This time the Mawushan guerrilla flying brigade was just here to scare Chiba Xunyi. They just threw a few aerial bombs in the open area outside the city gate and then flew away.
Chiba Xunyi was completely frightened. He was afraid that the infantry regiment sent out, even if it was just a pretense to attack the Mawushan base, would be too bad if Xu Dalong misunderstood it.
So he didn't care about the possibility of being criticized by Yoshio Shinozuka, and directly gave the order to retreat to the captain.
Every time the commander of the unit took the troops forward, he felt guilty, fearing that someone from the Mawushan guerrillas would suddenly appear and kill him.
He received the retreat order from Chiba Xunichi and immediately ordered a retreat. The Japanese were running very fast, at least ten times faster than when they came out.
The soldiers fled in panic, and some even lost their shoes. Despite this, they were still very happy that they could finally avoid fighting Xu Dalong's terrible enemy.
When Gao Zhiyong heard that the men sent by the 32nd garrison division had withdrawn, he became more confident in guarding the base area. He immediately concentrated his troops to besiege the troops of the invading Japanese 110th division.
Now he has a huge appetite, and he plans to eat this reinforced infantry unit of the Japanese army directly, so as to show off his skills in front of the military division chief.
The anti-Japanese soldiers and civilians who stayed in the base area defeated the Japanese advance team disguised as the Eighth Route Army and ate up the remaining troops of the Japanese 220th Regiment. Now their morale is extremely high. They are gearing up, hoping to fight another big battle.
When they heard that the Japanese 110th Division was coming to invade, they were all very excited. After receiving the order, they quickly assembled in the direction of Yangquan.
Gao Zhiyong made a big move this time. He mobilized most of the main force of the remaining troops in the base area and the main force of the county brigade in the base area. He also mobilized 20,000 militiamen, with a total strength of nearly 40,000.
He did not believe that with such a powerful force, a reinforced infantry regiment of the Japanese could not be destroyed.
To be honest, the 110th Division of the Japanese Army had not dealt with the Mawushan Military Division once or twice, and was beaten to a disgrace every time.
After receiving Yoshio Shinozuka's order, the division commander and chief of staff also felt numb. They really didn't want to fight Xu Dalong's troops, and also because they didn't dare to disobey Yoshio Shinozuka's orders, they sent a reinforced infantry regiment.
They also moved slowly like turtles along the way, not much better than Chiba Xunyi's troops.
They left Yangquan and could not walk more than 20 kilometers every day, so they worked slowly on the road.
Zheng Xirong's intelligence brigade had already dispatched scouts to monitor the movements of the Japanese army and constantly reported the Japanese army's itinerary to Gao Zhiyong.
Gao Zhiyong was very depressed when he saw that the Japanese army was advancing so slowly. This time he mobilized tens of thousands of troops to prepare for a good battle.
Now that the troops have been assembled, they are waiting for the little devil to come and die. If the little devil was as fast as a tortoise, so many troops gathered here, just eating and drinking would be enough for him to have a headache.
He was so angry that he stamped his feet and called these little devils really abominable. Why didn't you come and die quickly?
The tens of thousands of Eighth Route Army, county brigade and basic militiamen gathered here were also very anxious to wait. They asked the leaders for a fight and asked why they were not allowed to fight the Japanese quickly.
Leaders at all levels were also very depressed. They told the soldiers that it was not that they did not want to fight, but that the Japs had not come yet.
I advise everyone to wait patiently. After Sun Desheng led the cavalry brigade to the front line of Licheng, two cavalry squadrons remained in the base area.
Gao Zhiyong found the squadron captains of these two squadrons and asked them if they could harass the Japanese troops along the way. It was best to provoke them so that they would come to the base area quickly and die.
The two squadron captains were already impatient, and they immediately agreed to Gao Zhiyong to attack the invading Japanese army.
After accepting the mission, he immediately led two cavalry squadrons and set off. After the two squadron leaders left, Gao Zhiyong suddenly regretted it again. He felt that his idea might be wrong. If the two cavalry squadrons attacked the Japanese, they would not only not anger the Japanese, but scare them away.
Then he would be waiting here in vain. After thinking about it, he always felt that something was wrong, so he sent a messenger on horseback to chase the two cavalry squadrons and told them not to provoke the Japanese again.
The correspondent rode a fast horse to chase them all the way, but he didn't expect that he didn't see the two cavalry squadrons because he was driving non-stop.
It turned out that the two squadron captains of the cavalry squadron were eager to fight. After accepting the order, they led the troops to march day and night. They all marched at the same speed. The squadron captain and his men had already set off several hours in advance. How could the correspondent sent by Gao Zhiyong catch up? ?
After Sun Desheng and Wei Monk led their troops to leave Licheng County, they first ran all the way to the southwest.
They walked nearly 100 kilometers more and then headed northwest. At noon the next day, they arrived in Gaozhuang County, which was already the flank and rear of the Japanese frontline troops.
Sun Desheng and Wei Monk ordered the troops to rest on the spot, and they began to study a combat plan to deal with the Japanese cavalry regiment.
Both of them knew that the Japanese cavalry troops were very arrogant. Once they found traces of the Eighth Route Army cavalry, they would definitely come to attack.
In order to catch the Japanese cavalry off guard, after discussion, Sun Desheng decided to send three cavalry squadrons to harass the Japanese army, deliberately exposing the target and attracting the Japanese cavalry regiment to attack.
He and Monk Wei led the cavalry brigade and the main force of the special operations brigade, hiding and waiting. That afternoon, an infantry battalion of the Second Division of Huang Xiejun escorted more than 60 large vehicles loaded with daily necessities and prepared to be sent to Licheng County.
They were marching on the road when suddenly the cavalry of the Eighth Route Army appeared in front of them and on both sides.
The puppet troops organized a defense in a panic. The Eighth Route Army's three cavalry squadrons did not attack the puppet troops on horseback. They arrived at a place about 200 meters away from the puppet troops, got off their horses, and attacked the puppet troops on foot. .
The cavalry troops of the Eighth Route Army were well-equipped. The firepower of just one cavalry squadron had already surpassed the puppet troops. The massive machine guns and artillery fire from three cavalry squadrons caused heavy casualties to the puppet troops. The puppet troops raised their hands after holding on for a while. Surrender.
The cavalry of the Eighth Route Army gave these puppet soldiers a few words and then let them go. Then they drove the cart off the road and disappeared soon after.
Sun Desheng and Wei Monk came out with their troops. They did not carry much living supplies themselves, and they were counting on seizing them from the Japanese and puppet troops.
They were very happy to see so many living supplies seized at once. The main force continued to rest and recuperate, and still sent three cavalry squadrons out to harass the Japanese army.
These living supplies were originally intended to be given to the Japanese 113th Division by the Puppet Army. The Japanese officers and soldiers waited and did not receive the living supplies. They sensed that something was wrong, so they sent people to search along the way. As a result, they encountered To the puppet soldiers who escaped.
After questioning, it was learned that they encountered the cavalry unit of the Eighth Route Army. The commander of the 113th Division reported this situation to Yoshio Shinozuka.
Yoshio Shinozuka also guessed that the cavalry of the Eighth Route Army must have gone around to the rear of the Japanese army to cut off their transportation lines. He had already considered this beforehand.
Because of his understanding of Xu Dalong, he knew that that guy always liked to do such sneaky things, so he specially ordered a cavalry regiment from the Chahar Dispatch Army, specifically to deal with the Eighth Route Army who loved to cause havoc behind the scenes. cavalry.
After receiving the report from the commander of the 113th Division, Yoshio Shinozuka immediately ordered the captain of the cavalry regiment to lead his regiment to the scene of the accident to find the cavalry of the Eighth Route Army.
Taiyue Military Region Headquarters. The commander and chief of staff have also been paying attention to the battle in the direction of Licheng. In order to reduce the pressure on the Mawushan base area, he ordered troops from various military divisions in the Taiyue Military Region to also launch attacks on the enemy, hoping to contain part of the Japanese army.
Even if it cannot directly help Xu Dalong and the others, it can at least prevent the Japanese army from sending more troops to join the battle in the direction of Licheng.
Zhuo Kongjie and Ding Wei had always hoped to have the opportunity to help the Mawushan base area. When they learned that the commander had issued this combat order, it was mainly to contain the Japanese army's forces and coordinate the Mawushan Military Division's operations against the Japanese army.
In order to be able to hurt the Japanese army, both of them also went to the snow base and directly led the troops to attack the county town heavily guarded by the Japanese army and other important strongholds.
Suddenly, fighting broke out in the enemy-occupied areas, and Japanese and puppet troops from various places reported to the First Army Headquarters, requesting reinforcements.
Yoshio Shinozuka and the chief of staff were overwhelmed. They were now eager to mobilize troops from other places to participate in the battle in the direction of Licheng. Where could they spare the troops to take care of these messes in other places.
They gave the local Japanese commanders death orders and let them solve their own problems. As analyzed by Xu Dalong, Li Yunlong and others, the enemy and us are currently in a stalemate on the front line of Licheng. Yoshio Shinozuka and the Chief of Staff also feel very headaches. They are also eager to break the deadlock and want to defeat the Eighth Route Army and Jinsui Army on the opposite side as soon as possible. .
In order to achieve this goal, they also issued orders to the 11th independent mixed brigade of the Japanese army as a reserve force, asking them to drive to the front line of Licheng and join the attack on the Eighth Route Army.
After receiving the order, the 11th independent mixed brigade of the Japanese Army drove to the flank of the 113th Division and attacked from that direction towards Licheng County.
The coalition command ordered the 202nd Division of the 68th Army of the Jinsui Army to block the Japanese independent mixed 11th Brigade.
In order to strengthen the combat effectiveness of the Jinsui Army, a batch of weapons and equipment was specially given to them, and a large amount of living supplies were provided to ensure that the officers and soldiers had artillery shells, bullets, and hot meals to protect their physical strength.
The troops of the 68th Army of the Jinsui Army had fought with Xu Dalong against Japan many times. With Xu Dalong as the commander here, they were very confident.
The officers and soldiers of the Jinsui Army stayed on the ground without any worries and gave it a go to fight the Japanese army. Regardless of casualties, they blocked the offensive of the Japanese independent mixed 11th Brigade with their tenacious fighting will.
So far, the main forces of both the enemy and ours have been in a stalemate. The key to changing the situation of the battle lies in the duel between the mobile troops of the military division and the Japanese cavalry unit. Whichever side can win, this force can become the crushing force. The last straw for the camel.
The Japanese cavalry captain Watanabe Katsuo is a very cautious person. When he came to perform this combat mission, he collected information about the Mawushan guerrilla cavalry unit and combined it with the previous cavalry dispatched by Chahar, which was wiped out by the enemy. From those battle examples, he knew that the cavalry unit of the Mawushan guerrillas was extremely powerful, and its strength was only slightly less than that of a cavalry regiment.
Even if all the main forces of the two armies were to confront each other, the Japanese army would not have much advantage. Not only that, he also knew that the cavalry of the Mawushan guerrillas were good at conspiracy and would often use methods such as ambushes to attack the Japanese army.
When he heard that guerrilla cavalry appeared in Gaozhuang County, he specifically asked about their strength.
When he heard that only a few hundred people appeared there, he guessed that the enemy should not only come with these few hundred people, but also the main force. He didn't know where they were hiding, and they were waiting eagerly for the arrival of his cavalry regiment. .
In order to avoid being attacked, he sent a telegram to Yoshio Shinozuka, asking the local Japanese and puppet troops to send a large number of spies to inquire about the situation of the Eighth Route Army cavalry units.
In order to ensure the safety of the cavalry regiment, Watanabe Katsuo sent a large number of small troops scattered around the main force of the cavalry regiment on the way to Gaozhuang County to prevent the cavalry regiment from encountering a sudden attack.
After arriving in the county seat, he stationed the cavalry troops in the city and sent only one squad of cavalry. With the cooperation of the local Japanese and puppet troops, he went to the location where the last transport team was robbed to conduct reconnaissance.
Sun Desheng and Wei Monk knew that the Japanese army would definitely come to the scene of the accident, so they had already laid out an ambush in advance. They only waited for the Japanese cavalry regiment to arrive before launching an attack on them.
Unexpectedly, the Japanese cavalry regiment entered the county directly, sending only one squad of Japanese soldiers.
At this time, the carefully formulated combat plan of Sun Desheng and Wei Monk came to nothing. They also felt that the Japanese cavalry captain was very cunning, so they began to be cautious and looked for other fighter planes to destroy the Japanese cavalry.
Soon after, Sun Desheng and Wei Monk once again formulated a battle plan. They hid the main force of the cavalry force not far from the county seat, and then sent a cavalry squadron to show off their power outside the county seat in an attempt to attract the main force of the Japanese army to pursue them. Take the opportunity to ambush them.
The cavalry of the Eighth Route Army came outside the county town. They not only fired at the Japanese and puppet troops on the city wall, but also shouted into the city with tin trumpets, saying that the Japanese troops were cowards, hoping to provoke the Japanese troops and get them to come out to fight.
Soon after, the city gate really opened, and more than two hundred Japanese cavalry rushed out. The captain of the Eighth Route Army cavalry squadron, who was responsible for luring the enemy, saw the Japanese coming out and immediately led his troops to retreat.
