Bright Sword: From Soldier to Brigade Commander

"A strong attack is wrong. This was the mistake made by General Nogi Maresuke back then. Only a slow attack and blockade are appropriate. The real intention is to use bombing and harassment to force the enemy to break through, and then destroy them in battle and pursuit!"

"Trenching is certainly effective, but it's also a purely brute force tactic. It's not the right time to mobilize the 155mm howitzers and 280mm heavy siege guns!"

As the most outstanding Confucian general in the Japanese army that invaded China, Okamura Yasuji was insidious and cunning, and he hit the nail on the head and made the most correct tactical layout.

Moreover, he announced that the news should be spread outside, saying that the Japanese army had destroyed Su Fei's army and killed Su Fei. At present, a small number of troops were left to clean up the battlefield, and most of the troops had withdrawn.

The main force of the 21st Division, the entire 33rd Division, and the two independent mixed brigades evacuated in batches, making a big fuss about it. They kept boasting about their achievements in newspapers and on the way of retreat, engaging in an intense intelligence and public opinion war.

It seemed that the Japanese executive officers had deceived him and he had already ordered a withdrawal.

This information is false intelligence to confuse the opponent.

Before leaving, General Okamura Yasuji inspected an infantry regiment left behind in the east and had a secret conversation with Lieutenant General Nagazu Saki, who reinforced him with a cavalry regiment of the puppet Manchukuo army, a Japanese cavalry battalion of more than 350 people, an armored squadron, 12 tanks and 8 armored vehicles, and 40 armed armored trucks. In the future, these trucks, tanks and armored vehicles will all be powerful weapons for rapid pursuit.

Half of the personnel in the independent mixed brigade in the west were withdrawn.

The remaining 3000-plus people were also reinforced with cavalry and armored vehicles.

A special telephone line was also laid between the two troops to make up for the shortage of telegraph services.

After making the arrangements, Okamura Neiji left by plane.

Looking at the soft and white clouds passing by outside the window, Okamura Neiji pursed his lips and smiled contemptuously.

"Sun Wukong cannot escape from the palm of Tathagata Buddha's hand. Su Fei, the fierce tiger of the Chinese army, is nothing but a dying cat!"

However, when he looked through the battle report submitted by Lieutenant General Nagatsu Saki, he became embarrassed again.

It was torn to pieces.

"Shame, shame for the North China Front Army! A hundred thousand strong army, coupled with aerial bombardment, poison gas bombs, and 105mm howitzer batteries, could not actually destroy a Chinese division of more than 5000 men. They lost 6200 men themselves, and the Imperial Army and Manchukuo Army lost nearly 2000 men. Stupid, incredibly stupid!"

"Su Fei is indeed a tough guy. No wonder the 110th Division was defeated!"

After setting up control near Baishishan, Okamura Yasuji also ordered the evacuated troops to carry out a large-scale mopping-up operation against the Eighth Route Army guerrillas and the Kuomintang guerrillas and regular troops within a radius of hundreds of kilometers.

Iron wall encirclement!

The purpose is to completely destroy the strength of the Chinese military and civilians around Baishi Mountain and cut off the wings and foundation of Su Fei's troops.

In this area, there should be many Chinese troops rushing here after hearing the news, attacking the Japanese army from the flank and moving closer to Su Fei's troops. Then, these are all interests in the encirclement war.

Surround the place to call for help!

Bone-turning cotton palm!

hum.

It's no wonder that Okamura Yasuji, the cunning old devil, reaped a rich harvest. Two Japanese divisions, plus the main forces of two independent mixed brigades, used an iron wall to encircle a large number of Eighth Route Army troops, guerrillas, and some Nationalist troops. They repeatedly strangled them, using round-the-clock warfare and sweeping tactics, killing tens of thousands of Chinese soldiers and civilians fighting in the war of resistance, including some elite troops.

……

On the battlefield, amidst the bitter smell of gunpowder smoke, Su Fei observed the enemy situation. Apart from the corpses of Japanese and puppet soldiers all over the ground, there was not a single living Japanese and puppet soldier.

In the depth of the telescope lens, there are only traces of various Japanese troops stationed.

The enemy retreated?

impossible?

It can conduct repeated reconnaissance and can only see the enemy's shadow from 5,000 meters away.

Immediately send soldiers out of the trenches to conduct reconnaissance.

There are indeed no enemies within 5,000 meters.

Careful scouts checked trenches and bushes, behind rocks, caves, etc. where the enemy might be hiding.

While observing, suddenly, there was a roar of artillery fire in the distance, woooo, bang, bang, bang. Several 75mm mountain artillery shells fell on the position, exploding into clouds of smoke and dust. The loose soil burned by the war flew dozens of meters away and lingered.

What are the Japanese troops doing?

Su Fei has been observing and studying.

The enemy did not attack, so the officers and soldiers were allowed to rest. In the past few days, the officers and soldiers were under great mental pressure and were very tired.

A few hours later, Su Fei confirmed that the Japanese artillery bombardment had no precise target, it was just a harassment tactic and a psychological warfare!

Undermine the fighting spirit of Su Fei's army and force them to leave their positions.

This situation lasted for a day.

The scouts were also attacked by Japanese artillery fire and suffered casualties.

The next day, Su Fei learned from the Eighth Route Army radio channel that the main force of the Japanese army had withdrawn and was conducting a large-scale mopping-up operation in the surrounding area. It turned out that the troops and guerrillas who came to reinforce Su Fei were fighting fiercely with the Japanese army.

Su Fei had to figure out all the intentions of the Japanese army at once, but he believed that the enemy would not retreat so cleanly.

Therefore, he would not even consider breaking out.

Since the enemy has withdrawn its main force, there are not many people left. Should we take the opportunity to eliminate them?

Hold meetings with officers to unify ideas, determine tactics, and organize combat resources.

There are still 3800 officers and soldiers with combat capabilities.

Continuous fighting resulted in the deaths of more than 600 men and the injuries of more than 900, necessitating a re-planning of the troops.

Originally, Su Fei thought that the enemy would continue to attack, and his troops would fight to the end and sacrifice their lives for the country. Now, he let the main force rest and formed a small force to prepare for a night battle.

However, the enemy's artillery fire was a major problem. The constant disruption caused great annoyance to the officers and soldiers of Su Fei's unit, and put them under great mental stress.

Even a small number of reconnaissance personnel will be hunted down by enemy fire!

The Japanese artillery fire must be cleared first!

The problem is that after careful observation, it was discovered that the enemy's artillery fire was extremely far away, far exceeding the maximum strike range of Su Fei's artillery.

Su Fei Troops:

Among the mountain guns is the Type 41 75mm mountain gun, with a maximum range of 6300 meters.

There are also several Type 94 mountain guns with a maximum range of 8300 meters.

The Japanese field artillery captured in Wanxian City had a longer range, but it was too heavy and was not brought back after being buried.

Currently, the Japanese army is using the 38-year modified 75mm field gun, which has a range of meters. The 38-year type 105mm field gun also has a range of meters.

The Japanese army took advantage of the range of their artillery to unilaterally attack Su Fei's troops, firmly grasping the initiative.

After many observations, we were able to confirm the basic location of the Japanese artillery positions. Unfortunately, they were all more than 9000 meters away. To seize the initiative and kill the enemy, there are two ways. First, we must first clear the enemy's infantry defense line, and then sneak up on the Japanese artillery positions. Second, we must directly pull the artillery fire to the front-line positions, bring the enemy artillery positions into the attack range, and launch a fire raid.

After careful consideration, Su Fei and the officers decided to first open a passage and crush the enemy's infantry blocking the way.