At the First Army Headquarters, people are coming and going, it’s as busy as a market
Xiao Zhuoyoshi, Major General Miyamoto and the staff of the headquarters were studying the war around the sand table, which was filled with densely packed red, white and blue flags.
From time to time, a staff member would remove one or two white flags and replace them with red flags. Xiao Zhuoyi's face remained calm.
"Miyamoto-kun, there are more than 22 regiments of the Eighth Route Army appearing along Zhengtai Road. There are also 5 regiments from Chuxiong in the Yuci area, and 8 regiments under Zezhou and Luzhou cities. The total number is 35 regiments!
This does not include the troops they left behind in Yanzhou and Qilu Province. If added, there would be at least 45 regiments.
You really don’t know if you don’t fight, and you’ll be shocked if you fight;
Three years ago, the Eighth Route Army had only 15 regiments. It tripled in size in such a short period of time and has become a serious problem for the empire. "
Major General Miyamoto nodded and said:
"Your Excellency, Commander, is still looking far ahead. The Eighth Route Army forced by the cage policy had to fight against the steel chains of the Imperial Army;
For more than a month, the Eighth Route Army seemed to be fighting vigorously, but the results achieved were very limited. Not only did they expose their hidden strength, but they also consumed a large amount of ammunition and supplies.
Maintaining more than 20 regiments and tens of thousands of people fighting for a month consumes more ammunition and materials than even the Imperial Army can bear. The result is nothing more than blowing up some of the Imperial Army's artillery towers. If necessary, the Imperial Army can immediately build more .
This should be the limit of the Eighth Route Army's troop deployment. It's the Imperial Army's turn to take action!
Chu Xiong's whereabouts have been exposed, the 36th Division is encircling Fuhu Town, and the main force of the Eighth Route Army is contained in the vast area along Zhengtai Road. The Independent Brigade is now fighting alone, and it is time to close the bear hunting plan. "
Xiao Zhuoyinan had a smile on his face. Just as Major General Miyamoto said, his goal has been Chu Xiong and his Independent Brigade from beginning to end. As long as the Independent Brigade is completely wiped out, Liu Town will be swept away with heavy troops and Liu Town will be wiped off the map. The Eighth Route Army lost its largest logistics support base, and they won.
"Miyamoto-kun, call Mr. Maiden of the 36th Division. Don't worry about other battlefields. The Eighth Route Army has no reinforcements to send. They only need to concentrate their forces to eliminate Chu Xiong!"
"Hey!"
Major General Miyamoto happily accepted the order and left. Chu Xiong had become a nightmare for the First Army in the past two years. He was finally getting rid of it. How could he not be excited?
Chenjiawan, Eighth Route Army ambush position
Strictly speaking, the terrain of Chenjiawan is not suitable for an ambush. It is flat and has a wide field of vision. It faces mountains on one side and wasteland on the other. The road passes through the middle. Not to mention hiding more than a thousand people from the eastward column within a few hundred meters on both sides. , it is difficult to hide a hundred people.
There were only a few natural trenches more than 700 to 800 meters away on one side of the wasteland. Yan Haoyu hid his troops in them, but they were too far away to pose a threat to the Japanese on the road.
Chu Xiong knew the terrain of Chenjiawan. They also entered Fuhu Town from here. If they had not captured a large number of artillery shells, he would never choose to ambush here.
Now that there are artillery shells, it is different. His purpose is not to annihilate the Japanese advance regiment, but to blow up the Japanese baggage and then reduce the number of Japanese infantry;
Chu Xiong's battalion could not withstand the attack of a Japanese regiment in Fuhu Town. If the Japanese's baggage was blown up, it would be different if hundreds more Japanese were eliminated. So he had an idea and asked Yan Haoyu to bring the captured artillery shells. An ambush was set up in Chenjiawan.
The method used by Zhou Dapao to bury bombs is to bury about 100 shells every 300 meters or so;
They are buried on both sides of the road so that they are not easily discovered. It is easy to see if there are large holes dug on the road.
The detonation method he adopted was also electromagnetic detonation. He placed an electromagnetic detonation bomb based on real estate in the shell pile, and it was detonated by a blaster a hundred meters away.
The place where the shells are buried is always chosen where a person can be hidden. It is easy to hide a few people in the wilderness or in the bushes on the mountain, and it will not attract the attention of the Japanese.
A total of about ten places were buried, stretching for six or seven kilometers. They were busy from about five o'clock in the morning to about nine o'clock in the morning when they were arranged. The rest was left to a dozen blasters.
Hiding a dozen or so people on a route of six or seven kilometers would not attract the attention of the Japanese search team at all. Everything was ready and waiting for the Japanese to come.
At about 10:30 in the morning, the Japanese search team began to appear, consisting of five or six motorcycles, and behind them was a squadron of bean tanks.
As expected, the overly open terrain of Chenjiawan did not attract the attention of the Japanese search team. They only symbolically shot a few shuttles up the mountain, causing gravel and dust to fly.
"Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta..."
"Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta..."
The machine gun on the bean tank also fired a few shots at the slope in the wasteland and then passed.
Ten minutes later, the Japanese army entered Chenjiawan. Colonel Naoyuki Kuzuzuki of the 222nd Wing rode a tall horse and walked at the front of the wing.
The Japanese march was led by a dozen trucks, with more than twenty Japanese standing on each truck, and a machine gun mounted on the front of the truck;
There are also several vehicles that do not have soldiers stationed on them. Instead, each vehicle is loaded with several infantry cannons. This is the heavy firepower of the Japanese regiment.
Then came hundreds of infantrymen. They and the Japanese on the truck belonged to the same first group, two on the left and two on the left.
A few hundred meters away is the Second Infantry Brigade, followed by the Regiment Headquarters and the Baggage Brigade. The baggage trains all use carts pulled by mules and horses to follow the Regiment Headquarters. Finally, there is the Third Infantry Brigade, with a total strength of about 3,800 people;
The entire march formation is five or six kilometers wide, so it is difficult to ambush a regiment, let alone a division.
The 36th Division was established just over a year ago, and arrived in China less than half a year ago to fight. It had been hidden by Xiao Zhuoyinan as a surprise soldier before, and it was only released this time during the hunting operation. It can be said that it has not suffered losses from the Eighth Route Army.
Colonel Naoyuki Kusuragi said to Lieutenant Commander Asano Kazushiro, senior staff officer of the wing:
"Asano-kun, what do you think of Chu Xiong, the Tiger of China?"
"Your Excellency, Captain, Chu Xiong is very difficult to deal with, and his tactical command is simply unpredictable. This time he suddenly appeared and occupied Fuhu Town, catching the imperial army by surprise;
If I were Chu Xiong, I would blow up the imperial army's material warehouse and then withdraw. This is a common strategy used by the Eighth Route Army.
But this time Chu Xiong was uncharacteristically uncharacteristic. He did not blow up the warehouse or leave. Instead, he kept waiting for the imperial army in Fuhu Town. This was so abnormal. He must be hiding an ulterior secret! "
Asano and Shiro's analysis made Kuzunoki fall into deep thought. After Asano reminded him, he also felt something was abnormal, but he didn't take it seriously. He seemed to have guessed Chu Xiong's intention:
"Asano-kun, Chu Xiong's most common tactic is to surround a point and call for reinforcements. He stayed in Fuhu Town just to lure us there. Do you still remember the sudden attack on the 35th Division's troops?
If I guessed correctly, that unit should be lying in ambush near Fuhu Town. They would wait until the imperial army attacked and then suddenly break out. Together with the Eighth Route Army in the town, they would cooperate inside and outside to annihilate us. "
Asano's face turned pale after hearing this. This was so in line with Chu Xiong's combat style. He anxiously said to Colonel Kusaki:
"Your Excellency, the captain, is really a keen eye. Now that we have seen through Chu Xiong's intentions, we should change our tactics immediately and not fall into Chu Xiong's trap."
Kuzuki said with a confident look:
"Asano-kun, don't be so nervous. During this period, the Imperial Army has been looking for the main force of the Eighth Route Army for a decisive battle, but always failed. Now that Chu Xiong is willing to fight for a decisive battle, our 36th Division will do as he wishes.
Now that we have seen through Chu Xiong's intentions, I will not let his conspiracy succeed. The mountain man has his own clever plan, just wait! "
"Yoshi!"
Kuzuki couldn't help but laugh when he thought about his success, which made Asano confused.
"boom!"
"Boom boom boom boom..."
"Bagaya Road, was there an earthquake?"
