found that it was just as the regiment commander said. Whether the Japanese were conducting mopping-up operations or transportation, they basically carried out operations during the day and had never carried out operations at night.

"Captain, what do you mean?" Xu Wu and the others suddenly became alert.

"Haha. There must be something wrong when things are abnormal. I guess this must be something important, otherwise the Japanese wouldn't be so nervous." Chen Chengxing said with a smile.

Chen Chengxing cannot directly explain the existence of the system, but that does not mean he cannot point out doubts indirectly.

After hearing what Chen Chengxing said, Luo Ping was a little hesitant about whether to send troops at this time.

If this is true, then this is a rare opportunity. Since the Japanese choose to move out at night, they will definitely march quietly and will probably not notify the county strongholds along the way. This will give the New Second Regiment the convenience of ambush, and at least they will have more time.

In Taiyuan, Kazuki Seiji threw the battle report directly on the table.

"Baka! Shimada Hideo is a fool! A battalion of troops was completely wiped out by just a regiment of the Eighth Route Army!" Katsuki Seiji cursed angrily.

"Where is Shimada Hideo?!" Kazuki Seiji turned his head and asked.

"Sir, Shimada Hideo has committed seppuku," said Chief of Staff Naosaburo Okabe.

"Seppuku? That's too easy for him." When Katsuki Seiji heard that Shimada Hideo had committed seppuku, he had to let the matter go even though he was unwilling.

In Yiben, no matter what happens, as long as he commits seppuku, it means that he takes all the responsibility, and no one can be held accountable for the past mistakes, not even Tianhuang.

"Can the 129rd Independent Mixed Brigade send troops to the mountains to clear out the Eighth Route Army in Dayun Mountain?" Katsuki Seiji asked. "Sir, although the rd Mixed Brigade achieved certain results in the battle with the th Division of the Eighth Route Army, it has become a spent force, especially with a lot of ammunition loss. I'm afraid it won't be able to be deployed in the short term."

"And the 3rd Mixed Brigade also has the subsequent mission of crossing the river," added Naosaburo Okabe.

The 26th Division of Suicheng and more than 1 people of the 3000st Division of the Mongolian Army have successively occupied several county towns and are now preparing to cross the river.

By that time, more troops will participate in the battle, and the 3rd Mixed Brigade is one of them.

After listening to what Naosaburo Okabe said, Seiji Katsuki immediately realized that he was a little too excited.

For the First Army, the Jinsui Army in southwestern Shanxi had been reduced to only three counties, which was no longer a concern.

The next task of the First Army is to cross the Yellow River and continue advancing westward.

In front of this goal, the New Second Regiment in Dayun Mountain was just a minor nuisance and not worth worrying about.

Once the locust army has time, we can deal with them at any time.

However, not dealing with the New Second Regiment does not mean that we will let them go.

"Mr. Okabe, I remember that the garrison in Luyang was reinforced with two French 2mm field guns?" asked Seiji Katsuki.

"Yes." Okabe Naosaburo nodded.

"Send a message to Luyang to deploy these two cannons to the Xiaocaozhuang stronghold to block the Eighth Route Army in Dayun Mountain to prevent them from becoming more powerful." Xiangyue Qingji ordered while looking at the map.

Although these two guns have excellent performance, they are not compatible with the Japanese army's logistics and are more suitable to be placed in the stronghold.

With the protection of the stronghold, two field guns were enough to pose a fatal threat to the Eighth Route Army, which had no siege weapons.

"Yes!"

Shuiwan Village is located between Qujiao Town and Jinghu Town. The road from Taiyuan to northwest Shanxi passes through Shuiwan Village.

The highway was built along the river, with the overall angle tilted toward the northwest and southeast.

The east side of the road is a high mountain with cliffs everywhere, which is impossible to climb. The north side of the road is an undulating highland with many valleys, which is very convenient for concealment and ambush. The west side of the road is the Hunhe River.

Therefore, as long as both ends of the road are blocked, the Japanese will have no way to escape.

Moreover, this area belongs to the guerrilla zone of the New Second Regiment and has a certain mass base.

Chen Chengxing led his team to the high ground on the north side of the road in advance the next night to prevent their whereabouts from being disclosed if they took action during the day.

Chen Chengxing himself led the regiment's special company, the second battalion and the third battalion to stay in the mountainous area north of the Shuiwan Village road as the main assault force. The first battalion, which had been severely damaged before, was responsible for blocking the Japanese's retreat.

The guerrillas and the supplementary battalion served as the second echelon, responsible for blocking the enemy's reinforcements.

The guerrillas gathered in the area from Xiashi Village to Shangzhuang to be on guard, responsible for blocking the reinforcements sent by Junyu Town and Qujiao Town, while protecting the safety of the right rear of the main force.

The supplementary battalion was ambushed in the northwest of Majiapo, responsible for blocking the Japanese reinforcements from Jinghu Town and Zhengfeng Town.

The Japanese did not notice anything about the actions of the New Second Regiment.

They also naively chose to march at night to avoid being discovered by the Eighth Route Army guerrillas and causing unnecessary trouble.

(End of this chapter)