According to this scale, the Japs in the Zhangzhuang stronghold plus the surviving reinforcements from last night's column may barely be able to form a regiment. Now even the tanks and armored vehicles have come out, almost all of them are mobilized.
It seems that the little devil was beaten badly last night.
Facing such a powerful enemy, Xie Tian actually had a smile on his face. He patted Wu Wenhua on the arm and said, "It seems that our few shots hit big fish yesterday. You go and settle down those monks. I'll go down to the tunnel first." Let’s study it carefully, maybe we need to adjust our tactics.”
The battlefield situation is changing rapidly, requiring commanders to adjust their tactics on the spot, which is a great test of the commander's on-the-spot adaptability.
He and Wu Wenhua split up. This place was not far from the silk and satin shop, so Xie Tian simply walked a few steps back to the silk and satin shop before going down to the tunnel.
He knew that the tunnel was already crowded with people. Although it was safe to walk through the tunnel, it was also troublesome. He had to deal with some matters involving his mother-in-law and his mother. Now he did not have the energy to take care of these things.
As soon as Xie Tian walked into the silk and satin shop, the Japanese's leading armored force consisting of three Type 89 tanks and two Type 94 tanks had already appeared in sight.
Seeing Xie Tian return to the underground headquarters, Tang Haoer breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly stepped forward to help: "How is the situation outside? Are you okay?"
Xie Tian stopped pretending in front of Tang Hao'er. He raised his arm and put it on Tang Hao'er's shoulder and limped towards the sand table: "It's okay. The Japanese are already here. They should have followed the ruts and followed them directly. There are armored troops." . Haha, don’t worry, the armored troops are useless in tunnel battles and are worse than a pile of scrap metal.”
It is true that armored troops are best suited for group charges and critical battles. They are really helpless against tunnels, but dealing with them will not be as easy as Xie Tian said.
Seeing Xie Tian limping in, Tiedan hurriedly came over to help him. At Xie Tian's signal, the two helped him sit in front of the sand table. Tang Haoer reached out and touched Xie Tian's forehead and said angrily: "He has a fever again."
Xie Tian smiled: "Just take some medicine."
Tang Haoer turned around to get the medicine, and Xie Tian stood up holding the sand tray.
With the captured Jinsui Army military map, the sand table has been rearranged according to the map. The current sand table is a map of the mountains and rivers of the entire northwest Shanxi region, while the tunnel map of Dagu Town only occupies a small corner of the sand table. .
As big as the sand table is, the strategic pattern will be as big as it is. Of course, you must act within your capabilities. At least you will have a more intuitive understanding of the strategic situation of all parties, so that you can adjust your strategies and tactics.
On the sand table, the Japanese plaster flag made by Tang Haoer, the National Army's Blue Sky and White Sun Flag and the Eighth Route Army's red flag were planted at various strategic points. Xie Tian's People's Liberation Army flag only had a solitary side planted in Dagu Town, which looked pitiful on the entire sand table.
Xie Tian picked up a military flag and leaned over to place it at the position of Wangmapo. This is where his first battalion is now. It is very close to Li Yunlong's third battalion of the Independent Regiment. It is only separated by a few hills. It is very creative. Suspicion of friction.
There is no other way to do this. When Xie Tian's team gathered together, the three forces of the Kuomintang, the Communist Party and Japan had already defined their sphere of influence in this area. Dagu Town was originally at the intersection of the three forces. It was Xie Tian who squeezed out such a piece of territory. Now that the team has grown, it needs more strategic space. No matter which direction it develops, it will definitely touch one party's sphere of influence.
Wangmapo is the closest and most ideal area to Dagu Town. If Li Yunlong is unhappy, just let him be unhappy. Didn't he also plant the battle flag in Heiyun Village, which is the base camp that Xie Baoqing has been running for several years.
You put up a flag for me, and I'll give you a flag back, so it's even.
Tang Haoer came back with pills and a bowl of water. The water was warm and Tang Haoer was very careful.
"Take the medicine first."
Xie Tian hummed, took the pills and stuffed them into his mouth without looking at them. He drank all the water in the bowl in one go and handed the empty bowl to Tang Haoer.
Tang Haoer said: "The soldiers caught some fish for you and I cooked fish soup for you. You can drink some while it's hot later."
Xie Tian frowned slightly and said nothing.
At this time of the season, he specially went to catch fish for him. He didn't want this kind of privilege, but he couldn't let Tang Haoer and the soldiers feel cold.
But these are minor things and not worth the distraction.
At this time, there was a violent explosion outside, and the command post shook, and a lot of soil fell from the top.
Xie Tian raised his head, glanced at the vault, laughed, and asked Wu Wenhua, who had just crawled in along the tunnel, "Have all the monks been placed?"
"The arrangements have been made. They are all in the tunnels in the south of the town. Many of them have gone down into the tunnels."
Xie Tian breathed a sigh of relief and ordered: "When the Japanese artillery fire stops, arrange for the soldiers to go to the observation post. Report to me any situation at any time."
Wu Wenhua nodded and walked to the opposite side of the sand table, looked at Xie Tian and asked: "Captain, how are you going to fight this battle?"
Now there is only one battalion of troops left in Dagu Town, which is five or six hundred people at full strength. The Japanese have come to have a regiment of troops, with 3,600 people, not to mention an armored unit, and there must be more. There are Imperial Alliance troops, the exact number of which is unknown.
It is conservatively estimated that the Japs who came to Dagu Town must have about 4,000 people. Basically, the ratio of troops to Xie Tian's is eight to one. Even if Xie Tian has the geographical advantage, this battle will not be easy to fight.
Xie Tian looked up at Wu Wenhua, pointed at Zhang Zhuang and asked, "How many Japanese do you think there are here?"
Wu Wenhua raised his eyebrows slightly and looked at Xie Tian: "The captain plans to attack Zhangzhuang again?"
A sinister smile appeared on Xie Tian's lips: "Sneak attack? Even if it is a sneak attack, I will take it completely this time. I estimate that Zhangzhuang now only has at most one small group of Japs and one large group of Imperial Alliance Army. As long as I can bring the big one With the Japs in Guzhen contained, the first battalion is fully capable of taking down Zhangzhuang and completely destroying the Japs' railway line."
Wu Wenhua looked at Xie Tian in surprise. With only two battalions of troops, one battalion was able to hold down the Japanese who were eight times his own, and the other battalion was able to take down Zhangzhuang, who had the same strength but had the advantage of fortifications. This idea was too bold.
Xie Tian picked up the baton cut from a branch on the sand table and pointed it out: "As long as we hold off this group of Japs so that they cannot return to Zhangzhuang in time, we can buy at least four hours of attack time for the first battalion... …”
Wu Wenhua interrupted Xie Tian: "Captain, it only takes more than an hour for the Japanese armored forces to rush back to Zhangzhuang. I'm afraid the first battalion will be attacked from both sides."
"Then find a way to prevent his armored forces from returning." Xie Tian said decisively.
Wu Wenhua looked at Xie Tian with a guilty conscience: "Can the regiment commander hold back the Japanese armored forces?"
"Not yet," Xie Tian said without hesitation, without any embarrassment: "There will always be a way, let's see first. If I'm lucky, I might be able to get a few of his tanks and let the Japanese have a taste of iron." The taste of a bastard."
Wu Wenhua scratched his head: "Okay, let's assume that the Japanese armored forces cannot return to support, then how will we fight next?"
Xie Tian turned to the other side of the sand table and pointed at a place and said: "Laohuling is the only way for the Taiyuan Japs to support Zhangzhuang. As long as the Xiangyanggou Railway Bridge is blown up, the Japs can only support Zhangzhuang from the highway. That way We have to pass through the defense area of the 358th Regiment of the Jinsui Army. We have no control over whether Chu Yunfei fights or not. As long as the Japanese take the highway, it will definitely delay their journey. I estimate that after the battle starts, it will take the Taiyuan Japanese 12 hours at the fastest. Go to Zhangzhuang."
Wu Wenhua said thoughtfully: "Based on what I know about Chu Yunfei, he will definitely attack the Japanese when they pass by his defense zone. At least he can help us hold off the Japanese for three hours."
Xie Tian looked at Wu Wenhua and said: "You are Chu Yunfei's old subordinate, and I trust your judgment. But we can never leave our safety in the hands of uncertain people at any time. So Chu Yunfei can win this Three hours is not part of my plan. He can fight as best as he can. If he doesn’t fight, let him do it. Let’s just keep an eye on the food on our plates.”
Wu Wenhua's expression changed slightly, he looked at Xie Tian and said, "The leader taught you a lesson."
Xie Tian shook his head: "Don't overthink it, it's not a lesson. As a commander, we must formulate combat plans based on the worst-case scenario, and we must make plans to ensure the smooth implementation of the entire combat plan."
Wu Wenhua looked at Xie Tian and had an illusion in his heart.
Was this man really a bandit before?
If I only listened to what he said, I would believe him even if someone told me that he was an instructor at Whampoa Military Academy.
At this time, another round of artillery shells fell, one of which should have landed very close to the Silk Village. Everyone in the underground headquarters felt the ground shaking, and a lot of soil fell above their heads. It landed on the heads of several people in the headquarters. Covered.
But at this time, no one cared about this at all, and the Japanese shells could not hurt the people in the tunnel.
Wu Wenhua shook off the dirt that fell from his hat, looked at Xie Tian and said: "The Xiangyanggou Railway Bridge is a three-hole bridge. The Japanese stationed a small team on both sides of the railway bridge, with two heavy machine guns and grenades, near the bridge bombing meeting. The casualties are heavy. Is the regiment commander prepared to let the artillery platoon carry out this mission?"
Xie Tian shook his head: "Letting Zhang Xingsheng do this job is a bit overqualified."
Wu Wenhua was stunned and asked: "Then how does the regiment leader plan to blow up this bridge?"
"Xiangyanggou has a constant flow of water all year round. Find me a few soldiers who are good at water and can resist freezing. Cut some branches from upstream and put them down. Not too many. Too much will arouse the suspicion of the Japs on the Xiangyanggou Railway Bridge. Don't be too little either. If there are too few, my soldiers will become the targets of the Japanese. Let them put some branches down the river to paralyze the Japanese, and then go into the water. As long as they can get under the bridge pier, a dozen explosive bags should be able to blow up the railway. bridge."
Wu Wenhua nodded: "It should be possible."
Xie Tian sneered slightly: "As long as this bridge is blown up, the problem of Japanese reinforcements from Taiyuan will be basically solved."
Wu Wenhua agreed: "At least we bought Zhang Zhuang twelve hours."
He doesn't include Chu Yunfei's three hours now.
