The Japanese troops who had fought against the independent column knew to some extent that this unit was very good at laying mines and planting bombs. This time www.biquge.info the Second Division of the New 67th Army did not use mines in the ambush circle, but uniformly arranged bomb areas along the mountain roads with a short distance.

Even when planting bombs, the sappers and scouts in the division deliberately found some places with hard rocks and steep terrain to bury. There is only one purpose, to maximize the power of roadside bombs, in order to kill more little devils.

With three signal flares, it soared into the sky against the rain curtain. The Demoman, who has been waiting for a long time, also presses the detonator in his hand at the right time. Suddenly, the entire road along the mountain was filled with explosions one after another.

Compared with the ambush position set up by the 2nd Division, there is still some distance from the road. But most of these bombs were buried near the road. The moment the bomb was detonated, the rubble and the stacked pieces of iron instantly cut into sharp knives that demanded their lives.

Groups of Japanese soldiers who were caught off guard never imagined that there would be such a life-threatening thing around them. Countless people were killed and injured by rubble, and most of the Japanese soldiers who were harvested by iron pieces would not end well.

The sound of explosions for several kilometers and the smoke of gunpowder that filled the entire Tianmu Mountain, the rain that was getting heavier and heavier seemed to have weakened a lot. From the sound of such explosions, the Japanese could also tell that they were ambushed.

Without hesitating to listen to the wails and cries for help of those wounded soldiers, many of the surviving Japanese army junior officers immediately shouted: "Immediately seize the advantageous terrain and prepare to counterattack!" Each squad, with the squadron as the center, quickly approached! ”

Because of the terrain, it is undoubtedly impossible to gather a large group of troops in a short period of time. In this case, it is also a very wise choice to quickly gather troops in a squadron.

Also in the explosion, Shizuichi Tanaka, the new commander of the 13th Division, who was directly thrown to the ground by the adjutant next to him, couldn't help but gasp in his heart when he saw the tragic situation on the road after the smoke gradually cleared.

It seemed to him that in such a place, the Eighth Route Army dared to ambush the 13th Division that had returned with tens of thousands of troops. You know, if you want to ambush a division like him, how many troops does the Eighth Route Army need to use?

One division, I'm afraid it's far from enough, so the Eighth Route Army in Central China or Xinyang, or can't it mobilize the troops of one army?

Shizuichi Tanaka, whose heart was full of surprise and confusion, soon saw tongues of fire suddenly bursting out on both sides of the mountain road. The Japanese soldiers, who were originally frightened, had just stumbled and began to converge, but they were hit by this sudden blow.

Looking at the soldiers who kept falling on the mountain road under rifle and machine gun fire, Shizuichi Tanaka, who was protected by the guards, couldn't help but shout: "Order the troops to separate, find cover, and seize the favorable terrain to counterattack!" ”

For this mountain road, when he attacked Zhumadian before, Shizuichi Tanaka had already walked through it once. When he came back this time, he also sent the vanguard troops into the mountains to search, and only after confirming that it was safe did he order the troops to enter the mountains.

But who would have thought that the Eighth Route Army would hide so deeply and hide from their search troops. As a result, they were in a hurry, and they were directly blocked by the Eighth Route Army in Tianmu Mountain, and were forced to engage the ambushed Eighth Route Army.

The Japanese units that served as the vanguard, as well as the Japanese units that acted as the rearguard, soon found themselves in ambush. And the position where the Chinese army was located was also not spared, and the Eighth Route Army on the mountains on both sides kept shooting and killing them as they moved.

After a short period of panic, some veterans of the Japanese army, who were experienced in combat, also began to use the obstacles next to the mountain road to counterattack the Eighth Route Army on both sides of the mountain road. It's a pity that the effect doesn't seem to be very good.

A brigade commander who accompanied the Chinese army, after finding a relatively safe hiding point for Shizuichi Tanaka, said a little anxiously: "General, according to the situation on the battlefield, we should have been ambushed by the main force of the Eighth Route Army!" ”

'Yaga! This has just entered the Xinyang realm, how can there be the main force of the Eighth Route Army? What do our search forces eat? What are the garrisons stationed in Xinyang doing to eat? Why was there no news at all?

I don't care who we're fighting with, I just ask you to do everything you can to destroy the enemies who are ambushing us. In addition, send a telegram to the nearby defenders, asking them to rush to support as quickly as possible. ’

'Yes, General! ’

Looking at the furious Shizuichi Tanaka, the brigade commander also knew very well that the general was very annoyed at the moment. Speaking of which, Xinyang is also the defense area of their 13th Division. But now, they were ambushed in their own defense area.

The most unbelievable thing is that so many Eighth Route Army troops are lurking in Tianmu Mountain, and their intelligence department and vanguard troops have not even noticed it in advance. This ability to hide and lurk is truly terrifying!

Just as the Japanese army began to slowly organize the counterattack troops, the observers who were responsible for guiding the artillery units also timely fed back the reconnaissance data to the artillery units that had been waiting for a long time. Next, it's their turn!

Considering the small size of the mountain road, when deploying the artillery position, Luo Ruiqing did not concentrate all the artillery together, but deployed the artillery position according to the road sectional. There is only one purpose, to cooperate with the infantry to carry out encirclement and annihilation warfare.

After receiving the data from the scouts, the artillery formations began shelling one after another. They all knew that this little devil unit that had withdrawn from the front line did not carry any large artillery at all.

As the old saying goes, 'feng shui takes turns', and today it is also their turn to use the captured artillery to torture and kill these little devils who also relied on artillery units in the past and bullied the Chinese anti-Japanese war troops who lacked guns and artillery.

Not long after the gunfire resounded throughout Tianmu Mountain, many resisting Japanese soldiers heard the cannon sound that frightened them again. Looking at the shells falling from the sky, many Japanese soldiers also felt that their resistance was too fragile.

'Yaga! There was artillery support on the Eighth Road, and we continued to stay on the road, unable to resist their artillery attack at all. ’

Accompanied by the angry scolding of some Japanese officers, Shizuichi Tanaka, who was also under the baptism of artillery, also knew that in this situation, the troops had to make a certain choice. Otherwise, the entire division and regiment may be completely annihilated.

According to the reports received one after another, all the troops that entered Tianmu Mountain were attacked by the Eighth Route Army in varying numbers. This also confirmed the suspicion in his heart, and the Eighth Route mobilized the main force to ambush them.

It is unbelievable how the Eighth Route Army hid such a large force here, looking at the shells in the constantly falling troops, Tanaka Shizuichi also knew very well that there was only one way to die if he was holding on to help.

'Pass my order, all troops to break through in the direction of Xinyang, do not gather together. Dispersed, with the formation of squads and squadrons, engaged these Eighth Route Corps that ambushed us, fighting and retreating.

As long as we can successfully break out, wait for nearby reinforcements to arrive, and the victory will be ours. The unavoidable baggage will be discarded, only the necessary weapons and ammunition will be carried, and the whole army will break through to the exit! ’

Although it is not known whether his orders can be transmitted to the rearguard. But Shizuichi Tanaka can't manage that much, and the longer he stays here, the greater the losses of his troops, and there is still a possibility of surviving an early breakthrough.

Looking at the Chinese army led by Shizuichi Tanaka, they began to speed up to break through to the place where the forward troops were. Luo Ruiqing, who had been fighting for a long time, immediately said: "Order the three regiments, launch a charge, and cut off the communication between the little devil Chinese army and the rear guard troops." ”

'Yes, Chief of Staff! ’

As the combat staff shook the phone, the order was conveyed to the commander of the three regiments. Soon on the blocking position of the three regiments, there was a burst of 'Rush! ''Kill!'' With a roar, elite troops quickly walked out of the trenches and rushed to the road.

Those little devils who were responsible for blocking the attack, in the face of these Eighth Route Army assaults that jumped out of the trenches, immediately retreated one after another and were powerless to resist. Gradually, the Japanese division, which originally had contact, was soon divided into two by the Eighth Route Army.

Seeing that the three regiments successfully divided the Japanese army into two, Luo Ruiqing said again: "Call Division Commander Xu and tell him to concentrate the superior forces first and wipe out the rear guard troops of the little devils." The rest of the troops, as long as they do a good job of blocking it.

At the same time, order our artillery units, focusing on the shelling of the Chinese units of the little devils. A group that blocked at the exit and defended the mountain pass at all costs. Before the battle is over, no devil is allowed to escape from the mountains. ”

'Yes, Chief of Staff! ’

It was not easy to see that there was an opportunity to completely annihilate the returning division of the little devil, how could Luo Ruiqing miss such an opportunity. Most importantly, he felt that the troops needed a big victory to meet the next change of command of the troops.

Regarding the news of He Zhengdao's resignation from the post of commander of the new 67th Army, Luo Ruiqing has not yet conveyed it to the commanders and fighters of the troops. He felt that this news would still be explained to Xu Renyi and others in person after Xiao Jinguang came back.

After all, during the period of serving as chief of staff, Luo Ruiqing also knew very well how high He Zhengdao's prestige in this army was. Now that the political commissar has become a military commander, I believe that some people will still have ideas.

It's just that with this exploit, Luo Ruiqing believes that others will not doubt the combat effectiveness of the new 67th Army. No matter who leads it, this is an elite army that can fight tough battles and can howl at any time.

After receiving Luo Ruiqing's order, almost all of the artillery units that cooperated with the operation aimed their guns at the Japanese troops who were running wildly on the road. This feeling of being pressed and blown up by shells really made the Japanese army very annoyed and aggrieved.

If they return to Xinyang this time, they can bring back the artillery units of the division, and perhaps at this time, they will not have to endure and not be able to counterattack. But in Tanaka's opinion, he is afraid that the outcome of this battle will not be too good.

It can be seen from the fact that the Eighth Route Army divided his division in two and also organized so much artillery fire. This time, the Eighth Route Army, which ambushed them, did not want to severely damage their 13th Division, but with the idea of total annihilation.

This also means that from the moment their 13th Division received the order to return to Xinyang, they had actually fallen into the trap of the Eighth Route Army. Unfortunately, this awakening seems to have come a little too late! (To be continued.) )