Under the orders of the base camp, the Japanese Central China Front changed its defensive posture last winter and became extremely active, attacking westward and southward at the same time.

The enemy and ourselves started a new major battle with Changsha as the center.

In order to achieve a quick victory, the Central China Front Army devoted most of its main forces to the battle, but the progress was still very slow and even entered the anxious state that the Japanese were most worried about.

The Chongqing government sent all the dozen German weapon divisions that were first reorganized to the Changsha battlefield. The German weapon divisions were well-equipped and the soldiers were battle-hardened. They were not afraid at all when facing the Japanese, and could even fight in a small area.

In the battle, they formed a suppressive force against the Japanese army.

There is not only one army in North China that can fight. As long as they have good weapons and equipment and sufficient logistical support, all soldiers can unleash a combat effectiveness beyond the imagination of the Japanese.

The Battle of Changsha began in mid-March, and even after the battle entered April, the Japanese army still had not made a breakthrough.

Under such circumstances, the Japanese had to change their strategy and abandon their attacks to the west and south.

Instead, the main attack direction was shifted to the Jinpu Railway and Pinghan Railway in the Central Plains region.

In the last battle to regain North China, the First Theater followed the Sixth Corps and took the initiative to attack the Japanese invaders in eastern Henan and western Anhui, regaining a large area of ​​land and driving the Japanese invaders to the west side of the Tianjin-Puzhou Railway.

After the Central China Front changed its main attack direction, the western Anhui area quickly fell again, and the troops in the first theater retreated back to Henan.

The Japanese army in Central China did not have the strength to attack the area north of Xuzhou. Their main purpose of doing so was to regain control of the Jinpu Railway line and clear the way for future operations to contain North China.

On April 10, Bengbu, Suzhou, Huaibei and other places fell one after another.

The Japanese 13th Division was stationed in Huaibei and was in a confrontation with the 6th and 7th Corps stationed along the Longhai Railway.

In order to test the Seventh Army's bottom line and harass the Longhai Railway, the Matsuda Regiment of the Japanese Thirteenth Division quietly left Huaibei and prepared to go north to attack Xiao County.

On April 14, the Japanese army was less than 20 miles away from Xiao County.

After being at a disadvantage in terms of military strength and firepower, the Japanese no longer adopted the three-point tactic of aircraft bombing, artillery bombardment, and infantry charge.

After nightfall, the Japanese Matsuda Regiment took advantage of the cover of darkness and quietly approached the outer positions of Xiao County.

At 3 o'clock in the morning on the 15th, the Matsuda Regiment arrived at the scheduled combat position and waited for the final attack moment.

The soldiers lay down in the field, enduring the cool breeze and mosquito bites, not daring to move.

"Your Excellency, Captain, less than 1 kilometer ahead is the Chinese position. The warriors have all moved into hidden positions. The Chinese know nothing about our arrival!" the staff officer reported to Captain Matsuda somewhat complacently.

Matsuda held up the telescope and looked to the north, but because the sky and the earth were pitch black, he could only see the outlines of some small earth bumps in the telescope, and the details were not clear at all.

He reluctantly put down the telescope, nodded and said:

"The artillery unit will cover the last 1 kilometer. Once the artillery fire begins, the warriors must approach the Chinese position as quickly as possible! It takes 20 minutes to break through the forward position and an hour to reach the county seat! The troops do not stop, continue to move forward, and blow up

After the railway, return to the county seat to defend! Wait for the main force of the division to arrive!"

"Hiyi!"

This was a battle plan that had been decided a long time ago, and Matsuda repeated it now just to relieve the tension in his heart.

There were many rumors about the 6th Corps in the army. It was his first time fighting against this unit and he felt uncertain.

Matsuda also knew that the division commander of the 13th Division and the senior officials of the Front Army Headquarters were all looking at him.

If the regiment can successfully occupy Xiao County and threaten the Longhai Railway, the main force of the division will go north to support it.

If the 6th Corps is still as strong as ever and cannot take Xiao County, the main force of the division will not move northward, and its own regiment will have to withdraw to Huaibei.

After all, this is a tentative attack.

The North China Front Army has been destroyed, and the Central China Front Army is the representative of the imperial warriors in China.

They must show that they are not afraid of the Sixth Corps and show the majesty of the Imperial Army.

"Let the warriors rest for a while and regain their strength. Is the artillery unit in place?"

The staff officer bowed and replied:

"The artillery is heavy, and the artillery unit has just arrived on the battlefield and is building a position!"

"Yo Xi, please send a message to the Division Commander. Our unit has entered the predetermined position. Please wait for the good news!"

"Hiyi!"

The nervous Matsuda couldn't rest at all. He left the wing headquarters to inspect each infantry group to calm down his mood.

In the darkness, there were always a few pairs of wolf-like eyes staring at the movements of Matsuda and the Japanese troops.

The Japanese artillery troops are seizing the time to build positions, and the infantry are lying on the field to rest. Everything corresponds to the intelligence.

Dawn will soon arrive, and a few pairs of eyes will begin to retreat silently.

…

Xiao County.

"Report!"

"Come in!"

"Commander, the scout reports that the Japanese Matsuda Regiment is less than two miles away from our position and is resting at the moment!"

The light in Samurai Min's eyes narrowed slightly, he pointed at the map and said:

"Where? Point it out!"

The second lieutenant took two steps in front of the map and circled an area on the map with his finger.

"In this area, the artillery is at the end!"

"Hahaha..." Liu Dagui on the side clapped his hands happily and said:

"Lao Wu, the little devils are really powerful. Their current position is exactly the same as we guessed before!"

Samurai Min nodded and winked at the second lieutenant officer. The latter understood and immediately retreated. He looked at the map and said:

"It's not that we guessed it accurately, but that the information provided by the headquarters was accurate. All this was within the expectations of the commander-in-chief and chief of staff!"

Liu Dagui nodded in agreement,

"I'm afraid the little devils still don't know that all their whereabouts have been mastered by our army. I'm afraid they are still looking forward to sudden attacks and many great victories."

Samurai Min snorted coldly,

"I don't know who gave the Thirteenth Division the courage to come up with the idea of ​​​​Longhai Railway. Huh, if you take the initiative to seek death, we will definitely not be polite!"

"The location and direction where the Japs are going to launch their attack are exactly the same as we had predicted. Zhong Kui doesn't have to adjust his direction anymore, haha..."

There is another person in the headquarters, Commander Tang from the first theater.

He knew that the Seventh Army had set a trap for the Japs tonight, but he was confused as to how the trap worked and couldn't help but ask:

"Brother Wu, the Japanese have come with a regiment. The main forces of your army are in Xuzhou and Donghai. I think there are only two regiments in Xiao County.

Although we already know the direction of the Japanese attack, I am afraid that if two regiments are to deal with one Japanese regiment, we cannot be completely sure..."

Under the fierce offensive of the Japanese army, the first theater lost more than 10 counties in western Anhui.

In the telegram, Jiang Dong requested the Seventh Army to invite Tang Enbo and other officers from the First Theater Zone to observe the Battle of Xiaoxian.

The purpose is to let the officers in the first theater feel the power of Zhong Kui, thereby improving the morale of the troops in the first theater, and also making the officers in the first theater awe of the Sixth Corps.

The First Theater Zone was mainly responsible for guarding the Central Plains. When the Japanese army launched a diversionary war, Jiangdong hoped that the First Theater Zone could provide support and cause some trouble to the Central China Front and prevent the Japanese from focusing all their energy on North China.

Upon hearing Tang Enbo's question, Samurai Min and Liu Dagui just smiled enigmatically, and the former said:

"Commander Tang, we will not use any soldiers tonight. Just one shelling will wipe out the Japanese Matsuda Regiment..."

"General's hammer?" Tang Enbo said in shock.

"Hehe..." Liu Dagui shook his head,

"Commander Tang, just wait and see, the scene will definitely be unprecedentedly spectacular!"

Tang Enbo was angry. As the emperor's favorite disciple, in the past, like the warriors like Liu Dagui and others, how would they dare to speak to him in this tone?

But now that the situation has changed, he can only suppress his anger and force a smile.
Chapter completed!