After the fourth brigade commander Mitake Tsuda was blown to pieces.
Shinozuka Yoshio gave the brigade chief of staff Kurosawa Masaji full command of the fourth brigade.
Unlike Tsuda Mitake's madman style of play, Kurosawa Shoji appeared cautious and first formulated a combat plan with several combat staff.
In the operations room of the Fourth Brigade Headquarters, Kurosawa Shoji asked the communications staff to send the combat plan to the First Army Headquarters and request tactical guidance.
Kurosawa Shoji turned his head and said to Toshio Ogata: "Ogata-kun, this time you don't want to participate in the attack on the Eighth Route Army Position at Shishishan."
Ogata Toshio's tone was incredible: "Chief of Staff, you don't trust me? After an attack in the morning, the Eighth Route Army does not have much ammunition. Give me two more squadrons of troops, and I will definitely capture the main peak of Lion Mountain. Please believe me ,give me one more chance!"
Kurosawa Shoji took a sip of tea and said, "Of course I trust Ogata-kun very much. I have a more important task to entrust to you."
"Hi!"
"The main reason why the first attack failed was because of the artillery set up by the Eighth Route Army behind Lion Rock."
"I asked the artillerymen to calculate that the artillery position of the Eighth Route Army is likely to be 5 kilometers behind the Lion Rock."
"The mission of you and your soldiers is to go behind the Eighth Route Army, find the Eighth Route Artillery Position, and completely eliminate the Eighth Route Artillery Position."
Kurosawa Shoji's tone was cold and his expression was gloomy.
Toshio Ogata paused and said, "Please give me another soldier from the artillery squad."
"If I can find the Eighth Route Artillery position, destroy the Eighth Route Artillery, and capture a few cannons."
"I can immediately bombard the main peak position of the Eighth Route Lion Mountain and provide artillery support for the frontal attack troops."
"Let the Eighth Route Army have a taste of their own artillery fire."
Kurosawa Shoji said: "Ogata-kun, your method is good, but you must be careful. There will definitely be military protection near the Eighth Route Artillery position."
"Chief of Staff, please rest assured, unless a regiment is left to protect the Eighth Route Army, the Eighth Route Army's artillery is in the possession of the Imperial Army." Toshio Ogata sounded quite confident.
"Hey," Kurosawa Shoji said happily, "Also, be sure to bring a radio. If the Eighth Route Army has too many troops, immediately report the location of the Eighth Route Artillery positions, and the brigade headquarters will call the headquarters for aviation support."
"Hi!" Toshio Ogata said, "This way, everything will be safe."
Japanese military radio stations have spread to the brigade level, and Ogata Toshio is the brigade captain, so his subordinates are equipped with radio stations.
Ogata Toshio's Second Battalion suffered heavy losses in the morning attack. In addition to the wounded, there were only about 200 men, one squadron, who could fight.
However, in the eyes of Kurosawa Shoji and Ogata Toshio, a squadron of troops was enough to sneak attack the Eighth Route Artillery position.
After saying that, Toshio Ogata walked out with his saber in hand.
Immediately, Kurosawa Shoji looked at Nakayama Sadake, the first captain of the 4th Brigade.
"Mr. Zhongshan, there is a call from the headquarters. The one at Lion Rock is our old rival of the Fourth Brigade, the new regiment of the 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army."
"Nani?" Zhongshan Zhenwu narrowed his eyes with murderous intent, "Is it Li Yunlong?"
Everyone in the Fourth Brigade knows the serial number of the New Regiment of the Eighth Route Army and its commander Li Yunlong. His name is engraved in the hearts of these Japanese soldiers like a brand.
"That's right, it's Li Yunlong." Kurosawa Shoji said, "This is an extremely cunning and fierce enemy. Colonel Sakata and the brigade commander both died in the hands of this man."
Zhongshan Sadao said in a cold tone: "Chief of Staff, please allow me to lead the warriors to level the Lion Rock, chop off Li Yunlong's head, and pay homage to the brigade commander and Osaka Sakata."
"Of course we have to chop off Li Yunlong's head." Kurosawa Shoji said, "But the eight-way firepower is too strong, and a frontal attack is not possible. We have to outwit him."
"I will order the Japanese ronin in the city to be armed to increase our military strength."
"The ronin wore the clothes of the imperial army and drove the imperial army to attack the Lion Rock from the front."
"You lead two squadrons to detour from Yanzigou, go around the rear wing of the Eighth Route Army and launch an attack. They will attack from both sides and capture the Eighth Route Army position in one fell swoop."
Compared to Tsuda Mitake's reckless style of play, Kurosawa Shoji is much more insidious.
In order to capture the Lion Rock position this time, he made four preparations: first, he called the headquarters for aviation support; second, he ordered Toshio Ogata to make a detour and sneak attack on the Eighth Route Artillery position; third, he used ronin to pretend to be regular troops and drive the puppet troops head-on. Attacking the eighth route, the fourth is that the main force of the Japanese army circles back and attacks from behind Lion Rock.
The Japanese Fourth Brigade also has two infantry regiments under its jurisdiction, but these two regiments are stationed on the Zhengtai Railway and some other roads.
Moreover, more than 1,000 soldiers have recently been sent to the battlefield in Central China, which has led to an even shortage of troops in the Japanese Fourth Brigade.
Now he still has about 4 squadrons with more than 800 troops. One squadron wants to defend the city, and the other squadron wants to sneak attack the Eighth Route Artillery position.
There are only two squadrons of troops that can be used to sneak around and attack the Eighth Route Army.
However, Kurosawa Shoji is very confident. With this combination of punches, it will not be a big problem to win the Lion Rock.
…
At two o'clock in the afternoon, five Nakajima fighter jets and four Type 96 attack aircraft took off from Xincheng Airport outside Taiyuan City.
The formation is led by Colonel Kato Takashi of the 1st Army's 9th Flying Squadron.
Their mission was to support the 4th Brigade of Yangquan, bomb the Eighth Route Army in Lion Rock, and conduct reconnaissance along the Zhengtai Railway.
Kato Ryuichi piloted such a Nakajima fighter and led the fleet to turn 90 degrees and fly directly east along the Shota Railway.
The aircraft fleet lined up in a neat battle formation, and the engines roared over the villages, fields and mountains. Soon they saw the Shotai Railway.
Considering that this time we were just reconnoitring the railway, and that the Eighth Route Army was probably equipped with automatic anti-aircraft guns, the fighters and bombers flew higher.
The two rails under the wings are like two parallel lines, like two black iron wires laid on the ground. They have not been destroyed by the Eighth Route Army. It seems that Taiyuan will not be threatened.
It didn't take long for the Japanese pilots in the cabin to see the Eighth Route Army destroying railway tracks and attacking strongholds.
These Eighth Route Army troops seemed to have seen the plane coming and did not hide at all. They were not afraid of death. The battle below was extremely fierce, because the smoke rising from the battle covered the sky and the sun.
These little devils really wanted to drop a few bombs, but it was useless because there were so many eight-way routes, so densely packed that it was impossible to count how many there were.
The straight-line distance from Taiyuan to Yangquan is about 100 kilometers, but for fighters and bombers, it only takes half an hour.
"01, a camouflage net was found on the lower right, suspected to be the Eighth Route Artillery position. Do you want to attack? Do you want to attack?" the right-wing fighter pilot called to Kato Ryuichi.
In fact, Kato Ryuichi also discovered that the color of an open space was clearly different from other places.
Kato Ryuichi raised his telescope and looked to the lower right. He could clearly see the camouflage nets one after another, as well as the Eighth Route Army soldiers in gray clothes lying near the camouflage nets.
A sneer appeared on the corner of Kato Ryuichi's mouth. It seemed that these idiots had never flown a plane before and had no idea how to avoid the bombing of the plane.
How could such a poor disguise be hidden from the pilot's eyes? Didn’t you know that pilots are also equipped with telescopes?
"If you don't eat the fat that reaches your mouth, you'd be a bit sorry for the Eighth Route Army."
Kato Takashi made a joke and immediately ordered: "03 and 04 are responsible for covering, and 06 is responsible for attacking the enemy's artillery positions."
"Other fighters and attack aircraft followed me forward."
"Everyone, be careful. Our opponents this time are about 20 anti-aircraft cannons."
The modified Nakajima fighter jets were equipped with radios, and the Type 96 attack aircraft also had radios and radios.
Kato Ryuichi had already learned from the First Army Communications Staff Officer Toshimatsu Kasai that their opponent this time was the Eighth Route Army unit that fought them last time in the Xinzhou Basin.
A Japanese flying formation passed by in the sky, and two Nakajima fighter jets and a Type 96 attack aircraft broke away from the flying formation.
After turning left, they circled back. Although the turning radius of the Nakajima fighter jet and Type 96 attack aircraft was not large, from the ground, the diameter of a Japanese aircraft turning in the air was at least 10 kilometers long.
The three Japanese pilots pulled the control sticks, and the noses of the planes sank, roaring through the clouds and diving downwards.
The open-air artillery position on the ground was getting closer and closer. The Japanese pilot put his hand on the bomb release button and pressed it without hesitation.
All ten 100-kilogram aerial bombs under the wings of the Type 96 attack aircraft detached, and the aerial bombs were dropped like dumplings toward the artillery position.
As three planes passed by, the aerial bombs landed at the same time. With a deafening noise, the ground shook violently, and the flames of the aerial bomb explosion formed a mushroom smoke cloud dozens of meters high!
"06 completed the bombing mission and was not attacked." The Japanese pilot flying the Type 96 attack aircraft looked back at the rising smoke and reported on the radio.
"Yo West!" Kato Ryuichi responded, "06 returns immediately, 03 and 04 make a second dive attack on the Eighth Route Artillery position, don't let any Eighth Route Artillery go."
The Type 96 attack plane flew straight west, while the two Nakajima fighter wingmen serving as cover turned somersaulting and flew back.
Then he quickly dived down towards the bombed position, but he did not see the cannon that had been blown into parts. The ground was not bombed by aerial bombs, and the lying Eighth Route Army was motionless.
One of the pilots grabbed the microphone and shouted: "We were fooled. This is a fake position. There are no cannons below, and the Eighth Route Army lying on the ground is also fake."
"idiot!"
Kato Ryuichi's curses came from the radio receiver.
"03, 04, return to the team immediately and join the attack on the Eighth Route Army Position at Lion Rock."
"Hi!" the Japs in the two fighter jets 03 and 04 responded.
At this time, Kato Ryuichi had already led his flight formation to fly over Lion Mountain, saw the target clearly, flew over Yangquan City and quickly turned back.
Three fighter jets and three bombers, a total of six Japanese aircraft roared through the clouds and dived desperately towards the Lion Rock.
