Bright Sword: From Soldier to Brigade Commander

The Japanese army began to attack.

This time the intelligence came from multiple channels.

The Japanese 110th Division, two infantry brigades, and the division headquarters' directly subordinate troops attacked from three directions.

To the northeast, there was an infantry regiment of the 21st Division as reinforcement.

In the south, part of the 7th Independent Mixed Brigade served as the outer blockade force.

The Japanese military's code name for the operation was: Český.

Su Fei's own cavalry patrol and reconnaissance unit saw some signs, and the intelligence personnel and troops of the Third Division of the Eighth Route Army's Hebei-Central Base Area also received intelligence, which was passed on by Commander Xing Zhiguo. On the Kuomintang side, some secret intelligence personnel also obtained top-secret intelligence.

However, this information was only a rough outline, and the Japanese army maintained extremely strict confidentiality, so our intelligence personnel were unable to obtain absolute details of the operation.

This is enough.

Troops are approaching!

Originally, these Japanese troops were conducting a large-scale sweep of the Eighth Route Army. Suddenly, a Nationalist army appeared and conquered Tang County twice, inflicting heavy damage on the Japanese army, which made the Japanese army furious. After reconnaissance revealed that the commander of the Nationalist army was Su Fei, Okamura Yasuji was furious and vowed to annihilate these Nationalist troops and capture Su Fei alive.

Su Fei immediately reported to Commander Zu, hoping that he would dispatch other troops and communicate with other national army troops to cooperate in the battle.

Unexpectedly, Commander Zu complained to Su Fei on the phone that his actions were too arrogant. Look, now the retribution has come, right?

His plan was to strike at the Japanese and gain military merit while keeping a low profile and not attracting their attention, maintaining a perfect balance.

After complaining for a while, he also quickly contacted his superiors and called on other national troops to reinforce and contain the Japanese army.

Through the Eighth Route Army Xing Zhiguo's troops, he requested that the Eighth Route Army troops in Hebei Province could also effectively block the Japanese troops, flank the enemy, and reduce the pressure on his own troops.

Xing Zhiguo acted quickly and responded immediately, saying that the Eighth Route Army had mobilized troops to stop the enemy.

Su Fei ordered that the fortifications in Shahe Town and the adjacent hilly areas must be stopped immediately and put on alert, leaving behind a regiment of regular troops, 1500 men, to hold the position. He proposed defensive tactics, plans, targets, etc., demanding strict defense and holding the position to the end no matter what the Japanese army did.

Even in the most severe situation, we must guard for ten days.

Ten days later, you can choose an opportunity to break out.

In order to show his importance, Su Fei asked Commander Zu's sister, Miss Fang Lin, to serve as the supervisory officer, leading a group of female soldiers, a 50-person supervisory team.

Commander Zu’s sister is here, and my division commander’s fiancée is here. You can be sure that I will never abandon you!

Give these people reassurance.

A battalion of 500 troops conducted mobile warfare in the surrounding area, divided into small groups. Each group consisted of a platoon, led by a platoon leader. All troops, disguised in plain clothes, harassed the enemy, preventing the enemy's main force from launching a full-scale attack on our army's positions in Shahe Town. Their main task was to carry out decapitation operations against weak links and key troops and positions such as the Japanese rear command post, artillery, and logistics.

Therefore, this battalion has the highest combat difficulty.

The battalion commander was Duan Peng, who had returned from the small mountain village where they were recuperating with the guard cavalry platoon.

This battalion is his division's special forces battalion. The special forces battalion has undergone a special reorganization and the mission has been announced. Anyone who does not want to participate can withdraw. The army will not punish or discriminate. It must proceed from the actual situation.

With this selection, half of the people quit directly!

Only when facing war can a person's psychological quality and political literacy be fully demonstrated.

Enthusiastic young people were mobilized and recruited from other troops to make up the total number.

This special forces camp also mobilized and recruited some young people from the surrounding villages within dozens of miles to serve as guides and gave them monetary rewards.

Su Fei gathered Duan Peng and all officers above the squad leader level, emphasizing the key features and combat characteristics of the special forces battalion. In short, they simulated the Japanese Yamamoto Ikki Special Forces. Our equipment, personnel, and combat skills were slightly inferior to those of the Japanese. We couldn't fight head-on, so we had to combine conventional warfare with special operations.

Still using the old method, Su Fei announced that he would give the special forces battalion a generous reward after the war.

If you want money, I will give you money; if you want vacation, I will give you vacation; if you want a woman, I will find you a new wife!

The ideological and political work of the National Army is not good, so we can only provide treatment!

It is particularly emphasized that the combat of the special forces battalion is the highlight of the entire battle. If they fight well, the overall battle can be won.

"Listen, stay alive and kill at least ten Japs!"

After Su Fei finished speaking, the officers and soldiers of the special forces battalion all laughed.

impossible.

However, someone quickly stood up and said, "Why not? We did that last time in Tang County. We launched a surprise attack with over 50 people in the city and killed all the Japanese headquarters, artillery, warehouses, and logistics, as well as many traitors!"

He was a veteran who participated in the Battle of Tang County.

They also proved that Su Fei really kept his word and used the division's money to find some women for them. Although half of them were widows, as soldiers, we were already grateful to have a woman.

Their words immediately aroused the emotions of the officers and soldiers of the entire battalion.

Very good. Su Fei asked Duan Peng to preside over the meeting and let these veterans share their experiences. In addition, he tried to distribute these grassroots officers as widely as possible so that they could pass on their experiences to each other.

Su Fei led the main force out of Shahe Town to fight against the Japanese 110th Division.

Leading two regiments, about 3000 people.

The First Regiment was the main force among the main forces. It was originally led by Su Fei and was extremely well-equipped. After being fully supplemented with 1500 people, it had 5 mountain cannons, 4 infantry cannons, machine guns and anti-tank guns, more than 20 mortars, 60 machine guns, 50 grenade launchers, and all rifles were made in Japan.

The third regiment is a supplementary regiment and a baggage train. Its weapons and equipment are average and it only needs to be able to protect itself.

Even so, they had 4 mortars, 2 machine guns, 15 light machine guns, and 600 rifles.

The division's directly affiliated troops also include a cavalry company, an engineering platoon, medical personnel, and more than 300 others.

Su Fei was full of confidence in winning.

He had already calculated that although the Japanese army was aggressive and had a large number of troops, more than 20,000 in total, the National Army under Commander Zu had more than 10,000 troops, and there were also many Eighth Route Army and National Army troops cooperating around. Apart from anything else, they were still capable of making the Japanese dizzy along the way.

The number of troops that the Japanese army can actually deploy to the main battlefield does not exceed 10,000!

The key to victory or defeat is only three to five thousand people!

The Japanese army had many advantages, such as better living conditions for soldiers than the National Army, much stronger physical fitness, strong skills and tactics, and sufficient ammunition. However, it also had many weaknesses.

Su Fei believed that as long as one Japanese infantry regiment was annihilated, the Japanese attack would fail and they would have to retreat!

The Japanese army was obviously complacent and careless!

They will overestimate their strength and underestimate the combat effectiveness of Su Fei's troops!

The Japanese army has always liked to lie about military intelligence, exaggerate battle achievements and reduce losses. Su Fei's previous combat results must have been greatly reduced in the eyes of the Japanese army.

In the eyes of the Japanese army, it must be that the large army attacked in a coordinated manner, surrounding Su Fei's troops in Shahe Town. After heavy firepower coverage, the infantry charged, and Su Fei's troops were left with only a few left, and they raised the white flag to surrender!

The Japanese army would never have thought that Su Fei's troops, a semi-ragtag national army unit, an incomplete army, would dare to take the initiative to attack the siege of a Japanese division and two regiments.

Ha ha.

Winning by surprise!

Su Fei planned to use the main force of his troops to ambush the Japanese 110th Division and inflict heavy damage on the enemy.

Mobile warfare tactics.

The reason why Su Fei left the Eighth Route Army was because the Eighth Route Army's military policy was based on guerrilla warfare, which was correct. The Eighth Route Army's equipment was too poor and it was simply unable to confront the enemy's large frontal forces.

After the Nationalist government stopped supplying military pay and ammunition, and after the Japanese army learned of this and destroyed their weapons every time they were defeated, the Eighth Route Army became extremely short of weapons and ammunition.

Su Fei liked the equipment of the National Army, which was an order of magnitude higher than that of the Eighth Route Army, especially the rifle bullets, which this half-Central Army unit had enough of.

The regular army of the National Army must fight regular wars.

Only by defeating the Japanese with conventional warfare can we make them convinced, instead of letting them suffer grievances for decades and still be stubborn.

The troops were marching and mobilizing at the same time. Su Fei's experience of life in the modern army enabled him to skillfully organize dozens of propaganda and agitation teams, which constantly agitated the officers and soldiers with songs, allegro, and doggerel, which were simple, easy to do, and well-received.

He boasted about his military achievements, told the exciting details of the two Tangxian battles, and analyzed the weaknesses of the Japanese army and our army's tactics.

We also have the responsibility of our people to fight the war.

Let every soldier know.

Some officers and soldiers laughed: "Why does it sound like the routine of the Eighth Route Army?"

However, I felt energized after listening to it.

The propaganda team began to preach the various tragedies and atrocities committed by the Japanese army in our country, and their vivid and moving narration immediately aroused strong indignation among the officers and soldiers.

Some timid soldiers who wanted to desert were angry and shed tears.

"That's what the Japs do. They're not human, they're beasts! I'm going to fight them!"

Hate propaganda is one of Su Fei's key concerns. He personally plans the content and also asks some female soldiers to give speeches.

It quickly resonated with the officers and soldiers, turning kindness into courage and righteousness!

These fill the weak links of the troops...

20 miles east of Tanghe River, facing Wanxian County, Su Fei set up an ambush position.

Because this area is a place that the Japanese army must pass through according to their estimates and intelligence.

The Japanese army stockpiled a large number of troops and supplies in Wanxian City, which was said to be the headquarters of the 110th Division. Here and around it were stationed the Japanese Army's 110th Cavalry Battalion, 110th Field Artillery Regiment, 110th Engineer Regiment, 110th Quartermaster Regiment, Communications Team, Medical Team, Military Medical Hospital, etc.

To capture the thief and his leader, the focus of the strike operation, the first battle should be to deal a heavy blow to the Japanese division headquarters and its direct troops!

Of course, Su Fei and the officers had already discussed the situation here.

Their strength was their field artillery regiment, which had dozens of cannons.

As a branch of the 10th Division, a Type A division, the 110th Division, composed of reserve officers, was originally a four-unit (four infantry regiments) packhorse division with one field artillery battalion, 12 75mm field guns, and three artillery battalions of 12 mountain guns, totaling 12 field guns and 36 mountain guns.

Since the fighting in North China was mainly a security war, the Japanese army weakened the artillery of the 110th Division, subtracted the field artillery battalion, and only had 3 mountain artillery battalions and 36 mountain cannons.

This made Su Fei salivate.

This is why he first attacked the enemy division's direct troops.

By taking these cannons, the Japanese army's confidence would be destroyed and victory would be guaranteed.

Also, the enemy's infantry is weak.

The cavalry battalion had only more than 350 people, and the engineering regiment had only a thousand people, with very weak combat effectiveness. There were many people in the logistics regiment who built fortifications and bridges, and their number was comparable to that of the infantry regiment. However, they were mainly responsible for transporting supplies with their families, and their combat effectiveness was completely incomparable to that of the infantry regiment. In particular, after the start of the Pacific War, a large number of veteran and elite Japanese soldiers were transferred to small islands overseas, and the number of new recruits who came in was much worse.

Moreover, although the mobility of the Japanese artillery is not too weak, once separated from the infantry, they become a group of clumsy herbivores that can be eaten alive by wolves!

A battalion of the 1st Regiment was deployed at the first ambush position.

Very strong in combat.

25 light machine guns, 25 grenade launchers, about 500 mines, and 8 machine guns were all placed here.

Keep out of the way and hide on both sides of the road 300 meters away.

Their mission was to let go of the enemy's vanguard and reconnaissance cavalry, wait for the main force of the Japanese army to pass by, and then launch a surprise attack, using intensive firepower to kill a large number of Japanese troops, such as cavalry battalions, artillery soldiers, and baggage soldiers.

There are many bushes on the south side and a large river ditch. The ambush troops dug individual pits to fully hide.

The 400 people on the south side fired fully, and when the Japanese army turned around to besiege them, the 100 people on the north line launched a surprise attack.

After inflicting heavy damage on the enemy, retreat quickly to the west to lure the enemy into pursuit.

An ambush position was set up every five miles.

A battalion of 500 people from the Third Regiment was deployed at each position.

The mission of these troops is to support the evacuation of the ambush troops, launch a surprise attack on the enemy, and kill or injure some of the enemy.

The Japanese troops were in good physical condition, while the Nationalist troops were less well-nourished. With a evacuation speed of 5 miles, they could probably be caught by the enemy.

With layer upon layer of surprise attacks and ambushes, we could thoroughly infuriate the enemy and lure them to the Tang River. Once the enemy reached within five miles of the river, all our forces would launch a counterattack. Therefore, on the final line of defense, we had to dig numerous trenches to directly block the roads and serve as a basis for protracted warfare.

A large number of trenches and communication trenches, anti-artillery holes and mines were dug here.

The national army also had landmines.

Feeling that the mines were not enough, some blasting tubes, explosive packs, etc. were buried on the road, with grenades fixed in the middle and long lines laid out.

There were also two battalions of the first regiment, 1000 elite soldiers, led by Su Fei himself, hiding more than 1500 meters on the north and south sides of the first ambush site.

After the main force of the Japanese army was enraged, they pursued westward and at least entered the third ambush line. The distance was completely widened, and the remaining troops became much weaker. They should be the division headquarters, artillery units, and a few logistics troops.

The troops led by Su Fei must wipe out the enemy in one fell swoop!

Black Tiger takes out his heart!