On May 1, the Japanese invaded more than 50,000 Japanese and puppet troops. With the cooperation of the air force, they mobilized hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles. Under the personal command of North China Front Army Commander Okamura Neiji, they launched a raid on the central Hebei region.
During this sweep, the Japanese troops adopted multiple and intensive "net-drawing" and "combing-grate" tactics in an attempt to compress the Eighth Route Army's leadership and main forces from all directions in Shen County, Wuqiang, Raoyang, and Anping counties.
Deep in the hinterland of the base area.
In order to achieve victory in the encirclement and suppression of central Hebei, the Japanese First Army was mobilized to a large number of troops. Coupled with the preparations for the Zhejiang-Jiangxi battle on the front line, the remaining troops of the First Army were not very large.
The Japs' encirclement and suppression of the Jizhong area attracted the attention of the Eighth Route Army Headquarters at the very beginning. After ordering the 129th Division to guard the base area to prevent the Japs from attacking the 129th Division, the bosses of the headquarters personally directed the battle in the Jizhong area. During this period, the 129th Division
All units in the division were mobilized frequently. Even though the Japanese First Army in Shanxi did not attack the 129th Division, it still made the bosses a little vigilant.
Liu Gen, who was recuperating in the hospital of the division headquarters, learned that the Japanese had launched an encirclement and suppression campaign in the middle of Hebei Province. He couldn't help but find the division commander and wanted to know more about the specific situation of the counter-encirclement and suppression in central Hebei Province. The Japanese had mobilized so many troops.
It is enough to show that the Japanese have a very big plan for this encirclement and suppression. Coupled with the personal command of Okamura Neiji, the commander of the North China Front, I am afraid there will be a lot of trouble in the central Hebei area this time.
After learning that the Jizhong area had been raided by a large-scale Japanese army, the monk who stayed with Liu Gen in the division hospital could no longer rest in peace and recuperate. Even if the monk did not understand much about the overall situation, he was sure that the next step would be to
The 129th Division will also face a lot of battles.
The Jizhong area was surrounded and suppressed by so many Japanese troops. Casualties were inevitable, and we could only hope to reduce the casualties as much as possible. There used to be a 120th Division in the Jizhong area, and the 120th Division's combat effectiveness was not weak. The Japanese discovered that the 120th Division had left the Jizhong area.
Only then will they decisively launch a raid on the central Hebei region.
Liu Gen did not say anything to persuade the monk to stay. He knew that the monk's injury had not recovered yet, but at such a tense moment, the monk would definitely be very reluctant to continue to keep the monk in the division hospital. Liu Gen could understand the monk's condition, so
Even he himself could not continue to recuperate safely in the division hospital, let alone a monk.
After learning that Liu Gen was leaving the division hospital, the division commander did not choose to stop him. If it were normal times, he would definitely order Liu Gen to continue to recuperate in the division hospital. But now, the division commander has no choice but to let Liu Gen continue to recuperate.
The thought was that the battle was coming soon, and it would be too wasteful for Liu Gen to continue to stay in the division hospital to recuperate from his injuries.
Considering that Liu Gen's injuries have not fully recovered, the division commander asked Liu Gen to stay at the division headquarters and wait for the next order. On weekdays, Liu Gen can also enter and leave the division headquarters at will, allowing him to contact the Jizhong area
The latest news on the counter-encirclement and suppression campaign.
Because the encirclement and suppression organized by the Japanese this time was too sudden, the Eighth Route Army troops in the central Hebei region were not prepared in advance, and the main force may have suffered a lot of losses. At the same time, the county and district cadres in the central Hebei region were forced to disperse and retreat.
The county brigade and district squad were forced to break up into pieces and go underground. In order to cope with the Japanese raids and encirclement and suppression, various units of the Eighth Route Army also adopted various combat methods to entangle the Japanese.
In the central Hebei area, most of them are plains with no danger to defend. Therefore, tunnel warfare, mine warfare, sparrow warfare, etc. have become the main combat methods of the Eighth Route Army.
Under the command of North China Front Army Commander Okamura Neiji, the Japanese encirclement and suppression troops continued to build strongholds and dig blockade trenches. In this way, they separated the central Hebei area and continuously compressed the living space of the Eighth Route Army troops. In addition, the Japanese troops were in Hebei
The developed transportation lines in the central area allowed the Japanese troops to give full play to their mobility advantages.
In just a few days, the Japanese successfully occupied all the counties and larger towns in more than half of the Jizhong base area. This time the Japanese encirclement and suppression operation was so fast that the Eighth Route Army troops in the entire Jizhong base area were unable to react. Among them, the Japanese
Relying on the temporary advantage gained, they searched for anti-Japanese armed forces and anti-Japanese cadres everywhere, searched for anti-Japanese materials, and massacred anti-Japanese people crazily.
The Japanese troops carried out Neji Okamura's Sanguang policy and burned, killed, and looted in the Jizhong base area. Everywhere the Japanese troops passed by was turned into scorched earth!
The constant bad news coming from the Jizhong base area made the bosses at the headquarters feel very heavy. Under the command of Okamura Neiji, the Japanese troops gave full play to their own advantages. If the 129th Division really fought against the Japanese, then it would definitely
He will not be a match for the devils.
In mid-May, the Japanese First Army in Shanxi once again made some noise. After seeing that the raids in the central Hebei area were progressing smoothly, Iwamatsu Yoshio urgently needed to make some achievements.
For this reason, the 18 infantry brigades that Yoshio Iwamatsu had previously transferred from various units of the First Army were assembled. They were preparing to launch a raid on the Eighth Route Army base area in the north of the Taihang Mountains. According to Yoshio Iwamatsu's knowledge, the Eighth Route Army headquarters is likely to be here.
area area.
During this period, the Japanese advanced troops organized by elite soldiers set off at night for two days, namely the Okawa Advance Team and the Masuko Advance Team!
The Okawa Advance Team was formed by recruiting elite troops from the 224th Regiment of the 36th Division of the Japanese Army. Their goal was to attack and suppress the 129th Division Headquarters in the southern area of the north of the Taihang Mountains. These all benefited from the intelligence provided by the Japanese spies and traitors in the base area.
.Under the Japanese's judgment, they found the general area where the 129th Division's headquarters was located.
The Masuko Advance Team was formed from the ninth squadron of the 223rd Regiment of the Japanese 36th Division. It had a strong combat effectiveness, with 4 commanders and 102 soldiers, including squadron leader Masuko Shigekuma, and 18 traitor spy translators.
On May 23, 18 infantry brigades of the Japanese First Army, together with the puppet troops, launched an encirclement and suppression campaign against the Eighth Route Army base area in the north of the Taihang Mountains, targeting the area where the 129th Division was located.
As soon as the Japanese troops were dispatched, the entire 129th Division moved quickly. After the headquarters secret service group took the lead to protect the headquarters bosses and retreated deeper into the base area, the 129th Division headquarters also began to move. In order to attract the attention of the Japanese
, to avoid the headquarters being noticed by the Japanese, the 129th Division headquarters did not choose to evacuate with the Eighth Route Army headquarters.
Liu Gen also stayed at the 129th Division Headquarters. In the next battle with the Japanese troops encircling and suppressing the base area, the 129th Division Headquarters will be in a more forward position. Staying at the divisional headquarters will also give Liu Gen more opportunities.
There is room for play. No one knows what will happen in this battle. With Liu Gen's ability, he can determine the victory of a small battle.
Liu Gen stayed at the division headquarters, and the division commander gave him command of an artillery battalion. Liu Gen had a great reputation in the 129th Division. When he took over the artillery battalion, no one stood up to oppose it. All the soldiers in the artillery battalion knew Liu Gen.
, they welcomed Liu Gen's taking over the artillery battalion.
In just a few days, Liu Gen was unable to perfectly control the artillery battalion, but he didn't care. The soldiers of the division's artillery battalion had been training very hard, and they had all done basic training. In Liu Gen's opinion,
The only thing you need to do to take over the artillery battalion yourself is to provide sufficiently accurate artillery coordinates to increase the hit rate of the artillery battalion soldiers.
For artillery, hit rate is always the most important. Only by truly hitting the enemy can the power of artillery be fully exerted.
News continued to come from the front line that all units of the 129th Division had Japanese raiding forces to take over. In order to prevent the tragedy in the central Hebei region from repeating itself in the Taihang Mountains Northern District base area, the 129th Division's units launched a strong counterattack against the Japanese troops encircling and suppressing the Taihang Mountains Northern District.
There are not that many troops, and the pressure that the 129th Division needs to bear is not too great.
The only troublesome thing is that in order to ensure the safety of the division headquarters, the 129th Division headquarters is being moved every day.
Due to the advancement of the Japanese in radio communication monitoring technology, the headquarters and the 129th Division chose to be silent most of the time during the transfer process to avoid being monitored by the Japanese.
Liu Gen, who stayed at the artillery camp of the division headquarters, was a little worried. The offensive force of the Japanese troops on the front line was very strong. Even if the troops of the 129th Division continued to block, they still could not stop the advance of the Japanese mopping up troops. The only thing they could do was to delay the advance of the Japanese mopping up troops.
It's just speed.
If the battle continues like this, the divisional artillery battalion will not have a chance to fight. Liu Gen knows very well that in order to avoid getting more attention from the Japanese, the 129th Division cannot organize a large-scale battle. And being unable to organize a large-scale battle, naturally
The artillery battalion will not be used.
After all, the artillery battalion's combat effectiveness is strong, but the target is also too big. If the artillery battalion is used, it will be able to severely damage the Japanese troops. If not, the artillery battalion will be targeted by the Japanese troops, and it is easy to cause certain situations.
Loss.
Just like the cavalry company is the treasure of the independent regiment, the artillery battalion is also the treasure of the 129th Division. Unless there is really no way, the artillery battalion cannot suffer any losses. If there is no way, who will make the Eighth Route Army poor? Even the 129th Division with strong combat effectiveness
Nor could it bear the heavy losses suffered by the artillery battalion.
During the transfer, the artillery battalion is undoubtedly the most difficult one. It is too troublesome to transfer the heavy artillery in the artillery battalion. And under the current situation, the heavy artillery cannot be easily abandoned. In case of fighting with the Japanese, it will definitely not be possible.
Less heavy artillery!
In order to ensure the safety of the artillery battalion during the transfer and to keep up with the division headquarters, Liu Gen could only find a way to find enough livestock to ensure that the artillery battalion could always follow the division headquarters. Even so, the artillery battalion's daily
The soldiers also worked very hard. You know, they also needed to carry the disassembled artillery parts and shells forward.
Even though the soldiers in the artillery battalion were already familiar with this kind of work, their bodies were still unable to bear the constant transfer of carrying these things.
In the early morning of the 24th, at the temporary station of the artillery battalion, Liu Gen rubbed his shoulders vigorously. Even if he was in good physical condition, carrying a hundred kilograms of supplies every day was still a bit unbearable. Liu Gen could see the skin on his shoulders.
It was already worn out, so after simply sprinkling some medicinal powder on it, Liu Gen covered his wound.
Liu Gen knew that many soldiers in the artillery battalion must be like him, or even more serious than himself. With Liu Gen's physical fitness, if this happens, other soldiers will definitely be more serious, but it is a pity that even if Liu Gen knows
There is no way to do this.
I'm afraid the only thing Liu Gen can do is to find enough trauma medicine powder and distribute it to the soldiers of the artillery battalion. In battle, they are artillerymen, but when they are transferred, they all become heavy soldiers and need to carry the artillery battalion with them.
Artillery and supplies were transferred.
Maybe others think artillery is very comfortable, but in reality? Artillery is still very hard.
"boom"
Not far away, there was a sudden sound of gunfire. Liu Gen quickly stood up and looked in that direction. He could see that the soldiers in that area immediately took action. Soon, intensive gunfire sounded, and Liu Gen's face changed.
It became solemn. Could it be that a small Japanese army had touched this place?
Liu Gen no longer hesitated and decisively called out all the soldiers in the artillery battalion. In fact, many soldiers in the artillery battalion had already stood up. They were sleeping in their clothes and were sufficiently vigilant during their rest.
Under Liu Gen's command, the soldiers quickly found bunkers and assembled some mortars. As for the heavy artillery, they were probably out of use.
The artillery battalion is very important. Before knowing the specific situation, all Liu Gen can do is to ensure the safety of the artillery battalion itself and prevent the small Japanese troops from touching the artillery battalion. Liu Gen kept looking towards the fighting area, and he found that the small Japanese troops
The firepower of the troops was not very strong, but the soldiers of the division had successfully suppressed the Japanese firepower.
Noticing this, Liu Gen's expression became more solemn. If a small Japanese force could reach the depths of the base area, then the Japanese would definitely have another small force penetrate deep into the base area. The small Japanese force that was killed in April
, Liu Gen had already had this idea, and now that a small Japanese force had penetrated deep into the base again, he was not surprised.
Liu Gen could only hope that the various units of the Eighth Route Army could remain vigilant enough against the small Japanese troops to avoid being found by the small Japanese troops and causing too much damage.
The gunfire in the fighting area became sparse, but Liu Gen still remained vigilant. The sparse gunfire meant that the small Japanese army was repulsed rather than completely annihilated. The small Japanese army realized that it was no match for the Eighth Route Army.
When the time comes, you will inevitably choose to escape.
Now Liu Gen could only hope that the small Japanese force that was escaping did not flee in the direction of the artillery battalion. With the strength of the artillery battalion, if it really encountered a small Japanese force, it would be somewhat troublesome to deal with it.
"Stay vigilant! The enemy is very likely to attack in our direction!" Liu Gen ordered loudly.
Some relaxed soldiers became alert again. They held the rifles in their hands tightly and were ready to fight the enemy. Soldiers staying next to the assembled mortars were best prepared to fire at any time, no matter what.
, the artillery battalion cannot have any problems.
In the darkness, dozens of people rushed towards the direction of the artillery battalion. They looked panicked but moved in an orderly manner.
"Who is it?" Liu Gen noticed someone running towards him and held the two pistols tighter.