Bright Sword: Construction starts from southeastern Shanxi

Meanwhile, Baoding.

Tada Shun stood in the command room, his face gloomy as water, his hands behind his back, looking at the map of the North China War Zone on the wall, his eyes fixed on the direction of Zhangjiakou.

At this moment, a burst of hurried footsteps was heard, the door was pushed open, and a figure walked in quickly, standing at attention and saluting:

"General!"

The person who came was Yukio Kasahara. He had a serious expression and spoke in a steady but rapid voice.

"Zhangjiakou has fallen, and the 2nd Independent Mixed Brigade has suffered heavy losses. The brigade commander has been seen leading over 3,000 remnants to break out and is currently heading towards Huaian."

Tada Shun's face suddenly changed, he turned around abruptly, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

"What?!

Zhangjiakou fell?!"

Tada Shun's voice rose a few notches.

"The 2nd Independent Mixed Brigade has over 7,000 people?

How come Renjian Yiyi can't even defend Zhangjiakou?!"

Kasahara Yukio's face also looked a little ugly, and he continued to say to Tada Shun:

"According to current analysis, the Eighth Route Army's attack on Zhangjiakou was also well planned.

The combat effectiveness of the Eighth Route Army attacking the city far exceeded our expectations.

According to the emergency telegram sent by Brigade Commander Hitomi before the breakout, they mobilized a large number of Soviet weapons and were equipped with extremely strong firepower.

The entire brigade's tank squadron was almost completely destroyed, and the 150mm howitzer positions were also heavily bombarded and failed to play their due role.

There are even secret weapons for combating our military strongholds and tanks.

Previously, this type of weapon had only appeared in the 389th Division's troops, but unexpectedly, this time, the Eighth Route Army troops in Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei were also equipped with it.

"

"General!

This is not a good sign!

"

Hearing what Yukio Kasahara said, Tada Shun frowned even more tightly.

Tada Shun slowly walked to the command table, put his hand on the map, and swept his cold eyes across the entire North China battlefield.

"Detailed report!

How did Zhangjiakou get lost?!"

Kasahara Yukio took a deep breath, collected his thoughts, and continued his report:

"According to the report from Brigade Commander Hitomi, the Eighth Route Army's offensive in the Battle of Zhangjiakou was divided into three phases.

The first step was a fierce attack on the military fortresses and strongholds outside the city.

The attacking Eighth Route Army troops were well-equipped, especially the heavy artillery of the Soviet artillery regiment, which carried out a long period of suppressive fire on our front-line positions.

The infantry troops quickly broke through the outer fortifications with the support of artillery fire.

The defenses outside Zhangjiakou fell within a few hours, and hundreds of locust soldiers were annihilated."

Hearing this, Tada Shun's face became even uglier.

“After that, the Eighth Route Army began to lay siege to the city wall.

Although the locust army guarding the city wall fought bravely, the artillery fire of the Eighth Route Army was too fierce, and the heavy artillery almost blew the city wall into pieces, especially in the direction of the southern wall.

The Eighth Route Army destroyed several key fortresses using explosive packs and mysterious weapons that we had used in previous battles with the 389th Division.

At three o'clock in the morning, the Eighth Route Army launched a full-scale attack on the city. Although the locust army defending the city tried their best, they were still unable to withstand the fierce attack of the Eighth Route Army.

When Kasahara Yukio said this, a trace of disbelief flashed in his eyes: "At dawn, the Eighth Route Army troops entered the city and started street fighting.

The Eighth Route Army used the same tactics as the 389th Division to split up the defending troops, forcing the brigade and regiment units to fight on their own.

The rear command chain was seriously disrupted.

The commander of the Hitomi Brigade was forced to adjust his defenses, pulling the remaining troops back to the perimeter of his headquarters in an attempt to make a final stand.

“However, the Eighth Route Army’s street fighting tactics were extremely flexible, allowing them to advance rapidly through the streets and alleys.

Our army's machine gun positions and defense points were frequently destroyed by the Eighth Route Army's artillery. Before noon, the headquarters' outer positions were on the verge of collapse.

The commander of the Hitomi Brigade realized that the situation was irreversible and acted decisively, leading the remaining troops to break out."

Hearing this, Tada Shun's face was expressionless, and he said to Kasahara Yukio:

"The route of the breakout?"

Kasahara Yukio immediately replied, "Brigade Commander Hitomi chose to break out from the west gate where the firepower was the weakest.