Bright Sword: From Soldier to Brigade Commander

On the north bank of the Sanggan River, Su Fei's cavalry launched a rapid attack. Now, his original 400 cavalrymen, plus the captured and converted Imperial Army and the recruited anti-Japanese armed civilians, totaled more than a thousand people, all cavalrymen, and there were more than 300 extra horses to transport ammunition, supplies, and dry food.

"Commander, what is our mission?" asked a newly joined soldier.

Before Su Fei could answer, an officer rushed to solve the problem: "Brother, our commander's intention is to strengthen the combat effectiveness of the Sixth Group Army of the Jinsui Army's Southern Route Army and the Independent Cavalry Corps. At the same time, we must eliminate the small and medium-sized strongholds of the Japanese and puppet troops in Jin-Cha-Ji, especially in the southern Chahar region, and accumulate small victories into big ones to shake the foundation of the Japanese and puppet troops. Another thing is to capture and requisition a large number of war horses to supplement the shortage of animal power and ammunition for our cavalry."

Su Fei repeatedly told the officers these strategic and tactical goals.

Yes, Su Fei's expedition was an exploratory action. It did not occupy or recover any territory or towns. It was mainly for military training. As for the cavalry, it would make long-distance raids, and give full play to the coordination of artillery and cavalry, and the power of automatic rifles and grenade launchers!

We also need to plunder war horses and ammunition.

Therefore, they adopted the tactics of mobile warfare and guerrilla warfare, moving in an erratic manner, eliminating a group of enemies and then leaving immediately.

Don't let the enemy know their whereabouts.

Do not collide with the enemy's main force.

To the west is Datong, the capital of the Yanbei puppet organization of the Japanese puppet army. To the north is Zhangyuan, the capital of Chahar of the Japanese army, namely Zhangjiakou Town. The enemy troops were heavily stationed with strong fortifications and a dense blockade network. Su Fei bypassed them and the troops continued to move eastward.

50 miles northeast of Yangyuan City, Su Fei's army was blocked by the Japanese army's old rival.

26st Division.

After reorganization and training, the defeated Japanese division quickly recovered its strength. A cavalry battalion of more than 350 people, plus three infantry companies of mechanized infantry, suddenly appeared on the field ahead.

Major Tokugawa Yoshifuru, commander of the Japanese cavalry battalion, also served as commander of the first rapid detachment.

All three infantry squadrons were in trucks, totaling 35 trucks, plus two armored truck teams, totaling 570 people. The unit commander, Major Kazukiyo Fujita, served as the commander of the Second Rapid Reaction Force.

Faced with the crazy ghost army that appeared here, the new commander of the 26th Division of the Japanese Army, General Ishida Nakamura, was panicked and didn't know what to do. He had never encountered such a situation before.

An unknown group of troops was rampaging in his jurisdiction. Wherever they passed, all the bunkers and strongholds of the 26th Division and the security forces were destroyed, and all the supplies were looted. This showed that the enemy's combat effectiveness was extremely strong, with powerful field combat capabilities, mobility, and attack capabilities, and the number of people was neither too many nor too few. What kind of troops was this?

do not know!

In just 7 days, more than 50 Japanese strongholds, including several county towns, were destroyed over hundreds of miles of land. More than 3000 Japanese soldiers were killed or missing. The Imperial Army and the puppet Mengjiang troops lost more than 4000 people respectively. Corpses were scattered everywhere, and the bunkers and strongholds were burned and demolished, turning the area into a scorched earth zone.

He urgently asked for help from other troops and also contacted the Japanese troops in Datong and Zhangyuan by phone. No one knew where this unit came from, because no one knew at all.

In desperation, Lieutenant General Ishida could only send a large number of troops to attack separately to search for the enemy, and also asked the troops from Chahar Province to search.

The situation also alarmed the commander of the North China Expeditionary Army, General Okamura Yasuji, who made special arrangements.

The Japanese army decided to mobilize a large number of troops to encircle and intercept these ghost troops and make sure to eliminate them.

"Enemy, enemy!" Major Tokugawa was the first to receive the good news.

He quickly used the walkie-talkie to inform Major Kazukiyo Fujita.

More than 300 cavalrymen and nearly 40 trucks quickly rushed towards Su Fei's army.

With a force of more than 900 people, a cavalry brigade with amazing assault power, and a truck unit, the Japanese army had a total of 9 mortars, 4 heavy machine guns, 27 light machine guns, 24 grenade launchers, and 4 machine guns, with very strong firepower.

Because it was a fast-moving mobile force, it did not carry bulky infantry guns and mountain guns.

……

After discovering the Japanese troops, Su Fei ordered the troops to retreat!

Do not engage in battle with large enemy forces and do not engage with the enemy for too long.

They raid long distances, move back and forth quickly, hit the target with one strike, and never get surrounded.

During the retreat, Su Fei noticed that the Japanese cavalry was pursuing them very fiercely, at a distance of about 3000 meters. The Japanese truck troops were also pursuing them at a very fast speed along the wasteland north of the Sanggan River.

After assessing the number of Japanese cavalry and truck units, Su Fei's troops continued to retreat.

I thought I could just chase the enemy for a while, but who knew that the enemy would hold on to me and not let go!

The distance also quickly decreased to 2000 meters.

At this time, continuing to retreat westward, retreat northward, retreat southward, or to fight head-on became a major problem.

Su Fei was not sure whether the enemy truck troops carried mountain artillery, infantry artillery, or even field howitzers. Therefore, he could not make up his mind to confront the enemy head-on. To the north, there seemed to be Japanese reconnaissance troops, and to the west, there were also Japanese reconnaissance cavalry. So, after thinking about it, Su Fei ordered the entire army to move south and cross the Sanggan River.

In the cold season and dry season, a large number of riverbeds dried up, with only a small amount of water surface. Under the guidance of the guide, more than a thousand Su Fei cavalrymen quickly crossed the Sanggan River and retreated along the south bank. At the same time, the troops were divided into three groups!

The fire support battalion has all the artillery, all the grenade launchers, and all the grenade launchers.

The baggage camp carries ammunition, dry food, supplies, etc.

Rifle assault battalion, all equipped with assault rifles.

The three battalions mixed veterans, new recruits, and captured soldiers in a certain proportion, so that they could learn from and restrain each other during battle to ensure the stability of the troops.

The Japanese army also crossed the river.

Under the leadership of Major Tokugawa Yoshifuru, the cavalry brigade of more than 300 people crossed the Sanggan River without any hesitation and spread like a tide.

However, the Japanese truck troops suffered a miserable fate and were isolated on the river beach on the north bank.

This is exactly what Su Fei expected.

Three troops, three battalions, retreated separately to the south. After more than 8 miles, the baggage camp encountered a high slope with countless desolate graves and a large number of bushes. The slope was more than 30 meters high and more than 500 meters long.

The baggage camp immediately deployed on the high slope and led the horses to the south side of the slope.

The supply battalion of more than 300 people had more than 80 captured Japanese machine guns, and its firepower was not weak!

They quickly dug trenches and used brick mounds, pine and cypress trees on the graves to build shelter.

The other two battalions continued to retreat.

However, after retreating 1000 meters, the fire support battalion quickly dismounted and unloaded all the mortars and other equipment they were carrying.

The rifle battalion led by Su Fei himself lined up and waited 500 meters away from the baggage camp. However, the team was evacuated to avoid being killed by Japanese artillery fire.

The Japanese cavalry immediately besieged the baggage camp.

The cavalry dismounted, some of them guarded the horses, while the rest advanced firing at the baggage train.

Since a large number of Chinese troops stayed behind to cover their retreat, they were not afraid of not being able to hold on to these troops.

Su Fei's three troops communicated with each other using captured enemy walkie-talkies to prevent the enemy from knowing the situation, and added a lot of code words.

The supply battalion fired sporadically, deliberately showing weakness to guide the Japanese attack. The Japanese cavalry and infantry fought and bombed with 6 grenade launchers, and a machine gun squad set up machine guns to fire.

The officers of the quartermaster battalion immediately informed the artillery of the enemy situation, and the artillery of the fire support battalion immediately bombarded the enemy from behind. The officers and soldiers of the quartermaster battalion guided the shooting. The power of the six mortars was not small, and more than 100 Japanese cavalry battalion were killed and injured.

The Japanese army realized that something was wrong and urgently called for reinforcements from the truck troops while bravely charging towards the group of graves on the high ground.

When the Japanese troops approached 100 meters, the officers and soldiers of the hidden supply battalion suddenly opened fire with more than 80 machine guns, rifle fire, and grenade launcher bombardment. More than 200 Japanese soldiers were killed or wounded in an instant!

The remaining Japanese troops were stunned and fled in haste, but were chased and killed by the supply battalion and were completely wiped out.

Confiscate the Japanese's weapons, ammunition and war horses.

The battle was over in less than ten minutes.

More than 300 Japanese war horses, mortars, machine guns, etc. were seized.

More than 20 people including the battalion commander, Major Tokugawa Yoshifuru, were seriously injured and captured.

Su Fei also noticed that the Japanese infantry crossing the river did not carry heavy weapons, so he ordered artillery fire, first using a long-range 3800-meter mortar, and then using two short-range (old with a range of less than 2 meters) mortars to provoke the enemy.

The Japanese army spread out like a swarm of locusts, moving at an extremely fast speed and with great training.

Su Fei's troops retreated to the high ground.

Seeing the corpses of the Japanese cavalry, the Japanese army was filled with grief and anger and charged forward quickly.

Soon, the two armies engaged in battle, and the officers and soldiers of the supply battalion fought against three Japanese infantry companies, suffering heavy casualties.

After all the enemies were attracted, Su Fei ordered artillery fire to cover the area.

More than 30 mortars fired at full speed, and after a fierce bombardment, more than half of the Japanese troops were killed.

The Japanese artillery, machine gunners, and grenade launcher teams were the main targets of the attack.

The officers of the supply battalion were in the front for visual observation and immediate reporting and guidance of artillery fire.

The fierce and continuous output of truth left the Japanese army speechless, and with the full firepower of the supply battalion, the Japanese army was quickly defeated.

The Japanese infantry group exposed in the wilderness became the biggest target of attack.

It was only then that Major Kazukiyo Fujita realized what was happening and was shocked.

"The Chinese army's artillery fire is so fierce?"

While he was in shock, a burst of machine gun bullets hit him.

The remaining Japanese troops could only flee in panic.

Su Fei's army continued to pursue and fire artillery, and the rifle assault battalion led by Su Fei himself immediately set out to pursue the enemy.

When the artillery shells covered the entire area, Su Fei's cavalry battalion had already taken the lead and quickly overran the high slope area and continued to pursue the Japanese army. They chased them for more than 3000 meters in one breath and wiped out all the Japanese army.

More than a hundred Japanese soldiers who were very stubborn and tried to resist were killed one after another by the automatic rifle fire.

After the victory of the battle, the Su Fei Cavalry Rifle Battalion waded across the river and returned to the north bank without stopping, and launched an attack on the remaining Japanese infantry. The dense rain of bullets turned 37 Japanese trucks into sitting ducks.

More than 10 Japanese trucks escaped, while the rest resisted and were blown up.

A large number of Japanese weapons, ammunition, supplies, horses, etc. were seized.

This was a tough battle. Su Fei's army consumed a lot of ammunition and suffered nearly a hundred casualties.

After a short rest and grilling the horse meat of the killed and wounded Japanese soldiers, Su Fei's army returned to the north bank of the Sanggan River. Along the way, they constantly mobilized the people and quickly made up for the losses.

The common people were suffering so much that all you had to do was give their families some captured Japanese military banknotes, or a piece of clothing and military boots, a belt, a water bottle, or a rifle or pistol, and you could get these families to voluntarily send their children to join the army.

Su Fei decided to attack Zhulu City.

While the enemy's field troops were being annihilated along the way, they rushed to Zhuolu and seized precious mortar shells.

For safety reasons, more than 50 vanguards, wearing Japanese military uniforms, moved ahead.

The commander of this unit is Duan Peng. As the regiment commander, he insisted on doing this kind of thing, which immediately inspired everyone.

They arrived at Zhulu City.

Along the way, relying on the appearance of a Japanese soldier and a few fluent Japanese words, he managed to sneak into five Japanese strongholds one after another, took the initiative and eliminated the Japanese troops.

The surprise attack with zero casualties wiped out more than 250 Japanese soldiers and captured more than 400 puppet soldiers.

Finally, a 30-man army directly entered Zhulu City.

"We are here to reinforce, to scout the cavalry and report urgent military information. The Shanxi-Suiyuan Army is launching a surprise attack."

Duan Peng pretended to be a cavalry second lieutenant under the command of Tokugawa Yoshifuru, the Japanese cavalry captain.

After a while, Su Fei's troops arrived at the city. All the Japanese and puppet troops went up to the city to guard, while Duan Peng's 30 officers and soldiers had already started a killing spree in Zhulu City, killing the captain of the Japanese garrison and making the city a mess.

With their support, Su Fei's troops suppressed the Japanese army with crazy firepower from automatic rifles and broke into the city.

The Japanese garrison actually had only a few troops, more than 80 of whom were engineers. Together with more than 100 puppet troops, they were no match at all.

As Su Fei expected, there was a Japanese ammunition depot here, especially the urgently needed mortar shells.

After a short rest, Su Fei's troops collected the military supplies of the Japanese and puppet troops, mobilized some new recruits, and charged northward!

We can't go any further east, as we're getting closer to the Beijing-Tianjin area, which is the ruling center of the Japanese and puppet troops. It has tight defenses and a large number of troops, making it not a place to stay for long.

To the north is Zhangyuan, the capital of the Japanese Chahar. After all, it is different from Beijing and Tianjin. What is particularly important is that the Japanese troops and the puppet Mengjiang troops in this area are mostly cavalry, mainly light arms, with weak firepower. There are also a large number of horse farms nearby, which are good targets for us to attack.

More than 20 miles away from Zhulu City, Su Fei's troops set up an ambush in a village because the rearguard reconnaissance cavalry discovered that a large enemy force was tracking them.

About a thousand people.

The supply battalion was hiding in the village, and they already had more than 100 light and heavy machine guns.

The traces of destruction left by Su Fei's cavalry were hidden a thousand meters to the flank, behind a reed marsh and a wild forest.

The Japanese vanguard passed through the village and then the main force came over in a mighty force.

When the large Japanese army passed through the village and walked along the street, the lurking officers and soldiers of the supply battalion suddenly opened fire, killing and wounding more than 500 Japanese soldiers on the spot.

Afterwards, the Japanese army frantically besieged the village and engaged in street fighting.

The Japanese army consisted of an infantry battalion and a cavalry squadron.

The fire support battalion immediately provided artillery support and launched a crazy bombing.

Afterwards, Su Fei's assault battalion rushed out from the side and rear, attacked the flank of the Japanese army, and the Japanese army was defeated.

They originally thought that they could escape after disintegrating, but unexpectedly, the cavalry chased them frantically with brutal firepower. The total battle lasted less than half an hour and the Japanese army was completely wiped out!