Chapter 1202: Slow and steady flow is the way to go
"What are you withdrawing? You can't withdraw..." Zhang Xuan shook his head and refused.
"It is precisely because the little devil wanted to use Fangshan County's city gate as bait that we had the opportunity to capture the city head without any effort and enter Fangshan."
"If the more than a thousand little Japs left behind in Fangshan defend the city, how much do you think it will cost us to break through the city defenses and enter Fangshan?"
Feng Jiashan hesitated and replied: "At least one battalion..."
"That's all right..." Zhang Xuan followed.
"It's very easy for us to retreat now. We can just turn around and leave. As long as we send heavy machine guns and mortars to the top of the city, the Japanese won't even dare to chase us."
"But it won't be that easy to attack Fangshan County again in the future..."
"It takes at least one battalion to advance into Fangshan."
"Although our guerrilla brigade has strong soldiers and well-equipped equipment...but it has already lost more than 30% of its personnel in previous battles."
"If you want to hold back all the Japanese and puppet troops sent by Neji Okamura to Fangshan, you must consider the casualties of the troops in advance for every subsequent battle, and you must end the battle with the minimum cost."
"The Japanese gave us a chance to advance into Fangshan easily, and we also encountered an opportunity to completely annihilate a full Japanese brigade. It would be a pity if we did not seize it."
Of course Feng Jiashan knew that it would be a pity to withdraw his troops now, but the war situation was such that in order to prevent the guerrilla brigade from falling into a greater crisis, he had to make this suggestion.
Frowning and analyzing: "Captain..."
"I also want to continue fighting..."
"But the main force of the Japanese and puppet troops can fight back to Fangshan at any time and surround us in the city..."
"Their total strength exceeds four thousand people..."
"If the guerrilla brigade is really blocked by them in Fangshan, we won't be able to fly out even if we put on our wings."
Zhang Xuan then said: "Then before the main force of the Japanese and puppet troops encircle Fangshan, eat all their troops left behind in Fangshan, quickly withdraw from the battle, and don't give them a chance to surround us!"
Chief of Staff Feng Jiashan subconsciously retorted: "This is impossible..."
"There are more than a thousand Japs left behind in Fangshan, and they are scattered in every corner of the city and want to fight with us in the streets. There are not hundreds of them."
"Even if we enter Fangshan County, we won't be able to end the battle in a short time."
"And the main force of the Japanese and puppet troops can fight back to Fangshan in two hours at most..."
Speaking of this, Feng Jiashan suddenly shook his head and replied: "No..."
"It's been less than two hours now."
"Although we easily captured the Fangshan city defenses, and with the pre-war layout, it took us nearly half an hour."
"Excluding the time it takes for troops to evacuate the battlefield, it is only possible for us to end the battle within an hour."
"The time is too short. It is very difficult to kill more than a thousand elite Japs in one hour through street fighting. It is almost impossible..."
"Captain, for the sake of caution, I recommend retreating immediately."
"Don't let the little Japanese troops left behind not be eliminated by then, but instead trap the main force of the guerrilla brigade here."
Zhang Xuan was unmoved, with a calm expression on his face, and shook his head and replied: "No..."
"The troops must not evacuate Fangshan County just like this. Send me an order..."
"The 1st, 3rd and 3rd Battalions and the Artillery Battalion stayed behind to continue attacking the Japanese and puppet troops in the city. The 4th Battalion immediately set off to attack in the direction of the main Japanese forces. They used guerrilla warfare and mobile warfare to slow down their return of reinforcements, and they could gain one more minute for the main forces.
One minute."
"All the mountain and field artillery equipped by the artillery battalion advanced to Fangshan Chengguan Station, and I used artillery shells to level all the bunkers and houses where the Japanese troops might be hiding."
"Anyway, all the people in the city have moved away when we retreated. Except for the little devils, there is no one in the city."
"Blow me up hard and force out all the Japanese and puppet troops hiding in the dark."
"If I don't come out, I'll be prepared to be buried in the ruins."
"As for the houses that were blown up by shells, when the fighting is over, our guerrilla brigade will all pay compensation according to the price..."
After finishing speaking, he turned his attention to Chief of Staff Feng Jiashan again: "Old Feng..."
"I think we still have the thunder cannons and explosive packs that were used to attack the Stone Fort stronghold..."
"Send them all to the city to join the war."
"The lightest explosive package fired by the thunder cannon weighs ten kilograms, and the explosion power is no less than that of a heavy artillery shell."
"Even if the house where the Japanese troops are hiding is not directly destroyed, the shock wave can still cause internal injuries to the little Japanese who are hiding. I am afraid that they will not be able to force them out..."
…………
Fangshan County Japanese Army Regiment Headquarters.
The little Japanese captain who stayed behind in Fangshan was very happy.
From the moment the guerrilla brigade arrived outside Fangshan City, the entire battle was within his plan.
After the troops retreated into the city, they took a preemptive strike and suddenly launched a surprise attack on the attacking troops of the Eighth Route Army, killing at least two companies of the guerrilla brigade in less than five minutes.
If we were to kill two companies of the Eighth Route Army on other battlefields, the imperial army would have to lose at least one squadron.
In the raid just now, the losses of all the participating troops were less than half a squad.
No matter how you analyze it, it is an unprecedented victory.
As long as the Eighth Route Army continues to launch attacks on the troops left behind, it may be possible that the troops left behind alone will be able to severely damage the guerrilla brigade before the main force returns to Fangshan.
"Boom boom boom..."
The long-lost sound of firefight finally sounded on the battlefield. The little worry in the captain's heart suddenly disappeared, and he happily ordered: "The battle has begun again..."
"It shows that the guerrilla brigade still wants to continue the attack."
"Tell our troops..."
"Although their mission is to consume a large number of Eighth Route Army troops, they should not fight too hard."
"A slow and steady flow is the way to go..."
"If we hit them too hard and scare them away, not only will we not be able to accomplish the task of holding back the enemy, we ourselves will not gain any military merit."
"During the battle, we can voluntarily give up some positions to give the Eighth Route Army hope of conquering Fangshan County."
Seeing the orderly soldier running out of the war room and slowly disappearing from his sight, the captain once again turned his attention to the city defense map to study other possible loopholes in the battle plan.
Unfortunately, just five minutes had passed when an exclamation sounded at the door of the war room.
The messenger who had just left the war room hurriedly responded to the war room. The excitement on his face was replaced by solemnity at some point, and he breathed heavily and reported: "Captain..."
"An emergency occurred on the front line..."
"The Eighth Route Army has indeed begun to attack Fangshan again..."
"But they used a lot of field artillery, mortars, and powerful mine cannons in the battle."
"Whenever you see a target, hit it with artillery shells."
"Many of our soldiers were killed and injured by artillery shells before the Eighth Route Army could get into range."
"The frontline troops suffered heavy casualties, but the results were very small."
