638 The Japanese invaders have a sure chance of victory
The execution ability of the Eighth Route Army, especially the execution ability of elite Eighth Route Army units like the Independent Regiment, is quite terrifying.
And Kong Jie’s big game is to lure the emperor into the urn and then destroy him in one fell swoop.
What we rely on is the ability of the soldiers to execute orders and prohibitions.
The several companies sent out by Chen Quan's Second Independent Regiment, plus the local troops and militia comrades who served as the vanguard to go south this time, received Kong Jie's order very clearly:
Try to attract the attention of the Japanese and puppet troops with as much fanfare as possible, and attract the Japanese and puppet troops to the cliff area south of Taihang.
This is the consistent tactical play of the independent group:
Use one unit as a bait to lure the enemy deep and attract all the Japanese and puppet troops to the hinterland, and then use the other unit to quickly penetrate back to the back and side of the Japanese and puppet troops, attacking and destroying the enemy from both sides.
Local comrades and militia comrades have no doubts about the final victory of this war.
Countless battles that have taken place in the Independence Regiment base area have shown that as long as you obey the arrangements and command of Commander Kong, there is no battle that cannot be won.
They knew very well that the current team going south except for a few companies of the elite of the Second Independent Regiment.
The others are not the elite of the independent group. They can use these local troops and militia troops to attract the main force of the Japanese and puppet troops.
Once the elite combat troops of the independent regiment successfully bypass the Japanese and puppet troops, the battle will basically be stable.
As for Commander Kong's subsequent deployment and arrangements, these local comrades and militia comrades have no idea.
They just carried out Kong Jie's orders meticulously.
Even if there are five to six thousand Japanese and puppet troops behind them.
Going south, there are still more than 2,000 troops of the Japanese 47th Division to intercept them.
It looks like the Japanese and puppet troops are about to make dumplings.
The teams heading south did not show any flinch or fear.
According to Kong Jie's deployment, the mission of local comrades and militia comrades this time is to make as much noise as possible to attract more Japanese and puppet troops to go deep into the hinterland, rather than to fight.
Therefore, on the way south, the commander tried his best to arrange a large number of security forces and deployed them in all directions of the main force heading south.
To ensure that these warnings are like the first eyes to stretch out, and quickly avoid them after sensing the approach of the Japanese and puppet troops.
From a bird's eye view, the entire southbound team looks like an octopus covered with tentacles. Whenever it touches any surrounding obstacles, it will immediately retreat in an unobstructed direction.
It was during such a stumble, as if being intercepted by the Japanese troops approaching from the southwest and north, that the entire southbound team gradually moved closer to the south-facing cliffs of Taihang.
The Japs' vanguard force quickly reported the situation of the Eighth Route Army troops heading south back to the headquarters.
The Japanese officers at the headquarters laughed. They were convinced that the Eighth Route Army was no match for the might of the Japanese Empire and was being forced to retreat towards the cliff with no way out.
All this was as they expected.
From the beginning, the Japanese command planned to attack from the southwest and north in two directions, trapping the group of Eighth Route Army soldiers heading south in the cliff area south of Taihang.
As far as the Japanese knew, it was a deserted land with no way out. Once they reached the end, there was a towering cliff that stood almost vertically, making it impossible for troops to pass.
The Japanese headquarters originally thought that under the attack of the Imperial Japanese Army from the southwest and north, this group of Eighth Route Army going south might quickly choose to retreat from the north or northwest, or break out from the southeast.
The result was unexpected.
This group of Tubalu were so stupid that they decided to continue heading south.
Then they were blocked by two brigades of the 47th Division heading north.
The Eighth Route Army going south had to retreat, and was besieged by the Japanese and puppet troops from the southwest, and was forced to retreat to the cliff area south of Taihang.
In the eyes of the Japanese officers, all this seemed to come naturally.
There is nothing strange about it.
Therefore, the Japanese command headquarters ordered to divide the troops into two groups, completely cut off the eight groups' retreat route from the southwest and north, and continue to advance rapidly.
On the one hand, he passed the plan back to the First Army Headquarters that the troops would continue to march, besiege the Eighth Route Army on the cliffs in southern Taihang, and annihilate them in one fell swoop.
Inside the headquarters.
This time, in order to deal with Kong Jie's first detachment, the Japanese army used quite a lot of formations.
Commander Yoshio Shinozuka and Chief of Staff of the First Army Kitagawa Ayumi have also been paying close attention to the trends of this battle.
After the news came back, although everything seemed reasonable, the result was unexpectedly smooth.
Chief of Staff Kitagawa Ayumi was still a little hesitant.
The doubts he raised were very direct:
"General, according to our previous combat experience with the Independent Regiment of the Eighth Route Army, the team of this Independent Regiment is very cunning, and Kong Jie, who is commanding the battle, is an expert in using troops."
"The troops under his command have a very obvious characteristic. They generally like to fight against the enemy in rapid movements, either by weaving in and out, or by sneak attacks, harassment, ambushes, or by taking advantage of the geographical advantages of mountainous areas to fight along the way."
"Direct confrontation with the Japanese Empire is extremely rare."
"I have summarized this point, and finally came to the conclusion that Kong Jie seems to always adhere to a certain principle in fighting, and he attempts to obtain the final victory at the least cost."
"So he rarely uses head-on confrontations and positional warfare where casualties are unavoidable."
"At the moment, his southward troops were discovered by our army and cut off the southward road and southwest flank."
"Under such circumstances, the correct command should be to quickly withdraw the team or break out from the southeast to avoid our army's offensive from the north and southwest."
"But how could this Eighth Route Army unit heading south retreat like headless flies towards the cliffs heading south to Taihang?"
"Did the Eighth Route Army make a stupid mistake and seek death?"
A combat staff officer said: "Sir, according to the news from the front, these Eighth Route Army also tried to advance to the southeast, but were repelled by our army!"
"As for why there was no retreat...the Eighth Route Army's intention to go south to reinforce Zhongtiao Mountain seems to be very determined!"
Yoshio Shinozuka was silent. Seeing the eyes of all the staff members converging on him, he knew that it was time for the commander to make the most difficult decision.
At this moment, the decision and choice he finally made were too important, and even related to the outcome of this battle.
At this time, military commanders wish they could become gods and look down at the entire battlefield with their big eyes.
Unfortunately, that is just a wish.
Yoshio Shinozuka quickly assessed the situation and gains and losses of this battle out of habit.
Judging from the current situation, the imperial troops clearly had the upper hand and successfully surrounded the southward troops of the Eighth Route Army in the cliff area south of Taihang.
There are more than 6,000 imperial troops and the Imperial Alliance Army advancing from the southwest, and there are more than 2,000 47th Division advancing from the north, for a total of more than 8,000 troops.
The Eighth Route Army troops heading south were based on reconnaissance by Japanese vanguard units and reconnaissance aircraft.
The troop strength is about 3,000.
According to Yoshio Shinozuka's speculation.
Kong Jie sent troops south to reinforce Zhongtiao Mountain. He couldn't send out all the elite members of his old independent regiment, right?
Moreover, even if these more than 3,000 troops are all elites of the old independent regiment, once they are trapped and die in the cliff area south of Taihang and lose their mobility, they will never be able to match the more than 8,000 imperial troops.
Not to mention that Yoshio Shinozuka still has a back-up plan, and the two brigades that are rushing in from the direction of Taiyuan City are rushing to help.
Due to the unique topography of the fighting area between the two sides, the Eighth Route Army in the Taihang direction had to make a rather large detour if it wanted to bring reinforcements.
Yoshio Shinozuka also considered reinforcements from the Eighth Route Army.
He always believed that even if the Eighth Route Army reinforcements arrived, the more than 8,000 imperial troops advancing simultaneously from the southwest and north would be able to eat up the more than 3,000 main troops of the Independent Regiment before the Eighth Route Army reinforcements arrived.
After one bite, most of the main force of the independent regiment was lost.
When he thought about this, Yoshio Shinozuka couldn't hold back the excitement in his heart.
It begins with the destruction of Sakata United.
Several raids on the independent regiment failed miserably.
Not long ago, my beloved general Yamamoto died for his country in pieces!
Yoshio Shinozuka, who played such a big role as the commander of the Japanese First Army in Shanxi, actually hated a small Eighth Route Army Corps commander to the core.
In the past year or so of fighting against the independent group, Yoshio Shinozuka has hardly taken any advantage.
Now we can finally hit Kong Jie hard for once.
This is what Yoshio Shinozuka has always dreamed about.
After thinking about it like this, Yoshio Shinozuka no longer hesitated and decided to give it a go.
The opportunity to severely damage the enemy's independent group is right in front of you.
If we just give up like this, it will not only undermine the majesty of the Japanese Empire, but Yoshio Shinozuka will not be able to swallow this breath.
The determined Yoshio Shinozuka ordered all ministries to continue advancing to encircle and annihilate the main force of the independent regiment.
At the same time, the flight team was notified that once the Eighth Route Army troops gather in the same area on a large scale, air fire reinforcements will be provided at any time.
...Time quickly moved forward for more than half an hour.
The Japanese army successfully achieved its combat intention and successfully surrounded the southward Eighth Route Army troops in the cliff area south of Taihang.
It is a towering cliff. At the bottom of the cliff, some undulating hillsides, ditches, rocks, etc. can be used as the final defensive fortifications of the Eighth Route Army troops.
There is a dead end behind us, so we can only fight with our last breath.
The two sides exchanged fire in the area, and the Japanese army was the first to come over with a vanguard force of more than 2,000 people.
The Japanese captain who was commanding from the opposite side was also frightened while commanding the battle, and thought to himself:
Worthy of being the elite main force of the Eighth Route Army Independent Regiment.
This completely overturned his previous understanding of the Eighth Route Army troops with backward equipment and scarce ammunition.
The opponent relied on the natural bunker under the cliff as a fortification. Under the powerful firepower, the imperial troops were unable to break through for a while.
The cliff is a desperate place, although it cuts off the retreat route of the Eighth Route Army troops in front of them.
But it can also prevent the Japanese army from detouring back and making surprise attacks.
The two sides launched a fierce positional battle at the bottom of the cliff.
Soon.
The Japanese command headquarters accompanying the army in the rear received news that an Eighth Route Army unit had appeared and was detouring from the independent regiment base area to the southeast in an attempt to detour to the back of the imperial troops.
Japanese First Army Headquarters.
Beichuan, the Japanese chief of staff who had been hesitant, suddenly understood:
"General, the Eighth Route Army Map shows how difficult it is to see. No wonder the troops that went south first chose to retreat to the cliff area southwest of Taihang."
"It seems that Kong Jie wants to use the troops heading south as bait to lure our army deeper, and then use the troops to penetrate our army's back in a roundabout way, attacking from both sides."
Yoshio Shinozuka smiled and said: "Yes, this intention is very obvious, and this is also the Eighth Route Army's favorite style of play."
"It's just, General, Kong Jie's intention is very obvious, but what does he mean by this move? Could it be that he also wants to use the troops that have detoured to the back of our army to join forces with the troops heading south to attack from both sides and defeat our more than 8,000 imperial troops?
Can't they all be wiped out? His appetite is quite big." Beichuan was puzzled by this.
Yoshio Shinozuka also shook his head, "It's hard to figure out how Kong Jie uses troops."
After thinking for a moment, Yoshio Shinozuka showed his confidence and said decisively:
"In the face of absolute strength, all conspiracies and tricks are nothing more than paper tigers!"
"No matter what Kong Jie's intentions are and how big his appetite is, how can it be so easy to try to attack our army from the back?"
"Our vanguard troops have surrounded the Eighth Route Army's troops heading south. Even if they confront the Eighth Route Army's outflanking troops from the back, they only need to hold on for two hours. Our two brigades departing from Taiyuan City can also go around to the Eighth Route Army's outflanking troops.
This is equivalent to our army carrying out a multi-layered encirclement attack on the Eighth Route Army."
"I want to see what kind of waves Kong Jie can make in this situation."
"Pass my order, and the Southwest Advancing Force will send out a unit to block the Eighth Route's detour. Its main force will continue to advance southwest and join the 47th Division heading north. It will give me an opportunity to capture all the troops on the cliff south of Taihang before the reinforcements from the Eighth Route arrive.