Chapter 625: Get out of the way

On 2 April 1938, Okamura Ningci, the new commander of the North China Dispatch Army, commanded 320,000 troops, including aviation, armor, heavy artillery, and cavalry, to set out from Shexian County, Hebei Province, to enter Licheng, the first barrier in the hinterland of the Taihang Mountains.

Sun Zhenbang's troops stationed on the front line of Licheng, with a strength of only more than 36,000 people, faced with more than 300,000 menacing Japanese troops, could only implement the strategy of division commander Tang Qiuli, get out of the way, and let the Japanese army drive straight in.

Received the report of the generals who occupied Licheng, the whole city of Licheng was empty, Okamura Ningji was not surprised at all, in the face of the heavy Japanese Imperial Army, it is strange that the people of Licheng did not run out, this is good, save the imperial army to work hard to eliminate these people, but did not encounter the troops of the independent division, so that Okamura Ningji somewhat regretted, in front of the heavy army group of the imperial army, Tang Qiuli, who was known as the devil of China, could only retreat and dare not fight, but that's it, Okamura Ningji despised Tang Qiuli in his heart.

Dongyang Pass, more than 20 miles west of Licheng, Sun Zhenbang looked at the direction of Licheng with a blue face, and the news that the Japanese army had begun a large-scale attack, he had already reported it to the division commander Tang Qiuli, and the division commander's reply made him very discouraged, "According to the original battle plan, your Japanese army will carry out the plan of luring the enemy into depth, and the Japanese army must not be entangled", according to Sun Zhenbang's idea, relying on the complete fortifications of Licheng, how can he fight it, frustrate Okamura Ningji's spirit, and give up Licheng without firing a shot, he can't figure it out.

Tang Qiuli did this, also out of consideration of the actual situation, Sun Zhenbang's troops, has always been the second-line troops in the independent division troops, responsible for the defense of the Yellow River Shanxi and Shaanxi sections, in the sequence of independent divisions, belongs to the local troops, only four brigades of strength, each brigade only more than 8,500 people, and there is no heavy artillery, if it were not for the first army of Isoya Liansuke, breaking through the Henan defense line, Tang Qiuli has no troops to adjust, so he pulled his troops up, Sun Zhenbang's corps, still staying on the edge of the Yellow River.

Compared with the field brigades of the independent division, Sun Zhenbang's Yellow River Defense Command unit is a big difference in terms of strength, combat effectiveness, actual combat experience, and firepower, and with such a unit, to fight against the Japanese army's elite Kwantung Army, Tang Qiuli will not do such a stupid thing, even if he arranges Sun Zhenbang's troops to carry out the task of luring the enemy into depth, Tang Qiuli's heart is not very relieved, in case his troops are bitten by Okamura Ningji, can he get out of the way, there is a question mark in his mind?

Sun Zhenbang didn't think so, that commander didn't want to lead the first-class main force, wasn't the main force fought by a battle? He thinks that now is a good opportunity, we all eat more than 300,000 people of Okamura Ningci dare not think, it is still possible to take a piece of meat on him, seeing that the devil is in front of him, as if he has entered a no-man's land, there are more than 30,000 people in his hands, but he is pressed by the division commander and does not let him move, Sun Zhenbang's heart, not to mention how depressed he is.

Tang Qiuli didn't know Sun Zhenbang's mood at this time, after receiving the report, he smiled coldly, Okamura Ningci, the old devil, as expected, began to attack the Taihang Mountains from the direction of Shexian County, he wanted to occupy Changzhi, as a foothold and attack base, and the logistics base, Handan Chang Avenue, probably the only way to run a car in the Taihang Mountains.

He did not immediately issue an order to attack Jingcheng Pass, let the Japanese army go deeper, occupy those empty cities, and divide the troops, when the time comes, it will be difficult for him to return to the army, the Japanese army occupies Licheng, and then it should be Lucheng, if he continues to move west to Xiangyuan, Qinxian, and Wuxiang, Yan Xishan should be anxious again, crying and asking for his help.

Okamura Ningji ordered to leave the strength of a wing of the Kwantung Army, one brigade stationed in Licheng, and two brigades stationed in Shexian, which were two important nodes on the Hanchang Avenue, and a large number of materials and ammunition were stored in these two places, which could not be lost.

The troops of the Independent Division, driven into the depths of the Taihang Mountains by their own heavy troops, defended Shexian and Licheng with the combat effectiveness of the Kwantung Army troops, and they could rest assured, but he did not expect that on the side of the Japanese offensive channel, only a dozen kilometers away, more than 30,000 people from a corps of the Independent Division were watching them, occupying Licheng, and did not send part of the troops to expand to the two flanks to ensure the safety of the supply line, which was the first mistake in the military operation for Okamura Ningji to attack the Taihang Mountains.

At this time, Sun Zhenbang was no longer in the mood to complain, he received an order from the division commander, must not engage the Japanese army, luring the enemy deep is the only task of your department, according to the battle plan, disperse the troops into battalion units, and scatter them in front of the various attack arrows of the Japanese army, the commanders of the various battalions who participated in the meeting, they were also uncomfortable, there was no such a fight, put a few shots and run, and the wolves who had to run were better, it was better to leave some broken shoes and socks or something, and it was not a shame to pass it out?

If I am reluctant, my feelings are not high, and I asked the commander how to fight this battle? Sun Zhenbang himself was also annoyed in his heart, and he angrily told these officers that the pre-war combat meeting was in vain? You can't fight, you can't run away? Don't let the little devil catch up, and don't let the little devil lose it, how to fight, the commander of each unit will determine it according to the situation, but there is one point, if the battalion suffers, don't do it, the battalion commander, go back to the logistics department of the Huangyadong base to raise pigs.

The troops are scattered out, Sun Zhenbang in his hands, there are only two battalions of troops left, and then there is the corps headquarters guard company and a mortar company, at this time, on the battlefield that has been silent for a long time, there was a fierce gunfire, the gunfire is very wide, this is the army and the Japanese army are on fire, Sun Zhenbang sighed, the big battle can't be fought, prepare to go into the mountains, see if you can pick up small fish and shrimp, look at the small troops of the Japanese army, ** a guy, good to deal with a mouthful, not in vain for half a day.

The unit had just started, and the commander of the reconnaissance company of the Second Brigade Kang Dezhu was panting and chased after him from behind, and behind him, there was an officer with the rank of lieutenant colonel, Sun Zhenbang didn't know him, looking at the style of military uniforms and the equipment on his body, he knew that this was a person from the special operations detachment, Tang Qiuquan's subordinates, Sun Zhenbang was puzzled, why did the people from the special operations detachment also go to the area of Dongyang Pass? Aren't they in Shandong? It's really unusual.

When the lieutenant colonel officer arrived in front of Sun Zhenbang, he stood up and saluted, and then reported with full of energy: "Report to Commander Sun, Bai Lishan, the leader of the 11th detachment of the special operations detachment of the independent division, led the whole team of 186 people to complete the reconnaissance mission of Licheng and Shexian County, and was ordered by the detachment commander to cooperate with your corps to complete the task of luring the enemy into depth, please instruct" The young man is twenty-three or four years old, his eyes are shining, and he looks like a shrewd and capable commander.

Coincidentally, the reconnaissance company of the second brigade was also ordered to reconnoiter the situation in the area of Licheng and Shexian, and the 11th special operations detachment suddenly encountered, the two sides were so hung up, and they were worried that they could not find Bai Lishan of Sun Zhenbang's corps headquarters, and followed the reconnaissance company over, Sun Zhenbang returned the salute routinely, and said: "Then follow the corps headquarters to act together" After speaking, he turned around and followed the troops.

Bai Lishan saw that the commander of the major general was not very good, so he didn't say anything, Kang Dezhu took a few steps to catch up with Sun Zhenbang, "Commander, we have detected a situation in Licheng, the large army of little devils, continue to attack in the depths of Taihang Mountain, there is only one brigade of devils in Licheng, where are the materials and ammunition, piled up like a hill, the little devils are really rich enough, there are two brigades of devils in Shexian County to defend, and they are also full of materials and ammunition," After speaking, he still straightened his lips and made a sound.

When Sun Zhenbang heard this, he couldn't take a step at that time, and turned around suddenly, startling Kant Zhu, and he asked eagerly: "Is the information true?" Kan Dezhu nodded affirmatively, unable to figure out the commander's intentions, and then added, the white captain of the special operations detachment, the situation they detected was the same as ours.

Sun Zhenbang's eyes rolled a few times, and ordered the communicator, "Notify the troops, stop advancing, and rest in place" He pulled Kangde Zhu and walked towards Bai Lishan, and the situation he learned was exactly the same as what Kang Dezhu said, Sun Zhenbang also paid special attention to asking, how far is the Japanese army's large army from Licheng now?

At this point, Bai Lishan knew very well, he accurately told Sun Zhenbang that the rear guard of the main force of the Japanese army had entered Lucheng, Lucheng was forty-three kilometers away from Licheng, Sun Zhenbang had calculated it, with the existing strength in his hand, he would unexpectedly eat the little devils of a brigade in Licheng and blow up the materials and ammunition, it was completely possible, even if the little devils in Lucheng came back to help, it was too late in time, this was a golden opportunity.

Now he has nearly a regiment of troops in his hands, killing more than 2,000 people in a brigade of little devils, it is not difficult, Shexian is more than 40 kilometers away from Licheng, if the little devils in Shexian come out to reinforce, just hit him in an ambush, maybe even Shexian will be taken down, he asked Bai Lishan: "Do you want to fight a battle in the 11th Special Warfare Detachment?" ”

Bai Lishan's eyes lit up, and he hurried back from Shandong, hoping to fight, who knew that the tasks he received were reconnaissance, and he was not allowed to alarm the Japanese army, these special operations fighters with superb individual combat ability were all screaming, and if they had the opportunity not to fight, that was the fool, he hurriedly asked: "Commander Sun, what do you say, the 11th Special Warfare Detachment, completely obey your command." ”

Sun Zhenbang knew that this matter could not be reported to the division commander, since Su Jingfeng and Zhang Zizhong were martyred, the division commander personally issued an order, strictly prohibiting commanders above the brigade level from personally leading the troops to the front line to fight, which kind of carrying a machine gun and charging into battle is absolutely prohibited, violators are dismissed on the spot, he really can't afford to be injured, every senior commander of the independent division is a valuable asset.

(To be continued)