Sword: Heart of Iron

Chapter 38: Bloody Battle at Pingxingguan
Xiaozhai and Guangou areas.

As the war started, the sound of gunfire rang out in the narrow valley.

The cars of the Japanese vanguard were blown up, and the vehicles and mules and horses in the rear were crowded together, and the situation was in chaos.

The soldiers seized the opportunity and launched a fierce attack on the Japanese army.

The two regiments of the 343rd Brigade were responsible for the main attack.

They are all elite main infantry regiments.

The 685th Regiment was responsible for blocking the enemy and making flanking attacks.

In the original combat plan, the regiment had another mission, which was to block the Japanese reinforcements coming from the direction of Tuanchengkou.

But now this task has been taken on by Wang Feng's temporary brigade.

This allowed the 685th Regiment to be free to focus on attacking the enemy in the ambush circle.

The 686th Regiment was responsible for ambushing the main force on the hillside.

Take the main attack mission.

Inside the 685th Regiment Command Post.

"Captain, the Japanese army has begun to break out!"

Captain Yang calmed down and said, "Communicator!"

"To!"

"Communicate the combat mission to each battalion. We cannot lose any of the nearby commanding heights!"

"Yes!"

At this time, although the Eighth Route Army had been reorganized, it still lacked basic weapons and equipment.

Even the radio station was only assigned to the regiment level.

If the regiment headquarters wants to assign combat tasks to its subordinate battalions, it can only rely on manpower to deliver them.

Therefore, in an emergency, the battalions were unable to receive effective command and could only improvise and act on their own.

At this time, the 685st Battalion of the th Regiment had already launched a charge towards the road, dividing the Japanese troops below into several sections.

"Captain of the First Battalion, the regiment commander orders us to immediately occupy the commanding heights on both sides of the road!"

Amidst the hail of bullets, the communicator risked his life to convey the combat instructions to the first battalion.

The battalion commander immediately looked at the battle map beside him and said, "Company 1, Company 3, charge to the high ground immediately and occupy the commanding heights before the Japanese army!"

"Yes!"

At the command, the whole camp began to move.

The first and third companies moved very quickly and occupied the high ground before the Japanese army.

Relying on the advantage of being high above, they repelled several attacks by the Japanese army.

But problems arose in the 4th Company of the 2nd Battalion.

The Japanese vanguard organized themselves from the panic and occupied a high ground ahead of the Fourth Company.

Dense rain of bullets swept across the hillside, and the Fourth Company charging below had nowhere to hide, and suffered heavy losses in a short time.

The company commander and deputy company commander were killed in the charge.

The first platoon took over command.

"A long line!"

"No matter how you fight, we will listen to you!"

Several platoon leaders gathered together to discuss offensive tactics.

The people in the row steadied their breathing and let out a long sigh.

The 685th Regiment was responsible for intercepting the Japanese army. Every nearby high ground was crucial. Once the Japanese army formed a counterattack, the 685th Regiment would most likely not be able to intercept the Japanese army.

The decision made by the team at this moment may affect the entire battle situation.

"Attack from both sides and disperse the enemy's firepower. Even if the entire company is killed, we cannot let the Japanese gain a foothold!"

"Yes!"

hum!
As the two sides engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat, Japanese fighter planes were circling overhead.

But the soldiers of both sides were intertwined, making it impossible to carry out effective strafing and bombing.

After circling a few times, it flew away.

The most intense hand-to-hand combat took place on the positions of the 685nd and rd Battalions of the th Regiment.

The soldiers quickly rushed down the hillside and blew up more than a dozen cars with grenades.

Both sides were so blood-thirsty that they had no time to reload their ammunition. A brutal hand-to-hand combat broke out at the bottom of the ditch.

In fact, the amount of ammunition the soldiers carried was only enough to rush down the hillside.

The Japanese army's bayonet fighting skills were very strong. Some soldiers could not even last one round before being stabbed in vital parts and fell down.

"kill!"

"Don't worry about me, just kill a few more!"

The horrible howling filled the ditch. The surviving soldiers stayed beside their wounded comrades, not retreating a single step, and fought fiercely with the Japanese army.

This is a bloody battle.

When the soldiers had no bullets, they used bayonets. If the bayonets were bent, they used gun butts. If the gun butts were broken, they picked up stones.

The wounded soldier clung tightly to the Japanese soldiers passing by him, making a final effort to help his comrades defeat the enemy.

Although the Japanese soldiers were small in stature, their Type 38 rifles were very long. If a bayonet was added, the total length would directly reach over 1.6 meters.

Moreover, the soldiers are well-nourished and have superior physical strength and endurance.

As time went on, the balance of victory began to tilt towards the Japanese army.

In the direction of the 686th Regiment.

The messenger ran in: "Commander, the division commander wants you to go to the headquarters."

To ensure safety, the 115th Division set up two command posts before the war. Among them, the command post of Division Commander Lin was located on the hillside to the right rear of the 686th Regiment, very close to the front line of combat.

Inside the division headquarters.

Captain Li walked over quickly.

Commander Lin said, "The enemy's resistance is very tenacious. What you need to do is to cut the enemy on the road into several sections and then occupy the commanding heights."

"It's right here, the temple!"

"We must occupy this place before the Japanese army at any cost!"

"Yes!"

After returning to the regiment headquarters, Commander Li immediately mobilized the third battalion and began to attack in the direction of Laoye Temple.

When Deputy Regiment Commander Yang learned about this, he immediately said, "Old Li, I'll leave the command center to you. I'll follow the Third Battalion!"

After a moment's hesitation, Captain Li said, "Okay!"

"This battle depends on you!"

The third battalion rushed down the hillside, racing against the Japanese army to seize the Laoye Temple.

The sound of killing was deafening in the valley, and the soldiers had only one belief in their hearts.

Seize the temple!
The Japanese army's combat capability was very strong, and the commander immediately realized this and began to mobilize heavy troops to gather in the direction of Laoye Temple.

Both sides launched a desperate attack.

Through the telescope, Captain Li observed the battle situation below.

The more I looked, the more frightened I became.

The firepower of the soldiers could not suppress the Japanese army at all. The soldiers fell one after another, but they still charged forward desperately.

A small group of Japanese troops have already landed on the Laoye Temple.

The situation is becoming increasingly critical!
The valley was filled with smoke, and the soldiers who rushed to the top of the hill engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat with the Japanese army.

Elite against elite, no matter how fierce the battle was, not a single soldier on either side retreated.

"Fuck the Japs! Die for me!"

A soldier was seriously injured and detonated a grenade in the critical moment, choosing to die together with the Japanese soldiers beside him.

The Japanese commander was still too confident.

From the beginning to the end, he never took the Eighth Route Army seriously and still firmly believed that he could keep the supplies on the trucks.

Apart from sending a small group of troops to seize the commanding heights, most of the troops remained at the bottom of the ditch, using the wreckage of cars and ditches to put up a stubborn resistance against the Eighth Route Army.

Finally, with the help of friendly forces, the Third Battalion successfully planted the general flag at the highest point of the battle - the Laoye Temple!

The soldiers did not have to rest for a moment. After taking a few deep breaths, they began to counterattack the Japanese troops in the valley from a high position.

Finally, after losing the commanding heights, the Japanese firepower began to gradually decline.

By the time the Japanese commander reacted, it was already too late.

In the hand-to-hand combat between the two sides, it was difficult for the Japanese machine guns and artillery to play their advantage, and it became extremely difficult to seize the commanding heights.

During this period, Japanese air fighters attempted to provide support many times, but in the end they all failed.

The battle lasted from five in the morning to one in the afternoon.

The 687th Regiment attacked from the rear and separated the Japanese troops in the area of Caijiayu and Xigou Village.

And seized key high ground, cutting off the way of retreat.

The Japanese army's fighting spirit began to waver.

After eliminating the enemy at the rear, the 687th Regiment quickly moved towards the 686th Regiment.

Inside the division headquarters.

Commander Lin took charge of the overall situation and when the 687th Regiment arrived, he believed that the time was ripe.

"Notify all troops to launch a full-scale counterattack."

"The Japanese troops must be completely wiped out!"

(End of this chapter)