Sword: Heart of Iron

Chapter 39 Reunion
Wei County.

Fifth Division Headquarters.

Itagaki Seishirō was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

"Why are the reinforcements from the 9th Brigade still in the Yimaling area?"

"idiot!"

"Why!"

There were bursts of angry curses in the office.

Chief of Staff Toshio Nishimura lowered his head and said nothing.

They were about to capture the Tuanchengkou position and attack all the way to Fanzhi and Xinkou areas, cutting off the retreat of the entire Shanxi-Suiyuan Army.

Unexpectedly, just one day later, the situation suddenly took a turn for the worse.

The 21st Brigade faces the risk of being completely wiped out.

This made Hideki Tojo's Chahar Corps a laughing stock.

Itagaki Seishirō was restless: "Telegram to all units of the 21st Brigade, make sure to hold the Tuanchengkou area and wait for follow-up reinforcements!"

The main force of the 9th Brigade was originally ordered by the North China Front Army to move to the Baoding area.

But the situation now is different from the past, and the situation is urgent. If this battle is not handled properly, it is very likely that this will be the first major defeat suffered by the Japanese army since the start of the war of aggression against China.

When the news gets back to the country, there will definitely be a lot of criticism.

Itagaki Seishirō could not take the blame, and the entire Fifth Division could not bear this sin either.

Even if we suffer a small defeat in this battle, we must still gain results equal to or even greater than the defeat!

For example, annihilating the 115th Division.
Therefore, despite the repeated requests of Commander Terauchi Hisaichi, he still insisted on transferring the 9th Brigade that had already set out back to Shanxi.

Nishimura Liwen said in a low voice: "Hai!"

A temporary trip.

Japanese fighter planes were circling overhead, and the fighter planes dived down rapidly with aerial bombs mounted on their wings.

Accurately eliminated the machine gun fire point.

The previously defeated Japanese brigade regrouped its forces and tried to use the advantage of air cover to force a breakthrough through the front line of defense.

The battle became increasingly difficult.

Not only the 1st Temporary Brigade, but the entire Shanxi-Suiyuan Army generally lacked effective air defense means.

When facing Japanese bombing, there are only three options: either resist or hide.

Or, they could just rush forward and engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Japanese army.

The approach adopted by Wang Feng was the last one.

This time it was the Second Regiment's turn to hold the front line, while the First Regiment was deployed in the jungles on both sides.

Because the Second Regiment was relatively weak, the Japanese army quickly broke into their own trenches.

Hand-to-hand combat began on local positions.

At the critical moment, Zhang Hu stood in front of the soldiers holding a big knife and quickly ordered his subordinates to launch a charge.

"Brothers! Charge up!"

"The faster you run, the less likely the planes will be able to bomb you!"

"If you don't want to die, run!"

"We are one regiment, and you are all soldiers of the Sharp Knife Regiment!"

"So many good weapons and equipment are not given for nothing. At the critical moment, we must take the lead!"

Rough words are not rough.

For soldiers with low cultural levels, the more straightforward and simple the words are, the better the effect will be.

"Kill the devil!"

"Fuck the Japs!"

A group shouted slogans, braved the hail of bullets and the bombing of aerial bombs, and rushed down the hillsides on both sides quickly, dividing the Japanese troops into several sections.

The bloody and brutal hand-to-hand combat began.

In terms of weapons, the Temporary 1st Brigade was not at a disadvantage because it was equipped with a large number of captured Type 38 rifles.

In terms of physical fitness, they are slightly inferior to the Japanese army, but much stronger than the 115th Division.

It is understandable that the newly recruited soldiers, who had not had a good meal for a few days, were in a state of physical adjustment. However, the veterans with rich combat experience and strong physique, were not at all inferior to the Japanese in a one-on-one bayonet fight.

But this situation rarely occurs on the real battlefield.

Because of the backward weapons and equipment, close-range hand-to-hand combat has always been the focus of Wang Feng's attention.

A set of tactics gradually evolved.

"kill!"

"Go ahead and stab him!"

On the battlefield, a group of soldiers rushed into the enemy camp and quickly changed their formation.

Two or three people form a combat team.

The combat core of the group is the veterans armed with Type 38 rifles or broadswords.

The new recruits were lined up on one side, responsible for delaying the Japanese army and creating opportunities for attack.

Soldiers from both sides were intertwined, and Japanese fighter planes kept circling in the sky. Unable to find an opportunity to drop bombs, they withdrew from the battlefield after a short while.

The Japanese troops on the ground also withdrew from the battlefield.

after the war.

Zhao Fangyuan was covered in blood and his uniform was wrinkled. "Sir, this is a telegram from the Sixth Army to the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army."

"read."

"I am sending this telegram to your unit. At 685:686 pm, we have completely wiped out the Japanese army's baggage trucks that were coming to reinforce from Xiaozhai, Guangou, and Tuanchengkou. The enemy's supply line has been completely cut off. Currently, our vanguard th and th Regiments are rushing to support and cooperate with your unit!"

Wang Feng nodded secretly, his eyes revealing joy.

If the 115th Division is free, the battle is half won.

Wang Feng was not very clear about the situation in front of Tuanchengkou.

The telegrams sent by the Sixth Army kept repeating four words - the battle situation is intense!
The statement was very vague and contained no useful information, but it did repeatedly order the 1st Temporary Brigade to hold its position.

"Order all troops to quickly clean up the battlefield and maintain combat readiness. No one can relax!"

Zhao Fangyuan pressed his heels together: "Understood!"

After a day and a night of fighting, the Temporary 1st Brigade lost nearly 1,200 soldiers, and almost all the combat troops in the brigade were injured.

But no one complained or cried out in pain. As soon as the battle was over, the soldiers who were still able to move gritted their teeth and cleaned up the battlefield.

This battle killed more than 600 Japanese soldiers and basically crippled a large Japanese battalion.

On the current battlefield in China, this is a victory worth celebrating.

Four hours later.

Temporary 1st Brigade Headquarters. Wang Feng tugged at the hem of his uniform, trying to make the wrinkled clothes look smoother.

Several people dressed in gray, grass-gray military uniforms walked in.

"Brigade Commander Wang, I have long heard of your great name!"

Several people who came in stood on one side. Commander Lin walked in quickly with a smile on his face. He was very humble and greeted them as soon as he came in.

Wang Feng smiled and said, "I don't deserve it. I don't deserve it."

After entering the room, Commander Lin looked up and down at the command post of the Temporary 1st Brigade.

It's just an ordinary house.

On the octagonal table in the middle of the room, there was a battle map, with pencils, rulers and other tools beside it.

Then there is an ordinary large kang, which is where Wang Feng rests.

Division Commander Lin smiled and said, "Brigade Commander Wang's headquarters is much more efficient than our 115th Division."

Wang Feng: "Senior, you are joking. How can the affairs of my brigade be compared with those of a division? The temple is small and there are fewer things to do."

As soon as the word "senior" came out, the atmosphere between the two sides suddenly became a lot more relaxed.

"Hey, in the entire Second War Zone, who doesn't know your name, Wang Feng, Brigade Commander Wang?"

"I heard that in the grassroots units of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, you are known as the Little Fengxian, who is good at fighting and loves his soldiers like his own sons."

Commander Lin waved his hand and looked at Wang Feng with admiration in his eyes.

It was not until Zhao Fangyuan walked into the room and replaced the battle map on the table with a map of the Tuanchengkou area.

The two sides stopped bragging to each other and began to discuss combat matters.

(End of this chapter)