Things turned out to be as Ando Toshikichi had expected, and the next attack became extremely difficult.

After Zeng Zhongsheng ordered the 1st Sniper Squadron to retreat, he pondered in the headquarters for a long time, feeling that the enemy situation was now generally clear. The reports of the reconnaissance units were very clear: the frontal attack was the Fifth Division of the Chinese Army, and the two flanks were the Second Division, the Fourteenth Division and the 33rd Division under their command, the First Brigade Regiment of Reading Force, and the Seventh Brigade Regiment of Reading Force. From this point of view, the division commander's analysis before leaving is very correct, the Jinan army must have adjusted the defending troops again, and the 108th Division will also go out of the city to participate in the battle and serve as a reserve.

With such an elite unit as the Seventh Brigade at hand, he is not afraid to fight Zeng Zhongsheng. The problem was that the task he shouldered limited him, and the division commander made it very clear to him, camouflage the main force, and lead the heavy army group to Jiaodong. It is best to lead the main forces of the Yue army in southern and central Lu to Jiaodong, so that the main force can smoothly capture Lianyungang and even Xuzhou. As long as this goal is achieved, the heavy army group will inevitably turn around and move south, and the situation in Shandong will be stable.

If you want to complete this task, you must fight hard with the army, so that the army mistakenly thinks that the main force of our army is in Luzhong, and the force is not supported to retreat to Jiaodong, so that the army will misjudge and make it concentrate on killing Jiaodong with all its strength. When the time comes, the main force of our army will be deployed on the border of Sulu, and it will be an earth-shattering shock! It's impossible for the little devil not to withdraw his troops.

According to the plan discussed with Liu Yimin, it was to concentrate on teaching the main force of the Seventh Brigade to start a fierce battle with the enemy in the vicinity of Zhoucun, block the enemy for at least one day, so that the little devils could not attack, and then our army would take the initiative to abandon its position and retreat, so that the play would be really.

But now the problem is that the devil's fifth division has become smarter, they are not attacking in several directions, but the entire division is huddled together, using the advantages of its motorized division to turn the troops into a steel hedgehog, if the troops attack rashly, not only will they hit their heads and bleed, but also expose the secret that the main force of the instructor is not here. Because of so many battles, the little devil has clearly taught the firepower of the artillery group, which is composed of several artillery regiments. There is only one artillery regiment in the Seventh Brigade, and it can't fool the devils anyway.

Thinking of this question, Zeng Zhongsheng couldn't help but sigh, the little devils are so fucking cunning now, they are no longer the devils they used to be! In the past, the devils were extremely arrogant, and more than a dozen people dared to occupy a county town, and a brigade dared to pursue [***] a division. The current devil has suffered too much loss at the hands of the instructor, and has already become a frightened rabbit, from the senior commander to the squad leader, for fear of falling into the trap of the Eighth Route Army if he is not careful. It's really a bit difficult to fool them again.

Seeing Zeng Zhongsheng's hard work thinking about the map, Deputy Chief of Staff Guo Huaruo said: "Chief of Staff, the current posture of the Fifth Division is a bit like an iron bucket, and it is very scary to roll. The 2nd and 14th Divisions, which followed it, followed suit and became iron buckets. In this case, if we are caught up by them, we will be crushed. But this also has the advantage that their attack speed is slower, and it is impossible to play any more roundabout tricks, so we don't have to worry about being cut off in the back. ”

Tan Zheng on the side said in a sullen voice: "What Lao Guo said is a bit simple. The devils can't figure out our reality now, and they are afraid that there is a big trap waiting for them in front of them, so they don't dare to intersperse in a roundabout way. I heard that the division commander said at the operational meeting of the 10th Division on the Jilu border that the 2nd Division of the Chinese Army was the best at detours and night attacks, and it was surprisingly bold. The 14th Division is also not ambiguous, the last time it took a detour of thousands of miles to Lanfeng, it fought very beautifully. If we hadn't launched the Luzhong Campaign, it is estimated that Kaifeng and Zhengzhou would have been called armies by now. Even the Fifth Division in front of it, that is also remarkable, half of the division dares to challenge the 100,000-strong army to defend Xinkou. Their 21st Brigade was completely annihilated by our army, and I thought it was because they didn't think that at that time, there was still a Chinese [***] team that would dare to attack them, so they relaxed their vigilance, and the skill and combat level of my instructor was surprisingly high. One is digging a trap, the other is not alert. In such a situation, we only got the right shot. If they are allowed to deploy firepower, even if our army wins, it is absolutely impossible to completely annihilate them. How can a person catch up with a tank car? If you want me to say, once the army finds out what we are doing, I am afraid that it will immediately change its tactics, quickly break through from both flanks, and encircle our army. ”

Chen Dayong laughed: "Political Commissar Tan is right, no matter what, we can't let the little devils find out our intentions, we have to let them always think that we are the main force of the division to block and lure the enemy troops, and there is a big trap waiting for them in front." Only in this way can they transfer troops from Lunan and Luzhongnan to join the Luzhong battlefield. ”

Guo Huaruo looked at the map and said: "I have an idea, judging from the current enemy situation, the army is afraid of our army's attack, so it is cautious in its actions. It is impossible for them to attack and advance overnight at night, and they will inevitably camp and hold on. In this case, we will have the opportunity to pull up the artillery regiment, rocket launchers, artillery brigade to strengthen our combat defense artillery battery, the flying thunder artillery battalion, and the air defense brigade to strengthen our second air defense regiment, first use the flying thunder artillery battalion to bombard in close proximity, and when the devils are in confusion, concentrate the artillery regiment's firepower to saturate the enemy. If the devil tanks pursue, we will attack the enemy tanks and armored vehicles with rocket launchers and 37mm anti-aircraft guns. If it goes well, we will wave the main force of the Seventh Brigade of the Sect, defeat part of the devils, force them to retreat, make the devils more timid, and make their attacks tomorrow more careful than today. In this way, our task of sticking to the front line of Zhoucun for one day can be completed. Then evacuate at night. ”

After Guo Huaruo finished speaking, several people looked at Zeng Zhongsheng, waiting for him to make a decision.

Zeng Zhongsheng pondered for a while and said, "We must launch an attack on the enemy tonight, and this opportunity cannot be missed. However, the firepower of the Chinese army is much stronger than ours, and in the event of an attack, the Chinese army will inevitably concentrate artillery fire to retaliate, and the Syrian tanks will not pursue. The 5th Division, the 2nd Division, and the 14th Division were all very strong, and it was impossible for us to defeat any of them with the Seventh Brigade. If you don't do it, you will steal chickens and not lose a handful of rice. In this way, I would like to make a suggestion for everyone to discuss. This night attack is so hit, first, our Liujiaolai Reading Force Group sticks to the front-line position of Zhoucun to strictly prevent night attacks by devils. The second is to move the artillery regiment, the 19th Regiment, the 20th Regiment, the 21st Regiment, the New Seventh Regiment, and the Supplementary Regiment to the south of the road overnight. According to reconnaissance, the 14th Division of the Yue Army commanded the 33rd Division to serve as the right flank of the Yue Army, and their position should be in the southwest of Zhangqiu County this evening, advancing with the 14th Division. It is this 33rd Division that we are going to fight. This is a newly built division, and if our army concentrates its forces on a fight, it will inevitably be defeated. We will only defeat it and let it pour into the positions of the 14th Division. Third, the cavalry battalion protected the bazookas, the Second Air Defense Regiment, the War Defense Artillery Company, and the Flying Thunder Artillery Battalion to attack the Fifth Division of the Devils at night, with the focus on creating chaos and harassing the Devils. In this way, the little devils will think that there is a trap in front, and there is a detour of the main force of our army to outflank the troops behind, and they will be more cautious. After completing the task, all units must withdraw before dawn to prepare for the tomorrow's blocking battle. ”

After Zeng Zhongsheng put forward this plan, several people pondered and pondered, and felt that it was basically feasible, and finally decided to temporarily organize the engineer battalion and guard battalion of the Seventh Brigade, under the command of Shi Ran, director of the Political Department of the Seventh Brigade, and all of them were transferred to war horses, and went around to the north of the road to attack and harass the Second Division, the First Brigade of Reading Force, and the Seventh Brigade of Reading Force. The main force of the 7th Brigade of the Jiao 7th Brigade, which went to Lunan to attack the 33rd Division, was commanded by Chen Dayong and political commissar Liu Yi, and the 1st Sniper Squadron, which had been transferred to Lunan, cooperated with the main force and expanded the results of the battle as much as possible. The cavalry battalion, the flying thunder artillery battalion, the anti-aircraft artillery company, and the rocket launcher combat group that attacked the Fifth Division were commanded by Li Deguang, chief of staff of the Seventh Brigade.

After the plan was decided, Zeng Zhongsheng immediately issued an order, asking all units to hurry up preparations and start action when the sun set. At one o'clock in the night, three directions started at the same time.

Toshiyoshi Ando led the 5th Division to rest in Zhangqiu County and the surrounding villages for a short time, and then began to continue the attack to the east.

At this time, the journey of suffering of the army began. On the front of the devil's marching procession, small units of the Eighth Route Army kept detonating electric explosive packets and damaging cars. Even several combat vehicles were inexplicably blown up by mines.

Ando Rikichi was a little unconvinced, the chariot was a sharp weapon of the imperial army against the [***] team, invincible, how could it be damaged by the mines of the Eighth Route Army? He went to inspect it himself, and the chariot was indeed damaged by the mines of the Eighth Route Army. Ando Toshikichi was puzzled, the Great Empire had not yet developed a mine that could blow up a chariot, and where did the Tsuchibachi learn this technology, which was even more advanced than the technology of the Great Empire. It's just inexplicable!

What bothered Ando Toshiyoshi the most was that the snipers of the Eighth Route Army appeared again on the right flank of the army, like ghosts, silently harvesting the lives of the Imperial soldiers. In particular, the artillery of the field artillery wing, they all advanced on horseback or in artillery wagons, and now they became targets. Those hateful snipers, one hit at a time, all shot at a distance of five hundred meters. Since there was no gunfire, their exact location could not be found, the shelling was poor. In desperation, Ando Toshikichi ordered a tank squadron to be sent to drive out these snipers, and the result was good, this group of snipers of the Eighth Route Army was equipped with a cannon that could destroy the tank, and the tank was blown up with one shot, and there was no possibility of repairing it.

Finally, after passing the Puji to the front line of Wangcun, seeing that it was not very early, Ando Toshiyoshi refused to go any further, and ordered the troops to camp on the spot, build a position with the wing as a unit, light a fire and cook, and attack again tomorrow.

It's really embarrassing for Ando Rikichi, such an elite field motorized division of the Fifth Division can actually participate in the race with the turtle in his hands. If Seishiro Itagaki knew underground, he would have to be so angry that he would have to disembowelment again!

This stopped advancing, and the snipers of the Eighth Route Army stuck up again. Soldiers standing guard, soldiers on patrol often fall silently. A devil squad leader was irritated by the nervous disorder, and actually commanded the whole squad to rush forward with bayonets, but it didn't take long for a terrible silence to appear around.

The devils, who were embarrassed and angry, concentrated the artillery fire of the whole division and aimed at the place where the devil squad was annihilated. Now it was quiet, and the snipers of the Eighth Route Army stopped shooting. The army dispatched tanks and armored vehicles to repeatedly search the battlefield where the infantry squad was completely annihilated, and except for some leaflets of the Eighth Route Army, only the shell craters of the army remained on the battlefield.

The leaflets of the Eighth Route Army were quickly confiscated by officers at all levels of the Imperial Army, because they were all about encouraging the soldiers of the Imperial Army to kill officers and receive awards, and if the soldiers knew about it, maybe there would be a scandal of soldiers shooting officers like the Second Division!

The commander of the devil's artillery had to go to Toshiyoshi Ando. Because there is artillery fire at every turn along the way, the shells are consumed too quickly, and if this continues, it is necessary to consider how to replenish ammunition.

Toshiyoshi Ando, a high-ranking general, knew well about Samoto's economy and munitions production capacity, and he knew that if all the troops used ammunition in this way, the domestic economy would be dragged down. But he can't help it, it's better to waste some shells than to sacrifice the lives of Imperial soldiers!

Therefore, Lieutenant General Toshiyoshi Ando patiently told his artillery commander that the matter of replenishing artillery shells could be asked to the North China Front Command, and the more the better. There are so many arms factories, just let them produce more.

After saying that, feeling a little self-defeating, Ando Toshiyoshi smiled and patted his artillery commander on the shoulder, telling him that he had to carry out his firepower to fight against the instructor of the Eighth Route Army. He was asked to communicate more with the baggage wing and order as many artillery shells as possible from the logistics department of the Second Army and the logistics department of the North China Front Army, in order to ensure the needs of the operation.

After the artillery commander left, Toshiyoshi Ando sent a telegram to Lieutenant General Okamura Ninji, commander of the Second Division, and Lieutenant General Kenji Dohihara, commander of the 14th Division, urging them to move quickly, move closer to the Fifth Division, establish contacts, and protect the two flanks of the Fifth Division.

When he was done, Toshiyoshi Ando sat down and began to write a record of the march.

In the narrative, Toshiyoshi Ando wrote: "The Eighth Route Army instructor we are facing is a mysterious army. This unit was unlike any other unit in China, except for its combat record and tactics, it also had snipers and sniper rifles with silencers. This force also uses a mine that can blow up combat vehicles, which, as far as I know, has not been developed by any other country in the world. In addition, the artillery used by this unit was very terrifying, and a single shot could tear apart the chariots of the imperial army. I suspect that the reason why the 21st Division is broken must be inseparable from this kind of artillery. I want to wipe out this force once and for all and solve these mysteries in my heart. ”

After writing the note, Toshikichi Ando inspected the defense line of the troops, and then he ate and rested.

Before Liu Yimin led the main force south, considering that the Ludong group was inevitably facing the elite divisions of the Yue Army, there were many tanks and armored vehicles of the devils, and this Luzhong, Qinghe, and Jiaolai were all plain areas, which were suitable for the mechanized troops of the devils to fight, and the Seventh Brigade was taught that there was no shortage of other weapons, that is, there were too few weapons to deal with the devil's tanks, so he transferred the Second Air Defense Regiment to Zeng Zhongsheng's command, first, it could conduct air defense and cover the battlefield at critical times, and second, it could use the characteristics of anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft machine guns with long range and great power to deal with devil tanks, armored vehicles, and automobiles. Later, when I thought about it, I was still not at ease, so I transferred a battalion from the Flying Thunder Artillery Regiment to assist in teaching the Seventh Brigade to defend the city. In the end, Liu Yimin remembered that the twelve anti-tank artillery pieces he got back from Qingdao were organized into a combat anti-aircraft artillery company by Li Chang, and this guy was an anti-tank artillery company of this era, so he allocated all this company to Zeng Zhongsheng.

Liu Yimin's deployment in this way is to be able to fight back in case the Ludong Group encounters the Second Division or the Fifth Division of the Chinese Army.

After Li Deguang received the order to command his troops to attack the Fifth Division, he asked the scouts sent by the reconnaissance company to closely monitor the movements of the Fifth Division. After the Fifth Division camped, Li Deguang set off with his troops.

The 5th Division was a large force and camped around the villages on the left and right sides of Wangcun. Now that the weather is hot, I am not afraid of having no place to sleep, so I can just find a wooden plank, pull a piece of cloth, find a straw mat and put it on the ground, and then I can lie down and fall asleep. However, the conditions of the devil soldiers are good, and those in the field have to set up a tent, although it is hot, but it can avoid mosquito bites.

Taking advantage of the cover of night, Li Deguang led his troops, under the guidance of scouts, to touch the front of the defense line of the Fifth Division.

When he arrived here, Li Deguang realized that Zeng Zhongsheng's plan was a bit taken for granted. Because the units of the 5th Division had already quickly built up positions, all connected by trenches. Tanks, armored vehicles, and automobiles were all protected in the defensive circles of the various units, and there was no door for the rocket launcher groups to blend in and attack. Don't say that all you bring is artillery, even the special operations brigade led by Li Lingfeng can't do it here. Because this is the time of the Great War, the vigilance of the little devils is extremely high, and it is impossible to get close to the devil's position, let alone blend in.

It is not possible to use anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft machine guns to attack devil tanks and armored vehicles, because the defense of the Fifth Division is absolutely first-class, and they don't even know the exact location of devil tanks and armored vehicles, so how can they attack?

Since this is the case, Li Deguang must adjust the battle plan. He chose Lijiazhuang as the attack point, which was supposed to be the camp of a wing of the devils, and the fields outside the village were full of tents, and the outer areas were the positions of the devils connected by trenches. The little devil set up a diesel generator and a searchlight on the position, illuminating the shooting boundary brightly.

Li Deguang ordered the Second Air Defense Regiment, the anti-aircraft artillery company, and the rocket launcher group to set up a position five miles away from Lijiazhuang and prepare to ambush the tanks and armored vehicles of the devil's pursuing troops. If the devil doesn't chase after it, there's no way, he can't waste precious shells to make useless attacks. Then he ordered the cavalry battalion of the Seventh Brigade to cover the flying thunder artillery battalion to attack the devil's position and try to lure the enemy into pursuit.

(To be continued)