The cold wind was biting at night in winter, and even the Japanese soldiers wearing thick cotton-padded clothes could not resist the cold wind that eroded their skin and flesh, causing their noses to turn blue from the cold.
The garden area in the east of Gaoyou City has been destroyed by the war. The debris cleared by the Japanese became a garrison camp. Barbed wire and machine guns were set up around the high walls. Anyone who dared to trespass would be killed without mercy.
The beam of the searchlight was shining back and forth. At this moment, the open space in the camp was filled with heavily armed Japanese soldiers, but there was no sound.
All the Japanese soldiers wore thick cotton coats, and the curtains hanging from the sides of their hats covered their ears, making them look nondescript. However, the unsheathed bayonets and sharp eyes of the Japanese soldiers could not hide their radiant aura.
Killing intent.
The Japs gathered intensively at night, and the most important thing was to act covertly, and then to deal a thunderous blow to the careless Chinese troops everywhere.
Although the Japanese are cruel and violent, they have to admit that they are also a nation that is very good at learning, and large-scale corps operations are not suitable for occupied areas.
Because those elusive guerrillas always changed places after firing a shot, and when the Japanese troops rushed over, they often missed the target.
But this time it is different. The location and number of troops of the ** troops in the nearby area have been figured out. As long as they surround them without anyone noticing, they will be able to win.
The Japanese soldier Sano Taro was standing under the roaring military flag in solemn killing. In front of him was a large piece of cold steel helmet, which glowed coldly under the light of the searchlight.
"Reporting to your Excellency, the detachment leader, the Sixth Infantry Brigade has been assembled and is requesting an attack!"
Japanese Captain Kei Hirayama, wearing a thick woolen coat and white gloves, stood in front of the detachment leader Sano Taro with sonorous and powerful steps, and stood up to ask for instructions.
"Hirayama-san, the military fortune is prosperous!" Major General Sano Taro picked up the wine glass from the tray next to him and raised it to the captain Hirayama.
"Long live the Empire of Japan!" Captain Hirayama Kei raised his wine glass and after shouting, he raised his neck and drank the wine in one gulp.
After finishing his drink, Captain Hirayama Kei raised his hand again and saluted Major General Taro Sano, the commander of the detachment, before turning to face the troops he had assembled.
"Attack!" Captain Hirayama Kei's voice was low and hoarse, mixed with the howling cold wind and reached the ears of the Japanese soldiers.
The more than a thousand Japanese soldiers of the Sixth Infantry Brigade who had gathered in the open ground turned around in unison, and then marched out of the camp in four columns.
The Japanese captain, Hirayama Keiya, got on his horse and soon followed the troops out of the city, surrounded by a group of officers.
On such an unusual night, the Japanese detachment leader Sano Taro successively arrived at several troop assembly points to see off the troops going out for the expedition.
This time they attacked across the board, with the seven brigades fully deployed. Except for the artillery battalion stranded in Gaoyou, the other six brigades came out in full force.
Moreover, Sano Taro's ambition is also very big, that is, he wants to capture more than ten targets including the Northern Jiangsu Guerrilla Corps, the Sulu Guerrilla Corps, and the Sulu Deputy Theater Headquarters.
Once these combat missions are completed and the effective strength of the Chinese resistance forces in these occupied areas is eliminated, then he will be able to sweep across the entire Jiangsu with thunderous momentum and gain enough military merit to go one step further.
According to the enemy's investigative information, Yangling's Northern Jiangsu Corps was not strong compared to the 89th Army and the Sulu Guerrilla Corps, which had eight guerrilla regiments.
Therefore, Taro Sano only sent a large force to attack Yangling's Northern Jiangsu Corps, and his main force was concentrated in the direction of Taizhou and Xinghua, where he believed that the main force of the Chinese Army was located.
But what the Japanese commander Sano Taro didn't know was that he would pay a heavy price precisely because of his contempt.
Although the Japanese soldiers of the Sano detachment were composed of supplementary troops and baggage troops, they also received considerable military training, so they still maintained good military discipline during the night march.
Pingshan Jing led his brigade out of the city while it was dark, and then rushed along the road to the frontier in the north of Gaoyou.
Because intelligence showed that the main force of the Northern Jiangsu Guerrilla Corps was gathered in the Jieshou area, and what Hingshan Jing was looking forward to was a decisive battle with the main force.
Captain Hirayama Kei is the same as all the arrogant Japanese officers. What they hate most is fighting guerrilla warfare with the squadron, and what they long for is a head-on decisive battle.
Because they firmly believe that in a head-on main battle, with enough firepower, they can easily defeat even several times the number of Chinese troops. This is not only arrogance, but also confidence in weapons and equipment.
But Yang Ling never wanted to bring out the main force to fight the Japs in a decisive battle from beginning to end, because he knew the power of the Japs' heavy group, so he wanted to use his strengths and avoid weaknesses.
He just wants to use a little bit of consumption to eat away at the enemy's vitality, wear down and exhaust the enemy, and then concentrate on annihilating them. This is also the essence of guerrilla warfare. Only when your brain is rusty will you touch an egg against a stone.
"Report, the road ahead has been dug up by the Chinese army." Hirayama Kei and the others were less than an hour away from the city when the vanguard team sent back the news.
Captain Hirayama Kei was determined to win the battle. When he heard that the road was being dug, a sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth. How could he stop his progress with such shameless means?
"Captain, I'm afraid our combat plan has been leaked. Do you want to retreat to Gaoyou?"
When a Japanese staff officer heard that the road had been dug up, he had a vague premonition that the information about their attack might have been leaked. He worriedly asked Captain Hirayama for instructions.
"No, order the troops to go around the field and advance at full speed towards Kaishou!" Captain Hirayama Keizai didn't care whether the information was leaked or not.
It would be better if the Subei Corps at the head of the border knew the news. Maybe they heard that he was leading the troops north and voluntarily gave up on the head of the border. Then he could win without a fight.
If the Northern Jiangsu Corps was ignorant and continued to resist in the corner, he wouldn't mind wiping them all out.
"Go with the order." Seeing the hesitation of the ordering soldier, Hirayama Kei waved his hand impatiently.
"Hiyi!"
Soon the Japanese messenger passed down the order, and the Japanese soldiers who were marching in the cold night left the road one after another and headed into the fields, preparing to bypass the dug road.
Unfortunately, less than a few hundred meters after the Japanese troops bypassed the field and re-entered the road, they discovered angrily that the road ahead had been dug up again.
"Go around!"
The captain of the vanguard squad used a flashlight to look at the cut-off trench that was dug two meters deep and four meters wide. He didn't bother to ask the captain for instructions, and almost gritted his teeth and ordered a detour.
The Japanese soldiers who acted as vanguard soldiers were all elite, and their execution ability was particularly strong. A team of more than ten vanguard soldiers at the head immediately left the road, preparing to lead the way and go around again.
"ah!"
But this time, what was next to the road was no longer rough wilderness, but a rice field. Moreover, the rice field was filled with water. A Japanese soldier slipped and fell directly into the mud.
The sudden scream of this Japanese soldier scared the other Japanese soldiers as if they were facing a powerful enemy. They squatted on the spot and defended back to back in eight directions.
"Xiao Lin-sang, are you okay?" the leader of the Japanese squad shouted toward the paddy field next to the roadbed with a flashlight.
"It's okay, there is water in the field, I slipped..." The ghost who slipped cursed and stood up, already covered in mud.