The Sword of Swords is a Guard for Kong Jie

Chapter 1101 Baoding sends troops (second update)

After the shelling ended, when Commander Zhou returned to the street, a large number of corpses of soldiers were still lying on the ground, and there were many wounded people screaming among them.

"Hurry up and save people, count the casualties, hurry up..." Commander Zhou ordered with an anxious look on his face.

There were more than one platoon of wounded and corpses in sight. Not counting the losses of the mortar platoon and mountain artillery squad. Adding in the casualties that he did not see, the guard company might have lost more than half.

This was still the guard company that he personally commanded. If the remaining nine main companies of the Sixteenth Regiment were also attacked in the same way, then the troops would really suffer heavy casualties.

Captain Zhou did not dare to think any more and went straight to a wounded man who was lying on the ground screaming.

Two minutes later, the instructor of the guard company walked towards him with a solemn expression: "Captain..."

"The situation is not good..."

"The guard company, mortar platoon, and mountain artillery squad, nearly one hundred and sixty people participated in the attack..."

"A total of 59 people were killed in the sudden artillery attack just now, and people were seriously injured and lost their combat effectiveness. A total of people were lost, half of which came from the artillery!"

"What a cunning little devil..." Captain Zhou couldn't help but exclaimed.

"We used artillery fire to preemptively destroy all suspicious targets on both sides of the street so that the Japanese and puppet troops could not sneak attack us."

"The little devils will immediately stage a tit-for-tat battle for us, focusing their artillery fire on our attacking troops..."

"We were too careless!"

"I thought I had the support of mountain artillery and heavy artillery, so I forgot about it. I thought the Eighth Route Army could dominate the battlefield, and ignored the mortars equipped by the little devils."

"I forgot that this is a street fight. In the close-range exchange of fire between the two sides, the role of mountain artillery may not be as great as that of mortars..."

"As for the communications squad, we will immediately send people to contact other main companies and ask them to suspend the attack. The troops will be dispersed immediately. Relying on the houses and barricades we just occupied, we will switch from offense to defense. We will establish a defense line on the spot to avoid the sudden artillery fire of the Japs..."

"The number of mortars equipped by the Japanese is limited, and it is impossible to attack our ten main companies at the same time. There must be many troops that have not been attacked."

"It will take time for the Japanese and puppet troops to move their artillery positions. It's still too late to issue dispersal orders... The communication squad will set off immediately, please go faster..."

This is the second time that Captain Zhou has urged his subordinates to speed up since entering the city, and these two urgings happened within just a few minutes, which shows how anxious he is now.

…………

As usual, Baoding City closes its gates before dark and no one is allowed in or out, and today is no exception.

As night slowly enveloped this important military town, Baoding City, which had been busy all day, gradually became quiet.

Except for the Japanese and puppet troops patrolling back and forth, no ordinary people could be seen in the streets.

At the top of the East Gate City, about 200 Japanese and puppet troops were still holding their posts.

A torch was placed every ten meters to illuminate the city top and the outside of the city to prevent the Eighth Route Army from sneak attack on the city head.

Some Japanese and puppet troops hid behind the battlements and stood guard, observing every move outside the city through shooting holes. Some Japanese and puppet troops formed patrol teams and wandered back and forth on the city top, searching for fish that had slipped through the net that the security forces might not have discovered...

At eight o'clock in the evening, when the whole of Baoding fell into silence, the closed east gate was suddenly opened, and a large number of Japanese and puppet troops walked out of the dark city gate at the same time.

More than a dozen little Japs and a platoon of puppet troops were exploring the way ahead. About two hundred meters out of the city, the main force of the Japanese puppet troops began to leave the city... Rifles were carried on their backs, machine guns were carried on their shoulders... There were also people carrying heavy machine guns to follow the enemy. Artillery parts, pushing infantry cannons and mountain cannons, pulling heavy baggage carts, leading mules and horses... stormed out of Baoding and headed straight for Shijiazhuang.

Duan Peng arranged five commandos outside each city gate in Baoding, taking turns to rest and be on guard.

After a while, a figure emerged from a bush on the side of the road, bent over, and disappeared furtively into the night.

Twenty minutes later, a figure emerged from the roadside and entered a valley. Under the cover of corn straw, a simple tent blended into the surrounding environment. If you had not walked in and observed, you would not have been able to spot the tent no matter how wide your eyes were. exist.

When the figure got into the tent, two commandos were already reporting the situation to Duan Peng.

"Company Commander, the total number of Japanese and puppet troops dispatched from the west gate is at least 4,000, about half of them are Japs and half of them are puppet troops..." A team member reported with a serious face.

"They were very well equipped and had plenty of ammunition. They also brought field artillery and infantry artillery. The 2,000-day puppet army was in front, and the 2,000-day puppet army was behind. They fought out of the west gate in a mighty manner. Judging from the direction of march, this force The real target of the Japanese and puppet troops is probably our base area."

"There are Japanese and puppet troops going out over there too?" Another commando standing next to him reported with surprise on his face.

After saying that, he said to Duan Peng: "Company Commander..."

"There are also a large number of Japanese and puppet troops leaving the city at the north gate of Baoding, with a total strength of about 4,000, equipped with a large number of light and heavy machine guns, mortars, infantry artillery, and mountain artillery..."

"There are more than 2,000 Japanese soldiers and more than 2,000 puppet troops."

"Judging from their marching direction, this group of Japanese and puppet troops also headed towards our base area."

"I arranged for three commandos to keep an eye on them and report back as soon as there is news."

Duan Pengshu's brows immediately wrinkled.

The northwest and north gates of Baoding each dispatched more than 4,000 puppet troops to attack the Yizhong base area. The two forces combined totaled 8,000 or 9,000 people.

According to intelligence, the total number of Japanese and puppet troops in Baoding City is only more than 14,000. Once these troops leave, the Baoding garrison will be reduced sharply to more than 5,000.

Under normal circumstances, this small number of troops can definitely defend Baoding City.

But if the Eighth Route Army mobilizes heavy troops to besiege, this small number of troops will definitely not be able to defend Baoding.

Even if the Japanese and puppet troops in the city force the independent brigade to return to the base area by attacking the base area in order to reinforce Shijiazhuang, there is no need to put Baoding City in danger... Duan Peng can't understand.

Seeing the shocked look on the face of the commando who had just rushed into the tent, Duan Peng thought he had brought some shocking news, so he quickly asked: "The one you are responsible for tracking is the east gate of Baoding... Don't tell me that you also have a large number of Japanese troops there. The puppet troops left the city..."

The commando quickly reported: "Company commander, how did you know?"

"There are indeed a large number of Japanese and puppet troops leaving the city at the east gate..."

"The total force is more than 4,000, half of the puppet army and half of the Japs. They carry a large number of light and heavy machine guns, mortars, field artillery and infantry artillery. They march straight to Shijiazhuang with a majestic momentum..."

"I just heard that more than 4,000 puppet troops were leaving the city in the north and west of the city. I thought I was wrong."

"The total number of Japanese and puppet troops in the city is more than 14,000. If more than 4,000 Japanese and puppet troops come out from all three gates of Baoding, some go to Shijiazhuang, and some attack our base area, then there will be no Japanese and puppet troops in the city. Gone."

"It is absolutely impossible for the Japanese and puppet troops to abandon Shijiazhuang easily, so there must be something wrong with those Japanese and puppet troops who leave the city."

(End of this chapter)