After listening to Xu Dalong's proposal, everyone readily agreed, and then headed to the Japanese airport under the leadership of Liu Yucheng.
Sun Desheng led the cavalry brigade and received four trucks escorted by Li Qiulin in Yushan County, and then escorted them to the Taihang Mountain base area.
Zhang Wanhe had already sent someone to greet them and took them to deliver the materials carried in the four trucks to the arsenal of the Logistics Department.
These four trucks were loaded with two-centimetre-thick coiled steel plates that Zhou Mingde purchased from the Taiyuan Iron and Steel Plant. They were sent to the arsenal to be cut and processed into flat steel plates.
This is Xu Dalong's idea of repairing the airport runway, which can solve the problem of ground hardening. After these coiled steel plates are cut and processed, they will be transported by Wei Monk and Li Qiulin to Kong Jie's Sixth Army Division, and then transported by his troops to Yucheng Airport.
After the preparations for the Taihang Mountains were completed, Sun Desheng and Kong Jie sent a telegram to Xu Dalong, saying that all the work here was ready and ready for his instructions.
Accompanied by the Baoding underground party, Xu Dalong and the leaders of the Fifth Army Division conducted on-site inspections of the Japanese airport, and then discussed together to formulate a combat plan.
Xu Dalong's serious attitude during reconnaissance, meticulous observation, and thoughtful thinking when formulating combat plans left a deep impression on the leaders of the Fifth Army Division.
The Fifth Army Division spent a lot of money this time, gathering two main regiments, a supplementary regiment, and three county brigades from the military division. Under the command of Xu Dalong, they worked closely with Wei Monk's special operations brigade to attack the Japanese army at night. A raid was launched at the airport.
Just before the battle at Baoding Airport started, Kong Jie, Sun Desheng, and Li Qiulin led a large group of people outside Yucheng.
After arriving at the airport, the cavalry brigade led by Sun Desheng, Li Qiulin's special forces, and the main force of the New Second Brigade formed a warning against the Japanese army between the airport and Yucheng.
In order to complete this mission, Kong Jie dispatched the main force of the New Second Brigade, a supplementary regiment, two county brigades, and also mobilized 1,200 migrant workers. They drove large carts, pushed small carts, and held pickaxes. They came to the vicinity of the airport at night and started intense construction.
People participating in the construction excavated soil from the surrounding fields, packed it into sacks, and then transported it to the airport runway on large trucks and trolleys to fill the three large holes dug out.
The three large pits were dug very deep and required a large amount of earthwork. Fortunately, there were a large number of people participating in the construction, and the strength of the people was great. In just one hour, the three big holes were filled.
In order to strengthen the hardness of the ground, hundreds of Eighth Route Army soldiers and migrant workers stood on the large filled pits and jumped vigorously, using their body weight to compact the soil on the ground.
Of course, the hardness of such a ground cannot withstand the takeoff and landing of aircraft, so those steel plates came in handy. The officers and soldiers of the Eighth Route Army carried the cut steel plates, spliced them together, and laid them on the ground. They quickly completed the repair of the airport runway, which could fully meet the standards for taking off and landing aircraft.
It was impossible for such a large-scale operation to be completely hidden from the eyes and ears of the Japanese army. They noticed something unusual outside the city, but they did not dare to come out. In a short period of time, they could not judge what the Eighth Route Army's intentions were.
In order to prevent the Eighth Route Army from attacking the city, the Japanese army quickly mobilized troops to defend the city wall.
Just when the runway repair was about to be completed, Kong Jie sent a telegram to Xu Dalong. Xu Dalong issued the order to attack the Japanese airport.
Guarding the airport was an infantry brigade of the Japanese independent 17th Brigade, as well as a Japanese garrison squadron from the airport itself.
The troops dispatched by the Fifth Military Division of the Central Hebei Military Region, plus Wei Monk's special operations squadron, brought the total strength to more than 6,000 people, occupying an absolute advantage.
Due to the sudden start of the battle, the Japanese army was caught off guard and quickly lost its ability to resist. It took less than half an hour from the start of the battle to complete control of the airport.
Bob and the pilots of the flying group took the time to refuel the plane and be ready to take off at any time.
After taking the airport, Ma Chao, in accordance with Xu Dalong's request, led the main force of the Fifth Army Division to defend the Japanese army in the direction of Baoding.
Based on the experience of the last attack on the Japanese airport, the Japanese army had established an emergency mechanism. Therefore, after receiving a report of an attack in the direction of the airport this time, Japanese reinforcements arrived quickly, and the two sides launched a fierce battle.
After 40 minutes of preparation, Bob and the pilots he brought were ready to take off. Following Xu Dalong's order, they took off one after another and flew to Yucheng Airport.
This time Xu Dalong did not leave with the flying brigade. He was worried about the safety of the Fifth Army Division, so he stayed with Monk Wei and his special operations squadron.
Xu Dalong decided to stay in the Baoding area for a while and fight a few battles with the Fifth Military Division to improve their combat effectiveness. This was regarded as compensation for the Jizhong Military Region's cooperation in this combat operation.
Ma Chao and the leaders of the Fifth Army Division were very happy. The attack on the Japanese airport directly killed an infantry brigade of the Japanese army. Together with other Japanese troops at the airport, the number of Japanese killed reached more than 2,200. This is the greatest result achieved since the establishment of the Fifth Army Division.
Xu Dalong gave all the large quantities of weapons and ammunition seized this time to the troops in the Fifth Army Division, greatly improving their equipment level. Just for these seizures, they all thought the trip was worth it.
Ma Chao was commanding his troops to block the Japanese troops coming out of Baoding. When he saw Xu Dalong and his men coming over, he asked with some confusion: "Captain, why didn't you fly away with the plane?"
Xu Dalong smiled and said: "Commander Ma, your brothers in the Fifth Military Division are fighting fiercely with the Japanese. Brother, how can I have the nerve to leave now?
If you have no objection, brother, I am going to stay here for a while and fight a few battles with the brothers in the fifth military division. "
"Really? This is really great." Ma Chao and others were very excited when they heard Xu Dalong say this. Xu Dalong is such a good friend, they have all seen his abilities. They were even more impressed by how generous he was.
Ma Chao said: "Captain Xu, how should we fight in the next battle? We all listen to you."
Xu Dalong asked about the situation here and said: "The Japanese reinforcements are still coming. We cannot stay here for a long time and must get rid of the enemy in front of us as soon as possible."
He squatted on the ground and picked up a branch. The special forces team member quickly turned on the flashlight to illuminate him.
Ma Chao and others also squatted down and gathered around Xu Dalong.
Xu Dalong picked up a branch and drew two squares on the ground. He pointed at the squares on the ground and said: "Here is our army, and here is the Japanese army. The two sides are currently stuck together. If our army retreats at this time, it will be attacked by the Japanese army." Chase.
If you want to get rid of the Japanese army in front of you, you must defeat them as soon as possible. "
Having said this, he drew an arc-shaped line from the branch to the square representing our army, and pointed the arrow in front to the side and rear of the Japanese army's square.
He said: "I will take the special operations squadron over now, and you will give me an infantry battalion. We will go around the enemy's flank and attack the Japanese army.
After seeing the red flare, you led your troops to attack the Japanese army.
After annihilating this Japanese army, they quickly evacuated according to the predetermined plan. "
Ma Chao didn't talk nonsense and immediately said to the commander of the first regiment of the military division who was following him: "Send a deputy commander to lead a battalion of troops and follow the command of Captain Xu."
The group leader saluted Ma Chao and ran away immediately. Soon he ran back again, followed by a battalion of troops.
He said: "Commander, I have handed over the command of the other troops of our regiment to the deputy commander. I will personally lead this battalion to act together with Captain Xu."
Xu Dalong immediately set off with Wei Monk's special operations squadron and this battalion of troops.
The Japanese army currently engaged in a fierce battle with the divisional forces of the Fifth Army is a fast mobile force of the independent mixed 17th Brigade stationed in Baoding. This force is composed of an infantry brigade reinforced with part of the artillery and transport troops.
In order to rescue the airport, they launched a fierce attack on the troops of the Fifth Army Division. At the same time, other Japanese troops were also rushing towards the airport.
The Japanese captain observed the battlefield and judged from the intensity of the opponent's firepower that the number of enemy troops far exceeded his own fast mobile troops. He knew that his own troops could not defeat the enemy forces on the opposite side in a short period of time. He decided to fight steadily, hoping to hold back the enemy forces in front of him and wait until reinforcements arrived before encircling and annihilating them.
In order to hold back the enemy, he did not invest the main force of mobile troops to attack the opponent. Instead, he organized small units to continuously attack so that the opponent could not escape.
The leader of the first regiment of the Fifth Army Division was named Gao Changwu. He led his troops to follow Xu Dalong and his special forces and launched a rapid march towards the enemy's rear.
He had long heard about the power of the Mawushan Special Forces. Since they did not act together when attacking the airport and did not see the real combat scenes of the special forces, they were not able to understand how powerful they were for the moment.
At this time, they were marching together in a hurry, and they immediately felt the gap between their own troops and the special forces.
The troops led by Gao Changwu are the first battalion of his regiment, and they are the most powerful troops in the regiment. It can also be said to be the most powerful battalion in the entire Fifth Army Division. Each of the soldiers had a rifle in his hand, as well as bullet bags and grenades. Apart from that, there was nothing else. It could be said to be very light.
The number of weapons carried by the members of the special operations brigade far exceeded them, and the weight naturally exceeded them. What's even more outrageous is that each of the special operations team members is carrying a backpack weighing dozens of kilograms, and the load-bearing situation is far greater than that of his officers and soldiers.
Even so, during the emergency march, his officers and soldiers could not outrun the special forces members.
This gap shocked the officers and soldiers of the first regiment. I really wonder how these guys in the special operations team were trained? He has such strong physical strength and endurance.
After a rapid march, Xu Dalong and others arrived at the enemy's flank and rear. Through the flashes of the muzzles and muzzles in front of them, they could judge the distribution of the positions of the Japanese rapid mobile troops.
In order to save time, Xu Dalong led his troops and ran directly towards the Japanese army. When approaching the Japanese position, Xu Dalong ordered: "Turn on the flashlight."
The special operations team members turned on their flashlights and ran towards the Japanese army.
Gao Changwu was startled. Wasn't this obviously exposing his target?
He now has doubts about Xu Dalong's ability, feeling that he lacks basic common sense, and instinctively wants to dissuade Xu Dalong. But he thought of Xu Dalong's illustrious reputation. He must have had his own thoughts when he did this.
So he suppressed his impulse and followed silently with his team.
Xu Dalong and others went around behind the Japanese army to launch a sudden attack on the Japanese army. The more sudden the battle, the greater the damage to the Japanese army. Normally, he should lead his troops to quietly approach the Japanese army and then launch a surprise attack.
Of course Xu Dalong understood this. The reason why he asked the special forces members to rush with flashlights was precisely to enhance the suddenness of the attack on the Japanese army.
Xu Dalong knew very well that although the Japanese army was fighting the Eighth Route Army in the front, they would definitely place warning posts in the rear and on both wings. If he came with so many people and horses, he would be easily noticed by the Japanese army. The Japanese sentries would naturally fire warning shots, thus losing the suddenness of the attack. The Japanese army had time to detach troops to block the attack, and this action became a forced attack.
Xu Dalong judged that the Japanese army would definitely have reinforcements coming here. They came from the rear of the Japanese army. They rushed with flashlights, which would give the Japanese army the illusion that they were their own people coming for reinforcements. In this way, they could get as close as possible to the Japanese army, which in turn enhanced the surprise of the attack.
Sure enough, there was a Japanese guard post behind the Japanese position. They saw a man with a flashlight running over. They thought this was the Japanese army coming for reinforcements, so he came out of his hiding place.
When he saw Xu Dalong and the special operations team members wearing Japanese military uniforms, he went up to them and prepared to take them to see the captain.
Xu Dalong did not hesitate and used a pistol equipped with a silencer to directly kill the Japanese guard post, and then continued to run towards the Japanese position.
Seeing this, Gao Changwu also understood and admired it very much.
He made up his mind to follow Xu Dalong in the future, learn some skills, and improve his command level.
Since he had his own guard post in the rear, the Japanese army captain saw the men running over with flashlights, and he was even more convinced that they were his own.
So he personally led his people to greet them, preparing to discuss the next combat operations with the new commander.
(End of chapter)
