Bright Sword: Start with Ding Blast Bridge, Homemade Sweet Potato Cake

The Japanese raids were continuous, large-scale operations, deploying a network of troops to clean up the mountain bases.

They burned houses, looted supplies, and drove away the people.

The purpose was to turn the mountain base into a scorched earth, leaving no soil for the Eighth Route Army to survive.

There was another army on this fighting land, and that was the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army.

The direct commander of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army liked to dance on eggs and maintained an ambiguous attitude towards the Japanese.

Accepting benefits from the Japanese invaders, he was on the verge of being won over.

Even his soldiers had no intention of fighting. Although they were known for their defense, they rarely took the initiative in battle.

Chu Yunfei's unit of the 358th Regiment had to retreat towards Luliang Mountain due to the Japanese invaders' strong military strength.

Its main force is in the direction of Xinxian and Jingle.

As soon as he arrived here, he gave the orders to take down several of the devil's artillery towers and eliminate the Japanese and puppet troops' spies.

"How can I allow others to sleep soundly beside my bed? Since when did a group of puppet soldiers dare to hang around in front of me, Chu Yunfei?"

This old guy has the capital to be arrogant. He has a reinforced regiment of 5000 people and a mountain artillery battalion.

Looking across the northwestern Shanxi region, who can be as wealthy as him?

He is Mr. Xipi's top disciple and a favorite of Commander Yan. He is taken care of by both the eldest aunt and the second aunt, and he is indeed a capable person.

The slogan shouted by the Japanese invaders during this mopping-up operation was not to attack the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, but only the Eighth Route Army.

He attempted to use this to win over the Jinsui Army headed by Commander Yan.

The commander of the Second War Zone issued clear orders to all units that they were not allowed to attack the Japanese invaders or disrupt the fragile balance without asking for permission or written orders.

This caused all the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army units to shrink back and assume the shape of a turtle.

Chu Yunfei obviously didn't want this to happen. Facing the invading Murakami Battalion, he took the initiative to fight, repelled the Japanese invaders, and killed 116 enemies.

This small-scale battle seemed to declare that the 358th Regiment would be stationed in the mountains.

It’s lively, it’s really lively now.

Several celebrities from northwestern Shanxi all gathered there.

The distribution of various forces: the Japanese invaders mainly occupied the plains

The Japanese invaders' forces in the plains were obviously insufficient, with only the 9th Independent Mixed Brigade and the 3rd Independent Brigade, which was seriously understaffed.

Kenkichi Ikegami had more than 5000 troops, including puppet troops and military police, which barely totaled people.

The 3rd Independent Mixed Brigade lacked a brigade commander and had only two infantry battalions that could be mobilized. Among them, the Shenshu Battalion was in the Yunzhong Mountain area, entangled with Ding Wei's guerrilla battalion.

The remaining infantry battalion held the county seat of Gang County.

On the logistics route, if you go from the south end, you have to pass through the defense zones of Chu Yunfei and Li Yunlong.

If you go from the north, you will pass through Ding Wei's defense zone.

If you go from the east, you will pass through Kongjie's defense zone.

The suppression and influence created by the garrison of several troops is immeasurable.

With the right time, right place and right people, we should first make use of the advantages of our territory to hinder the Japanese army's advance and retreat.

At present, Major General Shang Xianji is in a headache, as his transport team encountered a surprise attack by the independent regiment. Li Yunlong, this kid, has a dog's nose. He ambushed and robbed the transport team of the Independent 9th Brigade with just one wave of attacks.

After killing more than 300 puppet soldiers, they fled with the logistical supplies.

The summer heat makes people reluctant to go out.

The sun shone down so fiercely that even the weeds on the hillside drooped their heads.

Inside the First Army Headquarters, Yoshio Shinozuka was listening to the report from Major General Kami Kenkichi, and he summed it up in just a few words: insufficient troops, and reinforcements are needed.

The nearby troops that can be mobilized at present include the 4th Independent Mixed Brigade responsible for mopping-up missions in the Yangquan area. After losing an infantry battalion, it has resumed combat status.

The Okayama United is still resting and it is expected to take about half a month to return to its wartime state.

It is necessary to add a squadron leader to be responsible for team command and operations.

The 3000rd Independent Mixed Brigade suffered heavy casualties, including the loss of a brigade commander, and needed to replenish its forces by around troops.

With such a huge gap in troop strength, is it necessary to transfer a division over?

According to Shang Xianji's report, at least two field regiments are needed to cooperate in the mountain mopping-up operation.

The infantry regiment has a strength of 3500 people, and the field regiment has even more.

The 26th Division in Datong, the 41st Division in Linfen, and the 2rd Independent Mountain Artillery Regiment from the 3nd Field Heavy Artillery Brigade guarding Taiyuan participated in the battle.

Yoshio Shinozuka’s meaning is very clear: when you encounter a problem, solve it.

Military strength is not the problem, but we must not encourage the arrogance of the Eighth Route Army.

Gathering over 10,000 troops, they launched another mopping-up offensive.

The train transported the troops of the 41th Regiment of the 237st Division (Colonel Mito) to Xin County. The Japanese gathered the main force of the regiment and attacked the area where Chu Yunfei was stationed.

The 358th Regiment was known as a reinforced regiment of 5000 men, and only Chu Yunfei could be considered a man. The combat effectiveness of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army under his command was really not satisfactory.

They were chased and attacked by the Japanese army's regular infantry regiment and retreated all the way to the mountains.

The loss was 819 people, and 107 Japanese invaders were killed.

The offensive was only stopped after the 358th Regiment of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army was pushed deep into the mountains.

Coolies and laborers were recruited from nearby villages to build watchtowers, dig trenches, and prepare fortifications at the entrance to the mountain.

Colonel Mito was a guy who had just experienced the Battle of Southern Shanxi and achieved outstanding military exploits. He was very disdainful of Chinese soldiers.

"The vulnerable Jinsui Army should prepare fortifications, arrange two heavy machine guns, and assign a machine gun squad to guard the entrance to the mountain."

"I really can't understand how a group of weak Chinese troops could defeat the elite 9th Brigade and even mobilize the Mito Regiment to assist in the mopping-up operation?"

The wing staff and others lowered their heads, unable to answer the wing commander's questions.

Inside the 358th Regiment headquarters, Chu Yunfei frowned and slowly raised his eyes.

Opposite him were Chief of Staff Fang Ligong and Adjutant Sun Ming.

Behind him was the regiment's staff.

White Gloves grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it hard onto the sand table, burning with anger.

"You're useless. My two infantry battalions built a defensive position relying on the mountain, but it was conquered by the Japanese regiment in 15 minutes. I feel ashamed to tell others about it. Don't say you are my soldiers, Chu Yunfei, in the future."

"Sun Ming, go take the two battalion commanders out and kill them. Let Qian Bojun's troops from the first battalion take over, and my artillery battalion will attack their frontline fortifications."

The Mito Regiment provoked Chu Yunfei, and the brave Captain Chu arranged troops to counterattack.

The two sides fought in the mountains, with artillery fire roaring.

The artillery level of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army is acceptable, and it can be ranked among the top in the sequence of the National Army.

However, the quality of the Jin-made artillery was poor, and its firing rate and range were far inferior to those of the Japanese mountain artillery.

Although most of the regiment's artillery are Type 41 mountain cannons, which are relatively backward and outdated, they are considered advanced compared to the Jin-made mountain cannons.

Four mountain cannons plus several infantry cannons are even more powerful than Chu Yunfei's artillery battalion.

He would rather fight for his reputation than lose the battle. Even if he couldn't defeat the Mito Regiment, Chu Yunfei couldn't swallow this humiliation and had to order the artillery battalion to fight back.

The sound of artillery fire filled the area where the mountains and plains meet.

The 358th Regiment of the Shanxi Suiyuan Army unexpectedly launched a counterattack, actively attacking the Japanese invaders, killing 217 Japanese soldiers and suffering more than 700 casualties on its own side.

Qian Bojun felt sorry for his soldiers and did not dare to continue the charge. He guarded a strategic location and used up all his ammunition.