As Chief of Staff Zhou said, this "Laipi Dog" tactic is indeed powerful. The North Road Detachment and the 359th Brigade failed to find a way to deal with it for a while, and soon fell into a passive situation where they could not run away and could not win. This is very fatal for troops that are longer than movement warfare and shorter than positional warfare.

Zheng Weiguo thought about it too much, and he didn't find any good way. The difference in strength is too great to be compensated for by stratagem alone. After that, he sighed and said, "Forget it, order them to move to the mountains!" ”

Chief of Staff Zhou was taken aback, and hurriedly said, "Shizuo, are you planning to give up Taiyuan?" ”

Although the withdrawal of the North Route Detachment to the mountains could get rid of the entanglement of the Japanese cavalry, it also lost its role in restraining the Japanese army. As soon as the fetters of the 26th Division are gone, it will inevitably move south, and the fall of Yangqu has become inevitable. Yangqu is very close to Taiyuan, and after the Japanese army occupies this place, it will be able to counter the guest, and its troops will approach Taiyuan. At that time, if the 33rd Division did not want to be wiped out, it could only withdraw as soon as possible.

Zheng Weiguo nodded and said, "Well, we can't delay it any longer, immediately send a report to the general manager and inform ......"

"Report!" As he was talking, the communications staff officer suddenly hurried over.

Zheng Weiguo's heart skipped a beat, and he felt a little bad. Sure enough, the staff officer handed over a telegram and said with a worried face: "Division, it's not good! The situation in the south is in crisis, our group army can no longer hold on, and is now preparing to disperse and transfer! ”

Chief of Staff Zhou was taken aback, and hurriedly asked, "What!" You tell me clearly, what the hell is going on! ”

The staff officer said: "You better read the telegram, I can't say a few words." ”

Chief of Staff Zhou was busy reading the telegram with Zheng Weiguo. It turned out that the officers and men of the Central Route Army fought hard repeatedly, were very tired, and there was no hope of victory, and their morale was very low. has been able to persist until now, all relying on Chief Wei Lihuang's personal prestige. But prestige is not very reliable, and sure enough, after the defeat of a certain unit of the Jin Sui army that cooperated with the battle, a damn domino effect appeared. The positions of the 14th Army shook on all fronts and almost collapsed.

At the critical moment, Commander Wei Lihuang personally led the team directly under the group army to rush to the front line. After a bloody battle, the situation of the war was finally stabilized temporarily. However, the troops were panicked, and some weapons and ammunition could not be provided, so they were really unable to fight any further. Commander-in-Chief Wei had no choice but to issue a retreat order, ordering all parts to disperse to the mountains to break through.

Duan Shuanghu has always been not afraid of heaven and earth, but this time he was also taken aback. He said anxiously, "How can this be good? The devils are going to concentrate four divisions to fight us! ”

As soon as the 14th Army withdrew, the Japanese army liberated three divisions at once, namely the 20th Division, the 108th Division, and the 109th Division, plus the 26th Division approaching from the north, which was exactly four. In fact, the 14th Division also appeared in Jinnan, and the independent 4th Mixed Brigade could also advance westward from the Zhengtai Line at any time, adding up to six divisions and regiment-level units. With such a strong force, not to mention dealing with the small 33rd Division, even if it is a general battle, it is enough. You must know that the Japanese army in the Battle of Wuhan only dispatched 9 divisions.

Chief of Staff Guo said in the telegram that they should withdraw as soon as possible, and as long as the troops are still there, the commission will not be harsh. It means that if the troops are exhausted, then most likely they will have to bear the responsibility of throwing Taiyuan on their backs, and if the troops are still there, the Military Commission will not go too far. In this regard, Zheng Weiguo had nothing to say, so he could only smile bitterly.

Chief of Staff Zhou muttered: "It seems that it is impossible not to retreat, you can only retreat!" ”

Zheng Weiguo's face was heavy, and he said to Director Xiong of the General Staff Office: "Director Xiong, I will ask you to draw up a retreat plan." Seeing that Director Xiong was about to throw away the message he had drafted earlier, he hurriedly said: "This message is still being sent, don't lose it!" ”

Director Xiong said: "Then I'll change it, just say that we only withdrew after receiving an order." In this way, it will be difficult for the Military Commission to say anything. ”

Zheng Weiguo shook his head and said, "No! In the message, it should be clearly pointed out that it was our ministry that was unable to support it and requested the evacuation of the general assembly. The general seat will inevitably be blamed for this defeat. We are soft-spoken, and we can't help anything, so we can only help carry the black cauldron! ”

Hearing him say this, Chief of Staff Zhou and the others all smiled bitterly and shook their heads.

Retreat is not so easy to retreat either! At least the 26th Division, which was rushing towards it, would not let the 33rd Division go smoothly. In order to prevent the enemy from tiptoeing in pursuit, Zheng Weiguo decided to concentrate on annihilating one of them. Of course, it is better to knock out his cavalry search party.

But the situation was more troublesome than they thought. First of all, the 26th Division came quickly, and it was different if there was a railway; Secondly, although the 26th Division was fast, it did not rush forward, let alone divide its troops, but gathered the whole army into a regiment, and then used the advantage in strength to push southward. Its search team was always not far from the headquarters, and Zheng Weiguo failed to lure the enemy several times, and the situation suddenly took a sharp turn for the worse.

In the heart of the enemy, the best choice for the 33rd Division is to disrupt the battle, make the enemy scratch their heads, and then find opportunities to break through each one. This is like the previous raid on the Fenhe Plain and the annihilation of the Matsui Festival convoy in Xishan, but the premise is that the Japanese army has to make mistakes, such as going deep alone, adventurously, and so on. If the Japanese army does not make a mistake, or if the 33rd Division makes a mistake and fails to catch it, then the 33rd Division will inevitably fail, which is due to strength.

The current situation is like this, the 26th Division does not play tricks with you, whether you set up an ambush, block, or feint, he is just two words - crush! In the face of absolute superiority, all stratagems are floating clouds, so the 33rd Division has no other way but to retreat.

In desperation, Zheng Weiguo had no choice but to order the 331st Regiment to escort the non-combat troops and the wounded to quickly move to the southwest, preparing to retreat into the Taihang Mountains along the road they came. At the same time, the 332nd and 342nd regiments were ordered to attack in a pincer formation, trying to destroy at least heavily inflicted damage on the enemy cavalry search party before leaving, so as not to be stuck by them when retreating.

What Zheng Weiguo and the staff officers did not expect was that as soon as the three main regiments left, a bad news came - the enemy cavalry search team had appeared near the northern suburbs of Taiyuan! But I don't know how to bypass the two main regiments of the 33rd Division.

It turned out that the search team's squadron leader Fumizo Iwata liked to make a roundabout raid the most, and he also fought the idea of the 35th Army headquarters in history. Although Commander-in-Chief Fu made a move to make a counter-surprise attack that made Iwata lose his armor and flee in defeat, Iwata's idea of hitting the key point was right, and it could be described as a ruthless move to break the enemy.

When the news reached the headquarters, everyone was a little panicked. Now that the main forces have been transferred, the command is short of troops, and if you fight hard, you really can't match the search team.

Duan Shuanghu said: "Division, you and the staff seat will lead the division to withdraw from each unit first, and I will lead a company to block the attack!" ”

Zhang Changgui hurriedly said: "Brigade Commander Duan, you can also withdraw together, I can take the special agent battalion here!" ”

Zheng Weiguo said: "Don't panic, everyone, I have thought of a way." ”

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Changgui questioned: "Master, can it be done?" ”

Zheng Weiguo smiled: "It should be no problem!" "This method is to emulate the wisdom of Commander-in-Chief Fu to break the enemy, and some aspects have been improved. If it still doesn't work to paint a tiger from a cat, it can only be said to be providential.

…………

Iwata Fumizo, with the rank of Nakasa, Olympic equestrian silver medalist, is currently the captain of the search team directly under the 26th Division. He was looking ahead with a telescope, the war horse under his crotch was leaning his neck and barking rhythmically, and his front hooves were gently digging the earth, looking a little impatient. Iwata stroked the mane of the war horse and smiled, "Hey! Don't be in a hurry, man! ”

As he spoke, a scout cavalry ran back briskly, dismounted and reported, "Your Excellency, through this forest, there is the northern outskirts of Taiyuan in front of you. The people were busy packing their things, as if they didn't know that we were coming. ”

Iwata bowed his head and said, "Yo Xi! Let's go and surprise the people of China! ”

The search team quickly rushed forward along the official road, and when they were about to rush out of the forest, they even saw that many Chinese soldiers and civilians were evacuating in a hurry.

Iwata was excited, pulled out his sword and howled, "Kill it!" ”

The soldiers also cheered, then raised their sabers and shouted in unison: "Load! ”

Fifty meters, twenty meters, ten meters, five meters...... Finally rushed out of the woods. But the cavalry rushing in front were stupid one by one, and their speed involuntarily slowed down. The cavalry behind was still charging at high speed without knowing the situation on the road, but they couldn't hold back and collided with the war horses in front of them. Many cavalry and war horses were knocked down, and there was chaos for a while.

In front of the search party, twenty trucks were fanned out, and the muzzles of the black holes in the trucks were staring at them coldly. Iwata felt a tingling in his scalp, hurriedly turned his horse's head, and roared, "Withdraw!" Hurry! "He didn't quite understand, it was obviously a surprise attack, why was he ambushed?

Before he could figure it out, an even bigger surprise appeared in front of him—the forest path he had just passed had been blocked by a large number of trees. These large trees were cut down and placed horizontally on the road, and the branches and trunks that were piled up were more than one meter high and stretched for more than 100 meters, forming a huge "chaotic wood array". Of course, it is not a problem for people to pass through such obstacles, but how can horses pass? The former Olympic silver medalist swallowed and felt a wave of vertigo.

There was no time for him to think about a way out, and there was a rustling on the hillside behind him and on both sides, which was the Chinese army approaching. Squadron Leader Yuichiro Takahashi said hurriedly: "Your Excellency, you should make a decision quickly!" It's too late! ”

Iwata's face turned pale, and he waved his hand dejectedly, saying, "Pass the order, abandon the horse, and quickly get out of here!" ”

Staff Officer Noda Kaichi was shocked when he heard this, and said, "Your Excellency, Captain, I am willing to lead my troops to fight to the death!" ”

Iwata said, "The warriors of the empire cannot be sacrificed in vain. ”

Noda hurriedly said, "But ......"

The voice of the pursuer was getting closer and closer, and Iwata said sharply, "Yaga! Execute the command! ”

Takahashi and Noda hurriedly stood in a military posture, bowed their heads and said, "Hai! ”

The soldiers reluctantly parted to their horses. Soldiers of the heavy machine-gun squadron struggled to carry the machine guns and tried to climb over the fallen trees. But unfortunately, I couldn't climb at all. For Japanese soldiers who are about one meter four or five tall, when they walk into this "branch array", only their necks are left outside, and it is impossible to move in parallel, so they can only crawl on it. How to carry a heavy machine gun in this case?

Seeing that the soldiers were still grinding, Iwata and the other officers were so anxious that they shouted: "Hurry, hurry!" ”

On the other side, Zhang Changgui and Wang Dazhui were also urging the soldiers, and kept shouting: "Hurry! Don't let the devils run away! ”

They were chasing after each other when they suddenly heard several explosions in front of them. Zhang Changgui was taken aback and said, "Not good! I'm afraid the devil is going to kill the horse! Chase! ”

The soldiers were also shocked and angry, and they were busy for a long time just to catch a few horses? Otherwise, it would have been a heavy machine gun for a breakthrough! It was only when they rushed to the front of the "Chaos Formation" that they breathed a sigh of relief. Hundreds of war horses looked at these new masters blankly, their big eyes full of confusion and incomprehension.

Everyone rushed up excitedly, taking away which horse they liked, and they were so happy that they couldn't close their mouths. There were a few warriors who were so far-sighted that they were not even satisfied with the selection of several horses, so they kept scurrying around among the horses.

After a while, Zhang Changgui saw that the horses had not been led yet, and said angrily: "What are you doing Mingtang, hurry up and take all the horses away!" ”

The warriors did not dare to pick and choose, so they had to work together to drive the horses away along the path. Fortunately, the horses are very gregarious, and as long as a few horses take the lead, the other horses will follow.

As soon as the horses were driven away, several warriors suddenly shouted: "Look, Tuanza, there are three pheasant necks here!" "The pheasant's neck is the Type 92 heavy machine gun, which the northerners have given it such a nickname based on its appearance. Because it was smooth, it gradually spread.

Zhang Changgui was overjoyed and hurried over. However, upon inspection, it was found that the three heavy machine guns were all blown up, and the soldiers picked up another heavy machine gun in the chaotic wood formation, which was also destroyed. Fortunately, the 33rd Division now has an arsenal, and it can be repaired just if the barrel is intact, even if the barrel is broken, the parts are useful. So although everyone feels a little regretful, they are more happy.

A soldier said curiously: "The devil even blew up the machine gun, why didn't he kill the horse?" ”

One of the soldiers next to him said, "You haven't been a cavalryman, you won't understand!" ”

For most people, this is truly incredible. The Japanese army was so fond of destroying weapons that when they were defeated, they even killed their female dependents, but they almost never killed horses. Like the victory of Pingxingguan, the Japanese army even destroyed the rifles, so that the Eighth Road only got more than 100 intact 38 covers, but most of the war horses were intact. In other battlefields, too, the Japanese army liked to kill and commit suicide, but it was rare to kill horses. In fact, the Chinese army was similar, and when the 180th Division was trapped behind enemy lines on the Korean battlefield, it was reluctant to kill horses, and many people died of starvation and poisoning from eating wild vegetables.

After cleaning up the battlefield, the soldiers returned to Taiyuan in high spirits. As soon as Zhang Changgui jumped off his horse, he saw Zheng Weiguo waiting for them at the city gate. He hurriedly walked over and said, "Master, why haven't you left yet!" ”

Zheng Weiguo smiled and said, "How can I withdraw if you don't leave!" ”

Zhang Changgui said excitedly: "Master, we can be regarded as sending it this time!" There are more than 500 Oriental horses, and there are no casualties on our side! ”

Zheng Weiguo nodded and said, "Okay, with so many horses and cars, the soldiers don't have to walk." Without further ado, let's withdraw immediately. ”

Zhang Changgui saw that Zheng Weiguo was not in high spirits, so he said, "Master, you don't seem to be very happy?" ”

Zheng Weiguo waved his hand and said, "It's nothing, I'm very happy to have won the battle." ”

The troops soon left the Taiyuan South Gate, Zheng Weiguo turned around and looked at the towering Taiyuan City Gate and said, "Let's take another look at Taiyuan City!" I don't know how long it will take to get back. ”

The warriors looked back together, and the ancient walls quickly became blurred. The battle will become more and more difficult in the future, and I don't know how many people in Ludao will be able to return to the land of Taiyuan again.

PS: Thanks to znpmmm's reward, the mountain people have nothing to repay, they can only write more attentively.