The encounter started suddenly, Major Zhang Guisheng, who led the cavalry battalion to advance suddenly, turned around the foot of a mountain, and more than a dozen cavalrymen appeared in front of him. ”

The sharp knife platoon of the second avant-garde company opened fire first, and in the deafening gunfire, I saw two devil cavalry planting horses. Zhang Guisheng had already drawn his saber, but was stopped by Wang Gui, the commander of the second company, and there was no need for an order, and the second company had already roared up and fought with the Japanese cavalry on the mountain road.

Zhang Guisheng, the cavalry squad leader of the cavalry standard squad when the fifth town went south to Hunan and Jiangxi to quell the "rebellion", was already the major battalion commander of the cavalry battalion of the 1st Division, the national defense army continued to reduce the cavalry establishment, and the once mighty and majestic cavalry regiment of the 1st Division was reduced to a battalion size, and its status continued to decline, which made Zhang Guisheng, who was obsessed with cavalry, sad, and the old commander Cui Pingshan was transferred to the cavalry division of the Northern Military Region as the regiment commander, which was the only division-level cavalry group in the whole army. I was also scolded.

The 1st Division secretly assembled in Zhucheng, and after receiving the order to attack, the cavalry battalion naturally made the forward of opening the road, reconnaissance and communication became the normal work of the cavalry, and the regular combat tasks were becoming fewer and fewer.

"Catch up!" Major Zhang Guisheng gave the order, "Blow the trumpet and transfer the 1st and 3rd companies up." ”

He didn't rush to report to the division commander, he needed to find out the reality of the Japanese army first.

The mountain road bends, the sound of gunfire and explosions sounded in front, and the second company chased the Japanese army down, indicating that this Japanese army is not strong, maybe it is a cavalry squadron?

The main forces of the 1st Division went through a long, arduous and secret march. Arrive on time at the predetermined assembly city. The advantage of fighting on the inside is that it is convenient, although it is hard, but it eats well and sleeps well every day. The weather has turned colder, it will take a month for the winter clothes to be distributed, and it is a little cold to sleep in tents at night, but the troops have houses to live in most of the time, and the local government's preparations are really good. Division Commander Du continuously emphasized military discipline and tradition, leaving food and accommodation expenses with the local people every day when he left the station, and cleaned the courtyard and room where he lived.

The battle has been going on for many days. At Zhang Guisheng's level, he could not be informed of the battle situation. But as a battalion directly under the division headquarters, he still "tricked" something from the mouth of the chief of staff: Gaomi has been lost, and Weixian is also in danger.

"What's the hurry? What did the president send us here by name? Go see the map! If we smash this hammer out, we will definitely break the backbone of the righteous old devil in the temple! Let him understand the majesty of the old army of the Mengshan Army! ”

From the 10th. The troops began to move to the northeast. Division Commander Du Sanli personally explained Zhang Guisheng's task. The cavalry battalion, as the vanguard of the 3 brigade, advanced in the direction of Jiaoxian. The daily march was extremely short, behind the cavalry battalion. It was followed by an infantry regiment (7th Regiment), followed by engineers and logistical units, who were responsible for setting up camps and repairing roads and bridges. In the back is the main force of the 3 brigade. By order of the division commander, the cavalry battalion kept a distance of ten miles from the 7 regiment,

When the passion of the Japanese army retreated, Zhang Guisheng had a sense of relief, and finally started, and he and his battalion went to the battlefield for the first time since the victory of the anti-Qing Dynasty.

The sound of gunfire reached the ears of Wang Hui, the commander of the 7th Regiment, and he was immediately excited, "Run forward!" He gave the order loudly.

In fact, the sound of gunfire was an order, and the 7th regiment immediately rushed wildly. The silent mountain road boiled, people shouted and neighed, and there was chaos. The flow of people poured in the direction of the gunshots.

Division Commander Du's order is very simple, once you encounter the enemy, give me all the way through, target Jiaoxian, that unit will attack Jiaoxian first, and make meritorious service! Apply for the honorary title!

The 7th regiment was lucky to catch the mission of the forward regiment.

By the time Colonel Wang arrived at the front, the 1st Battalion had already been deployed, and the troops had gone down the road and seized the hill on the left side of the road one step ahead of the enemy.

"Report to the colonel," a bareheaded cavalryman reported to Wang Hui, "the enemy, about a brigade, has retreated, occupied the opposite hill, and the battalion commander is attacking......"

The king frowned. The report of this cavalry lieutenant was vague, "Which hill?" It is not the work of your cavalry to attack the fortifications, let Zhang Guisheng withdraw. ”

The second lieutenant of the cavalry "...... on the right side of the front" also found a problem, and apparently, there was an enemy situation on the left.

The situation is more chaotic, occupying the 1st battalion on the left hill, which hill is the cavalry battalion attacking? Is there really only one brigade in the Japanese army?

Wang Hui led the regimental staff guards to find Zhang Guisheng, who was directing the attack. The situation was generally clear, the cavalry battalion routed about a squadron of Japanese cavalry, and then engaged in an exchange of fire with the Japanese infantry, which quickly seized the hill on the left and pinned down the cavalry battalion there.

"Your mission is accomplished, go down." Seeing Zhang Guisheng's expression, Wang Hui accentuated his voice, "This is an order!" ”

But the cavalry, who had abandoned their horses, had already attacked the mountain, and in the telescope the king would see the men of the cavalry battalion falling down on the hillside.

"It's just nonsense! Attack without even organizing fire? Wang Hui scolded Zhang Guisheng.

The supporting fire answered Colonel Wang, and more and more machine guns began to scream, and white smoke continued to rise near the top of the hill, which was the point of the mortars. The cavalry battalion consisted of four companies, three cavalry companies and one cavalry artillery company, which consisted of six heavy machine guns and four light mortars of 60mm caliber.

Without waiting for the king's order, the 2nd battalion that followed up deployed its strength and firepower and joined the attack.

"How do you judge that the Japanese army is a brigade?"

"Estimated!"

The Japanese fire on the hill also intensified, and the 2nd Battalion and 8th Company, which had been engaged in the attack, began to suffer casualties.

"What about the cannon battalion? Fuck, why is it so slow?! "Wang Hui needs the support of large-caliber mortars from the machine gun battalion.

It was a small hill, and when the infantry, far more skilled in mountain fortification than cavalry, joined the attack, the resistance of the Japanese weakened, and the cavalry, which had been suppressed by fire, resumed the attack. The king would be pleased to see that the cavalry did not retreat and continued to climb upward.

Until the red flag was raised at the top of the mountain, it meant that the mountain had been captured.

"Organize your people to get down." Wang would pat Zhang Guisheng on the shoulder. "You're a good person, they're all good."

The Cavalry Battalion and the 7th Infantry Regiment were confronted by the 9th Wing of the 19th Division of the Japanese Army, which was tasked with attacking southward, clearing possible airfields for the Chinese army and alerting security south of Jiaoxian. The correctness of the forced transfer of an infantry wing from the 9th Division attacking Qingdao was confirmed, and without this unit, the 1st Division would have rushed straight to Jiaoxian.

After the encounter, both sides reacted quickly, immediately seizing the high ground on both sides of the road and reporting upwards step by step. At the same time that he received a shocking report in the temple, Du Sanli also received two reports, the 7th Regiment on the left flank and the 9th Regiment on the right flank encountered the enemy almost at the same time, and the 7th Regiment faced the 19th Wing of the 9th Division. The fierce encounter with the 9th Regiment was the 3rd Wing of the 6th Division.

Du Sanli's way to Jiaoxian was the 3rd Brigade and the troops directly under the division headquarters. Including the artillery regiment, cavalry battalion, engineer battalion and baggage regiment directly under the division, another brigade - the 2nd Brigade pointed to the east. In-line Jiaonan. Prepare to root and break up. The 9th Division, which attacked Qingdao, was also intercepted.

The 2nd Brigade, which had advanced lightly, had not yet reported the enemy's situation, and the 3rd Brigade had fully engaged the enemy. Du Sanli rushed to the headquarters of the 3rd Brigade and made a decision after further understanding the situation. Put the main force in the direction of the 7th Regiment and fight along the highway from Zhucheng to Jiaoxian!

Colonel Wang's 7th Regiment had already deployed its forces, and all three infantry battalions were deployed, the 1st Battalion was on the left side of the road, the 2nd Battalion was on the right side of the road, and the 3rd Battalion attacked along the main road, engaging the 19th Wing in full engagement.

"Kang Sisheng, it's time to test you! The 1st Brigade fought well on the Northern Front and was affirmed by Commander Feng, don't lose the face of our 1st Division! Du Sanli stared at Brigadier General Kang Sisheng, the commander of the 3rd Brigade, "Don't care how many devils there are, kill Lao Tzu all the way!" ”

"Don't worry, division commander, we can't just watch the 6th division in the limelight. Don't interfere with my command, go back to your command position. Brigadier General Kang Sisheng rubbed his hands together and stared at the map spread on the ground, the staff officers of the 3rd Brigade had set up a temporary command post on a flat ground in the recess, and the radio station had been set up and was desperately calling the headquarters.

"Lao Tzu is here! What's wrong? Du Sanli scolded.

"Division commander, I'm going to use the 8th regiment," Kang Sisheng squatted on the ground and paddled with branches, the left side of the road belonged to the 8th regiment, and the right side belonged to the 7th regiment. ”

"I don't care. Don't you want Lao Tzu to interfere? What is Lao Tzu doing? Lao Tzu only needs Jiao County! The old devil in the temple should still be in Jiaoxian. ”

"Wait until I get him to your old man." Kang Sisheng always felt that the teacher was in the way here.

The deputy chief of staff of the division, who followed Du Sanli to the 3rd Brigade, said to Du Sanli, "Division commander, you should go back to the division headquarters, maybe Commander Feng has a telegram." ”

"Okay." Du Sanli was thinking about the 2nd Brigade, the battle had already begun, and he really needed to go back to the division headquarters to grasp the overall situation.

The predecessor of the 1st Division was the 9th Association of the 5th Town, and now 70% of the main generals of the National Defense Force are from the 1st Division, which is a veritable Father's Regiment, and the 1st Brigade and 1st Regiment have been awarded the title of Father's Regiment by the President himself. It is precisely for this reason that the 1st Division has a very high status in the Wehrmacht, and new equipment is always given to the 1st Division, which is always at full strength, and is one of the three fully trained divisions that the whole army can put into war at any time.

In the anti-Qing war, although the 1st Division was the main division of the Southern Army under the command of Long Qian, conquering Hengyang, Changsha, and Wuchang all the way, and participated in the strategy of the southeast and northwest, but to be honest, the division's achievements in the founding battle of the country seemed to be inferior to that of the 6th and 9th Divisions. Therefore, this time, the 1st Division was transferred to the Shandong battlefield, and the whole division held back its strength to prove that it lived up to the prestige of the fathers of the whole army.

The 7th Regiment had pushed back the 19th Wing with an extremely heavy attack before the 8th Regiment was engaged in the attack. However, the assault on the middle of the road, on which Wang Hui had high hopes, failed, and the 3rd Battalion suffered heavy casualties and did not break through the improvised defensive line of the Japanese army.

Colonel Wang Hui had hoped to break through along the main road and destroy the opponent's resistance in one fell swoop, but the Japanese army made him sober up, and he had to adopt the tactics of flank attack, and the large and small hills that controlled the road had to be taken down one by one.

The strength of the Wehrmacht's Division A was slightly less than that of the Japanese Army's wartime infantry wing. According to the establishment determined by the General Staff (the infantry regiment of the A division has jurisdiction over four battalions, three infantry battalions and one machine gun battalion, each infantry battalion has four companies, and the company has jurisdiction over three platoons and ten squads (nine infantry squads, one machine gun squad and one cooking squad), the infantry squad is 12 people, the machine gun squad is 14 people, and the cooking squad is 8 people. With the addition of company platoon commanders, medical guards, and signal soldiers, each company has a full strength of 150 people. Each battalion has a full strength of 650 people. Each regiment was full of 3,200 men), but the firepower was stronger than that of the Japanese, and the number of heavy machine guns was comparable to that of the Japanese, but the protection of the latest style was strengthened. The key is to be equipped with light machine guns, mortars and the latest infantry guns that the Japanese army does not have, which greatly surpasses the Japanese army. If the Japanese divisions, brigades, and regiments could still compete with the Chinese army in suppressing artillery, the firepower of the regimental and sub-regimental units would not be an order of magnitude.

As far as the tactical level of the infantry detachment is concerned, the 1st Division has won the true legend of Long Qian, especially the mountain attack tactics of the squad platoon, which is definitely the highest level in the world. The realization of tactical theory depends on several elements: soldiers' physical qualities, training, and equipment. The 1st Division overwhelmed the Japanese on both latter fronts. When it comes to assassination and shooting by individual soldiers, the Chinese army seems to be inferior. But the level of offensive and defensive tactics below the company level. The Chinese army was far superior to the Japanese army. In particular, the appearance of infantry artillery (equipped only with the 1st and 9th divisions) made up for the shortcomings of infantry in flat-fire firepower and formed an effective coordination with mortars. During the attack of the 7th Regiment on the 19th Wing, the regimental artillery and the infantry artillery battalions of the brigade artillery regiment continuously destroyed the Japanese heavy machine gun fire points with accurate fire. Powerful fire support was provided for the infantry.

With strong fire cover. The 7th Regiment, which was deployed on both sides of the road at the same time as the Japanese army, gradually gained the upper hand after fierce attacks and battles. The 19 Wing was compressed to the north by about a kilometer. After the 8th Regiment joined the attack from the left flank of the 7th Regiment, the 19th Wing was a little overwhelmed. On the one hand, he relied on the terrain to resist the fierce assault of the Chinese army, and on the other hand, he urgently asked for help from his superiors. The captain of the 19th Wing, Osa Wing, is clear. If they are defeated, the elite of the Chinese army that rushed out of the mountains will go straight to Jiaoxian, and the headquarters of the dispatch army will be in danger. Therefore, regardless of the disadvantage of his own troops, Dajiao forcibly launched a counterattack in an attempt to stop the decline and block the enemy in the mountains on the left bank of the Jiao River. But the counterattack failed, and the 3rd brigade

The 19th Wing, which had withdrawn from the Jiaohe River, desperately blocked the crossing of the 7th and 8th Regiments of the 3rd Brigade and the 8th Regiment, and the 7th and 8th Regiments launched a forced crossing without waiting for the artillery support and fire to be fully in place. The Jiao River is not deep, and most of the sections can be waded through. Thousands of Chinese officers and soldiers shouted, braving the rain of bullets to wade through the Jiao River to attack the opposite bank, countless Chinese officers and soldiers sacrificed themselves in this obscure river, blood stained the river, and the small river flowing to Baimai Lake became a river of blood.

Okaku Rongsheng Dazuo witnessed the exuberant attacking spirit of the Chinese army. Thirty-five years later, Okaku Eisheng, who had participated in the invasion of China by the Eight-Nation Alliance, wrote a memoir detailing the Battle of Jiaohe, and after a disastrous defeat in the Korean Campaign, he was forced to retire from active duty, and Okaku, who returned to his hometown in Aichi Prefecture to concentrate on writing, wrote in his memoirs: It is irresponsible to blame the defeat of the Shandong Campaign on the light enemy, and it is not simply possible to think that the backwardness of the army's weapons was the main reason for the fiasco of the Shandong Raid. It seems to me that the people with their ridiculous braids, their dull faces, and their insensitivity have magically awakened and radiated with amazing power! They were vigorous and sacrificial, and had a desire for an offensive that was no less than that of the Imperial Army, and dared to meet the Imperial Army's bayonets...... The Battle of Jiaohe was a duel between the Yamato soul and the Chinese soul, and since that bloody battle, I must painfully admit that with the strong rise of the Chinese Army, the Empire's continental policy has completely failed.

Eisei Bighorn was a first-hand witness to the two Sino-Japanese wars, and he did not see the publication of his painstakingly written memoirs. It was not until the smoke of World War II cleared that Eisheng's memoirs were allowed to be published and introduced to China in Chinese.

With the artillery regiment of the 3rd Brigade and the heavy artillery regiment directly under the division setting up a proper position on the left bank of Jiaoxian, the 19th Wing of Dajiao could no longer stop the attack of the Kang brigade. In the evening, the main force of the Kang Brigade, which had suffered heavy casualties, crossed the Jiao River and forced the Dajiao Wing to retreat towards Jiaoxian.

At the same time that the main force of the Kang Brigade and the Dajiao Wing were fighting in Jiaohe, another regiment of the Kang Brigade (the 9th Regiment) had fully engaged the enemy with the 6th Wing, and the two sides were evenly matched and repeatedly tug-of-war. With the defeat of the 19th Wing, the Japanese Shandong Dispatch Army Headquarters stationed in Jiaoxian reluctantly withdrew from Jiaoxian and retreated to the coast, and the 6th Wing was ordered to move towards Jiaoxian in an attempt to join forces with the Big Horn Wing, which had suffered heavy losses. The Chinese army that was entangled in the 6th Wing did not stop the 6th Wing's eastward retreat, but withdrew behind the 6th Wing - the strength of the Chinese army between the headquarters and the 3rd Gaomi Division was further strengthened.

Onishi reported to Terauchi by wireless telegraph, "It is judged that the goal of the Shina Army is to encircle and annihilate the 3rd Division." He believed that the Chinese army was powerless to prevent the eastward retreat of the Japanese army in the Jiaoxian area, and simply gave up the relevant attempt. However, he did not know that another brigade of the 1st Division had already approached Jiaonan in concealment, and the counterattack plan for the Shandong Campaign jointly formulated by the Central Military Region and the General Staff Headquarters did not leave any gaps for the Japanese army at all, and was determined to wipe out the four divisions and regiments that had invaded China. (To be continued......)