Bright Sword: From Soldier to Brigade Commander

The Japanese army gathered heavy troops and used the speed of blitzkrieg. The semi-mechanized troops quickly crossed the Eighth Route Army's base along the predetermined route. Under the crush of aircraft and tanks and armored vehicles, they easily occupied one town and village after another in the Eighth Route Army base, including the river valley where the independent regiment was originally stationed.

Telegrams were sent one after another from the Independent Regiment to the Infantry Regiment where Political Commissar Kong Jie was located, and then forwarded to Su Fei. Only then did Su Fei know that the large-scale mopping-up operation had begun and that the Japanese army had built an iron wall to the west of him, completely cutting off direct communication.

What Su Fei didn't know was that originally, the Japanese First Army's Operation A was to include Baijia Town and the county town where Su Fei was located. It was because of his automatic attack that it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, making Yoshio Kozuka feel that the Eighth Route Army in this area was a heavy force group with main field forces. Since the Japanese army's new strategy was to encircle the enemy with an iron wall, and then completely digest them, to create a huge local advantage with limited forces and fight a war of annihilation, then they should avoid biting off more than they can chew.

Just like that, the Japanese army let Su Fei's special operations brigade go!

Because his offensive was so brutal, he was able to wipe out three Japanese infantry companies, an artillery company, a cavalry squadron and a detachment headquarters, as well as a regiment of the Imperial Army in one go. The old devil Kozuka believed that at least two main regiments of the 386th Brigade were gathered here!

Well, the Japanese army took the opportunity to avoid the strong and attack the weak, established a blockade line, and isolated these Eighth Route Army troops in the east. Once these troops wanted to return to the west, they would be hit head-on. After the encirclement area in the west was swept and the Eighth Route Army in it was annihilated, they would turn around and encircle the Eighth Route Army in the east with an iron wall.

The Japanese intelligence believed that the Eighth Route Army that had annihilated their 9th Independent Mixed Brigade and the Battlefield Observation Group the previous time was either Ding Wei's New 1st Regiment or Li Yunlong's Independent Regiment. This was even more despicable than the Eighth Route Army that had annihilated Lieutenant Colonel Yajima's Mixed Infantry Battalion! They must be the first target of annihilation!

Within hundreds of kilometers to the west, there were constant sounds of gunfire and the fighting was extremely brutal, but in the east, Baijia Town, Wanjia Town, the county seat, and even the new bases of Pingjing County and Ping'an County further east, they were all eerily quiet!

So quiet!

The strongholds and bunkers of the Japanese and puppet troops continued to retreat!

The strange scene prompted Su Fei to quickly send someone to the county's political commissar Kong Jie to ask for instructions from his superiors.

The superior's instructions were to wait and see, and make a decision only after seeing clearly the true intentions of the Japanese army.

Su Fei stepped up the training of the cavalry regiment, repeatedly supervising from Baijia Town to Wanjia Town. The playground and barracks of the original Imperial Army Cavalry Battalion in Wanjia Town provided him with great convenience.

Su Fei didn't understand cavalry, but the four veterans under Sun Desheng, now three company commanders and one battalion commander of the cavalry, respected him very much. The record of the first platoon of the first company annihilating the same number of Japanese troops proved the excellence of the Xuefeng Knife!

Every day, the cavalry battalion gallops on the playground and on the road, sweats and bleeds, and studies and practices hard.

Shooting on horseback, slashing with sabers, riding horses, squad tactics, platoon tactics, company tactics, battalion tactics, coordinated operations with machine gun battalions and artillery battalions, etc.

The veterans under Sun Desheng did not understand battalion-level assaults and formations, and had never learned anything about them. They trained based on some fragments of Soviet cavalry stories in Su Fei's mind.

The cavalry regiment was modeled after the Japanese cavalry battalion, whose training and organization were rational. A battalion consisted of two cavalry squadrons of 144 men each, plus a 50-man machine gun squad to provide firepower. Su Fei's cavalry battalion, with its three companies, had slightly more men than the Japanese, but its firepower, comprised of a 300-man machine gun battalion and a 300-man artillery battalion, was far superior.

In a word, we must have the strength to crush the Japanese cavalry battalion!

The cavalry battalion, machine gun battalion, and artillery battalion also have a lot of combined combat training, all of which are actual combat training. The only difference is that they cannot afford to waste bullets and artillery shells.

……

Ten days later, the Battle of Ping'an Gele broke out because the Japanese and puppet troops jointly attacked Ping'an County. Political Commissar Kong Jie decided to lead the infantry to reinforce.

Su Fei was able to use a small cavalry battalion to break through the Japanese army's prison chain and recapture two county towns. This stimulated Political Commissar Kong Jie. He did not want to live under Su Fei's shadow. After suffering a setback in the independent regiment, he had been holding his breath and wanted to restore his reputation with brilliant achievements. Therefore, he ordered Su Fei to stand by and he led his troops to reinforce.

Su Fei could only obey the order.

He admired the prestige of the old Red Army veterans and old revolutionaries from the bottom of his heart, and at the same time he could understand his eagerness to turn the tables. Besides, he was the political commissar, and in the Eighth Route Army, the real overall decision-maker was the political commissar!

In order to ensure that Political Commissar Kong Jie would be successful, Su Fei sent people to deliver 4 light machine guns, 2 infantry guns, 4 mortars, and 4 grenade launchers. The machine guns were equipped with 2000 rounds of ammunition, the infantry guns were equipped with 80 rounds of shells, and the mortars and grenade launchers were equipped with 100 rounds of shells.

Political Commissar Kong Jie wrote back, expressing his gratitude and shock, and even jokingly asked where the infantry gun was stolen from!

Along with the reply letter, 50 Japanese cavalry horses were also given as a gift. It turned out that Political Commissar Kong Jie was not idle either. He sent people to develop southward and fought with the Japanese and puppet troops many times, and seized quite a lot of spoils.

"I don't like cavalry. Since you're in charge of a cavalry company, the more horses the better!"

Political Commissar Kong Jie didn't know that Su Fei's cavalry was no longer the size of a company!

Su Fei reported this many times, but no one believed him at all.

No one would believe it.

Li Yunlong would not believe it either. He clearly left 100 horses, but in more than a month, Su Fei could turn them into 450 horses.

Su Fei was very happy to be on standby for training in Wanjia Town. The longer the time went, the more it became clear that the strategic intelligence "Primary Research on Gangcun Ningci" he submitted to the Eighth Route Army Headquarters played a significant role.

The Eighth Route Army's losses were reduced a lot, while the Japanese army's costs increased a lot!

The Eighth Route Army's western troops and base areas do not need his reinforcements for the time being.

What Su Fei didn't know was that this was indeed the case. During the fierce battle, the Eighth Route Army Headquarters, the 386th Brigade, the Independent Regiment, etc., all felt that the intelligence provided by Su Fei was extremely accurate. According to his thinking, the preparations made by the Eighth Route Army did cause great losses to the Japanese army.

"Could it be that Su Fei is really not a strategic spy for the Japanese army? Then who is he? A genius in intelligence and prediction?"

However, due to doubts about Su Fei's intelligence, many aspects were still unprepared. Even if they followed the instructions completely, the results were only local and technical. Facing the absolute strength of the Japanese aircraft, artillery, armored vehicles, tanks, cavalry brigades and unlimited ammunition, the Eighth Route Army was still unable to compete head-on and had to make strategic shifts again and again.

"Urgent telegram, superiors have instructed that our special operations brigade must launch an all-out attack on the southern section of the Japanese blockade line from Wuxian City to Liaoxian City, relieving the pressure on the independent regiment and supporting the headquarters' breakout."

The telegram was forwarded from Political Commissar Kong Jie.

Political Commissar Kong Jie's troops were also besieged by a large force of Japanese and puppet troops in Ping'an County. Because the county had a tunnel system, and Su Fei supported artillery and machine guns, the two sides fought back and forth, but the infantry regiment could not escape immediately.

In order to ensure the safety of Su Fei's troops, Political Commissar Kong Jie sent several veteran soldiers under his command to serve as guides. At the same time, he handed over the radio unit of the special operations brigade to Su Fei for use: "I believe you are a revolutionary comrade."

One sentence made Su Fei's blood boil!

In the past few days, Su Fei also realized the possible reason why he was alienated by his superiors. It was because he was too abrupt. If he took the appropriate approach and chatted with the independent regiment commander Li Yunlong and political commissar Zhao Gang, and turned the intelligence into speculation and reasoning, it would be much better.

set off!

The entire cavalry regiment was dispatched and a brief mobilization was held. "Brothers, comrades, warriors, the Japanese devils are frantically sweeping our base in the west. Although we are called an independent special operations brigade, we are actually a member of the Eighth Route Army! We are the Eighth Route Army! We are flesh and blood, and we depend on each other for life and death! Soldiers of the cavalry regiment, pick up your sabers, follow me, and chop the devils' heads! Kill all the devils, defeat the invaders, and restore peace and warmth to our great people and ancient land! We must live with dignity, otherwise, we would rather die heroically! So that our descendants will not become slaves of a conquered nation, cavalry regiment, charge!"

In order to boost morale, Su Fei mobilized all the female soldiers to join the battle. Those people were nominally his wives and concubines, which meant that his entire family went into battle!

Su Fei's cavalry regiment has more than 1,300 people, with a cavalry company as the vanguard, divided into several units to attack in a coordinated manner!

In this way, reconnaissance and bombing by Japanese aircraft in the sky were avoided.

In the sky, Japanese planes flew over every now and then, looking very arrogant.

Once enemy planes approached, Su Fei's troops would quickly hide to avoid being discovered by the enemy.

They all wore straw raincoats woven from mugwort on their bodies and heads to help them hide.

Lujiao Village is a stronghold of the Japanese blockade line. If you bypass it, not only will the road be dangerous, you may also encounter Japanese patrols. However, if you confront it head-on, ordinary main forces of the Eighth Route Army will pay a heavy price because the equipment difference is so great.

The independent regiment's telegram suggested that Su Fei's troops disguise a surprise attack or take a detour.

Su Fei gave the order to attack in a divided and coordinated manner. One artillery company, one machine gun company, and one cavalry company formed the vanguard battalion. Immediately, immediately, they would attack head-on in the afternoon and smash the Japs' broken walnut bunker with their fists!

He personally served as the commander of the vanguard battalion.

The Japanese cavalry patrol intercepted in front.

With only more than 10 Japs, they dared to draw their swords and mount their horses, showing off their power. They simply did not take the special operations brigade seriously!

Su Fei gave the order and the machine gun company attacked.

The machine gun company, which was also a cavalry and truck unit, quickly moved forward and, at a distance of 400 meters, fired directly at the Japanese cavalry.

Four light machine guns fired 120 rounds of bullets in an instant.

Ten of the Japanese sorghum stalks fell instantly, and the rest, fleeing for their lives, were strafed by a machine gun in reserve fire, killing three of them instantly. Oops! Total annihilation!

The cavalry machine gun company and trucks quickly moved forward and captured 13 enemy horses, 5 of which were intact, and the rest could only be used to improve their food!

We seized one Japanese machine gun, eight rifles, a grenade launcher, a batch of other weapons, as well as a batch of water bottles and canned food.

Why didn't the Japanese army shoot?

Su Fei understood, because the Japanese army thought that troops equipped with war horses, trucks, machine guns and cannons, even if they were wearing straw raincoats and looked strange, could only be owned by the Imperial Army!

Now, Su Fei's troops generally don't disguise themselves as enemies. That was an extremely weak era, and they had no choice. Who would still bow down and pretend to be a devil now?

I don’t want to be a fox anymore, I want to be a wolf. Wolves travel thousands of miles to eat meat!

To the east of Lujiao Village, Japanese troops began warning shooting.

Soon, all Japanese troops entered combat status.

Su Fei also paid attention and observed, and asked the artillery company commander to quickly observe the enemy's firepower point. By the way, in order to expose the enemy's firepower point, it is necessary to send a small number of people first to feint at the enemy.

Unexpectedly, the enemy took the initiative to attack!

An infantry company, crowded with about 200 people, should there be some Imperial Army mixed in?

Just these few people?

So bold?

Can't you see clearly that we are a comprehensive combat battalion of more than 300 people, well-equipped, uniquely dressed, and highly motivated?

What Su Fei didn't know was that the Japanese saw it, and saw it clearly. Moreover, Captain Yamashiro, the commander of the Japanese stronghold in Lujiao Village, smiled disdainfully and led all his troops to attack.

Machine guns and trucks? Pretend there's a cannon mounted on the truck? You dare to scare people like that? Are you crazy?

Captain Yamashiro's subordinate, Second Lieutenant Kitagawa, is an extremely brave young man, a recent military academy graduate, full of passion and high aspirations. However, he is very smart and reminds Captain Yamashiro that if the cannon is real, we need...

Captain Yamashiro told him to shut up. "These damn Chinese, their machine guns and horses are all from the imperial warriors. They are robbing us. Revenge!"

After a brief mobilization, the Japanese infantry rushed out like a tide, spread out their formation, and attacked Su Fei's troops.

A typical frontal assault, with flanking movements on both wings, is to encircle and capture all of Su Fei's troops in one assault.

Just now, many Japanese soldiers saw their 13 cavalrymen being machine-gunned by the enemy and all killed in action. They gritted their teeth and marched as fast as they could.

Are you brave or stupid?

Su Fei ordered a retreat.

The machine gun company dismounted and, relying on ground obstacles and ravines, the rest of the troops quickly retreated.

When the Japanese saw this, they were very proud.

That's a lot. The Eighth Route Army or other Chinese armies were extremely poorly equipped and were good at disguising themselves and scaring people.

Do you think you can dominate the world just by having a few machine guns?

Want to run away? No way!

"Kill them!" Captain Yamashiro discovered the enemy's retreat in time, and was glad that he had adopted an offensive tactic, so he issued an urgent order.

When the Japanese army rushed to a position of 350 meters, Su Fei's machine gun company opened fire.

We can't wait until 300 meters, that is the Japanese army's shooting training standard. Don't underestimate the devil's shooting ability.

There were 13 light machine guns, 2 heavy machine guns, and one newly captured one, and they suddenly opened fire.

They pay attention to cross-fire tactics to improve combat efficiency.

In an instant, the Japanese soldiers seemed to be electrocuted mice, jumping and jumping, and rolling on the muddy ground.

It was like a vase or porcelain bowl being smashed into pieces by a heavy hammer!

There were more than 180 Japanese soldiers, and more than 130 of them were killed or wounded in one round of shooting!

The remaining Japanese troops were stunned and turned around and ran away!

Su Fei smiled coldly, raised his saber high, and galloped off on his horse: "Brothers of the Cavalry Company, follow me and kill!"