The sudden battle surprised Kuroda Yuzo on the other side of the river.
Ever since arriving in Anyang, Kuroda Yuzo, who had been vigilant, had not seen any trace of Eighth Route Army activities.
The reinforcing Japanese troops marched along the railway unimpeded, and the strongholds destroyed by the independent guerrilla detachment were recovered one by one.
Under Chida Hanbei's praise, Kuroda Yuzo also lost his vigilance, and he himself did not even visit the line of crossing the river.
The Japanese crossing boat in the middle of the river quickly rowed towards the south bank of the Zhang River. The little Japanese on the boat shook the oars as hard as they could for fear of being targeted by the Eighth Route Army on the north bank.
The soldiers of the 28th Regiment and the 1st Regiment on the north shore did not aim their guns at the Japanese troops on the ship.
Seeing that the Japanese troops on the river beach were wiped out, Ding Wei waved his hand to stop the soldiers around him.
"Didn't I tell you before the war? Don't shoot. Let the little devils in the boat go back. The boat leaked. How can the little devils cross the river?" Ding Wei said loudly.
South bank of Zhanghe River.
Yuzo Kuroda, who was at the rear of the team, quickly came to the front to join Ichiro Mizuno.
Many corpses of Japanese soldiers were floating in the river, and the blood seeping out turned the river water on the bank red.
Seeing the tragic situation in front of him, Kuroda Yuzo's expression was gloomy and uncertain.
"Your Excellency, Mr. Zuo, there are about a thousand Eighth Route Army troops ambushing across the river. We were not aware of it beforehand. After the soldiers crossed the river, the Eighth Route Army detonated the explosives!" Mizuno Ichiro lowered his head and reported.
When the battle started, since there was no danger to defend the shore, Ichiro Mizuno reacted very quickly and ordered his soldiers to block the transport carriage in front to act as a bunker.
Seeing the Eighth Route Army on the opposite side stop attacking, Kuroda Yuzo crouched and walked close to a carriage in front, raised his binoculars and looked at the other side.
"What's the firepower of the Eighth Route Army on the opposite side?" Kuroda Yuzo asked.
"Your Excellency Dazuo, although the Eighth Route Army on the opposite side is large in number, its firepower is not strong. There are only a dozen light machine guns and no heavy machine guns were found. If the soldiers crossing the river were not ambushed by the mine array, they could completely wipe out the Eighth Route Army on the opposite side!"
Mizuno Ichiro said with a fierce look on his face.
"Baga, such a dangerous pass fell into the hands of the Eighth Route Army. The 108th Division is all rubbish!" Kuroda Yuzo said, looking at the bombed bridge in front of him on the right.
All railway bridges across rivers were important defensive positions for the Japanese army, but the Zhanghe Bridge was blown up by an independent detachment.
The gap in the bridge that was blown apart is more than thirty meters long. Even if there is no Eighth Route Army on the other side, there is no possibility of repairing it in a short time.
In the current situation, Kuroda Yuzo was as frustrated as if he had eaten a blowfly.
"Go and find Senda Hanbei!" Kuroda Yuzo said to the adjutant next to him.
Chida Hanbei, who was called over, secretly complained that the security in Anyang had returned to peace due to the arrival of the main force of the Japanese army. Originally, after the Japanese army crossed the river, he could return to the mission unharmed, but who would have thought that he would be in trouble again now.
"Let me ask you, how much do you know about the Eighth Route Army on the other side?" Mizuno Ichiro went up and grabbed Senda Hanbei's collar and shouted sternly.
"Sir, the Tubal Army in Anyang does not even have the guns. The target has always been the Imperial Army. They have never had the courage to confront the Imperial Army head-on. Whenever the Imperial Army is dispatched, the Eighth Route Army will disappear without a trace!
"That means that there is another group of Eighth Route Army on the opposite side? Where could he come from?" Kuroda Yuzo's head was getting big at this time, and then he asked: "Are there any other places nearby that are suitable for crossing the river?
?”
"Further west is the sphere of influence of the national army. Thirty miles to the east there is a stone bridge, but the stone bridge is too narrow and trucks cannot pass!" Hanbei Chida reported truthfully.
"Your Excellency Da Zuo, I will personally lead the soldiers to cross the river by boat, and I will definitely defeat the Eighth Route Army ambushing on the opposite side in one fell swoop!" Ichiro Mizuno stepped forward and said.
"When the soldiers cross the river by boat, the Eighth Route Army on the opposite side will inevitably launch an attack. The situation is not good for us. We should dispatch a squadron of soldiers to carry a radio, take a truck to the stone bridge quickly, and attack the Eighth Route Army's back in a roundabout way!" Yuzo Kuroda thought about it!
It's not a solution.
Yuzo Kuroda was an experienced veteran in the Japanese army. He originally thought of letting the soldiers swim across the river elsewhere and then launch a surprise attack. However, looking at the bottomless river in front of him, Yuzo Kuroda could only give up the idea.
"Mizuno-kun, in an hour, the artillery fire will begin to cover, you will personally lead the attack!"
"Hi!" Ichiro Mizuno nodded.
For a time, the enemy and ourselves scattered on both sides of the Zhang River fell into a strange calm.
Inside the turret.
Zhao Gang thought about the situation at hand: "Old Zhou, why is there no movement from the Japanese army?"
"The little devil is not stupid. He just suffered a big loss. When he crossed the river to land, the party crossing the river was already at a disadvantage. I guess the little devil wants to make another move?" Zhou Weihan said.
"Monk, notify the artillery battalion that once the Japanese artillery fires, immediately lock its position, destroy the Japanese artillery position, and order the Second Regiment to send two small troops to search in the east and west directions!"
"Yes!" The monk took the order and left.
"We are already in an invincible position in this battle. We don't have to fight hard with the little devils. By consuming a wave of little devils, we can make the frontline troops retreat!" Zhou Weihan said with a smile.
after an hour.
The artillery deployed by the Japanese army in the rear began to cover the front-line positions of the 28th Regiment and the 1st Regiment with artillery fire.
The eight Type 92 infantry guns and six Type 38 field guns carried by the Japanese army this time faced a trench that was more than one kilometer long. This amount of artillery fire could not cause widespread damage.
After previously wiping out the Japanese troops crossing the river, only the machine gunners were left in the first trench, while the remaining soldiers of the 28th Regiment and the First Regiment withdrew to the second-line positions.
The boats originally used to cross the river were washed away by the river downstream due to the hasty escape of the Japanese troops.
Under the cover of artillery fire, Mizuno Ichiro personally led a squadron of Japanese troops to launch the attack.
The Japanese machine gun positions on the south bank also began to roar.
Unfortunately, the Japanese army's crooked gun has an effective range of only 600 meters, while the Type 92 heavy machine gun has an effective range of 800 meters, unable to pose an effective threat to front-line troops.
The effective range of the Czech type is 700 meters, the effective range of the Maxim heavy machine gun is 2,500 meters, and the maximum range is 3,000 meters.
As for the 28th Regiment, the first-line position where the first regiment was located was at least 1.1 kilometers away from the Japanese machine gun positions. This was also Ding Wei's arrangement for the Japanese firepower.
In short, excellent machine gun shooters can even control the Maxim heavy machine gun to effectively kill the Japanese machine gun positions.
"Put your heads down. Although the distance is far, bullets don't have long eyes. Don't seek this bad luck!" Ding Wei shouted and ordered the soldiers on both sides to pass.
Ding Wei raised his head from time to time and saw the Japanese army approaching the middle of the river, shouting: "Fight!"
The machine gunners hiding in the trench raised their heads one after another and controlled the machine guns to pour firepower at the Japanese army.
The Maxim heavy machine gun attacked the Japanese machine gun position on the opposite side, suppressing the Japanese firepower.
There were a hundred Czech, crooked, and Type 92 heavy machine guns on the position, and they fired concentratedly at the Japanese troops crossing the river.
The originally hidden firepower now formed a dense firepower network, completely covering the Japanese troops crossing the river.
Mizuno Ichiro on the boat reacted quickly and immediately jumped into the river.
A string of bullets shot into the water, hitting Mizuno Ichiro underwater, and his body floated on the water.
