The 216th chapter of the anti-encirclement and suppression of the sky (1)
Chapter 216: Counter-encirclement and Suppression: Rising in the Sky (1)
By the time Major Murata returned to Zhouzhuang with two groups of exhausted troops, it was already two days later. At this time, Zhouzhuang was no longer as lively as when he set out, and everywhere was full of pessimism.
After counting the number of troops, Major General Sakai, the commander-in-chief of the army on this road, sadly found that he only had less than 6,000 troops left. This is not the most important thing. The most important thing is his heavy weapons.
Almost all was lost, and the troops had only enough food to last less than two days... However, thankfully, the soldiers still had enough ammunition to last for a while. Otherwise, Major General Sakai would really have to go see Amaterasu.
What a great god.
"Chief of Staff, the army's food supply is so tight now, what should we do next?" After several days of fighting, Major General Sakai looked very tired.
"Commander of the brigade, what I mean is that we will be stationed in Zhouzhuang for the time being and let the imperial army in Jinzhong City quickly transfer food and other combat materials to us. We will march after the troops recover their strength." The chief of staff replied cautiously.
"Yo Xi, the Chief of Staff has a good idea. Chief of Staff, just arrange it according to your wishes! I am tired and want to take a rest. If there is nothing particularly important, please don't disturb me..." Brigade Commander
After saying that, he lay down on the chair and began to relax with his eyes closed.
"Hi…"
However, the military camp of the rapid response brigade located deep in the mountains was a different story. The soldiers chatted happily about the battle that had just passed, and some of the security forces captured by political cadres explained our army's policies back and forth, encouraging everyone to participate
The Eighth Route Army, fighting the Japanese...
"Administrator Wang, have all the troops been returned to their regular units?" Liu Hua asked.
"Yes, Commander, the 1st Battalion of the Guard Regiment came back last night and is now resting..." Staff Officer Wang was too quick to answer.
"Well, very good. This time the guard regiment and the first battalion of the first regiment have made great contributions, especially the first battalion. The whole battalion lost almost half of its troops. Alas..." Liu Hua sighed and said.
"Consultant Wang, have there been any movements from the Japanese in the past two days? Their security forces have been wiped out by us, and all supplies and ammunition have been seized by us. I think they are about to withdraw, right?" Liu Hua asked again.
"Commander, the Japanese army has not retreated. The Sakai brigade is still stationed in Zhouzhuang. I suspect that they are waiting for the Japanese army in Jinzhong City to deliver supplies to them..." Staff Officer Wang replied.
"Damn, you little devil, you really won't give up until you achieve your goal. Where are the other Japanese armies, are they still attacking?" Liu Hua cursed loudly and asked dissatisfiedly.
"Well, two of the armies have occupied Xiazhuang Township, the headquarters of the Third Army Division..." Seeing the angry Liu Hua, Staff Officer Wang replied in a low voice.
"It seems that the Japanese army must be punished more harshly, otherwise they will not retreat." Liu Hua said quietly looking at the map, staring at Jinzhong City where the Japanese army stored supplies.
"Commander, what do you mean..." Staff Wang followed Liu Hua's gaze and saw Jinzhong City and couldn't help but ask.
"Well, order several regiment leaders to come to the headquarters for a meeting immediately." Liu Hua ordered the correspondent behind him. After a while, several regiment leaders gathered in the narrow headquarters.
"Commander, do you have a new mission? The battle in the past two days was really boring. The security forces surrendered before the fighting started. How boring?" Wang Benqing, the leader of the third regiment, said carelessly when he walked into the conference room.
asked. Liu Hua smiled and said nothing.
"Comrades, I won't say any more nonsense. A few days ago, we wiped out four regiments of security forces. I thought the Japanese would stop and withdraw, but I didn't expect the Japanese army wouldn't give us this face. Haha, now it's over
We can't blame us. Now, I decided to give the Japanese army a big one to rub their energy and see if they can still retreat." Liu Hua got straight to the point and stated the purpose of the meeting.
"Commander, you give the order, we all listen to you, we will fight wherever you tell us to fight?" After hearing the commander's words, Wang Benqing said excitedly.
"Of course, what I said about bringing a big one to the Japanese army is not just a random attack. It has a purpose. I don't know if you all know the allusion of making a big fuss in the sky. I plan to get into the belly of the Japanese army this time and do a good job.
Open meat...what do you think?" Liu Hua asked.
"I agree. Since the Japs have messed up our base area, let's go and mess up the Japs' rear areas. When the time comes, let's see who suffers the most." Shen, the leader of the regiment who had been silent and who suffered the most losses in this battle, said
Tsinghua said.
"Yes, repay the other in the same way..." the commander of the artillery regiment also agreed.
"Okay, since everyone agrees with this plan, I will now assign specific tasks. The commander of the First Regiment, Shen Qinghua, and the mountain artillery battalion of the Artillery Regiment set out overnight, traveling day and night, trying to reach the outskirts of Taigu County the day after tomorrow.
Launch a strong attack on Taigu County at midnight the day after tomorrow, and strive to defeat the enemy before dawn. However, we need to remember that before dawn, regardless of whether the county is captured or not, the troops must retreat to the mountainous area to prevent the Japanese army from sending aircraft to assist after dawn..." Liu
Hua ordered to a regiment leader.
"Yes, Commander, we will resolutely complete the mission..." Shen Qinghua, the commander of the first regiment, replied excitedly.
"Commander Luo Zhihui, you are leading a mortar battalion from the Second Regiment's Artillery Regiment to set off overnight tonight and move between Jinzhong City and Zhouzhuang, the current Japanese military camp. You will try to ambush the Japanese convoy transporting supplies to the Sakai brigade.
We must not let even a tiny bit of supplies and ammunition reach the hands of the Sakai brigade, I will starve this unit to death."
"Yes, Commander, I promise to complete the mission..." Luo Zhihui replied equally excitedly.
"Wang Benqing, commander of the Third Regiment, you and a field artillery battalion of the Third Regiment's Artillery Regiment set out overnight, marching day and night, trying to reach Shouyang County before the night after tomorrow, and launch a strong attack on Shouyang County that night. Likewise,
Regardless of whether Shouyang County is captured or not, you must withdraw from your positions before dawn to prevent bombing by Japanese aircraft."
"Yes, Commander, I promise to complete the mission..." Wang Benqing answered quickly after finally hearing his mission, with a smile on his face.
"Wang Hu, Commander of the Cavalry Regiment, you and the Cavalry Regiment also set out overnight, targeting the outskirts of Taiyuan. I ask you to continue to appear in the eyes of the Japanese troops in Taiyuan during this period, so that they think that our independent division will attack Taiyuan again.
Idea. Of course, if you encounter a small group of Japanese troops, I will allow you to eat them, but you cannot pay too many casualties. When the time comes, I will give you an order to withdraw the troops." Liu Hua, who had been silent to this,
The commander of the cavalry regiment ordered.
"Yes, Commander." Wang Hu stood up and answered loudly.
"The mission of the guard regiment is to stay in our camp and guard the large amount of supplies and captured security forces we have just captured. At the same time, it is also responsible for training those security forces who are willing to join the independent division so that they can regain their combat effectiveness as quickly as possible.
, to supplement the lack of soldiers in the army."
"Yes, Commander, I promise to complete the mission." Although the head of the guard regiment was not satisfied with the mission assigned to him by the commander, he had no troops under his command, so he could only nod his head in agreement with dissatisfaction.
"At that time, I will follow the special operations brigade directly to the outskirts of Jinzhong City. Let me tell you that our ultimate goal is not the county you are going to attack, but Jinzhong City where the Japanese army has stored a large amount of supplies. The reason why we let you temporarily
The purpose of spreading our forces and attacking several Japanese counties at the same time is to confuse the Japanese commander's vision and create a good condition for us to attack Jinzhong City. Therefore, comrades, when attacking fortified areas, we must try our best to ensure that the combat effectiveness of the troops is not affected by the enemy.
Loss. Similarly, it is impossible for the Japanese to see the flaw. Do you have confidence..." Liu Hua also asked excitedly.
"Yes." Everyone answered in unison.
In this way, shortly after the meeting ended, the commanders of each regiment gathered their troops, went to the artillery regiment to take away the troops they should take away, and drove out of the military camp. In less than an hour, only a few people were left in the huge military camp.
Thousands of prisoners and a battalion of guards.
Of course, among the four separated units, the one most likely to encounter the Japanese army first would be the Second Regiment of the Rapid Reaction Brigade led by Luo Zhihui.
Luo Zhihui led the Second Regiment and a mortar battalion and marched continuously for 8 hours under the cover of night. Finally, in the early morning of the next day, they arrived at a small ravine 20 kilometers away from Zhouzhuang. The reason why Luo Zhihui chose his position was
This is because the Japanese convoy entering Zhouzhuang must pass through here. More importantly, the terrain here is narrow. The entire road passes through the bottom of the ditch. As long as one end of the Japanese army is cut off, it will not be able to fly out even if it has wings.
.
Early in the morning, the regiment's reconnaissance platoon was sent out by Luo Zhihui. After he and the political commissar took the soldiers to rest for two hours, they began to carry out civil work here and transform the position. Of course, in order to prevent
The Japanese were confused and could not carry out in-depth transformation. All the soldiers had to do was to strengthen their bunkers and measure their shooting data. Especially the soldier from the mortar battalion who had just arrived from the artillery regiment had just finished eating
After breakfast, I began to measure various shooting coordinates back and forth between positions.
Since there was not much work, almost all the soldiers had finished their work at noon. The mortars were covered with leaves, and the newly dug bunkers were covered with leaves by the soldiers.
The entire position showed no sign of being transformed. The soldiers were lying leisurely on the ground, enjoying the rare tranquility in the idle battle, waiting for the Japanese to come.
However, it seemed that the Japanese army did not want the soldiers to rest. Just before two o'clock in the afternoon, news of the Japanese convoy came from the reconnaissance platoon.