April 1st at 8am!
April Fool's Day, a famous funny holiday in the West.
Major Moriki Takuno stood on the highest mountain on the west side of Shecheng County, looking at the distant mountains with a telescope, his face gloomy.
As the captain of the first squadron of the 14th Division's Baggage Regiment, in the absence of the commander, he is considered the number one figure in this huge transport team with 181 trucks.
Logically speaking, this kind of large-scale transportation that uses all the trucks of the entire regiment is escorted by two infantry squadrons, and is also heavily protected by friendly troops along the way. The main force of the Chinese army is also retreating steadily under the threat of the imperial army, and it is almost impossible to do so.
What threat can the Chinese pose to them?
But this time, it is very different from before.
The Chinese just beat up the 108th Division with blood on this traffic line half a month ago. They have proved with facts that they are fully capable of attacking their own convoy.
Therefore, since the beginning of HD, he has been cautious and vigilant. Not to mention taking the opportunity to take a nap in the car during the day, even if he stopped at a pass like Shecheng with imperial infantry garrison at night, he would get one or two in the morning.
A little bit before I dare to fall asleep.
There were no problems during the more than 100 kilometers of road. It looks like today we can go directly to Changzhi through Licheng. As long as we safely walk this 60 kilometers of road, we can basically guarantee safety.
For this reason, he sent a telegram to Colonel Akita, commander of the 117th Infantry Regiment of the Licheng garrison, last night, hoping that he would send troops to search along the roads surrounding Licheng to ensure the safety of their passage.
Then, on the morning of this April Fool's Day in the West, he received a call back from Colonel Akita. It was four kilometers in front and back of Licheng. After a cavalry search, it was basically safe.
This is simply an April Fool's Day joke. His motorcade is about to travel 60 kilometers. Is there any use in checking 8 kilometers?
Moreover, if you think about it, you all know that even if the Chinese want to attack, they will never choose to attack near Licheng, where a fully equipped infantry regiment is stationed.
I really wanted to curse Baga several times, but Moriki Takuno swallowed the curses back in his stomach after all.
It's not because the other party is a colonel, he is a major, but the 14th Division was wronged first. Half a month ago, the 108th Division wanted their 14th Division's baggage regiment to use trucks to transport soldiers to the front line of Licheng. Their division headquarters
Didn’t you express your refusal?
Now, in the name of the fact that the front army headquarters ordered to help with the alert, people still symbolically searched for eight kilometers. They didn't want to completely break up, otherwise, they wouldn't even reply to the telegram!
However, the telegram that the search was completed at 8 o'clock in the morning was really too perfunctory. Anyway, he would never believe that the 117th Infantry Regiment would send people into the mountains in the dark.
The 108th Division cannot be trusted, but it still has to go the way it needs to go. The division still urgently needs this batch of baggage and the military pay transported by the vehicle to pay the imperial officers and soldiers! It cannot be said that he let more than 20,000 troops go because he felt scared.
Just wait to starve on the front line!
Yu Province in China is really poor. Dozens of villages have been looted and there is not much rice left. It is almost impossible to provide supplies to the division.
"Please ask our colleagues in Dongyang Pass to give us the best reconnaissance possible! Tell them that when we pass through Dongyang Pass, we will give certain materials to express our gratitude!" Moriki Takuno looked at the peaceful mountain forest in front of him, trying his best to maintain calm and gave orders to his subordinates.
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Dongyang Pass is the most important pass between Shecheng and Licheng. Currently, the garrison is as high as an infantry squadron. If we can successfully arrive at Dongyang Pass at noon, we will not be far from Licheng, and the danger will naturally be much smaller.
.
Moriki Takuno, a veteran who has been in the baggage regiment for more than ten years, has some strategies.
Therefore, before the huge convoy set off, at least fifty Japanese troops came out of Dongyang Pass and searched Shecheng along the highway.
This timid and cautious Japanese major probably didn't know that his cautious move only narrowly saved his life and that of the entire convoy.
For the 683rd Brigade and the Fourth Army Regiment, the scheduled battlefield is nearly a hundred miles away from their base, so they must leave for the battlefield two days in advance.
However, the army was too large. In order to keep it secret, they could only march at night as much as possible. During the day, they entered the mountains and forests in units of battalions and companies, and advanced in a dispersed manner with the help of the cover of dense forests.
The marching speed was actually extremely slow, and it was not until ten o'clock in the evening on the 31st that we arrived near the battlefield.
After the last battle at Shentou Ridge, Brigadier Cheng, as the commander-in-chief of the front line this time, knew that the Japanese army would be more cautious than before when such a large convoy passed, and it was inevitable to send the leading cavalry to observe along the way.
Therefore, both the Fourth Regiment, which was responsible for blocking the enemies in the city, and the Three Regiments of the 683 Brigade, which was responsible for attacking the convoy, were prohibited from entering the battlefield in advance to avoid being discovered by the Japanese army.
Only a few reconnaissance squads were dispatched along the route to look out on the road, and would only enter the position until the Japanese troops arrived.
Almost all the main forces were lurking a mile away from the road. With such an arrangement, no matter how cautious the Japanese were, they would never be discovered.
Then, the accident happened.
Wang Xiaoqiang, who had been promoted to the head of the 772nd Regiment, suddenly received a report from the reconnaissance squad that a group of 200 Japanese troops were coming towards Majiayu where they were located.
Majiayu is only 2 kilometers away from Dongyangguan. The reason why the 772nd Regiment stopped at this location so close to Dongyangguan is because of the extremely unique terrain of Majiayu.
Unlike most of the cliffs along the road, this place is composed of three continuous hills. The terrain may not be so steep, but it is a good place to block attacks.
Three hills with an altitude of more than 400 meters are like a Z-shape, completely blocking the winding road. Anyone, vehicle, or horse who wants to pass this road will be hit by fire from one side of the three peaks.
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Of course, these three mountains are not big, and the total length of the road running through them is not more than 600 meters. If you ambush an infantry brigade, it is probably OK. When the Japanese army has enough troops, this battlefield will be too small and not enough.
Accommodate it.
This is not a position used to ambush the Japanese army's baggage regiment, but used by Brigadier Cheng to block the Japanese reinforcements coming from Licheng.
Two infantry battalions and two machine gun companies will be stationed on the two nearly parallel hills split by the road, which will serve as an iron gate to block Japanese reinforcements. The Japanese will not be able to take a step forward unless they kill all the Chinese soldiers on the two hills.
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Even if they are strong enough to kill both infantry battalions on these two mountains, there is still an infantry battalion of the supplementary regiment on the hill behind the two mountains. Just the battlefield close to the road serves as a barrier to block the Japanese army in Licheng.
The main force of the 772nd Regiment will invest more than 1,600 infantrymen. In addition, three infantry battalions will be prepared on the two flanks to prevent the Japanese from making a roundabout attack.
A total of more than 4,400 troops from two infantry regiments were deployed on the entire blocking battlefield. In Wang Xiaoqiang's original words: Even if an infantry regiment comes, I guarantee to hold off the enemy for 6 hours.
Wang Xiaoqiang is not just bragging with his eyes open. The current 772 regiment has 6 Type 82 mortars, 200 rounds of artillery shells in reserve, 12 Type 92 heavy machine guns, 4 Civilian 20 heavy machine guns, and Japanese heavy machine guns.
2000 rounds of ammunition.
In addition, the five fully-armed infantry companies also have 20 grenade launchers, each with 30 rounds of ammunition, 20 Japanese light machine guns, each machine gun with 800 rounds of ammunition, each infantry with 100 rounds of ammunition, and six Japanese grenades.
pieces.
Moreover, in order to fight this battle successfully, the 921st Division headquarters used most of its reserves and distributed 50 rounds of bullets and 4 grenades to each of the officers and soldiers equipped with Hanyang-made equipment.
In the exact words of the two division leaders: Don’t be afraid if you run out of bullets. As long as there is a Japanese transport brigade, they will return it sooner or later, and maybe even more.
The battle in Jindong not only improved the morale of ordinary officers and soldiers, but also seemed to have opened a new door to the world for several big shots.
It turns out that ‘robbery’ is such a fun thing?
This is firepower that Wang Xiaoqiang never dared to think about in the past, but now it is all in his hands. If he hadn't been worried that the Japanese army might have mountain artillery following them, he might have dared to make bold statements: I'll see if I don't beat him to pieces.
Wang Xiaoqiang may not know that Captain Li, who will be modeled on him in future TV series, likes to say this.
Maybe it's because his juniors like to brag, or maybe it's because he hasn't fully evolved to let himself go, so he's still cautious now.
Although he hoped to enter the battlefield early and dig trenches to block the incoming enemy, in order not to be exposed, he ordered the entire army to hide at the foot of the mountain several hundred meters away from the battlefield. The helmets of the entire army were covered with branches, and they lay down on the wet ground.
In the mountains and forests.
Wang Xiaoqiang, who did not act bravely and recklessly, avoided the tragedy of the entire army running away in vain.
The Japanese army was so cautious that they actually sent troops from Dongyang Pass and marched towards Majiayu.
"Captain, should we move immediately to avoid being discovered by the Japanese army?" Battalion Commander Xiao Ding suggested anxiously.
It is not difficult for two heavily armed infantry regiments to kill these 200 Japanese troops, but once they fight here, the battle to ambush the Japanese baggage regiment will inevitably fail. For the 921 Division, which uses nearly 5 infantry regiments to participate in the battle, it will be a complete defeat.
fail.
"Let me think about it!" Wang Xiaoqiang's face was more serious than ever.
There were only two ways before him, either to kill this group of Japanese troops who accidentally broke in, or to withdraw the entire army immediately.
But the movement of thousands of people evacuating is not small, and the mud has been stepped on by thousands of pairs of feet. Anyone with a discerning eye will know that there is something wrong.
No matter what choice he made, it seemed that he was bound to be exposed, which ultimately led to the failure of the battle plan that had been planned by the division headquarters, brigade headquarters, and the Fourth Army for nearly a week.
This may be one of the most difficult choices Wang Xiaoqiang has faced in the past ten years since he joined the army.
After almost suffocating for a minute, Wang Xiaoqiang, who was frowning in thought, suddenly his eyes lit up: "No, the Japanese troops stationed in Dongyang Pass are only an infantry squadron. Even if they don't even mobilize all their troops, there shouldn't be more than 200 people. There must be something fishy.
!
Let the reconnaissance team get the binoculars and let me see clearly. The whole army must not move rashly. Without my order, even if the Japanese gun falls on the head, it will not make a sound!"
Within ten minutes, the soldiers who went to conduct reconnaissance came to report again: "Report, please see clearly, it's not more than 200 little Japanese, but dozens of Japanese, forcing more than 100 of us ordinary people to go this way."
"That's it. This wave of little devils probably had a military order and had to go out for reconnaissance, but they were afraid of death, so they had to drive away our common people as a shield. As brave as they are, it would be nice to just take a look in the grass on the roadside.
Do you dare to go three hundred meters deep into the mountain?" Wang Xiaoqiang slapped his hand. "Order the reconnaissance squad to continue monitoring, but keep a sufficient distance to prevent them from being discovered. The entire army continues to hide!"
Comrade Wang Xiaoqiang made an extremely wise judgment.
After the war, because of his prompt decision, the 921st Division headquarters gave him a big red flower and the whole division commended him, but it didn't make Comrade Wang Xiaoqiang's mouth burst into laughter.
I look like the leader of the main force! It’s not too late for good food, that’s what I’m talking about!
His prediction was very accurate. This group of Japanese infantry troops who came out of Dongyang Pass were more cowardly than he thought. Not only did they drive away the people in the mountains to use them as shields, they did not even enter the grass on the roadside, but let the people do it for them.
Go into the mountains and observe.
Isn't that funny! Not to mention that the ordinary people who were pale and frightened could not see the Chinese lurking army a few hundred meters away. Even if they saw it, could they immediately report to the Japanese army: "Taijun, the Tuba there is big?"
What, is there a bonus or what?
This result was, of course, the lingering power of the previous war. After the war, the 108th Division just dragged the corpses with trucks for a day, and set up firewood in the valleys near Shecheng and Licheng, poured gasoline on them, and burned the corpses.
For four days, the thick smoke from the burning corpses almost obscured the entire valley, and the nauseating smell was so disgusting that even the wolf and green dog responsible for the warning were disgusted and dug their noses into the grass.
Unfortunately, the two infantry squadrons of the infantry squadron stationed in Dongyangguan both participated in the burning of corpses and witnessed hundreds of their colleagues being burned in the flames, and their faces were as hideous as hell.
The ghost scene had an unimaginable impact on them.
No one wants to be like that. If you are not afraid, you are seeing a ghost.
Therefore, the infantry team, which received the squadron leader's military order, came up with this trick. Since they want to go out for reconnaissance, they must first find the amulet.
As for the reconnaissance effect, it depends on what they say anyway. If they say it doesn’t exist, it doesn’t exist. Believe it or not, the love of your 14th Division, even if it does exist, it’s because the Chinese hid it too deeply and we didn’t see it.
Just like that, at 10 o'clock in the morning, Moriki Takuno, who paid ten pieces of sake, ten cartons of cigarettes, five hundred cans of cans, and ten pounds of toffee, received the good news from Dongyangguan, 'The 5 kilometers from Dongyangguan to Shecheng are safe!'
Moriki Takuno's heart finally became more stable. He calculated that the most dangerous section of the road from Shecheng to Licheng is 36 kilometers away from Shecheng to Dongyangguan. If Dongyangguan can be scouted for at least five kilometers,
Road safety means that even if the Chinese want to attack, they will be within 20 kilometers of Shecheng.
This distance, for an infantry regiment stationed in Shecheng, does not take 2 hours to arrive. For the Chinese, this risk is undoubtedly like pulling a tooth out of a tiger's mouth. As long as the brain is normal, they will not do this.
Son.
"Let's go!" Major Takuno Moriki, who felt much more at ease, gave the marching order.
He did not go to say goodbye to the city's highest commander, Major General Nagago Kudo's brigade commander. Last night he had taken the initiative to visit him. After offering some 'local specialties', the major general brigade commander's attitude towards him was as cordial as
Long lost relatives.
His eyes were sparkling with tears, his words were cordial, and he made a solemn promise. After he led his troops to Shecheng, he sent a cavalry squadron to conduct careful reconnaissance along the way. No trace of the Chinese army was found, and he was serious about it.
Please ask Major Moriki to bring his greetings to the head of the Doi Enshi division on his behalf, saying that we had not seen each other for more than ten years and missed him very much.
Regardless of whether the Major General Commander of the Brigade is tactful and likes to say nice things, Moriki Takuno still believes at least 80% of his words. After all, the reputation of Commander Doi Enbu is not high in the Imperial Army.
Otherwise, the brigade commander would personally lead an infantry regiment to guard this small dilapidated city? It's all for the sake of the commander of Dofeiyuan Division, right?
It can be said that on the morning of April 1, the only thing that could make Major Moriki happy was the heartwarming leader of the 109th Division, who gave him a stable sense of security.
It later proved that poor Major Moriki was still too young.
Not to mention the fact that Kudo was not at all enrolled in the Army University at the same time as Madoka Doi. Just talking about what he said about sending a cavalry squadron to search along the way, the total distance was no more than 10 kilometers, and it was basically just a quick tour, riding a horse.
Got it.
It's not that the 108th Division is scum, the 109th Division is also such irresponsible people, but this is not a matter within the 109th Division, and being transferred to Shecheng to help the idiots of the 108th Division wipe the ass.
I'm not happy, but I still have to work hard for the 14th Division. What are you thinking about?
Just because you are a permanent division and we are an ad hoc division? You have the ability to send people to protect your own baggage convoy! You want us motley crew to serve as escorts for you? It's embarrassing!
Do you think that the Chinese army has many factions, and you are unhappy with me and I am unhappy with you, but the Japanese army is all monolithic?
Obviously, not!
If you want to cooperate fully, you must first have military orders, and secondly, you must look at the personal connections of the division commanders.
The spy chief Doi Yuan has been working in the intelligence department for a long time! Unfortunately, his friends are all big figures in the upper echelons of the army. Second-line divisions like the 108th and 109th are not considered by him at all.
And sometimes, it is the little people who change the battlefield.
It was against this background that the huge convoy led by Major Moriki Takuno was trapped by friendly forces along the way, and embarked on the road to death in the spring breeze!
This chapter has been completed!