The harsh environment and thick snow on the ground greatly restricted the Eighth Route Army's combat methods in the mountains.
But Li Yunlong has never been a stickler for rules.
After entering the Northeast, I have been studying how the troops can fight guerrillas with the elite Kwantung Army in the snow-covered mountains and forests.
In addition, he has no shortage of weapons, ammunition, and veterans, so the war will go more smoothly.
In less than four hours, the two Kwantung Army squadrons that were biting behind him all went to see the King of Hell, leaving no one alive.
After the battle, Li Yunlong deliberately moved his troops and loot to the hinterland of Nanda Mountain.
Then on a snowy night, we quickly evacuated Nanda Mountain and returned to Qinglong Mountain.
At this moment, the captain of the Little Japanese Regiment stationed in Xingcheng had just received the bad news that his troops had been attacked in Nanda Mountain.
The two infantry squadrons chasing Li Yunlong were completely destroyed. They were not equipped with radios, so they did not spread the news.
In addition, the wind and snow covered up the traces of firefights on the battlefield overnight, and even the corpses of the Japanese were covered in snow. No matter how the planes conducted reconnaissance in the sky, they could not find any trace of the three squadrons.
In the end, infantry was sent to conduct a dragnet search in the Nanda Mountains and hundreds of Kwantung Army corpses were found.
The three reinforced squadrons were completely wiped out. Even Fujino Osaka, the captain of the Xingcheng garrison, did not dare to hide it and immediately reported the bad news to the Kwantung Army headquarters.
…………
"Are the Xingcheng garrison on Bagaya Road a bunch of pigs?" Umezu Umejiro became furious after reading the apology telegram sent by Fujino Osaka.
"Two full infantry brigades searched Nanda Mountain, and three infantry squadrons were wiped out without any notice. Even a group of pigs would not be so stupid..."
The chief of staff waited for Umezu Umejiro to calm down before speaking: "Your Excellency, Commander..."
"Although the Xingcheng garrison lost three infantry squadrons, it also allowed us to find the direction to besiege the Eighth Route Army."
"Three full infantry squadrons were wiped out by the Eighth Route Army in a short period of time, which shows that the opponent's strength cannot be underestimated."
"With the Kwantung Army's current combat effectiveness, if the Eighth Route Army wants to achieve this, it will need at least two battalions..."
"So I judge that the Eighth Route Army that previously attacked the railway line is either all hiding in Nanda Mountain, or a large part of its troops are hiding there."
"As long as we gather heavy troops to sweep through Nanda Mountain, we will definitely be able to annihilate this Eighth Route Army..."
Before Umezu Umejiro could answer the call, the communications staff officer walked up to them again.
"Your Excellency, Commander, an urgent message has been sent to the garrison..."
"According to the report of the Soushan troops who discovered the battlefield... After the battle, the Eighth Route Army showed signs of moving to the hinterland of Nanshan..."
"But due to the wind and snow, many marching traces were covered with snow. When they chased them to the hinterland of Nanda Mountain, they lost track of the Eighth Route Army..."
This news further proves the Chief of Staff’s judgment.
Umezu Umejiro then turned his attention to Nanda Mountain and analyzed it with a calm face.
"These mountains are more than fifty kilometers deep, with complex terrain and lush forests. It is indeed an excellent location to hide troops... Not to mention the two battalions of the Eighth Route Army, even if the enemy hides two main regiments, as long as we don't search carefully,
They can all do it quietly."
"Just do what you just said..."
"Now that it has been confirmed that the main force of the Eighth Route Army is hiding in Nanda Mountain, we will dispatch heavy troops to encircle Nanda Mountain and kill this group of Eighth Route Army."
"They must not be allowed to rely on Nanda Mountain to establish a base in the Northeast and continue to grow and develop..."
"Find a way to directly dispatch a main division there, without giving the Eighth Route Army any chance to escape. We must trap them in Nanda Mountain and catch them all in one fell swoop."
"But other garrisons along the railway cannot move..."
"We must continue to strengthen our vigilance and expand the search scope..."
"I remember that there were twenty or thirty Eighth Route Army troops attacking the railway line that night. Calculating one hundred people per Eighth Route Army unit, there were two to three thousand people."
"According to the report of the Xingcheng garrison, the Eighth Route Army that attacked them only had two battalions, with a thousand people standing against the sky..."
"So there must be other Eighth Route Army stations in the mountains along the railway, but we haven't found them yet."
The railway lines were destroyed and the roads were covered with heavy snow, which caused the Japanese army to gather at least twice as slow as usual.
It took ten days for a main division requested by Umezu Umejiro to arrive at Xingcheng.
As a result, due to the large number of troops in this division, the cold protection measures were not fully prepared, and the troops had not yet participated in the mopping up. Over 600 non-combat casualties were incurred due to frostbite just on the road.
The news was reported to the Kwantung Army headquarters. Umezu Umejiro was so angry that he almost vomited blood on the spot, and his hatred for the northward detachment of the Eighth Route Army increased even more.
They didn't come early, they didn't come late, but they entered the Northeast at this time to cause destruction. They were simply working against themselves.
Seeing the flag representing the Kwantung Army on the sand table slowly encircling Nanda Mountain, Umezu Umejiro's clenched fists finally relaxed.
He had waited too long for this moment.
During the troop deployment, they were afraid that the Eighth Route Army hiding in Nanda Mountain would take the opportunity to escape, and it would be difficult to find them by then.
To this end, he mobilized all the troops stationed around Nanda Mountain and patrolled the mountainous areas day and night to prevent the Eighth Route Army from escaping.
Now that all the mopping up troops are in place, even if the Eighth Route Army temporarily wants to break out of the encirclement and escape for its life, it will be an egg against a stone, and it will lead to death.
He immediately asked the chief of staff on the side: "Now that all the troops are in place, let's start taking action to end the battle in the shortest possible time and try to reduce the non-combat attrition of the troops fighting in the snow."
The chief of staff understood God in his heart: "I am humble enough to go and give the order immediately..."
The result was very unfortunate. Before the chief of staff could move, the communications staff officer holding a telegram hurried towards them.
From the look on his face, something big must have happened.
The chief of staff decisively stopped and asked him to understand the contents of the telegram before issuing an attack order.
No matter how anxious the commander is, he will not rush for a minute or two.
"Your Excellency, Commander..." The communications staff officer quickly handed the telegram to the chief of staff and opened his mouth to report with a look of urgency.
"The Jinzhou Linghai garrison just sent an urgent call. They found signs of Eighth Route Army activities in the mountainous area about 30 kilometers north of Linghai. There are at least a thousand troops. One of their main regiments participating in the encirclement and suppression of the Eighth Route Army was attacked, and two full members were lost.
Form an infantry squadron..."
The chief of staff quickly read the contents of the telegram with a quick glance, and then his brows twisted into a big Chinese character Sichuan.
He respectfully handed the telegram to Umezu Umejiro years ago, frowned and reported: "Your Excellency, Commander..."
"The fighting style of this Eighth Route Army is exactly the same as that of the Eighth Route Army in the Nanda Mountains... They quietly killed two of our squadrons through ambushes..."
"The two Eighth Route armies must be from the same unit. They must be among the Eighth Route Army that attacked the railway..."
