Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

"It's the troops."

Colonel Kenkichi Mura, commander of the 1st Independent Battalion of the 2nd Independent Mixed Brigade, immediately said, "According to reconnaissance aircraft reports, these people are carrying guns, and the troops also have mortars, heavy machine guns, and so on. Our aircraft specifically descended to conduct reconnaissance, and this unit has over 5,000 people. According to our intelligence, the 8th Column has about 4,000 troops in the Beilingzhuang area. Including the retreating 16th Regiment, there are exactly 5,000 people. The Eighth Route Army troops are short of weapons and ammunition, and only the main force has so many guns. Those local troops have few guns at all, let alone heavy weapons like mortars and heavy machine guns.

The Japanese reconnaissance planes did indeed discover a large number of Eighth Route Army troops retreating.

The estimated number of people is also about the same.

It is indeed more than 5,000 people.

But this force was composed of the Shengxian County Brigade, District Squad, and militia organized by Wei Hongjun. The months of training and reorganization of the local troops had clearly had a significant effect. While their combat effectiveness was still insufficient, they were still quite good at following orders and commands. If it had been the local troops of the past, a simultaneous retreat of so many would have thrown them into chaos.

But after several months of training, their marching was now well-organized. With so many people moving together, there was no confusion between the units. This was due to Wei Hongjun transferring some squad and platoon-level cadres and veterans from the main force to the local units. With their addition, the local units saw significant improvements in all aspects.

This time, they did a very good job of disguising the main force in front of the enemy reconnaissance aircraft.

As soon as the planes approached, they immediately hid. Their reaction was very fast, which made the Japanese planes more certain that this was the main force of the Eighth Column. Only the main force of the Eighth Route Army could react so quickly to avoid the planes.

"Okay, great."

The Eighth Column is about to collapse.

This was their chance to form an independent second mixed brigade.

"How far away are they?"

"The last ones to evacuate were only thirty miles away from us."

"Thirty miles?"

"Yes."

Mura Kenji was also very anxious.

Last time he was truly humiliated and fled in panic.

This time, with a large force attacking, he was determined to wash away the shame. Therefore, he immediately said, "Your Excellency, Brigade Commander, we must pursue them. We can't give them a break. I've dealt with them before, and their hasty retreat must be due to something happening. But if we give them time to regroup, they'll rise again."

"That's right. All troops, speed up and pursue the enemy."

We must destroy the Eighth Column.

Although the 2nd Independent Mixed Brigade suffered a blow a few months ago, Tsuneoka Kanji and his men still had a natural contempt for the Chinese army.

This innate contempt led to Kanji Tsuneoka's misjudgment.

The Japanese army entered Sheng County and was under the surveillance of the Eighth Column the entire time. Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun stationed the main force of the Eighth Column in Beilingzhuang, right under the noses of the Japanese army.

However, because Sheng County was a base that the Eighth Column had been operating for a long time, the Japanese and puppet troops did not notice it at all.

"Commander, Political Commissar, the Japanese troops are moving away."

Chen Zhonghe entered the headquarters. He was the head of the training section and was also responsible for compiling military intelligence. Of course, this was simply because the Eighth Column was currently short of cadres, so many people had to take on multiple roles.

"How exactly?"

"The Japanese infantry, each battalion armed with two infantry guns and heavy machine guns, rushed all the way to pursue our main force. However, their artillery, trolley, and communications teams had been left more than ten miles behind by the infantry. Even the trolley, which was at the back, was more than thirty miles away from the front Japanese troops. Moreover, the Japanese infantry was speeding up, and the gap between them would widen further."

"How are our people?"

"Commander, Political Commissar, don't worry. Our county brigade, district squad, and militia are all locals. After they pass through the first district, they will be divided into many small teams according to orders and evacuate directly into the mountains. We will definitely not give the Japanese army a chance.

"That's good."

Wang Qiuyun looked at the map and said to Wei Hongjun, "Old Wei, let's do something?"

"Of course. Now is the day."

The two men looked at each other and smiled.

Such a good opportunity doesn't come around often. To set up this scheme, the 16th Regiment suffered nearly 500 casualties. Furthermore, withdrawing the 16th and 18th Regiments posed a significant risk to the newly established bases in Xuanhua, Zhuolu, and Huailai.

Without the main force, it is not easy to deal with those garrison battalions.

It has been six days since the Japanese army's autumn mopping-up campaign began.

For the past six days, the Eighth Column has been retreating, retreating. Apparently, they've lost many bases in southern Chahar. Now they must strike back.

"Comrade Wu Qinghe."

"arrive."

"The column is giving your 18th Regiment a very difficult task. That is to attack and cut off the connection between these Japanese troops in the rear and the Japanese infantry in the front. Then, firmly control the position and prevent the Japanese infantry from returning to reinforce us. This will buy us time to annihilate the Japanese artillery and heavy vehicle teams."

"Make sure to complete the mission."

Wu Qinghe immediately expressed his opinion.

Wang Qiuyun turned around and continued, "Comrade Zhang Zihua.

"arrive."

"I know your Sixteenth Regiment is very tired, but this time the Sixteenth Regiment must overcome difficulties. Now your troops are resting on the east side of the road.

The troops should immediately prepare to ambush the Japanese artillery and heavy troops."

"Yes."

"Comrade Chen Zuning."

"arrive.

"Your New Second Regiment will be deployed on the west side of the road. Upon receiving the order, attack and eliminate the Japanese artillery and radiation teams."

"Yes."

"Comrade Kang Shui."

"arrive."

"Your special forces team must cut off the retreat route of the Zhezhong team. Don't let them escape.

"Yes."

The infantry artillery currently carried by the Japanese infantry consisted entirely of the infantry artillery of the independent battalion's own machine gun squadron. The artillery unit of the 40nd Independent Mixed Brigade, with pieces of various types, was slow to march and was easily left behind. The heavy troops were the most difficult. They were all in a convoy, and the infantry units were traveling in vehicles, so how could the heavy troops keep up?

The most obvious lagging behind.

Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun were going to fight these two groups of troops. There were also some communication teams mixed in between these two groups. They were quite numerous, totaling over 1100 Japanese soldiers and over guards.

But Wang Qiuyun is not worried.

Because these troops were auxiliary forces, not only were their combat effectiveness limited, but most of them were also unarmed. Furthermore, they had been following the main force all the way and were already quite exhausted. After all, they hadn't rested much since setting out from Zhangjiakou. Since the 16th Regiment evacuated Gongshanbao, they hadn't rested at all in the past day or so.

The 8th Column's 16th and 18th Regiments, the New 2nd Regiment, and the Special Forces Unit totaled over 5,000 troops. Furthermore, there were also units directly under the Column, such as the Guard Regiment, totaling over 6,000 troops.

They were so confident because their troops were several times larger than the Japanese ones.

Chapter 173: Destroying the Japanese Army

"Where are the brigade commander and the others?"

"They are already approaching Sheng County. And the brigade commander has indicated that they should continue to pursue the Chinese troops.

"How is this possible?"

Lieutenant Colonel Masaichi Nishizono of the Independent Heavy Battalion had a very grim expression on his face.

The officers of the Independent Mixed Brigade all had high ranks. For example, Nishizono Shoichi of the Independent Heavy Brigade, who commanded only a few hundred men, was a lieutenant colonel. In a field unit, his rank would have been at most major.

"I've studied the Eighth Route Army's tactics. They're best at launching surprise attacks on heavily armed forces like ours. The brigade commander and his men are so far away from us. What should we do if we encounter an Eighth Route Army unit?"

It was impossible for Nishizono Shoichi not to be nervous.

The heavy platoon was said to have about 600 men, but of these, there were about 450 heavy soldiers, including the independent heavy platoon's own signalmen, engineers, etc. These heavy soldiers were unarmed, they only had bayonets, and a few officers had pistols, that was all.

The escort team consisted of only about seventy people.

A cavalry unit, fifteen men in total. Then there's an infantry squad of fifty-two men, equipped with forty Type 52 rifles, two grenade launchers, and two light machine guns. This is the current weaponry configuration of the heavy troops, over six hundred strong. In other words, of the six hundred or so men, only about seventy are actually equipped for combat.

There was an artillery unit very close to him, and it had quite a few cannons.

There were field guns, mountain guns, infantry guns, and flat-fire guns, but they were all technical arms. The escort for the 500-man artillery unit was also small, consisting of only a single infantry squad. The only thing he could rely on was the 500-man garrison. But he didn't trust them.

If they were really ambushed by the Eighth Route Army, this amount of defense would not be enough to protect them.

"Speed ​​up and keep up."

Xiyuan Zhengyi looked at the mountains on both sides, his heart pounding.

He had over 260 horse-drawn carriages and carts loaded with supplies. If any of them were lost, he would have to disembowel himself. So, for now, he just wanted to quickly get through this mountain road to Sheng County.

It's a pity that I'm afraid of whatever comes next.

The artillery and the radial heavy troops, though small in number, formed a long marching column that stretched a full two kilometers. The Eighth Column's task was to eliminate all the Japanese troops within those two kilometers.

The same thing as Xiyuan Zhengyi was worried about.

Although there were many Japanese troops within the ambush circle, only a few were actually combat-capable. The combined artillery and heavy equipment units barely numbered over a hundred. The remaining thousand men were unarmed, as they were all technical personnel.

Apart from the two squads of infantry, the only ones capable of fighting were the guards.

However, the weapons of these troops are average.

Mainly because there are no heavy weapons.

The Japanese army used the traitor troops, but also took precautions. Therefore, they were not given enough heavy weapons, mainly light machine guns. Their mission was to assist the Japanese army in mopping-up operations, rather than participate in combat as an independent unit.

The same was true for the two Japanese infantry squads.

Their mission was not to fight, but to guard artillery and heavy weapons, so they were not equipped with heavy weapons, only two ammunition barrels and two light machine guns.

Why did the Eighth Route Army like to attack the Japanese army's logistics troops?

This is because although the logistics troops seem to have a lot of people, there are very few people who can actually fight. Ambushing the Japanese logistics troops is generally a relatively simple task.

Wang Qiuyun deployed an ambush, with the first round of attacks targeting the guards and two Japanese infantry squads. Although the 8th Column's heavy firepower was not as good as that of the Japanese troops, it was still much better than that of the average Eighth Route Army unit.

Wang Qiuyun concentrated the grenade launchers and heavy machine guns of the 16th Regiment and the New 2nd Regiment, and immediately attacked the guard team and two Japanese infantry squads.

The firepower is quite strong.

The 16th and 2nd Regiments, together with the heavy machine gun company directly under the 8th Column, concentrated more than 30 heavy machine guns. With more than 3,000 people in the 16th and 2nd Regiments, they simultaneously targeted the Guard Regiment and the Japanese infantry squad, and the effect was very obvious.

In just a few moments, the Japanese infantry squad suffered more than thirty casualties.

More than 100 of the 500-strong security team fell in an instant.

The entire Japanese army was instantly in a panic.