Chapter 220 The enemy dared to attack us!
"The brigade commander is worthy of being the brigade commander. He analyzed the results so quickly."
At the Vanguard Regiment Headquarters, Qin Yangming received a telegram from the brigade commander. Looking at the analysis results from the brigade headquarters, he couldn't help but sigh.
Listening to what Qin Yangming said, Zhangye on the side nodded first to show his agreement with what Qin Yangming said.
Then he pointed to the information in the telegram that the brigade commander had mentioned about sending the vanguard regiment's cavalry company and spoke to Qin Yangming.
"Captain, the brigade commander has returned the cavalry company. What are the arrangements for the cavalry company?"
"Let Sun Desheng lead the cavalry company to the independent regiment... and then we will be responsible for a head-on confrontation with the Japanese Fourth Brigade.
Cavalry is not suitable for operation on our side.
Moreover, after we get out of the mountains, there is a large open area. Once the cavalry goes out, they will be sitting ducks and have nowhere to hide.
There is a large gentle slope on the side of the independent regiment. We will then attract the Japanese 4th Brigade from the front.
Then we had the cavalry company of the independent regiment and our cavalry company charge from behind the Japanese soldiers and slash their backs!"
"Forget it. Let Sun Desheng lead the cavalry company to move from the New 1st Regiment to the Independent Regiment. Commander Li will know how to use them."
"Yes, our old captain always comes up with some unexpected operations. These operations always have some unexpected effects, which are all beneficial and can even achieve the greatest results at the lowest cost."
"Let the first battalion abandon the attack and retreat to the hillside behind to defend.
There is no need to save ammunition for mortars and grenade launchers. Give the Japanese a good beating.
After the Independent Regiment and the New 1st Regiment launch the attack on the Japanese, their mortars and grenade launchers will certainly not save ammunition.
After these two sides launch attacks on the Japanese, the Japanese will know that our Eighth Route Army is not short of ammunition.
So we can't pretend to be out of ammunition.
If the Japanese use mountain artillery and infantry artillery, then there is no need for us to hide.
Pretend to be a pig and eat the tiger, but don't really think of yourself as a pig.
Some things should be used when they are needed.
Tell Luo Chengwen that I just don't let him launch an attack, but we must not let the Japanese really rush to our position."
"Yes!"
……
The vanguard regiment's forward position, the first battalion's defense line.
Due to the tight time schedule, the First Battalion only dug out some individual shelters but did not dig out any anti-artillery holes.
Therefore, the soldiers of the first battalion could only rely on the hillsides and various small mounds as fortifications to deal with the attacks of the Japanese.
However, each company and platoon of the Vanguard Regiment is equipped with a large number of sniper rifles, grenade launchers, mortars and other weapons.
As soon as the Japanese machine guns or grenade launchers appeared, they would be immediately shot down by the vanguard regiment's snipers or grenade launchers.
So now the battle between the First Battalion and the Japanese has directly turned into a positional battle.
The Japanese soldiers hid in the trenches and shot at the soldiers of the vanguard regiment, while the soldiers of the vanguard regiment relied on the terrain to shoot at the Japanese soldiers.
"Damn it, you damned little Japs, why didn't you attack earlier or later? I'm going to attack now, so you damned well attack now!"
Luo Chengwen, climbing on the hillside, looked at the Japanese soldiers hiding in the trenches in front of him, and was filled with anger.
Not long ago, he rushed back to the position from the regiment headquarters and had just assembled all the mortars and grenade launchers in the battalion to prepare a pot of artillery shell soup for the Japanese.
As a result, the mortar gunner had just set up the mortar when the Japanese grenade launcher opened fire.
The vanguard regiment was just preparing to launch an attack, but the Japanese attacked the vanguard regiment first.
The sudden change made Luo Chengwen not know how to deal with it for a while.
Because the matter involved several regiments, Luo Chengwen did not dare to continue the attack, fearing that it would disrupt the combat plans of Qin Yangming and others.
The only thing they could do was to organize their troops to abandon the attack and switch to defense.
"Captain, do we still want to attack?
In my opinion, we should just use mortars and grenade launchers to blow up the Japanese positions and then launch a charge. We can eliminate the Japanese in front in one round.
Just stay in the position and fight the Japanese.
Even when we were the vanguard company, we never fought such a frustrating battle."
The company commander who was mainly responsible for the defense of the position looked at the soldiers and saw that they were so angry that they couldn't wait to launch a charge and kill the Japanese devils in front of them.
The company commander couldn't help but ask Luo Chengwen when they could launch the attack.
"Captain, since I joined the vanguard regiment, every battle of our vanguard regiment has been a charge to annihilate the Japanese. Never have we fought so hard, hiding behind the hillside to fight the Japanese... I'm afraid that if we continue to fight, the soldiers will not be able to hold back."
"Yes, battalion commander, isn't it just a brigade of the Japanese?
It’s not like we haven’t fought before. Back at Baihu Ridge, our strength was not even half as strong as it is now, but we still defeated the Japanese brigade.
We also killed a brigade commander of the Japanese. Battalion commander, why don’t you talk to the commander and let us launch the attack.
We promise to cut off the head of the commander of this little Japanese brigade and use it as a chamber pot for him!"
"You have to hold it in even if you can't help it!
This time is different from the time we were at Baihuling. Back then we had sufficient geographical advantages.
Moreover, we were on the defense while the Japanese were on the attack, so we were able to stop an entire Japanese brigade.
This time we are on the offensive and the Japanese are on the defensive. Our goal is to completely annihilate the Japanese 4th Brigade, not to defeat it.
If anyone can't bear it anymore, just get out of here and don't force me to use military law!
What if the soldiers of our vanguard regiment caused trouble and disrupted the combat plan, causing the Japanese 4th Brigade to break out, or causing some accidents to other brother units?
Then our Vanguard Group will lose all face!"
Hearing the company-level commanders under his command requesting to launch an attack, Luo Chengwen could only drive these company commanders back with a gloomy face.
Didn't he want to attack?
There would definitely be no problem for the Vanguard Regiment to launch an attack now, but launching an attack now would definitely disrupt the plans of the leader and others.
If we want to annihilate the Japanese 4th Brigade at that time, we will have to suffer even greater casualties.
Moreover, if the vanguard group really launched an attack without authorization, not to mention Luo Chengwen, even Qin Yangming would not be able to withstand it.
Let’s not talk about how important this battle is to the Eighth Route Army.
The headquarters is right at Baihu Ridge.
It can be said that the Vanguard Group is right under the nose of the headquarters.
Qin Yangming had to be dealt with no matter how capable he was, for disobeying orders on the battlefield right under the nose of the headquarters.
Otherwise, how can you command the troops?
Luo Chengwen was thinking about how to deal with the situation and calm the soldiers' restless hearts when a soldier ran down the hillside behind him and came to Luo Chengwen and said, "Battalion Commander, the regiment commander's guard is here with the regiment commander's order."
"Did you bring the commander's order for us to launch an attack?!"
"Where is he? Battalion Commander, please get someone to bring Goudan here quickly!
He must have brought us the order to attack. The regiment commander hates the Japs the most."
Luo Chengwen hadn't spoken yet while listening to what the soldier said, but he had been paying attention to the company commanders here who came over and asked questions one after another.
"Quick, bring Goudan here."
Listening to what the company commanders said, Luo Chengwen quickly asked someone to bring Goudan over.
Looking at Goudan who came along, Luo Chengwen's eyes began to be filled with anticipation.
Everyone in the Vanguard Group knew that Qin Yangming hated the Japanese the most. As long as the Japanese fell into Qin Yangming's hands, as long as they were useless, no one could escape from Qin Yangming alive.
Qin Yangming had already issued the order to attack, but the Japanese did not just sit there and wait to be killed by them, but actually dared to launch an attack on their vanguard regiment first.
"Hahahaha, under the same conditions, it has always been our vanguard regiment that chased the Japs. When have we ever seen the Japs catch our vanguard regiment and fight them?
I bet the regiment commander is furious... Deputy company commander, go tell everyone not to save bullets when we launch the attack later.
Let's solve the problem directly on the battlefield. The brigade commander is at Baihu Ridge. If we accidentally fire the weapon, the regiment commander will definitely be scolded.
If the leader gets scolded, we won’t be in any better shape.”
"Hey, stop, what do you mean? It's my company that's blocking the Japanese now, so you want to compete with me for the main attack?
I say, second brother, you are doing this, isn't it a bit unreasonable? "
"Hey, Second Brother, you have good intentions. You have been pulling the trigger here for so long, you must be tired. Let the Third Company do the running errands.
The Second Company has also dug so many trenches, so we are taking a rest in the back."
Many company commanders believed that what Goudan brought must be the order issued by Qin Yangming to launch an attack on the Japanese 4th Brigade, so they directly competed with Luo Chengwen for the main attack mission.
Luo Chengwen looked at several company commanders competing for combat missions, and he was not in a position to stop them.
But he guessed in his heart that the order from the regiment commander was probably not an offensive mission.
Because it was said at the beginning that the vanguard group would act as bait to show weakness to the enemy and fish.
Since it's fishing, the bait has to look weak.
Otherwise, if you tie a big fish to the bait, how can you fish?
Therefore, the order brought by Goudan was most likely not to attack, but to defend.
Amid the quarrel among several company commanders, Goudan, led by a soldier, also came to Luo Chengwen.
Seeing Goudan panting, a company commander quickly took out a kettle, and another company commander helped Goudan sit on the ground.
"Take your time, take your time, don't be impatient, when will the commander prepare for us to launch the attack?
Half an hour? Or an hour?
Or ten minutes?"
The company commander asked quickly while feeding Goudan water.
The time the company commander mentioned did not mean how long the troops should wait before launching an attack.
But how long the artillery will bombard the Japanese positions.
Half an hour means that the artillery needs to bombard the Japanese positions for half an hour and then launch a charge.
One hour means one hour of shelling.
As for the ten minutes, the artillery will first bombard the Japanese positions for ten minutes, and then when the artillery is conducting blocking fire, the infantry will launch a charge.
That is, coordinated operations between infantry and artillery.
Goudan was stunned by the actions of the company commanders.
"Hey, Goudan, hurry up and tell me, the Japanese have already launched an attack, which is like a slap in the face of our vanguard group. Don't we have to fight back quickly?
Speak quickly, don't delay the battle."
"No, the commander didn't give you the order to attack."
Goudan first shook his head, then quickly spoke to Luo Chengwen.
"Captain Luo, the regiment commander has ordered that the first battalion is strictly prohibited from launching an attack before receiving orders from the regiment headquarters.
Captain Luo, the regiment commander asked you to hold your position. Although you cannot launch an attack, you are not allowed to retreat. If you lose the position at the intersection, you will no longer be the battalion commander. Go to the regiment headquarters and feed the horses.
Captain Luo, these are the exact words of the regiment commander... The regiment commander also said that if the Japs use mountain artillery or infantry artillery, you can also use them.
However, we were only allowed to destroy the Japanese artillery, and we were not allowed to directly use mountain artillery or infantry artillery to attack the Japanese positions.
However, you can use the mortars and grenade launchers however you want."
"Okay, I understand. Goudan, tell the commander that our first battalion will wait until the attack order comes down from the regiment headquarters. As long as the attack order from the regiment headquarters has not come, even if there is only one person left in our first battalion, we will hold our position!"
Luo Chengwen first grabbed a company commander who wanted to say something, and then quickly spoke to Goudan.
"Okay, Captain Luo, I'll leave first. I still have to report to the cavalry company."
"Cavalry Company? Didn't the Cavalry Company stay outside Baihu Ridge?
Are they coming?
That's not right. Our direction is not suitable for cavalry attack. The slopes there are too steep for cavalry to charge down... The front is full of heavy machine guns of the Japanese..."
"The cavalry company is here. As for the others, Captain Luo, please don't let me make any mistakes."
"Brat, let's go."
……
"No, Captain, what does the commander mean?
Why are we responsible for defending against the Japanese instead of attacking?"
"No, the Japanese have already taken the initiative to attack, why don't we attack?"
"You ask me, who should I ask?
If you have the guts, go ask the team leader what's going on, don't look for me."
Listening to the mutterings of several company commanders, Luo Chengwen could only spread his hands helplessly.
"Damn it, you guys are always thinking about fighting the Japanese, go back and do a good job of ideological work for the soldiers, so that they don't worry too much.
At the latest, we will launch a general attack on the Japanese 4th Brigade after dark. If things go well, we may be able to launch the attack on the Japanese in a few hours.
If anyone fails at that time, he will be sent back to the recruit camp for retraining!"
"Yes!"
After listening to Luo Chengwen, several company commanders had no choice but to return to their respective units to calm the soldiers down.
(End of this chapter)
