Ishiihara's high evaluation of the independent group as an opponent made Yamaguchi Shube pay more and more attention to the independent group.
This time, the Ishii regiment and Yamaguchi's independent mixed fourth brigade jointly dealt with the three Iron Triangle regiments of the Eighth Route Army.
How many troops do the two of them have in total?
The Ishii Regiment originally had a full strength of about 3,500 men, but it lost about 1,300 men in the battle between Xicun and Zhangjiazhuang.
Those participating in the battle this time are the remaining troops of the Ishii Regiment, plus those wounded soldiers who have been treated for minor injuries, the number of troops is about 2,000.
The total strength of the independent mixed fourth brigade under the First Army is about 6,000.
There are more than 8,000 troops in total, and together with the accompanying Imperial Army, there are more than 10,000 troops.
"This time in dealing with the three Iron Triangle regiments of the Eighth Route Army, the focus must be on this independent regiment. This independent regiment is at the outermost edge of the Iron Triangle towards Yangquan."
"As long as we can defeat the Independent Regiment in one fell swoop, the remaining New First Regiment and New Second Regiment will be much easier to deal with."
"Compared with the New Second Regiment, the remaining New Regiment will be more difficult to deal with. This is the Eighth Route Army team that challenged the Bantian Regiment in the Battle of Cangyunling. As for the New Second Regiment,
A newly formed combat group that is less than a year old is nothing to be afraid of."
"According to our army's intelligence reconnaissance, the new first regiment currently has about 2,000 troops, while the new second regiment only has more than 1,000 troops."
"So, Your Excellency, Brigade Commander, I suggest that we dispatch two regiments to deal with the independent regiment this time. To deal with the new regiment, two brigades will be responsible. To deal with this new regiment, I think one brigade will be fully equipped.
Enough."
"In addition, the terrain in the West Village and Zhangjiazhuang areas is relatively flat, and our tank troops can still barely move forward. As for the base areas where the New First Regiment and the New Second Regiment are located, they are located in mountainous areas, so it may not be possible to launch a tank offensive."
"Your Excellency, the Commander, has ordered us to assign eight tanks this time. As for the direction of the New First Regiment and the New Second Regiment, I think one is enough, and the rest should concentrate on attacking the independent regiment."
Ishii Haraichi suggested this.
Yamaguchi nodded by the tree: "Xingxi, since Mr. Ishii is so confident, the general deployment of troops will be arranged like this."
"Hi! Thank you very much, Brigade Commander, for your trust."
……
……
New Second Group.
Regiment Headquarters.
After more than half a year of development, the intelligence system within the New Second Regiment has been established. Li Yunlong’s New Second Regiment has naturally learned the information that the Japs will launch a major raid on the 12th.
There was no gloom and gloom as a storm was about to come. On the contrary, the entire New Second Group was filled with excitement.
Especially the regiment leader Li Yunlong, who is currently crossing his legs at the regiment headquarters and bragging to the political commissar Zhao Gang with a smile on his face:
"Old Zhao, I'm not exaggerating. You just have to wait and see. When the little devil launches a big sweep this time, he will definitely have to focus on attacking our new second regiment. Although our new second regiment has not been established for a long time, there have been many attacks during this period.
Devil."
"We have pulled out a lot of the surrounding Japanese strongholds, and the scope of our guerrilla area extends outward for more than ten miles."
"Whether it's the kid from Taiyuan City or the kid from Yangquan, they all regard our New Second Regiment as a thorn in their side!"
"So, hey, we have to be prepared for a tough battle this time."
"Our New Second Regiment took over the base of the Independent Regiment back then. The defense system in this village and its surroundings is quite complete. The little devils have made a big sweep this time, which is enough to give them a drink."
Zhao Gang smiled and said: "Old Li, just brag. If the Japanese attack us from the three Iron Triangle groups, the focus will definitely be on the independent group."
Li Yunlong said: "That's because his old Kong is too troublesome. In addition, he has established the Independent Group for a long time and has a good foundation. However, even if the enemy's focus is on the Independent Group, our New Second Group will definitely not dare to do anything casually."
Fooled."
"Don't say too much, a coalition must have one, right? Hehe."
Zhao Gang smiled and said: "Our New Second Regiment currently only has over 1,500 troops at full strength, but I heard that Lao Kong's Independent Regiment already has nearly 5,000 troops, which is three times our strength.
If the Japanese send a regiment to deal with our Second Independent Regiment, wouldn't they have to send a brigade to deal with the Independent Regiment?"
Li Yunlong sighed: "The Japanese's mopping up troops are advancing, and sometimes the troops have too many troops, which is not a good thing.
In addition, although Lao Kong has nearly 5,000 troops, there are still as many elite troops as before. He just absorbed the puppet troops. Even if you give them to him, Lao Kong will not dare to use them indiscriminately.
"Old Zhao, I still say what I said, if Lao Kong's independent regiment is overwhelmed by the Japanese's heavy troops, if we can help, we should help as soon as possible."
Zhao Gang smiled and nodded.
……
12th.
The Japanese army's spring raids against the Taihang area have officially begun.
In Taiyuan, Yangquan, Ping'an County, Taigu, Zhangzhuang, and Tan County, the Japanese army set off from multiple routes and advanced into the Taihang area, with a total force of more than 20,000.
It took less than a morning for the Japanese troops to advance from multiple routes to the outskirts of the occupied area. Some scattered villages in the suburbs appeared in the sight of the sweeping Japanese troops.
As the Japanese soldiers pointed out, they advanced all the way. The villages they passed were turned upside down by the Japanese, and all the supplies were robbed. They immediately killed all the villagers they met. Before leaving the village, they burned the entire village to ashes.
.
The unscrupulous Sanguang policy has committed numerous crimes that are too numerous to mention. Many villages were destroyed and many villagers were persecuted in the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan border region base.
The news spread to all departments of the Eighth Route Army, and all the generals of the Eighth Route Army were furious.
Independent group.
Regiment Headquarters.
The fourth battalion commander, Lei Da, was so angry that he punched the table, "Captain, you are really right. This little devil is inhumane. According to the intelligence from the front line, this devil swept away wherever he went."
, there is simply not a blade of grass left."
"I heard that many villages in major root areas suffered heavy losses, and many fellow villagers were persecuted by the Japanese."
"Fortunately, our independent regiment had an order issued in advance by the leader of our group. Even the outermost villages were able to evacuate the fellow villagers in time, thus avoiding being persecuted by the Japanese."
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"But the village where the folks have lived all their lives has been completely burned. These little devils are really hateful."
Kong Jie said: "As long as the villagers are protected, the village will be burned down and built again later.
Our current manpower is small and limited, and the Japanese raids this time are fierce. We cannot extend our defense too far, and can only shrink our troops to our base area and some nearby villages for defense.
The scattered villages on the outermost edge have no defensive value and significance, so they can only be discarded.
This time the village was burned down. After the counter-clearance is completed, we will find ways to build new residences for these villagers who have lost their homes."
"Yes!" Lei Dasheng responded.
Kong Jie asked: "Where is the Japs' leading raiding force now?"
Lei Dasheng said: "It's less than five kilometers away from the outermost West Village and Zhangjiazhuang."
"How is the mass transfer work going?"
"Captain, don't worry, Lao Du has already arranged manpower, and now almost all the villagers from West Village, Zhangjiazhuang and other major surrounding villages have been moved into the mountainous area."
Kong Jie nodded, a little relieved, "That's good. Without the villagers as a constraint, when the devil comes, we can have a good fight."
"I won't let these naughty little devils go." Lei Dasheng's eyes were filled with murderous intent.
"Can the first battalion, second battalion, and third battalion report the situation?"
"Not yet to report to the regimental commander, but according to frontline inspections, the Japs' leading force has been separated from the mountainous area where our three battalions are hiding. The Japs have not discovered our main force deployed in the mountainous area in advance."
"What is the strength of the Japanese troops heading to West Village and Zhangjiazhuang?"
"Captain, according to our reconnaissance, the Japs have spent a lot of money this time to deal with our independent regiment. There is a Japanese regiment in Xicun and Zhangjiazhuang, with a total strength of about 5,000 people."
"Among them, along the way to Zhangjiazhuang, we can still see some wounded soldiers among the Japanese. They seem to be the Ishii unit that was defeated by us not long ago. It seems that they are seeking revenge from us."
Kong Jie was happy, "The strength of the two regiments really looks up to our independent regiment!"
"Everything is going according to the original plan. After placing the Japs from both directions into the village, we will use the village's defense construction to conduct an ambush."
"The specific fighting method is still agreed upon. At a longer distance, we just arrange some veterans with accurate marksmanship to attack the Japanese artillery and machine gunners first. After the Japanese are put in, we will use light and heavy machine guns and various types of firepower."<
/p>
"Overall defense, echelon configuration, each local operation must divide transferable positions to ensure depth and avoid Japanese artillery fire in time. Front-line positions cannot be equipped with heavy troops, and beware of being bombarded by Japanese artillery."
"Remember, don't go head-to-head with the Japs. Try to use the village's defenses to injure the Japanese troops. Abandon positions that need to be abandoned at any time."
"Yes, commander, please rest assured that our fourth battalion will definitely complete the mission." Lei Dasheng responded.
"The task is to hold back the Japanese army and use the village's defense to kill and injure the Japanese army's effective strength. It is not a task for you to have a decisive battle with the little devils." Kong Jie urged.
Lei Dasheng smiled and said: "Captain, I understand this. The good show this time is with our main force attacking the enemy's lair!"
"You kid, go ahead!"
"Yes!"
……
……
New group.
Regiment Headquarters.
The Japanese invaders advanced all the way, and news came that they would implement the three-guang policy on the villages they encountered.
First Battalion Commander Sun Zhenguo said with lingering fear, "Captain, fortunately we didn't take any chances and evacuated all the villagers in time."
Then, the cadres cursed the Japanese for their inhumanity.
Ding Wei said: "Stop scolding, what's the use of just scolding? If we can scold the little devil to death, isn't it enough for so many of us Chinese to spit on each other?"
"To deal with bastards like the Japanese invaders, the Japanese are cruel, so we must be even more cruel, tooth for tooth, blood for blood, so that we can beat these little devils without fear of pain."
"A few days ago, the Independent Regiment defeated the Ishii Regiment in Xicun and Zhangjiazhuang, and bombed the Yangquan Japanese Military Hospital, destroying the medicines that the wounded Japanese soldiers urgently needed, causing the death of many wounded Japanese soldiers. This is what we men should do.
of."
First Battalion Commander Sun Zhenguo responded: "The regimental commander is right, this time we will beat that little devil at the base to avenge the villagers."
"Revenge——"
"Revenge——"
"According to the intelligence returned from our front line, the Japanese have dispatched about two brigades of troops, totaling about 2,300 people, to deal with our new regiment this time, plus a puppet army of more than 1,000 people."<
/p>
"The Japanese's firepower configuration is not weak, and there seems to be an artillery squadron following up."
Ding Wei suddenly laughed, "Yes, this artillery squadron will have to be named Ding sooner or later."
Sun Zhenguo smiled and said: "Commander, you are still so confident. The battle has not even started yet! You have already taken care of the Japanese artillery squadron."
Ding Wei touched his nose, and his words were a little sour, "Is more than two thousand Japs too many? Don't forget, just a few days ago, the Japs dispatched a full regiment, plus two thousand puppet troops, to attack people's homes.
The independent group went, what happened in the end? They returned with a disastrous defeat!"
"That battle was conducted beautifully by Lao Kong! To be honest, even if Lao Li and I didn't go, Lao Kong really wasn't bragging and would have made it right."
"The troops currently dealing with our New Regiment are not as good as those of the Ishii Regiment! What do you mean, little devil? This is clearly not taking our New Regiment seriously. At least in the eyes of the Japs, our New Regiment is worse than
Not in the independent group."
"I can't bear this tone. Since the Japs don't have many troops, then we will use the minimum cost to eat up all the Japs' troops and seize the most equipment. This will be considered a success."
Speaking of this, he suddenly remembered something, and Ding Wei asked: "By the way, how many troops did the Japanese army use in the direction of the Independent Regiment and the New Second Regiment?"
Sun Zhenguo replied: "In the direction of Xicun and Zhangjiazhuang of the Independent Regiment, the Japanese army each dispatched a regiment with a total strength of about 5,000 people."
Then Ding Wei became even more bitter, "This little devil is just looking at what others are doing! Who is he looking down on?"
"Where is Li Yunlong's new second regiment?"
"It seems that a Japanese army brigade was dispatched."
"What? Just a Japanese army?"
Ding Wei slapped his thigh, he was so happy that he immediately regained his balance in his heart, "Interesting, the little devil is treating Xin Er Tuan as a soft persimmon."
Sun Zhenguo smiled and said: "Captain, in the past six months, our three Iron Triangle regiments have developed too fast. If we push this forward one year, the Japanese will come in one group, no matter which one of our three regiments they are dealing with."
, is enough."
Ding Wei nodded and said with a smile: "This is the truth. A year ago, our army's equipment development was too backward. One regiment didn't even have a heavy machine gun, and one Bantian regiment forced the main force of our entire 386th Brigade.
Retreat."
"It's just that right now, a Japanese army is not enough.
If the Japanese don’t pay attention to our New Regiment, then they simply look down on our New Second Regiment.
Just look at it, Li Yunlong is probably cursing at the regiment headquarters right now!"
……
"Damn, what do you mean, you stupid little devil? You sent me away with just one brigade? This is looking down on me, Li Yunlong! One brigade is not enough for me, Old Li, to squeeze through."
New Second Group.
Regiment Headquarters.
The group leader Li Yunlong was stamping his feet and cursing.
Our old Li Niu has already blown it out, saying that this little devil will not dare to underestimate our new second regiment, and at least send a regiment over!