Predator Reborn

Chapter 432: Attack from both sides

However, although the six infantry regiments following the Japanese army were working very hard. However, in the face of repeated bombing and strafing by 12 Japanese aircraft, more than 10,000 troops had to be dispersed to the mountains, forests and farmland next to the road.

Among them, it is used to avoid bombing by Japanese planes.

At the same time, the entire army had to stop to replenish the energy consumed by the night's pursuit. However, after learning that the Japanese army was also resting and recuperating at this moment, the distance between the two armies did not widen due to the harassment of the Japanese army.

After a long distance, the two brigade commanders slowly felt relieved. At this moment, the Japanese division commander, Lieutenant General Yamaoka Shigeho, was lying on a marching quilt, eating dry food and replenishing the food he had consumed throughout the night.

physical strength.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander, the situation of the troops has been calculated..." Looking at the division commander who was eating dry food in front of him, Chief of Staff Colonel Kurashige said while holding a list that had just been calculated.

"Kuramo-kun, tell me, I'm listening..." The division commander put down the dry food in his hand and said softly.

"Hi, Your Excellency, Division Commander, according to statistics, there are still 5,687 Imperial Army soldiers left with us. From the brigade responsible for breaking up the rear last night, no one has returned until now. If nothing else, they should be in the Eighth Route Army.

Under the siege, the entire army was destroyed... Also, the vanguard wing lost a total of more than 1,300 soldiers along the way..." the chief of staff reported in a low voice.

"Oh, Cang Maojun, I really didn't expect that a few days ago, we were confident about attacking the Eighth Route Army. In less than a few days, there were only more than 5,000 imperial soldiers left out of more than 20,000.

He was defeated by the Eighth Route Army and fled, and he didn’t know how much he would be able to escape in the end..." To the surprise of the chief of staff, Colonel Kurashige, the division commander in front of him did not get angry because of this. Instead, he let out a long sigh.

After a breath, he shook his head helplessly and said.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander, please don't be discouraged. I believe that with the reinforcement of air planes, we will be able to take the remaining troops out of Shanxi Province. Please rest assured, Your Excellency, Division Commander... However, we are now facing a very huge challenge.

The problem must be solved immediately." Chief of Staff Colonel Kurashige replied loudly.

"Nani? Kurashige-kun, what is the problem that is so important?" the division commander immediately asked with a frown.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander, it's a food problem. Because we gave up all the supplies, and the soldiers usually only have one meal of dry food on them. Therefore, after this rest, the troops have run out of food. If there is no food,

The soldiers simply don’t have the energy to carry out a long-distance forced march..." Chief of Staff Colonel Kurashige replied with the same frown.

"Food, Cang Maojun, are you right? Even if the troops don't have food, we can grab food from the villages we pass along the way. Don't there be food in the homes of the people in the villages along the way?" the division leader asked in confusion.

road.

"Hi, Your Excellency, Division Commander, I have just sent a few small teams to the nearest villages to collect military rations for the troops. However, there is not a single common person in each village, let alone food... If my guess is correct...

If so, all the people along the highway should have been transferred by the Eighth Route Army..." After hearing the division commander's words, Chief of Staff Colonel Kurashige shook his head speechlessly.

"Baga, the cunning Eighth Route Army... This must be a conspiracy of the Eighth Route Army. They want to starve our imperial army to death, and then gather together to annihilate it when our army is very tired. Baga Road..." Division

The group leader cursed fiercely.

"Kuramo-kun, in this case, the only way now is to ask for help from the Commander. Immediately send a telegram to the Commander, requesting him to airdrop food to our army. Otherwise, our 109th Division will be suffering from hunger and cold.

Next, we will never get out of the Eighth Route Army's sphere of influence..." In the end, the division commander, Lieutenant General Yamaoka Shigehou, had no choice but to place his last hope on General Okamura Neiji, the commander of the Peiping Headquarters.

"Hi, Your Excellency, Division Commander..."

Five hours is very precious for these exhausted little devils. However, it is also very short. Just when these little devils are still immersed in sleep, they have to fight under the control of their respective commanders.

Under urging, he stood up again and began a rapid march.

However, the Eighth Route Army troops who were more than ten kilometers away had no way to deal with the little Japanese who were walking farther and farther away. Because, right above their heads, there were always at least six bombers circling. As long as they saw

Any moving target on the ground will drop a bomb... More than 10,000 troops, harassed by Japanese aircraft, could only watch the Japanese disappear from their sight in order to avoid unnecessary casualties.

But it is impossible to pursue...

"Commander, urgent telegram. Due to the constant harassment and bombing by Japs' planes, our more than 10,000 pursuit troops had to stop and hide. The thousands of Japs who have broken out now, under the cover of the planes, are within a few meters of us.

Getting further and further away..." Just when Commander Gao Yuan in the headquarters was about to go to the battlefield to see the situation, political commissar Chen Dazhong hurried in with a telegram.

"Damn, it's the kid's plane again..." After reading the telegram in his hand, Gao Yuan couldn't help but frowned and cursed fiercely. Then, he looked at the huge military map in front of him and began to think quietly.

Possible countermeasures. As time passed by, the circling roads on the map slowly appeared in Gao Yuan's eyes.

"Old Chen, the little devils are walking on the road. Although they are covered by planes, they have no food. Therefore, their marching speed will become slower and slower as time goes on. But we can march during the day

After resting and recuperating, as soon as night came, they began to march quickly and pursue pursuit. Calculated this way, the gap between the two armies was not particularly large. In addition, Lao Chen, you see, the Japanese army retreated along the road, and the entire road was completely

It's a semicircle. So, I plan to send a force to go straight in from here, block the way for the Japanese to retreat, block the Japanese army here, and then carry out a total annihilation..." Gao Yuan, who had the idea, pointed to the table.

Map, briefly introduced.

"Let me see, Lao Gao, this is really a good idea. If it comes true, another division of the Japanese army will be wiped out from their order of operations... I agree with your opinion, but which division should be sent?

The troops are interspersed... You must know that this area is basically covered with mountains and forests. More importantly, it will have to block the Japanese attack for at least half a day. This unit must have very strong combat effectiveness..." Looking at the map, the commander

A straight line drawn by Gao Yuan. After thinking for a few seconds, political commissar Chen Dazhong answered in the affirmative.

"Military Region Guard Brigade, this unit has been following our commander. I believe their combat effectiveness will definitely exceed our imagination... When the time comes, three regiments will be blocking the front of the little devils, and three regiments will be blocking behind them.

Let's see where these thousands of little devils are running..." Gao Yuan replied affirmatively, his tone full of confidence.

"Okay, Lao Gao, I'm going to send a report to the two brigade commanders and ask them to divide their troops immediately..." As he spoke, political commissar Chen Dazhong walked out of the headquarters with an excited face and walked to the radio room next to him...

Hidden in the woods, the two brigade commanders, who were still very anxious, breathed a sigh of relief at the same time after receiving the telegram from the plateau. Under the command of brigade commander Bruce Lee, the guard brigade, with their guides, quickly

Turning into the dense forest next to the highway, the troops of more than 5,000 people, like a swimming dragon, quickly swam towards the intended target nearly a hundred kilometers away.

At the same time, the third brigade of the direct column responsible for the pursuit, under the orders of the brigade commander, except for the necessary observation posts, the remaining soldiers were well fed and drunk, lying on the ground to rest and wait.

The arrival of evening.

Finally, as night fell, the last wave of Japanese reinforcements slowly disappeared from everyone's sight. The soldiers, who had rested all day, emerged in high spirits.

Hiding in the dense forest, they walked onto the road. At the brigade commander's order, the three regiments and nine tanks of the armored battalion joined the pursuit.

At this moment, the Japanese army, after an afternoon of marching, can be said to be hungry and cold. However, at this moment, the troops have no food except boiling water. As for the little food dropped by the air force in the afternoon, it is just enough.

These soldiers who had been marching for a day were half-full and could not even fill their stomachs.

With only a little thing left in the stomach, as the long and rapid march is slowly digested, the soldiers' steps forward become more and more heavy, and the span between two steps becomes smaller and smaller... just like this, invisibly

, the marching speed of the Japanese army has increased from five kilometers per hour at the beginning, to four kilometers per hour... to the current three kilometers per hour...

"Baga, the marching speed of the troops is really too slow. It is already dark now, and all the planes that reinforced us must have returned. And the Eighth Route Army, which has rested for a whole day, must be carrying out a crazy pursuit behind us. Kuramao-kun

, we must speed up the march. Otherwise, the distance of dozens of kilometers just opened will be shortened again, and we will even be directly overtaken by the Eighth Route Army troops..." Looking at the slower and slower marching speed, the man on the war horse

The division commander couldn't help but frown, and said dissatisfiedly to Colonel Kurashige, the chief of staff beside him.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander, now is not the time to speed up. After a day's march, the little food dropped by the plane has long been digested. Now almost everyone is hungry and cold, and has no strength to continue marching.

If there is no food, the soldiers will not be able to move for a few hours at most..." In response to the division commander's complaint, Chief of Staff Colonel Kurashige smiled bitterly and could only reply speechlessly.

"Baga, it's a food problem again. It's dark everywhere now, and there's not a grain of food in the surrounding villages. Where can I find so much food? Bagaya Road...boom..." Just as the division commander was about to vent his anger

During the first pass, a huge explosion suddenly came from the vanguard unit. Needless to say, a war horse must have stepped on a mine laid by the Eighth Route Army...

"Yes, war horses. Why did I forget about war horses? We still have hundreds of war horses... Kuramao-kun, we have food. Order the troops to stop marching and collect the killed war horses immediately. If it is not enough, we will arrive

The vanguard unit found a few injured horses and killed them. In a word, we must ensure that every soldier has at least a pound of horse meat to eat..." Hearing the explosion, the division commander immediately thought of those things

The war horse that was killed by the explosion gave a loud order to the chief of staff in front of him.

"Hi, your Excellency, the division commander, is wise. I will go and give the order right away..." The chief of staff was also excited and replied loudly. Soon, the little devils who were listless and without any morale just now were in front of their respective commanders.

Under his command, piles of bonfires were set up and horse meat began to be cooked...

An hour later, pots of fragrant horse meat were distributed into the hands of these little devils. These hungry and cold little devils, who didn’t know where they suddenly got the strength from, immediately began to eat it with big mouthfuls.

.One pound of horse meat is enough to fill the bellies of these little devils...

"Order the troops to continue marching. If they can march forty kilometers before dawn tomorrow, they will also be given a piece of horse meat weighing a pound per person..." Seeing the soldiers who had no strength at all under the nourishment of a pound of horse meat...

, his face immediately glowed red. While the division commander was happy with his wise decision, he once again issued the order to continue marching to the chief of staff beside him.

"Hi, your Excellency, the division commander..." Also because of the replenishment of a pound of horse meat, the chief of staff at this moment also responded extra loudly, turned around and began to convey the division commander's order... In this way, the remaining more than 5,000 Japanese troops

People, invisibly, solved their food shortage crisis.

Because of the availability of food, the Japanese army's marching speed has not slowed down in any way. With the cooperation of the air force, the distance from the third brigade of the column directly under the Japanese division behind them is less than two days.

It traveled a full fifty kilometers. This also invisibly put an even heavier burden on the shoulders of the security brigade in front of the little devils...

At this moment, more than 5,000 soldiers of the Guard Brigade finally walked out of the mountains after two days and two nights of rapid march in the dense forest. One day ahead of the Japanese army, they arrived at the blocking point designated by Commander Gaoyuan. Prepared.

Here, he and his direct column attacked from front to back and completely wiped out the remaining several thousand people of the Japanese 109th Division.

"Brigadier Commander, I just received a telegram from Commander Wang of the Third Brigade directly under him. The distance between them and the Japanese army has widened to almost fifty kilometers. Therefore, we need to block the Japanese army here for at least ten hours before we can continue.

With the cooperation of the third brigade of the direct column, the encirclement of the Japanese army was completed..." Just as Bruce Lee, commander of the guard brigade, led a group of commanders to observe the terrain in front of him, the communications staff of the brigade headquarters took a telegram and hurriedly

He ran over and reported.

"Ten hours... Brigadier, it seems that our security brigade has a tough battle to fight here... Although the number of the Japs is about the same as ours, and they don't carry any heavy weapons. However, the Japanese army has aircraft after all.

With reinforcements, after a bombing, ordinary civil engineering works can be almost completely destroyed. It is very difficult to stop the attack for ten hours..." Huang Zhengqing, the leader of the First Guard Regiment, opened his mouth, with a look on his face.

Surprised analysis...

"What's more important is that there are still four hours before the genius will turn dark... In these four hours, it is impossible for us to build fortifications under the nose of the little Japanese plane... If the little Japanese plane knows

, if we guard our brigade in front of them, their planes will definitely chase us and blow up..." Hu Zhengping, the commander of the second regiment, also said with lingering fear.

"What's wrong with you? The battle hasn't even started yet, and you're all starting to complain. Is it because you've been in the guard brigade for a long time, and you don't even know how to fight? Let me tell you, Commander Gao put such an important task

By handing it over to our security brigade, you believe in us and the combat effectiveness of our security brigade. At that time, if anyone dares to say anything that disrupts the morale of the army, they will get out of the security brigade directly. Our security brigade does not have such cowards..." Listen.

All that came to his ears were words that would inflate the enemy's momentum and destroy his own prestige. The guard brigade commander Bruce Lee couldn't help but get angry and cursed loudly at several regiment-level commanders around him.

Seeing the few people who had been talking just now, they stood there motionless just after he finished speaking. Brigadier Bruce Lee put his eyes on Zhang He, the leader of the Third Guard Regiment who had been silent.

: "Captain Zhang, you have been silent just now, tell me what you think?"

"Brigade Commander, this is what I think. Since the Japs are supported by aircraft, if we put all our troops at one point, we will not be able to stop the Japs in the face of intensive bombing by enemy planes.

Attack, and we may suffer heavy losses... However, if we divide our troops and carry out repeated attacks, even if the Japs' planes come, they can only break through one line of defense after another. If we deploy ten lines of defense in front of the Japs,

A line of defense is enough for these little devils to spend a while to move forward bit by bit..." Seeing the brigade commander's expectant eyes, Zhang He did not hesitate and directly expressed his thoughts...

"Okay, that's good. As long as you can drag the little devil here, it will be considered as completing the mission...Old Zhang, please tell me specifically what you think..." After listening to Zhang He's words, Lu, who was also frowning just now,

Bruce Lee's eyes lit up immediately and he asked quickly.

"Yes, brigade commander... I want to disperse our entire security brigade in battalion units, and build a blocking position at a distance of five hundred meters. At that time, after each blocking position has been blocked for an hour,

We will retreat immediately. Let's stay here and slowly fight against the little devils. We can afford it, but the little devils really can't fight..." Zhang He, the leader of the third regiment, replied with confidence.