Chapter 250 Recovering Lost Territory and Bringing Honor to the Family

Yangquan, the former independent mixed fourth brigade headquarters.

In a large courtyard, hundreds of Japanese soldiers were carrying various types of materials, and they were constantly shuttling between warehouses and transportation vehicles. Everyone looked very frightened, as if some scourge was coming.

Even with such speed and efficiency, it still cannot meet the requirements of his own major captain.

"Baga! Haven't you eaten?"

"Everyone, speed up! Load all the supplies onto the trucks and mule carts! Keep grinding! The Eighth Route Army is coming!"

The words "Eighth Route Army" seemed to have some magic power. After the Japanese heard this, they even worked faster.

In a sense, the independent mixed fourth brigade has lost its original vigor. There were a total of seven hundred soldiers, but only a few dared to pick up a gun and join the battle.

But it's understandable, after all, they haven't won a battle since the Hundred Regiment War, and the major general brigade leader has even been replaced by two.

In August last year, the first brigade commander Katayama Shotarō was shot to death from a long distance by Wang Chengzhu from Shi Nao Mountain. Immediately afterwards, the city wall was captured by the 385th Brigade, and all the supplies in the headquarters were cheaper than the Eighth Route Army.

After the war, the fourth independent mixed brigade was the most severely trained by Shinozuka Yoshio.

If it weren't for the lack of manpower in the First Army and the difficulty in fighting the security war, they would probably not even have enough resources to reorganize the organization.

In the Battle of the Central Plains, the brigade suffered heavy losses again.

There were a total of five thousand combatants, with only a few incomplete squadrons breaking out of the encirclement.

Those few hundred people are still nestling in the deep mountains and old forests, and they have to deal with the pursuit of the Ninth Army and the Shanxi-Sui Army from time to time. It can be regarded as an advance experience of life in Southeast Asia.

As for the brigade commander, Major General Genichiro Sakagami, he was also a man of great luck.

This guy was originally the chief of staff of a division in Central China. He was transferred to the First Army by Okamura Neji and was barely promoted.

Fortunately, he led his team to participate in the conference battle as soon as he arrived in Jin Province.

Facing the surging crowds of the three brigades under the 129th Division, the old Japanese was so cowardly that he did not even have the courage to commit seppuku, so he simply chose to commit suicide by drinking bullets.

The soldiers remaining in the Yangquan headquarters today are basically the old, weak, sick and disabled.

The combat effectiveness of these people was extremely low, and the First Army had mobilized a large number of heavy weapons in preparation for the Central Plains battle.

As a result, the current 700 soldiers can't even get together a barrel cannon. Once there is a firefight with the Eighth Route Army, they can only rely on a few grenade launchers to fight back.

After carrying the last box of ammunition onto the truck, Kyouji Takeuchi sat in the passenger seat, wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a long sigh of relief.

“Let’s go, let’s go from the east gate of the county!”

"You will pass by Shi Nao Mountain to the west, and there is a high probability that there will be enemies waiting there!"

"Let's take a small road to Taiyuan and try to avoid transportation hubs such as the Zhengtai Line! There are enemies all over the province now, so we must be more careful on the road!"

Yangquan County is very important to the First Army. It is located between Jingxing Coal Mine and Taiyuan, which perfectly fits the Japanese army's operational plan of using the railway transportation network as a hub.

The Japs stationed here can threaten the Eighth Route Army's base area in southeastern Shanxi as long as they send troops south, which is an indispensable node of the cage policy.

But precisely because it is close to the 129th Division, it will bear the brunt of the attack target.

As a temporarily promoted major captain, Takeuchi Kyouji had a pretty good strategic vision. He had already predicted the plans of the Eighth Route Army and Yoshio Iwamatsu.

Before the battle officially started, the Fourth Independent Mixed Brigade began preparations for its transfer to Taiyuan.

Takeuchi knew one thing very well. Even with a strong permanent fortification group and sufficient food supplies, Yangquan could not be defended by just an unsatisfied brigade.

The failure of the Central Plains Battle made all the warriors of the First Army understand one thing.

Today's enemies have long since gotten rid of the two titles of Tubal Road and guerrillas. The peasants are armed with hundreds of artillery pieces and fighter jets!

As long as they want to fight, they are fully capable of fighting in large groups. In terms of combat effectiveness alone, the so-called direct line Central Army is not worthy of being compared with the opponent.

Once trapped in an isolated city by such a terrible enemy, the Eighth Route Army made dumplings. The morale of the remaining soldiers will continue to decline, and some may even commit suicide within a day of fighting.

The enemy doesn't even need to launch a siege, they just need to blockade the outskirts of the county and send out those damn enemy engineering teams to shout a few times every day to persuade them to surrender.

It won't be long before the independent mixed fourth brigade will disappear from the world.

What's more, it's not like the Eighth Route Army has no experience in siege warfare.

The gap in the southwest corner of Yangquan County has not yet been completely repaired. It seemed to be a silent reminder to everyone that the enemy could forcefully attack the city if they wanted to.

As for misjudging the intentions of his superiors, causing the First Army to lose a county in vain, Takeuchi Kyouji never thought about this outcome. As long as Yoshio Iwamatsu is determined to resist resolutely, he will definitely reduce his troop strength.

Even if you really make a mistake, the most you can do is be sent to the city wall.

After all, the First Army was already in ruins, and no one in the North China Front would dare to take over the mess in Jin Province. Even if there are people who are not afraid of death and are willing to come to support, they will be blocked by the Eighth Route Army.

At this moment, there are very few junior officers and above in the entire army, and he, as a major, is very valuable.

After transporting all the supplies, a transport team consisting of animals and trucks went straight to the east gate of the city. On both sides of the main road in the county town, people can be seen secretly observing from time to time.

This scene made the Japanese driver very unhappy, and his eyes were full of murderous light.

If it were in the past, someone would dare to watch the army march. Regardless of whether there were enemies in the crowd, the Japanese would definitely pick out a few people they didn't like and kill them as a warning to the monkeys.

"Major! Should we deal with a group of people from the Republic of China in the city before we leave?"

"Or, should we consider capturing some residents as hostages to make the Eighth Route Army outside the city afraid to act rashly?"

The stupidity of his subordinates almost broke Takeuchi Kyoji's defense.

The straight-line distance between Yangquan County and Wuxiang is only more than 100 kilometers, and the enemy may be approaching. One more second of delay in the city will bring the danger closer.

What's more, the journey is long, and the chance of encountering the Eighth Route Army is not small.

Once the people of the Republic of China are captured, it means that they will completely tear their faces with the other party. They can't let these old, weak, sick and disabled people fight to the death.

"Stop talking nonsense and keep driving."

"If you are eager to die, you should rush to the front after the attack!"

······

Looking at Yangquan in the distance, Ding Wei, who had no chance to attack Taiyuan, curled his lips.

Due to the width of the battlefield, their New 1st Regiment could only assist the main force and block the enemy who tried to join the main force of the First Army in the province.

"Captain, we didn't catch up with the big battle again this time."

"Counting Zhongtiao Mountain, this is the second time. In my opinion, our New 1st Regiment is almost raised by a stepmother."

As soon as these words came out, the comrades around him focused their attention on their own commander.

Faced with the gazes of the crowd, Ding Wei was not panicked at all. He first used a telescope to observe the east gate of Yangquan, and then said to the soldiers beside him:

"The Japanese are defeated in North China, and they are likely to shrink their forces."

"From my personal experience, as long as we take Suiyuan, they will definitely open up a new battlefield due to insufficient resources."

"When I was chatting with the brigade commander before, I heard that the Japanese were making a lot of trouble in Southeast Asia. If there is a chance, I will take the initiative to apply to my superiors and try to take everyone to fight in another place."

As a regimental commander, Ding Wei is not only good at attacking, but also has top strategic vision.

In the iron triangle, he can always keenly perceive some things that Kong Jie and Li Yunlong ignore. In the original book, his graduation thesis also proves the above point of view.

As for the battlefield in Southeast Asia, the troops also have the opportunity to participate. After all, the colony of a certain ally has become a bridgehead and back garden for the Japanese.

The words of their own regiment commander shocked the soldiers, and everyone was almost crazy this month. It is not easy to watch the friendly army eat meat, but you can only drink soup.

After the chat, Ding Wei looked at the battalion commander beside him: "How many people are there in Yangquan?"

"Only a few of them are left. Recently, many locals have come to our base."

People living in the county town are usually more vigilant, after all, their lives are involved. The tragic experience of Jinling shocked the hearts of all the people of the Republic of China.

After the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain, some residents of Yangquan came to the defense zone of the Eighth Route Army without any prior agreement, fearing that the devils would vent their anger on them.

It is worth mentioning that the people had few choices before. After all, leaving the place where their ancestors lived for generations would likely lose their means of livelihood.

But now the three major bases are in a stage of rapid expansion, and there are many job opportunities and positions. As long as you work hard, you can live a better life than before.

"That's good."

"I hope the devils will be more sensible and save us some trouble."

"Let the artillery company be prepared, the enemy will definitely come out from the east gate!"

The reason why Ding Wei was so sure was because he knew that the devils suffered during the Hundred Regiments Campaign. A commander with common sense would definitely avoid the ambush point that was high above the Lion's Head Mountain.

In addition, the East Gate is close to Hebei Province. Once they encounter an enemy that they cannot defeat, they still have a chance to use mobility to escape.

After receiving the order, the artillerymen once again confirmed the various parameters of the twelve 60mm mortars and four 81mm mortars.

With the continuous efforts of the Border Military Industry Bureau and the Southeast Shanxi Logistics Department, troops at all levels have successively replaced a full set of French mortars, and the firepower has doubled again.

Although the new regiment cannot carry Miss 75, in order to kill the devils in Yangquan, Ding Wei asked the soldiers to carry enough shells.

Ten minutes later, a huge convoy slowly drove out of the East Gate.

When the target appeared, the comrades showed excited expressions. The artillerymen suspended the shells on the barrels and waited for their own commander to give an order to launch an attack.

Because the Fourth Independent Mixed Brigade carried all their belongings, their convoy was very long.

After waiting for five minutes, all the devils left the county. Ding Wei raised his right hand and then swung it fiercely.

"Fire!"

Tong×16

One after another, the long-planned artillery shells fell into the enemy's formation.

Under normal circumstances, the Eighth Route Army's core regiments would often choose to cut off the head and tail and attack the middle when ambushing the Japanese transport team. This was actually a helpless move. After all, the troops were short of firepower and could only rely on numbers to divide and surround the enemy.

But now the situation is different. The sixteen mortars carried by the new regiment almost covered the entire transport team.

In just one minute, a large number of artillery shells caused heavy losses to the remnants of the Independent Mixed Fourth Brigade. The Japanese at the end of the team even gave up resistance and rushed to the county town under the shells.

Faced with the sudden attack, Takeuchi Kyoshi jumped down from the truck without any hesitation. The thin layer of iron sheet alone could not defend against the attack of large-caliber mortars.

Fortunately, there were many fortifications built before near Yangquan County, and these bunkers and artillery towers saved their lives.

"Everyone! Prepare to counterattack!"

"After the shelling, the Eighth Route Army will rush up!"

As soon as the words came out, even Takeuchi Kyoshi himself was stunned. This kind of fighting style is called infantry-artillery coordination, and it is called infantry rush after artillery bombardment.

Being suppressed by the enemy with their best tactics, even the low-spirited devils were also aroused.

"Baga! Too much!"

"Enter the fortifications! Use bunkers and artillery towers to fight back!"

It's a pity that the commandos of the new regiment will not give the devils a chance to resist.

With the cover of artillery fire, the soldiers approached the enemy at the fastest speed with submachine guns. When they encountered corners that the artillery could not take care of on the way, they directly used grenades to clear the way.

Most of the enemies were baptized by the metal storm before they could enter the fortifications.

Mas38 vs. Type 38 rifle, crushing the infantry in close combat firepower is always the most satisfying thing.

Takeuchi Kyoji also tried to gather the remnants and use organized counterattacks to repel the assault team of the New 1st Regiment to buy time for his men to enter the fortifications.

But the main force of the New 1st Regiment also pressed forward, and the disadvantages in firepower and numbers made the old devils look desperate.

Fifteen minutes later, the battle was over.

"The first battalion will be on guard, and the second and third battalions will clean up the battlefield."

"Take away all the living mules and horses, and check if there are any trucks with less serious damage!"

"Communicator, send a telegram to the headquarters. Remind the deputy general and the division commander to send people to take over the county town, Yangquan has been recovered!"

Now the logistics department of southeastern Shanxi has mastered the ability to repair trucks. Although there is still some lack of speed, this is a breakthrough from nothing to something.

After hearing the last sentence, all the soldiers of the New 1st Regiment gave a deafening cheer.

It was a pity that I failed to follow the brigade to besiege Taiyuan, but it was also a matter of honor to recover the lost land.

After the gunfire ended, some brave people in the county also saw this scene. They all had tears in their eyes, and the king's division that they had been waiting for for many years finally appeared.

As more and more residents poured out, Ding Wei had to come out to take charge of the situation. He hurriedly jumped on a truck and shouted to the onlookers:

"Fellow villagers! I am the commander of the new regiment of the 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army!"

"Don't worry! This time we won't leave again! I guarantee with my life that the devils will never get close to Yangquan again!"

Unknowingly, it's almost 800,000 words. Thank you for your company.