Large groups of Japanese troops were marching on the road. In order not to expose their targets, cars did not turn on their lights when driving. Even if the roar of car engines could be heard in the distance, it was impossible to determine the exact location of the Japanese troops.
The Japanese army not only opened skirmish lines on both wings, but also had vanguard troops clearing the way in front. It was very difficult to hit the Japanese marching brigade.
On the road, the guerrillas made landmines with grenades and grenades. Not only that, they also put the gasoline extracted from the seized motorcycles into several clay pots and buried them in the ground.
These clay pots are not used to burn enemies, but to indicate targets.
How to detonate has become a big problem again. The guerrillas could use wooden boards to make simple hair-pressing devices, but the Japanese vanguard troops were clearing the way ahead. Even if they stepped on a mine, they would only cause a small number of Japanese casualties and would not threaten the Japanese marching brigade.
To solve this problem, we can only rely on manual detonation.
This mission is extremely dangerous. The person responsible for detonating it can be said to have narrowly escaped death. It is scary to think about it.
Xu Dalong handed over this task to the special operations squadron.
Monk Wei asked: "Who is willing to perform this task?"
Sun Ming and the officers and soldiers of the 358th Brigade Cavalry Battalion all thought that Monk Wei's words were in vain, because no one would be willing to perform such a task. They guessed that in the end, Monk Wei would definitely designate an unlucky person to go. Die.
To their surprise, the special operations team members all raised their hands.
They did not speak, but their silent actions caused a huge shock to the officers and soldiers of the 358th Brigade.
The guerrilla fighters were all fearless of death, which was completely beyond the expectations of the officers and soldiers of the 358th Brigade. Only then did they realize the huge difference between the Jinsui Army and the Eighth Route Army, and they couldn't help but cast awe at the guerrillas.
Monk Wei selected a shrewd and capable soldier who spoke Japanese well, put him in a Japanese military uniform, dug a pit in a field only 20 meters away from the roadside, and covered him with a A raincoat, and then buried him with a thin layer of soil.
Even during the day, it is difficult to spot him without careful observation, and the chance of being discovered at night is almost zero.
The rope that detonated the mine was also buried underground and was held in the hands of this soldier.
After all this was arranged, the guerrillas and the officers and soldiers of the 358th Brigade left the road. They set up a Type 92 infantry gun about 800 meters away on one side of the road, loaded the shells, and waited for the Japanese marching brigade to come over. .
The Japanese army's marching brigade came in a mighty manner on the highway. There were sharp soldiers in front of them to clear the way, and there were Japanese troops on both sides to escort them. They marched on the highway confidently and boldly.
The special operations team members buried in the soil heard the sound of large groups of people advancing on the highway, but were not in a hurry to detonate.
He waited for more than twenty minutes and knew that he was probably in the middle of the Japanese marching group. Then he quietly raised his head and saw that the road was full of Japanese soldiers. He pulled the rope hard.
With a "boom", the grenade buried on the road exploded. The grenades stacked on top of the grenades with their safety pins removed were thrown into the sky. Some grenades were even tied with ropes, and with the help of the force of the explosion, they pulled up other mines planted on the road.
The explosion of the grenade only caused minor casualties to the Japanese soldiers. Those grenades that were blown up into the sky were the real killer weapons.
"Boom, boom, boom."
Grenades were flying all over the sky, some exploded in the air, and some fell to the ground, making a loud explosion.
The Japanese marching team was very dense and caused huge casualties in an instant.
The clay pots buried on the ground were blown to pieces, the gasoline inside spilled out, and a fire broke out. In the light of the fire, the Japanese army's ranks were undoubtedly exposed.
Wang Chengzhu had been waiting for this moment for a long time. When he saw the flashing figures of Japanese troops on the road, he shouted: "Fire."
The six Type 92 infantry guns roared together, and the shells roared and fell on the road, causing the Japanese soldiers to flip over.
Although there was only one fire point on the road, Japanese troops were everywhere on the road. Wang Chengzhu and his group hit the fire point with their first row of shells, and then shelled on both sides, still causing heavy casualties to the Japanese troops.
There was chaos on the road, and Japanese officers and soldiers ran down the road to avoid enemy shelling.
The guerrillas responsible for detonating the explosion took advantage of the chaos, got up from the ground, and ran wildly outside.
At this time, the Japanese officers and soldiers were in chaos, and no one paid attention to his movements. The guerrillas ran for more than 200 meters in one breath. When they saw the shadowy figures of Japanese security troops in front of them, they got into the cornfield and hid. got up.
At this time, the corn was only over a foot tall, but there was no problem in covering his body at night.
Wang Chengzhu commanded the artillery. Each gun fired six shells in a row, and then ordered to pack up and retreat quickly.
The Japanese army was well-trained, and even though they encountered a sudden attack, their reaction speed was still very fast. They set up Type 92 infantry guns and mortars, and hit the place where the guerrillas had just fired their shells.
However, except for the sound of their shells exploding, the fields were silent, and there was no movement of the guerrillas.
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Miyamoto Nobunaga relied on the flames of the exploding shells and could not see the attackers. He knew that this was a pure waste of shells, so he ordered the shelling to stop.
Soon after, casualties were tallied. In the attack just now, the Japanese army suffered a total of 325 casualties, including 232 killed in action.
The chief of staff said worriedly: "Your Excellency, brigade commander, since our army left Lingao City, the number of casualties has reached more than 900. Such casualties are really too great. This is not the way to go."
Miyamoto Nobunaga was so angry that he had nowhere to vent his anger. He said angrily: "What are you talking about? Then let's just retreat? How can we be so dejected when we encounter a small setback? Give the order and the troops will continue. go ahead."
The Japanese army continued to march. The attack on them by the guerrillas and the Shanxi-Sui Army has just begun.
Sun Desheng divided his first and second cavalry squadrons into six groups, and Wei Monk's special operations squadron was also divided into three groups and launched attacks on the Japanese army respectively.
Monk Wei led a detachment of special operations team members to ambush 400 meters away from the road. Each team member formed a combat team of three and each found cover in advance. When he saw the Japanese security force, a special operations team member Hide behind cover and shoot into the air to attract enemies and expose your target.
In order to ensure the accuracy of their shooting, two guerrillas fired at the flash of a Japanese muzzle.
The battle lasted only two minutes. Before the Japanese army could set up the artillery, Monk Wei and the special forces members quickly evacuated.
The brief attack caused another seven or eight Japanese casualties.
The guerrillas launched frequent attacks on the Japanese army, and their appetite was not big. Anyway, there were only so many Japanese soldiers, and one less one was eliminated.
Of course, these attacks they launched were also to create the illusion of the Japanese army. The number of troops in each attack was very small, so the number of enemy security troops was also widely spread out, and each place was relatively weak. It paved the way for the actions of Xu Dalong and others.
Miyamoto Nobunaga believed in the combat effectiveness of his troops. When he saw that the guard troops blocked the enemy's attack, he commanded the large group of troops to move forward with confidence and boldness.
400 meters away from the road, Xu Dalong and Wang Chengzhu led the artillery squadron and the officers and soldiers of the 358th Brigade Cavalry Battalion to quietly ambush.
Due to the limited number of Type 92 infantry artillery shells, they will use mortars to attack the Japanese army this time.
Xu Dalong used the faint moonlight to see the Japanese security troops approaching, and said to Sun Ming: "Sir Sun, it's up to you now."
Sun Ming was already impatient with waiting. He shouted to the officers and soldiers of the 358th Brigade Cavalry Battalion: "Brothers, fight me."
The officers and soldiers of the cavalry battalion, who had been ready for a long time, used all their firepower, and the thin Japanese security force was beaten to a pulp.
After 30 seconds of firepower attack, Sun Ming jumped up first and gave the order to charge.
The officers and soldiers of the cavalry battalion rushed towards the Japanese security troops.
Behind them, Wang Chengzhu led the soldiers of the artillery squadron and followed them with artillery on their horses.
The number of Japanese troops in front of them was originally very small. After the fire attack, most of them were injured and killed. The remaining Japanese troops could not withstand the charge of the cavalry battalion officers and soldiers.
The officers and soldiers of the cavalry battalion quickly eliminated the remaining enemies on the front, and then blocked the Japanese security forces on both sides.
Wang Chengzhu and the soldiers of the artillery squadron seized the time to set up mortars. 24 mortars were quickly set up. From a distance of less than 300 meters, the Japanese army could still be vaguely seen on the highway.
Wang Chengzhu gave an order, and 24 mortars roared together.
The guerrillas fired six shells from each gun in one go, then mounted the mortars on horseback, and quickly evacuated under the cover of the officers and soldiers of the 358th Brigade Cavalry Battalion.
The officers and soldiers of the 358th Brigade retreated while fighting, and soon came to the place where the horses were stored. They jumped on the horses and fled in a hurry.
This stage of the attack caused more serious casualties to the Japanese army. The casualties of 669 Japanese officers and soldiers made Miyamoto Nobunaga feel unbearable.
In order to avoid another attack, Miyamoto Nobunaga ordered more troops to serve as security guards and expanded the security line to 500 meters.
Such tactics finally had good results. The guerrillas only launched small attacks. As the sky gradually got brighter, the guerrillas disappeared.
The vanguard of the Japanese army saw a town ahead and reported it to Miyamoto Nobunaga.
Miyamoto Nobunaga finally breathed a sigh of relief and ordered the troops to camp in the town ahead.
The vanguard of the Japanese army entered the town, only to find it empty.
They felt that the situation was a bit strange, so they reported it to Miyamoto Nobunaga again.
Miyamoto Nobunaga didn't think anything was wrong. It was normal for the people to evacuate early when they heard that the Japanese army was coming.
The most important thing was that it was almost dawn and the Japanese army could not be exposed in the wild, so they ordered to camp in the town.
358 Brigade Headquarters.
At 2 o'clock in the morning, Chu Yunfei was woken up.
The person who came was a communications staff officer on duty. He said: "Brigade, sir, there is an urgent message from the department."
Chu Yunfei took it with some confusion. He didn't understand that it was so late at night that the chief's department would have anything urgent to say.
After reading the telegram, Chu Yunfei frowned. He said: "Go and call the chief of staff."
Fang Ligong came over quickly and asked, "Prince, what happened?"
Chu Yunfei handed the telegram to Fang Ligong.
The telegram was sent by the chief of staff of the World War II District Governor's Department. The telegram stated that the commander of the World War II District, Shanxi Wang, learned that the Japanese 216th Brigade was about to attack the 358th Brigade. In order to avoid suffering heavy losses, he ordered the 358th Brigade to abandon Xinhe County and march toward the World War II District. The officers moved closer.
This is Shanxi Wang's consistent style. His philosophy of survival is that existence is everything.
The King of Shanxi is an old warlord. According to his many years of experience, no matter how the situation changes or what your ideas are, as long as you have soldiers, horses, money and food in your hands, you can survive. As long as it continues to exist, there is hope for survival and development.
He is also famous for dancing on three eggs. The so-called three eggs refer to the Japanese, the Guofu side and the underground party side.
He believed that the Jinsui Army was not as powerful as these three, so he had to deal with these three skillfully to gain living space for the Jinsui Army.
Therefore, at all times, he focuses on preserving his strength. The 358th Brigade is one of the main forces of the Jinsui Army, and he does not want the Japanese army to consume them. Therefore, when he learned that the Japanese army was about to attack the 358th Brigade, he gave an order to the Chief of Staff to withdraw the 358th Brigade.
To be honest, Fang Ligong's way of thinking is similar to that of Shanxi King.
When he learned that the Japanese 216th Brigade was about to attack, he also advocated abandoning Xinhe County, but Chu Yunfei wanted to fight this battle.
After reading the telegram, Fang Ligong said: "Brigade, the Japanese army is a field brigade. Although our brigade has a lot of troops, it has just been established and half of the people are new recruits. I am afraid we cannot withstand the Japanese attack.
Since the commander-in-chief has issued an order to retreat, I think we should abandon Xinhe County and leave as soon as possible. "
Chu Yunfei was caught in a dilemma. He had agreed with Xu Dalong's guerrillas to fight this battle. Now Xu Dalong and others were fighting bloody battles with the Japanese army on the road. The 358th Brigade was withdrawing at this time. make life difficult for.
However, he had to carry out the orders from the superior department.
After thinking for a while, Chu Yunfei said, "Send a telegram to Director Li and Xu Dalong and ask them how the situation is there."
The telegram was sent, but there was no reply because Xu Dalong and others were on the way at this time and the radio station was not turned on.
Chu Yunfei was a little undecided, so he called the two group leaders over and asked for their opinions.
The officers and soldiers of the Jinsui Army have always been afraid of the Japanese army. Although they won some victories in the previous stage, they were Japanese garrison troops. When they really had to face the Japanese field troops, the two regiment commanders did not feel confident.
Not to mention facing a Japanese brigade, even a regiment of the Japanese field army, they were not sure they could win.
Qian Bojun was also retreating in his heart, but he knew Chu Yunfei and knew that Chu Yunfei wanted to fight this battle, so he remained silent.
Another regiment leader didn't want to fight this battle. He said tactfully: "Brigade, the commander has given an order. If we disobey it, I'm afraid it will be bad."
Chu Yunfei understood clearly that none of these people wanted to fight this battle, and he felt a little shaken in his heart. However, he decided to wait a little longer and wait to see the situation after contacting Li Kun and Xu Dalong.
At this moment, the communications staff sent another telegram, still from the commander's department, with the same content, ordering the 358th Brigade to abandon Xinhe County and retreat immediately!
Chu Yunfei didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He felt that he was just like Yue Fei in history. If he didn't carry out the order, he might be handed 12 gold medals one after another.
Chu Yunfei had no choice but to carry out the order of the Chief Executive and lead the 358th Brigade to evacuate from Xinhe County.
Chu Yunfei was really embarrassed and felt sorry for Xu Dalong, so he ordered to keep 100,000 kilograms of grain, 500 rounds of mortar shells, a radio, and 50,000 rounds of ammunition as compensation for Xu Dalong.
Moreover, he also took out a platoon from the guard camp, carried a radio, and quickly went to notify Xu Dalong and others.
The Japanese army entered the town, set up a cordon around it, set up artillery, and then began to rest.
Miyamoto Nobunaga's brigade headquarters was still located in the town hall. After driving all night, he felt a little tired, so he ate something hastily and fell asleep.
In a yard not far from the town hall, a guerrilla wearing a Japanese uniform was hidden in a stack of firewood in the corner. His mission was also to detonate explosives.
Xu Dalong and others had already evacuated the people in the town in advance.
A large number of explosives were buried in the town hall. In order to increase the destructive power of the explosion, 100 mortar shells were piled on top of the explosives.
When the guerrilla heard that the Japanese troops had entered the yard, he did not immediately detonate the bomb because he could not be sure whether the Japanese army had entered the town.
At dawn, the guerrillas heard the snoring of the Japanese. They pulled the rope hard, then covered their ears and curled up into a ball.
There was a loud "boom", the ground trembled, and the town hall and surrounding houses were instantly razed to the ground.
In the crop fields outside the town, the guerrillas and the officers and soldiers of the 358th Brigade Cavalry Battalion saw the mushroom cloud rising over the town and cheered excitedly.
Wang Chengzhu saw through the telescope that the Japanese troops in the town were in chaos, and ordered the gunners to fire artillery shells into the town.
The artillery placed by the Japanese army around the town was shaken by the explosion. The Japanese artillerymen hurriedly adjusted for a long time before starting to counterattack.
Wang Chengzhu and others had already packed up their artillery and evacuated quickly.
Miyamoto Nobunaga died, and the entire brigade's command structure was destroyed. A Japanese army captain who lived near the town hall was also killed by a collapsed house.
A Japanese army captain who lived in the east end of the town was lucky enough to escape. Seeing this scene, he didn't know what to do, so he sent a telegram to the commander of the 108th Division, Fujiwara Konichi.
Fujiwara learned that Nobunaga Miyamoto was dead, the brigade headquarters had been destroyed, and the Japanese casualties had reached 2,000. He knew that this battle could not be fought any longer, so he issued an order to retreat.
The Japanese troops withdrew, and Xu Dalong and others entered the town and found the guerrilla responsible for the explosion.
The team member said excitedly: "Captain, the Japanese brigade commander was killed by me."
It turned out that shortly after the explosion, he heard the Japanese soldiers shouting in horror: "Your Excellency, the brigade commander, is shattered."
Everyone became even more excited when they heard the news.
The Japanese troops withdrew along the original route. Xu Dalong did not order the troops to pursue this time because they did not carry much ammunition.
Although the Japanese troops were defeated in this battle, nothing was captured. In terms of supplies, it was a loss-making business, so Xu Dalong did not intend to continue to consume ammunition.
Li Kun was very excited. He really didn't expect that with just these hundreds of cavalry, he could repel an entire Japanese field infantry brigade.
He first sent a telegram to Chu Yunfei. Chu Yunfei was on the way at this time and the radio station was not turned on. He was embarrassed to turn it on because he didn't know what to say if Li Kun and Xu Dalong asked. Anyway, someone has been sent to inform them, so embarrassment can be avoided by not having a direct conversation.
Li Kun didn't receive a reply from Chu Yunfei, so he sent a telegram directly to the World War II District Chief's Department.
World War II District Chief's Department.
The chief of staff did not sleep well all night. He had been worried that the 358th Brigade would suffer serious losses and would not be able to explain to the King of Shanxi.
The 358th Brigade reported to the Chief's Department that they had evacuated Xinhe County, and the Chief of Staff felt at ease.
Not long after he got up, a confidential staff officer sent a telegram. He said: "Reporting to the staff, Deputy Director Li of the Operations Department has called."
The chief of staff saw the operational staff's strange expression and accepted the telegram with some confusion.
Li Kun said in the telegram: "Jun Jian, Chief of Staff of the District Governor's Department during World War II:
The Eighth Route Army's Mawushan Guerrilla Division and the 358th Brigade Cavalry Battalion had a total strength of 600. After two days of fierce fighting, they destroyed the command structure of the Japanese 216th Brigade, killed its major general brigade commander, and wiped out thousands of enemies. The Japanese suffered heavy casualties. Unable to attack Xinhe County again, they have now withdrawn to the original route. "
How can this be?
The chief of staff was so excited that he stood up suddenly. He was old after all, so he stood up a little violently, his head was a little dizzy, and his body was shaking.
The communications staff officer hurriedly stepped forward to support him.
The chief of staff regained his composure and pushed away the communications staff officer. Although he was shocked by the content of the telegram, he knew Li Kun and knew that Li Kun would never lie.
He said with emotion: "This is simply unbelievable. It was an entire field infantry brigade of the Japanese army. It was just repelled by a small team of hundreds of people. It is simply a miracle."
At this time, Chu Yunfei's telegram arrived, saying that they had crossed the Juma River and were approaching the 68th Army Headquarters.
The chief of staff wanted to order Chu Yunfei to lead his troops back to Xinhe County immediately, but after thinking about it, he still called the King of Shanxi.
The King of Shanxi was also shocked by the news. He now regretted letting the 358th Brigade leave Xinhe County, but he was a face-conscious person and refused to admit that he had made a mistake in judgment.
He said: "The Japanese have suffered such a big loss. They will definitely send heavy troops to retaliate. Since the 358th Brigade has withdrawn, let's stay."
The chief of staff could only carry out the order of the King of Shanxi and let Chu Yunfei's troops continue to retreat westward.
Headquarters.
After receiving a telegram from the Eighth Route Army Representative of the World War II District Chief's Department, the boss laughed loudly and said: "Xu Dalong's fighting power is so powerful that a small guerrilla force was able to repel a Japanese field brigade. He also killed the Japanese brigade commander, which really made our Eighth Route Army look bad."
The chief of staff and division commander were also very happy. After they discussed for a while, the division commander said with some concern: "The 358th Brigade has abandoned Xinhe County. There will be no main force of the Jinsui Army around Mawu Mountain. Xu Dalong and the others will be under even greater pressure in the future. .”
The boss was very confident in Xu Dalong at this time. He said: "It doesn't matter, I believe Xu Dalong will be able to overcome the difficulties and gain a firm foothold there."
Chu Yunfei finally received the telegram from Li Kun. He sighed and handed the telegram to Fang Ligong.
