On the road connecting Laiyuan and Lingqiu, a troop held torches, like a fire dragon, and slowly advanced along the winding road in the direction of Lingqiu.
They were a garrison regiment that had just withdrawn from the battlefield.
During the more than 3,800 days of puppet troops, except for more than 500 puppet troops who surrendered, all others were killed, including the regiment commander Takahashi.
The garrison also paid a heavy price, especially the troops attacking the south of the city.
It took two rounds of eight shells from the Japanese heavy artillery brigade, and half of the infantry company was wiped out on the spot.
In the endless queue as far as the eye could see, some were carrying the wounded, and some were carrying weapons and ammunition that had just been captured.
There were more than a hundred carts sandwiched in the middle of the team. Most of the carts contained the weapons and ammunition that had just been captured, with the exception of one third, which contained the remains of fallen soldiers.
Japanese reinforcements may arrive on the battlefield at any time. Not only will it be too late to bury the bodies of the fallen soldiers on the spot, but they will also be sorry for them.
Li Hao made a decisive decision to retreat with them and bury them together after returning to Lingqiu. He held a grand funeral for them so that they could go on the road with the honor that a soldier should have, and at the same time, it could also boost military morale and morale.
"Captain, the losses have been calculated." Hong Linfeng caught up with Li Hao and reported.
"Nearly 3,000 of our people participated in the battle, and now there are 2,136 people left, including 125 seriously injured people, and 865 people died directly..."
The battalion commanders who were beaming with joy a minute ago because they had won the battle suddenly stopped talking, showing expressions of heartache.
Those sacrificed soldiers were all their subordinates. Yesterday they appeared alive in front of them, but now they have turned into corpses.
My throat felt like it was blocked by something and I couldn't say a word.
Li Hao's expression became solemn again, and he stared at the chief of staff and asked.
"Have the casualties of the Second Battalion, Third Battalion, and Independent Battalion been calculated?"
Hong Linfeng nodded: "More than half of them were injured."
"The Second Battalion suffered a direct loss of 398 people, and 352 of them died."
"The third battalion lost 429 people, including 377 direct sacrifices; the independent battalion lost 458 people, including 392 direct sacrifices."
"This means that our direct losses from the beginning of the counter-mopping up to now have exceeded 2,000 people!" Li Hao's face became more solemn.
Seeing Hong Linfeng nod, Li Hao sighed and said: "Chief of Staff, the loss of the troops is greater than I thought. One-third of the main force has been lost."
"Judging from the casualty ratio alone, we won. One soldier killed at least three little Japs."
"But the total strength of the Japanese army is several times greater than ours. Even if one of our soldiers kills three of them, the Japanese army will only lose a quarter of its total strength, while we will lose one-third. The remaining strength of the Japanese army will be
From the four-fold advantage at the beginning to the five-fold advantage now, the disparity in military strength has further widened."
"From this point of view, we lost."
"If the Japanese army does not withdraw its troops, the garrison will definitely face increasing operational pressure."
Hong Linfeng also flashed a look of solemnity: "Captain, there is at least a 60% chance that the Japanese will continue to attack us."
"The more than 6,000 Japanese puppet troops in the direction of the first battalion have not moved and are ready to enter the base area and attack us at any time."
"The two groups of Japanese and puppet troops that have just arrived at Laiyuan City are equally strong in strength."
"There are more than 4,000 Japanese puppet troops in the reinforcements along the way. There are nearly 5,000 reinforcements along the way. The total number of reinforcements is more than 16,000. The total force is indeed more than four times ours, almost five times the strength advantage.
."
"Weapons are also superior."
"Two tank squadrons, two heavy artillery brigades, as well as a large number of mountain artillery and mortars, their artillery firepower still far exceeds ours."
"If I were a little devil commander, I would definitely not retreat."
Li Hao thought for a moment and analyzed: "There is one more thing."
"The Japanese have just occupied Laiyuan City. If I were the little Japanese commander, I would definitely change the way of attack, move troops to Laiyuan City, use Laiyuan City as an advance base, and continue to attack and sweep us away."
Hong Linfeng's frown deepened: "Captain, we must not sit still and wait for death."
"The main force has dropped sharply from 6,000 to 4,000, and the real combat force may only have 3,000."
"If the Japanese army continues to attack, these troops will definitely not be able to withstand it."
"I suggest that the county brigade and the district squadron be transferred to supplement the troops to ensure that the main force is fully staffed."
Li Hao shook his head and refused: "They can't move."
"Now the Japanese army is attacking us, and the battlefield is in the base area. We must not only fight the Japanese and repel them, but also protect the safety of the people in the base area anytime and anywhere."
"The main force is responsible for combat operations. The important task of protecting the safety of ordinary people can only rely on local troops and guerrillas, and local troops are the main force."
"So the importance of local forces in this counter-mopping up is no less important than that of the main force."
"If local troops are drawn away in large numbers and the civilian population suffers heavy casualties, no matter how many battles the main force fights and wins, it will not help."
This is just one of the reasons.
Li Hao had another reason in his mind, but he couldn't say it out loud.
The battle in front of us is just a trigger for the Hundred Regiment War. After the real Hundred Regiment War begins, there will be countless tough and vicious battles waiting for the garrison to fight.
Local troops are the only reserve troops of the garrison. If they are used before the Hundred Regiment War has begun, when the real tough battle comes, the garrison will have no troops available.
Now that the Hundred Regiments War has not started yet, these ideas are all based on the analysis of the historical process in my mind.
So this reason can only be buried deep in Li Hao's heart.
But Li Hao believed that the first reason was enough to convince the chief of staff.
Sure enough, as soon as he said his reason, Hong Linfeng became anxious: "What should we do?"
"As far as I know, many main companies have been wiped out. They have equipment but no personnel."
"If those shortcomings are not filled as soon as possible, the troops will not be able to fight. When the Japanese come over again, we will have no troops available."
Li Hao thought for a long time and made a decision: "Reduce the troop establishment."
"Before the war, each main battalion had three main companies, a guard company, an artillery company, and a recruit company."
"Now they are all compressed into three main companies, one guard platoon, and one artillery company."
"Each company is directly under the fire platoon, and each battalion is directly under the artillery company. Half of the soldiers there are ammunition handlers. Now they are all streamlined."
"Without affecting the use and transportation of equipment, all the extra ammunition hands will supplement the infantry."
"Their original transportation tasks are all distributed to the infantry, and every effort is made to ensure that each infantry squad of the combat force has ten soldiers, and each main company can fight independently."
Hong Linfeng did not answer immediately. He frowned and thought for two minutes before replying: "With ten people in each infantry squad, plus the necessary machine gunners, gunners, and grenade launchers, the total strength of each infantry company can be controlled to one
Within a hundred and fifty people, a battalion has more than 500 people, which is more than 300 fewer than before?"
"The total of the six main battalions requires more than 3,000 people. Now there are still 4,000 people in the main force. Minus the artillery battalion, cavalry battalion, and air defense battalion, the difference is not much."
Li Hao said: "If there are still vacancies in the combat troops, we can directly transfer people from the regiment headquarters and logistics agencies."
"While ensuring the normal operation of the regiment headquarters, it should be no problem to draw out two to three hundred people."
Hong Linfeng nodded in approval and said: "Captain, I will make arrangements now."
"Laiyuan City has been occupied by the Japanese, and a new round of attack may be launched at any time. The sooner the troops are reorganized, the more confident they will be in the face of a new round of Japanese attack."
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