When the Shanxi army was dispatched to fight with the main forces of the Eighth Route Army, He Zhengdao, who personally sat in Suiyuan. After receiving a telegram from the New Fifth Division, they surrounded the 24th Infantry Brigade for five days, and finally could not escape the annihilation of the entire army.

originally hoped to hold on and wait for a glimmer of life, but as a result, the 24th Infantry Brigade seemed to be very unlucky. Speaking of which, they could have lasted much longer. Because, the day after they ran out of food, the weather cleared.

It's just that the 24th Infantry Brigade, which was stuck in the valley, didn't expect the New Fifth Division's seemingly disorderly artillery bombardment, but it was lucky to hit a shell directly where they set up a radio station.

Not to mention that the telegraph operator was killed on the spot, the radio station they were communicating with outside was also damaged in the shelling. They always kept in touch with the division and regiment on the radio, but the moment the radio station was destroyed, they were mistakenly thought by the division and regiment that they were completely annihilated.

The 24th Infantry Brigade, which was already in a food crisis, had more than 1,000 people left in the valley. In their opinion, if they can hold out until the weather improves, they may be able to seek the air force to parachute food on them.

Seeing that the only surviving radio station was destroyed, the commander of the infantry brigade who learned the news looked a little dumbfounded. He knew very well that being besieged in this small valley and losing the radio station, they were only afraid that they would not be able to help.

What is the meaning of 'the house leak coincides with the overnight rain', the 24th Infantry Brigade at this moment has undoubtedly truly experienced it!

'Yaga! How so? Without radio, how can we communicate with the division? ’

The brigade commander, who involuntarily uttered this lamentation, could also feel the desperate expressions of the surviving officers around him. For them, this station is really too important. As a result, at this moment, he was hit by a shell from the Eighth Route Army.

In fact, for the new fifth division outside the valley, after the artillery was passively lost in place. The artillerymen received the order to open fire at will. Even a lot of shells did not hit the forward blocking positions of the little devils.

More of them are directly into the valley where the little devils are hiding. Even if some shells are wasted, they hit no man's land directly. But this kind of unfixed and irregular shells still brings a lot of psychological pressure to the little devils in the valley.

Because from day to night, the Eighth Route Army came to the last shelling every once in a while. Although the number of shells per shell is small, no one knows exactly where the shells will fall. And this valley is as big as it is, and there are many places for them to hide.

Originally, the location of the radio station was the place where the Japanese army thought it was most likely not to be bombed. But no one expected that a shell would fall into the location of their radio station and penetrate the improvised tent where the radio station was located.

Faced with the situation that the radio station was destroyed, the rest of the Japanese officers who came to check the situation also said in despair: "General, what now?" Without the radio, I am afraid that it will be difficult for us to get in touch with the division. Do you still want to hold on? ”

'If you don't keep it?' Do we have a chance to break through the blocking net set up by the Eighth Route Army outside? Hold on for another day tomorrow, if there is still no hope, we will be ready to break through tomorrow night! ’

For the Japanese troops trapped in the valley, they still have a chance to survive, that is, to lay down their arms and raise their hands out of the valley and surrender to the new Fifth Division that surrounded them. But this kind of thing is more shameful than death in the eyes of the Japanese army!

Although the New Fifth Division found people to persuade them to surrender, they shouted to the Japanese troops in the valley every once in a while. But there were still no Japanese troops who dared to take the first step of surrender outside the valley. Because they know that whoever dares to surrender will surely die.

Those Japanese commanders who were guarding the defensive positions were afraid that they would order others to kill these Japanese soldiers who dared to surrender to the Eighth Route Army as soon as possible. Therefore, the shouts of the people who persuaded them to surrender seemed to be destined to have little effect.

But the occasional shelling, as well as these words of persuasion to surrender, still demoralized the remaining Japanese troops in the valley. Now that even the radio station has been destroyed, their fate seems to have been sealed, and it is almost impossible to escape.

Just as these Japanese soldiers thought, after the radio station of the 24th Infantry Brigade was destroyed, the telegraph soldiers of the 12th Division, which had always been in contact with them, quickly informed Seitaro Yamamura of the situation.

'General, our radio has lost contact with the 24th Brigade! We've called several times and never heard back from them. According to the contact time we agreed, they have been out of contact for at least four hours. ’

Liaison once every two hours was something that had been agreed upon between the division and the brigade radio department. Four hours have passed, and no contact has been received from the infantry brigade. No matter how stupid people are, they know that the 24th Brigade is only afraid of more evil and less auspicious.

On the other hand, Seitaro Yamamura was a little stunned when he heard the news. But come to think of it, this situation was not what they had expected before! Compared to their food, which can hold out for a while, the 24th Infantry Brigade has no food to use.

'I already know the situation!' Go ahead and call for a while! If you still can't get in touch, then you don't need to get in touch. ’

Saying such words undoubtedly shows that Seitaro Yamamura already knows that the 24th Infantry Brigade is afraid that it has been completely wiped out. This also means that one of the two infantry brigades of the division has been completely finished.

By the time the next day arrived, the morning weather was still not suitable for the Air Force to take off. But by the afternoon, the weather had improved. According to the previous agreement, the air force of Shijiazhuang soon took off to provide air support to the Japanese forces in Datong and Zhuozi.

On the other hand, the Second Division of the Column, which blocked the North China Front from sending reinforcements, received a report on the battle situation from Xinzhou. Wang Tianlin, who commanded the blocking battle, also knew that the bombers of the little devils would soon come to their blocking position.

'Give us the power of the forward blocking troops, and keep an eye on the air defense alert at all times. Troops on the front line of blocking positions were ordered to withdraw from the battle at the right time. Let the troops of the little devils go a little further ahead. Tonight, a night attack was carried out in the second-line barrage zone.

I really thought that when the Air Force came, they would be fine, and that would be too underestimating us. Damn, now I'll let you go, and the farther you go, the easier it will be to pack up. Get the order on now! ’

'Yes, Chief of Staff! ’

At the same time, He Zhengdao, who was sitting in Suiyuan, also received news from the reconnaissance troops at the front. Knowing this situation, He Zhengdao's instructions were still different from those of the Independent Second Division that blocked the Datong reinforcements.

'Order the Third Division, from now on to collect combustibles. Wait until the Japanese planes arrive in the area of engagement and create a massive smoke for me. The planes of the little devils must have come to give them airborne weapons and ammunition.

Order the anti-aircraft company of the third division to prepare for air defense. As soon as the little devils' transport planes lower their altitude and carry out the airdrop, they will be beaten up by me. I want to let the little devil's plane know that it's not so easy to airdrop supplies. ’

As for the 24th Infantry Brigade, which had lost contact with the main force of the division for nearly a day, it seemed to have been forgotten. As a result, it was natural that the army aviation unit, which had limited aircraft, sent only two reconnaissance planes to Wuchuan for reconnaissance.

In this case, how could it be possible to accurately search for the 24th Infantry Brigade that had taken refuge in a valley and was entrenched! Compared with the 12th Division, there are at least 10,000 troops today, and they only have a few thousand troops.

With such a small number of people, they hid in a valley that was easy to defend and difficult to attack. The two reconnaissance planes, trying to search the valley they were trapped in, were undoubtedly a bit of a needle in the bottom of the sea. After a few turns, the two reconnaissance planes returned with the news that no targets had been found in the territory of Wuchuan.

On the other hand, the 12th Division, which was occupying a small town at the moment, relied on this town to build fortifications. Seeing that the sky was clear, Yamamura Kiyotaro and the officers and soldiers of the division and regiment all seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

Just as the Army Air Force supporting them arrived in the airspace not far from the town. Knowing that the air force that parachuted them into the town had already set off for the town. But soon, the Japanese troops in the town realized that something seemed wrong.

'Yaga! What's going on? Outside our position, how can there be such a big smoke? ’

With the troops of the Eighth Route Army on the outskirts of the town, according to He Zhengdao's orders, a large number of combustibles and wet branches were quickly collected. After the town began to ignite, thick smoke began to fill the town's airspace.

Seitaro Yamamura, who also saw this scene, quickly realized the Eighth Route Army's intention to create smoke. A little gritted his teeth and said, "Baga! Damn, they created smoke to obstruct the Air Force's view and make it impossible for them to find the location of the airdrop. ”

The person standing beside him saw Xiu San, and also nodded: "General, it seems that our opponent is an excellent commander who knows the combat of all arms. It's really rare to come up with such a solution in such a short period of time. ”

'Yes! Hopefully, our Army Aviation Warriors will be able to accurately drop supplies to the towns we are defending. Without weapons and ammunition, we want to break through smoothly next, but I'm afraid it's still very difficult! ’

On the other hand, the Japanese air force that arrived in the airspace of the town saw the smoky airspace of the town from afar. Looking at the smoke-shrouded place below, they somewhat guessed that this should be the town where the 12th Division was located.

Just seeing such visibility, the pilot in charge of airdropping supplies couldn't help but scold: "Baga! How can there be such a big smoke? In this case, how do we implement the airdrop? ”

After circling and flying over the town for a while, the little devil's pilot noticed that the area where the smoke was located was huge. This means that they need to choose an accurate airdrop location.

Although the formation of fighters covering them at the moment has already carried out strafing on the area where the smoke was born. But apart from breaking up the fires, there didn't seem to be any targets worth shooting.

After all, the Third Division, which had set up an encirclement on the outskirts of the town, had already shrouded their blocking positions when they lit these fires. This meant that the troops in the smoky area were not just Japanese troops holding on to small towns.

If they don't find the right target to carry out the airdrop, maybe the materials they dropped may be airdropped onto the positions of the Eighth Route Army. If this is the case, it is estimated that the Japanese troops of the 12th Division will be angry and vomit blood again! (To be continued.) )