"Retreat quickly, the marching speed must be accelerated, and we must not be caught by the Eighth Route Army's pursuers." Major Ishii urged the troops to move faster as he hurried on. Lan
The battle just now was too scary.
The troops did not even see the shadow of the Eighth Route Army. Hundreds of people were lost in a single blast of artillery fire and two explosions. The artillery unit that everyone had high hopes for was almost wiped out in the explosion, and the gas bombs taken away by the troops turned out to be a burden.
Not only was it unable to kill or threaten the Eighth Route Army, it also increased the load on the troops, seriously affecting the troop's retreat speed.
Major Ishii had the idea of throwing away the gas bombs, but he was rejected by Major General Ikeda as soon as he said it.
He believed that the Eighth Route Army did not know that its artillery had been severely damaged. As long as he still had poison gas bombs in his hands, the Eighth Route Army in the mountains would not dare to act rashly.
If the gas bomb was lost, the Eighth Route Army's last concern about itself would be gone. It's dark now again, and the aviation force cannot provide air support to the troops. The Eighth Route Army will definitely do whatever it wants to deal with itself, and everyone doesn't even have the strength to fight back.
Even if they are lucky enough to return to Fangshan County in the end, the mopping up troops will be beaten to the last resort. Lan
"Boom boom..."
Two artillery shells suddenly hit the roadside and exploded. They were at least a hundred meters away from Major General Ikeda, but they scared him badly.
The pace under my feet suddenly quickened, and I ordered as I ran: "The Eighth Route Army is catching up. Our retreat speed must be accelerated. Except for poison gas bombs and necessary weapons and ammunition, throw away all other supplies and retreat as quickly as possible." Shan, return to Fangshan County."
After three rounds of six shells, there were five more corpses on the roadside, two belonging to puppet soldiers and three belonging to Japanese.
It's not that Major General Ikeda doesn't want to take the corpses of these soldiers back, but that he doesn't have the conditions now.
The troops were shelled here, indicating that the Eighth Route Army pursuers behind them brought mortars.
All the mortars equipped by the mopping up troops were abandoned at the station, and none of them were recovered. They had poison gas bombs in their hands but could not fight back. If they were bitten, they could only be passively bombed. Lan
The best way to reduce the losses suffered by the troops in the sudden attack by the Eighth Route Army's artillery fire was to get rid of the pursuers. In order to save the remaining thousands of soldiers around him, no matter how unwilling he was, he had no choice but to give up those corpses.
It was impossible to bring new casualties to the troops for the sake of a few corpses. That would be too much loss.
"General..." Major Ishii suddenly chased after him from behind.
Shen's face became lighter and more ugly, and he reported in a low tone: "Our losses at the Eighth Route Army station have been calculated, and the situation is very bad..."
"A total of 583 casualties were lost. All the mortars, infantry guns, and mountain guns equipped by the troops were lost, and 400 poison gas bombs were lost. Once they fall into the hands of the Eighth Route Army, they can retaliate with poison gas bombs and attack us in turn."
"We must report this matter to the Commander immediately and ask him to remind other garrison troops in Peiping to be prepared for gas gas and to wear gas masks when going out on missions."
"Baga..." Major General Ikeda sighed and cursed. Lan
"Poison gas bombs were originally our trump card against the Eighth Route Army. Now the Eighth Route Army is equipped with the same gas bombs. Not only are the remaining gas bombs in our army unable to continue to threaten the Eighth Route Army, but they have become a burden on the troops. It's so annoying."
"When the troops exit Mao'er Mountain, I will send a telegram to the Commander to inform you that the Eighth Route Army has seized a large number of poison gas bombs."
…………
At the Mao'er Mountain Guerrilla Brigade station, the fire in the camp has been extinguished. Soldiers are cleaning up the corpses of Japanese and puppet soldiers on the ground and collecting weapons and ammunition. There is a busy scene everywhere.
Although the soldiers were very tired, and many of them had dark circles under their eyes, the smiles on their faces proved that everyone was in a good mood.
Huang Yu stood next to a thatched house that had just been burned down. He looked at the wood that was still emitting black smoke and said nothing for a long time. His brows were furrowed and he couldn't see any joy after winning the battle.
"Captain..." Zhang Xuan ran over with a smile on his face. Lan
"Although our station was destroyed, we killed more than 500 Japanese and puppet troops, seized an entire reinforced battalion's equipment and ammunition, especially heavy weapons, and almost intercepted all the artillery and heavy machine guns that the Japanese brought into Mao'er Mountain. .”
"As of today, the weapons and ammunition we have seized during the counter-mopping operations have been enough to expand the guerrilla brigade to 3,000 people."
"The Japanese and puppet troops in Fangshan County have just been defeated by us. I plan to start recruiting and training the troops after the troops are reestablished, and strive to expand the troops to 2,000 before the next Japanese raid."
Huang Yu was not satisfied with this answer and shook his head: "Two thousand people are too few. At the very least, I have to expand the guerrilla brigade to three thousand people. The captured weapons and ammunition cannot be piled in the warehouse to rust, so that the equipment and troops can be used up." Its use?”
"Only in this way can we defend the base area and make Okamura Neji worry about you and cooperate with the base area to perform some military tasks."
Zhang Xuan was startled by Huang Yu's lion's big mouth.
If I remember correctly, the main force in the base area only has 3,000 people. If the guerrilla brigade also expands to 3,000 people, it will not be more powerful than the main force of the group. Lan
There is another fatal problem for Zhili Mian. Although the mountainous area is very wide and spans several counties, there are not many ordinary people in the mountains. If the guerrilla brigade wants to expand to 3,000 people at once, it cannot recruit so many recruits and cannot afford to support them. So many troops.
Seeing the wry smile on Zhang Xuan's face, which seemed to be a bit unspeakable, Huang Yu continued: "If you want to truly develop the guerrilla brigade and train it into an elite soldier, the troops must develop outside the mountains."
"The mopping up troops have almost all mobilized the mobile troops in the Beiping area, leaving only a thousand troops to evacuate the mountains and return to Fangshan County."
"There aren't many troops stationed in Fangshan to begin with. Before the counter-mopping, you killed more than 1,500 little Japs, and now you've killed more than 2,000. The only ones that can take action are the chariot brigade and most of the cavalry brigade."
"These two forces have very high requirements on the terrain."
"As long as you choose the terrain well and don't collide with them, there will be no threat."
"Without them, Fangshan County will have no troops that can threaten the security of the guerrilla brigade." Lan
"This is a perfect opportunity for the troops to take the initiative and establish a guerrilla zone outside the mountains."
"With the guerrilla zone, we can recruit a steady stream of new soldiers outside the mountains."
"When the new recruits become combat effective, we can hold the base area, develop the guerrilla zone into a base area, continue to seize territory from the Japanese and puppet troops, establish new guerrilla zones, and win more people to support us."
Zhang Xuan knew the true strength of the Japanese and puppet troops in Fangshan County better than Huang Yu. After hearing the captain's analysis, he agreed in his heart and immediately asked: "The current Japanese and puppet troops in Fangshan are indeed the weakest in several months."
"Let's fight our way out of the mountains now. Even if the Japanese and puppet troops in Fangshan die, they will be beaten to pieces by us."
"Captain, how about we divide our troops into two groups, you command one group and I command the other group, bring infantry artillery and mountain artillery, one goes east and the other goes west, sweeping through all the strongholds and blockades built by the Japanese army on the edge of the mountains. .”
"Work piecemeal, defeat them one by one, add up the little, and strive to kill more than a thousand puppet troops. Then Fangshan County will be completely depleted." Lan.
"The troops took the opportunity to break out of the mountains and enter the plains."
"If we encounter a strong enemy and don't have enough strength, we can quickly retreat to the mountain."
Huang Yu recognized Zhang Xuan's plan in his heart, but did not agree with Zhang Xuan's arrangement. He shook his head and replied: "It is better for you to complete the task of attacking the stronghold and attacking the plains. I, the captain, will not join in the fun."
"The mopping up troops sent by Neji Okamura into the mountains were severely damaged. With the current strength of the North China Front, they will definitely not be able to spare troops to mop up Mao'er Mountain a second time in a short time."
"Since you are not in danger, I should go back."
"I am not only the captain of the guerrilla brigade, but also the deputy chief of staff of the Duer Regiment and the commander of the Junping garrison."
"Before coming to Mao'er Mountain, the base area had just severely damaged the Japanese and puppet troops in Baoding. I estimate that they will soon launch a new round of raids to retaliate against the base area. I must rush back as soon as possible to reorganize the army and prepare for war." Lan
"After leaving, if the guerrilla brigade wants to buy more time for army expansion and training, it can take two steps."
"The first step is what you just said. Taking advantage of the insufficient strength of the Japanese and puppet troops in Fangshan, the troops take the initiative to attack, use their firepower advantage to further consume their troops, disrupt them, and then establish a guerrilla zone outside the mountain, expand the influence of the guerrilla brigade, and recruit new soldiers. .”
“The second step is a little more difficult.”
"Okamura Neji cannot allow you to develop and grow. He will definitely drive you back to the mountains at all costs, blockade the mountains again, and deny you the opportunity to continue to grow and develop."
"At this time, you can divide it into two and deploy some elites to carry heavy weapons and move outside the mountains. Today, attack a transport team and tomorrow, attack a stronghold. Wreak havoc and cause Okamura Neiji to be overwhelmed and have to mobilize troops from the front line. To maintain law and order, the pressure on the main force will be less."
"Then we take the initiative to attack and deal with the Japanese in the guerrilla zone outside the mountains. We use fighting as a substitute for training, so that the troops can form combat effectiveness as soon as possible, and at the same time consume their strength."
"The Japanese North China Front only has so many troops. There are even fewer troops operating in Peiping, and it is very difficult to replenish them. If one dies now, your counter-mopping pressure will be reduced in the future." Lan.
Zhang Xuan didn't answer and stood directly in front of Huang Yu, lost in thought.
He is the chief of staff of the guerrilla brigade. In the absence of captain Huang Yu, he is in charge of the entire guerrilla brigade. He must determine whether he can complete the tasks assigned by the captain.
If possible, the captain can be allowed to leave.
If not, I will keep the captain for a few more days no matter what.
Huang Yu didn't think about Zhang Xuan's thoughts, just stood there and looked at him quietly.
Two minutes later, Zhang Xuan suddenly raised his head, and the confused expression on his face turned into confidence at this moment. He directly looked at Huang Yu and answered: "Captain, please don't worry, I promise to complete the mission."
