The theater behind enemy lines under the command of Commander Yu Xuezhong can be said to be very strong. There are not only the 51st Army, 57th Army and other regular armies based on the Northeast Army, but also ten guerrilla columns and thirty-four security brigades.
Such a huge force was fighting in the vast areas of Shandong and Jiangsu, which dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese.
Moreover, operations in the theater behind enemy lines seriously threaten the Jinpu Line, Jiaoji Line, Longhai Railway and Taiwan-Weihai Highway.
After the Battle of Wuhan, the Japanese had to deploy three elite divisions to launch a massive attack on the anti-Japanese base areas behind enemy lines led by General Xuezhong.
These officers and soldiers who were stranded behind the enemy lines were naturally fearless in the face of heavy Japanese encirclement and suppression. The two sides fought for several months, filled with gunpowder smoke, and turned the Sulu area into ruins.
When Yang Ling and the others arrived here after traveling thousands of miles, they saw almost ten rooms and nine empty rooms, with everything in sight and ruins everywhere.
The abandoned corpses on the roadside had swollen in the ditch, exuding a stench. Groups of wild dogs were wandering in the fields, grinning fiercely.
Seeing that the great mountains and rivers of the motherland had been beaten like this, the brothers were all holding back a fire in their hearts and wanted to vent their anger by beating the Japanese.
After reporting from the theater headquarters behind enemy lines, Yang Ling and the others did not stop and went straight to the station of the third detachment of the Ninth Guerrilla Column where they were located.
The third guerrilla detachment is based in a place called Qinghe Town in northern Jiangsu. According to information from the theater headquarters, the entire detachment has a total strength of nearly a thousand troops.
Although the strength of the troops was not as strong as that of the 74th Army, Yang Ling did not lose heart. He was sent to the war zone behind enemy lines to train himself against the Japanese.
He believed that with his own abilities, the third detachment would soon be able to develop and grow and become a powerful force behind enemy lines to deter the Japanese.
What Yang Ling didn't know was that when he and Wang Huzi were on their way to Qinghe Town, the third guerrilla detachment of Qinghe Town was already fighting against the Japanese and puppet troops.
Most of the officers and soldiers of the third guerrilla detachment were troops who had not had time to evacuate after the Xuzhou Battle. After the establishment of the theater behind enemy lines, these stragglers who were stranded in the occupied areas were unified into the guerrilla column and came under the command of the commander-in-chief, General Yu Xuezhong.
The former detachment leader of the third detachment died for his country during the Japanese's heavy siege in the theater behind enemy lines in March, and the current acting detachment leader is Lieutenant Colonel and deputy detachment leader Zhang Liechen.
Zhang Liechen has thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a strong build. He once fought a bloody battle with the Japs in the Xuzhou battlefield, and he can be considered a warrior who has fought hard battles. He exudes a strong aura.
Since taking over as the acting detachment leader of the Third Guerrilla Detachment, the entire Qinghe Town has been run like a copper wall with iron walls, barbed wire, trenches, and bunkers making Qinghe Town look impregnable.
The Japanese and puppet troops invaded Qinghe Town several times, but were repelled by acting detachment leader Zhang Liechen. Several victories allowed him to establish absolute authority in the detachment.
Zhang Liechen originally thought that it would be a natural thing for him to take over as the leader of this detachment, but recently he got news that the theater headquarters will send someone over.
This news made Zhang Liechen feel very uncomfortable. He successfully allowed the third guerrilla detachment to defend Qinghe Town and repelled several attacks by the Japanese and puppet troops. No credit but hard work.
However, not only did the superiors not even say a word of praise, they also parachuted down a detachment leader, which made him feel very unhappy.
Fortunately, he has now established absolute authority in the detachment. Even if the superiors send people down to command the troops below, he would like to see how the detachment leader can continue to be the leader.
"Detachment leader, detachment leader!"
While Zhang Liechen, acting captain of the Third Guerrilla Detachment, was drinking at the detachment headquarters in Qinghe Town, a man wearing an old gray military uniform stumbled in.
"What a bullshit detachment leader, I'm just an agent."
Zhang Liechen was not happy at first, but now that he heard the people below shouting like this, he felt even more angry and placed his wine glass heavily on the table.
Zhang Liechen was so angry for no reason that the brother who ran into the house was so frightened that he even forgot what he was running over for.
"Tell me, what's the matter? You're so panicked." Seeing the frightened brother standing there, Zhang Liechen took a deep breath and asked.
After Zhang Liechen's reminder, the brother came back to his senses and hurriedly said: "The traitor Zhang Laizi has brought people here again, and there are more than a hundred Japanese!"
"Bang!" Zhang Liechen was already in a bad mood. When he heard this, he was even more angry and punched the table hard, causing the bowls and chopsticks on the table to fall to the ground.
"Damn it, we've been coming here every three days and there's no end!" Zhang Liechen, the acting detachment leader, ordered angrily: "Let the brothers assemble. This time, we must cramp and skin the traitor!"
"Yes!" After the brother saluted, he turned around and ran out of the house.
"Gather! Gather! The Japanese are coming!"
Amidst the shouts, nearly a thousand slovenly officers and soldiers wearing various military uniforms grabbed their guns and rushed out of the dormitory to gather, and then hurried towards the fortifications outside the town.
The conditions of the war behind enemy lines were difficult, and their third guerrilla detachment was made up of gathered battlefield skirmishers, so they looked like a ragtag group. However, they had a high fighting spirit and could fight to the death against the Japanese.
"Let the people in the town go back to their homes. Bullets don't have eyes and don't get hurt."
Zhang Liechen also strode out of the detachment headquarters carrying his only flower machine gun in the entire third guerrilla detachment.
The third guerrilla detachment stationed in Qinghe Town was very powerful. From time to time, they went out to attack Japanese strongholds and ambush their transport teams. They were regarded as a thorn in the flesh by the Japanese.
Although troops were mobilized several times for encirclement and suppression, the fortifications in Qinghe Town were too strong and they all failed.
After all, there are a lot of Chinese guerrillas and regular troops in the entire theater behind enemy lines, and the Japanese can't mobilize that many people at once, so they waited until now.
This time, in order to completely eliminate the third guerrilla detachment, the Japanese borrowed three Type 92 infantry cannons from the regiment. More than a thousand Japanese and puppet troops quickly arrived at the outskirts of Qinghe Town.
.
"Sir, the devils are not doing good this time."
Standing in the fortifications outside the town, looking at the Japanese and puppet troops unfolding outside, many officers and soldiers looked tense.
When Zhang Liechen saw that there were so many enemies coming this time, he took a breath, but he couldn't show his fear.
"Brothers, our numbers are no less than those of the Japanese and traitors. As long as we hold on to the fortifications and fight to the death, there is nothing they can do to us!"
Zhang Liechen shouted to encourage the brothers, but there were only a few responses. After all, anyone with a discerning eye could see that this was a vicious battle.
"We won this battle! I'll treat the brothers to a banquet!" Zhang Liechen shouted again when he saw that the brothers had no reaction.
"good!"
This finally mobilized the enthusiasm of the officers and soldiers of the third detachment, and they took their guns out of the trenches and prepared for battle.