According to Kawaguchi Heiji's intention, Muto Akira quickly started the tunnel destruction work.
Since it was destruction rather than construction, there was no need to pay much attention to the excavation. Muto Akira directly ordered a large amount of explosives from the Engineer Regiment, and first dug a blast hole near the mountain temple that was destroyed by fire at the entrance of Xiaolizhuang Village.
, and then put in hundreds of kilograms of explosives for blasting. After the soil is loosened, it will be much easier to dig again.
Relying on explosives and engineer picks borrowed from the Engineer Regiment, in just half an afternoon, the Muto Regiment had dug more than a dozen large pits with a diameter of more than 30 meters and a depth of more than five meters near the mountain temple! But it is a pity.
Unfortunately, none of these dozen large pits were able to dig tunnels. Perhaps the depth was not enough, or the location was wrong. In short, it was not successful.
But Akira Muto did not give up and ordered the engineers to continue digging. Towards evening, with a burst of cheers from the engineers, the little devil finally dug a tunnel.
When Akira Muto and Toshimi Ogawara arrived after hearing the news, the infantrymen responsible for guarding the scene were already on alert. Six crooked light machine guns had been set up around the pit, and the muzzles of the black holes were all without exception.
Aiming at the two dark holes at the bottom of the pit connecting the left and right sides.
Looking at these two dark holes, Muto Akira immediately became excited.
Their hard work paid off, and they finally dug out a tunnel entrance, but this tunnel entrance was no better than the one disguised as a tomb before. That entrance was arranged by the Chinese, and the way deep into the tunnel was full of traps.
The entrance in front of us was opened by the Japanese army using brute force, so there may not be traps at this tunnel entrance. More importantly, this entrance is very likely to lead directly to the living area!
"Gas bombs, bring the gas bombs over here!" Akira Muto shouted excitedly, "Gas bombs, poison gas bombs, poison me these China rats, poison me these damn China marmots."
The chemical defense soldiers who had been waiting on one side immediately raised their heads and came up with two cans of Yellow No. 2 poison gas. Seeing this, the Japs guarding the surroundings retreated one after another and gave up their territory to the chemical defense soldiers. The chemical defense soldiers carried the gas cans.
, go down the slope to the bottom of the pit, place the cylinder filled with compressed poison gas at the tunnel entrance, and then unscrew the cylinder valve.
The next moment, streams of yellowish-brown smoke emerged from the mouth of the cylinder, and quickly spread to the surroundings. The Japanese chemical defense soldiers immediately went up to the entrance of the tunnel, and then cooperated with several other chemical defense soldiers to attack the tunnel.
The canvas that had been prepared long ago was spread out to cover the pit entrance, and then the canvas was covered with soil. In this way, the poisonous gas sprayed from the cylinder could only diffuse along the tunnel to both sides without leaking to the surface.
.
(Dividing line)
Fortunately, the Dameishan Independent Regiment had already taken precautions.
As early as when the Muto brigade excavated the first big pit by blasting, the observation post set up high in Qingfengling had already seen this scene and reported it to Xu Rui in time. Xu Rui immediately saw through it after a little analysis.
The intention of the Japanese was to cross the third and second floors of the tunnel and directly attack the tunnel on the first floor.
I have to say that the old devil Kawaguchi is still very powerful, at least he still poses a great threat with this move.
Because the first layer of the tunnel is on the shallow surface of the ground, less than three meters from the surface, it was also considered that if all the tunnel entrances were blocked by the Japanese, it would be easier for the soldiers and civilians trapped in the tunnel to dig through the ground when they rescued themselves.
, but now this advantage has turned into a disadvantage.
If the little devils continue to dig, there is a high possibility that they will dig through the first level of the tunnel. Therefore, Xu Rui immediately moved the people of Xiaolizhuang to the tunnel functional area of the neighboring village. As for the village and village
There are partitions in the underground passages between them, so there is no need to worry, and poisonous gas cannot penetrate such a far passage. After all, poisonous gas is also a type of airflow, and the flow of airflow requires a pressure difference.
At present, the only people left in the Xiaolizhuang tunnel are more than a hundred officers and soldiers from the 1st Battalion and 1st Company.
And all the more than 100 officers and soldiers have put on protective clothing and gas masks.
Among the supplies robbed from the train last time were protective clothing and gas masks, so there is no shortage of these.
Through the large urn installed on the tunnel wall, the officers and soldiers of the 1st Company hiding in the tunnel can roughly determine where the Japs’ digging point is. Therefore, when the Japs dug the hole, the officers and soldiers of the 1st Company were already ready underneath.
, just waiting for the little devils to come down from the opened gap, they gave them a head-on blow.
However, what confused Yao Lei was that the Japanese did not attack from the gap. After throwing two cans of poison gas into the gap, they filled the big hole they dug.
Akira Muto resolutely carried out Kawaguchi Heiji's order this time.
Yao Lei couldn't understand the little devil's behavior and quickly reported it to Xu Rui.
After Xu Rui received Yao Lei's report, he was a little confused about the little devil's intentions.
"What do the little devils want to do?" Wang Husheng said with confusion on his face, "Dig a tunnel, throw two gas bombs into it, and then that's it? Fill in the entrance again? The devils don't even send a few.
The chemical defense soldiers came down to see if they had any success with the poisonous gas?"
Xu Rui said: "This Japs really don't need to send people down to take a look, because the tunnel is a relatively closed space, and the poisonous gas released by the Japs will not dissipate in a short time. If there is anyone hiding in this tunnel, he will definitely be dead, even if it is this
There are no Tibetans in the tunnel, and it is completely destroyed."
"Then what do you mean by devils?" Wang Husheng asked, "Is it possible that the old devil Kawaguchi really plans to use such a stupid method to destroy our tunnels one by one? How many large tunnels will the devils have to dig in the Dameishan Basin?
Pitfall? They have so much manpower, material resources and time?"
Wang Husheng was really not afraid of the Japanese using such a method.
Xiao Lizhuang was lucky for the Japs. The core functional area of the tunnels happened to be under the mountain temple, so the Japs dug into the core area without much effort. However, the core functions of the tunnel network in other villages, especially Meizhen, were
The area is built underground far away from villages and towns. If the devils continue to do this, it will take years of monkeys and horses to dig out.
"This old devil Kawaguchi is not simple. He shouldn't be so stupid." Xu Rui shook his head and said thoughtfully, "This old devil must have other plans. But, what does this old devil want?"
Wang Husheng said: "Besides wanting to destroy our tunnel, what other intentions does the old Japanese have?"
"No, Kawaguchi Heiji shouldn't be so naive." Xu Rui shook his head, and then suddenly shouted, "I understand, I understand the intention of the old devil Kawaguchi. He wants to use this method to separate our independent group.
Force them to the ground and engage in a decisive battle with them."
"Isn't this nonsense?" Wang Husheng said, "The Japs' poisonous gas attack didn't even hurt the hair of the folks in Xiaoli Village, so why should we go to the ground to fight them head-on? Besides, even if the folks in Xiaoli Village have a
Even if they make mistakes, we also don’t have to fight them, do you think we are stupid?”
Xu Rui shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Old Wang, don't tell me. If the folks in Xiaoli Village hadn't been transferred in advance, if something happened to the folks in Xiaoli Village, even if just one person died, we might have to
We have a decisive battle with the Japanese, otherwise the villagers will inevitably resent us."
Wang Husheng immediately fell silent because Xu Rui was telling the truth.
It is the duty of soldiers to protect the lives and property of the people. If you fail to fulfill your duty, the people in the base area will certainly scold you.
Xu Rui added: "Even now, we may have to fight against the Japanese. Otherwise, the folks in Xiaolizhuang and the folks in Yangcun who took over Xiaolizhuang Village will think that our independent group is useless.
, they will definitely think, the little devils have bullied us and don’t dare to resist, so what’s the use of supporting your independent group?”
Wang Husheng nodded silently, and after a long while he said: "But Lao Xu, this battle is not going to be easy. Fighting in the plains is different from fighting in the mountains. Last time in Dawan, we were able to hit the Japanese hard at Teapot Ao. That's because
The terrain is good, and we are fighting at night, but now we are on flat ground and fighting during the day."
"This battle is indeed difficult to fight." Xu Rui nodded and added, "However, it is not without a chance. After all, we still have the initiative on the battlefield. There is still time to attack on the battlefield. We can all choose freely. Since
Kawaguchi Heiji wants to have a decisive battle with us, so we will do as he wishes and fight him at Xiaoli Village."
"Xiao Lizhuang?" Wang Husheng's heart moved when he heard this and said, "Old Xu, what do you mean?"
"That's right, house-to-house street fighting!" Xu Rui nodded heavily and added, "As long as the Japs are introduced into the village and carry out street fighting from house to house, the Japs' military and firepower advantages will not be able to be used, but we have underground passages that can
By quickly entering and evacuating the battlefield, we actually have a chance."
Wang Husheng nodded, and then said with concern: "But if this happens, the hundreds of houses in Xiaoli Village will probably become ruins. Will the villagers scold me?"
"It is inevitable to scold our mother, but it is better to have only a few hundred villagers in Xiaolizhuang scolding our mother than tens of thousands of villagers in the entire base area to scold our mother. Lao Wang, don't you think so?" Xu Rui paused and said again, "
Besides, when the anti-mopping up campaign is over, we can still help the folks in Xiaolizhuang build new houses, and your Meishan money can also be used to distribute some targeted relief funds, so that the resentment of the folks will not be so strong."
"You are very calculating. Meishan Bank only has those two dollars left, and you are thinking about it again." After Wang Husheng finished speaking, he sighed and said, "But this is the only way we can do it for now."
Xu Rui said with finality: "Then it's settled!"
After finishing speaking, Xu Rui picked up the phone on the table and called the 1st Battalion, 3rd Battalion and the machine gun company.
During this attack, Xu Rui decided to meet He Guangming's request and let the 1st Battalion do the main attack, with Niu Dazhuang's cannon battery responsible for fire support, and the 3rd Battalion responsible for blocking.