At the command of the Yangquan Japanese Army Garrison, the deputy captain who stayed in the county was already panicked.

There were guns and cannons coming from all four directions of the county town, and the Eighth Route Army launched an attack. It was impossible to tell which direction was the main attack and which direction was the feint attack.

The remaining troops were seriously insufficient. In order to protect the county and block the attack of the Eighth Route Army, he had sent all the troops that could be mobilized in the city to the city wall, and even the guards of the command center were sent out.

There are less than ten orderly soldiers and civilian staff left in the huge command center.

"Dingling..." The phone in the war room suddenly rang, and the telephone soldier grabbed the microphone in just half a second.

After listening to it for four or five seconds, the telephone soldier's face changed. He covered the microphone with his hands and reported to the deputy captain through the sand table: "Sir, the East Gate Guard reported that the city gate was blown up by the Eighth Route Army with mountain cannons. The Eighth Route Army had already entered the county town. They suffered heavy losses and could not stop the Eighth Route Army's offensive at all!"

The deputy captain was previously a staff officer of the brigade command center, and he specially went to the front-line troops to accumulate combat experience. He had very little combat experience. The first time he faced such a bad battle situation, he had no idea at all.

A combat staff member suddenly proposed: "Sir, the enemy's offensive is too fierce, there are too few left-behind troops, and Yangquan County is so large, and the troops will definitely not be able to defend after the dispersed forces. We should report to the captain immediately and ask him to send troops back to the county town."

"The main force is only more than 20 kilometers away from the county town, and it can be returned in four hours of marching."

"We will immediately shrink the defense and defensive command and concentrate the limited forces together to use them. We will definitely be able to persist until the return troops return to the county town, and then drive the Eighth Route Army that attacked the county town out of the county town!"

After listening to his subordinate's suggestion, the deputy captain seemed to have grabbed a life-saving straw. Without thinking too much, he started to give orders: "Just do it!"

"Send a telegram to the captain immediately. The county town was attacked by the Yangquan Independent Regiment of the Eighth Route Army. The left-behind troops suffered heavy casualties and urgently needed reinforcements!"

"Dadadada..." As soon as the telegram for help was sent out, the sound of machine gun strafing sounded six or seven hundred meters away from the command center.

A second lieutenant rushed in with blood: "Sir... the Eighth Route Army who entered the city came here. They had at least one company of troops. We only had twenty or thirty people to fight and retreat while fighting, and they were no match for them at all..."

"Boom..." Before the lieutenant could finish reporting, the explosion sounded outside the command center.

A sergeant stumbled in and ran in: "Sir, the Eighth Route Army has come here, our people are all dead. It's too dangerous here, you must transfer it immediately..."

After saying this, Cao Chang collapsed to the ground, obviously suffering from serious injuries.

The deputy captain was unable to command the battle, and he was definitely a good player in escaping. He immediately ordered: "We retreat to the arsenal, where there are many fortifications and endless weapons and ammunition, which will definitely last until the main force returns to the county town..."

"We'll leave now and retreat directly from the back door... da da da..."

As soon as the word "retreat" was said, the familiar sound of machine gun fire was also heard from the back door of the command headquarters.

No soldiers ran in through the back door to report this time.

In order to defend the county town, all the guards of the command center went to the battlefield.

There were only two orderly soldiers with guns at the back door. Their reaction speed was much slower than that of the guards and they were killed as soon as they fought.

This is indeed the case. As soon as the deputy captain turned around, he saw a team of soldiers of the National Savior Army rushing in through the back door, holding a light machine gun, and holding a fire while storing.

The whizzing bullets easily penetrated the wooden windows, flew into the war room, and finally stayed on the brick wall.

A staff officer failed to dodge in time and was hit by a stray bullet on the shoulder and fell to the ground screaming.

"The Eighth Route Army has come in, hide, protect the lieutenant..." The lieutenant who started rushing into the war room shouted loudly.

Like a leopard, he rushed to the deputy captain and threw him to the ground.

But it was useless. Several grenades flew into the combat room immediately, and one of them hit the nose of the deputy captain.

A look of horror flashed quickly on the lieutenant's face. Just as he was about to throw the grenade out, the explosion of "boom boom boom..." sounded.

A ball of white light flashed before his eyes, and then he lost consciousness.

At the junction of Yangquan and Yangquan, the captain of the Yangquan Guard Team had just finished patrolling the front line and was about to return to the tent where the command center was to rest, the curtain of the tent was suddenly lifted, and the radio operator rushed out of the inside with a fast speed, and collided with the captain.

"Sir, something happened in the county town!" Before the captain could get angry, the radio operator took the lead and rushed to report.

The county town is the base camp of the Yangquan garrison, so no accident can happen.

The captain couldn't get angry when he heard the operator's words. He took the telegram that the operator had held in his hand and asked while looking, "What the hell is going on?"

The radio operator immediately reported: "The county town was attacked by the Yangquan Independent Regiment of the Eighth Route Army, and the remaining troops suffered heavy losses and urgently needed reinforcements!"

The captain began to panic and ordered while entering the tent: "Notify all squadron leaders and battalion commanders of the Imperial Army to rush to the command center for a meeting within ten minutes. Those who violate the order will engage in military law!"

For the Yangquan Garrison, although the pressure on blocking the position is great, it is not as good as life and death.

The county town is different. Once occupied by the Eighth Route Army, the Yangquan garrison will become an isolated army. Not only will the logistics supply be cut off, but they will also face the front and back attacks of the Eighth Route Army and the National Salvation Army. At that time, the problem faced by the troops was not whether they could defend Yangquan, but whether the troops could survive in isolation and no help.

The meeting lasted only five minutes and the captain made a decision: "The second and third squadrons, the second battalion of the Imperial Army, marched urgently back to the county town."

"The Fourth Squadron, the Third Battalion of the Imperial Alliance Army, pacified the troops retreating to Yangquan, and stayed here to block the National Rescue Army!

Outside Yangquan City, when he saw the first battalion successfully entering the county town, the leader of the Independent Corps knew that Yangquan City had obtained it.

Immediately ordered: "The first and fourth battalions stay and continue to destroy the remaining enemies in the city, and all other troops withdraw from the battle!"

Two hours later, all the troops of the four battalions of the Yangquan Independent Regiment gathered in a hilly area eight kilometers east of Yangquan City.

After waiting for more than half an hour, more than 600 Japanese and puppet troops who were unprepared appeared at the end of the road, raising their heads and crashing into the pocket formation prepared by the independent regiment.

In order to reinforce the county town in time, the rescuing troops sent by the Japanese and puppet troops did not even send a vanguard force. The entire army was carried into a group and marched forward all the way.

Yangquan City is too important and must not be captured by the Eighth Route Army, so the return troops were so anxious to leave.

Moreover, the Yangquan Independent Regiment of the Eighth Route Army is different from the National Salvation Army. They have limited combat effectiveness and have almost no ability to attack. They can defeat the left-behind troops in the county to suffer heavy casualties, which shows that the main force of the Independent Regiment is outside the city, so there must be not many troops fighting aid.

To take a step back, even if the Yangquan Independent Group gathers heavy troops to fight aid, with their existing combat effectiveness, they do not have the strength to swallow more than 600 people in one go.

Several reasons were summarized together, which led to the return troops giving up searching and marched all the way back to the county town.
Chapter completed!