Spreading out the battle reduces the risk of being targeted. There are people from the mercenary group on the front line of dozens of kilometers. Who are you going to target? And there is no need for the 19th Route Army headquarters to make any adjustments and arrangements. It only needs to notify the units below. A dozen people will not cause chaos if they go to other people's positions, right?
In fact, Zhou Wen and the others are already familiar with this model. Zhou Wen did this during the Central Plains War. At that time, at the invitation of Commander Zhang, the brothers joined the Second Teaching Division as instructors to lead the recruits to the battlefield, and taught them in just one month. The combat effectiveness of the student soldiers of the Second Division has improved to a higher level.
Now Zhou Wen also uses the brothers of the first team as instructors. He leads a class of the second team by himself, and breaks up the entire mercenary group into a battlefield dozens of kilometers wide from Zhabei to Yunzaobang. The veterans lead the new soldiers as soon as possible. Adapt to the battlefield.
Moreover, the current situation is very different from that of the past. First of all, the combat skills and experience of the old brothers in the first detachment are more skilled than before, and the individual quality of the recruits in the second detachment is not comparable to that of the student soldiers who taught the second division. Zhou Wen believes that their ability to adapt to the battlefield will be very fast, so fast that it is unexpected.
…
In the early morning of February 16, at the defensive position of the 19th Route Army in Yunzaobang, Commander Cai of the 3rd Regiment of the 156th Brigade was observing the forward position with a telescope in the headquarters bunker.
He had been in a heavy mood these past two days. The casualties among his brothers on the front line made him very troubled. Especially the 1st Battalion and 1st Company, which was the most advanced position, were killed and injured by the Japanese in two days, including more than a dozen people. There was a veteran who was the best machine gun shooter in the whole regiment, which made Captain Cai heartbroken.
Even in the battle where the Japanese army launched a brigade-level attack the night before yesterday, the losses of the 3rd Regiment were not that great. Why has the fighting intensity dropped, but casualties increased?
The key is that the Japanese army doesn't engage in close combat with you at all. They start shooting at you 150-200 meters away from the 3rd Regiment's position. It's obviously an attacking force of about a hundred people, but it can completely suppress a battalion's position. , and they retreated as soon as it got dark, giving you no chance of close combat at night.
"This new tactic of the Japs is difficult to deal with!" Commander Cai thought to himself. Now it depends on whether the dozens of new friendly forces from the Shanxi Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army of the provincial party headquarters can bring good news, but Commander Cai But in my heart, I didn’t dare to have too much hope.
He received a notice from the headquarters last night, and dozens of volunteer reinforcements arrived before dawn. The equipment was eye-catching, including rifles and machine guns, and two mortars.
Of course Captain Cai now knew that it was this unit that had dealt with him at Huangdu Station that created the miracle of the Yunzaobang victory.
Your troops of more than a thousand people annihilated more than half of the Japanese army and nearly a thousand people. Isn't it a miracle?
Captain Cai has actually been doubting this record until now, wondering whether the superiors deliberately exaggerated the results in order to promote publicity and boost the morale of the troops.
But no matter what, it is true that they repelled the attack of a Japanese brigade. Otherwise, the side of the 156th Brigade would have been attacked by the Japanese army. After all, they are also the benefactor of the 156th Brigade, right? After all, being able to repel the attack of a Japanese army brigade also proves their strength, doesn't it? Anyway, my own 3 regiments can’t do it.
What made Captain Cai even more hopeful was that this small unit of more than 40 people actually had a few communication soldiers. In less than an hour, they installed telephones from the regiment headquarters directly to the positions of three companies on the front line. , now there is no need to send messengers back and forth, we can directly call for command.
"It's so extravagant. Even though it's a small sparrow, it has all the internal organs!" Commander Cai exclaimed in retrospect.
You must know that the telephone number of the 19th Route Army is only assigned to the regiment level, that is, the brigade headquarters and the regiment headquarters can have direct phone calls. Orders are sent to the battalion and company levels by messengers. Now I feel rich.
Captain Cai looked at the few amateur signal soldiers in his regiment who were following others. He saw that they were professional signal soldiers who were learning humbly. He wondered if he should take this opportunity to find a few more literate soldiers to study together. What a great opportunity. ah!
But even so, Captain Cai is still not too optimistic about the upcoming battle. Because yesterday he also made a targeted response based on the tactics of the Japanese army, that is, he sent some veterans with better marksmanship in the regiment to the forward positions in order to engage in a shoot-out with the Japanese army and increase the casualties of the Japanese army. Not to mention that it was possible If this method of fighting was broken by the Japanese army, they should at least have some scruples, right?
However, the effect was not good. After an afternoon of shooting between the two sides, more than a dozen of their own veterans were killed, while only a few of the Japanese soldiers were killed and injured. Moreover, most of the veterans were shot in the head, so it was difficult to save them all. Not alive, the best veteran machine gunner was killed by a grenade. Most of the Japanese soldiers were shot in the torso, and there was still hope of saving their lives.
Anyway, Commander Cai doesn't plan to use this tactic today. He can't afford this kind of loss. He knew very well how important the veterans were in the army. He didn't know how many battles were waiting for him in the future. He couldn't waste them so needlessly, and he couldn't afford to waste them.
Originally, his plan today was to be a coward. As long as the Japanese army did not attack, the soldiers would not be allowed to show their heads and shoot at the Japanese army. Although it was a bit frustrating and might even affect morale, it was better than being a target and being shot, right?
At this moment, the phone rang. Captain Cai picked up the phone, and the voice of the 1st company commander came over the phone: "Captain, the little devil is here again. It's the same squadron as yesterday, and the formation is scattered. Very open.”
"Okay, tell the brothers not to show their heads easily. We won't shoot until they attack."
"Ah! Then aren't we turning into turtles? How can we fight this battle?"
"I'm going to beat you up! I'm telling you, Zhong Zhiwei, stop nagging me. If there are more than ten casualties in your 1st company today, I will remove you from your post!"
"yes!"
"Let me tell Captain Mu, who is leading the volunteer army, not to shoot unless it is absolutely necessary. They are friendly forces supporting us. If the casualties are too high, I will not be able to explain to the superiors."
"They have dispersed. There are people in the 2nd and 3rd companies' positions. The enemy has already come up. It's hard to notify them."
"What? Dispersed?"
Captain Cai hung up the phone and felt anxious. Why don't you, dozens of people, not stick together? You dispersed so completely. The positions of three companies on the front line were covered. This is worse than the Japanese army. Arrogant!
Just when he was thinking about calling the positions of the other two companies immediately, he heard the sound of gunfire. It was too late to convey the order now. Captain Cai sighed and could only resign himself to his fate.
