After running around the night in the middle of the night, by about 3 a.m. on March 3, the 33rd Division finally completed its tactical maneuver. The commander of the division, Lieutenant General Shigetaro Kasumi, led his main force to the outskirts of Yang Village. However, the unit did not participate in the attack on the position of the 273rd Regiment in Yangcun, but used the 27th Division to besiege Yangcun to forcibly break through from the south of Yangcun, and then directly attacked the location of the 63rd Army's military headquarters - Anci (that is, Anci District, Langfang City, about 30 kilometers away from Yangcun). Fortunately, the 273rd Regiment immediately reported to the 63rd Army headquarters after discovering that a large number of enemy troops had broken through from the southern front.

Chief of Staff Yan Mingzhi couldn't help but be taken aback when he received the telegram, and hurriedly found the army commander Feng Zhanhai and reported: "Military seat, the 273rd Regiment has sent an urgent telegram reporting that a large force of enemy troops is rushing towards our Anci!" ”

Captain Feng Zhan hurriedly asked, "What! How many enemy troops are there on this road, what heavy equipment do they have, and how long will it take to reach the periphery of Anci? ”

Chief of Staff Yan replied: "The specific strength is still difficult to determine, but at least it will not be less than one wing. In addition, at least a dozen armored vehicles accompanied the cover. It is only sixty miles from Yangcun here, and I think it will not take more than two hours for the enemy to arrive, and its vanguard may even arrive within an hour. ”

Captain Feng Zhanhai's face changed slightly, and he exclaimed, "So fast? ”

Chief of Staff Yan Mingzhi said in a deep voice: "Yes, military seat. According to the report of the 273rd Regiment, the enemy troops were all in trucks, and they ignored the attacks of our militia and local weapons, so the advance was extremely fast. ”

Captain Feng walked a few steps in the house anxiously, and said angrily, "Where did the little devil get so many wings? This battle is really getting more and more evil! He added: "Inform the troops to prepare for battle." Report the information here to the headquarters immediately! ”

Chief of Staff Yan hurriedly said: "Yes, military seat!" ”

……

Yongqing, the former enemy headquarters of the Jicha Theater. Zheng Weiguo also received several pieces of relevant information here. First of all, the Tianjin underground party discovered the Japanese convoy marching at night, but at that time it was impossible to determine whether it was a logistics convoy or transporting combat troops; Subsequently, there was also a long queue of night trucks in the Jinnan area; Just now, information also came from the eastern Hebei side that the First Wing of the Garrison Army, which was originally stationed in Tangshan, also advanced westward overnight, and its specific movements are unknown.

In addition, the 14th Division in Shijiazhuang, the 110th Division that had just moved south, and the 21st Division were all adjusting their troops. There seem to be signs of an attack on the base areas.

Zheng Weiguo drew a circle south of Beiping with a pen. He said in a deep voice: "Everyone, now the situation is very clear, Beiping is a big trap set by the little devil!" Unfortunately, we've already stepped in! ”

The generals listened. All a little nervous. But they have encountered more dangerous situations than this. So there was no panic.

Chief of Staff Zhou said ashamedly: "General seat." The responsibility for this lies with me. It's all to blame for the carelessness of the humble duty to make such a big mistake, please take the seat and punish it! ”

Zheng Weiguo waved his hand and said, "Hey, now is not the time to hold accountable. It's about how to get out of the predicament in front of you. Chief of Staff, does your staff have a plan for dealing with it? ”

Chief of Staff Zhou thought for a moment and said, "I have summarized it, and it can be roughly divided into three opinions. First, it immediately retreated, and the 53rd Army was directly transferred to the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region; The main force of the 91st Division of the 63rd Army turned eastward and fought to report to the eastern Hebei guerrillas; The rest of the divisions took cover alternately and withdrew to the south of the Daqing River. ”

Zheng Weiguo pondered for a moment, shook his head and said, "No! The troops spent a lot of effort to attack Beiping, and the direct retreat of the troops was bound to be frustrated. And now that the sky is about to dawn, it is easy to cause chaos by rashly organizing a retreat. If the Japanese army sends planes to bomb along the road again, and the ground troops continue to pursue, the consequences will be unimaginable. Rather than lose in the retreat, it is better to fight a battle quickly! ”

Chief of Staff Zhou nodded and agreed: "What the general seat said is reasonable!" However, it is clear that the strength of the enemy forces is much stronger than we expected. With the current strength of our army, it is unrealistic to resist the two armies of Beiping and Tianjin at the same time. The question now is whether to hit Beiping first, or to attack the enemy with reinforcements from Tianjin. ”

Zheng Weiguo thought for a moment and said: "My opinion is that the enemy situation in the direction of Tianjin is unclear, and it is better to focus on blocking the attack first. Since the main forces have already arrived at the city of Beiping, they should first fight a battle, try to weaken the enemy's garrison, and then quickly move south. In addition, since the enemy army in eastern Hebei is advancing eastward, we cannot let go of this opportunity. I think I can send a small force with a few small guns with strong firepower to Jidong and destroy the Beining line for me! ”

Chief of Staff Zhou hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Which attack time should be advanced?" ”

Zheng Weiguo replied: "Look at the preparations of the troops on the front line, I will not interfere with how to fight the troops, you should draw up a combat plan as soon as possible, and do not have psychological baggage." Our 41st Group Army is not a soft persimmon now, and the Japanese army wants to set a trap to kill us, but that is a dream! ”

Chief of Staff Zhou was a little excited when he heard this, and hurriedly said: "Please rest assured, the humble position will definitely go all out!" ”

Anci county seat. Boom, the artillery fire covered by the Japanese finally arrived, and dozens of shells whistled in, blowing up a large number of houses inside and outside the county. Fortunately, most of the people here were moved to the south bank of the Yongding River overnight, otherwise the losses would have been even greater.

The county seat is in the south of the county, the former Nanzhuang, the headquarters of the 63rd Army. Admiral Feng Zhan looked to the east and said, "Chief of Staff, the Japanese artillery position should be located in the area of Xiaozaolin Village, completely within the range of our army's suppression of the artillery regiment, what do you think about concentrating artillery fire to kill this artillery position?" ”

Chief of Staff Yan Mingzhi shook his head and said, "Military seat, I'm afraid that the little devil still has a longer-range suppression artillery in his hand waiting for us to shoot!" I remember that in the analysis of the enemy situation before the war, it was said that the Japanese army had a 105-mm cannon brigade deployed in Tianjin, and the longest range could reach 18,000 meters, which was much farther than our 38. ”

Captain Feng Zhan nodded with some regret and said, "Well, that's good! It is indeed easy to expose the target when firing at night, so wait until dawn before moving. ”

Chief of Staff Yan smiled: "That's a good idea!" Then I will send the special reconnaissance team of the army to escort the artillery observation squad to set up a few observation points in front, so as to seize the opportunity in the artillery battle! ”

The Special Investigation Brigade is a new establishment. At present, the 53rd Army, the 63rd Army, and the 97th Army each have set up one, and its nature is between a special combat unit and a reconnaissance battalion.

After the Japanese bombarded for half an hour, there was no response from the other side, which was inevitably a little boring, so they sent the 213th Infantry Wing to search and advance, and its three brigades launched attacks on Menggezhuang in the south, Pengzhuang in the middle, and Lijiazhuang on the northern line in a zigzag shape. Coincidentally, the outlying positions of the 63rd Army were also set up on this line, and the two sides soon met in close quarters.

The 33rd Division of the Japanese Army was a newly formed unit. In Japan, all we saw was propaganda such as "the Chinese army is vulnerable" and "the Imperial Japanese Army is one against ten." Because I have never seen the power of the 63rd Army. It's a little bit unbelievable. Wing Commander Zengguang Shinichi Nakasa even asked the major teams to continue to advance towards Anci and Langfang after winning the predetermined target, and prepare to "hold a celebration banquet in Anci City after dawn." As a result, the brigades hit their heads in front of the positions of the 63rd Army and bled out.

In particular, the Makqin Bang Bang Cannon, although this game is very ammunition-intensive, has a greater lethal power on the skirmish line in field battles than the 75 field artillery. Because as soon as the fire was fired, it was equivalent to throwing twenty-five grenades at the same time. And it's accurate and far. Firepower of the Japanese army. Like light and heavy machine guns, infantry guns. As soon as the battle began, the losses were heavy. The Bang Bang Cannon was relatively light, and after firing a chain of bullets in a matter of seconds, the four soldiers immediately carried it and ran. Not at all to give the Japanese a chance to counterattack.

After a long fight, the three brigades of the 213th Wing all lost their troops. In addition, their night combat ability was very weak, and they did not know how to conceal firepower, so they had to retreat back after being launched by the 63rd Army for a short period of time.

The chief of staff of the 213th Wing, Jiro Kawaguchihara, saw that the casualties of the troops were too large, and hurriedly came to report: "Your Excellency, Wing Commander, it is too late for the attack, please postpone the attack!" ”

Masahiro Shinichi was annoyed by the failure of the attack, and hurriedly asked: "Kawaguchi-kun, what is going on in front of you, why are the three brigades unable to take a few small villages!" ”

Kawaguchihara Jiro Shaozo said busily: "Your Excellency, the Chinese army has built strong fortifications in the village, and there are a large number of troops stationed there, and it is likely that there is a regiment. ”

In fact, this was a serious miscalculation, the villages belonged to the outlying positions, and there were only field fortifications, and there was no time to build the so-called strong fortifications. It's just that these field fortifications are also more ingenious, like artillery below 75 caliber, it is difficult to cause damage unless it hits directly. Moreover, the troops are relatively scattered, and even if they are hit by a single shot, they will not be able to kill a few people. This created the illusion that the Japanese were useless in shelling.

The presence of a large number of troops was also an illusion of the Japanese army. Due to the complicated terrain in the village, it was inconvenient to carry out firepower, so no troops were stationed at all. There was also only one company on the outskirts of each village. It was only the tactics of regional defense adopted by the various units, and the constant maneuvers of small units in the positions, and the formation of a situation in which more troops fought less, which created an extremely large impact on the Japanese army. In addition, the firepower of the small units of the 63rd Army was indeed stronger than that of the Japanese troops of the same level.

In one company, for example, the 63rd Army had three 60 mortars per company, three grenadiers per platoon, and Czech light machine guns and grenade launchers in each squad. In addition, each company has a temporary heavy machine gun and a Maxim Bang gun. On the other hand, the 33rd Division, although each brigade has a large number of troops, has very few heavy weapons. A wing has only four mountain guns and four infantry guns, and a brigade has only eight heavy machine guns, and the number of squadrons that can be delegated to each squadron is extremely limited. Each squad has only two light machine guns, and on average there is less than one in a squad.

In addition, the 63rd Army is an old unit that has fought bloody battles for many years, and the 33rd Division is a new unit that has just been organized for a few months.

Some people may ask, the Japanese army is not so dish, right? In fact, the combat effectiveness of the Sanzitou Division is really bad, like the 33rd Division and the 34th Division, which were the main force in the Battle of Shanggao in history, but in the case of similar strength on both sides (11 dissatisfied divisions of the National Army, two divisions of the Japanese Army, and one independent mixed brigade) were violently beaten by the National Army. If he hadn't run fast, he would have almost been surrounded and eaten by the national army. This was a rare highlight performance of the national army in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and it was also one of the most humiliating battles of the Japanese army.

Moreover, the Battle of Shanggao also took place in 41, when the 33rd and 34th divisions also accumulated a lot of combat experience, and the result was still that virtuous. It's only 39 years now, and the 33rd Division is a standard rookie. Tuition fees are inevitable.

Zengguang Shinichi couldn't help but be taken aback when he heard the report, and shouted, "Nani? There are actually three regiments of the Zhina Army opposite our army! Did we run into the main force of the Chinese army? So he hurriedly reported to the commander of the division, Lieutenant General Ganji Shigetaro.

Lieutenant General Ganji Jutaro was also taken aback when he received the report, and their original plan was to quickly take Anji and continue to advance westward, and then cut off the retreat of the main force of the 41st Army. I didn't expect to encounter hard stubble in Anci, so I hurriedly ordered the chief of staff, Xiao Nuggets, to investigate.

Not to mention, this little nugget city Dazuo really discovered some abnormalities in Anci, and hurriedly reported: "Your Excellency the division commander, this Anci may indeed be the location of the headquarters of the China Army. ”

Lieutenant General Ganji Shigetaro asked, "Kodu-kun, is there any basis for what you say?" ”

Little Nugget City Dazuo hurriedly said: "Your Excellency, just now. The telecommunications department also found a large number of radio signals in Anci. Judging by the density, it is likely to be the headquarters of the Chinese army. ”

This was also a miscalculation, because each battalion-level unit of the 63rd Army had a small five-watt Siemens radio. Some elite troops still have a few units, far more than the average national army. It is inferred from the number of radio stations in the national army. It is natural to draw the wrong conclusions.

Lieutenant General Jutaro Kanji was very pleased. Hurriedly ordered: "Yo Xi! Asumasu blesses. The opportunity for our 33rd Division to correct its name has finally arrived, and the Chinese Army, which has left the two commanders of the North China Front helpless, will end under the sword of our department! ”

He also ordered: "Inform the whole wing, let the wings fight with their hearts." Strive to destroy the enemy in one fell swoop and capture Zheng Huzi alive! ”

Little Nugget City Dazuo hurriedly bowed down and replied excitedly: "Haiyi! ”

The order quickly reached the 213th Wing. Wing Captain Shinichi Masuhiro shinichi trembled with excitement after receiving the news, and said with a smile: "Oh, Soga! It turned out that Zheng Huzi, who had plagued North China for more than a year, was in Anci. Yo Xi, great feat! Then he asked, "Kawaguchi-kun, are there any other photos?" ”

Jiro Kawaguchihara hurriedly took out a photo from his pocket and said with a smile: "Is this what the co-captain said?" ”

It turned out to be a photo of Zheng Weiguo, which was inadvertently left when answering reporters' questions in Xi'an. It turned out that Zheng Weiguo led his troops to attack Taiyuan, which brought a great shock to the Japanese army. General Terauchi Shouichi, who was then the commander of the Northern Branch, ordered a large number of copies of Zheng Weiguo's photo, and then each front-line officer and soldier was issued with one copy and put it in his jacket pocket at any time, in an attempt to capture Zheng Huzi. Although two commanders were changed in succession, the tradition of "grabbing a beard with a photo" was retained, but it was not as strictly enforced as before.

Zengguangxin nodded and smiled: "Yo Xi! The officers and men of all units were ordered to search carefully with their eyes wide open, and not to let go of any suspicious target. If you don't find it in battle, be sure to clean the battlefield carefully after the battle. ”

Jiro Kawaguchihara also smiled and nodded, busy conveying the order. In order to prevent Zheng Weiguo from escaping while in chaos, the careful Kawaguchi Shaozo also specially checked the pockets of some officers and soldiers. Since the 33rd Division only got the photos after arriving in Tianjin, most of the photos of the officers and soldiers were still there, so they took out the photos one after another and shouted: "Break Ancicheng and capture Zheng Huzi alive!" ”

One soldier may have been so excited that his hands were shaking so much that the picture fell and he reached for it. Unexpectedly, a gust of wind suddenly blew, and the photo was blown onto the shoes of the chief of staff of the estuary.

Kawaguchi Shaozo didn't get angry because of this little thing, and joked: "Sergeant, take your photo, otherwise the great merit may slip through your hands!" ”

The rest of the Japanese officers and soldiers burst into laughter, and the soldier blushed and bent down to pick it up. Kawaguchi Shaozo smiled and glanced down, his face suddenly changed, and he scolded angrily: "Baga! Then he flew up and kicked the soldier to the ground.

The Japanese officers and soldiers were stunned for a moment, and when their eyes fell on the photo, they suddenly realized, and they all burst into laughter. It turned out that the photo was not Zheng Weiguo's at all, but the famous American movie star Catherine. Hepburn's jade photo. At that time, Japan greatly admired white Europeans and Americans, and gave rise to trends of thought such as "leaving Asia and joining Europe", and French movies and American movie stars also became the favorites of young people. For most Japanese soldiers, the bearded Zheng Weiguo is naturally not as pleasing to the eye as Catherine, and it is not surprising that he secretly replaced the photo.

What's even more interesting is that the furious Jiro Kawaguchihara then ordered a unified inspection, which resulted in more "Mr. Nanguo". The "dream girl" of these Japanese soldiers was not only Catherine. Hepburn, and Vivien. Leigh, Betty. Greber, and even Clark. Gable, Shirlan. Photograph of Temple. Of course, not all European and American movie stars, but also photos of girlfriends, crushes, and family members. This made the chief of staff of Kawaguchi angry, and ordered all the photos of "non-Zheng Weiguo" to be destroyed, so that the samurai could have no distractions and arrest Zheng Weiguo wholeheartedly, and set up "immortal merits".

After an hour of tossing, the Japanese 33rd Division launched another attack on Anji. However, under the stubborn counterattack of the 63rd Army, the Japanese army still did not take any advantage. Lieutenant General Tataro Ganji, the commander of the 33rd Division, thought that such a tenacious unit must be the elite directly under Zheng Huzi, and was even more convinced that this was the headquarters of the Jicha Theater, so he ordered the main force of the entire division to be transferred, and at the same time asked Tada Jun, commander of the North China Front, for "tactical guidance" from the heavy artillery unit.

However, what the Japanese army did not expect was that the real main force of the 41st Army had appeared under the cover of night.

Li Liangrong, the commander-in-chief of the siege, looked at his watch and ordered: "Contact the last one, and launch an attack in ten minutes!" (To be continued......)

PS: Uh-uh!