Xiang Tianhu's battle plan is not complicated. The Dameishan Brigade will launch a feint attack to Banqiao Town to lure out the Japs at Linhuaiguan. Then the 541st Regiment of the 180th Division will ambush them halfway. After annihilating the Japs reinforcements, they will then take advantage of the opportunity.
Capture Linhuai Pass, and then the brigade can kill the Japs in Banqiao Town.
Xu Rui did not raise any objections to Xiang Tianhu's combat plan.
Although the brigade also has enough strength to ambush the Japanese reinforcements in the direction of Linhuai Pass, and even has the strength to take advantage of Linhuai Pass, Xu Rui does not want to steal the limelight from Xiang Tianhu, because there is no benefit to the brigade from stealing the limelight, and
If Xiang Tianhu captures Linhuaiguan, the 180th Division will immediately become a heroic unit famous throughout the country.
This is decided by the camps of both sides. The Nationalist Government will never sing praises to the brigade.
So on the surface, it can be said that the coordinated operations team suffered a big loss this time, because they sent both men and materials, but in the end they couldn't get much benefit. Isn't it a big loss? But Xu Rui didn't care, as long as
If there is a chance to change the course of the Huaihe battlefield, and thus the outcome of the Xuzhou battle, what does it matter if the brigade suffers a small loss? He, Xu Rui, is not so narrow-minded as to put partisan interests above national interests.
Time passed quietly in the boring waiting.
He took out his pocket watch and looked at the time. The hour hand already pointed to 2:50 in the morning, and there were only ten minutes left before the attack time agreed with the 180th Division.
At this time, Leng Tiefeng suddenly said: "Old Xu, you haven't thought about a problem?"
"What's the problem?" Xu Rui put away his pocket watch and raised his telescope again to observe the Japanese position in front. Banqiao Town was not actually a strategic location, so the Japanese only left an infantry squadron to garrison. However, although the number of troops was small,
The fortifications built by the Japanese are quite complete. If they attack by force, the casualties will not be small.
Leng Tiefeng said: "You have never thought about it. If the 180th Division succeeds in the surprise attack on Linhuaiguan, it will affect the nerves of Li Pinxian, Liao Lei and Hu Zongnan, and then the 31st Army, the 48th Army, and the 17th Army will follow up one after another, and
If we really annihilated the group of Japanese troops heading north in Central China, wouldn’t it mean that all your previous attempts at goodwill in the 180th Division were in vain?”
Leng Tiefeng's implication was that if the Huaihe battlefield had not been defeated and the 180th Division had not been defeated, there would have been no defeated troops for the Dameishan Brigade to integrate.
"Then I'm willing too." Xu Rui said.
Leng Tiefeng smiled and remained silent. Of course he knew that Xu Rui was by no means a villain who ignored the outcome of the entire Xuzhou battlefield just to defeat a few thousand troops. He only said this to tease Xu Rui, because since
Following Xu Rui, Xu Rui's plans have never failed, but this time, it seems that they will finally fail.
Ten minutes passed quickly, and the attack time agreed with the 180th Division came.
Xu Rui raised the 38 cover, aimed at the Japanese sentry in front, and gently pulled the trigger.
With a crisp sound, a hundred meters ahead, the Japanese sentry standing guard with a gun immediately fell down from the watchtower more than three meters high. The next moment, the 2nd Squadron and the 5th Squadron, which had already entered the attack position,
More than 300 officers and soldiers in the squadron opened fire one after another, and the dense bullets poured over them like raindrops.
As soon as the fighting started in Banqiao Town, the Japanese garrison at Linhuaiguan was immediately alerted.
After receiving the distress call from the Japs in Banqiao Town, the Japs commander at Linhuai Pass immediately dispatched half an infantry brigade to quickly reinforce Banqiao Town. Although Banqiao Town was not a strategic location, the Japs in Linhuai Pass were absolutely
He would not just watch a squadron of Japanese soldiers stationed in Banqiao Town being eaten, so rescue was inevitable.
(Dividing line)
Xiang Tianhu appeared at the cavalry battalion's attack position, escorted by a group of guards.
The cavalry battalion's attack position was chosen very cleverly. There was a small angle between the sparse woods where they were ambushing and the Mingfeng Highway, and there was a low mountain ridge in the middle of the angle, which could be used as a shield.
The sight of Japanese reinforcements coming from the direction of Linhuai can also be blocked to a certain extent from the sound of horse hooves.
In this way, the cavalry battalion's raid can be as sudden as possible. When the Japanese reinforcements in the direction of Linhuaiguan hear the sound of horse hooves, the soldiers of the cavalry battalion have almost completed the final sprint, and then they can attack diagonally from the side.
Cutting into the enemy's queue from the rear, facing such a cavalry surprise attack, the enemy would suffer a heavy loss.
Xiang Tianhu was very satisfied with Tiegang's choice and said, "Gangzi, you are a good boy."
Tiegang was a little embarrassed by the praise, scratched his head and said: "It's not as good as Master's teachings."
"You kid, don't try to put gold on my face." Xiang Tianhu chuckled and said, "But Gangzi, this time your cavalry battalion must show off the majesty of the last time we defeated the Japanese protrusion. You must not give it to me."
Drop the chain."
Tiegang immediately puffed up his chest and responded: "Master, don't worry. If our cavalry battalion doesn't chop off one hundred and eighty of his prison heads this time, I won't be able to do it again for the cavalry battalion commander."
"Okay, you have a lot of momentum, and it is worthy of the famous Huama Steel Sword." Xiang Tianhu patted Tie Gang's shoulder and said, "But you have to continue to do this as the cavalry battalion commander, otherwise where would I find such a good person like you?
The commander of the cavalry battalion?”
Tiegang laughed when he heard this, but he couldn't help but feel a little proud. The Northwest Army has always been good at cavalry, but there are not many cavalry officers who are really good at cavalry training and cavalry combat, and he, Tiegang, is one of the best.
Even the cavalry officers of Ma Jiajun were not enough in front of him.
Back then, when the Northwest Army was at its peak, Tiegang was just a trainee cavalry platoon leader. His cavalry division participated in the battle against Ma Hongkui in Ningxia. During seventeen battles, Tiegang rode a pinto horse.
Holding a steel sword, he killed 109 Ma Jiajun cavalry in a row. The Ma Jiajun cavalry gave him the nickname "Huama Steel Sword".
In the subsequent battles, wherever the patterned steel sword appeared, the Ma family's cavalry immediately fled upon hearing the news.
And Tiegang was promoted from trainee platoon commander to company commander through this battle, setting a record for the fastest promotion in the Northwest Army.
It's a pity that the northwest is too poor to raise so many soldiers and horses. As a result, several generals under Feng Yuxiang, such as Han Fuqu, Shi Yousan, Pang Bingxun and Sun Lianzhong, could not withstand the temptation of Jin and Yuan and rebelled against the enemy one after another. As a result, the powerful Northwest Army
Once it collapsed, the remnants were incorporated into the 29th Army by Zhang Xueliang.
Tiegang was remembering the past of the Northwest Army when one of his company commanders suddenly shouted: "Battle base, signal!"
Hearing this, Tiegang looked up quickly, and sure enough he saw that the sentry posted on the ridge in front had sent a signal with a flashlight, which meant that the brigade had started in Banqiao Town. Not long after, the faint sound of gunfire started from
It came from the southeast, but the propagation of this sound was much slower than the propagation of light.
"Master, the battle has begun in Banqiao Town!" Tiegang said in a deep voice.
"Yeah." Xiang Tianhu nodded heavily and said, "Damn it, let's see if the Japs from Linhuaiguan will move out."
Xiang Tianhu was really worried that the Dameishan brigade would not be able to attack effectively, causing the Japanese troops at Linhuaiguan to stand still. However, the final facts proved that his worries were completely unnecessary. Not long after, the sentries stationed on the mountain ridge used their weapons again.
The flashlight sent out a signal. The Japs from Linhuaiguan had already been dispatched. There was about an infantry brigade!
"Master!" Tiegang immediately reported, "The Japanese from Linhuaiguan have come out, and there is a large group!"
"Haha, an infantry brigade?!" Xiang Tianhu said with great joy, "Great, it seems that Brother Xu Rui's offensive in Banqiao Town is very fierce, forcing the Japanese at Linhuaiguan to dispatch a brigade of reinforcements. This
But it will be easy for us now. As long as we kill this large group of Japanese reinforcements, it will be much easier to recapture Linhuai Pass."
After a while, the sentry on the mountain ridge sent a signal again, indicating that the Japanese were about to enter an ambush position.
Tiegang didn't bother to talk to Tianhu. He immediately got on his horse and drew out his saber. The saber was still the same as before, but the horse was no longer the flowery horse, but the flowery horse steel sword was still the same.
The flowered horse steel sword is still the same flowered horse steel sword that makes the Ma Jiajun cavalry fearful.
Seeing Tiegang draw out the steel sword, more than 300 officers and soldiers of the cavalry battalion also drew out the steel sword, and then began to line up nervously under the night. The war horses clearly felt the tension before the battle, began to become restless, and began to
The animal shook its head, panted, or continuously stamped and plowed the ground with its front hooves.
Fortunately, the mouths of all the war horses were stuffed with branches, and the horses' hooves were wrapped in cotton, so the horses' neighing could not be heard. The iron hoofs of the war horses tapped on the ground, and only a faint muffled sound could be heard. However, before the battle,
The chilling aura spread out like a spider's thread, instantly covering the sparse grove.
The sentry on the mountain ridge sent back a signal again, indicating that the Japanese had entered within a hundred meters.
Tiegang turned his head and glanced at the ridge on the left side of the grove. Across the low ridge, a group of Japanese soldiers were marching hurriedly on the road there. The spearmen sent by the Japanese soldiers had even crossed the mountain. However, due to the cover of the grove, more and more soldiers were waiting for them.
They were on the side and behind the direction of the Japs' movement, so the Japs' top soldiers did not notice them.
"Ha." Tiegang's legs gently clamped the horse's belly, and the horse began to step forward.
Seeing Tiegang riding his horse, more than 300 cavalrymen who had already lined up also started riding.
Soon, more than 300 cavalrymen gathered in three rows of cavalry and rushed out of the woods.
Moreover, at this time, the cavalry had changed from a slow walk to a trot, and then to a fast trot a moment later.
There were still about five hundred meters away from the road ahead. Tiegang pulled the steel knife he held high forward with force. The war horse under his crotch immediately understood his will and began the final sprint. However, ahead, the Japanese marching formation had already
After turning the mountain ridge, we were driving quickly along the road.