Resistance against Japan: Starting with the local militia

Chapter 277 Restraining the Japanese

"Commander, something terrible has happened!" Staff Officer Noda rushed into the command post in a panic.

At that moment, Sakai Yori was carefully observing the battle situation through binoculars. Just then, he heard Noda's panicked voice and turned to ask.

"What happened? Why are you so nervous?"

"We just received a notification from headquarters that Lingshui County has been occupied by the Independent Regiment!"

"What? How could it be so fast! There's a reinforced battalion stationed in Lingshui County. What is Aomura Kazuo doing?!" Sakai Rai's expression changed upon hearing this news, and his voice became serious.

"Are there any problems with the intelligence? Double-check with headquarters."

"The intelligence is correct; I've already verified it with headquarters," Staff Officer Noda replied.

"Damn it! Aomura Kazuo is such an idiot! He ruined our plan to annihilate the Independent Brigade!" Sakai Yoriichi cursed as soon as he thought about how the annihilation plan had fallen through.

Sakai Yori's anger subsided after he had been yelling at Sakai for five or six minutes.

"What are the orders from headquarters now?" Sakai asked calmly.

"Headquarters has ordered us to immediately halt operations and return to Wolongshan County to ensure its safety," Staff Officer Noda said.

Upon hearing the order from headquarters, Sakai Yori did not immediately respond. After a while, Staff Officer Noda heard Sakai Yori say unwillingly:

"Cease the attack and retreat immediately."

"Hay."

Staff Officer Noda nodded, and just as he was about to go out, he heard a sound coming from outside.

"Urgent intelligence."

The moment the voice fell, the squad leader of the telecommunications department, Fujiten, couldn't outrun him.

"What is it?" Staff Officer Noda asked, looking up.

"We just received intelligence from the county town that the soldiers of the Independent Brigade have occupied the outskirts of the county town and are currently in a standoff with our troops stationed near the train station."

"According to our defense forces, this independent brigade shows no signs of launching an attack." Squad Leader Fujiten quickly relayed the intelligence he had just received.

"What?! The county town has been attacked? Where did the Independent Brigade get its troops?!" Staff Officer Noda's expression changed drastically.

"Commander, is the Independent Brigade's real target our Wolongshan County?" Staff Officer Noda was startled by the idea he had just put forward.

If that's really the case, then Tang Weiguo, the commander of the Independent Brigade, is truly terrifying.

"No, if the real target were our Wolongshan County, the Independent Brigade wouldn't have sent their main force to Lingshui County."

Sakai Yori rejected Noda's idea.

"It was just a spur-of-the-moment idea, and we just happened to run into it," Sakai Rai said in a low voice.

"Commander, I will immediately organize the troops to retreat and support Wolongshan County." After saying that, Staff Officer Noda immediately ran out.

"Wait, send a telegram to headquarters requesting that the troops in the Lingshui County area continue to advance towards Lingshui County to put pressure on the Independent Brigade and prevent them from reinforcing the Independent Brigade troops attacking Wolongshan County."

"Request the Jieze and Heiye detachments from Quanyang to cover our retreat."

"Order the Ikeda Battalion in the Wolong Mountain area to immediately lead its troops back to defend the county town. Remind Ikeda Masaki that since the Independent Brigade dared to attack Wolong Mountain County Town, it must have a corresponding plan to block the enemy."

"Tell Masato Ikeda to be very careful of the Independent Brigade's ambush."

"Hai!" After hearing all of Sakai Yori's orders, Staff Officer Noda immediately ran out to carry out the mission.

As Sakai Yori's orders reached the battlefield, the Japanese soldiers who were attacking the Eighth Route Army Independent Regiment's position began to slowly retreat.

"Commander, the Japanese devils in front of us are retreating." Zhao Xiaogang observed the changes on the battlefield through his binoculars.

"It seems the Japanese already know that the Independent Brigade is attacking Wolongshan County," Li Yunfei said with a grave expression.

"But the Japanese troops coming from the direction of Yangquan have not shown any signs of retreating. It seems that they want to cover the retreat of the Japanese troops in Wolong Mountain."

"Besides this reason, I really can't understand why, since Lingshui County has already been occupied by the Independent Brigade, they still haven't retreated."

"It's going to be tough to fight this battle if we have to draw the Japanese troops back to Wolong Mountain to reinforce them," Zhao Xiaogang said.

"We have to fight, even if it's difficult. If we let the Japanese troops in Wolong Mountain go, it will have a huge impact on the Independent Brigade. So we must keep the Japanese troops in Wolong Mountain near Qingshan County!" Li Yunfei said decisively.

"Commander, how should we fight?" Zhao Xiaogang asked Li Yunfei earnestly.

"Now the Japanese can only travel by road instead of by train because we have destroyed their train route back to Wolongshan County."

"Now, Regiment Commander Zhou of the Independent Brigade has led his men to the Ping'an Town area to intercept the Japanese troops. So I plan to send the First Battalion there to assist Regiment Commander Zhou in carrying out the defensive and blocking mission."

"Also, send the Second Battalion to follow behind Sakai's troops, harass them, and slow down their return to reinforce."

"Commander, this arrangement will put a lot of pressure on our main battlefront. Even though the Second Regiment is supporting us from the flank, I'm afraid our losses will be very heavy."

"If the Japanese from Yangquan break through our defenses and occupy Qingshan County, it will affect the anti-Japanese situation in the entire region. Instead, the Japanese could seize this opportunity to launch a counterattack."

“In that case, we’re at a disadvantage!” Zhao Xiaogang explained.

"Let the artillery battalion take the lead," Li Yunfei said firmly.

"We're not going to give up this time. Use all the artillery shells and fire to slow down the Japanese advance and buy enough time for the Independent Brigade," Li Yunfei said resolutely.

“That’s fine, I’ll lead the team myself!” Zhao Xiaogang said.

"Political Commissar, we've agreed that I'll handle the fighting, and you'll take care of logistics. I'll go to the front lines to command, and you'll coordinate everything from the operations command!" Li Yunfei rejected Zhao Xiaogang's suggestion without even thinking.

“Okay, I’ll do as you say, Commander.” In this critical moment, Zhao Xiaogang did not argue and nodded in agreement with Li Yunfei’s decision.

"Correspondent, order the First Battalion to immediately move to Ping'an Town. The Second Battalion, keep a close watch on the retreating Japanese troops and slow down their retreat."

"Artillery battalion, follow me."

After saying that, Li Yunfei left and headed towards the front line.

Meanwhile, Staff Officer Noda, who was organizing the evacuation, received even worse news.

The section of the railway they were supposed to return to was damaged and is currently under repair, so they are temporarily unable to return to the county town to provide assistance.

"Baka yarou." Sakai Yori cursed helplessly upon hearing the news.

They were forced to take the highway back to Wolongshan County.

While the Independent Regiment was holding them back, Sakai led his troops to advance towards the Wolong Mountain troops.