Qian Bojun has also been paying attention to the fighting situation here. He also saw that the Japanese army was about to seize the 82mm recoilless rifle, but he was helpless.
At this moment, an unexpected scene happened. Just when the Japanese army grabbed the 82mm recoilless rifle, a violent explosion occurred there, and all the dozens of Japanese soldiers who rushed there were wiped out.
It turned out that the gunner of the 82mm recoilless rifle did not die. He was seriously injured and his movements were very slow. He saw that the Japanese army was trying to seize the 82mm recoilless rifle. In desperation, he used his last strength to pick up a shell and slammed the fuse of the shell onto the shell box, causing an explosion.
The explosion of this artillery shell caused the explosion of other artillery shells. Dozens of artillery shells exploded together, wiping out all the Japanese troops rushing over. The 82mm recoilless rifle was also blown into scrap.
Japanese follow-up troops continued to pour in, and the situation was very critical.
At this moment, Cui Zhenyue's tank troops arrived, which not only offset the advantage of the Japanese tank troops, but the powerful firepower of the tank troops also dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese infantry. The situation on the battlefield suddenly stabilized.
At this time, Chu Yunfei also dispatched a battalion from the second regiment to come over for reinforcements and blocked the Japanese offensive. They eventually repelled the Japanese troops and restored their original defensive positions.
Chu Yunfei rushed to the forward position and after inspecting the battlefield, he felt extremely stressed. He called Xu Dalong, hoping that they could eliminate the surrounded Japanese troops as soon as possible and transfer the main force to join the battle. Otherwise, if the 358th Brigade encountered several such large-scale attacks again, it would be difficult to hold the defensive position.
Xu Dalong also felt a headache. The original battle plan seemed a bit too optimistic. I originally thought that the Japanese troops entering the mountainous area could be quickly annihilated, but I didn't expect this to be the case.
According to the speed at which Li Yunlong and Zhang Dabiao were advancing, they might not be able to annihilate all the Japanese troops there in ten days. The Eighth Route Army and Jinsui Army, which were responsible for the defense, faced the powerful Japanese army. It was basically impossible for them to persist for ten days. It seems that the battle plan must be readjusted.
After receiving the report from Hirota Koki, Yoshio Shinozuka also clearly judged the Eighth Route Army's intentions. He knew that the Eighth Route Army was concentrating its forces to encircle and annihilate the 220th Regiment led by Guangtian Hongyi. The Eighth Route Army and the Shanxi-Sui Army who were responsible for frontal defense tasks were not large in number, so it was a good time to break through their defensive positions.
Therefore, he reported the situation to the Japanese commanders on the front line and asked them to increase their attack intensity and strive to quickly break through the enemy's defensive positions.
After receiving the telegram from Yoshio Shinozuka, the division commanders of the Japanese 109th Division and the 113th Division continued to launch fierce attacks on the positions of the Eighth Route Army and the Jinsui Army.
As the battle continued, the officers and soldiers of the Eighth Route Army and the Jinsui Army suffered heavy casualties. The position was broken through by the Japanese several times. After repeated battles, the position was finally held. The casualties of the Eighth Route Army officers and soldiers continued to increase, and the situation became more and more critical. .
Xu Dalong felt that continuing like this was not an option. He stood in front of the map and stared at the area of Mountain No. 6, where he thought carefully about how to deal with this Japanese army as soon as possible.
At this moment, Zhao Gang walked in.
He said: "Captain, the battle on the front line is too fierce, and ammunition is consumed very quickly. If the communication line cannot be restored as soon as possible, I am afraid it will not last long.
Should I send a telegram to Lao Li and the others, urging them to eliminate the enemies there as soon as possible and open up transportation lines? "
Xu Dalong hadn't thought about it yet. He looked at Zhao Gang thoughtfully.
Zhao Gang continued: "I also have an idea, to mobilize some of the remaining troops from our base area, and then mobilize a large number of militiamen to send ammunition over.
I calculated that as long as enough manpower is mobilized, even though it is very difficult and slow to cross mountains and ridges, it can still meet the needs of the troops for combat. "
After finishing Zhao Gang's words, an idea flashed in Xu Dalong's mind.
He asked: "How long will it take to send weapons and ammunition to the front line?"
Zhao Gang said: "You can have the transportation team deliver the ammunition to Meihua Town in the northwest of Yangcheng County first. The dispatched security regiment, county brigade and militiamen will collect the ammunition from there, walk into the mountains, and make a round trip. It can be done in three days arrive."
As Zhao Gang talked, he also came to the map, drew a line on it with his finger, and said, "Just take this road. I have already learned from people who are familiar with this place. There are mountain paths that can be used."
Xu Dalong asked: "Are you sure that the supply of ammunition is enough to support this battle?"
Zhao Gang said: "No problem."
Xu Dalong asked again: "How is the other material support situation?"
Zhao Gang said with confidence: "Captain, don't worry, I guarantee that the troops will have enough to eat until this battle is over."
Xu Dalong said: "This is really great. Commissioner Zheng, you are a lucky general. This has solved a big problem. We can change the battle plan now."
Zhao Gang was also troubled by the current war situation. He asked, "What can we do?"
Xu Dalong told Zhao Gang his thoughts. Zhao Gang's eyes lit up and he said, "Oh! Why didn't I think of that? This is called treating the other person with his own way. This is really a good idea. Hurry up and give it to Lao Li Let them send a telegram."
Xu Dalong immediately drafted a telegram and sent it to Li Yunlong.
At this time, Li Yunlong and Zhang Dabiao were also very anxious. Although they thought of using night battles to deal with the Japanese army, they could not launch an attack during the day, and attacking at night consumed a lot of time. If they continued with this style of fighting, it would only last ten days. We cannot eat these Japanese troops on the mountain.
The two were discussing and planned to carry out a strong attack during the day, but considering the casualties of the troops, it was difficult to make a decision for a while.
At this moment, the communications section chief of the military division came in and said: "Commander, Chief of Staff, Captain, please send us an urgent call."
Li Yunlong took the telegram and after reading it he smiled and said: "This is really a good idea. Da Biao, come and take a look." After that, he handed the telegram to Zhang Da Biao.
After reading this, Zhang Dabiao also had a smile on his face and said: "This is really a good idea. Let's not play with the little Japs for now. Let's kill the Japs' large army first, and then deal with these little Japs later. "
Five hours later, the five county brigades that were fighting on the front line were ordered to report to Li Yunlong.
Li Yunlong ordered the four regiments of the New 1st Brigade to participate in the battle. Each regiment left a company to cooperate with these county brigades to encircle the Japanese army. Then he led the main force to the front line of Licheng.
Xu Dalong's solution to the problem was that since the Eighth Route Army had to work so hard and spend a lot of time to eliminate the Japanese troops on the mountain, then conversely, if the Eighth Route Army troops also adopted the same method and guarded the hills around the Japanese troops, If the Japanese army wanted to capture these mountains, they would also have to pay a huge price and consume a lot of time.
Xu Dalong decided to use the county brigade to continue to surround the Japanese army and prevent them from interfering with the frontline operations. He transferred the main force surrounding them to the front line to deal with the main Japanese force in front. After repelling the Japanese troops on the front, the Japanese troops on the mountain have been besieged for a long time and have run out of ammunition and food. It will be very easy to deal with them.
Chu Yunfei, Wang Limin and others were worried about the battle situation on the front line. When they heard that Li Yunlong and Zhang Dabiao led the main force, they were relieved. They received a notice from Xu Dalong, asking them to go to the coalition headquarters to renegotiate the combat plan against the Japanese army.
Hirota Koki and Yamahara Ichiro faced the Eighth Route Army's attacks every day. They did not feel worried, but were secretly happy. Because their actions not only cut off the enemy's transportation lines, but also contained a large number of Eighth Route Army troops, effectively cooperating with the main force in operations.
With just this one thing, they have achieved great feats, and both of them are very excited. Although the outer positions were constantly broken through by the Eighth Route Army, their defense range was very large. It would take a long time and a huge price for the Eighth Route Army to reach the No. 6 Mountain area.
They had already planned it. They could use these small troops outside to delay the Eighth Route Army for a few days, and the price paid was completely worth it. Both of them are very confident that with their set of tactics, they can persist here for ten days or even longer.
During the day, the Eighth Route Army basically did not launch an attack. The two of them were very leisurely. They even played Go on the top of the mountain and drank some wine during dinner. At night, they knew that the Eighth Route Army would definitely use the night to launch another attack. In order to delay time, in addition to placing a small number of troops on the top of the surrounding mountains, they also sent many small troops to ambush in squad units. In the mountains or valleys. Even if the Eighth Route Army captured the surrounding hills, when they wanted to continue advancing, they would still be attacked by these small groups of troops, which could also delay the Eighth Route Army's attack.
There was not much movement in the first half of the night, so Hirota Koki and Yamahara Ichiro went to bed early.
In the middle of the night, gunshots were heard in the distance. Although they knew there would be no problem, out of soldier's instinct, the two got up. Yamahara Ichiro ordered the combat staff to understand the battle situation ahead. After waiting for a long time, the combat staff did not come back to report.
Just as the two were getting ready to sleep again, the combat staff member walked in. His expression seemed to be confused.
Hirota Hongki asked: "Why have you been there for so long? What was the situation ahead?"
The combat staff officer said with some confusion: "The situation ahead is very strange. The enemy only fired guns at the bottom of the mountain and did not attack the mountain."
"What? This is impossible." Yamahara Ichiro's face was full of disbelief.
Hirota Hongyi also felt very puzzled. The enemy must be eager to open the communication line, which can be seen from their performance in the past two days. Tonight, the attack suddenly stopped, which was obviously unreasonable.
The two of them analyzed it for a long time, but couldn't figure it out. So I decided to wait until dawn to go to the forward position to have a look in person.
At dawn the next day, Hirota Koki and Yamahara Ichiro ate something in a hurry and went down Mount No. 6. They walked over mountains and ridges for several hours, and finally came to the top of a mountain at the forefront.
The two held telescopes in their hands to observe the Eighth Route Army's position. They could indeed see Eighth Route Army soldiers in gray military uniforms walking on the top of the mountain, and they could not see any problems.
They called the Japanese squadron leader in charge of this area and asked him about the situation.
The squadron leader was also puzzled and said that the Eighth Route Army only fired guns from a distance into the mountains last night and did not send anyone to attack.
Hirota Koki and Yamahara Ichiro found it very strange, but for a while they couldn't figure out what the Eighth Route Army was going to do.
At this moment, the telegraph operator who followed them sent a telegram from their superiors, saying that the enemy forces on the Licheng front line had suddenly increased in strength. They did not know where so many Eighth Route Army troops came from, so they sent a telegram. Ask them what's unusual here?
Hirota Hongyi was very smart. He thought of the strange situation he was facing and immediately made a judgment. The main force of the Eighth Route Army that besieged them should have withdrawn and rushed to the front to deal with the main force of the Japanese army. At this time, their role in containing the main force of the Eighth Route Army disappeared. With so many people stationed here, it only served to cut off the Eighth Route Army's transportation lines.
After discussing with Hirota Koki and Yamahara Ichiro, they sent a telegram to report their analysis and judgment to the First Army Headquarters.
Soon after, the Chief of Staff of the First Army sent a telegram, saying that their role there was no longer significant, and ordered them to leave a small number of troops to continue cutting off the enemy's transportation lines, and let the two of them lead the main force of the regiment to the northwest Advance in the direction of attack, attack the flanks and rear of the Eighth Route Army, and coordinate the combat operations of the main force.
After receiving the order, Hirota Koki and Yamahara Ichiro did not hesitate and immediately ordered the troops to assemble and launch an attack on the Eighth Route Army surrounding them to the northwest.
They soon tasted the bitter pill. Just like they did against the Eighth Route Army, facing the condescending firepower of the Eighth Route officers and soldiers, the Japanese army suffered heavy casualties and it was difficult to break through the enemy's positions.
But the fighting on the hill also exposed the enemy defenders. Their firepower is relatively weak, and there are even many people in civilian clothes. Obviously, they are not the main force of the Eighth Route Army. He believed that the main force of the Eighth Route Army had been transferred.
Seeing that his troops were blocked by Tubal Road, Yamahara Ichiro became angry and concentrated on launching a fierce attack on the top of the mountain. The Eighth Route Army troops could not resist and withdrew soon after.
Hirota Koki and Yamahara Ichiro were both very happy and immediately led the large troops to continue the attack.
Soon after, the Japanese army was attacked again by small groups of the Eighth Route Army in the valleys and on the mountain ridges. The large Japanese army had to stop again, reorganize its forces, and launch an attack.
The Eighth Route Army officers and soldiers resisted for a while, killing many Japanese troops, and soon retreated again.
The Japanese army went down the mountain, entered the valley, and climbed up the mountain in front.
The mountain in front of them had a higher terrain. When the Japanese army climbed halfway up the mountain, a large number of Eighth Route Army soldiers suddenly appeared on the mountain. They were condescending and pushed down the rocks that had been piled on the top of the mountain.
Huge rocks bounced on the hillside, flew down, hit other rocks, and those loose rocks also rolled down. Countless stones fell from the sky with great force and astonishing momentum.
The Japanese officers and soldiers took cover one after another, but many people were still hit with broken bones and tendons. The stones finally rolled down the mountain. The hillside became quiet, but the wails of many wounded Japanese soldiers could be heard on the hillside.
Yamahara Ichiro had a bad temper and could not swallow his bad breath. He commanded the troops to attack the top of the mountain.
This time there were more Eighth Route Army troops on the mountain. The Japanese army launched two attacks in succession, but were beaten back both times. After resting for two hours, they launched another attack. The result was still the same, and they lost a lot of men and horses.
Hirota Hongyi felt that such a forceful attack was not the answer, so he decided to follow the Eighth Route Army's method and conduct a night attack. The Japanese army temporarily stopped attacking and waited until night came.
Before Li Yunlong led the main force to leave, he specially summoned the remaining commanders and the main leaders of the county brigade for a meeting and told them how to deal with the Japanese army. He also asked Monk Wei to talk specifically about how to deal with the Japanese army at night. attack.
Night fell, and the Japanese army took advantage of the darkness to climb to the top of the mountain. When they passed halfway up the mountain, there was a sudden explosion, and Japanese officers and soldiers were killed and injured.
It turned out that in order to prevent the Japanese troops from sneak attacks at night, the Eighth Route Army officers and soldiers buried the landmines left to them by the special forces on the mountainside. They also used grenades to make some trip mines according to the methods taught to them by the special forces.
The Japanese army was blind and could not see clearly. As a result, they detonated landmines and grenades, causing a lot of casualties.
The explosion alerted the Eighth Route Army officers and soldiers on the mountain. They immediately entered their positions and prepared to repel the enemy's sneak attack.
Guangtian Hongyi originally wanted to sneak attack the Eighth Route Army on the mountain, but he did not expect that they would be exposed halfway up the mountain. However, he still refused to give up and decided to attack the mountain under the cover of night.
When they were sixty or seventy meters closer to the enemy's position, another soldier stepped on a landmine. This exposed their location. The guerrillas of the county brigade and the officers and soldiers of the Eighth Route Army who were guarding the mountain dropped a large number of grenades towards the place where the mine exploded. The Japanese troops had nowhere to hide on the hillside and suffered heavy casualties.
The Japanese army became angry and continued to attack the mountain regardless of casualties.
The members of the Eighth Route Army and the county brigade on the mountain were also very methodical in their night battles. They still used the method of groups of three. One of them fired a gun to attract the attention of the Japanese army, while the remaining two lay in ambush.
Seeing the Japanese soldiers firing back, they immediately fired towards the muzzle fire, and then immediately moved their shooting position to avoid it.
This method was very effective. The Japanese army saw the muzzle flashes on the top of the mountain and fired fiercely there.
It is a pity that the shooters on the mountain were hiding behind rocks and firing into the air. The Japanese bullets could not hit them at all. However, after they exposed their targets, the bullets fired from the mountain could continue to kill them.
The Japanese army had no idea what tricks the enemy was playing. When their bullets passed by and saw that the enemy's muzzles no longer flashed, they thought they had hit the enemy and were complacent about their achievements.
In this way, after fierce fighting between the two sides, the officers and soldiers of the Eighth Route Army basically suffered no casualties, while the casualties of the Japanese army continued to increase.
Yamahara Ichiro was very angry. Before the Japanese troops on the mountain retreated, he sent new troops to rush up again. They joined forces and continued to attack the top of the mountain.
The Eighth Route Army officers and soldiers on the mountain saw that the Japanese troops were too numerous to defeat, so they threw a batch of grenades down the mountain, and then withdrew along the road they had already looked forward to.
When the Japanese troops came to the top of the mountain, someone stepped on the trip mines set by the Eighth Route Army officers and soldiers when they were evacuating. Several Japanese soldiers were killed on the spot, and some bodies rolled down the mountain.
The Japanese army finally occupied the hilltop, but it took several hours. Seeing that it was almost dawn, Yamahara Ichiro and Hirota Koki decided to take advantage of the remaining night to seize the ridge in front.
When the Japanese troops reached the bottom of the valley, Eighth Route Army officers and soldiers appeared on the hillside again. They fired randomly at the Japanese troops, threw grenades, and then quickly retreated to the ridge.
The Japanese army launched an attack on the mountain ridge, and once again encountered stubborn resistance.
Soon after, it was dark and the Japanese army had nowhere to hide, so they had to stop the attack.
The Eighth Route Army and the county brigade who stayed to monitor the Japanese army did not just intercept them from the front. They organized a large number of small troops to follow the Japanese army at night and continuously attacked them, making the Japanese army exhausted.
After daybreak, the Japanese army stopped attacking and began to make rice. When it was time to eat, each infantry group reported the number of their casualties.
Hirota Koki and Yamahara Ichiro were shocked when they saw the number of casualties. After these days of fighting, the number of Japanese troops has dropped from more than 4,300 before departure to more than 3,100, a direct loss of 1/4.
On the ridge opposite, the members of the county brigade were also having dinner. After finishing his meal, Lin Husheng, captain of the Yincheng County Brigade, hid behind a rock and observed the direction of the Japanese army with a telescope.
He saw Japanese troops everywhere in the valley and on the opposite mountain, looking as densely packed as a swarm of locusts. He regretted that he did not have long-range artillery, otherwise, he could kill many Japanese soldiers with one shot.
Suddenly he remembered something and hurriedly drafted a telegram and sent it to the coalition headquarters.
Since Hirota Hongyi led the Japanese army to occupy the No. 6 Mountain area, the Eighth Route Army's air force has not been dispatched. Because the Japanese army was too scattered, in this case, allowing bombers to bomb would not only waste aerial bombs, but also consume a lot of fuel. The price/performance ratio was too low, so they never dispatched.
After Xu Dalong received the telegram from Lin Husheng, he learned that the main force of the Japanese army was now gathered here. This opportunity could not be missed.
He immediately sent a telegram to the aviation brigade, asking them to contact Lin Husheng directly to indicate the direction of the Japanese troop gathering to the bombers.
The flying brigade has been in a state of first-level combat readiness these days. After receiving the telegram from Xu Dalong, they immediately sent bombers to Licheng County.
The bomber commander led 18 bombers according to the direction indicated by the county brigade captain. Soon, he found the place where the Japanese troops gathered.
Seeing the Japanese soldiers who were densely packed like locusts at the foot of the mountain, the bombardiers were very excited and couldn't wait to drop the aerial bombs.
Hirota Koki and Yamahara Ichiro were originally very wary of enemy bombers. These days, after they occupied the No. 6 Mountain area, due to proper measures, they were not bombed by enemy planes, so they relaxed their vigilance.
Now they are on the way to attack, so it is normal for the troops to gather together. He did not expect that these bastards on the mountain could actually call in bombers.
