"Since we can't break with the Japanese right now, do we have any other choice?" Hull shrugged his shoulders and said: "If God wants to destroy him, he must first make him crazy, since the ambition of the Japanese can't stop it, then let's add another fire to him, and let them burn themselves as soon as possible!" "Well said, then let the Japanese touch this hard nail, I am also looking forward to how powerful the mysterious and powerful Shandong Group Army is in Stilwell's eyes, and whether it can withstand the long-planned all-out attack of the Japanese!"

Roosevelt seemed extremely relaxed about it, and even looked forward to this good show for a long time, hoping that the Shandong Group Army would once again show its might and seriously weaken the strength of the Japanese. As for whether the Shandong Army will eventually lose or win, and how many people will die in this battle, that is not a matter of Roosevelt's concern.

After a pause, Roosevelt smiled and said: "Since even the Japanese know about engaging in diplomatic offensives, our United States of America naturally cannot be inferior to the Japanese!" Although the United States of America cannot prevent war, we will always stand on the side of China as peace-loving people! ”

"What? Are you saying that the Japanese devils will soon attack the Shandong Peninsula with all their might? Hehe, these devils still can't help it after all! Meng Wu'an soon received a call from Stilwell, and he was startled at first and quickly calmed down, this news had been expected for a long time, and it came much later than expected.

Knowing the seriousness, Stilwell couldn't calm down at all, and said with great concern: "This time is definitely unusual, the Japanese are determined to annihilate the Shandong Group Army, you must not be careless!" "Don't worry, it's not a day or two for the little devil to destroy my heart! The brothers of the headquarters and the Shandong Group Army have long been fully prepared, and if the little devils don't go, they will definitely make their heads broken and their bones will be bleeding as long as they dare to go! ”

Meng Wu'an's tone was still very calm, even if he was not unfazed in his heart, knowing that even if he resisted, he would have to pay a huge price for casualties, but how could he be heroic at this time? I really don't know where Meng Wu'an's confidence comes from, he is not nervous at all, Stilwell really doesn't know what to say, he can only bless:

"Well, my friend, I wish you a victorious start and make the brutal and inhuman Japanese pay a heavy price!" "Thank you, my friend! The message you sent is very important and very helpful to us. I have other urgent things to do now, so I'll invite you over for a drink another day! ”

Meng Wu'an was in the mood to continue chatting, hung up the phone after sending a good person card, and hurriedly instructed Shi Weifu to send an urgent telegram back home. In fact, there is no need for Meng Wu'an's anxious telegram, at this time the news that the Japanese devils are going to attack on a large scale has already spread, because there are really many Americans in the Qingdao Industrial Park.

As soon as the United States received an official diplomatic note from Japan, Roosevelt passed the news to the American company that had business dealings and cooperative relations with Jiang Qiang, so that the American personnel on the Shandong Peninsula and those who were on their way to the Shandong Peninsula could withdraw from the dangerous combat area in a timely manner. "These little devils are getting better and better at playing, and they even have to send notices before the war?"

Jiang Qiang was very indifferent after receiving the news, even if the little devil didn't come, he would have to find something. Not only have the veterans trained their tendons and flesh, but they also have inexhaustible strength and excellent military skills, and they have long been gearing up to fight with the little devils.

The newly trained more than 100,000 reserve recruits are also looking forward to the continued expansion of the troops, the rapid fight and the achievement of military exploits, and then the promotion and salary increase to become the real Shandong Group Army! Although preparations had been made for a long time, the mobilization work before the war was indispensable, and Jiang Qiang even asked Wang Qiang to call the headquarters and convene an emergency meeting of officers at and above the brigade level.

At the same time, the Third Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Detachment stationed in Yutai County and Jinxiang County also received the news that Ma Yaonan urgently convened a military meeting at the first time. After everyone arrived, Ma Yaonan said in a heavy tone: "The Japanese devils have been preparing for more than a year, and this time, in addition to the 12th Army stationed in Shandong, the devils have also mobilized the strength of two armies, and it is estimated that the devils will have 300,000 combat troops. ”

Yang Guofu nodded heavily and said: "Yes, the devil has eaten the scales and killed his heart this time!" An unprecedented bloody battle is inevitable! Especially since our third detachment is at the forefront and will definitely bear the brunt. ”

Ma Xiaoyun's fiery temper is still the same, and even said loudly: "What are you afraid of, we are strong now, and we have built a large number of permanent fortifications, and if the little devil wants to break through our defense area, then we have to fill it with our lives!" ”

Ma Xiaoyun did not boast of himself, since the capture of Yutai, the third detachment has ushered in a period of rapid development, not only the total strength has expanded to more than 10,000 people, but also replaced with a large number of new weapons, heavy firepower, and even more than 10 tanks and combat vehicles. Compared with the previous guerrilla warfare in the mountains, the third detachment is not known how many times stronger, especially with strong fortifications as a backing, its combat effectiveness really cannot be underestimated.

Ye Gengxin chuckled and said: "Commander Ma, the little devil is not small this time, he will definitely be equipped with a large number of siege artillery, and there will be a powerful air force to bomb, although we are not what it used to be, but we must also be fully prepared." In particular, we have to guard against large-scale bombing by devils, so I think we still have to ask for help from friendly brothers, at least so that the little devils can't bomb indiscriminately and unscrupulously. ”

"That's right, that's what I'm most worried about!" Ma Yaonan nodded, and then said: "We have no air supremacy at all, and the little devil will definitely take us first and use us as a breakthrough." So no matter what aspect it is, we all have to huddle together to keep warm, and I also believe that Commander Yang will not stand idly by.

At the same time, in order to prevent accidents, we also have to do a good job in the transfer and resettlement of the people, the little devils are a group of inhumane beasts, so they will not care about the casualties of civilians! "What Commander Ma said is that we need to mobilize as soon as possible, first move most of the people to the rear, and at the same time also need to get in touch with Commander-in-Chief Jiang of the Shandong Army to carry out joint defense.

This time the little devils are not good, since they dare to come to attack the Shandong army, it shows that things are not so simple. And we are in the front, the terrain is in the plains, it is the weakest link in the entire defense system, and the little devils will definitely open a gap from us! ”

Huo Shilian nodded, and emphasized in an extremely solemn tone: "I have a hunch that this big battle will be extremely tragic, if we win, we will be able to completely gain a firm foothold, if we lose, we will have to fight guerrilla warfare like before!"

So no matter what, we must have a plan for the worst, and we must be thoughtful in all aspects, and at this time, we should not have any scruples and small abacus! Because the colors of the two sides are not uniform, whether it is military defense, social security, or economic and people's livelihood, the third detachment and the Huaxia Tiger Ben Army are in a relatively independent state of "well water does not interfere with river water".

This time, the Japanese devils gathered three or four hundred thousand combat troops to launch a long-planned encirclement and annihilation war against the Shandong Group Army, and Ma Yaonan and others felt extremely heavy. In particular, the defense area of the third detachment borders the Japanese-occupied area, and as a relatively weak link, once the war starts, they will definitely bear the brunt of it!

After some careful discussion, Ma Yaonan and others decided to stick to Yutai County and Jinxiang County to fight the Japanese invaders to the end, and at the same time, in order to avoid unnecessary casualties, the people in the jurisdiction were evacuated to the rear in advance.

Soon, large-scale military mobilization and civilian evacuation in Yutai and Jinxiang counties were rapidly launched. At the same time, with the continuous spread of news and large-scale military transfers, the atmosphere in the entire Shandong Province has become extremely depressing, and there is no longer the lightheartedness and laughter of the past.

In particular, the refugees and their family members, who have just returned to the normal stage of their lives, are extremely worried and panicked.

It was not easy for them to find a paradise of happiness and stability, for fear that everything in front of them would be destroyed by war again, and that they would suffer the tragic fate of ruining their families again. It's just that it's useless to just worry, the little devil has been planning for a long time, and he has a deep grudge, this time he definitely won't hit the south wall and won't look back!

In the early morning of July 28, Baoding Mansion. This time, the Japanese devils gathered 300,000 elite troops to encircle and suppress the Shandong Group Army, including the 12th Army and the newly formed 13th Army.

In order to facilitate command and make decisions on the spot, Tada Jun temporarily moved the headquarters of the North China Front Army to Baoding Mansion, and several old devils stayed up all night together last night to discuss the deduction. It wasn't until around midnight that a few old devils slept for a while.

As soon as it was a little dark, Tada got up from the tatami mat and walked to the balcony with small steps. As soon as he walked out of the room, a cool fresh air rushed to his face, which made Tada's spirit suddenly shake. "Yo Xi, what a quiet and refreshing summer morning!"

Tada Jun closed his eyes and enjoyed it for a while, then opened his eyes and looked at the eastern sky to reveal the white belly of the fish, and said quietly: "The sky is still bright after all, and the long-awaited moment has finally come." ”

"Shuffle!" As soon as Tada Jun's words fell, Naosaburo Okabe, who was standing next to him, nodded and agreed: "If the Imperial Army can pass this big test, both its combat power and confidence will be greatly improved!"

The Imperial Japanese Army was invincible, attacking and winning all battles. But if it is seriously frustrated again, the consequences will be unimaginable! Kawabe Shozo also looked solemn and muttered: "This cunning and powerful opponent has become a great trouble for the Great Japanese Empire, if it can be eradicated, no matter how much it costs, it will be worth it!" ”

"That's right, this time the Imperial Japanese Army is only allowed to win and not lose! As long as we work together, even the most powerful enemy will not be able to stop the advance of the Great Japanese Empire! Pass the order down, go as planned! ”

Tada Jun's eyes flashed with fierce murderous intent, this was his first battle as commander of the North China Front, and he must fight a big victory no matter what. Otherwise, he would not have been able to give an account to the base camp and the emperor. "Hello!" Kawabe Masai nodded heavily, and then walked back to his room to make a call.

The specific operational plan has long been determined after detailed study and deduction, and issuing an operational order at this time is nothing more than a formality. In fact, this encirclement and annihilation battle was destined to be a hard-fought positional war and a tough battle from the very beginning, and there was really not much place to play a strategy.

"All gun emplacements are available! Fire now! As soon as the battle order was issued, the devil artillery, which had already calibrated to shoot at Zhu Yuan, opened fire at full power and launched a fierce artillery bombardment of the first line of defense of the third detachment.

"The 10th squadron immediately took off and bombed the target Chang'an County!" "The 83rd squadron immediately took off and bombed the target Zouping County!"

Knowing that the Shandong Group Army had an extremely powerful air force, the Japanese devils not only deployed a large amount of anti-aircraft firepower and mobilized the Third Flying Group to participate in the battle, but also had a fleet anchored in the Bohai Bay.

The combined number of combat planes of the army and navy is as high as more than 600, so the little devil air force is still very confident, and it does not dare to take the lead as before.

As predicted by Ma Yaonan and others, the target of the devil's attack at the first time was not the strong fortress of the Shandong Group Army, but the relatively weak defense line of the third detachment.

"Oh no! The devils have attacked in advance! "Quick, all hide, go into the anti-artillery hole!" "Ah, what's that sound?" "Quick, give the order, and everyone will be in battle mode!"

It's just that what Ma Yaonan and others didn't expect was that the Japanese devils did not play their cards according to the routine, not on August 1 as expected, but three days in advance. Naturally, it was impossible to defend the county seat alone, and the third detachment built a lot of pillboxes and fortifications in the villages and small heights outside the two county towns.

Therefore, the first target of the little devil can only be these peripheral pillboxes and fortifications. Hundreds of shells of large and small calibers were fired at the same time, and the sound of violent explosions continued one after another, breaking the silence of the early morning at once.

The outer positions of the third detachment were shaken in an instant, and the smoke of gunpowder was billowing out, and the defensive pillboxes and fortifications were seriously damaged, and many soldiers were blown up and shocked to death while still sleeping! The sound of violent explosions came like thunder, and the officers and men of the rear defense line and the third detachment in the two county towns woke up one after another, listening to this movement, they still didn't know what was happening.

Everyone immediately rolled over and got out of bed, got dressed, picked up weapons, and entered the fighting state. "Yo Xi, it works great! These dirt roads are dead, dead! ”

With or without intention, after a few rounds of artillery fire from the little devil, a large number of fortresses and fortifications of the third detachment were seriously damaged, and there was no figure in the telescope at all, and the captain of the 77th wing of the devil, Ryosuke Fujimuro, nodded with satisfaction. After the shelling was over, Ryosuke Fujimuro immediately said to the herald beside him:

"Order the Okamoto Brigade to immediately launch an attack on the Tsuchihachi Road position and capture this small village as quickly as possible." "Hello!" The devil herald immediately picked up the phone and shook it. "Forward, assault!"

After receiving the order, the Okamoto brigade sent a squadron of devil soldiers, under the cover of five tanks, to touch the Chinese position in front of the gunsmoke. "Comrades, get into position, the devils are attacking!" "Quick, get ready for battle!" "Bazooka aims at the devil tank!" The officers and men of the third detachment soon discovered the figure of the devil, and they drilled out of the anti-artillery holes and entered the position, looking for their respective targets!

Wang Bian Zhuang, Yutai County. The provincial highway runs through Wang Bian Zhuang and leads directly to Yutai County, and the Japanese mechanized troops, especially the heavy artillery, want to reach Changshan County, Wang Bian Zhuang is a place to fight. Therefore, from a certain point of view, Wang Bian Zhuang is the barrier and gateway to Changshan County, and its military importance is naturally self-evident. The third detachment had begun building fortifications a year earlier, and was now quite large, with a regiment of troops stationed at Wangbian Zhuang.

In addition to the main position in the village, Wang Bian Zhuang also has two important peripheral positions, namely the Guangongmiao position in the southwest corner of the village entrance and the Niulangpo position in the northwest corner. The terrain of these two positions is not high, and the absolute height of the surface is only thirty or forty meters high, but they are two very critical commanding heights for the flat terrain of Wang Bian Zhuang.

As a result, the fortifications were carefully built on both small heights, and at the highest point not only a reinforced concrete main fort was built, but also two semi-permanent circular trenches reinforced with cement and timber were built around the main fort. Barbed wire was also erected in front of the trenches, and a lot of mines were laid, and basically all the means of defense that could be thought of and used were used.

The garrison strength of the Guangongmiao position and the Niulangpo position is an infantry company of 140 people, and it is equipped with 3 anti-aircraft guns, 4 flat-fire guns, 8 heavy machine guns, 3 anti-aircraft machine guns and other defensive weapons. In terms of fortifications, troop allocation, and firepower alone, these two positions are not weak, and they are completely capable of fighting.

It's just that this time, when they were facing a long time of recuperation, the elite troops of the devils who were holding back their anger carried out carpet saturation shelling at any cost as soon as the war began. In particular, the dozen or so 150-mm guns of the devils were full of power, which not only caused serious damage to the trench fortifications, but also caused a lot of damage to the main fort.

Caught off guard, the officers and men of the third detachment stationed on two small heights suffered many casualties, and there was a brief panic. When the artillery fire stopped, the company commander Zhuo Mingzhe knew that the devil must have launched a formal attack, so he quickly stood up and walked to the top of the pillbox, picked up the binoculars and looked around.

Sure enough, the little devil infantry continued to advance towards the Guangongmiao position under the cover of several tanks, and the visual distance did not exceed 4 kilometers. "Immediately call the regimental headquarters, the devil launched an attack on the position of Guan Gongmiao, and the preliminary estimate is that the devil has the strength of a squadron and 6 tanks as cover."

Zhuo Mingzhe first asked the signal corps to report the situation, and then issued an order for everyone to enter the position and immediately face the Japanese devils. However, at this moment, there was a roar of a motor in the distant sky, and Zhuo Mingzhe hurriedly looked up, only to see a group of black dots flying rapidly from the southwest. Without even thinking about it, Zhuo Mingzhe knew that this must be a devil plane bombing, and immediately shouted loudly: "Hide, the devil bomber is coming!" ”

"Grass his ancestor! Is there any end to the little devil? "Fast forward to the bomb hole!" "Hidden!"

I just got out and was about to enter the position, but I didn't expect that at this time, the devil bomber came again, and everyone had to enter the bunker again to hide. Tweeting, soon the devil plane flew over the positions of Guan Gong Temple and Niulang Slope, frantically throwing bombs, and once again carrying out saturation bombing at any cost!

The explosion shook violently, and the well-built fortifications were once again severely tested. Several trenches were directly hit by heavy bombs, and large areas collapsed, and even if they were reinforced with cement and wood, they could not completely withstand the shock wave of the powerful explosion.

In particular, the devils also dropped sulfur bombs, which set fire to several trenches, and the wooden support pillars crackled and burned. The main fort on the top of the slope was taken care of, thanks to the third detachment at that time, the reinforced concrete of the outer wall was more than two meters thick, otherwise it would be difficult to withstand such a high-intensity saturation bombardment.

Come and go in a hurry, 3 minutes later, the little devil bomber group flew away, and did not dare to be a fancy demon. However, these three minutes were extremely long for the officers and men of the third detachment, and the deafening explosion made people's eardrums buzz, and the incomparably strong shock wave caused the five abdomen and six organs to surge incessantly.

With a crunch, six Type 97 tanks slowly advanced forward, their black barrels exuding an icy aura of death.

Finally survived, everyone dizzily drilled out of the anti-artillery hole, but at this time they saw that the devil infantry had broken through to within three kilometers of the position under the traction of the tank. "Fire! Hit hard! "Kill these Iron Kings first!"

After surviving the bombardment and bombardment of the devils, the Chinese defenders entered their respective combat positions one after another, and soon the three anti-tank guns and four flat-fire guns adjusted their firing angles and took the lead in firing at the devil tanks in the front.

After a few violent cannon shots, I saw that 6 shells hit the target and hit the front armor of the Devil Tank, knocking the Little Devil Tank into potholes. However, it is a pity that the tanks dispatched by the devils are all newly modified medium tanks, and the frontal defense is not weak, although they suffered a lot of damage under this round of shelling, they are not fatal.

"Yaga! Fire now! Kill the Chinese defenders' artillery! "The devil tank soldiers were frightened, and they obviously felt that the damage to the body was not small, and if they took two more shots, they would probably have to shed their skin if they didn't die, and even if they quickly adjusted the barrel, they quickly fired back at the exposed Chinese artillery.

"Get out of the way!" Seeing that the muzzle of the black hole of the devil tank was aimed at his side, Chen Binyi, the gunner of the battle defense artillery, hurriedly roared, and then quickly squatted down to dodge. In addition, several fighters around were not slow to react, and they squatted down one after another.

Almost at the same time, two devil shells whizzed, and with a violent explosion, a large hole was punched out of the trench bunker protruding from the ground. Countless shrapnel and earth and rock fragments were fired in all directions like a torrential rain, but fortunately, the opportunity was seen quickly, and the firing hole of the battle defense artillery was not large, although the power of this devil shell was not small, but it did not cause substantial casualties.

"Little devil of dog day, it's not slow to fight back! Quickly reload the armor-piercing shells, and don't let the devil tank rush up! Chen Binyi shook the dust off his head, and immediately calibrated the muzzle and aimed at a moving devil tank again. By this time, the loader had already finished reloading the shell. "Die!" Chen Binyi immediately pulled the operating lever, and with a bang, the anti-aircraft gun shook suddenly, and a 37-mm armor-piercing bullet roared out.

In the blink of an eye, Chen Binyi saw that the shell accurately hit the bottom of the ghost tank battery, and this time the armor-piercing bullet was very powerful, and it directly punched a hole and drilled into the devil tank. The devil tank lay directly on its stomach, although there was no explosion, but there were puffs of smoke, and it seemed that most of them had lost their combat effectiveness.