Miyazawa Osaka's original idea was to first retreat to the field artillery position to join the Second Battalion, and then retreat together.
As a result, when we were still seven or eight hundred meters away from the field artillery position, we saw the captain of the second brigade running towards us with more than 300 remaining soldiers.
A bad premonition flashed through his mind. At the same time, he led his troops to meet him and asked him straight away.
"The total strength of the second battalion and the field artillery battalion exceeds 800 people. Why are there only these few troops left? Have the artillery pieces you left on the position fallen into the hands of the Eighth Route Army?"
Half of the troops lost on the battlefield were his own men, and the captain felt more heartbroken than anyone else.
But the deputy brigade commander's question had to be answered, so he could only take a deep breath and report: "The Eighth Route Army assembled more than a thousand people to raid the field artillery position, equipped with more than ten artillery pieces of various calibers."
"We divided our forces to defend the field artillery positions, and only more than a hundred people blocked the Eighth Route Army's assault troops head-on."
"We were defeated by the Eighth Route Army after only holding on for five minutes."
"Although I sent reinforcements as soon as possible, it was still too late."
"In order to avoid unnecessary losses, I had no choice but to abandon the field artillery position and break out with the remaining soldiers to retreat."
"We blew up all the field artillery that could explode on the position, but during the retreat, some of the artillery positions were already occupied by the Eighth Route Army, and the artillery there did not have time to destroy them."
"More than a thousand Eighth Route Army troops and more than a dozen artillery pieces again?" After hearing this, Colonel Miyazawa was filled with questions and couldn't help roaring.
"There are more than 2,000 Eighth Route Army troops attacking Yi County. There are also more than 2,000 Eighth Route Army troops defending the blocking positions. There are still more than 2,000 Eighth Route Army troops attacking the flanking security positions. The Eighth Route Army troops are constantly coming out on the retreat. You have also been attacked by more than 1,000 people.
The Eighth Route Army attacked, where did they get so many troops? Is this still the Yizhong Eighth Route Army we know?"
The captain of the Second Battalion had fought against the commandos commanded by Deng Jingye and was very aware of their combat effectiveness. He immediately responded: "Sir, the Eighth Route Army attacking us does not look like the Yizhong Eighth Route Army."
"The Eighth Route Army in Yizhong has just completed its expansion. There are many new recruits and few veterans in the team, so its combat effectiveness is limited."
"But the Eighth Route Army that just assaulted the field artillery positions are all veterans, well-trained, and well-equipped... I dare to guarantee this with my own head for this humble position!"
"Sir, the Eighth Route Army that just attacked the guard positions on the flanks are all veterans, and they are of low rank," the captain of the third brigade added later.
“Dong dong dong… da da da…”
Colonel Miyazawa had more questions in his mind. Just as he was about to continue speaking, the familiar sound of machine gun fire came from behind him again. He turned around and saw a second lieutenant rushing towards him with a face full of fear.
"Sir, the attacking troops failed to retreat..."
"The Eighth Route Army blocking troops suddenly launched a counterattack. In order to buy time for the main force to retreat, they took the initiative to stay behind and were surrounded by the Eighth Route Army."
"But the Eighth Route Army that broke through the guard positions on the flanks was not blocked by them, and was charging towards us quickly. The rearguard troops were about to engage in firefights with them."
The military situation was urgent. Colonel Miyazawa had to put away the questions in his mind and gave a decisive order: "The rearguard troops will leave an infantry squadron in the rear. The other troops will continue to retreat and get rid of the Eighth Route Army's pursuit as soon as possible."
"We will study the opponent's situation after we leave the battlefield. Let's leave now."
…………
The Japanese army attacked the position. Huang Yu had just led his team to occupy it, and Kong Jie followed him.
"Xiao Huang, we actually won this battle. It's a miracle." Kong Jie couldn't help but sigh when he saw Huang Yu.
He followed the guard company all the way from the blocking position to here. As far as he could see, all the craters caused by the artillery shells and the corpses of the little Japanese were scattered everywhere. The heartache caused by the heavy losses of the blocking troops was instantly wiped away.
Looking at Huang Yu, he continued: "In the first round of the Japanese attack, we knocked out one squadron. In the second round, we dispatched three infantry squadrons. We killed two squadrons on the way back. There is still one squadron left that is surrounded by us. Sooner or later, we will destroy it.
I alone can kill an infantry brigade."
Huang Yu pointed at the Japanese security positions and answered: "Captain, the commando team also killed three or four infantry squadrons at the two security positions. The artillery raid on the main force of the Japanese and the artillery positions should also kill hundreds of people. In addition, Deng Jingye raided the Japanese fields.
The results of the artillery positions and the gains we have made in chasing down the Japanese retreating troops, we can kill at least two thousand little Japanese tonight."
Kong Jie's face immediately lit up with joy: "I remember the little devil led the deputy brigade commander..."
"He was the one who led the three thousand little Japs who raided Pingyang Town. As a result, half of the troops were blown up by our sudden burst of artillery fire. We had to flee the base in embarrassment with a bunch of remnants."
"This time, he also led troops to reinforce Yixian County. He should be seeking revenge from us."
"As a result, we were defeated again and lost our troops, so we retreated in embarrassment."
"When he returns to Baoding, even if Neji Okamura can spare him, he himself will not be able to spare himself."
"This battle was so enjoyable. Although there were heavy casualties, all the efforts were worth it."
"With this victory as the foundation, even if the reinforcements of Kawasaki Colonel Hikari Siyoshi reach Baoding, he will not dare to attack our base area rashly."
"As long as Neji Okamura doesn't take action, the base area will usher in a period of peaceful development for at least one to two months."
"I will send a telegram to the chief of staff now and ask him to launch a general attack on Yi County immediately."
"The Japanese reinforcements have been severely damaged by us, so the bait is of no use."
"Although Yixian County is small, it has all the internal organs. The gains from taking Yixian County will definitely be more than if we break through a stronghold."
Huang Yu strongly agreed with Kong Jie's analysis and followed up: "I will lead the commando team to reinforce the pursuit troops."
"There were nearly 4,000 little Japanese reinforcements. We only killed a little more than half of them, but we didn't completely defeat them."
"If they attack us violently and try to kill us, the pursuing troops will definitely be no match for us."
"I'll take the commando over there, and maybe we can tear off two more pieces of fat from the Japanese."
…………
Colonel Miyazawa was defeated twice in a row by Huang Yu, but his military qualities were still very impressive.
As I was running, I noticed something was wrong from the sound of firefights behind me.
Thinking back to the previous experience of being frightened to death by a barrage of artillery fire from the Eighth Route Army in Pingyang Town, I suddenly realized something, slapped my head and ordered: "Bageya Road, we may have fallen into the Eighth Route Army's bluff again."
The captain of the third brigade did not have this experience, and asked with a puzzled face: "A bluff? Sir, you can't be mistaken, right?"
"The artillery shells fired at us by the Eighth Route Army just now fell next to us. They were all real. How could they be a bluff?"
Colonel Miyazawa did not answer. He listened carefully to the shouts of kill behind him and said very firmly: "I didn't say that the shells fired by the Eighth Route Army at us were fake. I said that the troops they attacked us were not as powerful as you said."
"The Eighth Route Army you encountered is probably a temporary commando team formed by the enemy's veterans. The other Eighth Route Army attacking us are all new recruits."
"If there are really seven or eight thousand Eighth Route Army soldiers gathered around us, do you think we can break out of the encirclement so easily?"
"The pursuit troops following us were also very strange. They followed us all the way and only heard shouts of death and gunshots, but could not see an Eighth Route Army catching up to intercept us. It was so abnormal."
"As long as a battalion inserted in front of us and blocked us for ten minutes, the main force of the Eighth Route Army could surround us again and gather together to annihilate us, but they did not do this."
The captain of the third brigade seemed to have thought of something, and said quickly: "It's really possible."
"The Eighth Route Army that just attacked the security position was always one unit, and all the other units hid behind and did not engage in direct combat with us."
"If I were the commander of the other side and had a large number of troops, I would definitely launch several troops to attack together to disperse our army's firepower and troops and speed up the attack. But the Eighth Route Army did not do this."
"I thought it was strange before. If the Eighth Route Army behind the main attacking force were all new recruits, then this matter would be easier to explain."
After saying that, the captain of the Third Battalion showed an eager expression and seized the opportunity to ask Colonel Miyazawa for a fight: "Sir, since the Eighth Route Army is bluffing, except for the artillery and a small number of very powerful troops participating in the battle, the other troops are all new recruits. We will be pursued later.
Our troops are also new recruits, why don’t we kill them here and turn around.”
"If we can take the opportunity to kill some Eighth Route Army troops, we won't be too embarrassed."
"Maybe we can turn defeat into victory and take the opportunity to severely damage the Eighth Route Army's participating troops."
Colonel Miyazawa had already defeated Maicheng once, and he did not want to return to Baoding like a lost dog again.
For the sake of his own face and the face of the Baoding Mixed Brigade, he decided to take a gamble here.
Looking at the captain of the third brigade, he asked seriously: "How many troops do you need..."
"Two reinforced squadrons..." the captain of the third brigade answered seriously.
"If there are too many ambush troops, they will be easily exposed. If there are too few, we will not be able to fight quickly. Two reinforced squadrons are just right. If an accident occurs, we will only lose two squadrons, which is still within the acceptable range."
Colonel Miyazawa nodded: "Then I will give you two reinforcement squadrons."
"If the Eighth Route Army chasing us is really vulnerable, we must end the battle as quickly as possible, catch up with the main force, and then determine our next action plan."
"If the Eighth Route Army is not bluffing and the troops chasing us are very powerful, you must cut off your wrists and evacuate the battlefield immediately to minimize losses."
…………
Five or six hundred meters behind the Japs on the official road, a battalion of the Eighth Route Army was rushing forward in battle formation. The machine gunners fired two rounds of bullets into the air from time to time to scare the Japs in front and force them to deploy more rear troops.
This is a main battalion with more than 70% new recruits. If we were to confront the Japanese retreating troops head-on, this small number of troops would not be enough to give them a gap in their teeth.
But if the Japs leave one or two squads behind, they can surround the squad and slowly eliminate them by relying on their firepower advantage.
This is also part of Huang Yu's combat plan.
Except for a few commandos who have the ability to fight the Japanese head-on, other participating troops can only fight cleverly with the Japanese.
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