Liujiawa is indeed a good place for an ambush. It is a naturally formed semi-gourd depression. The only road winds from Hulukou through Huludu.
As long as the Japanese convoy comes in, seals the gourd at the back, blows up the leading vehicle at the front, and blocks both ends, no one can escape.
After Chu Xiong inspected the terrain on the spot, he decided to set up the ambush point here.
This was the first ambush battle fought by the Seventh Company against the Japanese. Chu Xiong believed that it was necessary to gather the backbones for careful deployment, not only to defeat the enemy, but also to fight beautifully.
"Comrades, the Japs are not like white dogs. They have a very strong will to fight. Even if there is only one wounded soldier left, he will find a way to support him, so don't expect to capture the prisoners and deal with them all!"
"When ambushing, you must first knock out the leading vehicle and the trailing vehicle. The leading vehicle must be bombed with a cluster grenade as a roadside bomb. This is safer.
The explosion of a bomb is the clarion call for attack. As soon as the explosion is heard, all grenades must be thrown out within one minute, and the machine guns are on full fire. Don't worry about the ammunition! "
"The grenades are kept at the ambush point and will be blasted whenever the Japs get together. Each squad is assigned a machine gunner and commander with the best marksmanship who specializes in fighting Japs;
Machine gun positions should be set up at the commanding heights on both sides to suppress the Japanese..."
“The first and second platoons are responsible for ambushing on both sides. We must give full play to the advantage of side firepower and set up an inverted triangle ambush position;
The third row is responsible for tying the pockets at the mouth of the gourd, and no one can be spared! "
…
Chu Xiong has made targeted arrangements for every detail of the ambush battle. The Japs nowadays have not been ambushed very often. They are so crazy!
But you still have to be careful. One mistake in battle may cause a large number of casualties.
"That's all I have to say, do comrades have anything to add?"
After Chu Xiong finished the deployment, he asked several backbones of the squad again.
Several key members put forward some suggestions on some details, all of which were adopted by Chu Xiong.
After the meeting, each platoon set up ambush positions according to the combat plan. Everything was ready except for the east wind.
The table has been set and it’s time for the host and guest to take their seats!
The host and guest of the Japanese made Chu Xiong and Seventh Company wait for nearly a day:
"Damn, what a big airs!"
Chu Xiong couldn't help but cursed in his heart.
"Company Commander, the Japanese have come out of their lair. There are seven or eight large trucks. There are a lot of people. Do you want to fight?"
Zhou Qing, the squad leader in charge of the investigation, came over to report.
When Chu Xiong heard this, he thought to himself:
"Isn't this just a table with a table and two tables of guests?
Maybe there will be a squadron of Japanese soldiers! "
It is impossible for everything to go as planned in an ambush, and it is normal for some emergencies to occur.
A squadron of Japanese soldiers is a bit more than expected, but still within the tolerance range.
If there were more than a dozen cars, Chu Xiong would definitely turn around and leave without saying a word.
The essence of guerrilla warfare has always been:
"If you win, fight, if you can't win, leave!"
Chu Xiong thought about it in his mind and decided:
Done!
"Zhou Qing, continue to keep an eye on the Japanese, follow the plan, and fight!"
Chu Xiong chose to invite the two tables of guests together without hesitation!
A few kilometers away, the Japanese convoy transporting supplies came straight to Liujiawa at a constant speed of more than ten kilometers per hour. The speed of the leading car was controlled within twelve kilometers per hour.
When a convoy is moving, if the leading car drives too fast, the entire convoy will be scattered, which is not conducive to ensuring safety. The Japanese are quite experienced in motorized marches.
The Japanese leader this time was Captain Watanabe Masao. He was sitting in the cab of the first truck. Next to him was the logistics staff Captain Iguchi Ichiro.
Iguchi Ichiro is a staff officer of the 106th Regiment, and he is a fellow soldier with Masao Watanabe who escorts the supplies.
The 106th Regiment was in urgent need of this batch of supplies, so it sent Ichiro Iguchi to the supply depot to urge them.
In order to ensure the safety of this batch of supplies, the supply depot sent Captain Watanabe and two teams of troops to escort them.
Watanabe was a fanatical militarist. In his opinion, sending half a squadron of warriors to escort supplies in the rear area was a bit of a fuss.
His squadron is a field squadron. It should go to expand territory for the emperor, not be a convoy!
"Watanabe-kun, I heard that during the battle to conquer Luzhou, your squadron defeated a regiment of the Central China Army and annihilated an enemy battalion. You are really a role model for us!"
Captain Iguchi could naturally see Watanabe's reluctance, so he picked a topic that Watanabe was interested in to resolve the slightly awkward atmosphere.
"Iguchi-kun, you have given me such a great reward, because it is all for the expansion of territory for His Majesty the Emperor.
The Chinese army is like dregs of tofu. It collapses at the first touch. There is nothing to show off when defeating a regiment! "
Although Watanabe said it lightly, the expression on his face betrayed him.
Everyone likes to hear good things, not to mention that it was his highlight moment!
"Watanabe-kun, having said that, not everyone can achieve a glorious record of one against ten!"
There is still a bit of sourness in the well, which makes Watanabe enjoy it very much.
There were more smiles on his face, and the atmosphere of the conversation between the two instantly became much better. Watanabe also gave a rare compliment to Iguchi.
"Watanabe-kun, we are about to pass Liujiawa. The terrain there is a bit complicated. Should we stop the convoy at Xingkou first and send a search team to investigate before entering?"
Out of professional sensitivity, Iguchi gave Watanabe a suggestion.
Captain Watanabe said disdainfully:
"Jingguchi-san, there's no need. I know the terrain inside Liujiawa;
It’s too narrow and can’t hold many people!
We have half a squadron of imperial guardsmen, and even if a few bandits come, they only bring food to the warriors. "
Watanabe's words reassured Iguchi a lot. Even dozens of little fleas were no match for the brave Watanabe squadron.
Jingguchi actually didn't believe that anyone would dare to ambush his heavily guarded convoy. Now that the entire Chinese regular army in southeastern Shanxi had been wiped out by the imperial army, a few defeated troops could not make any waves.
Watanabe and Iguchi's arrogance is normal, and they have never suffered losses from the Eighth Route Army.
Arrogance comes from confidence in one's own strength. The Japs' convoy was led by two three-wheeled motorcycles;
Then the two cars were filled with Japanese escorts, each with a crooked light machine gun mounted on the roof.
Following them were five vehicles carrying supplies, and the last vehicle had dozens of Japanese escorts.
The two motorcycles responsible for the search mission each had a light machine gun mounted on them. The motorcycles stopped before they entered the hoist.
The machine gunner on the car fired a few bursts at the bushes on both sides of the gourd mouth;
This is a common investigation method used by the Japanese search team. Many rookies who are not experienced or have poor psychological quality will be fooled by the Japanese.
After knocking out a funnel of bullets, the Japanese search soldiers continued to move forward with confidence.
After the motorcycle enters Liujiawa, there will still be a few shuttles coming at intervals;
As long as they find a suspicious place, they will carry out fire investigation, and the Japanese still have to follow the same procedures. This fully reflects the almost rigid nature of the Japanese nation!
Captain Jingguchi deliberately slowed down the convoy and listened to the motorcycles of the search team passing Liujiawa before the Japanese army entered Hulukou in a swaggering manner.
"Damn, the Japs are so damn cunning, I was almost bitten by the Japs' machine gun!"
Lin Xiaofeng, the third platoon leader, couldn't help but muttered.
The third platoon lurking in Hulukou responsible for tying pockets was still inexperienced. The lurking point was too close to the road. If not for luck, the third platoon leader would have been hit by the Japanese machine gun.
"Comrades, the Japanese have been in for a few minutes. Follow me and tie your pockets!"
After Lin Xiaofeng finished speaking, he led the third platoon to block the gourd mouth, completely cutting off the Japanese's escape route.
