At seven o'clock in the evening, the sound of gunfire that lasted for nearly an hour and a half finally stopped.
The Japanese captain led more than 300 remnant soldiers to occupy a small highland two kilometers east of the city and held it there waiting for reinforcements.
All the remaining more than 1,200 Japanese and puppet troops were killed, and more than 200 puppet troops were captured.
Because the troops attacked early, the cavalry battalion also paid a huge price. The three cavalry companies combined had less than 200 men left, and all the rest were sacrificed.
The Independent Regiment also lost nearly two companies in the melee.
"Battle Commander Zhou, I was too careless in this battle. If the artillery had not been exposed in advance, the Japanese would not have withdrawn temporarily, and this battle would not have ended like this." Seeing Zhou Wu, the regimental commander said with regret.
"When the battle is over, I will take the initiative to ask my superiors for punishment and bear all responsibilities."
The troops suffered heavy casualties. Zhou Wu felt more heartbroken than anyone else and was filled with anger.
Angry as he was, he didn't lose his cool.
There are still more than 300 Japs who have not been eliminated in the east of the city, and more than 1,000 Japanese puppet troops are on their way over more than 10 kilometers away.
If they were allowed to join together, the independent regiment and the cavalry battalion would definitely be in crisis, and Laishui County would have to give up.
Therefore, the top priority now is to eat the remaining Japs in the east of the city, so that the other Japs will become a lone army, and reduce the pressure on the troops in future battles.
Looking at the leader, he shook his head and replied: "Chief, the battlefield is changing rapidly, and no one can guarantee that he will win every day."
"Although the casualties of the troops were a bit heavy, we still won the battle and eliminated more than a thousand Japanese and puppet troops."
"There are more than 300 Japs in the east of the city. I suggest you eat them immediately."
A trace of embarrassment flashed across the leader's face.
The troops suffered too many casualties. Excluding those taken away by the chief of staff, there were still more than 400 combat troops.
There are more than 300 Japs, occupying favorable terrain and waiting for reinforcements. If you want to kill them, you can only attack by force.
This is the style of play that independent groups are least good at, and the chance of winning is very low.
To put it bluntly, even if we win in the end, the cost will be very high and the gain will not be worth the loss.
So now that the battle has been going on, the regiment leader no longer wants to fight.
The political commissar came to the rescue in time and said: "Captain Zhou, it's not that we don't want to fight, it's that the Independent Regiment can no longer afford to fight."
"We destroyed more than 1,200 Japanese and puppet troops in the battle just now. Judging from the results, our superiors asked us to complete the task of using Laishui County to expand the results."
"I suggest ending the fighting, abandoning Laishui County, and continuing to deal with the Japanese with guerrilla warfare and mobile warfare. This will also give the troops a chance to breathe and recuperate."
Zhou Wu would definitely not be willing to let the fat in his mouth slip away like this.
He insisted: "Chief, I know that the independent regiment suffered heavy casualties and the soldiers are also very tired."
"But as long as we persist, we will definitely be able to kill the more than 300 Japs in the east of the city."
"Don't look at the little Japs guarding the top of the mountain. They can attack our attacking troops from a high position."
"But the Japanese have forgotten one thing. We have artillery. The high ground they are defending is a bare mountain with nothing. It is impossible to dig trenches in a short time."
"As long as we pull the artillery to the foot of the mountain and hit it with shells at any cost, we can easily kill them."
The embarrassed expression on the leader's face disappeared, and he slowly smiled.
The political commissar knew that the regiment leader was moved, and quickly reminded him: "Captain, the method is a good one, but it is a waste of artillery shells."
"The few artillery shells we have are either from the captured Japs or from the support of the garrison. They will be gone after they are fired."
The group leader fell silent and the smile on his face disappeared.
According to Zhou Wu's proposal, the troops could indeed easily kill those Japs, but they would have to consume at least 300 shells.
Would it be too much of a loss to exchange more than 300 artillery shells for more than 300 Japanese soldiers?
On other battlefields, more than 300 rounds of artillery shells will definitely kill more Japanese, and maybe even save lives.
Zhou Wu knew what they were hesitating about and continued: "Chief, let's fight!"
"The telegram sent to me by the regiment in the morning not only ordered the cavalry battalion to continue to cooperate with the independent regiment in fighting, but also said one thing."
"During the battle, the garrison regiment will continue to replenish ammunition from Yixian County to the independent regiment."
"We seized a large amount of weapons and ammunition in Yixian County, including thousands of mortar shells. All these shells were used to support the surrounding Eighth Route Army troops. The independent regiment will definitely be able to get one or two thousand rounds, so in the next one or two years,
You will definitely not be short of shells."
"These devils have fought against us before and know our strength. If we don't kill them, our strength will be exposed."
"The possibility of encountering this kind of encirclement and annihilation battle again is almost zero."
After hearing the news that the garrison regiment would send another one or two thousand rounds of artillery shells later, the regiment commander no longer had any worries.
After Zhou Wu finished speaking, he made a decision without hesitation.
"beat……"
"Battle Commander Zhou is right. It is easy to let them go today, but it will definitely be difficult to annihilate them all when we encounter such a good opportunity in the future."
"You must seize the opportunity to eat them."
"Order the artillery company to take the artillery and send it to the foot of the mountain. Today I will retaliate in kind and let the Japanese have a taste of being bombed."
Zhou Wu added: "Chief, the artillery platoon of the cavalry battalion can also participate in the battle. There are more than ten mortars and many artillery shells in the Japanese artillery position. It is best to send them there and use the shells they brought to blast them.
They are their own people."
"Good idea, let's do it like this, political commissar, you can make arrangements." The leader agreed with the order.
On the road six kilometers away from Laishui County, the Songling Brigade was still advancing with difficulty.
The Eighth Route Army that blocked him along the way was too cunning. They used sparrow warfare, guerrilla warfare, mine warfare...all the tactics that the captain could think of and those that he couldn't think of were used.
In order to reduce casualties, the price the troops paid was to continuously slow down their marching speed and not give the opponent an opportunity to take advantage of it.
"Your Excellency, Captain, something happened in Laishui County..."
The communications soldier suddenly caught up, handed over a telegram, and reported with a solemn expression.
"This is a farewell telegram sent by Binqi Brigade: It says that the strength of the independent regiment is not what it used to be. It is equipped with a large number of light and heavy machine guns and artillery, as well as a cavalry unit of two to three hundred people. It is very powerful. It is recommended that we retreat immediately.
After the headquarters gathered a large number of troops and fought back, they lost contact after receiving the telegram."
"Nani?" The captain was shocked.
Looking through the torch with a glance, his expression would change from solemn to angry.
He didn't know how many times he read it. Five minutes later, he gritted his teeth and ordered with a look of reluctance: "The troops should stop advancing and stay where they are."
"The reconnaissance force expanded the search area to prevent the independent group from taking the opportunity to sneak attack on us."
"With the Binqi Brigade finished, we will become the only imperial army unit in Laishui and have to guard against it."
"Immediately forward the farewell telegram from Binqi Brigade to the headquarters and request instructions for the next step in combat."
The second update is delivered today! Please vote for me! Please collect! Please subscribe!