On May 25th, the 129th Division was still constantly moving, and Japanese troops were constantly chasing from behind, leaving the 129th Division without any time to rest.
This time the Japanese raids were very fierce. They carried out the raids regardless of casualties, and kept attacking the base areas like mad dogs. In order to separate the anti-Japanese base areas, the Japanese frontline troops were raiding, and strong men were forcibly recruited from the rear to build strongholds for them.
and isolation ditches.
At the same time, in order to provide faster support between various strongholds, the Japs also chose to lay large and small roads in the base area to facilitate them to provide timely support. Due to the outbreak of the Pacific War, the Japs deployed many Chinese battlefields
of military strength.
This also caused the Japanese troops to be greatly reduced in the rear occupied areas. For this reason, the Japanese could only ensure that the distance between the strongholds was not too far to support each other. In order to ensure the stability of the occupied areas, the Japanese built a large number of
Strongholds. In a short period of time, many Japanese strongholds appeared in the anti-Japanese base areas.
Liu Gen led the artillery regiment to follow behind the 129th Division Headquarters. There was no need to worry about safety. Behind the artillery regiment, there were troops of the 129th Division blocking the Japanese attack. The Japanese troops constantly chasing after them made Liu Gen feel a little uncomfortable.
Question, how did these Japs find the direction in which the 129th Division headquarters was transferred?
On Cross Ridge in Liao County, Deputy Chief of General Staff Zuo Quan was directing the troops to transfer. Due to the large headquarters organization, the logistics troops carried a lot of supplies and were slow to move. They also failed to move according to the original plan. This made the troops transfer difficult.
The pace was very slow, and I only walked more than twenty miles in one night.
The deputy chief of staff stood on the cross ridge and looked at the crowded troops on the front line of the cross ridge. He could see a total of more than 10,000 troops from the general department, general administration, headquarters logistics, northern bureau agencies and special agents, as well as thousands more
All the livestock are crowded in this area.
I learned that yesterday the transfer force in the direction of Guojiayu was attacked by a small group of Japanese troops. The combat effectiveness of the small group of Japanese troops was not weak, causing many casualties to the transferred troops. The distance between Cross Ridge and Guojiayu was not too far.
The marching speed is so fast that if it really attacks in this direction, it is very likely that it will attack again.
Taking this into consideration, the deputy chief of staff sent soldiers to notify the special agent group on guard in the rear to avoid being actually attacked by the small Japanese army.
"Da da da" "Da da da"
Before the soldier in charge of the notification arrived at the location of the special agent group at the rear headquarters, there was heavy gunfire, and the small Japanese army took the initiative to launch an attack. Thick bullets hit the moving troops, and the soldiers were unprepared.
, there were many casualties immediately.
The occurrence of the battle caused chaos among the troops crowded together on the Cross Ridge front line. Everyone wanted to rush forward with all their strength. In a short period of time, the Cross Ridge front line turned into a mess. Deputy Chief of Staff
He kept shouting and constantly organized the troops to change directions.
But even so, some soldiers still fell to the foot of the mountain due to overcrowding. While the deputy chief of staff was trying to calm everyone down, the buzzing sound of fighter planes came from the air, indicating that the enemy's fighter planes were coming.
After discovering that a large number of Eighth Route Army troops were being transferred to the front line of Cross Ridge, this small Japanese force reported decisively to the First Army Headquarters through the portable radio and applied for aviation support. This small Japanese force had already arrived at Cross Ridge.
For a while, they just knew that the fighter planes were coming soon, so they took the initiative to launch an attack.
And because this small Japanese army is dressed in the uniforms of the Eighth Route Army, they have been able to hide until now, and now they are showing their fangs.
Masuko Shigeo, the squadron leader of the 9th Squadron of the 223rd Regiment of the Japanese 36th Division, was constantly commanding his squadron. When they attacked Guojiayu last night, they made some gains, but they did not satisfy him. Previously, the 223rd Regiment
A squadron entered the Eighth Route Army base area as a small unit, but was annihilated by the Eighth Route Army Independent Regiment.
This made Masuko Shigeo extremely cautious after entering the Eighth Route Army base area. Unless it was really necessary, he would not activate radio communication at all. It was precisely because Masuko Shigeo was so cautious that he could successfully penetrate into the depths of the Eighth Route Army base area.
Quietly arrived at Cross Ridge.
"Boom" "Boom" "Boom"
In the air, the Japanese fighter planes continued to drop the aerial bombs they carried. Because there were too many Eighth Route Army troops on the cross ridge line, the Japanese pilots dropped the aerial bombs without having to aim at all. When the aerial bombs fell, the deputy chief of staff had just maintained his position.
The order became chaotic again.
Faced with aerial bombs that could fall overhead at any time, no one could remain calm, and the front line of Cross Ridge became chaotic again.
"Deputy Chief of General Staff, we need to retreat immediately. The Japanese army is likely to arrive soon." The commander of the 769th Regiment, who was responsible for covering the transfer of the headquarters, said with a worried face.
Captain Qi could see many soldiers holding machine guns and shooting at the Japanese fighter planes in the air, but they failed to have any impact on the Japanese fighter planes. On the contrary, under the continuous dive shooting of the Japanese fighter planes, many soldiers appeared.
Casualties. The small Japanese troops in the rear were also constantly attacking, entangled with the special agent group in charge of the rear.
"We can't withdraw! We can't even withdraw. We don't have many combat troops in our hands. If we really have to move, what will happen to the remaining troops?" said the Deputy Chief of General Staff, shaking his head firmly.
The Deputy Chief of General Staff knew very well what kind of dangers there would be if he stayed, but he could not retreat with the combat troops until the withdrawal of the large forces was complete. Once there were no combat troops, the troops crowded on the front line of Cross Ridge would appear suspiciously.
Massive casualties.
"Boss, our 769th Regiment is here to cover the retreat of the large forces. You can move with the headquarters first! If something goes wrong with you, then Boss Peng will definitely not be able to spare me." Commander Qi said with a wry smile.
The deputy chief of general staff shook his head vigorously again, "Don't worry, it won't be that easy. I've been in the army for so many years, so I'm fine, right?"
"Don't worry, even if Mr. Peng criticizes you, I will stop him."
Seeing this, Commander Qi could only smile bitterly. He realized that the Deputy Chief of General Staff would not leave easily. Commander Qi could only stand vigilantly beside the Deputy Chief of General Staff and be ready to protect the Deputy Chief of General Staff at all times.
Even if he sacrifices himself, the deputy chief of staff will not have any problems.
The Japanese fighter planes came and left quickly. After the ammunition was exhausted, the Japanese fighter planes left directly. The small Japanese army that was entangled with the special agent group also evacuated directly. This small Japanese army retreated very decisively, as if they did not want to do anything at all.
Be concerned about your own casualties.
At the end of the battle, the deputy chief of staff once again directed the evacuation of the troops. He was not prepared to leave until the troops on the cross ridge were evacuated.
"Captain Qi, no matter what, we must guard Cross Ridge and not let the Japs get to us. Otherwise, the troops we are transferring will be too dangerous and will be directly exposed to the Japs' guns." The Deputy Chief of General Staff said to him.
Captain Qi ordered like this.
The transfer continued, and at five o'clock in the afternoon, the transfer of the large troops came to an end.
The deputy chief of staff picked up his binoculars and observed the situation of the Japanese army. He could see more and more Japanese troops coming here. These Japanese troops were already ready for battle and might attack Shiziling at any time.
When the telescope was used, it reflected light in the sun, which attracted the attention of the Japanese sentries. They determined that there might be an Eighth Route Army commander on Cross Ridge, so the Japanese immediately mobilized several mortars to launch an artillery bombardment towards Cross Ridge.
"咻" "咻" "咻"
Suddenly, Commander Qi heard the sound of Japanese artillery shells flying. The first shell struck, landed next to Commander Qi and exploded, directly knocking Commander Qi to the ground. He endured the pain and shouted quickly: "
Chief of Staff! Get down quickly!"
The deputy chief of staff reacted. He didn't bother to lie down and hurriedly called to the soldiers around him to take cover.
But at this time, the second artillery shell struck, landing right between Commander Qi and Deputy Chief of General Staff Zuo Quan who had just stood up. A piece of shrapnel hit the head of Deputy Chief of General Staff Zuo Quan, and he died on the spot!
Captain Qi was also hit by shrapnel in his left eye and right arm. He has been blind in his left eye since then and can no longer lift his right arm.
"withdraw!"
Seeing the unfortunate death of Deputy Chief of Staff Zuo Quan, Commander Qi used all his strength to issue the retreat order before he fell into coma. More artillery shells came and fell on the Cross Ridge, but the soldiers who stayed on the Cross Ridge did not
Retreat, they want to take away Deputy Chief of Staff Zuo Quan and Commander Qi! They cannot be left here!