After receiving the order, Li Qiufan did not hesitate and led his troops directly to the direction of Luyang, preparing to stop the Japanese in Taiyuan there.
"Qiu Fan, tell me what happened. Even the little devils from Taiyuan sent reinforcements here."
Zhao Gang also set off with the troops this time. When he received the order, Zhao Gang was very confused, and finally couldn't help asking Li Qiufan.
"Haha, it's nothing serious. It's just a reckless man who got sick."
Li Qiufan shook his head helplessly. He didn't expect Lao Li to be so angry and his wife went to attack the county town without being arrested.
"I looked at the map. There is no blocking position near Luyang. I'm afraid we will have to face off against a Japs unit this time."
Zhao Gang looked at the long marching team and sighed.
Li Qiufan was also unsure about this blocking battle because there was no favorable terrain nearby to rely on.
The team quickly arrived at the predetermined blocking position. This was a wide road and the only way for the Japanese to go to reinforcements.
"Heizi, arrange for the brothers to dig trenches as soon as possible. We must arrange them before the Japanese arrive!"
After arranging the work, Li Qiufan came to the artillery camp to find Lao Ma.
"Old Ma, have you found a good position?"
Lao Ma frowned and looked around before saying helplessly: "Oh, this terrain doesn't have a good location at all. No matter where it is, you can see it at a glance."
Li Qiufan also turned his head and looked, then patted Lao Ma on the shoulder and said: "It's okay, we can't hide the devils, and we'll see who reacts faster when the time comes."
Half a day later, the 22nd Regiment's trenches had been dug, including foxholes for machine gun positions and artillery holes to avoid shelling.
Li Qiufan was ready, and the Japanese were here too. The vast marching team had no end at all.
The Japanese also discovered the 22nd Regiment's position and immediately began to shrink the team.
"Qiu Fan, this is a fully formed regiment. It looks like there are nearly 4,000 people, and they are also carrying heavy weapons, including mountain artillery!"
Zhao Gang looked worriedly at the sunset not far away. He could clearly see six 92 infantry guns and three 75mm mountain cannons being dragged across the way.
Li Qiufan also saw the Japs' equipment and frowned. He did not expect that the weapons of the Japs unit would be so good.
"boom!"
Just as he was thinking about it, a shell landed on the forward position.
"Everyone hide in the bombholes! This is a test firing by the Japanese, hurry up!"
After seeing the explosion, Li Qiufan shouted to the soldiers on the position, asking them to hurry up and avoid the shelling.
As soon as he finished speaking, the artillery shells exploded on the position like dumplings, and Li Qiufan quickly hid in the artillery hole.
The bombing lasted for about twenty minutes, and the explosions stopped. Li Qiufan dusted off the dirt on his body and hurriedly climbed out of the bombhole.
Sure enough, the Japanese's usual attack method was to charge the infantry after the artillery bombing.
"Second and third battalions don't fire, start the first battalion!"
Seeing the number of Japs charging, Li Qiufan did not let the 2nd and 3rd Battalions fire, because there was only about a squadron of Japs coming out, and they were reconnaissance firepower at first glance.
"Da da da…."
Gunshots continued to sound, and the first battalion quickly repelled the Japanese attack. Seeing the Japanese retreat, Li Qiufan's lips curled up slightly.
"Everyone get into the bombhole, quickly!"
Sure enough, the bombing started again. Li Qiufan had already figured out the Japanese, and the infantry rushed through the artillery bombardment.
It was another twenty minutes of bombing. After this bombing, the soil in the entire position was hot.
When he heard that the shelling was over, Li Qiufan got out of the shell-proof hole. When he came out, he saw the Japanese starting an all-out attack, with about a brigade of troops.
"beat!"
Seeing the Japanese's lineup, Li Qiufan did not dare to hide his clumsiness anymore and directly asked the three battalions to counterattack across the board.
"Lao Ma, blast the Japs who are charging in two rounds. Move immediately after blasting them!"
After Li Qiufan gave the counterattack order, he turned around and shouted to Lao Ma.
"Boom boom boom..."
Explosions began to ring around the Japs, and the sudden bombardment made the Japs a little overwhelmed, because they did not expect that the usually poor and scumbag Tuba Road would have so many artillery pieces.
After finishing two rounds, Lao Ma immediately led his men to pull up the artillery and move. A few minutes later, the previous artillery position was bombarded by the Japanese.
After shelling and blocking, a charging group of Japanese soldiers suffered nearly half casualties and began to retreat backwards.
"Qiu Fan, it has to be you! Otherwise our cannon will be gone!"
Taking advantage of the gap between the Japanese's retreat, Zhao Gang gave Li Qiufan a thumbs up.
"Don't be too happy. You will be prepared for the next Japanese attack. The battle has just begun."
Li Qiufan shook his head, without any joy on his face. He knew that the next battle would be difficult.
After the Japanese retreated, they did not continue the shelling, and the two sides became deadlocked.
"No! Go into the bombproof hole quickly!"
Ten minutes passed, and Li Qiufan was a little surprised as to why the Japanese didn't attack. Then he thought of something, and his expression changed drastically.
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a buzzing sound in the sky, and then the entire position was exploded.
Li Qiufan's guess was correct. The Japanese soldiers on the opposite side were eager to provide support and directly called for planes to bomb.
Compared with the previous bombardment, this time the bombing was in full bloom, and the entire position was plowed.
Many soldiers who were too late to enter the bomb shelters were directly blown into shape. Even those who hid in the bomb shelters were bombed, and some bomb shelters were even blown open.
By the time the plane bombing ended, the entire 22nd Regiment had suffered almost one-third casualties, and many machine gun positions were also destroyed.
The Japs did not give Li Qiufan a chance to breathe, and started charging again. This time, they directly attacked two brigades, with more than 2,000 little Japs, densely packed.
"If you can still breathe, fight back quickly! The devils are coming!"
Li Qiufan was stunned by the bombing and shouted when he saw the charging Japanese.
Hearing Li Qiufan's shouts, backbone officers at all levels began to organize a counterattack, and gunshots continued for a while.
"Brother, the Japs from the Second Battalion are coming up!"
Li Qiufan was shooting at the Japanese with a rifle when Heizi's shout came to his ears.
Li Qiufan, who heard the sound, turned around and saw that the Second Battalion's position had been charged by the Japs, and the soldiers of the Second Battalion were engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the Japs.
"Monk! Take the guard company to support the second battalion! Hurry!"
Li Qiufan called the monk and asked him to bring people up. The guard company was a reserve team set aside by Li Qiufan to support various positions.
In addition to the guard company, Li Qiufan also left a cavalry company, but the current cavalry company is of little use in position warfare.
This offensive and defensive battle lasted until night, and it was not until the sky got dark that the Japanese slowed down the frequency of their attacks. Li Qiufan looked at the gradually darkening sky and breathed a sigh of relief.
