In the western suburbs of Tianjin, Wangqingtuo Town, it has now become a temporary barracks and military station for the Japanese army. Thousands of Japanese troops were coming, and all kinds of supplies were piled up in the open space outside the town.

Because this town is too close to the city of Tianjin, it is only 20 kilometers. In order to avoid repeated tug-of-war with the enemy, the Third Division only set up a two-sided political regime and did not send troops to garrison it. The two-faced regime is to "maintain the association" and obey the management of the Japanese army, but in fact the chairmen are underground parties or secretly support the anti-Japanese resistance.

For example, this time, while boiling water and cooking for the Japanese army, Chairman Wang Dahu had actually secretly reported the enemy's troops and equipment to the local guerrillas.

However, there are pros and cons to everything, for example, it has now become the forward base of the Japanese army, which greatly shortens the attack distance of the Japanese army.

Bo-bo, -bo-bo, -pa-pa, a group of Japanese soldiers were rapidly advancing westward, and the sound of leather boots on the road was loud. Well, that's probably the iron hooves of the invaders that are often mentioned in propaganda reports. However, the Japanese soldiers seemed to enjoy this sense of rhythm, and the leading detachment leader also deliberately hung a plaster flag on the barrel of the gun.

It doesn't seem appropriate to make such a big move as a search force. But the Japanese army is like this, except for the state of imminent war, such as entering the village to rob, they generally rarely hide their movements. On the contrary, the Japanese army also emphasized in the "Infantry Drill Code" that the officers must be at the forefront as the role models of the whole team when marching.

Behind the spearhead were two Type 94 bean chariots, which were specifically responsible for fire reconnaissance. This is an ultralight tracked armored vehicle with a length of only 3 meters. The total weight of the battle was only 3.45 tons, and the armor was only 6 mm at the thin point, so it was ridiculed as a "toy tank" by the American army. However, this weapon is still very applicable on the Chinese battlefield, because of its small size and light weight, it can be used for command, liaison, search, vigilance and other combat missions, and can also be used as an artillery tractor or ammunition carrier. Coupled with the lack of effective vehicle defense means for the Chinese army at that time, the casualties were heavy every time they encountered this small potato.

The bean chariot was followed by another squadron of Japanese troops. Further behind are ten Type 89 B medium tanks, which, like the two "Little Potatoes" in front, belong to the 1st Squadron of the Garrison Tank Brigade. The Type 89 B medium combat vehicle is also currently the main equipment of the Jizhong Armored Cavalry Division. Average performance. The biggest advantage is the use of a diesel engine. It was a very advanced concept at the time of research and development, but by 38 years it was very outdated, and it was also majestic on the Chinese battlefield.

Under the cover of tanks, thousands of Japanese troops swaggered down the road. The road was accompanied by the rumbling of chariots. It makes the Japanese soldiers even more interesting.

This unit was subordinate to the 10th Division. The division commander is Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinozuka. The mention of this name will surely sound familiar to many people. Because he served as the commander of the First Army stationed in Shanxi in history, Yang Lianchun, the actor in the TV series "Bright Sword", played it very vividly. is no longer the image of a pig-headed squad leader that is common in Anti-Japanese War movies, which makes people feel refreshed. Of course. No matter what Yoshio Shinozuka's personal cultivation and morality are, it can't change the fact that his hands are covered in blood as an aggressor.

The 10th Division was originally subordinate to the Central China Front and was one of the main divisions of the Japanese army in the Battle of Wuhan. Because Zheng Weiguo united with the Eighth Route Army to make trouble in North China, and successively cut off the Jinpu Line and the Pinghan Line. The 10th Division did not have time to rest and recuperate, so it hurried north. In this operation, the unit will jointly attack with the 9th Division in an attempt to destroy the anti-Japanese base area north of the Daqing River in one fell swoop.

In addition to the road from Wangqingtuo Town, the 10th Division also had two routes to attack from Langfang and Beiping, each with a wing and artillery to prepare to jointly attack Ba County, the capital of the Third Army Division.

At the same time, the 9th Division, reinforced by the Kwantung Army, was divided into two routes, attacking from Gaobeidian and Xushui respectively, and launched an attack on Xiongxian, another important town in the Third Army Division.

The Japanese army's attack on this attack can be said to have been planned for a long time, and it began to be planned from the time when the Battle of Wuhan was not over. First, the 12th Army was formed in Jinan, Shandong, with Lieutenant General Otaka Kamezo, the former commander of the 19th Division, under the command of the 5th and 114th Divisions, which were independently mixed into the 5th and 6th Brigades and the Cavalry Group (lacking the 4th Cavalry Brigade). The 5th Independent Mixed Brigade was taken over by the re-established 4th Independent Mixed Brigade in the Zhengtai Road defense area.

After the establishment of the 12th Army, it will be able to control Shandong and northern Jiangsu, and can launch attacks on the surrounding areas such as Hebei, Shandong, Henan, eastern Henan, western Shandong, and southwestern Shandong at any time. Since the unit only needs to defend the Jinpu line, it can be flexibly mobilized, and it poses a great threat to the surrounding base areas.

There was originally a 21st Division in history. However, Zheng Weiguo preemptively launched a counterattack on the Pinghan Line, containing a large number of Japanese troops, and the 21st Division stationed in Beiping did not dare to leave at all. Baoding was then finally occupied, but the division commander Washizu Matsudaira and a large number of senior officers were killed by bombs. Not only did he lose face, but his morale also suffered a heavy blow, so he had to continue to stay in the Beiping area to recuperate.

In addition, the Japanese army transferred the 14th Division, which had been rebuilt on the north bank of the Yellow River, to Shijiazhuang, and replenished the 110th Division with a large number of troops in Baoding, so that it could be quickly restored.

In this way, the Japanese army in the central and outer parts of Hebei was as high as six divisions and three independent mixed brigades, and its strength was unprecedentedly strong. They are the 14th Division stationed in Shijiazhuang, the 110th Division stationed in Baoding, the 21st Division stationed in Beiping, the 27th Division stationed in Tianjin, the 9th Division and the 10th Division maneuvering in the Beijing-Tianjin-Baozhou Triangle Area, as well as the 7th Independent Mixed Brigade in Cangzhou, the 6th Independent Mixed Brigade in Dezhou, and the 9th Independent Mixed Brigade in Xinmin (east of Dezhou and north of the Yellow River).

The Japanese army at the same time in history was far less strong, such as the 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th brigades of the North China Front, which were formed after 39 years. There are fewer troops assigned to the periphery of central Hebei, for example, the first encirclement and suppression of central Hebei was only more than 6,000 Japanese puppet troops. Obviously, the base camp regarded the 41st Army as a very important opponent.

On both sides of the road where the Japanese were passing, several scouts were hiding in the ditch, keeping a close eye on the enemy force through binoculars.

Scout Lao Zhang is a local, and he has worked with the Japanese army several times when he was a guerrilla. He squinted for a moment. couldn't help muttering: "Why is this little devil different from the 27th Division!" I didn't bend down when I walked, and my leather shoes rattled as if we wouldn't hear them. ”

The reconnaissance platoon commander smiled: "This is the first-class elite of the devil, so naturally you have to be arrogant." When they taste our awesomeness, they will know how to walk. Xiao Li, you run fast, immediately notify the lurking troops to prepare to move! ”

Although the 10th Division planted a big heel in Taierzhuang (this is how the former division commander Ryosuke Isoya stepped down), it was still very self-righteous. Talking and laughing all the way (note: the Japanese army did not pay attention to silence when marching, and especially liked to make noise, which may be a means of reducing the pressure on the soldiers), not like a war. It's like an outing. Everyone looks at it in their hearts. are holding back the fire in their stomachs, just waiting to give them a good look.

Of course, their task is to reconnoiter the enemy, and they are to do it to others. Just when the Japanese army was rapidly approaching the town of Katsufang. Small units are stealthily stealthy in the ditch. Soon entered the ambush site. In fact. As soon as the Japanese army left Wangqingtuo Town, it was under the surveillance of the militia. The Japanese detachment was ignorant and was still moving forward, but it didn't expect that the footsteps with a hint of ostentation became the bell of death.

"Hit!"

Bah, Bah, Bah...... With the captain's order. The fighters suddenly opened fire. A dozen shots were fired in a row, and four or five Japanese soldiers were knocked down on the spot.

"Enemy attack!" Jun Cao Suzuki Tokuda exclaimed in surprise and hurriedly fell to the ground. The well-trained Japanese soldiers also quickly dispersed in battle formation, and some of the soldiers who were quick with their hands and feet had even begun to return fire. Whew...... A Type 94 bean chariot also quickly rushed to reinforcements when it heard the gunshots, slowly turned the gun tower, and fired wildly at the side of the road, causing sand and rocks to fly and dust everywhere.

But after fighting for a while, he found that there was no movement on the other side, and Suzuki Juncao hurriedly sent a detachment to search. Sure enough, the small unit had already withdrawn along the ditch, and only some camouflage props were found on the position.

Several Japanese soldiers who did not give up followed the footprints, but before they could catch up far, they suddenly stepped on a mine. Rumble! A mine suddenly exploded, breaking one of the hapless man's legs on the spot. He should be glad that this mine was only a small mine made by the Jixi Arsenal. If you use a high-powered mine modified from a German S jump mine or a 114-mm shell, I'm afraid that these people will be doomed.

"Yaga!" Suzuki Juncao rushed over with a pale face, looked at the ditch in front of him that didn't know where the road extended, and scolded angrily. But it was impossible to continue the pursuit, even if there was no danger of a mine, because they still had a task to do, and they had to open the way for the large army.

The original purpose of this kind of ditch was to "break the road," that is, to disrupt communications and hinder the internal operations of the Japanese army's mechanized and motorized units in the base area.

When the road was broken, it was to block the road and dig a horizontal ditch, digging the road into sections, but the people felt extremely inconvenient to come and go, farm, and transport. Moreover, as soon as the central Hebei is flat, the rapid troops of the Japanese army can still make a detour. Therefore, it was later changed to digging a ditch along the way, and the road-breaking project became a trench-building project. This is the origin of the ditch.

There are uniform specifications for the width, depth, angle, etc. of the groove. The avenue ditch that runs through each village is more than two meters deep and about three meters wide, and large vehicles can pass unimpeded. Every few tens of meters, a circular mound is built, and then a road is built around the mound. Two vehicles traveling in opposite directions can be staggered here, and it can also prevent the enemy from shooting along the ditch, killing two birds with one stone. The road becomes the road and the ditch, and from this village to that village, you can walk in the ditch without being discovered by the people on the ditch. The ditch mouth connected the village edge, which facilitated the marching operations, ambushes, detours and transportation of the various parts of central Hebei, while it was not easy for the Japanese cars and tanks to pursue.

When the road excavation was first launched, many ordinary people and even local cadres and soldiers did not understand it and felt that the burden was too great. However, after many battles, the soldiers and civilians in the base area gradually realized the important role of the ditch. The Political Department of the Military Region also put forward the slogan of "one more drop of sweat, one less drop of blood," which everyone has experienced in practice. Later, in the summer of 1939, heavy rain in Jizhong became a disaster. The Japanese army took the opportunity to open the canal in an attempt to flood the Jizhong base area in one fell swoop. Fortunately, these ditches dispersed the amount of water and mitigated the disaster, and the soldiers and civilians in Jizhong were very surprised, and they all thought that Zheng Huzi could pinch it. In fact, it is all the wisdom of the people, which is habitually attributed to the leadership.

Later, the Japanese army hated this ditch very much, and even lined it up in the tunnel. Because the tunnels were not much of a threat to the Japanese army. Daogou is different. Walking on the road well, maybe anyone will hide in the ditch to shoot black guns and throw grenades, and it is impossible to prevent it. And usually when you go to the countryside to rob or something, you can only go along the road. As for the Japanese people, they stood in a two-meter-deep ditch like a blind man, and they had to climb out by ladder when they encountered anything.

Therefore, once the Japanese army occupied a certain place, they forced the local people to fill in the ditches. But the wisdom of the masses is immeasurable, and under the leadership of the two-faced regime, everyone buries a little bit during the day and secretly digs it up at night. The Japanese commanders often said to the common people in a very angry manner: "Your conscience is greatly broken. Slowly during the day. It's a quick night, no! ”

However, the Japanese army did find a way to restrain the ditch, and the heavy losses in the "May Day Sweep" in history had a lot to do with this.

It's easy to say, it's to build roads. But this road is not ordinary. The roadbed should be built one meter above the ground. Trenches are also dug on the side of the road. You turned out not two meters deep. Is it three meters wide? The devil dug the ditch deeper and wider, and he could get in, but he couldn't climb out. The road surface is also wide. Three cars can be used in parallel, with the aim of dividing the base area by road. By dividing the base area into small pieces, the mobility of the Eighth Route Army was lost.

When the battle began, the Japanese occupied the road, which was condescending and could be swept with machine guns. However, the Eighth Route Army did not have an effective means of fighting back. In history, Chang Deshan, commander of the Eighth Division of Jizhong, sacrificed in this way. At that time, a regiment of the Eighth Route Army was almost completely annihilated by the Japanese army.

Well, that's a later story, and I'll explain it in more detail later. Anyway, the Japanese army has nothing to do with this ditch now, even if it is too late to build a high-base highway on Zhilu Road. Lieutenant Hirosue Otake, the squadron leader, rushed over quickly after hearing the news, but he also felt powerless when he saw this strange fortification, so he had to change a detachment to act as a spearhead, and told them to pay more attention to both sides when advancing, so as not to be ambushed again.

Looking at the corpses and wounded who were carried down, the new spearhead squad finally became much more honest and did not dare to run forward with their chests held high. One by one, they looked around, left and right, like thieves. Of course, in fact, it is a thief!

Rumble! Although the Japanese army was doubly careful, they still landed on the road. Walking and walking, there was nothing wrong on both sides of the road, but an S-shaped jumping mine in the middle of the road suddenly jumped out of the soil, first flew more than a meter high, and then exploded with a bang. Steel balls and debris suddenly flew everywhere, and the Japanese soldiers were miserable. This kind of mine is very full of explosives, so the penetration of the steel ball is extremely strong, and it can continue to penetrate the bodies of five people in a row. Just like that, half of the soldiers of the detachment were either killed or wounded. Those who were far away were frightened if they were not dead or injured. To tell the truth, the casualties caused by landmines are far from being as good as those caused by artillery shells and bullets, but the psychological deterrence is much greater, and many Japanese soldiers in history have been scared out of mental illness.

Although the squadron leader of the Guangsu squadron changed to another detachment to serve as a spearhead, he could say anything from the detachment leader to the soldier and refused to go any further. The obedience of the Japanese soldiers is indeed very good, and they can even rank in the forefront of the world, but no one is willing to do this kind of work that is obviously sent to death. In fact, looking at the memoirs of the Japanese army, there are many scenes of bargaining with superiors and superiors. Some strong soldiers can even "suppress" the squad leader.

The infantry refused to go, and the two bean chariots were even more unhappy. Besides, a small lieutenant in Hiroshi Daitake didn't dare to let the bean chariot go to the mine. If it was blown up, he would have to be ordered to disembowel. There was no way, so Guang Mo had to ride back to the captain to ask the sappers to clear the mines. But this vanguard has no engineers, so why is it for? Because the 10th Division was accustomed to fighting with the regular army, it was not yet suitable for this step-by-step frightening style of fighting behind enemy lines.

Fortunately, there is a professional engineer wing in the 10th Division, and it is not far from Tianjin, so you can get there immediately by truck. Captain Watanabe Matsugen ordered the 1st Squadron, the Ammunition Squad, and half of the Machine Gun Squadron to wait in place, while he personally led the rest of the troops to search and advance along both sides of the road. And he didn't dare to walk in the ditch, only in the field.

This time, the Japanese soldiers were even more careful, bowing their heads one by one, bending over, looking around from time to time with their two eyes, holding rifles in their hands, and even the safety was open, and they could fire as soon as they pulled the bolt.

One of the scouts laughed, "That's just a little devil!" Let's go, and send some greeting gifts to the devil! ”

Laying mines is a delicate job, especially when the enemy is "off the beaten path". At this time, it is necessary for the soldiers to figure out the psychology of the enemy, predict the route that the enemy may pass, and then bury an "iron watermelon" for them.

Rumble! Good luck, another full house! After a series of blows, Captain Watanabe finally gave up the idea of continuing to move forward, and honestly stopped and waited for the sappers to arrive.

After an hour of waiting, the engineering unit was late. And after coming, the troops can only advance while clearing mines, and the speed is like a turtle crawling. The sharpshooters in the third division began to play their strengths again, playing cold guns, and specializing in workers. was so angry that Watanabe Osa jumped violently.

After some entanglement, although the Watanabe brigade finally arrived at the front line of Tang Erli and Shengfang Town, it was also tossed to death. The other four-way armies are the same, but after all, the Japanese army is strong, and it has to be put elsewhere, and two first-class divisions are enough to deal with 200,000 national troops. It would be difficult to stop it with the troops of the tripartite zone alone.

After a day of fierce fighting, the county towns and market towns of Rongcheng, Xincheng, Gu'an, Yongqing, and Shengfang on the periphery of the three sub-districts fell one after another. The enemy's five-way army has formed a situation of encirclement.

Yoshio Shinozuka was even optimistic that "this encirclement and suppression will end in a week", but what he didn't expect was that this conclusion would be overturned only after midnight. (To be continued......)