Chapter 57: The Recovery of Huan City

  From Quanjiao to Hanshan, there was no highway. After the troops assembled in Guhe Town, Chen Jifang led the right group south along the rural roads and rushed lightly to Hanshan County.

  This road is relatively remote, and the devils would not know the whereabouts of the troops at all. Therefore, when the right-wing group arrived at the outskirts of Hancheng at nightfall, the devils guarding it were basically unguarded.

  Under the guidance of Qiu Ruiquan, the scouts of the Right Group quickly got a clear understanding of the situation of the devils in the city. The devils were all hiding in the city and only had defensive forces at the city gate. There was a high ground outside the west gate, which was easy to defend but difficult to attack, and the devils had a small team defending on the high ground.

  "Su, you take the assault team with Captain Qiu from Wangjiawazi to infiltrate into the city through the water pipe cave, and launch an attack immediately after entering the city. Remember, be fierce, be ruthless, and create a false impression of a large troop entering the city. After entering the city, immediately launch an attack on the south gate and open it. The 4th battalion will ambush near the south gate beforehand. Captain Qiu, after opening the south gate, you will command the 4th battalion to launch attacks on various targets of the enemy inside the city. If everything goes as planned, the enemy should retreat to Xiaoximen, a high ground that is easy to defend and hard to attack. The enemy will definitely use the terrain to resist fiercely. Therefore, when the 3rd battalion launches an attack inside the city, they must take down the high ground at all costs. Did everyone hear clearly?"

  "I get it!"

  "In this battle, all units must uphold the 'Divine Eagle' spirit of bravery and ferocity. Anyone who retreats or misses opportunities will be put to death!"

  "Yes! Those who retreat at the critical moment and miss the opportunity to fight shall be killed!"

  "Shang Zhang and Li Lianzhang stayed behind, while the others hurriedly prepared."

  After everyone left, Chen Jifan said to the fourth battalion commander Shang Changfu: "Commander Shang, I'm not worried about the city. Commander Qiu is familiar with the terrain, and with the firepower advantage of the assault team, the devils will definitely withdraw if they don't want to be annihilated. But the small western gate is a high ground that is not high, but the terrain is very unfavorable for our army's attack. What do you think?"

  Shang Changfu was originally just a squad leader in the National Army, but after joining the "Divine Eagle" unit, he had fought many fierce battles and accumulated rich tactical command experience. He was friendly, cautious, and respected by everyone as an elder brother. When the regiment commander assigned the task of taking the stronghold to the 4th Battalion, it was a vote of confidence in them. When the regiment commander asked him about it, Shang Changfu did not answer immediately, but instead carefully stared at the map with a distant look, although in fact there was no light and he couldn't see anything.

  After a few minutes, Shang Changfu spoke up: "Captain, you're right. A frontal assault would take the high ground without issue, but that would result in too many casualties. I'm not willing to recklessly throw away my comrades' lives either. I'd like to request cooperation from our artillery brothers."

  Chen Jifan wanted to say is that in a battle, of course, we need the spirit of not being afraid of death, but if we just charge forward without fear of death, this is not the style of a mature army. Since we have something in our hands, we should make the most of it and bring out its effectiveness. This time, due to road conditions, the artillery company couldn't bring the infantry guns, but the twenty mortars in Li An's hands are not just for show.

  He asked Li Anjie: "What about you? Do you have any good ideas?"

  "I need to rush to Xiaoxi Gate immediately, instruct the brothers to set up shooting targets, and let our guys play their greatest role. Old Shang, after my cannon fire covers them once, the rest is up to you. When the time comes, don't forget about me if you capture any rare treasures."

  Chen Jifan was present, Shang Changfu did not dare to respond, and only secretly gave Li An a few glances.

  Chen Jifan said: "As long as we take down the high ground, I will personally select spoils of war as a reward for both of you!"

  "Thanks, Captain!"

  "Get ready!"

  The attack time is set at 3 am, and there are more than three hours left. After each unit is ready, they will enter their respective combat areas to rest.

  At 2:50, Chen Jifang inquired about the situation of each unit one by one. All units had made preparations for battle. The assault team began to sneak into Hancheng under the leadership of Qiu Yinglong from Shuiguan Cave.

  After the vanguard entered the city, they immediately rushed to the south gate. On the way, Qiu Ruiquan whispered to Su Jingwei: "After opening the south gate, immediately launch a surprise attack on the city center, and I will lead four battalions to follow up."

  One kilometer outside the South Gate is the Desheng River, where the devils have deployed a small team of soldiers, plus a heavy machine gun. However, the devils never dreamed that the enemy would come from behind to kill them.

  The assault team arrived at the south gate and did not immediately launch an attack, but instead sent out a row from the steps of the city wall to climb up the city wall quietly. Perhaps because there was a river outside the city, the devils on the city wall were not heavily guarded, and some devils had already entered their dreams.

  The sentinel on duty was called Hirata. He felt that something was unusual today, but he didn't know what it was. To be on the safe side, he decided to go up to the castle tower steps and take a look.

  Liu Erwa saw the Japanese sentinel slowly walking towards him, and he couldn't bear it anymore. He suddenly stood up with his Thompson submachine gun in hand. The Japanese sentinel was startled by Liu's sudden appearance and was about to raise his gun to shoot when Liu fired a burst of shots "da-da-da" at him. Poor Hirata was hit several times in the chest and died instantly, meeting the God of Heaven.

  At the sound of gunfire, Liu Erwa's assault team jumped out from the stairs at the fastest speed, dividing into two teams to attack fiercely on both sides. Su Jingwei ordered a squad to eliminate the gate guards and open the city immediately, he led more than 20 people to rush up the city tower.

  The light and heavy machine guns on the city wall were all facing outwards, and the sudden attack of the assault team made it impossible for the devils next to the machine guns to turn their muzzles around. However, the devils quickly retaliated with the support of some simple shelters on the city wall. The dense bullets of the assault team poured towards the devils on the opposite side.

  During this period, the Japanese were extremely poor at night battles. Firstly, they had a firepower advantage over the Chinese army and often used artillery to destroy the enemy's heavy firepower and machine guns before charging. Due to the high density of National Army firepower, it was impossible to stop the Japanese charge at close range, and after breaking through the position, the National Army had to engage in bayonet combat with the Japanese, which was also a strong point for the Japanese. Therefore, the characteristics of the Japanese attack were fast and ruthless, but not at night. At night, the Japanese usually defended, while the National Army often organized dare-to-die squads to launch counterattacks under the cover of darkness, achieving good results with big knives and hand grenades. The 29th Army's Big Knife Squad had once launched a surprise attack on the Japanese at Xifengkou, killing them in large numbers.

  The stormtroopers did not retreat, and in fact, if they had not launched a surprise attack from behind under the cover of night, such a charge would have resulted in heavy casualties in front of the devils. However, all the devils on the city wall were thrown into disarray, and it was difficult to aim accurately at night, so the threat to the stormtroopers was not great. On the other hand, the stormtroopers were different, with submachine guns being the devils' nightmare at close range. Some soldiers even threw hand grenades at the devil's piles in the distance while firing their guns. The hand grenades made by the devils were light in weight but had a large killing radius and were very suitable for equipping the stormtroopers.

  The battle lasted for over ten minutes, and the assault team annihilated a small squad of enemy guards at the south gate at the cost of two men, opening the city gate. The four battalions that had been ambushing outside the city swarmed in, and Qiu Ruquan left one row to guard the south gate and led the four battalions with the assault team to attack various Japanese targets in the city.

  The sound of gunfire at the south gate had long echoed throughout the city, and the devils who reacted quickly organized troops to reinforce the south gate. Qiu Ruiquan was very familiar with the terrain in the city, and when the assault team charged forward, he dispersed the four battalions from different directions to encircle the reinforcing devils. The officers in the four battalions were mainly those who had retreated when Huan City fell, and they were very familiar with the streets and alleys of Huan City. Therefore, when the reinforcing devils were fully engaged in a shootout with the assault team, they were caught off guard by the sudden gunfire from behind and on their flanks.

  The reinforcements of the devils had more than 100 people, all concentrated in the narrow streets of Hancheng, and the gunfire from all directions, although not as powerful as the assault team's submachine guns, greatly affected the attention of these over 100 devils. The devils were forced to divide their troops to resist, which made the front-line defense immediately weakened, and the assault team took advantage of this to charge in fiercely.

  The devils who were divided into several sections could no longer organize effective resistance, and except for those who were annihilated, the remaining devils began to slowly retreat towards the west gate.

  The devils in the city will not die defending the city, because there is no reliable terrain to rely on. Once surrounded, there is only one way to death, and outside the west gate is the devil's defensive high ground. If they hold out there for reinforcements, there may still be a glimmer of hope.

  However, this simple common sense had long been calculated to death. When the assault team and the 4th camp were fighting fiercely in the city, Chen Jifan commanded the 3rd camp and the artillery company to launch an attack on a small team's high ground outside the west gate.

  The so-called high ground is actually a small hill, with open terrain on all sides and no suitable hiding points, making it difficult to climb. The Japanese army was in a commanding position on top. If we were to launch a strong attack, the casualties would be heavy. "Shenying" would never do such an unprofitable thing.

  To make the mortar's strike more accurate, Chen Jifang sent all three battalion reconnaissance teams to conduct firepower reconnaissance.

  What is called firepower reconnaissance is actually approaching the high ground, making a big noise, making the Japanese army believe they are facing a large-scale attack, and then luring the Japanese firepower points to expose themselves, and then remembering the detailed location of the Japanese firepower points back to provide accurate information to the artillery company.

  Chen Jifang ordered the three battalions to launch a feint attack on one side, drawing the attention of the Japanese army, while Li Anju made adjustments based on reconnaissance intelligence. In order to cause maximum casualties among the Japanese troops with mortar fire, Li Anju did not follow the usual trial firing procedure but instead fired three rounds in rapid succession for the first time.

  Dozens of shells whizzed over the high ground where the Japanese army was stationed, exploding one after another on the position, and the devils who could not dodge were blown to pieces. The majority of light and heavy machine gun firing points were blown to smithereens. The continuous bombardment by mortars made it impossible for the devils' position to mount effective resistance.

  Taking advantage of the devils on the high ground busy avoiding shells, the three regiments' two companies (one company was a reserve team, ambushing outside the west gate) quickly approached the devil's position, and in the dark night, the devils couldn't see the danger in front of them.

  As the cannon fire stopped, two companies from three battalions charged towards the high ground from three different directions. Shang Changfu converted all the light machine guns of the two companies into the first echelon. After a burst of hand grenades, the machine gunners bravely rushed up to the Japanese front line on the high ground. When the remaining Japanese troops realized that their front line had been breached, it was too late for them to counterattack. The soldiers of the three battalions surged forward like a tide.

  In an instant, more than 30 Japanese soldiers were surrounded on three sides on the high ground. The Japanese troops who attempted to engage in close combat did not expect that as soon as they finished reloading their guns, they would be slaughtered by grenades and bullets from the enemy.

  More than a hundred devils who withdrew from the city heard the sound of guns outside Xiaoxi Gate and knew that the other side had started attacking, so they desperately approached this direction. As soon as they left the city, they were suddenly ambushed by the 6th company of the 3rd battalion and blocked between the high ground and the city gate.

  The four battalions that followed the city occupied the high ground of the west gate wall first. At this time, the sky was already bright, and the Japanese devils who were frightened and hesitant to advance or retreat could only defend themselves on the spot.

  At dawn, Chen Jifang commanded the troops to surround these devils in a vacant lot outside the west gate. The devils had no choice but to put down their weapons, and under the command of their commander, they desperately fired shots.

  Chen Jifan smiled, ordering all the grenade launchers to open fire on the enemy's temporary position. Although the accuracy of the grenade launcher was not as good as that of a mortar, the enemy was crowded in a narrow area, which made the grenade launcher play its greatest role. Every grenade would cause significant casualties to the enemy, and with bullets coming from all sides, the enemy completely collapsed.

  Chen Jifang did not order a charge but ordered the mortar troops to reinforce instead.

  The surrounded devils were blown to death on the spot, and when the warriors rushed up, more than 100 devils were left with less than 30 seriously wounded. Chen Jifan didn't even look at them and just said one word: "Kill!"

  Orders were carried out without exception.

  After a night of fierce battle, the city was recaptured. The streets were filled with cheers from the people, and even firecrackers were set off. Qiu Ruiquan walked on the main street, finally relieving his depressed mood for many days.

  Chen Jifang ordered Qiu Ruiquan to lead the four battalions to quickly build fortifications, while the rest of the troops rested outside the city. He prepared to strike while the iron was hot and launched a continuous surprise attack on the nearby Nuo County.