The Chahar Corps of the Kwantung Army, which has 3 independent mixed brigades and 2 detachments, also has at least the strength of a fully established permanent division, and the airport in Zhangjiakou is also stationed in the Japanese aviation unit of four flying brigades, and it is precisely because of this that the Eighth Route Army did not dare to attack Zhangjiakou, the capital of Chahar Province, when the tigers of the Eighth Route Army came down the mountain, it was like a nasty nasty nail, piercing into the junction between the Jinsui Border Region and the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region, making it difficult for the three main divisions of the Eighth Route Army to effectively coordinate operations, if not, The main force of the Eighth Route Army was concentrated with 200,000 people, and it was possible to even annihilate a permanent division of the devils

It is precisely because they have such a strong strength that although the Japanese army has a headache about the activity of the Eighth Route Army, it is not panicked, and the current situation in Xinkou is becoming more and more favorable to the Japanese army, as long as the situation is opened there, they can free up at least a few divisions and regiments of mobile troops, and the country is more likely to continue to increase troops, and then if there is another sweep, the Japanese army does not think that the Eighth Route Army is still capable of coping. However, at this time, Gu Shoufu's 6th Division, which led his troops south along the Pinghan Line without authorization, was attacked head-on by the elite units of the 15th Army that the Japanese army had thought were staying in the Zhongtiao Mountains, and the overall deployment of the Japanese army in North China was disrupted at once

Although they had tried to speed up the journey along the way, when they arrived at Zhengding, this county town had been occupied by a cavalry wing of the devil's advance, and the defenders were almost defeated by the wind, not only did not make any effective resistance, but seriously hindered the advance of Yang Botao's regiment.

The defeated soldiers are only concerned about fleeing for their lives. There is no time to take a closer look at how many devils came, after the soldiers of the 15th Army intercepted them for questioning, in order to get rid of their crimes, these guys exaggerated the strength of the devils more and more, there are tens of thousands, and a certain idiot actually said that the devils came 100,000, and they were immediately kicked to the ground by Yang Botao. There are only 20,000 or 30,000 people in the entire 6th Division, where did these 100,000 people come from?

Although most of the answers were very unreliable, Yang Botao, who was as careful as a hair, still found a very valuable information from them. That is, the devils who seized Zhengding County are all cavalry. Yang Botao immediately put his mind at ease, "The chief said that the 6th Division has only one cavalry wing with a full strength of four or five hundred people. It seems that this is the unit. ”

Although the 94th Division is considered to be the weakest of the three integrated divisions of the 15th Army, Yang Botao has always believed that the regiment he brought out is the top three main regiments in the 15th Army, and it is much stronger than the cavalry wing of the devil in terms of equipment and strength

In front of the fire net intertwined with submachine guns and machine guns, more than 100 Japanese cavalry squadrons guarding the railway station were quickly wiped out. However, only 3 of Yang Botao's subordinates were injured by the rifles of the devil cavalry, and as for the sharp sabers of the devil cavalry, not even a single hair of the commanders and fighters of the 15th Army was injured. Although the scale of this battle was small, it once again fully demonstrated how powerless the ancient cavalry was in the face of automatic weapons, and the ancient king of land warfare has finally come to retire from the stage of history

After taking the train station. Yang Botao did not order the siege of the city, but asked his subordinates to immediately build field fortifications on the spot to prevent the arrival of Japanese reinforcements from the north, and at the same time sent a telegram to the division headquarters to explain the current position and situation of the 2nd Regiment, as for the victory in the first battle. Yang Botao just mentioned it in passing. It is said that since the Anti-Japanese War in North China, the appetite of the 15th Army has grown a lot, and it is a matter of course to eliminate more than 100 devils with more than 2,000 people in one main regiment.

For Zhengding County, Yang Botao has not ordered to attack, this is not that he has no confidence in attacking the city, but the city wall of the county is short and thin, as long as the caliber of slightly larger artillery can be damaged, the ability to protect and cover is not as good as the simple field fortifications dug out in a few hours, even if Yang Botao led his troops to capture Zhengding County, the main force of the 6th Division will definitely be lost after going south, and it has dispersed the troops and increased casualties, so he Yang Botao will not do such a stupid thing, anyway, as long as the railway station is in hand, Even if the devil occupies Zhengding County, it has no practical significance.

In fact, the devils in the city also understood this, so they immediately sent a cavalry squadron after learning of the attack on the railway station, but in addition to inflicting a small loss of 1 dead and 1 wounded on Yang Botao's regiment, the only value of their attack was to add a record of 137 killed to Yang Botao's regiment's military merit book

Although on the one hand, because of the immediate pressure, and on the other hand, considering the later battle, the two armies sent telegrams asking for help

Although Gu Shoufu is heinous, but the military ability is still very strong, otherwise he could not let the poorly equipped 6th Division become the ace of the Japanese army, as soon as he read the telegram, he was keenly aware that the squadron that seized the Zhengding Railway Station was not simple, and immediately decided to personally lead the main force of the 6th Division, which was already ready to go, to the south immediately, and the 36th Infantry Brigade that had stayed in Baoding also received his order to rush to the back of the main force of the Dingxian Protection Division, leaving only an infantry brigade to guard Baoding.

As a precaution, Gu Shoufu telegraphed the matter to the North China Front Command at that time, asking Beiping to increase troops to Baoding as soon as possible to plug this gap, but the Front Army Command replied that at present, Pingjin is also short of troops, and it is not possible to draw mobile troops for the time being, but within a few days the Kwantung Army will have new divisions and regiments entering the pass, so the suggestion of the headquarters is to let Gu Shoufu wait a few days. However, Gu Shoufu, who was anxious to recapture the Zhengding Railway Station, did not accept this suggestion, and the security was located in the rear, and in just a few days, Gu Shoufu unconsciously gave birth to a fluke mentality, but he did not know that almost all the telegram exchanges between himself and the headquarters of the Front Army were intercepted and easily deciphered by the telecommunications personnel of the 15th Army

Because of the fear that the enemy would sabotage the railway, Gu Shoufu did not dare to use the train to transport troops, if it was the 5th Division and the Guards Division, then all the people could take a truck, which was fast and saved physical strength, but the 6th Division has always been raised by the queen, so he can't expect this treatment. Moreover, it must be noted that if it was a combat mission issued by the North China Front or the 1st Army Command, the 6th Division would generally have strengthened cars and even tanks before the war (the permanent divisions in 37 years could not have every standing armored unit, and the 6th Division, which was the poorest equipped, was even more impossible. But this battle of the Pinghan Line was launched by Gu Shoufu without authorization, so there were no cars, let alone tanks and heavy artillery, and the officers and soldiers of the 6th Division could only run away with their feet outstretched, anyway, this was the most familiar way of marching (to be continued). If you like this work, you are welcome to (.) to vote for recommendation, monthly pass, your support is my biggest motivation. )