activa-t Chapter 99 The Great Battle is Imminent
Chapter 99 The Great Battle is Imminent
Zhao Gang was furious.
Since the division headquarters issued the combat order, Li Yunlong deliberately isolated him, and almost all military operations were arranged before he was informed.
Zhao Gang, a dignified regimental political commissar, was furious that Li Yunlong would hold an operations meeting behind his back.
Just half an hour ago, he had an argument with Li Yunlong.
Now, the Japanese sweeping troops have begun to approach the base area, and Zhao Gang is responsible for evacuating the villagers in his jurisdiction.
The Independent Regiment's jurisdiction covers a total of six villages, and relocating the residents is no easy task.
The people evacuated to the Taihang Mountains, a distance of seventy or eighty kilometers. At the fastest pace, it would take them at least a day and a night to move their families along.
Clearly, the Independent Regiment was under great pressure. Not only did they have to hold their ground and wait for the civilians to evacuate safely, but after the civilians left, they also had to fight on their own, either retreating into the Taihang Mountains or breaking through the Japanese blockade to find a place to settle.
Zhao Gang had already inspected the Second and Third Battalions of the Independent Regiment, which boosted morale, and the Fifth Battalion naturally couldn't be left behind.
However, upon arrival, Zhao Gang did not see Wang Yousheng. The two company commanders of the Fifth Battalion also appeared mysterious and hesitant, leading Zhao Gang to believe that Li Yunlong was once again issuing orders to the troops behind his back.
Although Wang Yousheng was a skilled fighter and quick-witted, Zhao Gang decided not to give him face on matters of principle.
Zhao Gang demanded, "Tell me, where did Wang Yousheng go?"
The two company commanders knew they couldn't hide it any longer, so they had no choice but to tell the truth about Wang Yousheng's trip to the enemy-occupied area.
Zhao Gang was greatly surprised when he heard this!
"Nonsense! Utter nonsense!"
"A single company dares to infiltrate deep into enemy territory? Does he think the Japanese blockade is just for show?!"
"The enemy has amassed a regiment of troops in Wanjia Town, and all the surrounding strongholds and pillboxes have set up a network of fire. How dare he infiltrate deep into Japanese territory? He's playing with the lives of his soldiers; he's incredibly audacious!"
"Your Fifth Battalion's mission was to hold Baitouling. Now that you've lost a company, can you hold off an entire Japanese field regiment?"
"Tell me, was this an order from Li Yunlong?!"
The two company commanders were speechless; they hadn't expected Zhao Gang to get so angry.
Wang Xikui shook his head slightly and said solemnly, "Political Commissar, I don't like hearing you say that. Even if the battalion commander is not here, our First and Second Companies can still hold off the Japanese for five hours."
"Besides, you can't blame Battalion Commander Wang. During this large-scale Japanese mopping-up operation, the orders from above were for each side to fight independently. Battalion Commander Wang had his reasons for doing so."
Although the person in front of him was the political commissar, Wang Xikui was also a veteran revolutionary with an extremely stubborn temper, and it was common for him to argue with his superiors.
Zhao Gang raised an eyebrow; the soldiers of the Fifth Battalion were indeed very supportive of Wang Yousheng.
He glanced around at the surrounding hills, then changed the subject, asking, "How's the firepower situation for your two companies?"
"Three heavy machine guns, four light machine guns, tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition, and ten boxes of hand grenades."
"Um?"
Zhao Gang was somewhat surprised that the Fifth Battalion had such good firepower, with seven light and heavy artillery units and tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition.
This was the same situation as the Second and Third Battalions. Li Yunlong was conducting operational meetings behind his back, and he had no idea about the details below.
In retrospect, the Independent Regiment does indeed possess extremely strong firepower.
With such strong firepower, two companies could hold off an entire Japanese regiment if the tactics were executed properly and the soldiers' morale was high.
Although Zhao Gang had not fought in any major battles, he still had his own unique insights into the battlefield situation.
Zhao Gang nodded and said, "Alright! Remember, you must hold the position and hold out until tomorrow evening."
"yes!"
……
Meanwhile, Wang Yousheng led his company, lightly armed and on a rapid march, to a mountain forest outside Daxia Village.
Twenty minutes ago, he had already ordered Zhao Shitou to inform Zhou Huaiqi.
While waiting, Wang Yousheng opened the joystick service area to observe the situation of Li Yunlong and Zhang Dabiao.
[The joystick service area is now open, under the jurisdiction of Deputy Level 1 Li Yunlong]
[Li Yunlong's location: South of Yangcun]
[Li Yunlong's combat mission: Lead the regiment's directly subordinate units and command the 2nd and 3rd Battalions to set up defenses south of Wanjia Town]
[Zhang Dabiao's coordinates: North of Wanjia Town]
[Zhang Dabiao's combat mission: Lead the First Battalion to set up defenses in Sanxing Village and Xiaomi Village, north of Wanjia Town, and coordinate the evacuation of the villagers.]
The situation of the two deputy first-level teammates' jurisdictions over a hundred kilometers was presented to Wang Yousheng in detail.
Currently, it appears that a large battalion of Japanese soldiers, along with a regiment of puppet troops, are approaching Zhang Dabiao's defense zone.
Li Yunlong's side, like the Fifth Battalion, was facing an entire Japanese field regiment.
Meanwhile, Ding Wei's New First Regiment is also approaching from the west of Li Yunlong's defense zone, clearly there to help Li Yunlong set up defenses.
However, two regiments of the Jin-Sui Army in Li Yunlong's defense zone hastily withdrew, clearly unwilling to confront the Japanese head-on.
Zhang Dabiao's defense zone is relatively close to the 358th Regiment of the Jin-Sui Army. Chu Yunfei, on the other hand, has backbone; his troops have already begun to be mobilized, preparing to fight the Japanese.
Over the years, the Japanese launched several large-scale mopping-up operations, and regardless of their size, their combat power was overwhelming for the Chinese army.
After several large-scale mopping-up operations, the Eighth Route Army headquarters also grasped the movements of the Japanese. They not only kept a close eye on the local conditions in the occupied areas, but also planted intelligence agents in the Japanese and puppet troops.
Every time the Japanese launched a major sweep, they would mobilize a large number of troops for large-scale operations, which was obviously not something that could be kept secret from the Chinese army.
Whenever the Japanese launched a large-scale mopping-up operation, some military commanders would become cowardly and withdraw their troops to avoid the Japanese's mopping-up efforts. This resulted in the towns and villages within their defense zones suffering devastating blows from the Japanese.
For example, some of the troops under Chiang Kai-shek and Yan Xishan...
Of course, there are also passionate men in their team, but only a very small number.
Chu Yunfei was one of the best in northwestern Shanxi.
The Eighth Route Army always put the people first. When the Japanese invaders came, the Eighth Route Army immediately ordered all its units to set up defenses and buy time to evacuate the people. Then, when the Japanese invaders came, they would break through the blockade line if they could, and retreat if they could.
The troops withdrew only after the civilians had reached the safe zone.
As is well known, the Eighth Route Army suffered heavy losses in every major campaign due to a shortage of weapons and ammunition...
"Report!"
As Wang Yousheng was studying the map, a voice came from behind him.
Zhao Shitou arrived with Zhou Huaiqi.
"Old Zhou, how's the situation?" Wang Yousheng closed the map, stood up and asked.
Zhou Huaiqi first looked at the soldiers of the company, then said, "Battalion Commander Wang, you only have one company. Are you really planning to do this?"
Wang Yousheng said solemnly, "Of course, since we're already here."