The cavalry battalion of the 7th Brigade of Jiao took on the task of cutting off the retreat of the Qingdao garrison in the Battle of Fangzi and made great contributions, but the troops suffered heavy casualties. After the war, Liu Yimin ordered to give priority to several units with large casualties in the Luzhong Campaign, and the cavalry battalion of the Seventh Brigade was naturally the priority among the priorities. This time, the battalion commander Pan Mingliang was ruthless, because he felt that the firepower of his cavalry battalion was not enough during the blocking operation, so he pestered Liu Yimin, Hu Laohu, Chen Dayong, and Li Chang, calling out to his uncle and chief one after another, demanding that while replenishing the cadres and soldiers, his fire support company should be divided into four and turned into a heavy machine gun company, a grenadier company, a mountain artillery company, and an infantry artillery company. Pan Mingming's reason is very simple, anyway, he has achieved a great victory, the war horses and weapons are not used clearly, the base area is vast, the supply of troops is sufficient, and there are many cavalry, artillerymen, and machine gunners among the prisoners of the puppet army, and it is better to match the firepower with sufficient power than to bury the weapons in the ground and caves.

Considering that the Seventh Brigade was the main force in the future Ludong operation, and that the cavalry battalion was the unit with the strongest mobility ability in the Seventh Brigade, and that it would never be possible to increase the firepower, Liu Yimin specially approved the Seventh Brigade Cavalry Battalion to be changed into a cavalry reinforced battalion, and not only provided sufficient weapons and equipment according to Pan Mingliang's requirements, but also ordered the cavalry battalion to expand the original three cavalry companies into five cavalry companies.

Due to the expansion of the cavalry battalion of the Seventh Brigade and the fact that the cavalry brigade suffered heavy casualties in the battle with the second division, Liu Yimin ordered the cavalry brigade to add a field artillery regiment, a heavy machine gun battalion, and an anti-aircraft artillery battalion to greatly increase the firepower of the cavalry brigade. made Liu Yimin inexplicable, and asked Hu Laohu what was wrong with him? Hu Laohu said that the cavalry brigade should have strengthened its firepower a long time ago, and this was all the fault of the division commander, and now that it has been strengthened, it is necessary to correct the mistake. was so angry that Liu Yimin rolled his eyes.

After receiving the task of protecting the Flying Thunder Artillery Battalion to attack the devils, Pan Mingliang went directly to the battalion commander and instructor of the Flying Thunder Artillery Battalion, and asked them whether that thing worked or not, and how far could it go?

The battalion commander is the cousin of Ding Zhuodong, deputy political commissar of the artillery brigade and head of the Flying Thunder Artillery Regiment, named Ding Rendong, and the instructor is Sun Chengzhi. As soon as these two people heard Pan Mingming's words, they angrily pressed Pan Mingliang to the ground and slapped them a few times on the buttocks. After the shooting, he said: "You red ghost, you dare to look down on the flying thunder cannons of Lao Tzu." Let me tell you, Lao Tzu's flying thunder cannon has improved a lot now, and it is no longer the original one that can only hit a hundred meters. We are now a new technology, the barrel is reinforced with steel bars, and the inside is the sleeve, not only the life of the barrel is extended, but also the firing range can be adjusted arbitrarily between 100 meters and 1000 meters. The same principle as the cannon, just add a charge pack. If you think about it, we are firing explosives packets, which are full of iron nails and wires, and the lethality is more powerful than mountain artillery and field artillery! ”

Pan Mingliang is young, although he has great achievements, but the old Red Army all treat him as their own child, and when they meet, they press the ground and slap their buttocks a few times or lift them up and throw them into the air, which is a normal thing, it is a kind of family affection. Therefore, after Pan Mingliang stood up, not only did he not pursue them for beating him, but instead shouted Uncle Ding and Uncle Sun in his mouth, and pulled the two of them to the ground.

At 12 o'clock in the night, Pan Mingliang and Ding Rendong took the cavalry battalion of the 7th Brigade and the 2nd battalion of the Flying Thunder Artillery Regiment to a place about 7 or 800 meters away from Lijiazhuang and began to build a position.

On the Great Plains, it was a quiet night again, and as soon as there was movement on the side of the Eighth Route Army, the wolf dogs on the devil's side began to bark.

As soon as the wolf dog barked, there was a panic on the little devil's position, and the searchlights began to shine in all directions, although the distance was far away, and the devil could not see clearly, but it was certain that there was an enemy attack. Not only were the light and heavy machine guns, infantry guns, mortars, and grenadiers of the Little Devil Infantry Wing all erected, but even tanks, heavy artillery, and field artillery were ready for shelling.

The soldiers of the cavalry battalion and the soldiers of the second battalion of the flying thunder artillery set up their positions in an orderly manner, first setting up the six mountain guns and infantry guns of the mountain artillery company, and then digging pits to lay out the flying thunder artillery positions. Due to the short range, the grenadier could not be hit, so it was not erected.

The Fifth Division of the Chinese Army did not panic like other newly formed divisions, but carried out a fire reconnaissance on the suspicious target, and then fell silent, waiting for the Eighth Route Army to attack and expose the target. On the side of the Eighth Route Army, the soldiers stopped their operations when the little devils were scouting to hide their bodies and avoid casualties. As soon as the devil's reconnaissance fire stopped, the soldiers began to sweat again.

It didn't take long for a long time to form a long, curved arc-shaped firepower position around Lijiazhuang, and it was almost a little bit, and the final inspection was also carried out, Pan Mingliang whispered: "Little devil, grandpa is here to send you off, you go on the road quickly!" ”

After speaking, Pan Mingliang and Ding Rendong looked at the following table and ordered the cannon to be fired.

When the battle of Qingxi Town and Yangping Town was still there, the Red Army's flying thunder artillery made the soldiers extremely shocked when it first entered the battle, and since then, there have always been flying thunder artillery playing an important role in defending the city and ambush warfare. After the Ludong Campaign, Ding Zhuodong looked at the factories in Fangzi, Weixian, and Zhoucun, and immediately opened his eyes, and pulled a few experts to ponder and ponder, and greatly transformed the flying thunder cannon, so that the firing range was increased a lot.

After the attack order was issued, the first to fire was of course the flying thunder cannons, and their target was the devil's position, and pieces of explosives flew through the sky, and the devil's position began to thunder.

The army waited and waited and did not see the Eighth Route Army attack, thinking that the Eighth Route Army had been dispersed by artillery fire, and several officers asked to send chariots to attack and reconnoitre, but they were all stopped by the commander. The soldiers crawling in the trenches were still staring vigilantly at the front of the black hole, for fear that the Eighth Route Army would appear like the devil again, and at this moment, groups and pieces of explosives bags fell.

Fortunately, the Eighth Route Army was also afraid of retaliation from the artillery fire, and only five explosive packs were fired from each barrel, so Pan Mingliang ordered a retreat. Fortunately, it was withdrawn quickly, otherwise it would not have been able to be withdrawn. Because the army had already been prepared for battle, the artillery fire soon began to retaliate against the flying thunder artillery position.

The mountain artillery company of the cavalry battalion of the 7th Brigade was taught, and the infantry artillery company was also in the rear due to its long firing range. As soon as the devil's artillery fired, it not only exposed the devil's artillery position, but also exposed the devil's camp, which was equivalent to indicating the target for the artillery of the Eighth Route Army. As a result, the mountain artillery company and infantry artillery company of the cavalry battalion of the Eighth Route Army opened fire, and the first round of strikes was naturally aimed at the artillery position of the devils, followed by the camp of the devils.

At this moment, the little devil panicked, and hurriedly began to transfer the artillery position, not to mention the dead in the tent, and all the living little devils ran out, and the whole devil position was in chaos.

In fact, the number of mountain artillery and infantry guns in the cavalry battalion was not large, and each artillery stopped shelling with only a few shells and began to shift positions, and the damage caused to the devils was not great. But the explosive package fired by the Flying Thunder Cannon just now was different, and everywhere they went, the devil soldiers basically bled to death. Therefore, when the heavy artillery and field artillery in the rear of the devil opened fire and the Eighth Route Army was transferred, the captain of the devil wing personally went to the front-line position to check. At this glance, the captain of the devil's wing jumped like thunder, and after a while, the troops on duty on the forward position suffered heavy casualties. Some soldiers did not even have blood on their bodies, and seemed to be sleeping peacefully, but when they touched it, they realized that they had already died.

The captain of the devil's wing let out a howl like a wolf, drew his command knife and pointed to the east, and was about to order the troops to pursue.

A captain next to him pulled the arm of the wing leader, and the wing captain remembered that he was overly excited, the Eighth Route Army did not attack with infantry, but only attacked with artillery fire, and the purpose was very clear, that is, to seduce and provoke himself to pursue, maybe there was an ambush waiting in front!

What can a little devil do if he doesn't fall for it? Since Pan Mingliang became the commander of the cavalry company, he has not completed the task? This time, he didn't even bring the second battalion of the Flying Thunder Artillery Regiment, equipped himself with heavy firepower echelons, scattered the grenadier companies, and used the cover of night to get close to the devil's position to shell, and fired a cannon to change places, so that the devils couldn't figure it out. As soon as the artillery fire of the little devils was exposed, the infantry artillery and mountain artillery began to strike. Shoot five rounds and transfer. Constantly harassing and torturing devils.

Tossed until four o'clock in the morning, the entire Fifth Division was tortured and could not stand it. After synthesizing the information reported by the Second Division and the 14th Division, division commander Toshiyoshi Ando determined that the Eighth Route Army in front of him was a firepower-based unit, and its purpose was to attack and harass the Fifth Division, cover the attack of the main force of the Eighth Route Army on the 33rd Division, and make it impossible for the Fifth Division to outflank the Eighth Route Army's attack on the 33rd Division.

Ando Toshiki, who felt deceived, personally ordered the artillery fire of the whole division to be concentrated to cover the infested areas of the Eighth Route Army on the periphery of Lijiazhuang. The shelling lasted for 10 minutes, and when it was felt that the Eighth Route Army should be eliminated, the devils dispatched a squadron of chariots and a squadron of armored vehicles to cover a large group of infantry to search forward by car and find out the results of the battle.

After fishing for a night, I finally got the fish out. Where would the Eighth Route Army be polite, the battle defense artillery, anti-aircraft guns, anti-aircraft machine guns, and rocket launchers all went into battle, and directly smashed the 12 tanks of the devil tank squadron, the 12 armored vehicles of the armored vehicle squadron, and the cars transporting infantry into wreckage.

Ando Toshikichi, who received the report, didn't say a word for a long time, and finally it was the chief of staff Nishimura Riwen Daisa who asked for instructions on how to act, and Ando Toshiyoshi said hatefully: "Liu Yimin is cunning and cunning, and it was only a part of his troops that attacked the 33rd Division. His main forces concealed opposite us, dug traps, and prepared to annihilate our 5th Division once again. All troops were ordered to strengthen their vigilance and not to attack arbitrarily. Wait until after dawn for the Second Division and the Fourteenth Division to come up. ”

The reason why there is such a big difference in Ando's judgment before and after is because when the cavalry battalion of the Seventh Brigade was moving, the main force of the Seventh Brigade commanded by Chen Dayong also started to act.

The 33rd Division, like the 2nd Division, had soldiers from Sendai.

Sendai is located in the northeastern part of Honshu, the capital of Miyagi Prefecture, and most of the Chinese know Sendai from Lu Xun. Because Lu Xun had studied medicine in Sendai for two years, because he watched a movie on the screen, there was a Chinese executed by the army who was said to be a detective for the Russian army, and most of the onlookers were Chinese, and their numbness shocked Lu Xun.

Lieutenant General Shigetaro Kazu, commander of the 33rd Division, graduated from the Army Non-commissioned Officer School and the Army University, and successively served as a member of the General Staff Headquarters, a member of the General Staff Headquarters, a captain of the 40th Infantry Wing, an instructor of the Infantry School, a staff officer of the 7th Division, the chief of staff of the 11th Division left behind, a joint commander of the 15th Infantry Division, the chief of the General Affairs Section of the Education Directorate Department, the commander of the 9th Brigade and Regiment, an officer of the Army Non-commissioned Officer School, the principal of the Army Preparatory Non-commissioned Officer School, and the principal of the Army Toyama School. It can be regarded as a knowledgeable commander with both theoretical knowledge and actual combat experience.

The 33rd Division is under the jurisdiction of the 33rd Infantry Regiment, which is under the jurisdiction of the 213th, 214th, and 215th Infantry Wings, and the division is attached to the 33rd Search Wing, the 33rd Mountain Artillery Wing, the 33rd Engineer Wing, the 33rd Heavy Infantry Wing, the Signal Corps, the Ordnance Service Corps, the Sanitary Corps, the Field Hospital, the Sick Horse Factory, and other units, with a total strength of more than 18,000 troops.

After the 33rd Division arrived in North China, it was responsible for strengthening the defense of the Jinpu Road between Jinan and Tai'an, and had not yet fought a battle. This time, he accompanied the 14th Division and participated in the operation to open up the Jiaoji Road, and Lieutenant General Ganji Shigetaro thought that this was an opportunity to test the combat effectiveness of the 33rd Division.

According to the idea of Lieutenant General Gansu Shigetaro, there is no suspense in the Jiaoji Road operation, and no matter how brave and good the Eighth Route Army instructor Liu Yimin is, it is impossible to be the opponent of the imperial army with a large number of fighters in the sky and three permanent divisions on the ground. The imperial army should make a roundabout and bold interspersed flanks to quickly open up the Jiaoji Road. However, Lieutenant General Shigetaro was not a reckless person, he knew that the Eighth Route Army had wiped out the elite Eighth Division on this land, and it was a clever tactic to fight steadily.

Therefore, after the troops set out from Jinan, Lieutenant General Gansu Shigetaro led the troops to follow behind the 14th Division, and the 14th Division left when it left, and the 14th Division stopped when it stopped, and the 14th Division launched a troop sweep and swept him away, walked for a day, pulled the net and swept for a day, did a lot of bad things of killing people and setting fires, and dyed the battle flag of the newly established 33rd Division with a criminal color.

After camping at night, Lieutenant General Shigetaro Ganji, considering that the 33rd Division was participating in the battle for the first time and was most afraid of a night attack by the Eighth Route Army, strictly ordered all units to build a defensive line and strengthen their vigilance. He was not at ease about this, and after the units had reported on their deployment, Lieutenant General Shigetaro led the chief of staff, the commander of the 33rd Infantry Regiment, and the commanders of the wings to inspect the positions of the various units. Of course, he was not satisfied with the results of the inspection, and the troops had only dug some simple foxholes, and the trenches were shallow and not all connected, let alone any hidden fire points.

Lieutenant General Shigetaro, who was very dissatisfied, ordered all troops to rebuild their fortifications to ensure that the defensive line was stable.

In this way, the little devils who ran for a day had to rework, and they were tired like dead pigs.

(To be continued)