Two days later.
Outside Heyuan County.
A group of Japanese soldiers suddenly appeared on the horizon.
This group of Japanese soldiers carried steel helmets on their heads and marching backpacks on their backs. They were extremely skilled in tactical movements and approached the gate of the county in a cautious manner.
The gate of the county seat was closed, and there were no Eighth Route Army soldiers on the city walls. Heyuan County looked desolate.
"Stop!"
Suddenly, the team leader shouted to stop the Japanese reconnaissance soldiers who were advancing toward the county gate.
When the Japanese scouts heard the shouts, they performed standard alternating cover tactics, crawled behind the bunker, and stared at the county town with wary eyes.
At this distance, if a machine gun was mounted on the city wall, it would definitely be able to shoot at this group of Japs.
In the rear, Captain Seijiro Urano of the 10th Infantry Regiment ordered the artillery to set up six Type 92 infantry cannons and bombard them against the city wall.
The 10th Infantry Regiment is affiliated to the 33rd Brigade of the 10th Division and is the vanguard of the 10th Division.
The 10th Regiment soon formed a siege around Heyuan County.
With a muffled sound of "Boom", the cannonball rose into the air, arced through the air and landed on the city wall.
The shells landed on the devastated city wall, making a loud explosion.
The artillery quality of the Class A Division was extremely high. There was no pre-test firing, and all the first round of 70mm artillery shells fell on the city wall.
After three rounds of shelling, seeing that there was still no movement on the city wall, the Japanese commander Urano Seijiro pulled out his command knife with a swipe and pointed forward:
"3rd Squadron, attack!"
Following the order given by the Japanese captain, about 200 Japanese soldiers held weapons and formed a skirmish line to attack the city gate.
Urano Seijiro is familiar with Chinese art of war, and he knows that there is a strategy in the art of war called the empty city strategy.
He was well aware of Li Yunlong's cunning, and he had to be careful even if he didn't find any traces of the Eighth Route Army.
If there is an ambush in the city, the 10th Regiment may suffer heavy losses. Only by ensuring the absolute safety of the county can Urano Seijiro dare to lead a large force into the county.
The former Japanese military police headquarters in Heyuan County will also become the frontline command post for the Japanese army's raid on the Eighth Route Base in North Shanxi.
The Xinzhou side is still too far away.
The Japanese soldiers who were testing the attack soon came to the city gate, pushed it a few times and found that it could not be pushed open, and then placed explosives in front of the city gate.
With a loud bang, the city gate was blown open, and Japanese soldiers rushed into the county town with guns in hand.
The Japs searched the county town. There were not many ordinary people in the county town, let alone the Eighth Route Army.
Two hours later, Seijiro Urano, who was fighting with the air, led the Japanese soldiers of the 10th Regiment into Heyuan County.
Immediately afterwards.
North China Front Army Chief of Staff Tanabe Moritake, 10th Division Commander Ishikawa Jiro, and other combat staff entered Heyuan County.
The Japanese troops were stationed outside the county town.
This time, Tanabe Moritake and Ishikawa Jiro did not send troops to attack Ping'an County and Anhua County.
The reason is simple. With the current strength of the New Regiment, spreading the troops is looking for death.
If the infantry regiment of the 10th Division is sent to capture Ping'an County and Anhua County respectively.
Li Yunlong will definitely concentrate his superior forces and eliminate one or two infantry regiments of the 10th Division first.
Even the infantry regiment of the Class A Division could not withstand the roar of heavy artillery and the impact of tanks. The defeat of the 39th Regiment was a lesson learned from the past.
Currently, the 10th Division has 9 regiments.
They are the 39th Infantry Regiment, the 40th Infantry Regiment of the 8th Brigade, the 10th Infantry Regiment of the 33rd Brigade, the 63rd Infantry Regiment, and the 237th Infantry Regiment, which was temporarily removed from the 41st Division.
As for the two machine gun brigades that were strengthened during the war, they were incorporated into the disabled 39th Infantry Regiment and were under the command of Colonel Eisuke Suzuki.
There are also the 10th Cavalry Regiment, the 10th Field Artillery Regiment, the 10th Engineer Regiment and the 10th Baggage Regiment.
The logistics troops of Class A divisions are also capable of combat effectiveness, and their combat effectiveness is comparable to that of the field troops of second-line divisions.
However, the 13th Tank Regiment and the 108th Artillery Regiment, which were strengthened during the war, have been severely damaged and the other was completely wiped out in the Battle of Xinzhou.
Within the headquarters.
A combat staff officer reported to Tanabe Moritake and Ishikawa Jiro:
"Currently, the scouts and scout cavalry of each regiment have been sent out to conduct reconnaissance on the outskirts of the Eighth Route Bandit Area."
"Yoshi! Order all captains to go to the headquarters for a meeting immediately!"
Division commander Ishikawa Jiro nodded. Facing the new regiment with outstanding military achievements, even the 10th Division of the Class A Division did not dare to be careless at all.
At the beginning, Ishikawa Jiro still had some contempt for Li Yunlong and Shinichi.
However, after the battle of Xinzhou, Ishikawa Jiro has regarded Li Yunlong as an equal opponent.
The fighting will of the soldiers of the New Regiment is no worse than that of the soldiers of the 10th Division, and the weapons of the soldiers of the New Regiment are also better than those of the soldiers of the 10th Division.
In addition, the new regiment is also equipped with heavy artillery and tanks, and the firepower of the 75mm mountain cannon and 105mm howitzer is also very strong.
There is even the possibility of sudden air support.
This made Ishikawa Jiro very clear that the outcome of this battle between the 10th Division and the New Regiment was still uncertain.
"Hi!"
The combat officer turned and left.
Following the order of Ishikawa Jiro.
The Japanese captains outside the city rode into the city one after another and rushed to the headquarters for a meeting.
In the conference room, Moritake Tanabe sat in the main seat, Jiro Ishikawa sat in the second seat, followed by the two brigade commanders.
A combat staff officer conveys combat orders to each regiment commander.
For fear of leaking the battle plan, the battle orders for each regiment were not issued to the regiment commanders until the day before the war began.
The specific combat order is that the 8th Brigade attacks Dagu Town and the 33rd Brigade attacks Lijia Town.
The 237th Regiment attacked from the alley and tried to penetrate from the alley to attack from behind the new regiment.
Assisting the 10th Division in attacking the New Regiment were two brigades of puppet troops, totaling more than 6,000 people. These were cannon fodder. The puppet brigade commander was not even qualified to enter the headquarters for meetings.
The Cavalry Regiment is a reserve force, and the Field Artillery Regiment is divided into two parts, responsible for covering the attacks of the 8th Brigade and the 33rd Brigade.
The artillery wing of the 10th Division has 4 artillery brigades, with a total of 36 75mm field guns and 12 120mm howitzers.
In addition, each infantry wing also has a gun squadron and a rapid-fire gun squadron directly under the wing, equipped with 4 75mm mountain guns and 4 35mm rapid-fire guns.
Therefore, the 10th Division is fully equipped with 12 120mm howitzers, 36 75mm field guns, 16 75mm mountain guns, 16 37mm rapid-fire guns, in addition to dozens of mortars, Type 92 infantry guns and More than 400 50mm grenade tubes.
However, the 39th Regiment of the 10th Division was severely damaged in the Xinzhou battlefield, but the 237th Regiment of the second-line division joined the 10th Division during the war, and the total number was similar.
The 10th Division's firepower was strong.
The baggage regiment is responsible for logistics, and the engineering regiment is responsible for clearing obstacles for the large troops.
Early the next morning.
After a night's rest, the troops of the 10th Division quickly assembled and set off.
The 8th Brigade and the 33rd Brigade, led by the brigade commander, rushed towards the base of the new regiment.
There were no main forces of the Eighth Route Army or guerrillas to harass us along the way.
The Japs this time have very strong fighting power and a large number of troops. If they send out a small group of troops to harass, they will probably get involved.
Therefore, Li Yunlong did not send troops to fight the Sparrow War, but waited directly in the base area for the Japanese to arrive.
The ones attacking Dagu Town were the 39th Infantry Regiment and the 40th Infantry Regiment led by Major General Saburo Miura, commander of the 8th Brigade.
In addition, there are 6 120mm howitzers and 18 field guns of the field artillery wing to cooperate with the attack.
In addition to the 4 mountain guns and 4 rapid-fire guns of the 39th Infantry Regiment and the 40th Infantry Regiment, the total is 28 guns.
All the mountain artillery and rapid-fire artillery equipped by the 39th Infantry Regiment have been lost on the Xinzhou battlefield.
At about two o'clock in the afternoon, the Japanese 8th Brigade, the artillery unit and a brigade of puppet troops arrived at the outskirts of Dagu Town, and then made preparations for the attack.
The brigade commander, Major General Saburo Miura, immediately led Chief of Staff Lieutenant Colonel Ohno Binio, 39th Regiment Captain Suzuki Eisuke and 40th Regiment Captain Yamaguchi Tatsuharu to reconnoiter the terrain.
Miura Saburo looked through the telescope and saw a mountain about 2 kilometers away blocking the road ahead. Many civil engineering works were built on the front slope of the mountain.
Lieutenant Colonel Ohno Bino, who had reviewed the battle report of the 36th Division of the First Army, looked at the map, then pointed ahead and said:
"Captain of the brigade, over the mountain in front is Dagu Town."
Miura Saburo nodded, his face expressionless.
Ohno Binfu continued: "A few months ago, the commander of the 36th Division attacked here under the leadership of Lieutenant General Iguchi Ren."
"How does it end?"
Major General Saburo Miura asked.
Ohno Binfu said: "The 222nd Regiment of the 36th Division launched two attacks on the forward positions, with a total loss of more than 800 people. However, the Locust Army did not even touch the forward positions of the Eighth Route New Regiment."
"I told you so."
"The combat effectiveness of this new regiment is no worse than ours. The 36th Division is just a second-line division. It is normal that it cannot defeat the new regiment."
Suzuki Eisuke glanced at Yamaguchi Tatsuharu. Ever since the 39th Regiment suffered a disastrous defeat in Shinju, Suzuki Eisuke had been ridiculed by Yamaguchi Tatsuharu.
"Trash is trash. Our 40th Infantry Regiment can fight five infantry regiments of second-line divisions."
Yamaguchi Tatsun snorted coldly and said in an arrogant tone:
"Commander of the brigade, please let our 40th Infantry Regiment attack. In three hours at most, our unit will be able to capture the new regiment's position ahead!"
"Yoshi, your courage is commendable!" Miura Saburo glanced at Yamaguchi Tatsuharu and Suzuki Eisuke approvingly.
As for Eisuke Suzuki, his courage seemed to have been shattered after the Battle of Shinju. He told everyone how powerful Li Yunlong and the New Group were when he met everyone, and those who didn't know thought he was Li Yunlong's fanboy.
Of course, in his heart, Suzuki Eisuke wanted to eliminate Li Yunlong and the new group more than anyone else.
Eliminate the man who brought shame to the 39th Regiment and nailed him, Eisuke Suzuki, to the pillar of shame.
It has been 7 days since the Xinzhou Battle ended. These 7 days may not be long, but God knows how he got here in these 7 days?
During these seven days, Suzuki Eisuke was often ridiculed by his colleagues. He always wanted to chop off Li Yunlong's head and annihilate the new group.
After a pause, Miura Saburo said again: "Yamaguchi-kun, immediately launch a probing attack on the Eighth Route New Regiment's position!"
"Hi!"
Yamaguchi Tatsuharu suddenly paused, turned around, and walked quickly towards the location of the 40th Regiment with his saber in hand.
