"What's the content?" The middle-aged man frowned slightly and asked, suppressing the anger of being interrupted.
"Friendly forces' attack plan to ambush the fifth division's reinforcements." the communications staff reported.
The middle-aged man was slightly startled, with a look of surprise on his face: "Nian!"
"The reinforcements of the Japanese 5th Division set out from Yu County and are expected to arrive at Pingxingguan at 4 pm on the 25th. Aiyuan has planned a total of eight regiments of the 71st Division, the newly formed 2nd Division, and the 8th Independent Brigade to divide the troops into three groups to ambush the unit.
Japanese army, please cooperate with your troops in the fight to achieve the effect of total annihilation and suppress the arrogance of the Japanese invaders."
"The specific operational deployment is as follows: the first route passes through Xihekou to capture Wangjiapu and cut off the Japanese invaders' retreat route."
"The second route took a large detour east of Tuancheng to Caijiayu, cutting off the Japanese army's retreat route and implementing a cut-off and encirclement trend."
"The third road proceeds west of Dongpaichi to the Ranzhuang Laoye Temple. The terrain is high, overlooking the Weidai Highway and Ranzhuang, and hits the head of the Japanese army's baggage."
"Leave another regiment as the general reserve force."
"The Japanese army knows nothing about your department, which is the biggest advantage in ambush warfare. I hope that after your department knows it, you will immediately call back your relevant combat arrangements to facilitate the implementation of cooperative operations. - Yang Aiyuan, Ninth Army Headquarters." Communication.
The staff officer read back the contents of the message clearly and remained quiet after reading it.
"Eight regiments ambushed 4,000 Japanese troops, and the troops were divided into three groups, leaving a reserve team? Are the friendly forces overconfident in their own combat effectiveness and fighting will?" After listening to the specific combat deployment of the entire attack plan, the middle-aged man
The corners of his mouth twitched slightly, and he really didn't know what to say.
How many troops are there in the eight regiments?
Counting a regiment of the Jinsui Army with a full strength of 1,500 men, the total is only 12,000 men.
With such a small amount of troops, it would be fine if they were not used intensively. They were actually divided into three groups plus a general reserve group. The first group even attempted to capture Wangjiapu and cut off the Japanese army's retreat to Hunyuan.
Is this possible?
The Japanese army at Pingxingguan has more than 6,000 troops. Plus reinforcements, the total strength reaches 10,000. If the two Japanese armies move closer to each other, what troops can stop them?
If it can't be stopped, wouldn't the other parties directly merge into half of the Fifth Division after joining forces?
The self-confidence of friendly forces is so high that it is really unpredictable.
There is a feeling that I really don’t know how powerful my troops are in combat.
"We are the protagonists of this annihilation battle. However, if we want to completely annihilate the Japanese aggressors, the key point lies in the cooperation of friendly forces. Yang Aiyuan talks about cooperation and does not mention a word about unified command." The chief of staff immediately named the pros and cons of this ambush battle.
Key point: "From the terrain point of view, the most suitable location for this ambush is this area - Qiaogou."
"I'm also thinking about Qiaogou. I've been here once. The terrain is the narrowest and can only accommodate a car. If the retreat route of the Japanese army is cut off, the remaining Japanese army will be like turtles in a urn, unable to recover." The middle-aged man nodded.
With his eyes fixed on Qiao Gou, he already had a preliminary battle plan in his mind: "The Japanese army's baggage troops will arrive at Pingxingguan at 4 o'clock tomorrow afternoon. There is not much time left for us. I must go to the field to conduct an on-the-spot investigation immediately."
"How do friendly forces respond?"
"Just say that our department agrees with your army's combat plan to set up an ambush. Regarding the specific combat deployment of our army, we must make an on-site investigation and confirm the answer."
"Okay, be careful on the road."
It was already 2:00 pm on September 24th, and there were still 25 hours left before the Japanese reinforcements arrived at Pingxing Pass. After briefly explaining everything, the middle-aged man rushed to the ambush site without stopping, and carried out an extremely meticulous on-the-spot investigation.
After spending five hours to obtain all the terrain data in the ambush area, we returned to the division headquarters to repeatedly deliberate on the combat deployment and construct the entire combat plan.
The Pingxingguan battle plan is divided into three parts: blocking the head - cutting off the waist - cutting off the tail. The main force is located in a straight line on the mountain ridge on the right side of Shili Qiaogou on the Weidai Highway. At the end are the 687th Regiment and brigade mortars.
The company cut off its tail. In the middle, the 686th Regiment and the divisional mortar battalion cut off the middle. At the head, the 685th Regiment and the brigade mortar company blocked the head. The three regiments performed their respective combat tasks according to their positions, and the 688th Regiment was left in reserve.
The independent regiment under the command of Yang Wu blocked the reinforcements of the Fifth Division heading towards Lingqiu from the direction of Laiyuan in the Yimaling area, ensuring that the main force of the division completely wiped out the Japanese reinforcements at Shili Qiaogou.
The independent regiment crossed Pingxing Pass on the 22nd and lurked around the Lingqiu County occupied by the Japanese to conduct activities and reconnaissance of the enemy.
In the entire combat plan, the one with the heaviest task is the independent regiment, which is the vanguard. The Japanese troops in the direction of Laiyuan belong to the Kunozaki Bench Detachment, and the reinforcements are expected to be at least one regiment.
You can imagine how difficult it is for a regiment to block an alliance.
Anyway, the plan is now set and ready to start.
At midnight, troops were sent to Qiaogou.
As orders were passed down one after another, the 115th Division with a strength of 12,000 people began to assemble, distribute weapons, ammunition and food, complete combat preparations, and then dispatch troops according to the combat plan. Troops with different combat missions set off secretly in batches.
, heading to the scheduled ambush location.
Daying Town, Ninth Army Headquarters.
Late at night, heavy rain poured down from the sky, covering the Pingxingguan battlefield.
In the early morning of the 25th, the fighting at the front line still continued. The sound of artillery at Tuancheng Mouth, more than ten kilometers away, resounded through the sky continuously, and the gunfire from the pass position was intensive.
In the headquarters, Yang Aiyuan, as the commander-in-chief of the Pingxingguan Campaign, walked back and forth in front of the war sand table of the situation between the enemy and ourselves in Pingxingguan. His usual calmness disappeared and was replaced by worry. There was no concealment of the anxiety deep in his eyes.
The only reason that could cause such a drastic change in Yang Aiyuan's mentality was the imminent arrival of reinforcements from the Japanese Fifth Division.
From the fierce fighting on the 21st until now, Yang Aiyuan finally tasted the combat effectiveness of the Japanese Army's Class A Division, and even experienced firsthand how terrifying the Fifth Division, known as the "Steel Army", was.
Let’s not talk about the Tuanchengkou position for now, let’s just talk about the Shanxi-Sui Army defense zone position. The main position at the pass with natural dangers had a casualty ratio of 1:3. Today, the right-wing position almost fell into the hands of the Japanese army.
The Xibaochi position, which is second only to the pass in terms of danger, has a casualty ratio as high as 1:5. Yesterday, there was even a situation where the frontline troops collapsed and a company formed an organization to escape.
When the fighting in Xipaochi is fierce, often if a group is pulled up, they will be maimed in a short time.
This is not a battle, but a massacre.
You know, the Japanese troops on the opposite side only have more than 3,000 troops, and how many people are there in our own troops?
Counting the entire Pingxingguan defense line, the total strength is 100,000!
The disparity in hard power between the two armies made Yang Aiyuan almost despair. They were not the Northwest Army or the Qin Army in the remote countryside, but the Jinsui Army with well-equipped weapons and equipment, a first-class domestic force supported by Shanxi and Suiyuan.
In terms of combat effectiveness, leaving aside the Central Army, their Shanxi-Sui Army is second only to the Guangdong Army and ranks second among the country's miscellaneous armies.
But they were so strong, but now they were beaten to the point of being breathless by more than 3,000 Japanese troops.
If we wait until reinforcements from the Fifth Division arrive, how will we be able to defend Pingxing Pass?
After the barrier was broken, the door to Shanxi was opened, and the Japanese army entered the Taiyuan Basin with its combat power...
Yang Aiyuan's back felt cold, and a bone-chilling chill went straight into his mind along his spinal cord.
"What exactly is the 115th Division doing? Does the field investigation take so long?" Yang Aiyuan gritted his teeth and kept thinking in his mind. Whether he could successfully block the Japanese reinforcements did not depend on the Jinsui Army, but on the 115th Division.
To the Japanese army, the 115th Division, composed of 12,000 men, was a force that did not exist on the map.
"Report to the Commander-in-Chief, the 84th Tuanchengkou Division once again asked for help from the 202nd Brigade. Brigadier Chen asked for advice." At this moment, the communications staff came with an urgent telegram and came to Yang Aiyuan to report the situation.
Eighty-fourth Division...
When Yang Aiyuan heard the urgent message, he came to his senses for a moment, sighed under pressure, and considered whether to disobey the order and send troops to support the 84th Division.
He could no longer remember how many times the Eighty-Fourth Division had asked for help, but due to Yan Xishan's order, Yang Aiyuan did not send a single soldier to support Tuanchengkou.
The 84th Division is responsible for the Tuanchengkou defense area. The terrain in this area is relatively flat, and the Japanese heavy-armed troops can spread out to fight. The defense pressure and difficulty are the highest. Therefore, when the defense area was allocated before the war, Tuanchengkou was divided into eight
The Fourteenth Division, the Xipaochi and the pass positions were left to their own people.
It has to be said that the 84th Division's combat effectiveness was quite excellent and was able to withstand the attack of the main force of the Japanese army for nearly three days and three nights.
"Report to the Commander-in-Chief, Chief Yan's call!" As Yang Aiyuan was thinking, a prompt broke his thoughts.
Hearing the call from Yan Xishan, Yang Aiyuan immediately regained consciousness, walked quickly, came to the communications soldier and picked up the phone: "I am Yang Aiyuan."
A thick Shanxi accent came from the other end of the phone: "Xingru, how was the fight at Pingxingguan?"
"Sir, Pingxingguan is generally stable, but the situation in the Tuanchengkou defense area is more serious. The 84th Division may not be able to hold it. Should we send troops to support it?" Yang Aiyuan organized his words, and his words were cautious and nuanced, although he was
Chairman of Suiyuan Province, but the actual control does not lie with him, but with Yan Xishan on the other end of the phone.
Everyone knows that Yan Xishan is the king of Shanxi, but only a few people know that Yan Xishan is actually the "King of Jin Sui".
"No support is allowed, Xingru. We must guard against the harm from guest troops." A serious and decisive voice immediately sounded on the phone.