Chapter 250: Increasingly Realizing The Value Of The Rocket Launcher
“Baga, these damn Jin Sui Army!”
Commander Kumamoto received Shinozuka Yoshio’s telegram and cursed angrily.
Originally, the large-scale mopping-up operation against the Eighth Route Army was going smoothly.
Even though the Eighth Route Army’s resistance was tenacious, they absolutely couldn’t hold on for much longer.
At this critical juncture, a large number of Jin Sui Army troops appeared.
They charged towards the rear of the Yoshino Regiment.
Once they managed to rescue the Eighth Route Army troops surrounded by the Yoshino Regiment, he would have worries in the rear again.
Major General Kawashima, Commander of the 29th Brigade, also gritted his teeth and said, “Let me go and contain these Jin Sui Army troops. In the past, half a division of the 5th Division could sweep them away. Now I want to see if their bones are much harder than before.”
“Damn it, if they could just hold on a little longer, the Eighth Route Army definitely wouldn’t be able to last,” Commander Kumamoto still cursed. “Once your brigade leaves, the pressure on the Eighth Route Army will be reduced, and they will be able to drag us out again, giving their arsenal more production time.”
“Mr. Kawashima, I will not let the Jin Sui Army delay for too long,” Major General Kawashima promised. “After I and the reinforcements from Taiyuan join forces to drive the Jin Sui Army back, I will return as quickly as possible.”
“Mr. Kawashima, I entrust this to you.” Commander Kumamoto nodded.
Major General Kawashima led the 29th Brigade to quickly disengage from the large-scale mopping-up operation, not bringing any Puppet Army troops with him.
…
386th Brigade Headquarters
Deputy Commander Gao Xing said to the Commander of the Brigade, “Commander, that Li Yunlong kid is really something. A large number of Jin Sui Army troops have appeared and are now heading towards the rear of the Yoshino Regiment.”
The Commander of the Brigade smiled, “With the Jin Sui Army participating, the time is ripe for Li Yunlong to cause trouble in Shanxi Province.”
“Yes, with the Jin Sui Army helping to contain the Japanese invaders, Li Yunlong he…” The Deputy Commander of the Brigade did not finish his sentence.
A staff officer hurried over, saluted, and said, “Report to the Commander of the Brigade, the Japanese troops mopping us up have dispatched one brigade, and the pressure on the front lines has been somewhat relieved.”
The Commander of the Brigade was calm, “As expected, that little Japanese devil Shinozuka Yoshio will definitely not let the Jin Sui Army get close to the Yoshino Regiment. Shinozuka Yoshio might even draw troops from the Taiyuan rear again to attack the Jin Sui Army from both front and back.”
The Deputy Commander of the Brigade added, “If the brigade of Japanese invaders that was dispatched is heavily damaged, they won’t be able to return to Commander Kumamoto’s division. In that case, if the Japanese invaders have no new tricks, we can continue to drag this mopping-up operation out. As long as the new type rocket launcher is produced and there’s an opportunity to attack the logistics and supplies of Commander Kumamoto’s division, this anti-mopping-up operation can basically end.”
“To heavily damage the dispatched Japanese brigade, it’s not that easy. Let’s see how this bastard Li Yunlong makes a fuss,” the Commander of the Brigade’s tone was still solemn.
Even with the Jin Sui Army participating, the number of Japanese soldiers is not small.
The 29th Brigade has several thousand Japanese soldiers, and the Yoshino Regiment has over ten thousand Japanese soldiers.
If Shinozuka Yoshio draws more troops from Taiyuan, the total number of Japanese soldiers will be twenty to thirty thousand.
Although the Jin Sui Army has a considerable number of troops, the combat power of the Japanese invaders is not to be underestimated.
More importantly, if heaven doesn’t help and the sandstorm weather stops, and Japanese airplanes appear, the fierce bombardment is no joke.
In short, Li Yunlong is still dancing on the tip of a knife. A slight carelessness could lead to the annihilation of his entire army.
“Li Yunlong never loses when fighting. If he had one or two divisions, he would dare to attack Taiyuan,” the Deputy Commander of the Brigade said, half-serious and half-jokingly. “Now that there’s an addition of Jin Sui Army troops, I believe the Japanese invaders will be the ones to suffer in the end.”
“Let’s hope so.” The Commander of the Brigade, ending the topic, said, “Since the Japanese invaders have dispatched another brigade, we should still seize the time to rest in turns.”
With the entire Japanese mopping-up force deployed, the various Eighth Route Army units have been engaged in high-intensity guerrilla warfare with almost no rest time.
Now that one less brigade of Japanese invaders is present, they can take turns to catch their breath.
“Yes.”
…
Although the actions of the Jin Sui Army were not slow, and their progress was very rapid.
Shinozuka Yoshio’s reaction was also not slow. Taiyuan rapidly dispatched another seven to eight thousand Japanese troops, even including a tank regiment.
Commander Kumamoto’s division also quickly dispatched the 29th Brigade.
When the large contingent of Jin Sui Army troops was still more than ten kilometers away from the Yoshino Regiment, they were blocked by the seven to eight thousand Japanese troops from Taiyuan.
At the same time, Major General Kawashima arrived with the 29th Brigade.
The two coordinated their efforts, implementing a pincer strategy against the Jin Sui Army from both front and back.
“Regimental Commander, the Japanese invaders’ firepower is too fierce, my men can’t break through,” Qian Bojun, the Battalion Commander of the 358th Regiment of the Jin Sui Army, said angrily to Chu Yunfei. “My men are suffering heavy casualties.”
“Even if you can’t break through, you have to,” Chu Yunfei’s tone was very serious.
The 358th Regiment was the vanguard. If they couldn’t break through, the 29th Brigade behind them was applying fierce pressure.
Although the rear-guard troops also suffered heavy casualties, in a way, this was a good thing.
Because this Japanese pincer attack essentially dispersed their forces.
If they concentrated all their troops in the front, blocking the way with full force, it would be much more difficult to break through then.
Qian Bojun said with difficulty, “Regimental Commander, the main problem is the Japanese tanks and armored vehicles blocking the way. We lack anti-tank weapons and simply cannot get through.”
“Gather more men, and charge forward with explosives packs,” Chu Yunfei adopted a desperate stance.
“Yes, Regimental Commander.” Qian Bojun could only grit his teeth and carry out Chu Yunfei’s order.
Many skilled soldiers were selected, carrying explosives packs, and launched a suicide charge towards the Japanese tank regiment.
They mostly fell under the machine gun fire of the tanks and the rifle fire of the infantry, and none of them could even get within twenty meters of the Japanese tanks.
“If we had anti-tank weapons, how could we be so frustrated today!” Chu Yunfei watched the scene through his telescope, so angry he stomped his feet.
Captain Sun Ming, the commander of Chu Yunfei’s guard company, said, “The Eighth Route Army’s shoulder-mounted cannons are specifically for dealing with these Japanese tanks and armored vehicles. It’s a pity they don’t sell them to us.”
“When the opportunity arises in the future, we must buy them,” Chu Yunfei increasingly recognized the value of the Eighth Route Army’s shoulder-mounted cannons.
It was no wonder that Mr. Yan Kai, even knowing he was very likely to be used by Li Yunlong, still chose to go.
The reason was simple: besides wanting to decipher the Eighth Route Army’s Hell Cannon shells, Mr. Yan Kai also wanted to obtain the key technology for the Eighth Route Army’s shoulder-mounted cannons.
“Regimental Commander, an urgent order from superior command,” at this moment, someone ran up to Chu Yunfei and said, “Superior command stated that by dawn today, you must break through, otherwise…”
“Otherwise what?” Chu Yunfei interrupted with a glare.
“The previously awarded merits will not be issued to you,” the person said.
“Go, pass on my order. Push all the artillery pieces from the artillery battalion forward, and conduct close-range attacks on the Japanese tanks and armored vehicles!” Chu Yunfei’s eyes began to turn red.
Previously, Chu Yunfei had led the 358th Regiment to achieve many meritorious services, even receiving commendations from the bald one in Shancheng.
However, these merit rewards had not yet reached Chu Yunfei’s hands.
If he ultimately failed to receive these merit rewards, the ammunition and supplies consumed by the 358th Regiment would not be replenished, and their combat power would significantly decrease.
At that time, the reinforced regiment’s size would quickly shrink to that of an ordinary regiment.
“Regimental Commander, the artillery battalion is our foundation. If we conduct close-range attacks, the Japanese artillery is definitely not to be trifled with. If they bombard our artillery battalion, we…” someone’s advice was not finished.
Chu Yunfei roared, “The situation is urgent, we can’t worry about that much. Hurry and bring the artillery battalion over. If we don’t suppress the Japanese armored tanks with the artillery battalion, we will never be able to break through.”
“Yes, Regimental Commander!” The orderly shouted in response and ran to deliver the order.
Chu Yunfei held his telescope, looking at the Japanese tank regiment, his teeth gritting: Today, even if the entire artillery battalion is wiped out, I must break through.
I saved Li Yunlong’s life once. Later, I must make this scoundrel sell me some rocket launchers, or this matter will not be over!
…
Yoshino Regiment
“Regimental Commander, Major General Kawashima has sent a telegram.”
The signalman handed the newly arrived telegram to the Regimental Commander Yoshino.
Regimental Commander Yoshino took it and a smile appeared on his face, “Yoshi, Brigade Commander Kawashima and the reinforcements from Taiyuan have trapped the Jin Sui Army.”
A Japanese officer beside Regimental Commander Yoshino also smiled, “Although the Jin Sui Army has a considerable number of troops, they are ultimately mere paper tigers. Since they can’t get through, we don’t have to worry about our rear.”
Regimental Commander Yoshino disdained, “In the past, half a division of the 5th Division scared thirty-odd divisions of the Jin Sui Army into fleeing in disarray, handing over the vast Shanxi Province, and even Taiyuan City and the Taiyuan Arsenal with both hands. Such a spineless army, Commander Shinozuka is still too conservative. Taiyuan doesn’t even need to send reinforcements; just Brigade Commander Kawashima leading the 29th Brigade would be enough to stop them.”
“Regimental Commander, the Eighth Route Army troops surrounded by us have charged several more times, and the intensity is weaker each time. I estimate their ammunition consumption is almost depleted, and their strength to struggle is no longer significant. Should we dispatch some troops to reinforce Brigade Commander Kawashima and the others?” the Japanese officer said. “Although the Jin Sui Army has been blocked, they have not yet collapsed or shown signs of retreat. They are still desperately trying to advance. Let’s take advantage of this opportunity to defeat them once and for all.”
“No!” Regimental Commander Yoshino waved his hand. “Even a lion hunts a rabbit with all its might. Although the Eighth Route Army’s firepower within our encirclement has weakened, it is still strong. Once they break out, it will be very troublesome. Anyway, Brigade Commander Kawashima and the reinforcements from Taiyuan can contain the Jin Sui Army. As long as the Jin Sui Army cannot get through, we don’t need to rush.”
The Japanese officer said, “My intention is to defeat the Jin Sui Army early with Brigade Commander Kawashima and the others, so that Brigade Commander Kawashima can return to Commander Kumamoto’s division.”
“No hurry, the Jin Sui Army definitely won’t last long, this little bit of time won’t make a difference.” Regimental Commander Yoshino still waved his hand.
“That’s true.”
