The Japanese cavalry wing and the infantry wing were different. Since cavalry is a highly mobile branch of the army, it is impossible to have too many layers in order to facilitate command. Therefore, there was no brigade under the Japanese cavalry wing, and a squadron was directly set up. Each wing of the cavalry brigade has 4 cavalry squadrons, each squadron has 119 horse rifles and 2 light machine guns; There is also a heavy machine gun squadron with two squads and a total of 4 heavy machine guns. The total strength of a cavalry wing is about 1,400 people, which is basically equivalent to an infantry brigade of the Japanese army.

The cavalry wing stationed in Suiyuan was reinforced not only against the Chinese army, but also against the Soviet Union. The concrete manifestation of this is that the troops have a large number of automobiles, which are basically semi-motorized. Its lightly armed troops rode on horseback, and its heavy firepower and baggage units rode in trucks, thus further enhancing its combat capability, mobility capability, and transportation capability. This is also an important reason why the 13th Wing of the enemy cavalry can rush to the periphery of Baotou in a short time.

The original headquarters of the 13th Wing of the enemy cavalry was Guyang County, about 70 kilometers north of Baotou, and the wing commander was Ohara Kazuaki Daisa. Being able to rush to the aid of Baotou in just over two hours proves that this army is still quite strong. Reconnaissance officers also found that the unit was equipped with four Type 94 cavalry armored vehicles, that is, bean fighting vehicles.

Senior Commander Zhao Yunxiang was a little worried, frowned, and said, "Why did the little devil come so quickly?" The reinforcements from Guyang have arrived, and the Japanese puppet troops in Kundulun and Anbei are afraid that they are also about to arrive! Alas, the friendly forces can't be contacted! (Note: Kundulun here does not refer to Kundulun District, Baotou City, but a place name in the northwest of Guyang County.) ）

In fact, a single cavalry wing did not pose much of a threat to the 34th Division. What Division Commander Zhao Yunxiang was worried about was that Japanese reinforcements from all walks of life would gather and then join forces with the remnants of the enemy who were still stubbornly resisting in the city. Although the 34th Division is also a strong force, after all, its strength is limited, and once it fails, it will not be able to run away if it wants to run under the pursuit of the enemy's cavalry and armored troops.

Chief of Staff Fan Zixia comforted: "Don't worry about the division, now the five gates of Baotou are under the control of our army, although the Japanese reinforcements came quickly, it was impossible to capture them in a hurry." Calculating the time, Chief Fu's large army should be almost there. We'll just have to hold on for another hour or two. As soon as the main force of the friendly forces arrives, they can flank the Japanese army inside and outside! ”

Zhao Yunxiang nodded and said, "Well, inform the battalions defending the city to strengthen their vigilance, and the battle in the city should be sharper!" Except for the compound of the Suixi Reclamation Supervision Office, which can not be attacked for the time being, other strongholds must be cleared as soon as possible! ”

The compound of the Suixi Reclamation Supervision Office is the headquarters of the Japanese army in Baotou. A siege without an attack could force reinforcements from all walks of life. Thus each of them is broken. This is much more cost-effective than simply placing a Baotou. Only in this way can the Japanese North China Front not be able to focus on Jizhong, so as to reduce the pressure on Jizhong.

Fan Zixia hurriedly said: "Yes, Shiza." I'll arrange it. ”

Division Commander Zhao asked again: "Chief of Staff, how many mobile troops do we have on hand now?" ”

The enemy's "raiding team" suddenly returned to Baotou, which made the top brass of the 34th Division realize that "the stall should not be spread too large", that is, the troops should not be too scattered, and there must be several strong reserves on hand. Otherwise, you will be caught off guard in case of unexpected situations.

Chief of Staff Fan hurriedly said: "Two infantry battalions have been assembled, plus Lin Feng's detachment, there are more than 3,000 people. In terms of combat effectiveness, it is not afraid of the cavalry wing of the little devils, but the speed cannot keep up with the enemy, and it is better not to go out of the city to block the attack. ”

Division Commander Zhao said with some annoyance: "Well, yes, it would be nice if the cavalry battalion was still there." ”

The 34th Division had a cavalry battalion, but the battalion went to Daqingshan to contact Li Jingquan's department, but it had not yet been rebuilt; The second and third companies were all outside the fortress to escort the transportation of supplies from the General Baggage Brigade. At present, the cavalry in Zhao Yunxiang's hands has only one division reconnaissance company, and it has to be scattered and guarded everywhere, and the strength is obviously insufficient.

Zhengnian chattered about the cavalry, and there was really a cavalry. The liaison staff officer rushed to report with a look of surprise: "Divisional seat, staff seat, the vanguard cavalry of the friendly army has arrived, it is the cavalry guerrilla regiment of the new 31st Division." ”

Zhao Yunxiang was overjoyed and hurriedly asked, "Where have you been?" Do we need to send troops to pick it up? ”

The liaison staff officer replied: "I have just been in contact with the west of the city, and now I have gone north to block the 13th Wing of the enemy's cavalry. In addition, the main force of the new 31st Division has also arrived in the northwest of the city, ready to ambush this reinforcement! ”

Fan Zixia was surprised and delighted, and said happily: "Okay, it turns out that the friendly army has arrived early, which makes us worry in vain!" ”

The 35th Army and the troops under Fu Zuoyi's command were relatively numerous, with more than 30,000 people. In order to avoid prematurely revealing the operational intent to attack Baotou, these troops were three hours behind the 34th Division. Theoretically, the 34th Division arrived at six o'clock in the morning, so the large forces would arrive at nine o'clock in the morning. At that time, even if it is exposed, it doesn't matter, and it doesn't delay to ambush outside the city.

However, because of the night march and the weather, the troops were forced to delay for a long time, and only walked a little more than half of the distance until dawn. When the early risers saw that the national army was coming, they were so unhappy that they ran to their homes to bring hot water, pancakes, and eggs, but they stuffed them into the pockets of the soldiers. This is probably the scene of the rice bowl to welcome the king!

"Is it Commander Fu's team?"

"Is Commander Fu going to counterattack Suidong?"

"Go together, go together, follow Commander Fu to fight the little devils!"

……

Fu Zuoyi was moved to tears, and said excitedly: "Fathers and fellow villagers, let's go to recover Baotou and drive away the little devils!" ”

"Report! Commander, great news, the 34th Division has entered Baotou City! Just as Commander Fu was about to say a few words, a correspondent rushed to report excitedly.

"So fast!" Commander Fu was surprised and delighted, and hurriedly said: "Inform the troops to speed up, and they must rush to the scheduled ambush location before the Japanese reinforcements!" He also ordered the new 31st Division to serve as the vanguard to quickly reinforce Baotou.

……

Rushing all the way, the troops finally rushed to Baotou ahead of the Japanese reinforcements, but the 34th Division did not know what to do. Of course, Commander Sun Lanfeng of the new 31st Division did not want to give the 34th Division a "surprise". Instead, in order to rush to Baotou as soon as possible, the troops did not turn on the radio on the way.

This is also a malaise of the national army. That is, they do not attach importance to liaison and coordination with friendly and neighboring forces. Communication between superiors and subordinates was also very backward, and superiors often could not know the situation of their subordinate troops in the first place, so the performance of the national army in the offensive was very poor. Several units could not cooperate during the attack, so that almost no battle of annihilation was fought in the eight years of the Anti-Japanese War. The troops under Fu Zuoyi's command were quite good, but some units of the Central Army had to trap friendly troops to death.

The 34th Division did not know that the new 31st Division had reached the periphery of Baotou, and the 13th Wing of the enemy cavalry was even more ignorant of the road. The commander of the Japanese army, Ohara Kazuaki Daisa, despised the combat effectiveness of the national army very much, and was eager to rush to the aid of Baotou, so he didn't even do reconnaissance along the way, so he drove straight into Baotou with hundreds of cavalry and dozens of trucks along the road.

When marching to the Sanhehao area north of Baotou. The cavalry guerrilla regiment of the new 31st Division also arrived just in time. When the two armies encountered. The soldiers of the guerrilla regiment, who had been prepared for a long time, immediately attacked the enemy head-on. However, the cavalry guerrilla regiment was small in strength and poorly equipped, and was quickly repulsed by the Japanese. But they slowed down the rapid advance of the wing and bought time for the large force to set up an ambush circle.

The 13th Cavalry Wing was taken by surprise at first. But after all, the strength is much stronger than the opponent. After coming to his senses, he quickly defeated these small numbers of national cavalry. Ohara Kazuaki Daisa saw that the cavalry of the national army was "vulnerable". He was even more convinced that it was only "a small number of troops attacking and harassing", so he ordered the troops to continue to advance.

Led by Bean chariots and cavalry, the unit soon broke through to the Laohugou area north of Baotou. The main force of the new 31st Division led by Division Commander Sun Lanfeng was ambushed here.

The observation post soon spotted the Japanese movement. The report said: "Report! Divisional seat, the vanguard of the little devils is approaching, there are four chariots! ”

Master Sun Lanfeng held up the binoculars and said, "Well, I know the truth, tell the brothers to continue to hide and not expose their hiding!" ”

To be honest, due to the tight schedule, the new 31st Division simply did not have time to arrange the concealed fortifications. With a little reconnaissance, the Japanese could spot ambushes on both sides of the road. But the Japanese army was too arrogant, and this kind of blind arrogance doomed them to a tragic end.

After all the enemy troops entered the ambush circle, Master Sun Lanfeng waved his hand and shouted: "Fire!" Flat-firing artillery units pay attention to knocking out enemy trucks! ”

Gunfire rang out on both sides of the road, and a dense stream of bullets instantly pounced on the Japanese column. The new 31st Division had six or seven thousand men, and they were all equipped with Jin-made imitation Japanese-style weapons, such as the Jin-made 38-style big cover, the Jin-made crooked handle, and the Jin-made 38-type heavy machine gun (the predecessor of the 92-type heavy machine gun). It's quite a bit of a knockoff war.

In terms of performance, of course, it is better to use Japanese origin. But the battle is not only a contest of weapon performance, but also the situation of the two sides that is the most important. Although the Japanese army had cavalry, trucks, and chariots, more than 1,000 people were passively beaten on the road, and they soon suffered heavy casualties.

After more than an hour of fierce fighting, the 13th Wing of the enemy cavalry suffered heavy casualties, and even Ohara Kazuaki Daisa himself was seriously wounded. The guards hurriedly dragged it to the tank and broke through to Guyang. Historically, due to the lack of troops and the lack of anti-tank weapons, the national army was finally escaped back to Guyang by this guy. After surgical rescue, he actually picked up a life.

But this time it was not so lucky, after receiving the arms from Outer Mongolia, Zheng Weiguo immediately instructed Zhao Yunxiang to hand over part of the equipment to the 35th Army. For example, the new 31st Division fished out four Bailu type anti-aircraft guns. Previously, the Japanese tanks were covered by heavy machine guns on cavalry and trucks, and division commander Sun Lanfeng was reluctant to push the artillery to the front line, so he failed to destroy these tanks in the first place. But now that the Japanese tanks are going to run, the target is too obvious. A dozen shells turned into several fire dragons, and in an instant, the bean chariot and Ohara Kazuaki Daizo were bombarded into slag.

The chief of staff of the Japanese wing knew that if the whole army was destroyed if the fight continued like this, he had to organize the troops to break through the encirclement. At first, the enemy tried to flee back to Guyang, but the 1st Brigade of the Suiyuan Guerrilla Army (the guerrillas of Fu Zuoyi's system) suddenly arrived to reinforce and cut off the rear route of the Japanese army. The remnants of the Japanese army had no choice but to break through in the direction of Baotou again.

It is said that with the strength of the new 31st Division, it will be able to completely destroy this remnant of the enemy, but the soldiers have no experience in dealing with cars, so they only intercepted the cavalry of the devils, and as a result, about 300 of its truck troops broke through.

On the order of Division Commander Zhao Yunxiang, Ma Biao, the commander of the 341st Regiment, led two battalions under his command and Lin Feng's detachment to rush to reinforcements. The troops had just arrived two miles south of Laohugou when they suddenly heard the roar of automobile motors. Fu Zuoyi's car had already been almost lost, and the 34th Division was not equipped with this game. Go without saying. It's definitely the enemy that's coming.

Between the lightning and flint, the head of Ma Biao quickly sorted out his thoughts, and immediately ordered: "Quick, the enemy is coming, prepare for battle!" ”

Fortunately, the 341st Regiment is an old unit, and the fighters have very rich combat experience, although it is an encounter, but they are not panicked. Lin Feng's detachment saw that the friendly troops were calm, and they quickly quieted down. As soon as the sixteen Bailu anti-aircraft guns (the battalion of the 341st regiment's four anti-aircraft artillery of the Galinfeng detachment) were arranged, Japanese trucks and chariots rushed over.

Commander Ma Biao hurriedly shouted: "Fight!" ”

Boom Boom Boom ...... The dense shells quickly tore to shreds one of the bean chariots that rushed ahead. The follow-up units of the Japanese army that followed were taken aback. Some stepped on the brakes, some urged the accelerator, and some wanted to turn around, and it was a mess. This mess. The warriors were more at peace. So the artillery fire was fiercer and more accurate. The remnants of the enemy tried to abandon their vehicles and flee, but were outflanked by two infantry battalions. Wipe it out.

On the other side, Division Commander Sun Lanfeng found that a remnant of the enemy had actually managed to break through, and he couldn't help but be furious. Immediately commanded the troops to chase after him, but he didn't expect to be a step too late.

When Master Sun saw that the credit of his hand was broken in half, he joked: "Hey, your 34th Division's hand is too long, right?" At first, I ate alone around Baotou, and now I reached into my bowl to contain meat. ”

Commander Ma Biao said with a smile: "It belongs to a friendly army, it is appropriate to help digest it, and Master Sun is not polite." ”

Master Sun scolded with a smile: "Seeing that Chief Zheng spoils you, he is not afraid of dying!" He asked again, "Hey, how is the progress in Baotou City?" ”

Commander Ma Biao hurriedly said: "The 52nd Artillery Regiment has entered the city, and it is estimated that the battle will end soon!" ”

The 34th Division was only the most powerful mountain artillery, and the permanent fortification group against the Japanese army was still slightly insufficient. Relatively speaking, the field artillery is more powerful when it comes close to the flat fire, and there are generally not many fortifications that can carry it.

Division Commander Sun Lanfeng slapped his thigh and said, "It's not good, there is only one big fish left in the 14th Cavalry Wing in Baotou!" So he hurriedly ordered the troops to assemble quickly, and also told the head of Ma Biao: "We can wrap up the little devils this way, you can't rob me!" ”

Commander Ma Biao said with a smile: "Commander Sun, don't be busy, the 101st Division and the new 32nd Division have already rushed over." ”

Master Sun rolled his eyes angrily when he heard this, and said in frustration: "I got up early in the morning, and I actually rushed to a late meeting!" Forget it, forget it, take me to Baotou, I want to see how this old devil Kojima Yoshizo died! ”

Soon after the 13th Cavalry Wing was annihilated, the 14th Cavalry Wing was also wiped out. After receiving the telegram order from Kojima Yoshizo, the wing commander Kazuo Kobayashi immediately led his troops from Anbei to help Baotou. Like Ohara Kazuaki Daisa of the 13th Wing, Kobayashi Daisa also looked down on the combat effectiveness of the national army. He didn't reconnoiter in advance, and directly led his troops to rush over.

When the new 32nd Division heard the news, it immediately went to meet it. Their unit was originally going to deal with the Japanese army on the line from Guyang to Da Naitai. However, the enemy in Guyang was eliminated by the new 31st Division, which arrived first. Yuan Qingrong, the commander of the new 32nd Division, had to lead his troops to deal with the 14th Cavalry Wing, but he didn't expect to be cut off again!

This time, it was the new 5th Brigade Prince Repair Division. This unit was originally subordinate to Wang Ying's "Great Han Righteous Army", which was anyway in the Battle of Bailingmiao. After the Battle of Taiyuan, the prince's Xiubu has been guerrilla in the Daqingshan area between Guisui and Baotou. After discovering that the 14th Wing of the enemy cavalry was dispatched, Brigade Commander Wang immediately led his troops to set up an ambush on the way.

Probably because of the training of the Japanese army, this unit actually fought extremely well (note: historically, too). Under the fierce fire of the light and heavy machine guns of the new 5th Brigade, many Japanese cavalrymen were killed on the spot before they could even jump off their horses. The Japanese trucks were also taken care of by the soldiers, and many Japanese soldiers were burned to death on the cars.

Of course, the Japanese army did not crush at once, but still held out for more than an hour. But at this moment, Wing Commander Kazuo Kobayashi was suddenly killed by a sharpshooter of the newly formed 5th Brigade. It is said that a shot hit him in the center of the eyebrow and killed him instantly! The death of the commander was a great blow to the morale of the Japanese army, and some units actually collapsed, which was also extremely rare for the Japanese army. In the case of an infantry wing, if the superior is killed, the officers below will immediately be replaced.

Although there were not many Japanese soldiers who escaped at first, as long as someone took the lead, this kind of thing quickly became out of control. Seeing that he could not restrain the troops, the chief of staff of the wing had no choice but to lead the remnants of the defeated army to flee to Anbei. The other fled to Baotou under the leadership of squadron leader Asaki Yamaguchi.

When Brigadier Wang Zixiu saw that the enemy was about to flee, of course he was very unwilling, so he split up to pursue. But the Japanese army rode all oceanic horses, and they ran faster than the Mongolian horses of the national army, and they really couldn't catch up.

The Japanese chief of staff led the way to the city of Anbei finally escaped, but unexpectedly, a cavalry suddenly came out of the oblique stab, first a green flag, and then the blue sky and white sun flag of the 81st Army of the National Revolutionary Army. It turned out that this was the cavalry directly under the 81st Army of Ma Hongbin in Ningxia, and secretly rushed to Anbei after receiving Fu Zuoyi's secret order.

The Japanese army first desperately rushed to the direction of Baotou, and then desperately fled back. The two sides slashed each other for a while, and most of the little devils were cut off by Ma Huizi, and the remaining twenty or thirty people simply surrendered.

After more than a year of fighting, it is rare for so many little devils to surrender. The officers and men of the 81st Army were so unhappy that they were ready to take advantage of the situation to take Anbei City with their prisoners. Unexpectedly, as soon as I arrived at the city, a trumpet sounded on the city, and a red flag was raised, which read: Daqingshan Guerrillas of the Eighth Route Army. Well, they've been robbed too! Because of this incident, Ma Hongbin and the Eighth Route Army also had some unpleasantness, and the two sides resolved the conflict only after the mediation of Zheng Huzi.

The Japanese troops led by squadron leader Asaki Yamaguchi did not please either, and they plunged headlong into the ambush circle of the new 32nd Division, and were quickly wiped out. However, Yuan Qingrong counted them and found that there were only more than 100 corpses, and he was also very annoyed and lost his temper.

Of course, there are more unlucky ones than the new 32nd Division. Dong Qiwu, the number one general of the Fu department, led the 101st Division to clear the enemy between Kundulun and Baotou. It was intended to ambush the headquarters and direct units of the 1st Brigade of the Japanese Cavalry Regiment from Salazi. Unexpectedly, after receiving the news of the destruction of the 13th Cavalry Wing and the 14th Cavalry Wing, this unit withdrew to Salazie without saying a word. The 101st Division only "picked up" the two bean chariots that escaped from the Japanese "crusade team", which can be regarded as a consolation prize.

The head of the enemy cavalry group, Kojima Yoshizo, thought that the reinforcements from Guyang and Anbei would be able to relieve the siege of Baotou as soon as they arrived, but he didn't know that Lu Dao had lost contact with these two reinforcements one after another. Lieutenant General Kojima, who had been with the old god, finally panicked, and while urgently ordering all the subordinate departments to rush to help, he cheekily asked the commander of the Mongolian army, Okabe Naosaburo, for "tactical guidance".

Naosaburo Okabe almost lost his anger when he saw the telegram asking for help, and asked in a callback, "Didn't you say that there was a small attack in the morning?" Why do you listen to the current tone, as if you can't even save your life? ”

Kojima Yoshizo was embarrassed to say that he had miscalculated, so he had to fabricate the military situation and say: "The Shina army has been reinforced again!" "And then exaggerated the Chinese army outside the city tenfold.

Okabe Naosaburo was angry, but he had to urgently dispatch troops to help Baotou. After all, he is the commander of the army stationed in Mongolia, and if he loses Baotou, he can't afford to be guilty.

Under the urgent order of Naosaburo Okabe, the 26th Division, the main force of the Mongolian army, immediately mobilized two motorized brigades to rush to Baotou, and the rest of the 26th Division also followed. At the same time, the seven cavalry divisions of the puppet Mongolian army near Baotou also received orders from the Mongolian army. Commander Okabe demanded that they be immediately reinforced, and that violators of military law would be severely punished. (To be continued......)