sbdcsierra Chapter 135 An ominous premonition
Chapter 135 An ominous premonition
"Retreat quickly, brothers, retreat quickly!" Gou Dongxi saw that things were going badly and immediately ordered the puppet troops behind him to retreat. At this moment, he couldn't care less about the puppet troops trapped in the encirclement.
"Run! Run!" the puppet soldiers shouted. The fleeing puppet soldiers wished they had two more legs, but those trapped in the encirclement were not so lucky and could only fight against the militia fighters coming from all directions alone.
Seeing this, Tang Dazhuang was not about to let such a good opportunity slip by. He ordered his soldiers to quickly tighten the encirclement and speed up the attack. On the other side, the fifth company commander made the same decision as Tang Dazhuang, quickly tightening the encirclement and annihilating the puppet troops.
The puppet troops, trapped in the encirclement, saw the militia soldiers standing right in front of them, and they could no longer hold on.
"Sirs, we surrender, we surrender!" Seeing this, the leader of the puppet troops had no choice but to order his men to throw down their weapons, raise their hands in surrender, and beg the militia soldiers to spare their lives.
"You're lucky you know what's good for you. Be glad you're Chinese. If you were Japanese devils, you'd be seeing your own heads by now." Tang Dazhuang coldly looked at the group of puppet soldiers in front of him.
"Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir." Upon hearing Tang Dazhuang's words, the puppet army leader's legs went weak, and he knelt down in front of Tang Dazhuang.
"Hmph." Tang Dazhuang snorted coldly and ignored him.
"Battalion Commander, look, a green signal flare."
"One platoon escorts the puppet troops to the back of the position, the rest of you retreat immediately, the Japanese artillery fire is about to come." Tang Dazhuang saw the command post send out a green signal flare to retreat and hurriedly ordered the soldiers to retreat.
Upon hearing Tang Dazhuang's words, the puppet troops on one side hurriedly rushed towards the militia's position, much faster than the militia soldiers, fearing that they would be shelled by the Japanese.
The speed at which the puppet army prisoners reacted in the face of life and death left the militia soldiers speechless with astonishment.
"How can those bastards run so fast?"
Not long after Tang Dazhuang and his men withdrew, the Japanese artillery fire came in quick succession.
"Deputy Regiment Commander Zhang, that was really dangerous. If the signal flare had been fired a few minutes later, the flanking attack troops would have been in danger." Staff Officer Sun had just breathed a sigh of relief.
"Remember, the Japanese are cruel. They will stop at nothing to win, and bombarding their own people is something they often do." Zhang Haotian was not surprised at all.
Back in his time with the Sichuan Army, they had fought countless bloody battles against the Japanese, so he knew the Japanese tactics all too well.
"Staff Officer Sun, order all participating battalions to immediately consolidate their defensive positions. I have a feeling that the real battle has only just begun," Zhang Haoshan said with a premonition.
"Yes, Deputy Commander, I will notify all battalions immediately." Staff Officer Sun left the command post immediately after receiving the order.
"A storm is brewing. I wonder when the regimental commander will arrive." Zhang Haoshan glanced in Tang Weiguo's direction.
"Chief of Staff Long, I've been feeling uneasy lately, like something big is about to happen," Tang Weiguo said to Long Wenying, who was standing beside him.
"Commander, have you been commanding battles lately and haven't had enough rest?"
"No, but I'm still worried about the situation at the front. Sometimes a person's intuition is right," Tang Weiguo said.
"Staff Officer Long, you immediately lead the remaining troops of the reconnaissance battalion to support the front line," Tang Weiguo immediately issued the order.
"But, Commander, what about the safety of the transport troops?" Long Wenying asked hesitantly.
"Judging from the current situation, the transport team is not in danger. The Japanese are focusing their operations on the Sanjiaji direction, and we have almost wiped out the Japanese in Qingyun County. It would take too long for the Japanese to transfer troops from other places to stop us."
"So, our focus now is on Sanjiaji. The Japanese have guessed this too. I'm afraid they will reinforce their troops. After all, intelligence shows that the Japanese have trained three regiments of puppet troops, while the puppet troops have only deployed one regiment so far."
“If the Japanese send another regiment of puppet troops, the front line will be difficult to defend. Besides, I still have the first and fourth companies of the battalion here. I don’t take those small groups of Japanese soldiers seriously.”
"Therefore, you should immediately lead the remaining troops of the reconnaissance battalion to join forces with Niu Dali and try to do something behind enemy lines to relieve the pressure on the blocking forces."
"Yes, Commander, I'm setting off now."
"it is good."
"Li Qin, send a telegram to Niu Dali, instructing him to conduct reconnaissance first and wait to rendezvous with Staff Officer Long."
"Yes, Captain."
"Officer Long, have a safe journey."
"Farewell, Commander."
"The Second and Third Companies of the Reconnaissance Battalion and the Mortar Company shall immediately follow me."
"Yes, Staff Officer Long."
Watching the troops leave, Tang Weiguo felt a little more at ease.
"Correspondent, order the transport troops to overcome difficulties, speed up, and get to Sanjiaji as soon as possible."
"Yes, Captain."
On Niu Dali's side, having received intelligence from Tang Xiaohu, he was heading towards the Japanese rear, while the 3rd Company and mortar company of the 1st Battalion accompanying him remained behind, ordered to immediately support Tang Xiaohu. In operations behind enemy lines, Niu Dali only trusted the reconnaissance battalion soldiers he personally led.
"Report, Battalion Commander, urgent telegram from Regiment Commander."
"read."
"I have ordered Staff Officer Long to lead the remaining troops of the reconnaissance battalion to join your unit. Please hold back the Japanese troops behind enemy lines and reduce the pressure on the front line."
"Sigh, the regimental commander is also taking a risk. The reconnaissance battalion has been taken away by Staff Officer Long. Who will protect the regimental commander's safety?"
"Correspondent, quickly send a telegram back to the regimental commander and request that a company from the reconnaissance battalion be left to protect the commander's safety."
"Yes, battalion commander."
Less than two minutes later, the messenger returned and said:
"The regimental commander replied, instructing the battalion commander to obey orders."
"Alright, I can't go against the commander's wishes."
"Qin Yang, what's the situation up ahead?" Niu Dali turned and asked.
"Battalion Commander, we have detected traces of the Japanese, but we haven't pinpointed the location of their artillery yet," Qin Yang replied truthfully.
"Send the scouts quickly to pinpoint the enemy artillery positions. Stop dawdling like sissies." Niu Dali felt a surge of anger.
As the most elite force in the militia, the reconnaissance battalion would be responsible for the commander's safety; Niu Dali felt he would never forgive himself for this.
"Yes, Battalion Commander, I'll take care of it myself."
"By the way, look at the sky, it's getting dark. Let's see if we can find the enemy command post and carry out a decapitation strike." Niu Dali gestured a throat-slitting motion to Qin Yang.
"Yes, Captain."
"The rest of the troops, remain in place and await regrouping."
"Yes, battalion commander."
While the mission was being assigned, the 3rd Company of the 1st Battalion and the mortar company arrived at the blocking position and joined up with Tang Xiaohu.
"Battalion Commander, we've arrived."
"Why are you back? Where's the regimental commander?" Tang Xiaohu exclaimed in surprise when he saw the two company commanders.
"Battalion Commander, the Regiment Commander ordered us to go to the front line with Battalion Commander Niu to support you. On the way, Regiment Commander Niu received a new order from the Regiment Commander, so he told us to meet up with you first."
Which unit is currently responsible for the safety of the regimental commander?
"Two companies from the reconnaissance battalion, as well as our first and fourth companies."
"Alright." Tang Xiaohu breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that four more companies would be protecting Tang Weiguo's safety.
"You've arrived just in time. Third Company, you immediately replace the Fifth Company and let the Fifth Company rest first."
"Yes, battalion commander."
"Mortar Company 3, you go to the other side immediately to support Tang Dazhuang and his men. Be careful and don't let the Japanese artillery fire target you."
"Yes, battalion commander."
"Okay, you go quickly."
"Yes, sir." After receiving the order, the two company commanders began to act separately.
Just as Tang Xiaohu finished adjusting his troops, Xiaogui's new attack began again as the artillery fire ceased.
This attack not only involved puppet troops, but the Japanese soldiers behind them finally couldn't wait any longer and began to act.
The Japanese troops, having assembled two companies, began their attack on the position defended by Tang Xiaohu, while Gou Dongxi led the remaining puppet troops to attack the position defended by Tang Dazhuang.
“The previous wave was a probing attack, but this time the Japanese are really launching a serious offensive,” Zhang Haoshan observed at the scene.
"Order the artillery to fire and break up the enemy's attacking formation."
"Yes, Vice Captain."
After a while, the militia's three Type 92 infantry guns fired at the Japanese again, and the Japanese, not to be outdone, returned fire with their own artillery.
The battle between the two sides instantly intensified.