Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Around 5:00 PM, the Japanese troops from Xuanhua advanced to Shili Peak. On the Xuanhua side was the 1st Independent Infantry Battalion of the 2nd Independent Mixed Brigade, led by Mura Kenkichi himself, two infantry companies, a cavalry company, an artillery company, an engineering company, and a heavy vehicle company.

Among them, the artillery squadron, the engineering squadron, and the heavy squadron are all independent special forces directly under the brigade. In order to sweep the anti-Japanese forces in the Sanggong area this time, they will be equipped with the Independent Infantry First Battalion.

In addition to his own artillery, Mura Kenji had six Type 92 infantry guns, and his firepower was very powerful.

Seeing Mura Kenkichi coming over, Kameda Tsutomu immediately ran over and saluted, "Your Excellency the Colonel."

Although they are both captains, their military ranks are completely different.

Kameda Jizai was a major, but Mura Kenkichi was a colonel, a difference of two ranks. The organization of the independent mixed brigade was different from that of the field brigade, and the ranks of the officers in the same unit were also different.

The commander of an infantry battalion in a field brigade typically held the rank of Major. However, independent mixed brigades were primarily responsible for mopping up anti-Japanese forces behind enemy lines. During these mopping-up operations, independent infantry battalions would coordinate with troops from other arms. This meant that the commander of an independent infantry battalion had to command several different arms simultaneously during wartime. So, despite the small number of independent mixed brigades and their brigade-like structure, their tactical role was the same as that of divisions.

They all accept orders directly from the higher-level army or front, rather than being under the command of a division.

The Independent Mixed Brigade is a Japanese tactical unit that can fight independently.

Because of the nature of the Independent Mixed Brigade, its battalion commanders held high ranks, many reaching the rank of colonel, while some held the lower rank of lieutenant colonel. The Independent Mixed Brigade also housed the current Kwantung Army's Independent Garrison. Many later generations derided these units as security forces, believing them to be secondary, far inferior to the field forces. However, battalion commanders from these units were often transferred to other field divisions, often directly assuming the position of regimental commander. This type of adjustment occurred frequently.

Many of the captains of the independent garrison battalions under the Kwantung Army later served as brigade commanders and regiment commanders of field divisions.

Kameda Tsutomu was transferred from the field army and his rank was still Major. In this campaign to sweep the anti-Japanese armed forces in the Sanggong area, Kenkichi Satomura was the top person in charge.

"how's it going?"

Mura Kenji frowned as he looked at the situation of the 2nd Independent Infantry Battalion.

It's so miserable.

Looking at the wounded, there were more than 30 seriously injured and hundreds of slightly injured. This means that the Japanese army was an elite force that had undergone years of training. Otherwise, with such casualties, they would have lost their combat effectiveness long ago.

Kamedaji blushed.

After all, this was his first time leading troops out, and he had brought all his belongings from Huailai with him. Yet, he had lost so many men in this small place. It would have been easy if he had taken this place, but the problem was, he hadn't taken it yet.

So Kameda replied hesitantly: "Your Excellency, the enemy is the main force of the Eighth Route Army Independent Detachment. We have been fighting for more than three hours and still haven't taken it down. Look at the infantry artillery I brought with me, the ammunition is almost gone."

"how many people?"

"No less than a thousand people."

"A regiment?"

"Yes."

Mura Kenji frowned.

The Second Independent Mixed Brigade was preparing to sweep the anti-Japanese armed forces in the Sanggong area in order to sweep the independent detachment in Shengxian and the developing Pingxi base area. So this step was very important.

The Japanese military intelligence department also conducted an investigation.

It was known that the 3rd Battalion of the Independent Detachment was here. After arriving in the Sanggong area, they incorporated the local armed forces, and the number of troops increased to nearly a thousand. However, Japanese officers such as Mura Kenkichi did not take this unit seriously.

Because after the July 7 Incident, the Japanese army advanced rapidly.

In North China, they faced the Central Army, the 29th Army, the Northeast Army, the Northwest Army, and the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, which together had a total of four to five hundred thousand troops.

But it did not stop the Japanese army's advance at all.

Even the Chinese regular army is like this.

In the eyes of the Japanese army, the Eighth Route Army and those guerrillas were just a bunch of guerrillas and a mob.

That's why Kameda Tsutomu led his troops to attack alone without waiting for other troops.

Mura Kenkichi is not a reckless man.

After seeing the situation of the 2nd Independent Infantry Battalion, he realized that the Chinese army before him was not so easy to deal with. It was different from the ragtag group he had previously imagined. Of course, he was only slightly embarrassed, but not overly worried.

Because this time he brought more than 2,000 people with him.

Among them was a self-defense corps of about 1500 people. This was formed after the establishment of the Mongolian Army Corps, by rounding up the traitorous troops under the Chahar Autonomous Government. For this operation, these people were brought up.

Of course, the 2nd Independent Mixed Brigade did not expect the Self-Defense Corps to do anything.

I can only do odd jobs.

However, with only the two infantry companies and cavalry companies he brought with him, Mura Kenji was not afraid of being defeated by the Eighth Route Army.

"It's going to be dark soon. Let's rest first and take this place tomorrow."

"Yes."

Mura Kenji was not afraid that the other party would run away.

Since the Chinese army is able to defend so desperately, they will definitely not give up this position easily.

Unfortunately, he was wrong.

The 16th Regiment never thought of continuing to defend.

After dark, Zhang Zihua began to prepare for the troops' retreat. By eight o'clock, all the troops had withdrawn. Zhang Zihua saw the Japanese cavalry squadron following behind. Although they had done some damage to the road, he was still worried.

So after he withdrew his troops from the position, he immediately started running away.

Just run.

Quickly find a place with mountains to hide. The Eighth Route Army is familiar with mountain guerrilla warfare, and they always feel uncomfortable when there are no mountains.

The reason why the anti-Japanese war in central Hebei was repeatedly brought up later was because they were fighting guerrilla warfare on the plains. The difficulties of guerrilla warfare on the plains were much greater than those in the mountains.

The troops are still moving very fast.

One night I ran all the way from Shili Peak, running in the dark for more than forty miles, almost fifty miles.

The next day, Kenkichi attacked cautiously.

After finally finding no one, Mura Kenji was furious. He immediately dispatched a cavalry squadron to search for the independent detachment. After all, it was a force of thousands of men, and there was no place to hide. They just ran at night, desperately running.

There are still many traces left.

After the cavalry squadron discovered the 16th Regiment, they sent someone to inform Mura Kenkichi. Furious at the 16th Regiment's escape, Mura Kenkichi led his troops in pursuit, determined to eliminate these cowardly individuals.

The Japanese troops also marched very quickly.

Mura Xianji led a squadron of engineers, who easily repaired the roads destroyed by the militia. The troops then continued their advance, reaching Sangshan Fort. There were few people left in the vast Sangshan Fort; those who could escape had fled.

If it were in the past, Mura Kenji might have sent someone to find the person.

But this time is different.

He didn't have the energy to care about Sangshan Fort. He also had to chase the main force of the 16th Regiment and destroy them all at once. So, Mura Xianji only stayed in Sangshan Fort for a while, setting up a military camp there. He left the wounded there for treatment and some logistical supplies. After all, he couldn't take them with him.

Mura Kenji needs to speed up.

After completing these, Mura Kenji was ready to go into battle.

He brought two infantry squadrons, a cavalry squadron, a complete infantry squadron under Kameda Tsutomu, and a self-defense regiment of 1,000 men. The Eighth Route Army's troops retreated quickly, and the Japanese army's pursuit speed was also fast.

At noon the next day, Mura Xianji's troops had begun to enter Gongshan Fort.

Chapter 122: Taking Dajing Town

The counterattack against the three-way siege in the Sanggong area has begun.

Pulled around and moved the whole body.

The Japanese army is currently under-represented in the enemy's rear. The Eighth Route Army has been seizing territory and developing its forces. Therefore, if the Japanese army were to besiege a certain base, troops from other directions would come to its aid.

For example, in late 1937, during the Eighth Route Army siege, it wasn't just troops from the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region who participated. The 120th and 129th Divisions also sent troops to support the attack. Just a short time earlier, the Japanese army launched a Nine-Way Siege against the 129th Division's base, and the First and Second Divisions of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei region sent troops to help the 129th Division break the Nine-Way Siege.

Because we are all members of the Eighth Route Army. For the currently weak Eighth Route Army, if any base area cannot be defended, it will also be a blow to the other base areas. Therefore, everyone must cooperate.

It's the same this time.

The Huailai base was established by the 16th Regiment of the 8th Column of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region.

How could Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun just stand by and do nothing?

He immediately ordered other troops of the 8th Column to attack and cooperate with the 16th Regiment to break the three-way siege.

The Special Service Battalion was the most powerful unit before the Independent Detachment. After being reorganized into the Second Detachment, it remained the most powerful unit in the Eighth Column. Although not organized into a regiment, its strength was no less than that of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Regiments.

After receiving the order, Wu Qinghe and Lei Jiabin both crossed the mountain.

Originally, the Second Detachment's headquarters were in Districts 10 and 11 of Sheng County, but this time they crossed the mountain and moved directly to the Xuanhua and Lu areas, where the main force of the Second Detachment also arrived.

"Commissar, I have been waiting for this day for a long time."

Wu Qinghe and Lei Jiabin were on the top of the mountain looking at the town below.

Pointing at the map, he said, "Look, Dajing Town is the key town in Xuanhua. It connects Datong and Xuanhua, and also connects Datong, Xuanhua and our Sheng County. You could even say that this is the connecting point between Datong and the surrounding counties of Zhangjiakou. It's like a shoulder pole carrying Datong and Zhangjiakou. As long as we take this place, it will surely cause a great shock to the entire Xuanhua."

"I've been carefully avoiding this area, telling our troops not to operate here. I'm worried that if we capture this area, we'll suffer retaliation from the Japanese army not only in Xuanhua, but also in Datong, Tianzhen, and other places. Now that Xuanhua has transferred two infantry companies to the Sanggong area, this is our opportunity."

"Taking Dadajing Town can effectively supplement our logistics."

Lei Jiabin also nodded.

Dabing Town's geographical location is crucial, making it a crucial commercial hub within Zhangjiakou. In other words, Dajing Town is wealthy, incredibly wealthy. Taking Dajing Town and dealing with the traitors could raise a substantial sum of money.

For the impoverished Eighth Route Army, such opportunities were very rare.

Lei Jiabin looked at the map of Dajing Town and said, "How do you plan to capture Dajing Town? Dajing Town has been a major transportation hub since ancient times and was also an important post station during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The city walls are eleven meters high. Although Dajing Town currently only has a small group of Japanese soldiers, it has a security corps of over six hundred people. The merchants in Dajing Town are wealthy, so the security corps is well-equipped, even with light and heavy machine guns. If we storm here, it will be difficult for us to take it."

"Hahaha, my political commissar. The more seemingly foolproof a place is, the easier it is to capture it. Dajing Town is such an important place, why did the Japanese army only release a small group of devils? They are not there to fight, but to supervise the security group. They believe that the security group has enough numbers and good weapons and equipment, and no one can threaten Dajing Town. Unfortunately, I have been observing Dajing Town these days and found that Dajing Town's defenses are full of loopholes. I am ready to swagger into Dajing Town."

"Swaggering?"

"Dajing Town is the most important transportation hub for Datong, Chahar, and other places. Every day, a large number of merchants come and go. After observing these days, I found that those merchants are accompanied by dozens of guards. Those guards are armed, but the security team is not very vigilant."

"That's because the security team is familiar with those businessmen."

Lei Jiabin frowned.

Although the Security Corps was not an army, it was built by local businessmen at great expense. It still had many military personnel. Even among the officers of the Security Corps, some were former officers of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army or the Northwest Army.

Unless it was a businessman they were familiar with, why would they let anyone in so easily?

Wu Qinghe chuckled.

Then he said, "So what if they don't let us in. I didn't expect them to let us in. I plan to pretend to be a merchant and swagger in through the gate, and bring our pistol team with me. If they let us in at the gate, everything will be easy. If they don't let us in, I will deal with those gatekeepers on the spot and then directly seize the gate. In recent days, I have been sending people to scout the situation in Dajing Town. The Japanese squad in Dajing Town usually doesn't come out. They only sent two advisors to the security group. The security group usually has only one squad of soldiers at the city gate. But since the Japanese army was dispatched, it has recently increased to a platoon. It's just a platoon of soldiers. After controlling the city gate, they will quickly go up to control the city wall and receive the main force into the city. This time, we will attack the city in an open and honest way and take down Dajing Town."

Wu Qinghe is a typical person who appears rough on the outside but is very meticulous on the inside.

We have sent people to investigate Dajing Town many times.

Why? Wu Qinghe had been waiting for an opportunity, an opportunity to attack Dajing Town.