Chapter 179 The task of recovering Xin County (please vote for me)
Four Liao-made 14-type 77MM field guns and four Yue-type 81MM mortars carried out shelling one after another.
Together with the booby traps laid by the guard company during their evacuation, deafening explosions were heard everywhere in the Hesuo Town area.
The diffuse dust and scorching air waves instantly dispersed the poisonous gas, and the Japanese troops who entered Hesuo Town suffered heavy casualties.
As early as six o'clock, everything became quiet.
The independent mixed fourth brigade of the Moon Army captured Qicun Town and Heso Town as expected, but the results would not make Major General Mitake Tsuda, the commander of the brigade, happy.
"Brigade Commander Ge Dong, the total casualties of the 11th and 12th Independent Field Brigades exceeded 500!"
"The 13th Independent Field Brigade, the Cavalry, and the Second Mountain Artillery Squadron suffered more than 200 casualties!"
"The total casualties of their troops that time were about 800. Because the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army troops evacuated in time, their poisonous gas did not cause them much loss."
"On the contrary, those participating troops have lost a certain number of heavy weapons, which will have a greater impact on their subsequent combat effectiveness."
"Brigade Commander Ge Dong, judging from the current situation, Chen Ziyun's 11th Preparatory Regiment on the front line in Zhuangmo Town shows no sign of attacking at all."
"And based on the summary of the operations of each unit, Chen Ziyun's 11th Reserve Regiment seems to have a combat effectiveness that far exceeds that of the 358th Regiment."
Lieutenant Colonel and Chief of Staff came to Mitake Tsuda and reported directly.
At this time, the total casualties of the Moon Army were very high. Of course, at least half of the 800 casualties were caused by troops directly under the brigade headquarters.
Can the field artillery company, guard company, and cavalry company have strong combat effectiveness? They fought twice and caused great losses to the Moon Army.
However, despite their own casualties, they still controlled less than forty people, which shows their strong combat capability.
Mitake Tsuda's face turned gloomy when he heard this report. He looked over at the map, his eyes filled with anger.
The original plan of the little devil was to attack the 358th Regiment, attract the reinforcements of the 11th Reserve Regiment, and then quickly attack the 11th Reserve Regiment.
To this end, they assembled two field brigades, equipped with eight field guns and eight Liao-made artillery pieces.
Can the battle continue till now? The 11th Reserve Regiment has remained stationary, and their combat plan has been completely shattered.
And although the 358th Regiment suffered some casualties, it would not affect the combat effectiveness of the entire regiment.
Those troops retreated to the highland area west of Qicun Town and Hesuo Town, where the Moon Army could still pose a threat.
Mitake Tsuda needed to make a decision at this time, how to carry out subsequent combat operations.
"They are using special bombs on such a large scale. The 11th Reserve Regiment must be on alert. The attack of special bombs will not pose a fatal threat."
"They can completely abandon their positions to preserve their strength, hide around, look for opportunities to attack, and miss them to attack."
"If we cannot completely defeat the 48th Independent Brigade, then we will be able to repel them. Then they will not be able to leave the Xinxian area to fight."
"The overall strength of that army is very strong. As long as they have the ability to fight, they will not pose a threat to them."
"Will they, coming from the east, gather all their troops and attack the 11th Reserve Regiment deployed on the front line in Zhuangmo Town with all their strength?"
When he came to the map, Mitake Tsuda pondered for a long time. He looked at the Lieutenant Colonel and Chief of Staff and asked.
At this time, he was preparing to use poison gas bombs to contain the 358th Regiment and other troops and pin them down in the western highlands.
However, the main force of the independent mixed fourth brigade did not all attack, and directly engaged in a decisive battle with the 11th reserve regiment.
When the Lieutenant Colonel and Chief of Staff heard such a battle plan, his face showed a cautious expression.
After thinking for a while, he thought that it would be great to win such a decisive battle.
But if Fu Qiu fails, it will have a great impact on the independent mixed fourth brigade, and it may even be a fatal blow.
In the view of the brigade chief of staff, does the 11th Reserve Regiment currently have a terrain advantage?
Even if they attack with all their strength, they may not be able to defeat them.
Even if poison gas bombs are used, the Preparatory 11th Regiment will take precautions.
"The brigade commander, Ge Dong, has always believed that mobilizing them away from the frontline positions in Zhuangmo Town and then carrying out combat strikes against them is the best option."
"Ask them to leave the favorable terrain, then can they quickly inflict heavy damage on them, or even completely annihilate them."
"So he feels that now they want to attack in the direction of the attack, and they don't want to put it in the west where the 358th Regiment and other troops are."
"The 11th Preparatory Regiment has been stationed in the front line of Zhuangmo Town for a long time. They must have built a complete defensive position."
"And if they use special ammunition, they will also think of countermeasures."
"But not the 358th Regiment troops in the western highlands. They suffered casualties and hurriedly withdrew to the western highlands."
"They are partnering with special ammunition, so it is not possible that they can pose a sufficient threat to them."
After thinking for a while, the Lieutenant Colonel and Chief of Staff continued to make suggestions.
He insisted on fighting the 358th Regiment, attracted Chen Ziyun's troops to rush for reinforcements, and used the reserve force to attack Chen Ziyun's troops.
After hearing the plan, Mitake Tsuda showed a thoughtful expression on his face.
After all, the failure of that battle made him doubt whether the battle plan would be successful or not.
Tsuda Mitake was silent for a long time without making a decision. He began to contact various brigades in the East.
After the several major captains received the order, they came to the brigade headquarters for a meeting without any delay.
At this time, the 48th Independent Brigade troops will not be deployed in a dispersed manner.
The troops directly under the brigade headquarters and the 358th Regiment retreated directly to the highlands west of Qicun Town and Hesuo Town for defense.
The troops of the 11th Regiment are still ready to be stationed in Zhuangmo Town, Baizi Mountain, and Wohu Mountain.
Chen Ziyun has repeatedly contacted Chu Yunfei via radio, and he reported his analysis in detail.
The Yue Army formed an independent fourth brigade to attack Qicun Town and Hesuo Town. Chen Ziyun's first thought was whether he was prepared to respond to the attack.
But through the relevant combat situations reported by the reconnaissance platoon, Chen Ziyun knew that the main force of the Yue army had not been dispatched at all.
After careful consideration, he did not send troops to attack, but continued to defend his position.
He felt that if his troops left there and the Lunar Army launched an attack, the troops would definitely suffer losses.
No one knows the combat effectiveness of Wu Ziqiang and other troops better than Chen Ziyun.
They stick to the high ground and take advantage of the terrain to give them a fight with the Japs.
But if they are faced with the Moon Army of equal strength, and if both sides engage in field battles and mobile warfare, Wu Ziqiang and other troops will definitely be defeated.
Chu Yunfei agreed with Chen Ziyun's arrangement, but he wondered whether he hoped that the 11th Preparatory Regiment could take action as much as possible to support the 358th Regiment in the battle.
In order to strengthen the combat capability of the 11th Reserve Regiment, will Chu Yunfei make adjustments?
The 358th Regiment is attached to the field artillery company directly under the brigade headquarters, and stands firm on the high ground west of Qicun Town and Hesuo Town.
The 11th Reserve Regiment is attached to the cavalry company directly under the brigade headquarters, and the guard company is responsible for the front-line defense of Zhuangmo Town.
At the same time, Chen Ziyun took command of those troops, launched combat operations at will, and formed an independent fourth brigade to carry out combat strikes.
Currently, the Zhangwu Cavalry Company and the Chu Yu Guard Company are rapidly advancing towards Zhuangmo Town.
Of course, they have to take the mountain road, so it will take some time to get here.
At this time, Chen Ziyun was at the regiment headquarters and had already begun to think about the combat operations to take over Donglai.
Because the system has already issued a task, Chen Ziyun needs to at least complete the task of taking control of the system.
That system task was both simple and difficult.
System, please ask Chen Ziyun to command the troops and directly recapture Xin County!
Please tell me that it is not difficult to recover Xin County, but the system does not have the ability to do so.
It is now August 22, and the system requires Chen Ziyun to regain Xin County before the 25th.
And after recapturing Xin County, Fu Qiu held on until twelve o'clock in the morning in September and October.
This means that Chen Ziyun cannot stick to the fifteen days in Dongxin County.
If you were to face a pure independent mixed brigade, it would not be difficult for Chen Ziyun to complete that task.
Whether they can be independently mixed into the fourth brigade depends on whether they have an independent mixed brigade designation. In fact, whether they can be field troops.
I wonder if it would be difficult to hold on to Xin County for fifteen days right under their noses.
"September and October?"
"Isn't the time when the first phase of the Hundred Regiments War ends the same as the time when the first phase ends?"
Chen Ziyun looked at the map and suddenly came to his senses.
Does the Hundred Regiment War have three stages? The first stage ends in September and October, which calls for the offensive stage.
The second phase starts from September 22 to December and ends in October, which is the stage of annihilating the remaining Lunar Army.
If the third stage started in early October and ended in January of 1941, then it should be the stage of the Lunar Army's retaliatory sweep.
The system's intention is very obvious, please let Chen Ziyun completely cut off the Tongpu Railway before the end of the first combat phase.
Can Xin County regain Xin County, an important town where the Pu Railway is located? The connection with the Pu Railway will be completely cut off.
The most important point is whether the independent mixed fourth brigade can be responsible for the defense of Xin County.
If Chen Ziyun recaptures Xin County, then the independent mixed fourth brigade will definitely attack crazily.
The troops from both sides will even engage in a decisive battle in Xin County. That mission may seem simple, but is actually very difficult.
Fortunately, the cavalry company and the guard company were transferred over. With those two troops, Chen Ziyun was somewhat confident.
Otherwise, with just Wu Ziqiang and three other infantry battalions, Chen Ziyun would not be sure of success at all.
After returning from the east, Chen Ziyun stood in front of the map and thought. He was thinking about how to launch an attack on Xin County.
Of course, Monk Wei's reconnaissance platoon was dispatched directly by Chen Ziyun, and they requested to go to Xin County in advance to conduct reconnaissance.
Time is passing, and there is no fighting happening in the Xinxian area for the time being.
The Port is at the Zhengtai Railway, and fierce fighting continues.
At nine o'clock in the afternoon, Commander Liu came directly to Brigadier Chen's brigade headquarters.
"That little bastard Li Yunlong is really good. The overall strength of their new group is indeed very powerful."
"The more than a thousand troops who set out too far were not only intercepted by them, but almost all of them have been annihilated by them."
"It's true that that bastard can cause trouble, but he has a way of commanding troops in combat."
"Commander Chen, can you have a sharp sword? Please train it. It can play a decisive role on the battlefield."
After Commander Liu arrived at the brigade headquarters, he looked at Brigadier Chen and said with a smile on his face.
Is the new regiment responsible for intercepting the reinforcements formed by the independent mixed ninth brigade? So far they have done a good job.
There were more than 1,000 troops from the Lunar Army reinforcements, but now there are less than 300 troops left. It will be a matter of time before the new regiment eats them up.
After receiving the report from the front line, Commander Liu was very happy and gained a new understanding of the new regiment.
"Sir, please don't spread those words of yours. If Li Yunlong gets to know about it, the consequences will be serious."
"That bastard, don't brag. If you brag, you will definitely get into trouble."
"Speaking of which, does Li Yunlong really have a leg up? He has played an indispensable role in the development of the new regiment from a basic regiment to a main field regiment in a short period of time."
"If they ask if they can directly engage in the battle of the Zhengtai Railway, that will definitely make the little devils drink a pot."
Brigadier Chen said with a smile. In his words, it was obvious that he was wrong about Li Yunlong's praise.
"After the new regiment completes its operations, it will be possible to form an independent fourth brigade in Xin County in the Taiyuan area. It can come through Taiyuan at any time."
"The 48th Independent Brigade has already fought with the Moon Army. According to the latest news, the Moon Army used poison gas bombs."
"If Chu Yunfei, Chen Ziyun and others can be trusted, our Commander Yan may not allow them to continue fighting in Xin County."
"We have to prepare for a rainy day. Once the 48th Independent Brigade withdraws from the battlefield, they will also need troops to block the Moon Army troops."
Master Liu came to the map, pointed at the location of Xin County and said with a serious expression.
That was not the reason why he came to Brigadier Chen, who was currently in command of the reserve force.
The Yuejun Army in Xin County used poison gas bombs, and Commander Liu knew that the battle in Xin County had reached a critical moment.
The weapons and equipment of the Jinsui Army are good, but they are not capable of dealing with gas bombs.
Under such circumstances, once Yan Laoxi gives the order to retreat, the 48th Independent Brigade will probably withdraw from the battlefield.
Once they withdraw from the battlefield, there will naturally be no obstacles to forming an independent fourth brigade.
The lunar army can advance rapidly along the railway at any time to support the battle on the Zhengtai Railway.
"Looking at it this way, there is a high chance that Independence 48 will be able to withdraw from the battlefield."
"That Commander Yan, after all, you don't want to protect your own troops."
"The 48th independent brigade of Bu Nao can attack. We have already given them a large degree of support. They can't force too much."
"Commander, if we look at it now, do their troops want to attack quickly?"
Brigadier Chen looked at the division commander in front of him and asked immediately.
"Put the 14th Regiment into the battlefield and let them serve as the main attack."
"The 769th Regiment and the 772nd Regiment continue to serve as reserve forces."
Commander Liu did not hesitate and decisively issued the battle order.
"No, Commander." Brigadier Chen immediately agreed to come east.
Up to now, the reserve teams of the four regiments have already included a new regiment, the 14th regiment, which has participated in the battle one after another.
At this time, what Mr. Liu was most worried about had begun to happen.
Southwest Shanxi Region, Kenanpo, Second War Zone Chief's Department.
After Yan Laoxi learned that the 48th Independent Brigade had launched an attack on Xin County, his expression had not been very good.
Now that he knows that the Eighth Route Army has launched a large-scale attack operation, Yan Laoxi is even more angry.
At this time, he stood in front of the map with a gloomy face, his brows furrowed tightly.
(End of chapter)
This chapter has been completed!