On a high ground three kilometers outside Lingqiu City, Li Hao held up his binoculars and carefully observed the little Japanese on the road at the foot of the mountain who were quickly rushing towards the county town.
After the last large baggage truck went around the curve in front and disappeared from Li Hao's sight, Li Hao, who had been lying down for nearly half an hour, finally put down his binoculars and got up from the ground.
A long-lost smile appeared on his serious face.
"The results of last night's night attack were greater than I imagined!" Li Hao said happily.
"I originally thought I would kill a thousand enemies but suffer eight hundred losses!"
"Now it seems that the combat effect is better than imagined!"
"The Japanese marching team is at least one-third shorter!"
Hong Linfeng also had a smile on his face and quickly said: "There are still several truckloads of wounded!"
"If they are towed by heavy baggage trucks, they must all be seriously injured! I counted, and there are eight trucks in total. Counting five seriously injured people in one truck, that's 40 seriously injured people!"
"Including those killed by us, the casualties of the Japs last night must have exceeded 500, and almost three infantry squadrons were completely wiped out!"
Yuan Qingfeng, the commander of the artillery company, was the happiest: "We also destroyed many Japanese artillerymen in the two battles!"
"I just counted, the Japs only have four mountain artillery pieces and five mortars left. Almost half of the artillery pieces were blown up by us!"
The smile on Li Hao's face became thicker, and he answered confidently: "We killed more than 800 Japs in two battles. Even if the remaining Japs arrive in Lingqiu County, they will all be replenished by the Watanabe Brigade. The Watanabe Brigade can be used
The total number of troops coming to attack the military division will not exceed 2,000!"
"There are still forty or fifty kilometers from the county seat to Lingqiu. As long as we are prepared, we will definitely be able to complete the mission and drag the little Japanese Watanabe Brigade to Lingqiu!"
"The next thing we need to do is rest and recuperate. Once the supplementary troops sent by the instructors are in place, we will immediately replenish the troops and let your instructors and deputies take them for running-in training to restore combat effectiveness as soon as possible!"
"You guys follow me. Starting tomorrow, we will walk along this road and discuss how to deal with the Watanabe Brigade based on the terrain along the way!"
In Lingqiu City, Lieutenant Colonel Watanabe spent two full days to combine the reinforcements with Watanabe's brigade.
"Sir, all the supplementary troops brought by the reinforcements have been added to the combat troops, and each infantry squad has begun running-in training!" the adjutant reported as he walked into the headquarters.
"How is the quality of those supplementary troops? How long will it take for the troops to regain their combat effectiveness? Last night, the brigade headquarters sent another telegram, urging us to send troops as soon as possible, enter the Eighth Route Army base area, and cooperate with other mopping up troops to completely eliminate the Eighth Route Army Division One!"
"Very good!" the adjutant replied quickly.
"Except for not having been on the battlefield, there is no doubt that he is different from a veteran in every other aspect!"
"As long as they are familiar with their commanders and comrades, and learn to cooperate with each other on the battlefield, they will immediately develop combat effectiveness!"
"Yo Xi!" Lieutenant Colonel Watanabe finally showed a satisfied smile on his face.
Then he asked: "Tell me the troop dispatch plan that several staff members have discussed. If there are no problems, we will dispatch troops according to your plan!"
The adjutant quickly replied: "After mixed recruitment, Lingqiu now has an infantry squadron, a military police squadron, a special agent battalion, and a battalion of the Imperial Association Army! Our Watanabe brigade includes five infantry squadrons, a cavalry squadron, and a forced
Artillery squadron, heavy machine gun squadron after squadron, a baggage squadron, a guard squadron, and then a mixed artillery squadron, including four mountain guns, five mortars, and an infantry artillery squad!"
"The total strength includes 2,200 people from the Imperial Army, 300 people from the Secret Service Brigade, and 400 people from the Imperial Alliance Army!"
"Our troop dispatch plan is: keep the garrison, the special agent brigade, and the Royal Association Army garrison battalion!"
"In addition, a heavy machine gun squad, a mortar squad, and an infantry squadron will be transferred from our brigade to assist in the defense!"
"All other troops were dispatched. A total of four infantry squadrons, one cavalry squadron, two artillery squadrons, one heavy machine gun squadron, one baggage squadron, and one guard squadron, with a total strength of 1,600 people, formed a reinforced mixed brigade!"
Lieutenant Colonel Watanabe replied with satisfaction: "I agree with this troop division plan!"
"But there's one more thing to add!"
"I will give everyone one day to train. At eight o'clock tomorrow morning, we will send out troops on time!"
"At the same time, order the special agent brigade to recruit mules and horses in the city immediately. In one day, we will collect 200 mules and horses for the imperial army at all costs. Adding those carried by the baggage squadron, we will make up 250 mules and horses!"
"The baggage squadron abandoned all baggage vehicles and used collected mules and horses to transport supplies and ammunition!"
"The artillery of the mountain artillery squadron and infantry artillery squad were also dismantled and transported by mules and horses!"
"The Eighth Route Army is too cunning. In order to prevent us from entering their base area, they will definitely slow down our march by destroying roads! Using mules, horses and camels to transport heavy supplies and artillery can minimize this impact!"
"Also, two liaison officers will be selected from the Imperial Alliance Army!"
The adjutant hesitated and reminded: "Sir, the Imperial Alliance Army is too weak. Not only is there no benefit in bringing them along, they may also distract the Imperial Army's attention and affect the Imperial Army's combat effectiveness. Do you want to think about it again?"
Lieutenant Colonel Watanabe replied with a sneer: "I know everything you said!"
"On the field battlefield, they are indeed a bunch of guys who succeed but fail. They don't look like soldiers at all!"
"But on the march, they were very useful!"
"Not only can it carry the wounded and supply supplies to the Imperial Army, but most importantly, it can also serve as cannon fodder for the Imperial Army and reduce the Imperial Army's casualties!"
The adjutant's eyes lit up and he replied: "I understand, I will make arrangements now for my humble position!"
"This time the imperial army will definitely be able to turn defeat into victory and kill the Independent Battalion!"
Outside Lingqiu City, more than a hundred captive soldiers sent by Wang Hong restored several main companies of the Independent Battalion to eighty men.
A veteran leads a captive soldier to ensure that these captive soldiers integrate into the army as soon as possible and form combat effectiveness.
As soon as he and the guard company finished breakfast, the reconnaissance platoon leader Chen Wei rushed over, breathing heavily.
"Battal Commander, the city gate is open, and the little devil is moving!"
Li Haoxin exclaimed: "Take me to see it immediately!"
"All troops are assembled and on standby immediately, the battle is about to begin!"
Climbing up the slope and peeking out from the top of the mountain ridge, the Lingqiu city gate two kilometers away appeared in front of you.
A mixed group of Japanese and puppet troops led the way, and less than fifty meters behind was the main force of the Japanese.
In less than ten minutes, they had already come out with two infantry squadrons and a cavalry squadron!
The infantryman carried his rifle on his shoulder and walked in the middle of the road with a arrogant expression.
More than a hundred cavalry were guarding both sides of the infantry.
Following closely came the Japanese baggage troops.
One after another, four or five mules and horses loaded with various supplies were strung together in a string, led by a puppet soldier, and slowly walked out of the city gate.
In addition to the mortars being dismantled into parts, they were carried by little Japanese gunners and moved forward with the infantry.
Mountain artillery and infantry artillery were also dismantled into parts, carried by mules and horses, and led by artillerymen, and marched with the baggage troops!
As he watched, Li Hao's face became serious.
"The Japanese are very well prepared and are absolutely determined to win!"
"Abandon the carts and let all the troops become mules and horses. Even the mountain artillery and infantry artillery are carried by mules and horses. In this way, if we destroy the road, we will not affect the marching speed of the little devils!"
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