In front of the enemy headquarters of the Laishui Independent Regiment, news came back from the reconnaissance platoon ten minutes ago: Japanese troops entered Laishui in two groups, each with a reinforced brigade and a battalion of puppet troops, with a total strength of 1,500 people.
"Commander, aren't we showing weakness? Why did the Japanese send so many troops here?" The chief of staff couldn't understand why the Japanese army was so aggressive in dealing with the independent regiment.
The political commissar thought for two minutes and then replied: "We did show weakness, but the Japanese are not stupid either."
"Capture Laishui County and kill more than 2,000 puppet troops in Laishui. After two battles, the Japanese will definitely look at us with admiration."
"For the sake of caution, it would not be surprising to send two brigades at once."
The group leader agreed: "I agree with the political commissar's analysis."
"If I were a Japanese commander, I would do the same thing. Maybe I would mobilize more troops to counterattack."
"As for our show of weakness, it will definitely have an effect."
"If the Japs knew the current equipment level and combat effectiveness of the Independent Regiment, and knew that there was a cavalry battalion hidden in Laishui, the Japs who entered Laishui would not have been two brigades, but three or even four brigades."
"The soldiers came to cover up the water and the earth. We have captured Laishui County. Isn't it just two brigades of Japs? There is nothing to be afraid of."
"If you can't swallow it in one bite, eat it in several bites and consume it slowly with them."
"Chief of Staff, I will give you the guard company, and I will give you three heavy machine guns and three mortars. Let's set off now, plus a company that already exists in the east, to deal with the Japanese and puppet troops in the east.
We will do whatever it takes to hold them back and prevent them from getting close to the county seat."
"Other troops follow me and deal with the Japanese and puppet troops in the north. Let's attack them first!"
"Captain, how do you plan to fight?" the political commissar asked with a worried look on his face.
The enemy's strength is too strong. If he doesn't understand the leader's thoughts, he will have no idea at all.
The regiment leader did not hide anything and pointed to Laishui County on the map and replied: "We will fight in the county seat at our feet."
"The battle in which Battalion Commander Zhou commanded the cavalry battalion to wipe out the Laishui garrison inspired me a lot, and I decided to repeat the old trick."
"The Japanese must have come with the purpose of annihilating the Independent Regiment. If they knew that the Independent Regiment decided to defend Laishui County, they would definitely attack with all their might."
"I will order the city defenders to deliberately abandon the city fortifications, release some Japanese soldiers into the county town, and fight with them in street battles."
"There will be fewer Japs left outside the city, and the vigilance will be lowered."
"The cavalry battalion took the opportunity to rush out and attack the remaining Japs outside the city from behind."
"As long as we can kill the Japanese artillery and heavy machine gun troops, the firepower advantage will be on our side. If we continue to fight, the independent regiment will win."
The Japanese and puppet troops on the North Road fought intermittently along the highway and reached the outside of Laishui City at five o'clock in the afternoon.
The Japanese captain held up his binoculars and could clearly see the Eighth Route Army running back and forth on the top of the city, and the barrels of light and heavy machine guns protruding from the battlements...
A few minutes later, the commander of the reconnaissance force ran over: "Report to your Excellency, Captain, we captured several Chinese who escaped from the city outside the city. They confessed that there are nearly 1,000 Eighth Route Army troops in the city with a lot of equipment.
Mortars and heavy machine guns.”
"Based on my humble opinion, these Eighth Route Army troops are the main force of the independent regiment."
"The heavy weapons must have been seized from the Laishui garrison."
"Yo Xi..." the captain said with a smile on his face: "Our assault speed must have been too fast. We were blocking the independent regiment in the county seat before it had time to retreat."
"Order the troops to prepare for an attack immediately, try to seize the county seat before the Songling Brigade comes over, kill the independent regiment, and enjoy this victory alone."
"When the time comes, our Binqi Brigade will become the heroes of the North China Front!"
"The First Infantry Squadron sent out two teams and two heavy machine guns to detour back to the east gate for a feint attack. The First and Second Squadron each sent out a team and two heavy machine guns to feint attack from the south gate. The second squadron left two teams and two heavy machine guns.
The machine gun goes to the west gate to feint attack."
"The other troops are following me here to attack the north gate."
"The three feigned attack troops should not only hold back the Eighth Route Army on the city wall and prevent them from reinforcing the north gate, but also prevent them from taking advantage of the chaos to break through."
At six o'clock in the afternoon, the siege started on time.
The twelve mortars and two infantry guns brought by the Japanese army continued to fire shells at the top of the city.
In the splashing firelight, the sandbags piled on top of the city, the corpses of the Eighth Route Army, and the weapons placed on the battlements were all blown into the sky and smashed outside the city.
In less than two minutes of shelling, the city was completely covered in smoke.
After another ten minutes of fighting, many battlements were blown open, and three gaps were blown out of the city wall, exposing the soil inside the wall.
The captain drew out his command knife, pointed at the city gate and ordered: "The artillery fire began to extend, heavy machine gun fire cover, infantry assault..."
Six heavy machine guns were set up three hundred meters away from the city head, lined up in a row, and fired desperately at the city wall.
Nearly two hundred Japanese soldiers and more than a hundred puppet troops formed three skirmishing lines and quickly approached the city wall.
The regiment leader squatted on the top of the dilapidated city, observing the outside of the city through the shooting hole. His face was heavy and he gritted his teeth with hatred.
The Japanese were so ruthless that they fired a salvo of fourteen artillery pieces, which lasted ten minutes.
In the two years since its formation, the independent regiment has never suffered such heavy artillery fire.
After the bombardment ended, two-thirds of the company holding the city wall were killed, and less than forty of them could still breathe.
Looking at the Japanese and puppet troops approaching closer and closer, the regiment leader clenched his fists and ordered through gritted teeth: "Blood debts must be paid with blood."
"The artillery company is under the command of the artillery platoon leader of the cavalry battalion fire company. They have rich experience and can fire accurately."
"Concentrate all mortars to aim at the Japanese heavy machine gun position. When you see the counterattack signal, fire five rounds from each gun rapidly, and then move after the attack."
"The blocking force prepared grenades and hand grenades, five per person. After seeing the counterattack signal, they threw them out as fast as they could, and then retreated to the position in the city to continue fighting."
Three minutes later, the front row of attacking troops was less than thirty meters away from the city head.
Because the troops were guarding the top of the city, from a commanding position, the grenades could be thrown at least forty meters, which meant that the two skirmisher lines in front of the attacking troops were completely covered by the grenades.
The regiment leader no longer hesitated, raised the signal gun and decisively pulled the trigger.
"Ba..."
As soon as the signal bomb exploded at an altitude of nearly 100 meters, more than a hundred grenades and grenades flew out of the city.
The first round of grenades did not explode after landing, but the second round of grenades flew out in a continuous rain.
"Boom boom boom..."
There was an explosion, not particularly violent, but very dense.
Eleven artillery shells suddenly smashed into the heavy machine gun positions, and fire splashed. The two heavy machine gun positions were instantly enveloped in smoke, and the machine guns misfired and there was no movement.
The Japanese captain was shocked.
Looking at the amount of black smoke rising from the heavy machine gun position, he shouted in disbelief: "How come there are so many artillery pieces in the Independent Regiment on Bagya Road?"
"The Laishui garrison only has one mortar squadron, and all the mortars were captured by the independent regiment. It's not that many... Do they have reinforcements?"
One word awakens the dreamer.
This sentence came out casually because I couldn't figure out why the Independent Regiment had so many artillery pieces, but it immediately solved all the questions buried deep in my heart.
The more I thought about it, the more likely it was that reinforcements would be possible. Otherwise, with the strength of the independent regiment, it would be impossible to kill the Laishui garrison, let alone capture Laishui County.
I was shocked and immediately ordered: "Retreat, the attacking troops will retreat immediately."
"The heavy machine gun squadron will be transferred immediately."
"The artillery fires and tries to take out the artillery positions in the city."
"If the Independent Regiment really has reinforcements, they must have a conspiracy to defend Laishui County."
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