"Then do you think that if we send troops to reinforce the three assault teams now, they will be able to survive until dawn?" Major General Kawasaki asked angrily.
Cun Shang Zhongzuo was silent, and at the same time he also realized the brilliance of the brigade leader.
The order 'wait for daybreak' may seem a bit cruel, but it can minimize the losses of the mixed brigade in this battle.
The signs of the Eighth Route Army encircling the point for reinforcements are very obvious. If the brigade headquarters sends troops to reinforce the battlefield and falls into the Eighth Route Army's trick, not only will the attacked commando team be unable to survive, but the reinforcements will also be beaten to death. Call big.
The strength of the mixed brigade is not large, and the six commandos on the front line are already all the mobile units that the command headquarters can mobilize. The few who can die will be as few as possible, otherwise Baoding will fall into the embarrassing situation of having no available troops.
…………
The Xizhuang stronghold has been trampled under Huang Yu's feet. The turrets and the four surrounding bunkers were all blown into ruins. There were bomb craters everywhere in the stronghold, and the corpses of Japanese and puppet troops lay scattered around.
Hundreds of soldiers were scattered among the ruins, cleaning the battlefield and collecting weapons and ammunition that could still be used.
The first battalion commander Chen Jia was very happy. The troops had just completed the main attack and successfully captured the Xizhuang stronghold. The first victory in this battle was of course theirs. He was in a very good mood. He hurried towards Huang Yuxing with a newly captured light machine gun on his back. come over.
"Captain, basically all the heavy weapons equipped by the Japanese commandos have been captured by us."
"The mountain artillery squad, the heavy machine gun squad, the mortar squad, even before the weapons were set up, the soldiers were killed by us and lost their combat effectiveness."
"We eliminated a total of 286 Japanese Japs below the squadron leader level and 241 Japanese Japs below the puppet company commander level. Among them, 167 puppet soldiers were captured. We captured two mountain cannons, two mortars, two heavy machine guns, and other rifle machine guns. The supporting ammunition is still being counted and the results should be available soon, but it will definitely make up for our losses in the battle."
Huang Yu was just about to praise Chen Jia when he saw Wei Dayong running towards him with a frown on his face and a very ugly expression on his face.
Before he even reached Huang Yu, he frowned and reported: "Captain, the little devil is getting more and more cunning."
"The Xizhuang stronghold was attacked. Another group of Japanese commandos watched us take the Xizhuang stronghold without any reinforcements. It was so annoying that I had to wait in vain for several hours. In the end, I didn't gain anything. arrive."
"If I had known this, I might as well have attacked the Xizhuang stronghold."
Huang Yu seemed to have figured this out a long time ago, and immediately showed an indifferent expression and said: "If it's not here, it's not here. At worst, we will just kill them."
"The first battalion stayed. After cleaning the battlefield, they took the loot and the prisoners and retreated to the base. The artillery unit went with me to reinforce the second and third battalions. They also took down the other commando team near us and completely cut off the little Japs stretching towards our base. of tentacles."
…………
At the Japanese brigade headquarters in Baoding, Major General Kawasaki lost sleep after being woken up by the chief of staff.
Now he only wants to protect the remaining three commandos on the front line. He takes the chief of staff and several staff officers to discuss countermeasures and analyzes whether the three commandos still have the possibility of continuing to raid the Eighth Route Army base areas. If not, how to bring the three commandos together? The team safely withdrew to Baoding.
"Order……"
The discussion lasted until five in the morning before Major General Kawasaki finally made a decision.
"The telecommunications room immediately contacted the three commandos that had not been attacked. All the planned raids on the Eighth Route Army base areas were cancelled. The three commandos immediately packed up their equipment and ammunition, set off after dawn, and retreated to Baoding under the cover of aircraft escort."
"I will send a telegram to the aviation force now and ask them to send planes to escort the commandos at dawn."
The communications staff officer was about to leave with the message signed by Major General Kawasaki, when another communications staff officer happened to barge in and bump into him at the door.
He got up from the ground and rushed towards Major General Kawasaki, reporting as he ran.
"General, something seems to have happened to the other three commandos."
"Another commando team that raided Shunping just sent an urgent call. They were suddenly attacked by fierce artillery fire from the Eighth Route Army. The gun towers in their stronghold have been destroyed. The troops suffered heavy casualties and are in urgent need of reinforcements."
Major General Kawasaki glanced at his watch quickly, and then analyzed with a solemn face: "Bagheya Road, the Eighth Route Army dared to launch an attack at almost dawn. Is it possible that they wanted to defeat all six commandos on the front line."
"We must not let their conspiracy succeed."
After saying that, he stared at the communications staff officer and asked, "Where are the other two commandos? Have they been attacked?"
The communications staff officer shook his head: "Not yet..."
"General, I humbly recommend that the other two commandos retreat immediately and cannot stay in the stronghold any longer." Chief of Staff Cun Shangzhongzuo suddenly interrupted with a worried look on his face.
"I disagree..." A combat staff member suddenly stood up and objected.
"The commando team was attacked again, which proves that the Eighth Route Army has indeed hidden many troops and intends to surround the point for reinforcements."
"There must be a lot of Eighth Route Army troops hiding around the other two commando teams. It's not dark yet. If the commando team leaves the stronghold without aircraft escort, it will be like hitting the muzzle of the Eighth Route Army's guns and dying in vain."
】
"Although it is dangerous to defend the stronghold, there are ready-made defenses there after all. As long as they hold on until dawn, the aviation force will be able to rush over in time for reinforcements and help them block the Eighth Route Army's attack. They can even fight back against the Eighth Route Army with the support of aircraft, causing heavy damage. The Eighth Route Army attacked them and turned defeat into victory."
"I suggest that the other two commandos immediately enter the defensive positions of their respective strongholds, prepare for battle, and cooperate with the local garrison to defend the strongholds."
Major General Kawasaki made a decision as soon as he thought about it. He looked at the chief of staff and ordered: "Cun Shangjun, without aircraft cover, the remaining two commandos on the front line cannot leave the station at will."
"By holding on to the stronghold, their chance of survival will definitely be greater."
Cun Shangzhongzuo insisted on his own opinion. Even though the brigade leader had already made a decision in his heart, he still decided to express the reasons that just came to his mind and wanted to fight for it again.
"No, Your Excellency, Brigade Commander, retreat is different from reinforcement. As long as the commando evacuates its stronghold, it can return to Baoding no matter where it goes. As long as the Eighth Route Army cannot lock the commando's specific retreat route, they will not be able to ambush us."
"If they continue to defend the stronghold, the Eighth Route Army will be able to trap them in the stronghold as soon as they arrive, and they will have no chance to withdraw."
"Please consider this carefully, brigade commander."
The combat staff also insisted on his opinion and retorted on the spot: "The Eighth Route Army monitoring the stronghold is not a vegetarian."
"As soon as the commando team leaves the stronghold, they can determine the commando team's specific retreat route based on the commando team's retreat direction, and set up an ambush on the road in advance to attack the commando team. I think this risk cannot be taken."
"The strength of the mixed brigade is already stretched thin and cannot withstand any losses. The remaining two commandos must ensure that nothing goes wrong before they can take action."
"This is a war, how can it be foolproof..." Cun Shangzhongzuo still insisted on his own point of view and rebutted mercilessly.
The combat staff officer did not give up his idea. Seeing that the brigade commander's expression was obviously biased towards him, he felt more confident than before and continued to retort: "Even if there is no guarantee that everything will go wrong, we must minimize the risk of the commando encountering an accident. "
"Sir, your method is too risky. You are gambling with the lives of hundreds of imperial troops from two commandos."
Cun Shang Zhongzuo fell silent, closing his mouth with a look of pain on his face.
He still insisted on his opinion in his heart, but the brigade commander, Major General Kawasaki, did not agree. He had no choice but to compromise.
Major General Kawasaki saw that the outcome of the debate among his subordinates had been decided, and immediately ordered: "Immediately send a telegram to the remaining two commandos, asking them to hold on to the stronghold. As soon as the escort plane arrives, they will withdraw to Baoding, and the troops stationed in the stronghold will retreat together. The stronghold is no longer needed. "
…………
When the Japanese and puppet troops focused all their attention on a few commandos, the main force of the Duer Regiment was heading straight to Tang County under the cover of night.
The main force of the regiment has the lowest proportion of veterans, and the training time is short. Although the total strength exceeds 3,000, there are only more than 1,000 troops that can be drawn out to fight.
What satisfied Kong Jie the most was the cavalry company and the field artillery battalion.
They have been established for the longest time and are also the most powerful unit among all the main forces.
At this moment, the cavalry company is acting as the vanguard of the entire army, ensuring that the marching traces of the troops are not exposed.
"Captain..." A platoon leader from the cavalry company rushed over on horseback.
"There is a Jaap stronghold ahead. Our company commander suggests going around it. It will delay the march for at least half an hour. We will definitely be able to reach the scheduled lurking point before dawn."
Kong Jie replied without thinking: "According to your company commander, the troops will directly bypass the stronghold."
"Before the general offensive, we must not let the Japanese and puppet troops in Tang County discover our existence."
Half an hour later, the team hid in the cornfield on the roadside to rest. The radio operator set up the radio at the same time to contact the three garrison regiments.
After a while, the radio signal light came on. The operator wore headphones and used both hands to answer the signal while transcribing the code he heard. The serious expression on his face was unknowingly replaced by a smile.
Putting down the earphones, he reported to Kong Jie: "Captain, Deputy Chief of Staff Huang of the Shunping Defense Regiment has reported success. They have successfully captured the Japs' commando team on the other side, but the Japs' mopping up troops on the other side did not send reinforcements. The deputy chief of staff decided to take the initiative to attack the Japs on the other side. Commando all the way and try to end the battle before dawn."
Before Kong Jie had time to speak, the radio signal light came on again. The operator put on his earphones and paused for two or three seconds before saying excitedly: "It's the signal from the Wangdu Defense Regiment..."
Five minutes later, the second victory report appeared in Kong Jie's hands, and the results were exactly the same as those of the Junping garrison.
After another ten minutes, the victory report of the Mancheng garrison also arrived.
Kong Jie's tense nerves were completely relaxed, and he said with excitement: "The three garrison regiments have successfully completed their mission. The next step is up to us."
"Everyone has almost rested. The troops continue to move forward and arrive at the scheduled assembly point before dawn."
"After dark, let's let the little devils see the main combat power of the regiment. Don't be outmatched by the three garrison regiments."
