"Is the loss of the army serious? How will it be after returning from absenteeism?" Li Hao asked immediately!
This battle is fought as a substitute for training. Winning is one thing, but training is equally important. We cannot neglect one at the expense of the other.
Hong Linfeng answered with understanding: "The casualties are not big, and they are completely within our acceptable range!"
"We had an absolute strength advantage in the entire battle, and we fought in the mountain warfare, guerrilla warfare, and night warfare that we are good at!"
"If the casualties cannot be controlled well, the battalion commanders will stop working!"
"The state of absenteeism is very good. We use the little devil as a whetstone and the purpose of power training is fully achieved!"
"When the troops came back, the nervousness during the attack could no longer be seen on Mao Gong's face. The morale of the entire unit was very high!"
"According to the three battalion commanders, if we fight a few more battles like this, the combat effectiveness of the troops will be completely restored!"
"Captain, we have wiped out all the little devils in the mountains. The troops have also been reorganized. The missing equipment has been replenished after this battle. Even the troops have regained some combat effectiveness. Do we want to rest for a day and start tomorrow night?"
Fight back to the base!"
"No! We won't go back for the time being!" Li Hao replied unexpectedly!
Hong Linfeng became anxious and subconsciously asked: "What about the base area?"
"According to the report from the political commissar, there are still five brigades of Japs left in the base area! If we go back now, we will definitely catch them off guard and greatly reduce the pressure on the troops left behind in the base area!"
Li Hao shook his head and analyzed: "It is indeed possible to catch the Japanese by surprise, but our fully-strengthened troops will definitely suffer heavy casualties, and it is possible that they will be maimed again!"
"Although the troops have regained some combat effectiveness, they are still far from fully achieving combat effectiveness."
"For those who have just joined the army, let them use the favorable terrain to fight guerrilla warfare against the Japanese!"
"But the little devils who stayed in Lingqiu will definitely not give us this chance!"
"According to the report from the political commissar, nearly two brigades of Japanese soldiers have established a blockade on the only way we can get out of the mountains and back to the base area!"
"With so many of our troops, if we want to return to our base, we will definitely have to fight a head-on positional battle with the Japanese on this blockade!"
"The little Japs are waiting for work at the blockade. Let's lead our troops to kill them. Even if we successfully break through the blockade, our troops will suffer heavy casualties!"
"This is not over yet. The soldiers in the base area are almost depleted. After we return, even if the troops suffer heavy casualties, it will be impossible to replenish them in a short time!"
"But our opponent will definitely not miss this opportunity to beat the drowned dog!"
"They will definitely follow us and rush into our base again. They will not stop until they eliminate us!"
"So if we fight back now, not only will we not be able to reduce the combat pressure on the political commissars, but we will also bring new disasters to the base area!"
Hong Linfeng frowned and asked: "Commander, even if we don't go back now, as long as the Japanese don't withdraw their troops, this disaster is inevitable, but it will happen sooner or later!"
Li Hao nodded and affirmed: "You are right, this disaster is indeed inevitable, but we can find ways to minimize the losses caused by this disaster to the base area!"
"Look at the map. The Japs have deployed nearly two brigades on the road we must pass. As long as we don't show up, these two brigades won't dare to move!"
"Compared with the few remaining troops in the base area, we are the real big fish in the eyes of the Japanese!"
"They can't lose the watermelon to pick up the sesame seeds!"
Hong Linfeng nodded in agreement: "I agree with this! If I were the Japanese commander, I would not touch these two brigades!"
Li Hao continued his analysis: "The two Japanese brigades were stationary, and the other three brigades were dragged by the two main regiments in the division! The only Japanese troops that entered our base area were two reinforced squadrons!"
"Although the remaining troops commanded by the political commissar suffered heavy casualties, after adding some guerrillas and local troops, they will still have no problem dealing with the two reinforced Japanese squadrons!"
"So as long as we don't show up in Lingqiu, the Japanese troops we need to face in the base area will only have two reinforced squadrons, and we can completely handle them!"
Hong Linfeng frowned and fell into deep thought!
After a few minutes, I had to admit: "Captain, your analysis is correct!"
"Rather than go back now and bring disaster to the soldiers and civilians in the base area, it is better not to go back and maintain the status quo in the base area!"
Then the conversation changed and he asked: "But we can't stay in the mountains forever and can't go back when we have a base!"
"Captain, please give me an accurate indication of when we will fight back. Hiding here all the time is not an option!"
Li Hao replied with a serious face: "We will go back when we have the strength to severely damage the two Japanese brigades!"
"When the time comes, use Thunder Strike to break through the blockade and severely damage the two brigades there, forcing them not to dare to enter the base area!"
Hong Linfeng was stunned, and it took him a long time to react, and asked hurriedly: "It won't take a long time!"
"If you want to severely damage the two Japanese brigades, the combat effectiveness of the troops must at least be restored to that before the counter-mopping up!"
"With the current combat effectiveness of the army, it will definitely not be possible within two or three months!"
"Then we have to hide in this mountain for two or three months. Isn't that too long?"
"And will the little Japs staying in Lingqiu wait and guarantee that they will stand still for such a long time?"
"If the Japanese deploy new troops to Lingqiu in the meantime, the balance in the base area will still be broken, and disaster will still befall the soldiers and civilians in the base area!"
"If such an accident really happens, when we return to the base area, it will be a question of whether the base area will still exist!"
Li Hao answered confidently: "Don't worry, it won't take that long!"
"Ten days, I guarantee that after ten days, we will have the strength to severely damage the two Japanese brigades!"
"Impossible!" Hong Linfeng was the first to not believe it!
In his eyes, the commander of the regiment is very powerful in commanding and fighting, but training troops is not fighting, and it cannot be accomplished overnight!
Li Hao was still as confident as ever and answered with certainty: "Chief of Staff, if you want to severely damage the two Japs brigades, strengthening the combat effectiveness of the troops is not the only way!"
"Ten days later, if I lead four thousand troops to fight back, and the combat effectiveness of the troops is still at the current level, do you think it is possible for us to severely damage the two Japanese brigades?"
Hong Linfeng fell into deep thought and affirmed after two minutes: "Twice the strength advantage, with proper command, we can definitely achieve it!"
"But where are we going to get four thousand troops?"
"Even if we use all the remaining absentees to replenish the troops, there will only be less than 2,500 people!"
Li Hao no longer concealed anything and directly spoke out what was in his mind!
"We don't have it in our hands, but the Japanese do!"
"Do you still remember the reconnaissance conducted by the commando team and the reconnaissance company a few days ago? In addition to the four coal mines we have captured, there is also a large coal mine with more than 2,000 workers inside!"
"If we rescue all these absentees, it will be easy to expand the army to 4,000 people!"
Seeing Hong Linfeng frowning and not speaking, Li Hao continued his analysis: "According to the investigation, the strength of the Japs in Datong was insufficient. Before our arrival, the Jinsui Army, the Japanese Army, and the Northwestern Shanxi Eighth Route Army could still maintain a balance.
situation!”
"But since we arrived, this balance is being broken bit by bit!"
"Especially after we killed five Japanese squadrons in the mountains, the situation has completely tilted towards our Chinese army!"
"This is the intelligence just sent back by the commando team and the reconnaissance company!"
"The Japanese army in Datong is seriously short of troops. Whether it is the Shanxi-Sui Army or the Eighth Route Army in Northwestern Shanxi, they have all noticed it and are moving troops to the front!"
"Once there is a loophole in the Japanese blockade, the two troops will pounce on them and give the Japanese a fatal blow!"
"So at this moment, even if there is a crisis in the rear, the little Japanese dare not rush to mobilize troops from the front!"
"Taking a step back, even if we mobilize troops, it will not exceed two squadrons, otherwise their defense line will be in danger!"
Hong Linfeng fully understood and shouted with a look of realization: "That's why the leader decided to stay temporarily and take the opportunity to seize this coal mine!"
"This opportunity must not be missed and will never come back again. This is a piece of fat that has been put on the lips. I, Li Hao, cannot let him slip away no matter what!" Li Hao affirmed!
"I agree!" Hong Linfeng also agreed!
The first thing Major General Noda did when he walked into the war room at the Japanese garrison headquarters in Datong every day was to ask if there was any situation on the blockade last night!
Almost all of his troops left in the mountains were wiped out. For this matter, Major General Noda locked himself in his office and thought about it for a whole day, and finally decided to continue to wait on the blockade, waiting for the Eighth Route Army hiding in the mountains to surrender.
!
Because he found that he had underestimated the enemy!
Until now, I have not really figured out the true strength of the Eighth Route Army in the mountains!
All the intelligence about this Eighth Route Army is the judgment made by the frontline combat troops based on the battle between the two sides. No one has seen this army with their own eyes, and they don’t know how many people they have and what their equipment level is!
Under such circumstances, if the troops continue to attack rashly, there will only be one result: repeating the same mistakes!
But one thing Major General Noda can be sure of is that besides coming from northwestern Shanxi, he can’t think of any other origin for this Eighth Route Army!
Although he didn't understand when the Northwest Shanxi Eighth Route Army, which he had been suppressing and beating, would emerge with such an elite force, this judgment still convinced him!
After thinking about all this in one day, Major General Noda decisively decided to continue to wait and see!
The day passed quickly, and everything was calm on the blockade!
The Eighth Route Army hiding in the mountains seemed to be missing, with no news at all!
In the Eighth Route Army base area in northwestern Shanxi, although there are several regiments of troops lurking near the blockade, they are eyeing the blockade and are ready to pounce at any time!
But because no troops were mobilized along the blockade and no loopholes were exposed, the Eighth Route Army remained stationary!
"Jingle Bell!"
At eight o'clock in the evening, Major General Noda, who had been busy all day, was just about to leave when the phone rang!
When he reached the door, Major General Noda stepped back decisively and stared at the combat staff who was answering the phone without blinking!
When he saw him put down the phone, he hurriedly asked: "Is there any news about the Eighth Route Army hiding in the mountains?"
"No!" the combat staff member shook his head and replied!
Then he walked quickly to the sand table, pointed to a point with the Imperial Army flag on it, and reported: "The coal mine was attacked by the Eighth Route Army, right here!"
The chief of staff frowned and reported: "General, this coal mine is a large coal mine controlled by the empire!"
"There is a garrison of a strengthened squadron of the Imperial Army inside, as well as a convoy formed by the coal mine itself. The total strength is nearly 500 people. They are equipped with mortars and heavy machine guns. The firepower is very powerful!"
"How many absentees are there in the coal mine? How many people from the Eighth Route Army are attacking them!" Major General Noda asked anxiously!
The lessons learned from past mistakes forced him to take precautions!
If these absentees are also rescued by the Eighth Route Army, then there will definitely be more and more armed absentees on the Datong battlefield to fight against the imperial army!
When he thought that the imperial army would have a large number of enemies in Datong, Major General Noda's back began to feel cold!