“What is a Katyusha rocket launcher?” Xu Yang muttered to himself, and said, “You’ll know when the time comes.”

On the slope.

The attacking force of the independent regiment had already reached the defensive position of the 225th Infantry Regiment of the Japanese Army. After being bombarded by artillery shells and the attack of Xu Jin’s barrage of bullets, only a few hundred Japanese soldiers were left on the position.

These little devils still wanted to continue to resist, but they were like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. They were soon wiped out one by one by the morale-boosting soldiers of the independent regiment…

at the same time.

The battle between the New 227st Regiment and the 227th Infantry Regiment of the Japanese Army has also entered a white-hot stage. Under the powerful firepower of the New st Regiment and the attack of advanced tactics such as Xu Jin’s barrage and the three-three system, the th Regiment suffered heavy casualties and was completely defeated.

Especially when facing Xu Jin’s barrage of infantry and artillery coordinated tactics, the Japanese soldiers on the position did not have the slightest will to resist at all, and they all ran backwards as if they were fleeing.

As a result, those who ran faster entered the attack area of ​​Xu Jin’s barrage, while those who fell behind were attacked by the attacking forces of the New 1st Regiment.

The soldiers of the New 1st Regiment were in high spirits. They shot at the Japanese soldiers who were a little further away, and hacked to death the wounded soldiers lying on the ground with their swords without mercy.

captive?

Feel sorry!

Since their new regiment commander Li Yunlong took office, their new regiment no longer needs this thing.

……

the other side.

Kenkichi Hirata did not know that the 225th and 227th Infantry Regiments had been completely destroyed. In his opinion, even if these two troops were besieged by heavy troops of the Eighth Route Army, they would have no problem delaying them for a while.

This old devil personally led the division headquarters, the 37th Field Artillery Regiment, the 37th Engineer Regiment and the 37th Quartermaster Regiment, totaling more than 8000 people, and marched straight to Sifangping.

The natural result was that they were surrounded by the 386st and 771nd Regiments of the 772th Brigade, as well as the New 3nd Regiment, other combat units directly under the brigade, and local county battalions, district squads and other units, totaling more than people.

In the past, even though the Eighth Route Army had more than 3 troops, they would not dare to take action against a Japanese army with a strength of more than 8000 people, even though this Japanese army was composed of logistical troops such as field artillery, engineers and baggage troops, rather than field infantry.

But now the regiments of the 386th Brigade are no longer what they used to be. Thanks to the various production lines provided by Xu Yang, the regiments of the 386th Brigade were the first to benefit. Each regiment consists of two artillery battalions (a light artillery battalion equipped with 36 Type 18 infantry guns, and a heavy artillery battalion equipped with 105 Krupp mm caliber howitzers) and one heavy machine gun battalion.

In addition to heavy firepower weapons, the infantry of each regiment also carried the same M1 Garand rifle.

It can be said that the regiments of the 386th Brigade are now completely defeated by the Japanese army in terms of weapons and equipment, except for the lack of airplanes and tanks.

Even the guerrillas such as the county brigades and district squads were equipped with a rifle each, and in addition, they were even equipped with some light and heavy machine guns.

These weapons and equipment were naturally retired after the main regiments of the 386th Brigade were refitted.

Faced with such a powerful 386th Brigade, Kenkichi Hirata naturally had no chance of winning with only the limited troops he had.

They were quickly defeated by the 386th Brigade, with countless casualties.

The 37th Field Artillery Regiment in particular was bombarded by artillery shells from the 386th Brigade’s regiments and turned them into ruins before they even had time to deploy their artillery positions.

From the moment Kitano Kenzo sold the news to Xu Yang, the battle was destined to be a one-sided massacre…

“Baga! How could the damn Eighth Route Army possess such powerful firepower? Impossible! This is impossible. Even the damn China Central Army can’t have it!”

After witnessing the powerful artillery fire of the 386th Brigade, Kenkichi Hirata was shocked.

However, this old Japanese is a veteran who has fought in many battles after all, and it is impossible for him to lose his fighting spirit all of a sudden.

He quickly adjusted his mentality and led the remaining troops to attack into the deep mountains nearby.

The Japanese army relied on its powerful firepower to advance all the way through China with few defeats, so he naturally knew the weaknesses of artillery.

That is, mountains, especially forests, will greatly limit the lethality of artillery, and the blocked mountain roads will also hinder the transportation of artillery.

Obviously, Kenkichi Hirata’s choice was extremely correct. Even though the 386th Brigade had deployed a large number of ambushes on the edge of the mountains, it was unable to completely block the 37th Division’s breakout.

After all, it is not so easy to annihilate more than 8000 Japanese devils.

However, the remnants of the 37th Division had merely broken through the encirclement of the 386th Brigade, which did not mean they had escaped danger.

The regiments of the 386th Brigade would not give up the opportunity to give the Japanese a good beating when they were down. They chased after them relentlessly, hunting them down all over the mountains and fields, and wiping out the remaining Japanese soldiers.

Li Yunlong’s independent regiment and Ding Wei’s new regiment also joined in after the battle.

They were far more familiar with the terrain of the Taihang area than the Japanese invaders. They took a small path and went around to the front of the defeated Japanese army, where the pursuing troops behind them surrounded and intercepted them.

In the end, more than 12000 Japanese devils were wiped out in one battle.

Only Hirata Kenkichi, along with some officers from the division headquarters, risked their lives to fight their way out of the encirclement under the protection of several hundred trusted men…

386 Brigade Headquarters.

Everyone was as excited as if it were Chinese New Year.

Even the brigade commander couldn’t hide his excitement. He asked, “Chief of Staff, have all the results of the battle been counted?”

Chief of Staff: “It has been basically calculated. In this battle, our army killed more than 12000 enemies. The specific data is hard to count because many Japanese soldiers were blown to pieces.

Unfortunately, due to the fierce firepower of our army, many of the Japanese invaders’ weapons and equipment were destroyed in the battle, so the proportion of spoils was much less than in the past. “

Too much firepower can sometimes be a mistake.

The brigade commander nodded and asked, “What about our casualties?”

Chief of Staff: “Our brigade suffered a total of 1063 casualties, including 492 killed and 571 wounded, 203 of whom were seriously injured, and the rest were slightly injured.”

The brigade commander nodded. This amount of casualties was nothing at all, and was even far lower than he had expected.

In his opinion, it was already very good to achieve a casualty ratio of 1 to 3 in this battle. A casualty ratio of 1 to 11 was a casualty ratio that the Japanese invaders would only inflict on them. It was also an impressive data that the Eighth Route Army and even the entire Chinese army had never achieved.

Even in the Pingxingguan victory, the Taierzhuang victory, and even the Wanjialing victory, in fact, the casualties of the Chinese army were far greater than those of the Japanese army.

Immediately afterwards, Li Yunlong, Ding Wei and Cheng Xiazi each made a detailed report, and the brigade commander made a summary.

Finally, the brigade commander changed the subject and continued, “Our army was able to achieve such a great victory in this battle, all thanks to the Lone Wolf Staff Officer.”

No one could refute this point, and everyone looked at Xu Yang with burning eyes.

Even Li Yunlong, who had always been unyielding, had to write a big “submit” and be convinced when facing Xu Yang.

Xu Yang said quickly: “Commander, you are too kind. This victory was achieved by the bravery and sincere cooperation of all the comrades in the brigade. My contribution is not worth mentioning at all.”

Li Yunlong said: “Lone Wolf Staff Officer, please don’t be so modest. If it weren’t for the intelligence information, weapons and equipment, and advanced tactics you provided, our brigade would not have the combat effectiveness it has today, let alone such a great victory.”

“That’s right, that’s right. In the past, Li Dayehu always farted, but today I agree with what you said a lot. If it weren’t for you, the Lone Wolf Staff Officer, we wouldn’t have the 386th Brigade today.” Blind Cheng followed suit.

Xu Yang had no choice but to let them flatter him, and then he said: “Everyone, today is just the beginning, the 37th Division is just an insignificant unit of the Japanese invaders.

Our goal is to completely annihilate all powerful enemies who dare to invade our China and liberate the whole country. There is still a long way to go, and we must not be complacent.” “What the Lone Wolf Staff criticized is correct.” Li Yunlong flattered Xu Yang again, and then changed the subject and said, “Next, should we deal with the Osaka Division?”

Xu Yang nodded: “Yes, the value of the Osaka Division has been almost fully exploited, it’s time to close the net.”

After a brief discussion.

Xu Yang then sent a telegram to Kitano Kenzo.

……

Japanese Army Osaka Division Headquarters.

Chief of Staff Matsuo Yoshisuke said to Kitano Kenzo in astonishment: “Division Commander, I didn’t expect the combat effectiveness of the 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army to be so strong. In just one day, they annihilated the 37th Division of the Locust Army.

It now appears that even without the intelligence we sold, the 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army is fully capable of defeating them.”

Kitano Kenzo had been paying close attention to the battle situation at the front and had dispatched a large number of scouts for this purpose, so he knew about the defeat of the 37th Division as soon as possible.

Kitano Kenzo nodded: “Although I had expected the 37th Division to be defeated, the speed of the defeat was indeed beyond my expectations.”

The two talked for a while.

Kitano Kenzo’s exclusive communications staff rushed in and bowed respectfully to Kitano Kenzo, saying, “Report, Your Excellency the Division Commander, Boss Yu has a secret message!”

Kitano Kenzo took the telegram, read it, and then handed it to Matsuo Yoshisuke next to him.

After reading the telegram, Matsuo Yoshisuke said: “The Eighth Route Army is so eager to cooperate with our division, and the purchase quantity is so large, it seems that their consumption in this battle is not small.”

Kitano Kenzo shook his head: “Matsuo-kun, you only see the surface.”

Matsuo Yosuke was stunned and asked, “Sir, what do you mean by that?”

Kitano Kenzo: “The scale of this batch of supplies is so huge that it requires at least 10000 people to transport it, and it has to be in a place with open roads. In the Taihang Mountains, the transportation capacity will be at least 20000%, which means that at least or even more people are needed for transportation, which means that almost all of my Osaka Division will have to go out.

It seems that the Eighth Route Army has big plans. They not only want us to help them buy supplies, but also want our lives.”

The cunning Kitano Kenzo saw through Xu Yang’s intention at a glance.

Matsuo Yosuke was shocked and asked, “Not really?”

Kitano Kenzo: “There is an old Chinese saying: When the birds are gone, the good bows are put away; when the cunning rabbit is dead, the running dog is cooked.

Right now, two infantry regiments, one field artillery regiment, and the 36th Division of the Locust Army have all been completely wiped out. The intelligence that our division can provide is of little use to the Eighth Route Army.

Also, how much money can the Eighth Route Army have? They must have been emptied out by us, so they have been waiting for this day from the beginning, planning to rob us and take back the money they spent. “

Yoshisuke Matsuo: “Even if the Eighth Route Army has this idea, do they have the strength to do so?”

Kitano Kenzo: “Matsuo-kun, if you think like this, it is actually very dangerous.

Besides, Kenkichi Hirata had the same idea as you, what was the result? “

Without waiting for Matsuo Yoshisuke to speak, Kitano Kenzo asked himself and answered, “As a result, the 37th Division was completely destroyed, and only Hirata Kenkichi fled with a few hundred remnants.”

Matsuo Yoshisuke: “But the 37th Division is just a three-three system special division, and we are a standing A-type division.”

Kitano Kenzo: “What do you think will happen if our division fights the 37th Division?”

“Our division may be able to defeat them easily, but it is almost impossible to almost completely wipe them out within a day.

In other words, the combat effectiveness of the 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army is at least not inferior to that of our division.

What would happen if we were unprepared and walked headfirst into an ambush carefully planned by the enemy? “

Hearing the division commander Kitano Kenzo’s analysis, Matsuo Yosuke was immediately frightened and broke out in a cold sweat: “Your Excellency, division commander, what should we do now?”

Kitano Kenzo: “My analysis may not be completely accurate, but there is an old Chinese saying that goes, ‘You should not have the intention to hurt others, but you must be on guard against others.

The reason why our division has survived until now, with almost no casualties in several years, is that we are cautious enough.

Therefore, no matter what the Eighth Route Army’s plan is, this time, we must quit while we are ahead.

However, the Eighth Route Army has something on us, so we cannot offend them too much, lest they become enemies. Therefore, we must make them feel that we are still of use to us.

After a while, even if they reveal something wrong with us, we can deny it and say it’s slander.”

At this point, Kitano Kenzo thought for a moment, and then continued: “Call Boss Yu back immediately and tell him that the 1st Army Headquarters of the Locust Army urgently transferred us back to Taiyuan City, and we may not be able to trade with them for the time being.

But let him rest assured, once the opportunity is right, we will definitely deliver the supplies they need…”

……

Headquarters of the 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army.

Looking at the telegram sent by Kitano Kenzo, the brigade commander, chief of staff, Li Yunlong, Ding Wei and the others looked at each other in surprise.

Li Yunlong looked at Xu Yang and said, “Lone Wolf Staff Officer, the Osaka Division is trying to escape.”

Xu Yang nodded in agreement: “It seems that we still underestimated Kitano Kenzo’s intelligence, and at the same time overestimated his greed.”

Li Yunlong: “Should we reveal the evidence we have?”

Xu Yang: “If we expose the evidence now, Kitano Kenzo will certainly be ruined, but the actual damage to the Japanese army will be extremely limited, and it may even allow them to get rid of the Osaka Division, which is a cancer at the moment.

Instead of this, it is better to let them continue to be our suppliers. As long as safety can be guaranteed, I believe they will not refuse to cooperate with us, and they dare not refuse to cooperate with us.”

Li Yunlong: “That’s right. The Osaka Division can earn huge profits from us, so why would they risk offending us by cooperating with others to earn less profit?”

After a pause, Li Yunlong changed the subject and continued, “What should we do next?”

Xu Yang: “Immediately launch the follow-up plan and counterattack!”

Li Yunlong: “You mean, counterattack Taiyuan?”

Xu Yang: “Yes and no.”

Li Yunlong: “Yes and no? What does this mean?”

Xu Yang: “I mean to counterattack Taiyuan, but not directly. We should first target the small counties around the Taihang base, and then launch a counterattack towards Taiyuan step by step.”

The brigade commander just listened quietly.

The chief of staff suddenly said, “Staff Lone Wolf, isn’t this a bit too risky? After all, the Japanese have absolute air superiority.

Although our army currently has a large-scale artillery group, to the Japanese aircraft, they are just a group of living targets…”

…(End of chapter)