Kawashima said: "Matsui-kun, what is the situation in your security area? Didn't you say in your report that all the anti-Japanese elements operating here have been eliminated? How come so many anti-Japanese armed forces suddenly appeared, causing so much trouble? Big loss, what is going on? The division commander and chief of staff are very angry and want to punish you severely.
We are fellow villagers, and I took the initiative to apply to come and investigate the situation. You'd better give me a reasonable explanation, so that I can go back and speak for you. "
Matsui hurriedly said: "Kawashima-kun, thank you so much."
Having said this, he shook his head with a wry smile and said in confusion: "Who knows what's going on? It turns out that there are indeed Songshan guerrillas active in my security area, but according to intelligence, there are no more than 30 of them. , hiding in the mountains will be destroyed at any time. Who would have thought that so many people would suddenly appear, and their fighting power is very strong. I don’t have the details yet, and I am sending people to investigate.”
Kawashima asked: "How many people did your army lose?"
Speaking of this, Matsui was very frustrated.
He said: "The total number of casualties and missing soldiers in my wing is 367."
Kawashima said with some surprise: "So many people have been lost. This is a big trouble."
When the two talked about the losses, they did not mention the puppet Manchukuo army at all. In their eyes, those puppet Manchukuo troops were purely cannon fodder, ants, or just a bunch of numbers, and they didn't care at all.
Matsui nodded painfully.
Kawashima said: "Matsui-kun, I came here specifically to buy time for you. As long as you can quickly eliminate those anti-Japanese elements, the loss of soldiers will be nothing. When the time comes, if I help you speak, no one will hold you accountable. It’s your responsibility.”
Matsui said gratefully: "Thank you so much. I will definitely seize the time to eliminate those anti-Japanese elements."
Kawashima said: "If this is the case, I will not go back to resume my life for the time being. I will stay here and wait for your news."
Matsui said gratefully: "This is the best. I also want to hear your opinion on how to deal with the anti-Japanese elements, and I also ask you to help me. I have notified the garrison and gendarmerie in Ito County and asked them to come and report It's a good time for you to listen."
Matsui accompanied Kawashima to the conference room. Sitting in the conference room were Captain Watanabe of the 2nd Infantry Battalion of the 8th Regiment stationed in Ito County, Captain Asano of the Military Police, and Wang Zhe, the leader of the Puppet Manchukuo Army. .
Seeing the two people coming in, everyone stood up quickly and saluted them.
Matsui nodded, and Kawashima sat down first, then stretched out his hand to signal them to sit down.
Matsui asked: "Watanabe, there has been such a big mess in your brigade's defense area, why don't you tell me what happened?"
Since all the Japanese officers and soldiers lost in the battle were members of the Watanabe Brigade, such losses were very rare in the history of the Eighth Regiment. Watanabe was very worried that he would be sent to a military court for this.
He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said carefully, "Your Excellency, Captain, the Guanzhenshan branch of the anti-Japanese armed forces active in the Songshan area was basically wiped out by our army, leaving only a handful of stragglers. I am sure that it was not Guan Zhenshan’s people who caused heavy losses to the Yellow Army, but the newly emerged anti-Japanese armed forces. They numbered in the hundreds, were well-equipped and well-trained, and their identities are still unclear. , I have arranged for someone to investigate."
Having said this, he said to Gendarmerie Captain Asano sitting next to him: "Tell me about the investigation."
Asano said: "Your Excellency, Captain, I have sent people to Beidatun and Lanhua Town to investigate. Some of the newly emerged anti-Japanese armed forces are wearing the uniforms of the Yellow Army and some are wearing the uniforms of the Manchu Army. They are very powerful in combat. They are specifically Their identities are still unclear, but they are now mixed with the guerrillas in Guanzhenshan."
Matsui asked: "What are your plans on how to destroy this anti-Japanese armed force?"
Watanabe said: "Your Excellency, Captain, if we fight the anti-Japanese armed forces head-on, I can definitely destroy them. However, they are running around and difficult to guard against. I'm afraid the strength of my subordinates alone may be insufficient."
Therefore, I suggest that the commander of the regiment dispatch the entire regiment to encircle and suppress this group of anti-Japanese militants. "
Watanabe has thought clearly now, and he is worried that he will eventually have to bear the crime himself. If the task can be pushed to the wing leader and the entire wing acts together, then if there is any loss, he, the captain, will not be held responsible. No one will be responsible for the previous losses.
Gendarmerie Captain Asano is also responsible for the losses suffered in Ito County. He had already communicated with Captain Watanabe before coming.
Asano hurriedly said: "Your Excellency, the captain, what you said is the truth. That group of anti-Japanese elements is very powerful. They are not ordinary guerrillas. Their well-equipped level has surpassed that of the Yellow Army. According to the humble investigation, Lan Hua After the town and Beidatun were captured by the anti-Japanese elements, nearly tens of thousands of local people fled, and many of them defected to the anti-Japanese elements. The situation was very chaotic, and it was difficult for us in Yidong County to deal with it alone. Please Your Excellency, the Wing Commander, will conduct unified deployment."
Wang Zhe, commander of the puppet Manchukuo army, was also worried that he would bear responsibility. He nodded vigorously and expressed his agreement with Watanabe and Asano's opinions.
While listening to the report, Kawashima kept frowning. He has been dealing with the guerrillas for so many years. He knows that the most troublesome people are the common people. With the existence of these common people, the guerrillas will be supplemented with soldiers and food, and can also obtain intelligence support. If they want to wipe out the guerrillas, The team is very difficult.
He wanted to express his opinion, but the commander here, Matsui, had not spoken yet, so he had to hold back.
Matsui also knew that the situation was serious, waved his hand and said: "You go down first, and then wait for the summons."
Watanabe and others temporarily left the conference room.
Kawashima said: "Matsui-kun, you must quickly send people to capture the people who are fleeing outside, and at the same time organize the encirclement and suppression of those anti-Japanese elements. We cannot allow them to continue to spread.
My opinion is also that you'd better mobilize the strength of the entire regiment to quickly eliminate this group of anti-Japanese armed forces. Once they move to other areas, I may not be able to help you. "
Matsui also made up his mind and said, "Okay then. I will send someone to notify the other two captains to come too."
Soon after, under the chairmanship of Matsui, a combat meeting for the encirclement and suppression of guerrillas in the Yuanping Public Security District was held. The Eighth Regiment of the Japanese Army plans to dispatch all its troops into the mountains to encircle and suppress the Songshan guerrillas.
The Yidong County Gendarmerie and the Wang Zhe Division of the Puppet Manchukuo Army were responsible for catching the fleeing people and imprisoning them back into the group tribe.
Xu Dalong attached great importance to intelligence work. In order to grasp the enemy's situation, he arranged for Guan Zhenshan to mobilize five old guerrillas, plus ten special operations members and 20 newly recruited soldiers, to form an intelligence team specifically responsible for providing information to the Songshan guerrillas. Provide information.
Information about the large-scale deployment of Japanese and puppet troops was quickly passed on. The local underground party organization had been severely damaged, and the information returned by the intelligence team was not comprehensive. Xu Dalong made a rough judgment based on the consistent encirclement and suppression tactics of the Japanese and puppet troops introduced by Guan Zhenshan and combined with his own experience.
Xu Dalong's judgment was similar to the actual deployment of the Japanese and puppet troops. In order to surround the Songshan guerrillas in the mountains, the Japanese and puppet troops could only disperse their existing forces. Since the previously exposed strength of the Songshan guerrillas was only about 200 people, the distribution of troops for the Japanese and puppet troops to enter the mountain for encirclement and suppression was relatively loose.
The total strength of the Japanese Eighth Regiment is only more than 3,000. They still have to leave some of their troops behind. Adding in the previous losses, the actual number of troops that can be dispatched is only 2,780. Cooperating with their actions were two regiments of the puppet Manchukuo army, with a total strength of about 3,000 people. With so many troops, they actually launched an eight-way siege. Each Japanese army was almost a reinforced infantry squadron, plus a battalion of puppet troops.
The Songshan area has complex terrain and inconvenient transportation. If any Japanese and puppet troops are attacked along the way, it will be difficult for the Japanese and puppet troops from other routes to arrive for reinforcements in a short time. Xu Dalong was completely confident that he could concentrate the main force of the Songshan Brigade and annihilate all of them.
After making a basic judgment, Xu Dalong and others also held a combat meeting.
The meeting decided to remove a special operations unit and use guerrillas familiar with the local conditions as guides to go deep behind enemy lines to attack the Japanese and puppet troops who captured fleeing civilians. The main force of the Songshan guerrillas went to Heishui County to attack the Japanese and puppet troops dispatched from there. military.
In order to catch the enemy by surprise, Xu Dalong and others started a rapid march. In one day and one night, they traveled 60 kilometers over mountains and ridges and entered Heishui County.
In a dense forest, the commanders and fighters of the Songshan guerrillas were taking the time to sleep, while the scouts were still working tirelessly to monitor the actions of the Japanese and puppet troops.
The Japanese and puppet troops dispatched from Heishui County were an infantry squadron and two companies of the puppet Manchukuo army. They received a notification that the Songshan guerrillas appeared in Ito County. Heishui County is far away from Ito County, and their main task is to prevent guerrillas from flowing into Heishui County.
They never dreamed that the Songshan guerrillas would suddenly appear in Heishui County. In addition, they were notified that there were only about 200 Songshan guerrillas, so when they entered the mountain to search, they were very relaxed, just like touring the mountains and rivers.
According to military common sense, when troops enter mountains, they should try not to go through valleys. Instead, they should usually choose ridges. This can effectively avoid encountering enemy ambush. However, the vigilance of these Japanese and puppet troops was really poor and they were unwilling to go over mountains and endure hardships, so they marched along the valley. They planned to go up the mountain to search when they were close to the border of Ito County. The top priority is to hurry up and get on the road.
Xu Dalong and others were resting when a scout's report came from the walkie-talkie, saying that the Japanese and puppet troops had entered a nearby valley.
Xu Dalong immediately woke up the resting guerrillas. Regardless of fatigue, the team members immediately took action and built ambush positions on both sides of the valley.
The Japanese and puppet troops were marching leisurely in the valley. Xu Dalong held a sniper rifle, aimed at the head of the Japanese commander, and pulled the trigger.
The Japanese commander was shot in the head and fell directly to the ground.
The sound of gunfire was an order, and the guerrillas ambushing on both sides of the valley fired fiercely at the Japanese and puppet troops in the valley. The terrain here is very favorable, the valley is very narrow, and the Japanese and puppet troops have nowhere to hide, and the guerrillas can easily throw grenades and hand grenades into the Japanese and puppet troops.
When Xu Dalong fights, he always advocates using firepower to annihilate the enemy as much as possible. Although they are far away from the rear and have no way to obtain ammunition replenishment from the arsenal, they still have a certain amount of ammunition they originally brought. In addition to these battles, they have captured A lot of ammunition, so it can still maintain a high density of firepower in a short period of time.
The Japanese and puppet troops suffered a sudden attack and suffered heavy casualties. They tried to break out, but the terrain was really unfavorable and the guerrillas could easily block them in the valley.
The Japanese and puppet troops were completely passive and the battle lasted for less than ten minutes, and they were basically dead and wounded.
Su Jianqiang and the Eighth Route Army officers and soldiers of the Second Squadron were accustomed to launching a charge after firing a few rounds of bullets.
In order to change their habit, Xu Dalong had specifically told them before the battle began that they should only use firepower to kill the enemy and not charge without orders.
When the battle started, they still maintained the habit of saving bullets and aimed accurately every time they fired. Although the hit rate was improved, the density of firepower was much lower, which also gave the Japanese and puppet troops opposite them a chance to counterattack.
Therefore, in the area where the First and Third Squadrons were responsible, the Japanese and puppet troops were quickly wiped out. In the area where Su Jianqiang and his Second Squadron were responsible, there were still some Japanese and puppet troops resisting.
When Su Jianqiang and the officers and soldiers of the Eighth Route Army saw this situation, they were very angry and stood up to resolve the battle with bayonets.
Monk Wei had been on guard against them for a long time. When he saw someone standing up, he hurriedly ran over, ordered the soldiers to lie down again, and continued to use firepower to attack the Japanese and puppet troops who were stubbornly resisting.
In order to end the battle as soon as possible, the special forces members of the 1st Squadron also ran over to help. After they arrived, they threw grenades into the valley without saying a word, and the battle was quickly resolved.
Su Jianqiang felt very distressed when he saw the waste of the special forces members. He felt that these special forces members were a bit wasteful.
Monk Wei saw their expressions and knew what they were thinking. He smiled slightly and without saying much, directed the troops down the mountain.
Su Jianqiang and others rushed down the valley and seized a lot of weapons and equipment, including a very large number of bullets, grenades and grenades. This was because the Japanese and puppet troops were quickly wiped out and the opponents rarely consumed ammunition, so they were able to obtain so many weapons. Seized.
He seemed to understand something, and his eyes became much softer when he looked at the special forces team members.
At this time, the Japanese and puppet troops had already been equipped with walkie-talkies, but the communication performance of the walkie-talkies equipped by the Japanese army was very poor. The communication distance in the flatlands was only three kilometers at most, and the communication distance in the mountains was only one or two kilometers.
