A soldier came to them, bent down, and the staff laid the map on his back.
After checking the map, the division commander said decisively: "Leave the 15th Brigade to continue the attack. The division headquarters will follow the 16th Brigade to bypass this hilly area and head for Jingxing Pass."
The chief of staff knew that the division commander wanted to cut off the strength of the strong men and abandon the 15th Brigade, but this was probably the only way at the moment. Without any hesitation, he immediately issued the order.
The Japanese 16th Brigade escorted the division headquarters onto a country road and began a rapid march.
Li Yunlong is a general with rich combat experience. He has already thought of everything the Japanese can think of. He wanted wholeheartedly to stop the Japanese army and completely annihilate the 8th Division.
When he arrived at this hilly area, he had already checked the map and saw that there was a road on the left side of the position that could bypass this hilly area. Although he had limited troops at this time, he still asked Zhang Dabiao to lead a regiment to block the road that the Japanese army might pass through.
Of course Xu Dalong also thought of this. If he was in the base area, he would definitely send a reconnaissance plane to monitor the movements of the Japanese 8th Division. It's a pity that he didn't know that Zhao Gang was injured. He believed that Zhao Gang would definitely do this. Therefore, no special telegram was sent to emphasize this matter.
However, this does not affect it. Bob and the pilots also had rich combat experience. When they came to bomb the Japanese army, they discovered a Japanese marching group in the air. They avoided the hilly area in front and headed west, so they separated directly. Some bombers launched a bombing campaign against the enemy and reported the situation to Xu Dalong.
After Xu Dalong received the telegram, he immediately sent a telegram to Sun Desheng, asking him to lead a rapid mobile force to catch up with the escaping Japanese army and block the retreat of the Japanese army together with Zhang Dabiao.
He also sent a telegram to Ding Wei and others, asking them to speed up their march and get to the battlefield as soon as possible.
Xu Dalong sent a telegram to Zhao Gang again, asking Zhao Gang to mobilize all available vehicles in the military division, including civilian vehicles that could be mobilized, gather all the vehicles, and then contact Kong Jie to pick up his troops. How many, form a temporary rapid mobile force, rush to the battlefield urgently, and enter the battle.
The telegrams Xu Dalong sent to Zhao Gang were all handed over to Gao Zhiyong. He has now taken over Zhao Gang's command and sent a telegram back to Xu Dalong in Zhao Gang's name.
The Japanese 15th Brigade launched multiple attacks on the Eighth Route Army, but all were beaten back. He now knows that the division commander has abandoned the 15th Brigade and asked them to cover the evacuation of the division headquarters and the 16th Brigade here.
After a series of battles from last night to now, he found that the combat effectiveness of the Eighth Route Army here is really too strong, especially the weapons and equipment, which have even surpassed the 15th Brigade. Facing the blockade of the Eighth Route Army, which relied on favorable terrain ahead, he now had no confidence in winning.
He felt that this was not the way to go, so he planned to escape from his shell, leaving a small number of troops to fight with the enemy, and then lead the main force of the brigade to leave the battlefield.
When he asked the chief of staff for his opinion, the chief of staff hesitated.
He said: "His Excellency, the division commander gave a fatal order, asking us to break through the enemy's defensive position from here. If we disobey the order, will we be sent to a military court?"
The brigade commander said impatiently: "What time is it? You are still talking about this. Your Excellency, the division commander, has already evacuated with other troops of the division. Do you want to leave our entire brigade here to die?"
The chief of staff asked: "Your Excellency, brigade commander, what do you think we should do?"
Just as the brigade commander was about to speak, he heard gunshots and explosions coming from behind. He hurriedly said: "Go and check quickly, what happened?"
Soon after, the staff officer ran back and said: "Your Excellency, the division commander, a group of Tuba troops appeared in the left rear of our army, numbering about a thousand people, and are attacking our army."
They were attacked by the Ping'an County Brigade. Their original mission was to harass the 32nd garrison division. Later, they received an order from Wang Limin asking them to go to Guancheng County for support. Before they arrived at the county seat, they received another order saying that the Japanese 8th Division had escaped and asked them to rush to this area to join Li Yunlong's troops.
At this time they arrived at the battlefield and immediately launched an attack on the Japanese army.
The commander of the 15th Brigade was very angry, but also helpless. If he had been attacked by the Eighth Route Army before, he would have immediately organized troops to fight back, but now the situation is different. He didn't have any more time to dwell here. Faced with such idiots as the county brigade, he could only swallow his anger.
He said: "A small group of troops was sent to stop them, and the 29th Regiment stayed. The brigade headquarters and other troops quickly assembled and left the battlefield."
The chief of staff asked: "Your Excellency, brigade commander, where are we retreating from? Are we following the division commander and the others?"
The brigade commander shook his head and said: "Following them, the target is too big. I have just checked the map. There is a country road on the right side of this hilly area. We have no vehicles now, and the troops can cross over there." This hilly area ahead.”
The chief of staff nodded, said nothing more, and immediately issued an order for the troops to assemble and then evacuate quickly.
At this moment, there was a roar in the sky. This time it was not a bomber, but a reconnaissance plane. After receiving the report from Bob and others, Gao Zhiyong saw that they were still unable to take off for bombing, so he sent a reconnaissance plane out to monitor the actions of the Japanese army.
The reconnaissance plane flew to this area and saw the Japanese troops leaving the battlefield, and quickly reported to Gao Zhiyong.
Gao Zhiyong quickly reported the news to Xu Dalong.
Xu Dalong sent a telegram to Li Yunlong, asking him to send a force to block the Japanese army's retreat.
Li Yunlong is also feeling a little depressed now. He worked hard to set up a blocking position here to block the retreat of the Japanese 8th Division. Unexpectedly, the 8th Division was a coward and ran away separately. He had to detach another regiment and cross the mountains to intercept the escaping Japanese army.
Throughout the entire campaign, Wei Monk's special operations brigade never entered the battle. They are the reserve team Xu Dalong keeps by his side, ready to be used at the most critical moment.
Monk Wei had been paying attention to the situation on the battlefield, and would check on the progress of the situation from the combat staff from time to time. When he saw that the Japanese army's all-out attack had been crushed and the 8th Division had begun to flee, he became a little anxious.
He said: "Master Long, when will our reserve team wait? This battle is almost over. If we don't go up, I'm afraid we won't have a chance."
Xu Dalong understood his mood and said: "Don't be anxious, there must be more important tasks left for you."
Monk Wei perked up as soon as he heard this and said, "Master Long, what's the important mission?"
Xu Dalong smiled and said: "Don't worry, I am planning a big game, and the special operations team will definitely play a key role."
In Xu Dalong's temporary headquarters, telegrams continued to be sent, and the current progress of each unit was constantly remarked on the map by the combat staff.
Xu Dalong looked at the battlefield situation map and now had a complete idea in his mind. Now the Japanese Eighth Division has been divided into several parts and does not pose a big threat to the Eighth Route Army. The only uncertainty is how many escaped Japanese can be surrounded in the end. He constantly mobilized his troops and generals to intercept the escaping Japanese troops.
After making these arrangements, he thought about it for a long time and finally came up with a bold idea.
He discussed with the staff around him, including Monk Wei, for a while. Everyone was shocked by his idea and felt very excited at the same time.
Xu Dalong made his final decision and sent the telegram to the commander.
Taiyue Military Region.
The commander also felt a little shocked after reading the telegram sent by Xu Dalong.
The chief of staff said excitedly: "Xu Dalong really dares to think. But I think his idea is not only bold, but also feasible. I agree with this opinion."
The commander is a cautious person. After careful consideration, he also believes that Xu Dalong's idea has a high possibility of success.
He also made up his mind and said: "I believe in Xu Dalong, this guy has never let us down."
After saying that, he called Li Changshui and asked him to get in touch with the underground party in Hebei. Then he sent a telegram back to Xu Dalong, agreeing with his opinion.
After reading the commander's telegram, Xu Dalong said: "Monk Wei, now is the time for the special operations brigade to play its role. Lead the special operations brigade to set off immediately to seize Jingxing Pass."
Monk Wei was very excited and shouted: "Yes." He saluted Xu Dalong and set off with the special forces team that was already ready to go.
Yoshio Shinozuka was very depressed. He knew that this carefully planned battle had failed again. Now his only hope is that the Eighth Division will not be wiped out by the Eighth Route Army. This is the reinforcement he begged the commander for from Hebei. If the confession is in Shanxi, he really has no way to explain it to the North China Front Army.
He wanted to rescue the 8th Division, but was beyond his reach. All his troops were blocked by the anti-Japanese armed forces, and he could only hope that the 8th Division would be lucky.
Jinan Military Region Headquarters, Nangong County, Hebei Province.
When the Japanese 8th Division adopted a covert strategy to head to Shanxi, it sent an infantry brigade from SJZ via Yuanshi County to attack in the direction of Nangong, where the Jinan Military Region is located.
At that time, the Jinan Military Region thought that the target of the Japanese attack was the anti-Japanese base area of the Jinan Military Region, so it made comprehensive defensive preparations. Later, they learned that the Japanese 8th Division had appeared in Shanxi to attack Xu Dalong's Mawushan base area. The leaders of the Jinan Military Region were very angry. , thinking that the little devil is a bully.
They assembled their troops to launch a counterattack against the Japanese and puppet troops, destroying more than a dozen small Japanese and puppet strongholds, destroying a large number of Japanese and puppet township grassroots organizations, wiping out more than 1,400 Japanese and puppet troops, and attacking Gaoyi County. Although they were not defeated, they still made the local Japanese and puppet troops very embarrassed.
According to Xu Dalong's request, the Taiyue Military Region contacted the Jinan Military Region stationed in Nangong through its superiors, saying that troops from the Mawushan Military Division were besieging the Japanese 8th Division. In the Jinan area, the Japanese army would not have a main force for the time being. They confidently and boldly launched attacks against the Japanese and puppet troops. Not only that, he also told them that troops from the Taiyue Military Region had a combat plan to enter Hebei and attack SJZ, and hoped that they could cooperate.
The leaders of the Jinan Military Region were very emotional after hearing this. As a second-level military region, the Jinan Military Region is on the same level as the Taiyue Military Region. They have fought many battles in recent years, and the largest battle was only with an infantry regiment of the Japanese army. The Mawushan Military Division in Shanxi is just a lower-level unit. It fights with tens of thousands or even more than 100,000 Japanese troops at every turn. It can actually eat up a main division of the Japanese army at one time. This gap is really too big.
The leaders of the Jinan Military Region were very excited when they heard that they were coming to attack SJZ. They began to urgently mobilize the military divisions of the military region, preparing to assemble the main regiments and county brigades of the military region, preparing to cooperate with the Eighth Route Army troops from Shanxi to fight a big battle, and also followed them into the SJZ to make a fortune.
The troops of the Jinan Military Region have always been dispersed and rarely cooperated in operations, and there is a lack of coordination between them. This time, the leaders of the military region directly assembled more than 20,000 Eighth Route Army and county brigade armed forces, launched a mighty attack on the Japanese army, and actually captured Zanhuang County in one fell swoop, and defeated the infantry of the Japanese 8th Division. The brigade surrounded Gaoyi County.
Today's SJZ is basically an empty city, with only some left-behind troops of the 8th Division, some military police, pseudo police and some puppet troops. Now they only want to protect themselves and have no ability to control the situation in the counties surrounding SJZ.
The troops of the Jinan Military Region fought handily and happily.
Wei Monk led the special operations brigade to avoid the area where the Eighth Route Army and the Japanese army were fighting, and ran all the way.
When the 8th Division went to Shanxi, only one infantry squad was left here. They were no match for the special operations brigade and were quickly wiped out.
The special operations brigade's control of Jingxing Pass was equivalent to blocking the main pass for the Japanese 8th Division to escape back to Hebei. This provided another insurance for the complete annihilation of the Japanese 8th Division.
Wei Monk's special operations brigade received more than that. He left two special operations squadrons to guard Jingxing Pass, and led the rest of the special operations brigade to continue to advance in the direction of SJZ.
The commander of the Japanese 8th Division felt desperate when he saw the enemy reconnaissance planes hovering in the sky. Due to the heavy obstruction of the Eighth Route Army, he knew that if the large forces gathered together, they would definitely not be able to escape. In order to preserve part of the 8th Division, he issued orders to all units, allowing them to disperse and break out according to their own circumstances. If any unit encountered an enemy interception, the remaining units did not need to go to rescue and returned directly to the SJZ.
After issuing the order, the division commander also felt that the goal of following the large forces was too big, so he and the chief of staff broke away from the division's command structure, leaving the road with only a reinforced infantry squadron and heading towards the SJZ through the cornfields. .
(End of chapter)
