The three infantry battalions of the 85th Infantry Wing of the 22nd Division of the Japanese Army and one infantry brigade transferred to support them pursued the guerrillas of the Zhejiang-Jiangxi-Anhui border guerrilla headquarters in two ways.

Dozens of ships waiting in advance, loaded with more than 1,500 commandos, took advantage of the darkness of night at night to rush to the direction of Tangqi Ancient Town.

A half-infantry brigade pursued on the other side was led into an ambush by another guerrilla force.

This is a slope surrounded by waterways, the commanding heights have long been occupied, and trenches have been dug, light and heavy machine gun fire points have been set up in advance, and there is also mortar support, and ammunition is very abundant.

The purpose of the withdrawn group and the waiting group was to drag more than 1,000 Japanese troops here, wait for the main force to return and then encircle and completely destroy the pursuing enemy. They used basically the standard equipment of the mountain city government, but the victory was that the number of machine guns was enough, in addition to the mortar squadron, there was even a Type 92 infantry gun squadron, using two captured infantry guns.

"Have you placed mines in the river? The Japanese troops in Hangzhou may have received a request for reinforcements by boat through the canal. If you take a vaporetto, you can arrive quickly, which is a threat that needs to be taken into account. Han Lin put down the telescope in his hand and said.

"We have set up a blockade in the river in advance, and sent people to guard it to prohibit the passage of ships, and now it is a time of war, and ships do not dare to take the canal easily. In addition to the blockade of mines, two squadrons were also sent to block the river, and with our firepower, we were able to withstand the attack of an infantry brigade of the Japanese army. Fang Zhaoan said.

The more than 1,400 Japanese troops who encountered the resistance opened their positions and engaged in an offensive and defensive battle with the two newly formed guerrilla brigades that adopted defensive tactics. It is simply ironic that they had a lot of combat experience, but the intensity of their firepower was so far from that of the guerrillas that they actually fought to a draw.

Several attacks by the Japanese army were forced back by the guerrilla brigades that had dug trenches in advance, and the dense fire network composed of light and heavy machine guns made the Japanese army continue to suffer casualties, and its own ammunition consumption increased dramatically, so it had to send a telegram to the wing and request support from the Japanese army in Hangzhou.

Most of the two newly formed guerrilla brigades were new recruits who had not experienced actual combat, and they were highly psychologically nervous, and they seemed to be fighting lively, consuming a lot of ammunition, but their results were pitiful.

However, in the face of the Japanese army's shooting accuracy, the attack of curved guns and grenadiers, and the increasing casualties, there will be people carried to the back by the stretcher team and treated by military doctors.

"In just two hours, we have repelled four Japanese attacks, but the guerrilla brigade has suffered more than 200 casualties, and the Japanese still have the advantage of experience and training. Fang Zhaoan said.

When it was almost noon, the momentum of the Japanese attack slowed down significantly, and a violent explosion was heard in the distance.

This is also an inevitable thing, if it is replaced by other troops, without such good equipment, the number of casualties may be even greater. Only by accumulating experience through actual combat will it mature rapidly.

"It's not that I'm ruthless, it's normal to have casualties when fighting, only by going through the test of death, they can become qualified fighters in the future, and in two hours, reinforcements will arrive, you send someone to guide in advance and seal your pockets from behind." Han Lin said.

The American-equipped assault brigade arrived near the battlefield by boat through Laolongxi, and under the guidance, went ashore and went around in a circle, touching the back of the Japanese army.

With the shelling of dozens of mortars, the commando team that occupied the absolute superiority compressed the Japanese army step by step into a depression, and the fire points of light and heavy machine guns were "named" by mortar guns one by one, and the fierce Japanese troops held 38-type rifles, desperately trying to open a gap, but were swept to the ground by the assault brigade whose fire intensity was not at the same level, and the rain of bullets splashed like water.

With a force of 3,500 troops, the Japanese army of 1,500 men surrounded the 1,500-strong Japanese army, which took more than six hours in total, and the Japanese army was completely wiped out except for hundreds of wounded and captured.

The assault brigade suffered only a small number of casualties, while more than 2,000 officers and men of the two newly organized guerrilla brigades took part in the battle, losing more than 200 people, more than 100 suffering injuries of varying severity, and a total loss of more than 400 people.

"Collect the enemy's weapons and ammunition, withdraw it, and leave the battlefield to the Japanese to clean up." Han Lin said.

"What about these wounded Japanese soldiers? How do we deal with it? Fang Zhaoan asked.

"We do have wounded, but do the Japanese have wounded?" Han Lin asked rhetorically.

"Yes, yes, my subordinates are wrong, we are completely annihilating the Japanese army, and there are no wounded." Fang Zhaoan hurriedly said.

The 22nd Division of the Japanese Army sent a total of four infantry brigades to form a reinforced wing, half of the troops were wiped out, and an infantry brigade that came to support them, after the ship hit a mine, went ashore to support on foot, and was ambushed again, and finally could only watch the guerrillas calmly evacuate.

When they arrived at the battlefield, they saw only corpses in one place.

The lieutenant commander of the infantry brigade carefully observed the situation on the battlefield, and then ordered the operator to report to the division headquarters.

The headquarters of the 13th Army of the Japanese Army was stationed.

"The supporting infantry brigade surveyed the battlefield, and the latest report was sent that the guerrillas had dug fortifications in advance and placed mines in the river, and it was clear that the place of the battle was a predetermined battlefield, and that this was a premeditated ambush by the enemy. They were very familiar with the troops of the 22nd Division participating in the encirclement and suppression plan, and in fact the conspiracy began when they carried out an ambush in the water network area northwest of Jiaxing. ”

"They took the initiative to divide into two parts, that is, to disperse the strength of the reinforced wing, and with the strength of the Zhejiang-Jiangxi-Anhui border guerrilla command, they could not swallow a reinforced wing. The American-equipped troops led two fully manned infantry battalions to Huzhou, and they took the opportunity to return to the battlefield to encircle them with more battles and fewer battles. ”

"The matter is obvious, it must be that our battle plan has been leaked, our encirclement and suppression operation is completely in the calculation of the other party, and we lost two infantry brigades at the beginning of the operation, this matter will definitely cause the accountability of the General Headquarters, Commander-in-Chief Shunroku Hata there, we are afraid that it will be difficult to explain." Asuo Karagawa said with some annoyance.

The battle plan was drawn up by him, the chief of staff, and Shimomura was not familiar with the situation after all, but it turned out to be such a situation. But the facts also proved that it was not his plan that was problematic, but that it involved leaks, from the selection of points to the excavation of fortifications, which could not be completed in a short time.

"The facts are in front of me, I can't help but I don't believe it, cooperating with the advisory department of the special high class, this is my biggest mistake, why didn't I learn the lessons of the battle of Zhejiang and Jiangxi, a group of guys who have not achieved enough things and have more than enough failures!" Shimomura believed the chief of staff's analysis, and felt a little annoyed in his heart, why did he listen to Kenji Dohihara's nonsense and make a bad start.

"Do you want me to call Kanemi Miyamoto and ask him about the leak?" Yasuo Karagawa asked.

"How could he admit that it was the Advisors Department who leaked the secrets? We don't have any evidence in our hands, so we just don't let them get involved in our actions in the future. Shimomura shook his head and said.

(End of chapter)