It's just that when directly engaging the enemy, the troops' actions can no longer be more careful. Although the dogs in the city also barked a few times, they were still within the normal range and did not alarm the Japanese puppet army in the city. But like tonight, there is not a single dog barking, which is absolutely abnormal. Don't look at the four gates in the city now, but there must be something abnormal in the city.

If there were really Japanese puppet troops in the city, according to the practice of the Japanese army's defensive warfare in urban areas and villages, they would use the houses on both sides of the street as much as possible as various fortifications. This includes not only houses, but also various courtyards and roofs, which will become fortifications that they can use.

The Japanese army not only deployed all kinds of weapons and equipment in civilian houses after camouflage. Moreover, some small adjustments have been made to the structure of the houses to ensure that their firepower is crossed. And to the maximum, let your shooting range without dead ends. This is also the reason why once the Chinese and Japanese armies do not switch offensive and defensive roles much, it will be difficult for the Chinese army to capture the Japanese army and hold the city.

In the battle of urban defense, the Japanese army has always been a fire circle. A network of crossed and continuous firepower is formed. And make full use of the original house as much as possible as a variety of fire points. In particular, the Japanese army generally made full use of the houses on both sides of various streets.

In the absence of heavy fire support, light infantry alone wanted to make a breakthrough. In the face of a continuous network of firepower formed by various light and heavy weapons, the price to be paid is often unbearable. This is also since the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, China's troops from all sides have hardly been able to capture any city occupied by the Japanese army.

Unless the Japanese defenders were very few, only a few dozen or a dozen. But even so, it was difficult for the Japanese army to break through the core fortifications that the Japanese army had entrenched. The Japanese army basically turned the so-called urban defensive warfare into an urban ambush warfare. In addition to the repeated battles for important strongholds on the periphery, they generally do not defend the city walls, but put most of the living forces inside the city.

In this way, it is possible to ensure that the vitality of the defenders will not suffer excessive losses when the enemy breaks through the perimeter. Even if the Chinese army broke through the city walls, when they advanced deep into the city, they would encounter intensive fire from the Japanese army. As for the casualties of the Chinese civilians in the city, the Japanese army did not care about it at all.

Li Ziyuan has never fought a regular urban offensive and defensive battle, let alone a city heavily defended by the Japanese army. The Eighth Route Army did not have any offensive fire support, and a very small number of artillery could not even put together a few shells. Even the most basic *packs and* are scarce, and cities are generally not attacked unless absolutely necessary.

These things are all talked about when Wang Jun and Li Ziyuan talk every day. In addition, Wang Jun also used some examples of the Battle of Songhu and the Nanchang counteroffensive to prove that what he said was true. Li Ziyuan once did a simulation drill with Wang Jun on the sand table.

After some deduction, Li Ziyuan found that the Japanese army had turned almost the entire city into a big fortress. Coupled with the dominant ground-to-air firepower, once the Japanese army leads a certain city. In the absence of superior artillery, it was difficult to recapture it by the Chinese army.

Under the superior ground-to-air firepower of the Japanese army, as well as the painstakingly formulated defensive tactical system. The Chinese army, which often attacked, had already consumed most of its vital forces almost on the periphery. Even if they break through the perimeter, in the face of the core defense system, it will be difficult for the attacking troops with heavy casualties to make a sustained breakthrough. only

As Wang Jun said, in the Nanchang counterattack, the main division consumed most of its vitality on the periphery. Even if it has reached the train station, it is not able to continue the attack. The fact that there were several thousand combat soldiers of this main division was almost exhausted on the periphery, which is enough to show the success of the Japanese defensive battle.

Chongqing's tackling tactics, although in Li Ziyuan's opinion, there are many problems. In terms of troop deployment, it is either a dog that is not up to a wolf, or because the troop is used one by one, and finally it becomes a refueling tactic. But it is also enough to show that the Japanese army turned defensive warfare into ambush warfare, and the opponent itself could not form a complete front by using urban fortified operations.

Repeatedly compete with the enemy for key points first, use your superior weapons and equipment, delay as much as possible, and kill and damage the opponent's vital strength. When the enemy enters the city, they are faced with an endless network of firepower. Without superior artillery support, how many troops would it take to fill it up?

This defensive method of the Japanese army can be described as quite vicious. But there is one thing, and that is that they want to spread their forces apart. Even if the houses facing the street are used as fortifications, how can strangers enter the house without barking for a dog? Some dogs have a stubborn personality and will howl until the stranger leaves.

This characteristic of the dog is good at night fighting, and it often causes a lot of trouble when it sneaks up at night. The dog is channeling, and it can't tell which outsiders are its own people and which are enemies. The dog's sense of smell and hearing is quite sensitive, and strangers can be seen approaching from afar.

Sometimes the Eighth Route sneaks up on the Japanese puppet army stronghold, often far away, and the dog barks desperately. The Eighth Route Army also launched a dog-fighting campaign, but after all, dogs are good helpers for ordinary people to take care of their homes and homes. One of the dogs is that the people are reluctant, and the other is that the dogs are gone, which sometimes has the opposite effect.

It is not only the Eighth Route Army that will sneak attack, but also the Japanese army's night attack ability. The dog ran out, and when the Japanese puppet army sneak attacked, he didn't call the police, which played the opposite role. In the end, this dog-fighting campaign still didn't come to an end. But the presence of dogs will undoubtedly cause great trouble for the night raids of both sides.

The previous deduction with Wang Jun and Li Ziyuan gave Li Ziyuan a wake-up call. And last night, when the troops were approaching the city wall, although there were not many dogs in the city, they also barked a few times. If it weren't for the puppet army that they were afraid of being ambushed out of the city, they just glanced at the city with a searchlight a few times, and estimated that their sneak attack last night was discovered by the puppet army in advance.

It was a good sneak attack, and it was almost not lost in the barking of dogs. There was not a single dog barking in Hubei County tonight, which reminded Li Ziyuan in disguise that it must be abnormal in the city. Therefore, Li Ziyuan faced Hubei County, which was wide open, and left by detour.

And He Sanliang, who was beside Li Ziyuan, after hearing the dog barking in the village, immediately understood the difference after a little contemplation. However, He Sanliang, who reacted, asked Li Ziyuan if he was building some fortifications in the village. At least some barricades were built on the streets of the village.

Regarding He Sanliang's request, Li Ziyuan shook his head and said, "Don't use it for the time being, pay attention to controlling the villagers." During the day we were here, no one was allowed to go out. The people who came in from outside were all detained first, and the troops took turns to rest in a company formation. ”

"All cadres and fighters, do not move around and make loud noises. No one was allowed to leave the village, except for those of the reconnaissance company. In addition, let the fighters seize the time to familiarize themselves with the streets and structures in the village. All the courtyards, on all sides of the courtyard walls, there were passages and gun holes. ”

"But the action must be light, not earth-shattering. All cadres and soldiers who had to go out on the streets had to change into civilian clothes, and if they didn't have them, they borrowed them from fellow villagers. Tell the old squad leader that all the fellows who lent their clothes would each be given two yuan of counterfeit money as compensation. In addition, the veterans and backbones were told to watch the recruits who had just been liberated from the puppet army. ”

Speaking of this, Li Ziyuan turned his head and said to Qian Peng beside him: "Old Qian, during the time that the army is here to build a strong wall, you must seize the time to do a good job in ideological mobilization." Especially those puppet army prisoners who joined the army in Hubei County, these people's thinking has not completely changed. Once the Japanese puppet army encircles us, these people are likely to waver. ”

"We only have five infantry companies now, and even with the addition of the engineer company and the regimental guard company, it is only seven companies. Once these people mutinied on the battlefield and let the Japanese puppet army find out what we were doing, then the danger would be fatal to us. Old money, the situation is grim, and we must guard against it. ”

Li Ziyuan's words, Qian Peng nodded thoughtfully. Without saying a word, he turned around and went back to talk to someone. After Qian Peng left, Li Ziyuan was a little uneasy, and personally checked the vigilance put by the troops, as well as the implementation of his orders by the troops. Especially those recruits, Li Ziyuan is really a little worried.

It wasn't until the troops were either sleeping in the courtyards of the villagers or snuggling up on the stacks of firewood and straw that Li Ziyuan was relieved. It's just that the soldiers can rest, but Li Ziyuan, who is worried about the change of the enemy situation and the safety of the troops of the second battalion of the Changzhi Airport, has no sleep all night.

Even He Sanliang repeatedly urged him to rest and found a house for him. But Li Ziyuan stared at his bloodshot eyes, which had not rested for two nights, and he just couldn't sleep. Until dawn, Li Ziyuan was not able to fall asleep. And after the sky was bright, the surrounding enemy situation gradually became clearer.

Just when Li Ziyuan had just wiped his face with cold water in order to make his head clearer. The scouts who returned from Hubei County reported that a large number of Japanese puppet troops suddenly poured out of the city at dawn. Looking at the number of troops, there are more than 3,000 people, and more than 2,000 of them are Japanese soldiers, and these Japanese puppet troops are moving towards this area.

After listening to the scout's report, Li Ziyuan faced He Sanliang, who asked for instructions on what to do next, and without the slightest hesitation, he ordered that as long as the Japanese army was not only in the village, no shots were allowed. The whole regiment was ready for battle, and all cadres and soldiers were not allowed to go out into the streets or move around at will.

After He Sanliang conveyed the order, Li Ziyuan carried the telescope to the top of the highest house in the village, raised the telescope and looked in the direction of Hubei County. The large-magnification telescope in his hand didn't make him wait long. Just more than ten minutes after Li Ziyuan went to the room, the vanguard of the Japanese puppet army had already appeared in his binoculars.

A large number of Japanese puppet troops adopted the tactics of alternating cover and leapfrogging forward. With the cooperation of three armored vehicles and a mountain artillery squadron reinforced with two field guns, they searched all the way towards Li Ziyuan's village and moved all the way. The distance of each advance of the Japanese puppet army never exceeded the range of the artillery behind them.

At this time, a Japanese plane also appeared in the sky, constantly circling and reconnoitring in front of the search queue of the Japanese puppet army. Attempt to locate the eight routes on the ground in order to provide on-demand support to the infantry searching on the ground. But more planes, I don't know whether they went to the mountainous area to the east to reconnoitre, or the second battalion successfully attacked the airfield, and there was no trace.

Looking at the tactics adopted by the Japanese puppet army, Li Ziyuan frowned. Tell the correspondent around you and let the chief of staff organize the troops to prepare for a defensive battle. The artillery company and light and heavy machine guns were all camouflaged, and as long as the devils did not come within 50 meters of the village, they were not allowed to shoot.