The 12th Infantry Brigade of the Japanese Army, which was responsible for attacking Zhuozi, may never have dreamed that they would hit the head of the pack in the first battle with the independent column. The attack, which lasted for a day, ended in failure.

Looking at the blocking position that still seemed silent in the distance, the Japanese troops on guard at the foot of the mountain also felt a headache. The daytime battle had already made them realize that it was not a wise decision for them to come to North China to participate in the encirclement and suppression war this time.

It's just that this time they went out to cooperate with the North China Front Army to participate in the battle of encircling and suppressing the Eighth Route Army, more because the current commander of the North China Front, Sugiyama Yuan, once served as the division commander of the 12th Division.

Now that the teacher needs help, how can they sit idly by?

What's more, they were originally very happy to go out and participate in the war. After all, only by constantly participating in battles can they continue to reap the benefits of battle, and eventually get promoted and promoted.

Originally, in their opinion, it should have been just an errand to accumulate military exploits, but it turned into a cruel battle, and the mood of these Japanese soldiers can be imagined. Fortunately, they all know that tomorrow when the reinforcements arrive, victory will still be theirs.

On the other hand, the Eighth Route Army, which was staying in the blocking position at the moment, did not rest much. According to the order issued by the regiment headquarters, the bodies of all the officers and soldiers who died in this battle were also transferred to the rear overnight for resettlement.

As for the wounded, they were naturally transferred to the rear hospital for treatment. In addition, the officers and men who had fought hard all day during the day were arranged to rest in the air defense trenches. The task of guarding was handed over to the reinforcements who arrived in the evening.

Listening to the sound of shells exploding on the position every once in a while, the previous two times really worried them. It can be seen that the little devil only fires artillery and does not attack, and most of the soldiers of the Eighth Route Army on the position guess that the little devil is tired of the army.

In view of this situation, the two battalion commanders, who temporarily took over the commander, quickly said: "The soldiers who fought during the day are still resting, and the rest of the soldiers are resting in the cat's ear hole next to the trench. What is the situation, feel free to go into battle. ”

In this way, both the fighters in the air defense trenches and the fighters in the cat's ear hole can get a good rest. Even if you can't fall asleep, it's okay to squint once in a while.

What's more, for the artillery attack of the little devils, the Eighth Route Army on the blocking position was not without countermeasures. Using large-caliber mortars, the Eighth Route Army on the position also fired a cannon down the mountain from time to time, and treated others in their own way.

As a result, it is obvious that the Eighth Route Army on the mountain cannot rest peacefully, and the little devils under the mountain also have no way to rest at ease. The most terrible thing is that the little devils who are on guard at the foot of the mountain are always worried about the cannonballs fired from the mountain flying to them.

At a time when the two armies on the front began to form a state of confrontation, the reconnaissance brigade detachment, which was active behind enemy lines, began to move at night. The heavy artillery wing that drove out of Ulanqab was naturally under the surveillance of the reconnaissance brigade.

Even if the heavy artillery wing is next to it, there is also a wing of infantry to protect it. However, as far as the small detachment of the reconnaissance brigade is concerned, they did not think of encircling and annihilating the officers and men of the heavy artillery wing, but wanted to carry out attack and harass tactics against them.

The heavy artillery wing, which also did not choose to march at night, quickly set up camp and began to rest under the protection and vigilance of the infantry wing. For them, the road conditions during the day are also very troublesome for them.

The power of heavy artillery is self-evident, but to drag these heavy artillery, the requirements for road conditions are still quite high. Even though the Japanese army sent a lot of engineering troops to help fix the road before the war, it was still difficult to march on some roads.

The officers and men of the Heavy Artillery Wing, who had worked the road, began to rest after dinner. As for the task of night guard patrols, there is an infantry wing in charge, and they don't have to worry too much about anything.

Even if the heavy artillery wing chooses to rest in an area with a relatively wide field of vision, the infantry wing that pulls up the cordon can also effectively detect the enemy who may sneak up on them at night. But such a cordon is naturally not too far away.

Looking at the camp where the Japanese heavy artillery wing was resting in front, the reconnaissance brigade detachment lurking on the periphery also stared carefully at the barracks of the Japanese heavy artillery wing in front. As for the infantry patrol posts that were relatively close, they were also always watching.

When it was close to midnight, the patrolling infantry also began to shrink the cordon. The four reconnaissance brigade detachments, which were in an attitude of encirclement, quickly launched an operation and cleared the guard posts on the periphery first.

Under the shooting of crossbow arrows, many scattered Japanese patrols were solved in silence. Upon entering the two-kilometer area, all the squads decisively stopped their advance and began to lay minefields ahead.

After everything was ready, looking at the returning scouts, the team leader immediately said, "There are still five minutes, everyone starts to prepare." After five bursts, everyone withdrew from the battle! ”

'Yes, Captain! ’

The task of the reconnaissance brigade detachment that infiltrated the area this time was to delay the march of the heavy artillery wing. As long as they arrive at the Zhuozi border a little later, their mission will be a complete success.

When each squad came out, two 120-caliber mortars were allocated. This kind of mortar, which can reach a range of five kilometers, is undoubtedly a good weapon for sneak attacks for reconnaissance teams.

Even if the 120-caliber mortars are not lightweight, the small detachments that can pass on horseback mostly transport these two mortars by horse. In this way, the actions of the reconnaissance detachment will not be delayed.

Seeing that the pointer was pointing to the direction of 12 o'clock, the remaining three reconnaissance teams soon launched an artillery bombardment. Although two mortars are a bit small, they are an invisible deterrent to the officers and men of the heavy artillery wing.

With the two shells screaming straight towards the camp of the heavy artillery wing, the Japanese infantry who were patrolling the perimeter immediately exclaimed: "Enemy attack! Shelling! ”

Piercing screams, accompanied by shells crashing into the barracks of the heavy artillery wing. The deafening explosion made many Japanese soldiers who had fallen asleep jump up from the marching bed in an instant and hurriedly put on their clothes and prepared for battle.

The rapid whistle in the camp made the originally silent military camp instantly become chaotic. Fortunately, the little devil has also carried out an emergency gathering at night, and something like Xiaoying will not happen.

Just when the infantry wing, which was responsible for the security of the heavy artillery wing, was going to rush to the place where the shells were fired and eliminate the enemy who were sneaking up on the shells. The shells fired from the other three directions made the shocked infantry wing commander break out in a cold sweat.

Said cautiously: "Baga, are we surrounded?" Why didn't our perimeter guard post warn? Ordered the troops, strictly hold the camp and prepare to block the attack. Inform the heavy artillery wing and let them carry out an artillery counterattack. ”

Seeing the shells flying into the camp from four directions, the first reaction of the infantry wing commander was that they might be surrounded. In this case, it may be a wise decision to stick to the camp.

As for sending troops to destroy the enemy's artillery positions, it also seemed to him to be very dangerous. In this case, it may be a good decision to use your own artillery to counterattack.

One shell after another fell into the barracks, putting the officers and men of the infantry wing and the heavy artillery wing in a highly nervous mood. The heavy artillery wing, which also responded, also began to set up artillery and prepare for a counterattack.

But for the reconnaissance brigade detachment that attacked by surprise, looking at the Japanese barracks that had withstood forty shells, they quickly packed up their artillery and left. By the time the Japanese counter-artillery attack came, they had already left their previous place.

Listening to the fierce artillery fire coming from outside the barracks, the Japanese wing commander immediately said: "Let the cavalry squadron go and reconnoiter the situation!" ”

Perhaps because he felt that he had not heard the sound of the Eighth Route Army attacking during this time, the Japanese wing commander also felt a little strange. Knowing that the speed of the infantry is too slow, it is still very necessary to let the cavalry go to reconnoiter the situation.

When the cavalry began to search in four directions. Seeing that there were no more shells falling into the camp, the shelling of the heavy artillery wing soon stopped. But in any case, after this simple artillery battle, the barracks could no longer find a single person to sleep on.

If anyone is able to fall asleep in this situation, then he must be a dead man. Forty shells fell into their temporary barracks, which, of course, also caused considerable losses.

It's just that at this time, no one cares about losses, but more about what is going on outside the barracks. After all, according to what they knew, the units of the Eighth Route Army that could be armed with mortars were at least above the battalion level.

There were shelling sounds in all directions, so it was realized that they might be protected by the four Eighth Route Army battalion-level troops. Although they are not very worried about a surprise attack by troops of this size, they also need to be on high alert.

By the time the cavalry attached to the infantry wing began to search and advance in four directions. When they arrived at the minefield laid by the reconnaissance detachment earlier, the Japanese officers and men on guard in the barracks heard the sound of explosions coming from that direction.

'Baga, our cavalry must have been attacked! ’

It's just that it didn't take long to look at the cavalry who had returned with palpitations, and informed that there was no enemy in sight outside. Apart from the discovery of shelling positions where enemy shells had been fired, no sneak attackers could be found.

Even their cavalry squads suffered losses of varying degrees. They were blown up by those mines, and they really looked extremely depressed. Even quite a few cavalrymen, when they arrived at the artillery positions of the previous reconnaissance squads, did not want to advance further.

The reason is very simple, they are undoubtedly the best targets to search with torches at night. In this case, continuing the search will only increase unnecessary casualties. This kind of thing is better left to the infantry.

Knowing that the sneak attacker had calmly left and was counting the losses, the captain of the heavy artillery wing also looked a little unhappy. The previous shelling caused them to lose a lot of artillery and vehicles.

Of course, there were also artillerymen who were resting earlier, and many of them were directly killed in their sleep. With such a raid, if they want to come to dawn, they probably don't need to rest! (To be continued.) )