Wang Pao and others brought a Type 92 infantry gun. It turned out that the guerrillas only had more than 20 rounds of artillery shells. Xu Dalong got 24 more artillery shells from Kong Jie. Although the artillery shells were in short supply, Xu Dalong still approved and gave them 12 rounds. hair.
Wang Pao and others set up the Type 92 infantry cannon and fired at the Japanese and puppet army's artillery tower. The four mortars they brought also shelled the Japanese and puppet positions.
The artillery shells exploded in the enemy's stronghold, sparkling with fire. You can see that a gun tower of the Japanese and puppet troops was hit by a shell, and a large hole was blown open on the top of the gun tower.
Wang Youliang's second squadron suppressed the enemy with firepower, and Wang Pao rushed forward with his third squadron.
Under the fierce suppression of the guerrillas' firepower, the firepower of the Japanese and puppet troops weakened a lot. Wang Pao and others rushed while fighting, and soon approached the enemy's stronghold.
Suddenly, the firepower in the enemy's stronghold increased a lot. At least two new crooked machine guns appeared, as well as many Type 38 rifles.
Wang Pao's team members suffered seven or eight casualties at once, and the rest had to lie on the ground.
At the same time, mortar shells flew from the Japanese stronghold and landed on the guerrilla artillery position, overturning the Type 92 infantry cannon.
Wang Pao was very angry and ordered the machine gunners to suppress the enemy's firepower. Then, holding both guns, he led the guerrillas and rushed forward again.
At this moment, many black shadows suddenly appeared in the enemy's stronghold. The machine guns in their hands spit out tongues of fire and rushed towards Wang Pao and others.
The black figures could be heard howling as they charged. They are all Japanese soldiers.
Wang Pao and others were caught off guard and panicked. They retreated hastily and soon turned into a rout. The guerrillas fled in all directions, and Wang Pao couldn't stop them at all, so he had to retreat too.
The Japanese army was chasing after them, and guerrillas were constantly knocked to the ground by the enemy.
Wang Youliang saw this situation and hurriedly wanted to lead people to rescue. At this time, Wang Pao was on the other side of the stronghold. Wang Youliang and others were intercepted by the enemy's firepower and could not get through at all.
Wang Pao retreated while fighting. He was shot in the calf and almost fell to the ground. Her woman hurriedly asked someone to help him, and she took several team members to cover behind him.
The Japanese officers and soldiers were extremely powerful in combat. They pursued very quickly and were about to catch up with Wang Pao and others.
At this critical moment, a group of guerrillas rushed over. They carried two light machine guns and shot at the Japanese army.
The leader of this group of guerrillas was Zhao Daman. He only had a dozen recruits under his command, and they were all squad leaders and deputy squad leaders who trained new recruits. He did not bring out the new recruits. Seeing that Wang Pao and others were in critical condition, they rushed over risking their lives.
The Japanese army suffered a sudden blow and the offensive suddenly slowed down.
Zhao Daman brandished his shell gun and shot at the enemy while asking with concern: "Captain Wang, are you okay?"
Wang Pao said a little embarrassedly: "It's okay."
As he said this, he wanted to push away the team member who was supporting him and continue fighting. However, he felt dizzy and weak, and was helped down by the guerrillas.
Zhao Daman led the guerrillas to cover Wang Pao and others while fighting and retreating.
Wang Youliang saw Wang Pao's men withdrawing, and they also withdrew.
Other Japanese and puppet troops in the stronghold also rushed out. Zhao Daman shouted to Wang Youliang: "You guys leave quickly, I will cover you."
After saying that, he led the soldiers to lie down on the spot and blocked the Japanese and puppet troops.
When Wang Youliang saw this situation, he also stopped and led the soldiers of the second squadron to lie on the ground to block it.
After all, it was night, and the Japanese army could not figure out the true identity of the guerrillas. They did not dare to fight, so they quickly stopped their pursuit and retreated.
After this battle, Zhao Daman won the respect of Wang Pao and Wang Youliang, and also won their friendship. Although the guerrillas lost the battle, they still gained something.
On the same night, Sun Desheng and Wei Monk each led a part of their troops to attack the Japanese and puppet strongholds.
Their situation was much better than that of Zhao Daman and others, but in the end they were still unable to knock down the enemy's stronghold.
After this night's battle, Xu Dalong basically figured out the reality of the puppet army and perfected the combat plan he proposed.
This morning, the Mawushan guerrillas once again held a meeting of cadres above the squadron leader. Leaders of the county brigade and Mawushan Central County also participated in this meeting.
After the meeting began, Zheng Xirong first gave a comprehensive introduction to the enemy situation around the Mawushan base area.
In addition to the five county towns, the Japanese and puppet troops around the Mawushan base area also set up twelve strongholds. In each of these strongholds, there were part of the Japanese army and one to two companies of puppet troops, and they built artillery towers and bunkers. , and trenches were dug.
Blockade ditches were also set up on both sides of the stronghold, and barbed wire fences were pulled up.
Xu Dalong said: "Although the Japanese and puppet troops have a lot of troops around the base area, they are scattered in various counties and strongholds. When it comes to a specific location, the strength of the troops is relatively weak. This gives us opportunities to defeat them individually.
Between Dongxiang County and Juma County, there are Songzhuang stronghold and Majiahe stronghold. Our main combat target this time is the Songzhuang stronghold.
First, Zhao Daman will command Wang Youliang's Second Infantry Squadron, Recruit Training Squadron, County Brigade First District Squadron, and 300 basic militiamen to surround the Majiahe stronghold. Your task is mainly to monitor the enemy and prevent them from coming to reinforce the Songzhuang stronghold.
Wang Chengzhu commanded Wei Monk's special operations squadron, Wei Heping's first infantry squadron, Wang Pao's third infantry squadron, artillery squadron, county brigade-directed squadron, and the first and second district squadrons, responsible for attacking the Songzhuang stronghold.
Sun Desheng commanded the 1st and 2nd Cavalry Squadrons, responsible for monitoring the Japanese and puppet troops in the direction of Juma County and Dongxiang County.
Wang Xiaohu commanded the squadron directly under him, the squadron of the third district of the county brigade, and 500 basic militiamen as the reserve team.
This battle adopted the tactic of encirclement and reinforcements. If the Japanese troops in the county came out for reinforcements, Wang Xiaohu led the reserve team to take over the attack troops commanded by Wang Chengzhu and continued to surround Songzhuang.
Wang Chengzhu and I will lead the attack force and cooperate with the cavalry force to attack the Japanese reinforcements.
If the Japanese army did not come out for reinforcements, Wang Chengzhu would lead the attacking troops to resolutely capture Songzhuang and annihilate the enemies in the stronghold.
Magistrate Gao of Center County led 300 basic militiamen and some ordinary militiamen to organize the refugees who entered the base area. Each refugee was given an ocean and three kilograms of dry food. After destroying the enemy's Songzhuang stronghold, he escorted them out of the blockade.
Zheng Xirong's intelligence squadron was responsible for monitoring the Japanese and puppet troops in other counties and strongholds, and reporting their situations to me at any time.
Are the tasks clear? "
Everyone said together: "It's clear."
Xu Dalong said: "All ministries are starting to prepare now and arrive at the designated location before 8 o'clock tomorrow morning."
Zhou Binggen, the deputy company commander of the 72nd Regiment, had just arrived at the Mawushan guerrillas. Many things were still unclear. He quietly asked Zheng Xirong: "Captain Zheng, since our main goal is to destroy the Songzhuang stronghold, why?" If we don’t cut off their phone lines and block the news, wouldn’t we be able to concentrate our efforts on taking down the enemy’s stronghold?”
Zheng Xirong said: "What you said makes sense, but the Japanese and puppet troops here are very cunning. Their telephone lines are buried underground, so it is difficult for us to find them. In addition to telephone calls, they also have other ways of contacting them.
At night they would fire signal flares, and once the fighting started during the day, Japanese and puppet personnel in nearby villages would also fire alarm shots.
After other villages heard the news, they would also use gunshots to convey the news, and Japanese and puppet personnel would also report the news to the Japanese and puppet troops in the county. "
Zhou Binggen has been working in the main force and has no experience in local work. He scratched his head and said: "I didn't expect that the Japanese and puppet troops here would be so difficult to deal with."
Zheng Xirong smiled and said: "Don't worry, the captain has taken everything into consideration. We will definitely win this battle."
The meeting was over, Xu Dalong asked: "Huzi, are you ready?"
Wang Xiaohu said: "Get ready, it's just outside."
Xu Dalong smiled and said to the cadres attending the meeting: "Brothers, I want to show you something good."
Everyone walked out of the conference room and saw a large vehicle parked outside. There were several sandbags stacked on top of the large vehicle near the front. These sandbags were not made of sacks, but 100-pound flour bags. Stacked in front, it can block the people behind, and the weight is lighter than sacks.
In front of the cart, close to the ground, there is a wooden board covered with iron, which can effectively shield the legs of the people behind.
Xu Dalong asked two strong guerrillas to bend down and push the cart towards the crowd from dozens of meters away.
Everyone saw the big car approaching slowly, but they couldn't see the people behind it. Everyone understood what it meant, and everyone showed a smile.
Wang Chengzhu said: "Captain, you just have a way, you can come up with this idea."
Xu Dalong smiled and said: "This is called an earth tank. It can effectively reduce casualties and get closer to the enemy's position."
The next morning, Wang Chengzhu led his troops to surround the Songzhuang stronghold and launched an attack on the Japanese and puppet troops.
When the Japanese and puppet troops in the Songzhuang stronghold saw that the guerrillas were outnumbered, they called the Japanese troops in the county for help.
At the same time, the troops led by Zhao Daman also surrounded the Japanese and puppet stronghold in Majiahe and monitored the Japanese and puppet troops inside.
The Japanese and puppet troops inside the Majiahe stronghold saw the guerrillas outside and also reported to the Japanese commander in the county.
After receiving the report, the Japanese commander repeatedly asked whether it was the guerrilla infantry or cavalry that attacked them.
Qianye Xun had already formulated a combat method for them early in the morning. If they found that the guerrilla infantry appeared in the county or stronghold, they would be ready to attack. Depending on the situation, they could launch an attack on the enemy.
If the enemy is cavalry, it is best not to leave the county or stronghold, just stick to your position and repel them.
The Japanese commander found out that those who attacked Songzhuang and Majiahe were guerrilla infantry, so they decided to send troops to reinforce them first, hoping to annihilate the guerrillas besieging them together with the Japanese and puppet troops in the stronghold.
Just as the Japanese commander was preparing to assemble his team to leave the city, he received a report that guerrilla cavalry appeared outside the city.
The Japanese commander hurried to the tower and looked outside, and sure enough he saw guerrilla cavalry cruising in the distance.
The Japanese commander couldn't make up his mind, so he sent a telegram to Chiba Xunyi.
Chiba Xunyi had just received a telegram not long ago, saying that the guerrillas attacked three strongholds of the Japanese and puppet troops, but they were all repelled by the Japanese and puppet troops, and many guerrillas were killed.
He felt that this blockade was very effective, forcing the guerrillas to attack the solid defenses of the Japanese and puppet troops. This was the best way to consume the guerrillas' strength.
Now he received a report that guerrilla cavalry appeared near the county seat. He knew that the main force of the guerrillas was those cavalry. The Japanese and puppet troops had suffered losses every time they fought against the guerrillas, all because of the guerrilla cavalry.
In order to avoid repeating the same mistake, he decided not to send reinforcements and let the Japanese and puppet troops in the stronghold rely on solid fortifications to repel the guerrilla attack.
Songzhuang.
The cadres sent by the brigade headquarters and the independent regiment were not incorporated into the army for the time being, because Xu Dalong wanted them to learn the tactics of the guerrillas. Therefore, they were temporarily formed into a cadre unit to adapt to the guerrillas for a period of time.
On the outskirts of Songzhuang, Xu Dalong also came to the forward position with his cadres to observe the attack actions of Wang Chengzhu and others.
Before the battle started, the guerrillas had used nighttime to build bunkers a hundred meters away from the enemy's position. Even the Type 92 infantry artillery advanced to a distance of only 100 meters from the enemy's position and built an artillery position.
The battle started. When the members of the cadre unit saw the guerrillas fighting, they did not fire machine guns and artillery together as they imagined. Their fighting style was very methodical.
The guerrillas were not in a hurry to attack. First, a small number of guerrillas shot at the enemy, attracting the enemy to fight back and exposing the location of their firepower.
The guerrillas memorized the location of the enemy's fire points, and worked in groups to blockade one of the enemy's fire points.
The special operations team members, especially the snipers of the special operations squadron, carried out precise attacks on the Japanese and puppet troops guarding the trenches. The Japanese and puppet troops suffered heavy casualties and soon did not dare to show their faces.
The four Type 92 infantry cannons even exerted their power, destroying the enemy's firepower points one by one.
The Japanese and puppet troops' mortars opened fire. They had only two mortars.
Wang Chengzhu had been waiting for them for a long time. He judged the location of the enemy's mortars and directed eight mortars to cover them. Soon, the Japanese mortars stopped moving.
After half an hour of fighting, the firepower in the Japanese stronghold was basically suppressed.
The guerrillas pushed dozens of tanks towards the Japanese position and stopped at a distance of 50 meters. The team members prepared grenades and prepared to charge.
The guerrillas on the position also had their bayonets fixed and were ready to charge.
The Japanese and puppet troops saw the guerrillas approaching step by step but could not stop them, so they jumped out of the trenches and rushed towards the guerrilla tanks. They held grenades or hand grenades and prepared to blow up the guerrilla tanks.
The guerrilla machine gunners had been on guard against them for a long time. When they saw the enemy troops jumping out of the trenches, they immediately opened fire violently on them.
The guerrillas had many machine guns. The Japanese and puppet troops who jumped out of the trenches were basically wiped out before they could get close to the guerrilla tanks. The Japanese and puppet troops who were lucky enough to survive retreated back into the trenches.
Wang Chengzhu saw that it was almost done and ordered a charge.
The guerrilla artillery fired more than 20 mortar shells into the Japanese stronghold.
Under the cover of machine guns, the guerrillas hiding behind the tanks rushed forward quickly. When they entered within 30 meters of the enemy's trenches, they threw grenades and grenades, then quickly rushed up and jumped into the enemy's trench. of trenches.
The guerrillas behind also rushed over and entered the enemy's trenches.
The commandos eliminated the remaining enemies in the trenches and immediately used the enemy's trenches to block the enemy's fire points.
At this time, there were not many enemies left in the stronghold. They huddled in the gun towers and two bunkers and continued to resist.
The guerrillas still used the old method. A few or a dozen people blocked one of the enemy's gun holes, and soon the enemy was unable to fight back.
Originally, the Type 92 infantry cannon could be used to destroy the enemy's bunkers and bunkers, but there were not many shells left. The special operations team used skillful tactical movements to quickly approach the enemy's bunkers and bunkers and throw grenades from the enemy's shooting holes. Got in.
The battle ended soon after. The guerrillas annihilated a reinforced Japanese squad and a company of puppet troops in the stronghold, totaling 182 people, at the cost of 28 casualties, and seized all their weapons and equipment.
During the battle, because the firepower of the Japanese and puppet troops was suppressed and could not be fully used, the ammunition they consumed was limited, and the guerrillas captured a considerable amount of ammunition.
The reason why many units of the Eighth Route Army have always been very short of ammunition is because they cannot resolve the battle quickly during the battle. Even if the enemy is finally eliminated, the ammunition is almost consumed by the enemy, so it is always difficult to replenish the consumption in the battle.
Only then did Zhou Binggen and the members of the cadre team discover the superb tactical level of the guerrillas. Before they came, the idea that they were from the regular army and looked down upon the guerrillas had completely disappeared. Instead, they were more concerned about the tactical level of the guerrillas. of admiration.
After taking the Songzhuang stronghold, Wang Chengzhu commanded the troops attacking Songzhuang and headed for Majiahe.
