Bright Sword: The brigade commander is shocked! You call this a county brigade?

Chapter 308: Encirclement in Progress

Commander of the 65th Division, Yamamoto, stood on a high place and observed the situation on the battlefield through a telescope.

When he saw the soldiers of the 200th Regiment begin to withdraw, he knew there was no need to continue the shelling.

He immediately gave the order: "Stop the shelling!"

After the shelling stopped, the soldiers on the Dazhaishan position quickly ran out of the anti-artillery cave.

They knew that the battle was far from over and they needed to repair their positions as quickly as possible and prepare for the next round of attack.

The cadres shouted loudly on the battlefield: "Comrades, quickly repair the damaged trenches. Everyone hurry up, the Japanese army has arrived and may launch an attack at any time."

After hearing what their commander said, the soldiers quickly took action.

Some of them picked up shovels and quickly shoveled up soil to fill the holes made by the shells; some carried sandbags to strengthen the defenses of the trenches; and others checked weapons and equipment.

Thanks to the joint efforts of the soldiers, the positions destroyed by artillery shells were being restored at a speed visible to the naked eye.

After the battle, Zhang Dabiao quickly ran to the command post inside Dazhai Mountain and said, "Report to the brigade commander, the Japanese troops in the middle have arrived at the periphery and have just launched a fierce artillery attack on our position."

Li Yunlong nodded: "I heard the artillery fire just now when I was commanding the troops. Now the devils have taken the bait. It will be a bloody battle. You must be prepared for a tough battle."

"Yes, Brigade Commander. All the soldiers in the regiment are ready for a bloody battle."

Li Yunlong knew that although they occupied an advantageous terrain, the most reliable intelligence showed that the Japanese army on the opposite side had a large number of cannons and heavy artillery, and there was air support from airplanes in the sky.

This put enormous pressure on the three regiments on Dazhai Mountain.

He knew that the coming battle would be an arduous one and they had to give it their all.

"Da Biao, go back and tell the soldiers that no matter how fierce the enemy's firepower is, we must hold our positions and never retreat."

"Yes, Commander. I will convey your words to every soldier."

Zhang Dabiao saluted, then turned and left the command center.

the other side,

The commander of the 200th Regiment returned to the main force in the rear, covered in smoke and exhausted.

He quickly found the division commander Yamamoto and prepared to report to him what happened in Dazhai Mountain.

"Division Commander, we were ambushed by the independent column at Dazhai Mountain. They have at least 7,000 to 8,000 men and their firepower is very fierce."

After listening to the report, Yamamoto and Ito frowned, looked at each other, and a trace of solemnity flashed in their eyes.

They realized that the Independent Column had deployed heavy troops in Dazhai Mountain, obviously intending to engage in a large-scale battle with them here.

Yamamoto said in a deep voice: "The independent column is going to fight us to the death at Dazhai Mountain, but they don't know that our manpower and firepower far exceed theirs."

Ito nodded. "Indeed, our two divisions together have more than 4 people, and we also have two artillery regiments and a tank brigade. We also have our aviation support in the air. We have an absolute advantage in this battle."

The two men quickly convened the division staff for tactical discussions.

In front of the map, they carefully studied the terrain and strategic value of Dazhai Mountain.

Everyone discovered that the location of Dazhai Mountain was crucial to their offensive plan. Only by taking Dazhai Mountain could they continue to advance towards Yangquan.

After an intense discussion, Yamamoto and Ito finally made a decision: "We must dispatch three regiments to capture Dazhai Mountain in one fell swoop. At the same time, order the aviation force to provide air support to ensure that our offensive is impeccable."

As the order was issued, the three regiments of the 65th and 66th Divisions, nearly 1 Japanese soldiers, began to make intensive preparations.

Yamamoto stood outside the headquarters, looking at the busy soldiers and said, "This time, we will let the independent column know the consequences of going against the Imperial Army."

Ito stood beside him: "Yes, we will give the independent column a heavy blow at Dazhai Mountain to let them know our strength."

On the other side of Dazhai Mountain, the soldiers of the independent column were also making intensive preparations.

As night fell, both sides made final preparations for the coming battle.

at the same time,

The Ping'an Brigade led by Kong Jie and the New 60st Brigade led by Ding Wei set out quickly under the cover of night. They were shouldering an important mission - to detour more than kilometers from two directions and go directly to the rear of the Japanese army to encircle them.

This was a bold tactical action aimed at completely cutting off the enemy's retreat and forming an encirclement.

Kong Jie and Ding Wei are both experienced commanders who know the danger and importance of this operation.

"Brothers, our mission is to get behind the enemy and catch them off guard. This operation must succeed, not fail."

Kong Jie gave a brief but powerful mobilization before the troops set off.

Ding Wei also emphasized in the New 1st Brigade: "Our target is the rear of the devils. We must march in the mountains like ghosts and must not let the devils find our tracks."

In order to prevent the Japanese from discovering the true intention of the Independent Column, 60,000 to 70,000 people from the New 1st Brigade and the Ping'an Brigade marched secretly in the mountainous area.

Such a large-scale march would easily be discovered by the Japanese, so they took a detour through the long mountainous areas.

The Japanese probably never dreamed that the Independent Column would play this trick.

In order to find other ambush troops of the Independent Column, Yamamoto and Ito sent out many Japanese scouts to the surrounding areas. The search range reached tens of kilometers, but they did not see any large troops of the Independent Column.

They didn't know that the main force of the independent column had already marched around to the farther mountains.

The sky gradually darkened, and the night was like a huge black cloth, slowly covering the entire mountain area.

Under the leadership of Kong Jie, the soldiers of the Ping'an Brigade did not stop. They marched quickly in the night, knowing clearly that the battle at Dazhai Mountain would be very fierce.

If they arrived at the rear of the Japanese army earlier, they could relieve the pressure on the brother troops in Dazhaishan and reduce casualties.

In order not to attract the enemy's attention, no fire was allowed along the way, and the soldiers could only travel in the dark mountains.

Fortunately, the faint moonlight in the sky provided the soldiers with a little light, allowing them to identify the direction in the night.

Kong Jie looked at the exhausted soldiers and knew that they needed to rest and recover their strength.

He loudly ordered: "Comrades, take a two-hour break and take this time to replenish your strength."

After hearing Kong Jie's words, the soldiers took off their equipment, sat down on the side of the road and began to rest.

Some of them drank water, some ate dry food, and some closed their eyes to rest and take the time to recover their strength.

"Guard, give me the map."

The guard quickly took out the map from his arms and spread it on the ground.

Kong Jie took a flashlight and looked carefully at the map. Now they were still 40 kilometers away from the predetermined target. It looked only 40 kilometers on the map, but in fact it might be more than a hundred kilometers. After all, they were marching in the mountains, not on the plains.

Kong Jie calculated in his mind that if the Ping An Brigade maintained its marching speed, they would be able to reach the battle site by noon the day after tomorrow.

He knew that time was running out and they had to speed up.

At the same time, the New 1st Brigade led by Ding Wei was also marching quickly.

Their distance was much shorter than the distance the Heian Brigade had to travel, but it still took a day and a half.

The army ran quickly in the dark. In the eyes of the Eighth Route Army soldiers, there was no difference between night and day, and the marching speed did not slow down at all.

Gaoda, who was at the Dazhaishan Command Headquarters, sent a special telegram to inquire about the locations of the two brigades, because their marching speed was related to whether they could wipe out the Japanese army in the middle.

After receiving the telegram, Ding Wei and Kong Jie immediately reported the situation to Gao Da.

In their telegrams they reported in detail their positions and estimated times of arrival, as well as the current status of their troops.

After seeing the calls back from the two brigades, Gundam nodded with satisfaction.

He knew that as long as the two brigades could reach their designated locations on time, their plan would have a chance of success.