Lin Fangtaro is still quite capable. He made careful arrangements before setting off.
Lin Fangtaro's arrangement was mainly to block the news, that is, to prevent Datong and the entire Eighth Route Army from knowing that the 110th Division had been transferred.
In terms of the defense line, in order to prevent the Eighth Route Army from knowing that the 110th Division had evacuated, Lin Fangtaro's method was to make all the puppet troops wear the uniforms of imperial soldiers, and even took great pains to equip them all with the 38th Big Cover... 38th Big Cover
If the cover is insufficient, use wood to cut out the shape of a rifle, and then imitate the Japanese patrol around the gun tower.
The Eighth Route Army and the guerrillas looked at it from a distance and saw that the defense line was full of Japanese soldiers. They thought that the 110th Division was just withdrawing from the mountains to the plains to set up defenses, and did not consider anything else at all.
But the real 110th Division put on the uniforms of the puppet army and rushed to Datong under the leadership of Lin Fangtaro at night...
The 110th Division took the road by car because the Eighth Route Army only occupied the railway and not the road.
In this regard, Yoshitaro Hayashi did not attack according to Neji Okamura's ideas.
Okamura Neiji hoped that the 110th Division would first cut off the Eighth Route Army's supply line and then attack along the railway line.
Yoshitaro Hayashi opposed this and sent a telegram to Neji Okamura requesting a secret attack on Datong.
Because Lin Fangtaro believed that if the attack was along the railway line, firstly, the Eighth Route Army in Datong would be fully prepared; secondly, the Eighth Route Army’s aviation force would suppress the 110th Division and bombard them all the way. When the 110th Division arrived at the gate of Datong City, only
I am afraid that I have become a remnant.
When Okamura Neiji thought about it, he felt that it made sense. On the other hand, Okamura Neiji believed that the independent group in Datong was the most important. As long as Datong was captured, everything else would be easy to talk about.
Therefore, Lin Fangtaro's direct attack style is advisable.
So I immediately approved it without much thought, and asked other units and even the aviation force to fully cooperate with the 110th Division in operations.
Lin Fangtaro's station was more than 300 kilometers away from Datong. They stayed in hiding during the day and went out at night... They were afraid of being discovered by the Eighth Route Army's reconnaissance planes during the day, so they did not dare to act.
After two nights of driving like this, we arrived near Datong.
Lin Fangtaro was not in a hurry the next day. He continued to let the troops hide in the forest to rest and changed their military uniforms. They waited until it got dark before they sneaked towards Datong...
Wang Xuexin really didn't find any clues.
This is mainly because Wang Xuexin is commanding from the rear and can only analyze problems based on intelligence from the front.
If there were no abnormalities in the intelligence ahead, even a god like Wang Xuexin would not have been able to guess that the Japanese had already secretly surrounded Datong with a division of troops.
In the past few days, Wang Xuexin has been organizing defenses from the steel plant to Datong and clearing out the Japs north of the railway line... Not far to the north of this railway line is the edge of the Japs' power. There are only a few Japs and puppet stragglers in this area.
When controlling villages and towns, the Eighth Route Army only needs to send a few half-track vehicles to destroy the enemy and liberate these villages and towns.
This is also the reason why Wang Xuexin dared to build this railway line.
If you penetrate a line into the enemy's hinterland for no reason, you are basically looking for death. Not to mention other things, the enemy's pincer attack from both sides will cut off the Eighth Route Army's retreat route and supply lines.
But...if this line is backed by the edge of the Japanese forces in the north, it means that the Eighth Route Army has almost no threat from the other side and only needs to defend the other side.
Wang Xuexin's defense on this line was centered on the airport.
He arranged the new first regiment at Ningbei Railway Station, the new second regiment at Longxi Airport, and the other ten main regiments were distributed near these two places. Only a small number of troops and even guerrillas were left on the railway line to garrison the gun towers on the highlands.
Deploy more troops at important transportation hubs and strategic points.
The reason for this arrangement is that Wang Xuexin knew that the defending side was very taboo about spreading out its troops evenly. Although the defense seemed to be very tight and without loopholes, in fact it was full of loopholes.
For example, it is nearly 400 kilometers from the steel factory to Datong.
If the ten main regiments are evenly deployed over these 400 kilometers, there will be only 75 people per kilometer on average.
Who can be defended by such a line of defense? And there is no defensive depth at all!
Wang Xuexin's defense idea is that once the Japanese attack this line of defense, the first thing they will have to do is bomb and strafe the Eighth Route Army fighter planes... The rockets may not be enough, but the aviation machine gun bullets seized by the Eighth Route Army from Longxi Airport and Datong Airport are equipped with aerial bombs.
But it is enough for the devil to drink a pot.
Then, as long as there is an enemy attack anywhere, there will be armored trains and trains carrying troops rushing for reinforcements.
This is a kind of dynamic defense, but it is a dynamic defense implemented using railways.
This is what the Japanese did to deal with the guerrillas who destroyed the railways. Armored trains were even created for this purpose.
The Japanese certainly didn't expect that the Eighth Route Army would actually use it on the frontal battlefield.
Wang Xuexin thought that the Japanese would launch an attack in a few days, but he did not expect that the Japanese would not make any move after waiting and waiting.
This made Wang Xuexin feel a little guilty.
Because battlefields are often like this, the calmer the surface is, the more undercurrents are surging in invisible places, and by the time they are discovered, it is already too late.
Wang Xuexin's eyelids could hardly hold out after not sleeping for several days. He made a cup of coffee and used its fragrance to wash away his tiredness. Then he asked Chen Songyong, who was sorting out the telegram: "What's the situation on the front line? Are the Japanese still silent?"
?”
"Report to the head of the regiment!" Chen Songyong replied: "There is still no movement! There is something strange in the Jinyuan area. The report says that there seem to be fewer puppet troops!"
Wang Xuexin said "hmm". The lack of puppet troops is not a big deal. It is impossible for the Japanese to send puppet troops to attack the Datong defense line. The matter of Ning Jie's surrender was still hot. The Japanese would never want to see another puppet army sent in.
Being crippled or surrendering as a unit will cause a heavy blow to the morale of the puppet army.
However, Wang Xuexin was still not honest and could not figure out what the Japanese were up to, so he could only ask the frontline troops to strengthen defense and reconnaissance.
At this moment, Zhang Zongping, who was standing in front of the radio station a few meters away, suddenly reported: "Captain, we have lost contact with Datong. It should be that the radio station has been interfered by the Japanese!"
"Datong?" Wang Xuexin was stunned and immediately felt that something was wrong.
He stood up, walked around the table twice, and said, "No, the Japs' target is probably Datong!"
"Datong?" Chen Songyong still didn't believe it: "But, why didn't we get any news? The two Japanese reinforcements stopped advancing after the fall of Datong. We all have intelligence personnel watching..."
Before he finished speaking, Chen Songyong understood that the two Japanese reinforcements were just a cover-up. They were used to attract the attention of the Eighth Route Army.
The main force of the Japs should have been near Datong by now.