Bright Sword: Construction starts from southeastern Shanxi

At 20:00, Pingding County, 20th Division Command.

Division Commander Kawaan Bunsaburo, Chief of Staff Kitamura Hisazo, 39th Brigade Commander Takagi Yoshito, 77th Regiment Commander Koito Koichi, 78th Regiment Commander Kobayashi Tsuneichi and other military commanders and a group of staff attended the meeting.

At 3:00 PM, Kawagan Bunsaburo had assembled the entire 39th Brigade and began advancing south. However, less than an hour later, the 79th Regiment sent a farewell telegram. When Kawagan Bunsaburo read the message from the 79th Regiment, he momentarily thought the telegraph operator had mistranslated the message. Only after double-checking did he confirm the message was correct. Upon hearing this message, he immediately contacted the 79th Regiment, but received no response. Panic-stricken, Kawagan immediately ordered the 77th Regiment to abandon their baggage, carry only a small amount of light and heavy weapons, and march quickly towards the 79th Regiment.

At 6:30 PM, the 77th Regiment finally arrived at the Lotus Mountain ambush encirclement. By then, the ambushing Chinese troops had already withdrawn, leaving only the bodies of the Japanese soldiers, stripped naked and dumped on the battlefield. Upon seeing this, the 77th Regiment's commander, Li Dengxing, was furious and immediately ordered his soldiers to collect the remains while investigating the battlefield. Within an hour, Li Dengxing received a report. According to battlefield reconnaissance intelligence, the 79th Regiment had been ambushed by an enemy force with a firepower three times their own. Ultimately, most of the 79th Regiment's soldiers were annihilated on the hillside opposite Lotus Mountain.

The commander of the 77th Regiment, Li Dengxingyi, was very surprised by the survey results. In his impression, since entering the Chinese battlefield, his troops have been invincible. Most of the Chinese troops they encountered were vulnerable. The few troops with fighting will lacked serious logistical and firepower equipment, so he could easily defeat them.

However, based on on-site reconnaissance, the 79th Regiment had come under heavy artillery fire, with many soldiers killed by machine gunfire, and others killed in hand-to-hand combat. This puzzled Li Dengxingyi, but when he saw a report claiming that the Imperial Army soldiers' deaths were caused by gunshot wounds from the Imperial Type 92 and Taisho Type 11 light machine guns, firing 6- and 8-caliber ammunition, he immediately recalled the equipment lost at Nanling Station, and then the 389th Brigade. Only this Chinese army could be equipped with such extensive Imperial Army weaponry and dare to engage them.

Li Dengxing had a rough answer in his mind, and then he was full of fear towards this Chinese army. This army could split into two routes and wipe out the 79th Regiment in Xiyang, so it could also wipe out his own 77th Regiment. He made up his mind that if he encountered this army in the future, he must not act alone to prevent following the fate of the 79th Regiment.

"Mr. Li Deng, please inform everyone present of what you know." Chuan An said with a gloomy expression as he sat in the main seat.

"Hi, General." Li Deng stood up and bowed to Chuan'an, then looked at his other colleagues.

"Everyone, based on comprehensive battlefield analysis, the unit that wiped out the entire 79th Regiment of our Imperial Army should be the 389th Brigade, directly under the Chinese 18th Group Army. Judging from the firepower, ammunition caliber, and artillery craters on the battlefield, their weapons all came from our Imperial Army. Combined with the looting of supplies at Nanling Station, there's ample evidence that the previous intelligence, based on the explosion traces at the station, that the Chinese army only seized a small portion of the supplies was inaccurate. They likely seized the majority of the supplies and used them to equip their troops."

"Also, this unit possesses a large number of sharpshooters. Many Imperial Army heavy firepower marksmen have been shot in the head by these Chinese marksmen. Their combat capabilities should surpass those of the elite Central Army of the Chinese government. Their tactics are also very advanced. Judging from the traces left on the battlefield, the remaining warriors of the 79th Regiment likely engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat with this unit, ultimately being annihilated by the Chinese army."

After saying this, Li Dengxing sat down. The other people participating in the meeting were talking about this Chinese army and threatening to lead troops to eliminate this unit to comfort the souls of the 79th Regiment in heaven.

"Alright, enough talking." Kawaban Bunsaburo interrupted everyone. "At the moment, our mission is to continue south, capture Xiyang and Heshun, and wait for the arrival of the main force to attack Changzhi. Telegraph this incident to the North China Front Army and instruct them to quickly gather detailed intelligence on this unit. This unit is a threat to the Imperial Army and must be eliminated as soon as possible."

After saying that, he dismissed the meeting and walked towards the lounge alone with a gloomy look on his face.

At this point, everyone looked at the division commander and he stopped talking. This incident once again made the 20th Division very angry, and someone had to be held accountable. Kawaban Bunsaburo was the first person responsible. The previous destruction of a battalion had already caused him to be warned by the headquarters. In the end, it was the former commander of the 79th Regiment who took the blame and committed suicide. The commander of the 40th Brigade, Takahashi Takaji, resigned and returned to the reserve. The new brigade commander was the former brigade commander, Yoshio Kamitsuki. However, he returned to Japan to form a new independent mixed brigade, but he did not expect that the 40th Brigade would suffer such a heavy blow after his departure. The North China Front Army General Staff therefore recalled him to the 40th Brigade, but he did not expect that before he took office, the 79th Regiment would be completely wiped out.

Unlike the depressing atmosphere at the Japanese 20th Division Headquarters, the 389th Brigade Headquarters was filled with laughter and joy.

The 389th Brigade split into two groups and successfully encircled and annihilated the 79th Regiment, seizing a large amount of weapons and equipment. This was a significant victory in every sense of the word. Against the backdrop of the fall of Taiyuan in the Battle of Taiyuan, it undoubtedly gave the entire War of Resistance Against Japan a shot in the arm.

At this time, Zhou Xi and Huang Hanjia also rushed to Dajinggou after counting the battlefield situation. Everyone sat around the table discussing the harvest.

"Brigade Commander, we fought beautifully in this battle. We wiped out an entire regiment. The results were great and the impact was profound," said Political Commissar Zhou Shi excitedly.

"Yes, this battle was truly earth-shattering. There has never been a record of a Japanese regiment being completely wiped out. In this battle, we made history," Huang Hanjia echoed.

"We have hurt the Japanese army this time, and we have also revealed our whereabouts. After they occupy Changzhi, I'm afraid they will give us special attention in the spring of next year." Zeng Jiwen was quite troubled and said with a wry smile.

"Indeed, the task given by headquarters is to establish a base in this area. We cannot move on a large scale. I'm afraid it will be a tough battle next year." Deputy Political Commissar Liu Ming agreed.

"No matter what the situation is like next year, it will be a test for our 389th Brigade. We must strive to develop well this winter. I don't believe that even if the Japanese army encircles us from several directions, we will be afraid of not being able to play the cards we have in hand!" Zeng Jiwen said decisively. Everyone nodded in agreement with Zeng Jiwen's point of view.

Then, we began to compile a summary of the overall situation of this ambush.