The battle started three days later, and as usual, the Eighth Route Army was unprepared.
But this is the normal state of war, and Wang Xuexin expected it.
Because the Japanese were not stupid, they knew that the Eighth Route Army was making preparations, so they could not waste any more time to let the Eighth Route Army make preparations.
The Japanese offensive was as Wang Xuexin expected. They first attacked from the south of Zhongtiao Mountain... The south side of Zhongtiao Mountain was the back of the entire defense line. All the fortifications of the stubborn army were set up and oriented towards the north. The south side was obviously the defense line.
weakness.
The problem is that Wang Xuexin has set up the defense line in advance to be dual-purpose. That is, if the enemy comes from the front, the defense line will be on an inclined plane. If the enemy comes from the back, the soldiers only need to turn their guns, and the same defense line will become the same bunker.
It became a reverse slope fortification.
Even reverse slope fortifications are much more difficult to fight than forward slope fortifications.
The reason is that the anti-slope fortifications can naturally rely on the mountain to shield the Japanese's long-range equipment.
Therefore, as soon as the Japanese attacked, they found that they had hit a hard target, so they could only send small troops to penetrate through the jungle in the hope of disrupting the Eighth Route Army's deployment.
Although the independent regiment's defense line on the north side of Zhongtiao Mountain is only a dozen kilometers away from the south defense line, they are separated by several mountain peaks and can only faintly hear a few "rumbling" cannon sounds.
However, Wang Xuexin knew the situation on the southern front very well. For example, a certain highland repelled several Japanese charges, a certain highland was surrounded by Japanese soldiers, etc.
This is what the chief explained, and this is what he said to the chief of staff: "We are in Luliang Mountain and are not familiar with Zhongtiao Mountain, and the defense of Zhongtiao Mountain is whether it is anti-aircraft artillery, fortifications, or even troop training.
It was Xiao Dongbei who did the whole thing. He knows Zhongtiao Mountain very well. We should send a copy of the overall situation to Xiao Dongbei. If there are any changes that require Xiao Dongbei's assistance in commanding, Xiao Dongbei will also be prepared!"
"Yes!" The chief of staff agreed without thinking: "There is also the mountain company in Xiao Dongbei's hands... Although other troops have organized this mountain company, they don't know how to use it, and now they are all helpless.
Keep an eye on Xiao Dongbei, if he doesn't know the situation, his reaction speed will not be able to keep up!"
As a result, each piece of information was sent to Wang Xuexin's battalion headquarters via telegram, and Chen Songyong compiled it before reporting to Wang Xuexin.
However, it was not these that gave Wang Xuexin a headache. The Japanese attack had been anticipated, and the Japanese had rushed the attack because the "lure the snake out of the hole" strategy failed. Therefore, the overall morale was affected, and the offensive was weaker than expected.
What gave Wang Xuexin a headache was the request for help from the Shanxi-Sui Army in Yuncheng.
Chu Yunfei has sent reports to Li Yunlong more than once. What he said was quite polite: "Brother Yunlong, the Japs have invaded our land again. Now our army is guarding Yuncheng and your army is guarding Zhongtiao Mountain. The two armies are closely interdependent. We should support each other."
common resistance
Strong enemy. Yuncheng is located between Luliang and Zhongtiao. It is the gateway of our army's defense line and is a battleground for military strategists. Although our army has the unshirkable responsibility to defend Yuncheng, our army has neither tanks nor supplies. I hope your army can do something for it.
Yuncheng provides reinforcements!”
As soon as Li Yunlong heard what Chu Yunfei said, he understood what he meant. He just wanted the tank in Wang Xuexin's hands.
But how could Li Yunlong be so easily fooled? He replied: "Brother Chu, don't worry. Although I, Li Yunlong, are a rough man, I still understand the truth of death and coldness. When Yuncheng is in danger, my Eighth Route Army will guarantee to go to the rescue. I am afraid, your army will not fight."
If he abandons Yuncheng and runs away just like last time, then we won’t be able to fight this battle!"
Although Li Yunlong usually likes to brag and lose his temper, when it comes to the issue of war, he is quite serious because he understands that there is no room for carelessness in this matter.
Chu Yunfei called back: "Brother Yunlong is joking. The reason why our army abandoned the city and withdrew last time was because the key to defending Luck City lies in the north wing. Once the north wing fails, the city will face the dilemma of being surrounded by Japanese soldiers. Therefore, Chu
I have the nerve to ask Brother Yunlong for help, hoping that Brother Yunlong will send tank troops to join our army in defending the northern flank, so that you and I can hope to defend the enemy from outside the defense line."
It should be said that what Chu Yunfei said still makes sense, at least in Li Yunlong's eyes.
The reason why Yuncheng did not defend last time was because the Zhongtiao Mountain defense line stationed by the stubborn troops fell into chaos and was defeated in a few days. The second reason was that the northern flank defense line stationed by Chu Yunfei's 358th Regiment was broken through by the Japanese.
.
Yuncheng is backed by Zhongtiao Mountain. If the Zhongtiao Mountain defense line collapses, it means that the south will be blocked, the east will be the Japanese, and the north defense line will be breached, so only the logistics supply line to the west will be left... If we don't withdraw, there will be only
Being surrounded by the Japanese, there was no hope of escape.
Now it is still the devil's luck in the city.
Thinking from the perspective of Chu Yunfei...more precisely, Yan Laoxi, they did not think that the Eighth Route Army could hold Zhongtiao Mountain when the Japanese attacked from both sides.
In this case, we must keep the northern wing of Yuncheng connected with Luliang Mountain in order for Yuncheng to have any chance of survival.
At the same time, as long as Yuncheng is defended, the Japs' supply route to Zhongtiao Mountain will not be open, and the Japs' offensive in Zhongtiao Mountain will weaken over time... Therefore, Yuncheng is the top priority, so the northern wing of Yuncheng must not be lost.
.
This is actually what Yan Laoxi had in mind.
At the beginning, Yan Laoxi didn't know that the Eighth Route Army was willing to give up the entire Yuncheng to the Jinsui Army in the hope of pushing the Jinsui Army to the front!
However, on the one hand, Yan Laoxi's strategic need to maintain the independence of the Shanxi-Sui Army prevented him from rejecting Yuncheng. On the other hand, Yan Laoxi knew that Yuncheng was related to the defense of Zhongtiao Mountain, and the Eighth Route Army could not sit idly by.
This is what Yan Laoxi said to Chu Yunfei: "If the Japanese are really going to attack, let's ask the Eighth Route Army for help. How dare the Eighth Route Army not help?"
Chu Yunfei thought it was right when he heard it. If Yuncheng is lost, the next thing that will suffer is the Zhongtiao Mountain defense line... A large number of Japanese supplies and troops can be transported by train to the entire front of Zhongtiao Mountain. The pressure is not on Yuncheng.
can be compared.
Therefore, the Eighth Route Army had no choice but to provide reinforcements.
It’s not certain who will get the best deal then!
Taking this into consideration, Li Yunlong called Wang Xuexin: "I said Xiaodongbei, what Chu Yunfei meant was that tank troops are needed to help defend Yuncheng. What do you think?"
Wang Xuexin refused without thinking: "Commander, tanks are not used to defend the defensive line. If tanks are used to defend the defensive line, they are no different from artillery and bunkers!"
"Really?" Li Yunlong didn't know much about tank warfare, so he asked back: "But the Japanese will use tanks to tear apart the defense line of the Jinsui Army, but they lack anti-tank equipment..."
"We can send our rocket launcher troops for reinforcements!" Wang Xuexin replied: "Or we can support another batch of rocket launchers for the Jinsui Army. As for the tank troops, I know when to use them!"
As a result, Li Yunlong lost his voice.
In fact, Li Yunlong was convinced because he knew nothing about tanks.