Chapter 281: Praying Mantis Catching Cicadas (Asking for Subscriptions, Monthly Passes, and Various!! ）

On December 10, when the sky was bright, Liu Enmao's 15th Army buried the pot to make rice, and before 7 o'clock, the army crossed the Wenyu River and began to march towards Gujiao. According to Sun Weiru's plan of Commander-in-Chief Sun, the 15th Army was in front as the vanguard of the whole army, Li Jiayu's 47th Army was the middle army, 30 miles behind the 15th Army, and he himself led the 38th Army to follow the 47th Army at a distance of 30 miles.

The more than 60,000 men of the three armies were only 60 miles apart, and no matter which army was in danger, the other two armies could rescue in time without worrying about being annihilated by the enemy.

At half past ten o'clock in the morning, the 15th Army had already passed the retreat ditch and was about to enter Wangxiangtai. Speaking of this 15th Army, it can also be regarded as a strange thing in the national army, the predecessor of the army was bandits and recalcitrant forces in the western Henan region, also known as the "Zhensong Army". In the first Northern Expedition of the National Revolutionary Army, the "Zhensong Army" defected to the Northwest Army. In the Central Plains War, the "Zhensong Army" defected from the Northwest Army and joined Chiang Kai-shek, and was incorporated into the 11th Route Army of the 2nd Group Army. In May 1930, the 11th Route Army was renamed the army, with Liu Maoen as the commander, and it was still the establishment of 3 divisions.

However, after the Central Plains War, Lao Chiang's army was reorganized, and the 65th, 66th, and 67th divisions under the original jurisdiction were merged into the 64th and 65th divisions. Liu Zhenhua and Liu Maoen were appointed as division commanders.

After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Liu Maoen led the army from the Macheng area of Hubei Province to the front line in North China, and undertook the task of covering the transfer of the retreating army from Datong, Shanxi Province and the evacuation of materials and materials from the military station. In October of the same year, the army was temporarily stationed in the area of Huo County, Shanxi. participated in the Battle of Xinkou, which can be regarded as a great achievement, although it is a miscellaneous army, but its reputation is very good.

Because it was formed by bandits, some traditions have been passed down over the years, including some practices that belong to bandit marching.

"The military seat, in front of which is Wangxiangtai, and then there are a lot of ravines, and the terrain is very dangerous." Liu Zhenhua, commander of the 64th Division, said.

Liu Enmao took out the map, looked at it and said, "This broken map is really bad." If you follow the instructions on it. Tonight we sleep on the mountain, or the little devil's map is good. ”

"That's right, the little devil's map is much more accurate than ours, it's incomparable." Liu Zhenhua said with a sigh.

The maps used in one's own country are not as good as those drawn by the invaders. This has to be said to be a kind of sadness.

"Don't talk about that. It's our old rule that you can't get into the mountains. But I'm afraid I won't be able to go in today. It's still the old rule, send a sharp knife to connect it, and fire reconnaissance to open the way. Make sure it's safe to go again. Liu Enmao ordered.

"Yes, I'll arrange it!" Liu Zhenhua Road.

In a col three kilometers from the entrance of Wangxiangtai into the mountain pass, an infantry wing of the 108th Division of the Japanese Army lay quietly on the ground, not daring to make the slightest sound.

Less than five kilometers northwest of Wangxiangtai, Liushuyan, the headquarters of the 108th Division of the Japanese Army is here.

"Your Excellency, Commander of the Reporting Division, call from the front!"

"Read!"

"Hai, Takaki Daisa called and said that the Shina army had arrived at the entrance of Wangxiangtai, and its strength was one Shina army, about 20,000 people. However, the commander of that branch was extremely cautious, and did not immediately enter the mountain, but sent an infantry company to reconnoitre, and the main force was now stationed outside the mountain. The newspaper man read aloud.

"Yo Xi, Your Excellency the Commander is like a god, the people of China are really cautious, and they order the troops to stay put, and there is nothing that can not be said to let the people of China see the flaws, as long as they successfully enter the pocket we have set, then they will die." Lieutenant General Xiong Ya Shimoto sneered.

"Hay!"

Because the Japanese army was very well camouflaged, and most of the troops were ambushed on the top of the mountain or behind the mountain, although the sharp knife company of the 15th Army also conducted careful reconnaissance, and even carried out fire reconnaissance on the mountain, it did not find anything abnormal.

After receiving the report from the sharp knife company, Liu Enmao lowered his guard a little and ordered the troops to immediately divide into two routes, and the 64th Division, commanded by Liu Zhenhua, crossed Longwangmiaogou and Liushuyan from the company camp and went straight to Malan Town. The other route was personally commanded by him, from Wangxiangtai through Lao Yagou, through the East and West Gaota Mountain, and finally after Liu Zhenhua met in Malan Town. In this way, he can quickly pass through this mountainous area, in which Liu Enmao always feels a little nervous.

"Nani, have the people of China divided their troops?" After receiving the report from the forward observation post, Lieutenant General Shimoto Kumaya was extremely furious.

He had already sent people to conduct a detailed reconnaissance of this mountainous area before, and he knew that there were several ravines in this mountainous area that could directly penetrate Malan Town, the gateway of Gujiao. However, only the road from Laowangmiaogou to Liushuyan is the most suitable for the march of the large army, not to mention the other roads are full of potholes, and the mountain road is very steep, and the speed of the large army marching is very slow. In addition, the strength is limited, so Xia Yuan Xiongmi judged that the Chinese army would definitely go from the road of Longwangmiaogou, so he put all the main forces on this side.

The chief of staff of the 108th Division, Suzuki Toshiyuki, asked with a frown: "Your Excellency the division commander, what should we do now, the people of the branch have already divided their troops, do we still want to continue?" ”

Xia Yuan Xiong Mi thought for a while and said: "Order the troops to let go of this branch army, we will ambush the branch army behind, and then turn around and destroy this 15th army." ”

"Spare the 15th Army? The imperial army is likely to suffer from the enemy on its back, and if the 47th Army of China cannot be quickly eliminated at that time, our army will fall into an unprecedented bitter battle, please think twice, Your Excellency, the division commander! Toshiyuki Suzuki advised.

"Baga, it is difficult for us to completely annihilate this branch infantry army when we rush out of the city, once the gun is fired, the imperial army is likely to only be able to destroy one infantry division in China, while the other China troops will quietly slip away, which poses a fatal threat to the strategic deployment of His Excellency the commander, so now our only way is to let go of this 15th Army of China and ambush the 47th Army of China behind. Moreover, letting go of the 15th Army of China will definitely make the later China Army relax its vigilance. At that time, the effect of the ambush will be unprecedentedly good, as long as one of the armies is eliminated, the remaining two armies will no longer be enough to threaten our army, you understand? Xia Yuan Xiong Mi said loudly.

"Hai, I understand!" Toshiyuki Suzuki said loudly.

What Liu Enmao didn't know was that it was precisely because of his division tactics that his 15th Army escaped a catastrophe, otherwise with the strong strength of one division and one brigade of the Japanese army, plus a tank wing and two artillery wings, it would not be a piece of cake to eliminate his motley army.

At one o'clock in the afternoon, Li Jiayu arrived at Wangxiangtai with the 47th Army, because the 15th Army opened the way in front, so the 47th Army was very lax, and the whole army actually marched forward in a long snake formation, and the most important thing was that the front did not even send a guard force.

In fact, Li Jiayu can't be blamed for this, his 47th Army was formed by the Sichuan Army, and the original weapons and equipment were poor, and the battle with the Japanese army relied on the superiority of troops, so he easily did not dare to divide the troops. In addition, there is the 15th Army in front of the road, so the 47th Army is more assured.

Soon, the 47th Army entered the ambush circle of the Japanese. After receiving the report from the forward observation post, Lieutenant General Xiong Ya immediately ordered the 104th Brigade of the Japanese Army, as well as the 1st Mountain Artillery Wing and the 1st Field Artillery Wing, which were ambushed in Longwangmiaogou, to prepare for an attack. At the same time, Xia Yuan Xiong Mi ordered the Takashu Wing to enter the mountain pass to start piercing the opening, and the First Chariot Wing under the Chen Family Slope of Liushuyan could also move.

The war came very suddenly, when the 47th Army stepped on the footsteps of the 64th Division of the 15th Army and passed through the Longwangmiao Ditch, a large number of grenades and explosives bags fell on the vertical cliffs on both sides, and at the same time, the unique roar of artillery shells crossed the sky and fell into the ranks of the 47th Army. The Japanese light and heavy machine guns lying in ambush on both sides of the cliff opened fire at the same time, pouring ammunition on the Chinese troops under the cliff.

"Da Da Da"

"Boom Boom"

The 47th Army was stunned by the sudden explosion, and there were a large number of casualties in the first round. However, Li Jiayu is worthy of being a famous general in the Sichuan army, and he has a lot of combat experience.

Seeing the sudden blow, Li Jiayu hurriedly shouted loudly: "There is an ambush, the rear team becomes the front team, retreat!" A regiment of the 178th Division held off the enemy on the spot, and the other units stepped up their time to retreat. ”

However, the Japanese army had already prepared and did not wait for the 178th Division to arrange the defensive line, as long as they saw the trend of large-scale grouping of Chinese troops, the Japanese army would be bombarded by artillery fire. The headquarters of the 1st Regiment of the 178th Division was hit by Japanese artillery in the chaos, the regiment commander was killed instantly, the deputy regiment commander was seriously injured, and the chief of staff's legs were blown up.

Seeing that the 178th Division's 1st Regiment was hopeless, Li Jiayu immediately ordered the 2nd Regiment of the 178th Division to assemble 500 meters away from the 1st Regiment, and then arrange improvised fortifications. While the other troops retreated, they seized the commanding heights and blocked the Japanese pursuit. At the same time, the operator was ordered to immediately send a telegram to the 15th Army in front and the headquarters of the Fourth Army in the rear for help.

As an experienced commander, Li Jiayu is very clear about the plans of the Japanese army, since the Japanese chose to ambush his 47th Army here, it means that they have made all preparations, the entrance pass in front of the mountain must be heavily guarded by the Japanese army, and now rushing out of the mountain will only be sent to death, and under the attack of the Japanese army before and after, breaking through will only make you die faster. The only way now is to hold on and wait for reinforcements, waiting for Zhao Shoushan's 38th Army and Liu Enmao's 15th Army to attack this Japanese army before and after, and then come to a center to blossom, and it is even possible to counter and annihilate this Japanese army.

But the idea is good, but the reality is cruel. At the same time as the rear of the 47th Army, the Japanese artillery fire was also extending, and it can be seen that the Japanese army had made a detailed Zhuyuan mark on this area, and the artillery was called an accurate. Two of the five regiments of the 178th Division behind the palace have already been hit, and several other battalion headquarters have been destroyed, and more importantly, the baggage convoy of the division headquarters has been hit, and several truckloads of ammunition have been detonated, causing extremely heavy losses to the 178th Division. (To be continued......)