Chapter 170 The Battle of Yushe Is Over!
September 23, Yushe area
This battle was commanded by the brigade commander himself, and no one would question the outcome of this battle. In the eyes of the comrades, victory was only a matter of time.
Considering that the siege force was a bit excessive, there were four main regiments of the 386th Brigade alone, so that the width of the battlefield was not enough.
In order to give full play to the advantages of the troops, the brigade commander dispatched the independent regiment and the new first regiment, and let these two regiments ambush at the highway pass around Yushe to block possible reinforcements.
Most of the enemy's reinforcements were taken by Brigade Commander Fan with the new 10th Brigade and the Third Death Column.
As a result, the two brothers Ding Wei and Kong Jie could only pick up the small fish that slipped through from other directions.
From the second stage of the Hundred Regiments Campaign, more than ten hours have passed, and their two regiments have only ambushed ten times.
Because the weapons and equipment produced by Huanghe greatly improved the combat effectiveness of the troops, and the devils who came to support were at most two squadrons of troops, this made Ding and Kong fight very smoothly.
The Independent Regiment and the New First Regiment even took the initiative to attack once, catching the Japanese off guard, while ensuring that no enemy was missed.
However, the comfortable days were finally over. A few hours ago, the two encountered a tough bone.
It was a group of enemies starting from Shouyang. They divided their troops to reduce the risk of exposure, and came to the Yulin area through various small roads to assemble, and finally gathered a battalion of troops.
After repelling the new wave of attacks by the Japanese, Ding Wei looked at the retreating enemies with a telescope on a hilltop. He shrugged with disdain, and then said to Kong Jie beside him:
"It seems that Lao Li's mission has been successfully completed. We haven't seen a plane for so long."
"You said why this kid has changed so much, I can't keep up with his brain circuit now."
Kong Jie on the side was also observing with a telescope, but he was looking at the sunny sky. After hearing the words of his old comrade, he sat on an empty ammunition box and took out a captured cigarette and sniffed it.
"Why else? He must have studied secretly. He keeps saying he's learning nothing, but he's more active than anyone else behind the scenes."
"I was wondering at the time, this guy didn't even get a place in the reserve team, but he didn't have any temper. If it weren't for their Political Commissar Zhao's suggestion, we would still be kept in the dark."
"Making a fortune in silence is something that Li Yunlong can do. But thanks to him, our two regiments can let go and fight the devils with real swords and guns."
If this sniper battle was in the past, the devils would definitely combine infantry and artillery with the cover of the land aviation.
At that time, even if they could hold their positions, the casualties of their two regiments would not be small.
After all, they were pure infantry and lacked air defense means, so they would definitely suffer in a fight. Facing the enemy's planes, the soldiers had almost no way to deal with them. Once there was horizontal bombing and dive strafing, everyone had to find a way to hide.
The situation is much better now. The Taiyuan Airport was taken down by Li Yunlong, and they have no worries at all.
The soldiers were in high spirits and had ammunition, including a modified Type 92 infantry gun and several 60mm mortars.
French light weapons combined with the positions arranged in advance, even if the enemy was a regiment of devils attacking, Ding Kong and his comrades were confident that they would not fall behind in a short time.
Boom × N!
Da × N!
Just as the two were talking, the devils organized a new round of attack, and the firepower of both sides in the distance began to contact.
Unlike the previous times, this time the opponent was obviously anxious, as if they had received a death order from some superior. Even the probing steps were omitted, and all the troops were directly pressed.
All the devil infantry began to attack the defense lines of the two regiments in a scattered line.
However, the trump cards of this group of devils also brought some trouble to the independent regiment and the new regiment. I didn't expect that the brigade that was put together temporarily actually had an artillery surveying team.
Originally, only the special artillery brigade had this type of troops, and they could draw the shooting area into a precise grid coordinate table.
During the battle, the Japanese artillery observers only needed to work on the map to find out the precise shooting parameters, so that they could launch a surprise attack without test firing.
With two low-rise Type 92 infantry guns, the Japanese artillerymen were like ghosts, constantly firing at the positions of Ding Kong and his men in the shooting pit, blowing up the solid civil engineering works.
At the same time, Xiao Rizi's grenade launchers and heavy machine guns began to suppress the mobile firepower of the two regiments, and the light machine guns fired in bursts to eliminate the defensive soldiers of the two regiments.
This powerful firepower and precise coordination really opened up a gap for the infantry to charge.
"Interesting, exciting! This is more like it! I said how could a battalion be so weak!"
But the short-term decline did not make Kong Jie panic. As a mountain expert, defense master, and unyielding defender, he had already made a series of preparations.
The soldiers relied on the remaining fortifications to block the enemy layer by layer, selling a small part of the space to lure the enemy to go deep, and then concentrated their firepower to eat up the enemy's salient in one breath.
The mortars and grenade launchers of the two regiments fully embodied the doctrine of mobility. The artillerymen specifically targeted the enemy's vanguard troops and tried to reduce the enemy's infantry.
In order to prevent the enemy's artillery from retaliating, they moved with their weapons after firing two shots. Even if they had observers and surveying teams, they could not do anything to the artillery of the Eighth Route Army.
Coupled with the high terrain and a large number of defensive grenades, the number of casualties of the Japanese soldiers rose sharply.
This time, the little guys still failed to get close to the main positions of the two regiments. They were unable to attack after taking the outer positions and could only retreat reluctantly.
The two Type 92 infantry guns that posed the greatest threat to the positions were also discovered by the artillery of the new regiment.
The artillery company commander, who had freed his hands, fired a wave of rapid shots at the shooting pit with a distressed look on his face, but unfortunately he did not kill the enemy's artillery position.
After all the enemies retreated, Ding Wei took Kong Jie back to the battlefield command post. He said to his old comrade with excitement:
"Defense still depends on you, Kong! If you are sent to the Northeast, even Zhukov will not be able to do anything with the troops you command for a while."
"Today the Japanese have no air support, so we two brothers can have a good fight! Although the enemy has only one battalion, we must eat the fat meat that is delivered to the door!"
"Don't fight me for the command of the attack later. I'm going to organize a counterattack! Take them down completely!"
Kong Jie nodded. He knew that he was not as talented as Ding Wei in attacking, and professional matters should be handed over to more professional people. However, he pulled out his big blade from behind and said viciously to the Japanese position:
"You take charge of the overall situation, and I will lead the assault teams of our two regiments."
"Since I was scolded by the brigade commander after the fight with Yamamoto Ikki, I haven't chopped off the heads of the Japanese in the attack for a long time! By the way, let's try this submachine gun to see if it works!"
Looking at the murderous look of his old comrade, Ding Wei shrank his neck and prepared to persuade him. Now he is not poor, so there is no need to fight with the Japanese.
Just when he was about to introduce American Iai to Kong Jie, a cavalry communicator ran over quickly and said to the two of them: "Captain Ding! Captain Kong! There is a new order from the brigade!"
The two turned their heads in confusion and looked at the communicator who was panting.
"What's the hurry? Has the situation in Yushe changed?"
Ding Wei took the hand order handed over by the other party, and then said in disbelief: "The brigade commander is still powerful. Yushe County has been occupied. This is too fast."
"Old Kong, the higher-ups told us to retreat after blocking for another day. This second phase is much smoother than the first phase!"
Although their boss won a victory, it was a happy thing. But the two of them felt a little less involved, far from the previous phase.
After receiving the news, Kong Jie slapped his big blade on the table, and the whole person looked a little regretful.
"Hurry up! Old Ding, let's prepare for the attack! Otherwise, we won't even be able to drink this soup, and then we will be laughed at by Li Yunlong, that bastard!"
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Just as Ding and Kong were preparing to attack in a hurry, the brigade commander and his chief of staff were taking photos and group photos at various places on the battlefield, each holding a command knife.
After the second phase of the operation, these photos will become first-hand propaganda materials and be published in major newspapers.
Yushe is an important cornerstone of the Japanese prison policy and an important warehouse in the southeastern part of Shanxi. Even though Xiaori knew that the Eighth Route Army had the ability to attack the city, they were still prepared to defend it and wait for help.
It was a pity that in the face of real strength, no matter how hard the Japanese tried, it was useless.
After losing the land aviation and all the reinforcements were delayed, they only persisted for more than ten hours. It was because the brigade commander attacked during the day, otherwise the battle could be ended in three hours.
The Japanese in Yushe County had two reliances, one was the solid city wall, and the other was the two large bunkers at the east gate and the northwest corner.
Bunkers can only bully troops without heavy firepower. In the past, each regiment-level unit could only rely on explosive packs to break the situation. But what is the identity of the 386th Brigade? It is one of the six main brigades of the Eighth Route Army.
Since 37, the brigade commander has collected and seized a total of 21 mountain guns and infantry guns.
Before the Yellow River, they would be reluctant to use them because of the lack of shells. Now that the shells are guaranteed, they can be made directly! That night, these bunkers were blown up.
Then it was time for the 772nd and 16th regiments to take the field. They easily cleared the periphery of Yushe County.
Not to mention the city wall. With the combat experience provided by the new second regiment, all the soldiers of the four main regiments knew how to deal with it. The ladder could be rolled as far as possible.
When attacking the city wall, Cheng Xiazi wanted to pursue the victory, but the brigade commander grabbed him and told him his tactics earnestly.
"Cheng Shifa, as a general, you are good at everything, but your heart is not black enough. You have to learn this from your old squad leader and try to be full of bad water!"
"I ask you, do the enemies always think that our Eighth Route Army likes to launch attacks at night, and do they dare not sleep at night?"
This question is very simple. The devils are very dependent on firepower. The Eighth Route Army lacked heavy firepower before, and would suffer heavy losses in a head-on confrontation with the devils.
When facing those difficult enemies, attacking at night will cause less losses than attacking during the day.
After hearing the brigade commander's question, Cheng Xiazi nodded without thinking, and immediately understood what the other party meant.
"I understand! We can make use of the other party's empiricism. Let the soldiers have a good rest at night, and harass them from time to time."
"Wait until dawn, and launch an attack when the devils are most tired! Catch them off guard!"
Seeing Cheng Xiazi being so sensible, the brigade commander nodded with satisfaction, then waved his hand, signaling the other party to act quickly.
That night, except for a small number of soldiers who monitored and harassed the enemy, all comrades were resting and preparing for tomorrow's siege.
At dawn the next day, the spirited soldiers launched an attack when the devils were in the most troubled time. The 772nd Regiment led the way, and the Type 92 infantry gun accurately hit the gate tower of the east gate.
Following all kinds of guns and cannons, Yushe City was immediately shrouded in gunfire and thick smoke.
After several holes were blasted in the city wall, dozens of bugles were blown together.
Thousands of Eighth Route Army soldiers who had been waiting for a long time, with earth-shaking shouts of "Charge!" and "Kill!", rushed towards the enemy's city wall like a tide.
The remaining devils in the city retreated to the core fortifications of Yushe Middle School.
Yushe Middle School is located in the east of the city. There are deep trenches on three sides. The trench walls are smooth and cannot be climbed. The enemy also set up several barbed wires around the trench.
In the campus, the enemy built eight bunkers to support each other. It is indeed a place that is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and the devils also released poison gas.
It’s a pity that all the members of the four main attacking regiments were equipped with gas masks. Coupled with the powerful firepower, they were forced to live a life of hardship and died one by one in the bunker-shaped coffin.
In order to show their loyalty to Tianhuang, the remaining twenty or so devils sang and burned themselves collectively, presenting a wonderful curtain call performance for the 386th Brigade in the second phase of the Hundred Regiments Campaign.
In this battle, the enemy was very polite, leaving the 386th Brigade with three mountain guns and four Type 92 infantry guns, as well as Japanese ammunition and food that could be used for half a year.
After the battle, the brigade commander looked at the casualty statistics sent by each unit.
The losses in this battle were very small, which can be said to be a great victory, and the results made him smile.
Thinking of not being harassed by the Japanese fighter planes during the attack, the brigade commander pulled the thin staff officer beside him and said:
"Li Yunlong did a good job this time and solved a troublesome matter for us. Let's go, follow me to the New Second Regiment to see if this rascal has come back."
Suddenly mentioning the New Second Regiment, the thin staff officer glanced at his partner with an interested expression.
"Why go to the New Second Regiment? Have you forgotten that the deputy chief of staff asked all insiders to keep it secret? What? The head of the secret service can't help it?"
Does anyone guess how I plan to strengthen Li Yunlong