Chu Yunfei laughed and said boldly: "Brother Dalong, just tell me, what are your plans?"
The officers of the 358th Regiment had won consecutive battles and their morale was high. They all looked at Xu Dalong expectantly. Even Fang Ligong, who had always been cautious and even timid, looked at Xu Dalong with interest.
Li Kun had always been Xu Dalong's supporter. Although he did not speak, he directly asked his staff to bring him the battle map.
Chu Yunfei, Li Kun, Xu Dalong, Sun Desheng and Fang Ligong were all gathered around the battle map.
Xu Dalong first expressed his opinion.
Chu Yunfei nodded and said, "Just do it."
Li Kun also had no objection.
Fang Ligong was still a little worried. He said, "Brother Xu, once the Japanese army counterattacks, will there be any danger?"
Chu Yunfei said unhappily: "How can there be no danger in fighting? Just follow this battle plan."
After the plan was finalized, Chu Yunfei and Fang Ligong summoned officers from the 358th regiment and above to hold a combat meeting and announced the combat order.
Xu Dalong also participated in the combat meeting of the 358th Regiment. He asked for a blackboard, wrote and drew on the blackboard, and explained to the officers of the 358th Regiment the tactics that should be adopted in this battle.
Xu Dalong's explanation was simple and profound, and the officers of the 358th Regiment quickly understood it. They didn't expect that the battle could be fought like this, and everyone was very excited.
Fang Ligong now had confidence. He said: "Each battalion company will seize the time and buy tools in the county town. In two hours, they will assemble at the east gate of the county town and set off."
Xu Dalong and Sun Desheng led the troops to set off early.
Two hours later, Chu Yunfei and Fang Ligong also led the 358th Regiment to the scheduled combat area.
In their team, they pulled many carts filled with pickaxes, shovels, and a large number of sacks.
Chiba Xunichi, the commander of the 32nd Japanese Defense Division, was under great pressure and even suffered from insomnia.
He really didn't expect that a dignified division commander like him would come to this remote rural area to deal with a small guerrilla group. Not only that, he would also have no way to deal with this guerrilla group.
Now, most of his main forces are inside the mountains. The guerrilla cavalry and the 358th Regiment are attacking the city outside. He can only watch helplessly because he has no troops to send.
There are so many Japs in Shanxi, so why does Chiba Xunyi have no troops to send?
This is because each unit of the Japanese army has its own designated jurisdiction, just like the police in Shanghai are in charge of Shanghai's affairs, and the police in Guangzhou are in charge of Guangzhou's affairs.
Under normal circumstances, it is impossible for the police in Guangzhou to go to Shanghai to handle cases that occurred in Shanghai.
Chiba Xunyi is a dignified division commander. In order to deal with a small guerrilla group, it is impossible for him to mobilize troops from other divisions, and he has no shame to open his mouth.
The situation before him was very bad now, and he was in a dilemma. He didn't know whether to continue to besiege the guerrillas on the mountain, or to send troops back to restore the original order.
Chiba Xunyi couldn't sleep because he tossed and turned, causing the camp bed to creak.
At dawn, he had just taken a nap when he was woken up by his adjutant.
Chiba Xunyi sat up, stared with bloodshot eyes, and asked angrily: "What happened?"
The adjutant said: "Your Excellency, the Division Commander, and Your Excellency the Chief of Staff have just sent a telegram, saying that the 358th Regiment of the Shanxi-Sui Army suddenly surrounded Guancheng County, and Your Excellency the Chief of Staff requested tactical guidance."
The word tactical guidance has a special meaning among the Japanese army. They do not ask for guidance when they encounter any difficult tactical problems during combat, but when they need to send reinforcements or want to retreat.
After hearing the news, Qianye Xunyi couldn't sit still and quickly stood up.
Guancheng County not only has a large amount of baggage needed for this battle, but also has a left-behind agency of the division led by the chief of staff of the division. If something goes wrong, the joke will be big.
He quickly sent someone to call the captain of the 82nd Regiment and the brigade commander of the 7th Puppet Army Brigade Yan Guiwu, informed them of the intelligence he had just obtained, and asked for their opinions.
The captain of the 82nd Regiment didn't have a good night's sleep either. Although he wasn't that scared of Xu Dalong's fatwa, it was impossible to say he wasn't worried at all. Who wants to let someone chase him?
?
In the past few days, after many attacks on Qilin Peak, he felt a deep sense of powerlessness. The two ridges of Mantou Peak were purely meat grinders. No matter how many people went up, they would die. Now he has basically
I have lost the confidence to conquer Mantou Peak.
He said: "Your Excellency, the Division Commander, I believe that the county seat of Guancheng cannot be lost, and your Excellency, the Chief of Staff, cannot cause any trouble. Otherwise, the prestige of the 32nd Division will be seriously damaged.
There is a large amount of baggage stored in the county. Without this batch of baggage, we will not be able to persist here, so I think we should launch a rescue operation in Guancheng County."
Yan Guiwu has long been unwilling to suffer in this mountain, and he also hopes to end this battle as soon as possible. He and the captain of the 82nd Regiment have the same opinion. However, he found that since the battle with the Mawushan guerrillas began, he has been
Every time he made a suggestion, he would be slapped in the face in the end. This time he learned wisely and resisted the urge to make suggestions, remaining silent.
Qianye Xunyi knew Yan Guiwu very well and knew that this guy liked to come up with ideas. When he saw that he was silent and just blinking his eyes, he said with some dissatisfaction: "Yan Sang, what do you think?"
"this,……"
Yan Guiwu hesitated.
Qianye Xunyi said angrily: "Don't be hesitant. If you have anything to say, say it quickly."
As the saying goes, a country is easy to change, but a character is hard to change. Under Qianye Xunyi's urging, Yan Guiwu couldn't help but start to express his opinions.
He said: "Your Excellency, Division Commander, I humbly agree with Your Excellency, the Commander of the Alliance, that Guancheng County must not be lost.
My humble suggestion is to leave a small number of troops to continue besieging Mantou Peak. The Eighth Route guerrillas on the mountain don’t dare to come down anyway, so concentrate the main force and rush back to Guancheng County. We should protect Guancheng County first and then make plans.”
Chiba Xunyi actually had the same idea. He asked for their opinions, just to have more reference to prevent any omissions in his decision-making.
Seeing that the two of them agreed with him, he made up his mind.
Qianye Xunyi said: "Yan Sang, lead your seventh brigade to stay and continue to besiege Mantou Peak. Do not allow any guerrilla soldiers to escape. I will personally lead the main force to return for reinforcements."
Hearing Qianye Xunyi's decision, Yan Guiwu almost cried. The guerrillas in the mountains were not so easy to deal with. Although his seventh brigade has recovered in number, he only has a few hundred people in the backbone.
The other people lacked training and could be said to be just a mob. If he was asked to stay alone to deal with the guerrillas, he really didn't have the confidence.
Yan Guiwu wanted to make a request immediately to leave a Japanese army, but he now found that no matter what opinions he expressed, he would be slapped in the face.
He hesitated for a moment, thinking about the words to see how he could say it in a way that would be more beneficial to him.
However, Qianye Xunyi no longer gave him a chance to speak. Qianye Xunyi ordered: "Yan Sang, you immediately lead your troops to take over the Huang Army's defense area."
Yan Guiwu reluctantly saluted Qianye Xunyi and went out dejectedly.
Soon, Chiba Xunyi gathered all the Japanese troops around Qilin Peak and headed towards Guancheng County.
☆☆☆☆☆☆
Guancheng County.
Fang Liqiang led the second and third battalions of the 358th Regiment and the artillery company to surround Guancheng County. After simple preparations, he began to attack the county.
Chu Yunfei led a battalion of the 358th Regiment to set up an ambush on the only way for the main force of the Japanese 32nd Division to return to Guancheng County to block the enemy's reinforcements.
To the west of Guancheng County, except for a hilly area not far from the county seat, there is a large open area in front. Chu Yunfei led the team directly under the regiment to build defensive positions on the hills and led the rest of the troops to move forward.
, they left a platoon on one side of the road every two hundred meters, and then also left a platoon on the other side of the road. Each platoon carried a mortar and two light machine guns. These officers and soldiers carried
They dug trenches in the fields with shovels and picks. They put the excavated soil into sacks and piled them on one side of the trench to build a simple defense.
Soon, a zigzag ladder-shaped defensive position system was formed on both sides of the road.
If the previous tactics of the Jinsui Army were followed, the troops would definitely be deployed in the hilly areas to defend. In this way, the Japanese army would concentrate their forces in front of the hilly areas and take advantage of their strength and firepower to attack the defensive positions of the 358th Regiment.
It will cause a lot of casualties to the 358th Regiment, and it may not be able to defend it.
Xu Dalong really wanted to teach them mobile defense tactics, but the officers and soldiers of the Jinsui Army did not yet have this quality. Therefore, teaching them this stepped defense tactic could effectively reduce casualties and delay the advance of enemy reinforcements.
speed.
Xu Dalong and others led the cavalry troops to conduct mobile operations and cooperated with the 358th Regiment to attack Guancheng County.
Chiba Xunyi led a large group of people to leave the Mawu Mountains. When they entered the wide plains, they discovered the traces of Xu Dalong's cavalry. It was only from now on that he truly appreciated the power of the guerrilla cavalry.
.
A large group of Japanese troops were marching. Suddenly, the sharp whistling sound of flying mortar shells was heard in the sky.
"Boom, boom, boom." Rows of mortar shells flew over, knocking the Japanese marching group off their feet.
The officers and soldiers of the Japanese army were rich in combat experience. They immediately organized a counterattack. The officers and soldiers ran down the road and launched a charge in the direction where the guerrillas appeared.
The Japanese artillery quickly set up artillery on the road, preparing to attack the guerrillas.
This time the guerrilla cavalry was divided into two teams, Xu Dalong and Wei Monk were in one team, and Sun Desheng led the rest of the guerrilla cavalry in the other team.
It was Monk Wei and others who launched the attack this time. He commanded the guerrilla mortars to fire three rapid rounds at the Japanese marching group, then mounted the mortars on horseback and quickly evacuated.
The Japanese officers and soldiers rushed down the road and saw that the guerrillas had mounted their horses and fled.
The distance between them was already 300 meters, but when they saw the guerrillas escaping on horseback, they reluctantly stopped their pursuit.
The Japanese army was very angry. They set up artillery and fired at the escaping guerrillas to vent their anger.
Xu Dalong had already prepared a Type 92 infantry gun, and he had been waiting for this moment.
Seeing the Japanese artillery setting up artillery on the road, he first aimed at the Japanese Type 92 infantry gun and fired at it.
With a "boom", Xu Dalong's first shot overturned a Japanese Type 92 infantry gun.
Before the Japanese soldiers could react, he fired two more shots in succession, directly destroying two more Japanese Type 92 infantry guns.
The Japanese artillerymen were extremely brave. They risked being killed by manipulating the remaining Type 92 infantry cannons to look for Xu Dalong.
What Xu Dalong likes most is the stubborn character of the Japanese. What worries him the most is that the Japanese drag the Type 92 infantry cannon and escape because they are afraid of death. Since they are willing to stay in the artillery position, he has no choice but to grant them permission.
If the Japanese artillerymen want to retaliate, they must first find Xu Dalong.
They looked carefully through the cannon mirror to find Xu Dalong's whereabouts, and then adjusted the muzzle to bombard Xu Dalong.
This operation takes time, and Xu Dalong took advantage of this time to overturn the Japanese Type 92 infantry cannon one by one.
When the Japs finally determined Xu Dalong's position and were about to bombard Xu Dalong, the last Type 92 infantry cannon was also killed by Xu Dalong.
Such precise artillery strikes frightened the Japanese mortar crews. They wanted to hit Xu Dalong, but the mortars were out of reach, so they stayed where they were, at a loss.
Xu Dalong was not polite and pointed the muzzle at them, destroying the Japanese mortars one by one.
The Japanese artillerymen finally couldn't bear it anymore and fled in all directions, leaving the mortars on the road.
Xu Dalong shelled the mortars unhurriedly. No one of the Japanese officers and soldiers dared to stop them. They watched helplessly as the mortars were blown into scrap by Xu Dalong.
Chiba Xunyi was stunned when he saw it. He felt that the guerrillas on the mountain were already very powerful, but now he really saw the power of the guerrilla cavalry.
Qianye Xunyi has a mobile force in his hands, with about a hundred cavalry and 32 motorcycles. He really wants to send them to attack Xu Dalong and others, but although the view in this area is wide, there are fields on both sides of the road.
, this motorcycle cannot drive across those ridges in the fields. As for the hundred or so cavalry, they are all composed of messengers from various units. Their combat capabilities are poor, and they are not familiar with each other and lack
Running-in, rather than cavalry, actually it is not even considered infantry on horseback.
Their existence is only to cooperate with the infantry squadrons directly under the Japanese army riding motorcycles to carry out operations.
Since it was of no use, Chiba Xunyi had no choice but to give up.
He did not dare to stay here and commanded the large group of troops to continue towards the county seat.
The Japanese troops fled. In order to save the shells of the Type 92 infantry cannon, Xu Dalong stopped shelling the Japanese marching group and asked the cavalry to pull up the Type 92 infantry cannon and follow the Japanese marching group.
Monk Wei led the guerrillas to the front of the Japanese marching group, then set up mortars, waiting for the Japanese to come over, and fired another heavy bombardment.
Since the Japanese troops still had artillery, they still used the old method of firing three rapid rounds, and before the Japanese could react, they immediately mounted their horses and ran away.
Sun Desheng had already heard the rumbling explosions of artillery shells coming from the highway and saw the Japanese marching brigade approaching. He also led the guerrillas to bombard the Japanese army.
The guerrillas' Type 92 infantry cannon has limited shells and can only be used at critical moments, but the mortar shells are abundant. Not only did they themselves capture a lot, Chu Yunfei also supplemented the guerrillas with a large number of mortars.
Cannonballs.
Therefore, the guerrillas kept firing artillery to satisfy their addiction.
Xu Dalong was not idle either. He followed the Japanese army on horseback, shooting one by one from a distance of 300 meters, and continuously knocked down the Japanese officers and soldiers.
The Japanese soldiers had nothing to do with him. In order to stop him from threatening the Japanese marching group, a Japanese squad leader led a dozen Japanese soldiers to stay on their own initiative. They spread out and lay on the ground to prevent Xu Dalong from getting closer to the Japanese army.
marching group.
Xu Dalong killed a few Japanese soldiers and felt that it was too strenuous, so he stopped fighting with them and rode a detour to catch up with the Japanese marching group. Then he continued to eliminate the Japanese troops from the side 300 meters away from the Japanese marching group.
of officers and soldiers.
The officers and soldiers of the Japanese army had never fought such a useless battle. This situation of being completely beaten made them feel very broken.
Chiba Xunyi had been looking for an opportunity to launch a counterattack against the guerrilla cavalry. At this time, a large grassland appeared in front of him. There were no fields and there were rocks and weeds everywhere. A motorcycle could drive through it.
So he ordered the mobile troops to attack the guerrillas.
The mobile troops of the Japanese army were composed of squadrons directly under the division headquarters. These Japs were the elite of the Japanese army. Along the way, they were beaten to a pulp. Now that they had the opportunity to retaliate against the guerrillas, they howled and pounced on them one by one.
To the guerrillas.
Although the ground here is relatively flat, it is much worse than the road. Motorcycles are bumping on it constantly and the speed is very slow.
Monk Wei and others did not run away this time. They mounted mortars and fired hard at the Japanese army.
The Japanese motorcycles driving slowly on the grass seemed to be dancing in the fire, being overturned to the ground.
The Japanese squadron leader couldn't stand it anymore, so he jumped off his motorcycle, waved his command knife, and led the Japanese soldiers howling and rushing forward. The Japanese cavalry also followed them and attacked forward.
The reason why Monk Wei and others ran away after firing was because they were worried about the Japanese artillery. He was not so polite to the Japanese who rushed to die. They all dismounted and lay down on the ground.
The Japanese soldiers finally rushed forward, and when they reached a distance of 70 meters, Monk Wei gave the order to open fire.
Eight light machine guns and the rifles in the hands of the soldiers opened fire together, pouring bullets on the Japanese soldiers like a heavy rain, causing them to fall in pieces.
The Japanese soldiers did not expect that the guerrillas' firepower would be so fierce. They could only lie on the ground and shoot at the guerrillas.
The guerrilla artillerymen quickly retreated 100 meters, then set up mortars and bombarded them directly in the middle of the Japanese.
The Japanese soldiers couldn't bear such a blow and finally retreated.
The guerrillas did not pursue them, but chased them with firepower and knocked them to the ground one by one. By the time the Japanese soldiers fled back to the marching group, more than 100 people had been lost, and most of their motorcycles and war horses were also lost. The so-called
The mobile force existed in name only.
When Chiba Xun saw that this was not an option, he ordered some troops to disperse into skirmish lines and provide cover on both sides of the marching brigade. This indeed had a certain effect and reduced the casualties of the marching brigade.
Xu Dalong and others did not expect to completely eliminate so many Japanese. They just wanted to buy time for the 358th Regiment to attack the county. They continued to follow the Japanese marching group and looked for opportunities to attack them.
The Japanese marching brigade lost troops and generals along the way. They didn't even dare to collect the bodies of the fallen soldiers, and they didn't even have time to pick up the discarded weapons and ammunition. They marched in such a hurry, and finally
Finally we arrived at the blocking position of the 358th Regiment.
When the officers and soldiers of a platoon of the 358th Regiment saw the Japanese marching group approaching, they used a mortar and two light machine guns they carried to shoot at the Japanese, causing considerable casualties to the Japanese.
The Japanese marching group was forced to stop and began to organize troops to launch an attack. They began to set up artillery, and then adopted the tactics of frontal attack and flanking.
Before they could get into position, the officers and soldiers of the 358th Regiment in that platoon suddenly evacuated their position and fled.
The Japanese officers and soldiers pursued them, but were hit by firepower from the blocking position of the next 358th regiment, and they had to stop their advance again.
The Japanese soldiers jumped into the trench dug by the officers and soldiers of the 358th Regiment. Unexpectedly, a violent explosion occurred in the trench. The Japanese soldiers who jumped into the trench were either killed or injured.
It turned out that Xu Dalong also taught this trick to the officers and soldiers of the 358th Regiment. They made improvised explosive devices with grenades in the trenches, which resulted in casualties to the Japanese.
None of the Japanese soldiers dared to jump into the trenches anymore. They were exposed in the open area and were attacked by the firepower of the officers and soldiers of the 358th Regiment, resulting in heavy casualties.
The Japanese soldiers were preparing to attack the blocking position of the second 358th Regiment again. The officers and soldiers of the 358th Regiment were still doing the same thing. When they saw the Japanese taking a posture, they turned around and ran away.
In this way, the Japanese continued to lose troops and generals, but they were moving at a snail's pace.
At this time, Xu Dalong and Wei Monk led the cavalry troops to catch up again. They did not get close, but shelled the Japanese from a distance.
Qianye Xunyi was very anxious, worried that if they delayed here for too long, Guancheng County would not be able to defend it. He kept urging the Japanese soldiers to move forward and launch an attack.
At this time, Chu Yunfei was also very anxious. He didn't understand. Xu Dalong's guerrillas and the officers and soldiers of the 358th Regiment here had been fighting a bloody battle with the Japanese army for so long. Why hadn't there been any troops in the county?
Good news?
Chu Yunfei couldn't sit still and said to the first battalion commander Chen Guojun: "You stay here and continue to delay the Japanese attack with the guerrillas. I will go to the county seat to take a look."
At this time, in Guancheng County, the troops led by the chief of staff of the 32nd Division only had part of the troops directly under the division headquarters and the baggage troops. Together with the Japanese gendarmerie and police brigade, the total strength was only 500 people.
Li Qiang led two battalions of troops, with a total strength of more than 3,000 people, and was supported by artillery fire from the artillery company directly under the 358th Regiment. After fighting for so long, they still failed to enter the city.
Although the second and third battalions of the 358 regiment were not as effective as the first battalion, most of them were veterans who had experienced battles, and their combat effectiveness was still quite strong. The main reason why they were unable to capture the county town was because Fang Ligong's commanding ability was inferior.
weak.
Fang Ligong's character is more than cautious, but lacks the ability to make decisions. He does not have the ferocity of a real military commander. He is too cautious when using troops and is always worried that the troops will suffer heavy casualties. Even after delaying for so long, he still cannot
Attack the city.
As a result, such ineffective attacks resulted in considerable casualties among the officers and soldiers of the 358th Regiment.
The second and third battalion commanders of the 358th Regiment also felt that there was something wrong with Fang Ligong's command, but since he was Chu Yunfei's designated siege commander, there was nothing they could do.
At this moment, I heard the soldiers cheering: "The regiment commander is here, the regiment commander is here."