Chapter 172 Changes in Zhang Fuyan’s 7th Battalion

Major General Chu Yunfei, commander of the 48th Independent Brigade, and Fang Ligong, chief of staff of the school, successively issued combat orders.

The officers began to return to their respective stations and make preparations immediately.

It didn't take long for each department to take action and advance rapidly towards the designated areas.

The 11th regiment was prepared to assemble towards the front line of Zhuangmo Town, Baizi Mountain and Wohu Mountain.

Chen Ziyun took the lead in dispatching Monk Wei's reconnaissance platoon and launched an investigation directly there.

Wu Ziqiang's 5th Battalion and Zhang Fuli's 7th Battalion took the lead; Shi Yuji's 6th Battalion and Liang Guoping Artillery Battalion followed behind.

By three o'clock in the morning, the position of the 48th Independent Brigade was completely empty, with no personnel left.

All the Eastern Ministries were advancing towards the Xinxian area, and they asked the Yue Army to form an independent fourth brigade to start combat operations.

At the Yangcun position, Kong Jie, the leader of the independent regiment, hurried over after receiving the report.

Kong Jie raised his telescope and looked at the station of the 48th Independent Brigade. Looking at the empty position, he showed a surprised expression.

"Captain, don't look. There's not a single soul over there. Thousands of their troops have all been dispatched."

"Did they advance towards Xin County? I don't know what they did in the past. Could it be that they also asked the wrong kid to help?"

"That shouldn't be the case. In that large-scale raid, if our Eighth Route Army had acted alone, nearby friendly forces would not have known about it at all."

"What's more, the Jinsui Army troops have always been in conflict with them. Even if they knew about it, they would not cooperate with them in fighting."

The company commander who was commanding the troops to defend in Yangcun looked at Ding Wei with confusion on his face and said.

By now the Eighth Route Army units have launched large-scale operations, not to mention Shanxi Province, otherwise North China would be in chaos.

The Independent Group has now also received relevant news, and Ding Wei, an honest man from Bu Nao, did not complain at all about the arrangements made by his superiors.

They calmly stayed in the Yangcun area to carry out defensive deployment, and directly assumed the defense tasks of the previous three regiments.

As the 48th Independent Brigade gathered troops and quickly advanced towards the Xinxian area, Ding Wei paid great attention to that matter.

He came over personally to understand the situation and was confused by the actions of Chu Yunfei's troops.

"What I said is correct. If the 48th Independent Brigade is an army unit of the Sui Army, can they take the initiative to cooperate with us in the battle?"

"If this situation really makes him unable to figure out what Chu Yun asked Nie Qiu to do, then we can report it immediately."

"In addition, as soon as their troops leave, if there are any huge defensive holes there, send troops to move forward and build warning positions."

"Although the Japs are now facing an attack from their troops, no one can say whether they will send troops over for a sneak attack."

After Ding Wei pondered for a moment, he immediately ordered Dongda.

The independent regiment strengthened its defense and alert, and at the same time quickly contacted the brigade headquarters to report the situation there.

As for the headquarters of the Seventh Army of the Shanxi-Sui Army, Zhao Yinfu was furious at the moment.

When he learned that the 48th Independent Brigade was advancing eastward with all its troops and directly launching combat operations, he stared with anger on his face.

"What do Chu Yunfei, Fang Ligong, Chen Ziyun and the others want to do? Is this the time for them to show off as heroes?"

"The Eighth Route Army launched a full-scale combat operation, and various units of the Moon Army were hit. The independent mixed fourth brigade was the only mobile force controlled by the Moon Army."

"They launched an attack against that unit. It was like pulling teeth out of a tiger's mouth. Do they really want to use up all the assets of the 48th Independent Brigade?"

"What's more, if we take the initiative now, won't we be cooperating with the Eighth Route Army invisibly?"

"They are very brainless and do things without thinking at all!"

Zhao Yinfu was furious, and he was very dissatisfied that the 48th Independent Brigade had mistakenly advanced directly towards Xinxian County.

Of course, the most important thing is to prevent Chu Yunfei's troops from leaving their base, and the 71st Division of the 33rd Army will bear the brunt.

At that time, if any Japanese troops come over, the 71st Division will directly face the attack of the Moon Army.

The Seventh Group Army has two armies in the east, directly under one brigade, with the strength of six divisions and one brigade.

But among those troops, the most attackable is naturally Chu Yunfei's 48th Independent Brigade.

Secondly, there was the 71st Division. Originally, according to Zhao Yinfu's intention, Chu Yunfei's troops were placed at the front, with the 71st Division behind to cooperate.

That way, even if they are attacked by the Moon Army, with those two troops, they can at least ensure an invincible position.

However, now that the 48th Independent Brigade is advancing directly eastward, can the 71st Division be at the forefront?

If the Japs come over, we will defeat the 71st Division, leaving five temporary divisions, not to mention a good leg.

Those five temporary divisions are all units that have just been expanded from brigades. It will take a certain amount of time for them to gather combat effectiveness.

Therefore, at this time, Zhao Yinfu was even more worried that his troops would be attacked and suffer heavy casualties.

"Have they applied for the Burnt Seat before? It was also approved by the Chief's Department."

"Based on the current situation, now is indeed the best time for them to attack."

"Of course, troops are unpredictable, and water is unpredictable. No one can tell what the little devils will do now. They should also strengthen their defenses."

"As for whether to send the 48th Independent Brigade back, we need to be cautious about that matter."

At that time, the chief of staff of the group army came to Zhao Yinfu and analyzed directly.

"It's a trap, then it's their trap, they..."

"Forget it, contact the 33rd Army and the 34th Army and ask them to strengthen their vigilance to prevent a surprise attack by the Moon Army."

"At the same time, we maintain contact with the 48th Independent Brigade so that we can keep track of their situation at any time."

"In addition, contact the commander-in-chief immediately to report the situation of the 48th Independent Brigade and ask the commander-in-chief to make a decision."

Zhao Yinfu walked helplessly on the chair and said feebly.

Can Zhao Yinfu intercept the 48th Independent Brigade and force them to withdraw?

But he didn't know that once he did that thing, he would definitely be criticized.

After all, Chu Yunfei commanded the troops to fight the Japanese, and he did not hesitate to attack the independent mixed fourth brigade that massacred the people of Jin Province.

If Zhao Yinfu fails to stop it, he will probably be labeled a traitor.

He didn't want to take responsibility, so he did the old trick and left the problem to the chief executive to decide.

While Zhao Yinfu was contacting various ministries one after another, Zhuang Mozhen was there.

Zhuangmo Town is a small town in Xin County, surrounded by mountains.

Because there is Tongpu Railway nearby, the location is very important.

The Yue puppet army built more than a dozen bunker groups outside the town, and there were two gun towers in the area east of Zhuangmo Town.

There is also a defensive position built by the puppet army outside the town, which is a carefully built stronghold by the puppet army.

In order to ensure the absolute safety of Zhuangmo Town, about two hundred puppet troops have been stationed there for a long time.

Of course, the strength of the Moon Army is currently seriously insufficient, so the configuration of most of those strongholds is that there are few Moon troops and many puppet troops.

Among the two hundred defense troops, there were more than 140 puppet troops and a small group of Yue soldiers of more than 50 people.

In terms of weapon configuration, they mainly use two 60MM mortars and four Jin-made heavy machine guns, as well as light machine guns, grenade launchers, rifles and other weapons.

The Moon troops were equipped with light machine guns and grenades, as opposed to heavy weapons, and they were closely guarded.

"Regiment seat, based on their repeated reconnaissance and combined with the previous report from the cavalry company."

"There are 200 puppet troops in Panmo Town. I would like to be equipped with light and heavy machine guns and grenade mortars."

"The fortifications there are very tight. There are bunker groups on the west, south and north sides, and there are two gun towers on the east side."

"There are also complete fortifications outside the town, and barbed wire fences have even been deployed to block the main streets."

"At present, their weapons configuration is unknown, but they are asking whether their troops should be concentrated in the outer bunkers and gun tower areas."

At around three o'clock, as Chen Ziyun commanded the troops to arrive at Zhuangmo Town, the platoon leader Wei Monk of the reconnaissance platoon quickly reported.

Chen Ziyun raised his telescope and looked towards Zhuang Mo Town, and soon he looked towards Baizi Mountain and Crouching Tiger Mountain to the east.

Zhuangmo Town echoes those highlands. If you want to build Zhuangmo Town, you must pay attention to the highlands to the east.

Otherwise, the troops will focus on attacking Zhuangmo Town and launch firepower on the eastern highlands. Will the attack on the attacking troops be fatal?

"Battle Commander Liang, Li Yang, Sun Xiong, let's talk about where the artillery position is more suitable."

After some observation, Chen Ziyun looked at the officers of the artillery battalion and asked directly.

"Guan Zu, since they want to attack Zhuangmo Town, they have to guard against the high ground in the east."

"Otherwise, the puppet troops will deploy a few artillery pieces on the high ground and carry out artillery bombardment from a high position in the east, which will definitely inflict heavy losses on them."

"So their artillery can not only hit Zhuangmo Town, but also attack the high ground on the east side to suppress it."

"On the march, he carefully observed the map and found out whether Taohuashan was the best choice for artillery positions."

Liang Guoping, commander of the artillery battalion, looked at Chen Ziyun and spoke first.

Chen Ziyun glanced at the map, then raised his telescope and looked at the location of Peach Blossom Mountain.

Taohuashan is indeed a good place. The artillery is set up there and can effectively carry out combat strikes at Zhuangmo Town, Baizi Mountain and Wohu Mountain.
To be continued...