June 1941, Hebei, Shandong and Yu Military Region Headquarters, Leijia Village.
Zhou Weihan, Tan Lin, and the main cadres of the Zhinan Military Division, led by Jing Dagang, gathered together and squatted in front of a winding ditch outside the village.
In order to observe better, Zhou Weihan called everyone down, then jumped into the ditch and observed it personally.
"Chief, the trench we dug is about 1.8 meters deep, 1.5 to two meters wide, and about twelve miles long. It connects the south entrance of Leijia Village to the north entrance!" said Geng Wanyun, a cadre from central Hebei Province.
Zhou Weihan is 1.8 meters tall, and the top of his head will be flush with the mound of soil on the edge of the ditch. The width of the dug ditch, with the lower opening narrower than the upper opening, is enough to accommodate carriages and carriages.
"Bring a spear over here!" Zhou Weihan waved and said.
The monk hurriedly handed over his rifle. Zhou Weihan took it and thought about taking the rifle and showing his head along the slope of the ditch. He spent a lot of energy before climbing up.
"Monk, it's time for you to show off your skills, see if you can jump up!" Zhou Weihan said.
Hearing this, the monk took a step back, then rushed forward, one foot on the slope of the ditch, and the next second he was on the flat ground.
"Hey, this ditch is quite interesting! If you walk in, you can hardly see the people outside unless you get close!" Zhou Weihan said with a smile: "And even the little devils are walking in the ditch, they are so small, come up
It’s not that easy!”
"Well, if the base area is full of ditches, the little devil's advantage in maneuverability will be gone. Suddenly, we will be on the same starting line as our Eighth Route Army. We can only compare the strength of our feet!" Tan Lin on the side also nodded and said.
Comrades who came all the way from central Hebei Province have been studying and popularizing tunnel warfare in the Tainan base area since arriving in Tainan. In the past few months, they have achieved remarkable results.
With the concerted efforts of the military and civilians in the Tainan base area, many villages were connected by tunnels in places where geological conditions were a concern. It only took time to form a huge underground passage underground.
Not long ago, comrades from Jizhong came to the Hebei-Shandong-Henan base area again.
At that time, Zhou Weihan was leading the cadres of the Zhinan and Northern Henan military divisions to summarize the gains and losses of the previous battle.
Wang Yigong concluded at the meeting that the terrain in the Hebei, Shandong and Henan areas is mostly plains, which is completely opposite to that in Tainan.
Originally in Tainan, you could ambush on any hilltop. After arriving in Hebei, Shandong and Yu, soldiers were generally not used to fighting.
Wang Yigong even proposed a plan to "build mountains" in the area bordering the Japanese army in order to better block the Japanese troops in the direction of Anyang, Huaxian and Junxian in the future.
Zhou Weihan was immediately laughed out loud after hearing this. What Wang Yigong mentioned was not to create a position on the original terrain that was more conducive to the troops' blocking.
Rather, it is equivalent to trying to build a hill that is hundreds of kilometers long in an endless plain area, so as to use the favorable terrain to block the Japanese army in the future.
In Zhou Weihan's opinion, this is nothing more than a fantasy. Let's not say whether the Japanese army will stop it or how much manpower and material resources will be consumed in it. Even if it is successfully piled up, I am afraid that the little Japanese will have been beaten away long ago.
At this time, Geng Wanyun led his people to Hebei, Shandong and Yu. After learning about this situation, he proposed a large-scale raid by the Central Hebei Military Region against the Japanese army and was preventing the masses from digging trenches in the base area.
Before 1941, the trenches in the central Hebei area were dug horizontally in the early stage, only to restrict the traffic of the Japanese army and the people in the base area. Later, the ditches were dug along the road, but they were dug in a straight line and were vulnerable to the enemy's firepower along the ditch.
attack.
After 1941, the Jizhong Military Region learned from past lessons and redesigned and integrated the ditches in the base area.
Therefore, the current scene occurred in the Hebei, Shandong and Yu Military Region.
"This ditch has advantages and disadvantages. We need to analyze it in detail!" Tan Lin suddenly said.
"How to say?" Zhou Weihan asked.
"Although the terrain of the Hebei, Shandong and Henan areas where we are located is generally similar to that of the central Hebei area, the difference is that our troops in the Hebei, Shandong and Henan Military Region can compete with the surrounding Japanese troops. All they lack is a terrain to deal with the Japanese troops, and the digging
After reaching Daogou, the tank company will probably become scrap metal!" Tan Lin analyzed.
"Then you don't suggest it?"
"That's not true. I just need to think carefully about it!"
Zhou Weihan nodded after hearing this, and then said: "I have always admired the strategy of keeping the enemy at bay. This is true in Tainan, and it is also true in Hebei, Shandong and Henan. Daogou should not only be used to prevent the Japanese troops from entering and exiting the base area, but also to kill and injure them.
The effective strength of the Japanese army!"
"In my opinion, Daogou should start from the periphery of the base area and expand from the periphery to the guerrilla zone. When the Japanese army's large-scale raids are carried out, groups of Daogou will become the best position to block the Japanese army!" Zhou Weihan finally said.
In the following days, the Hebei, Shandong and Yu Military Region has been studying and deepening the defense strategy based on Daogou, and quickly put it into action.
The initial implementation area includes most areas of the Northern Henan Military Division, mainly in the directions of Huaxian, Junxian, Anyang, etc., followed by the South Military Division south of Qingfeng, targeting the Liangpu area for defense.
As a result, the new trench design is more refined and standardized.
First of all, there are parapets and backrests on both sides of the trench, forming a raised landscape shape on the ground. The parapets are formed by excavating soil and piling them on both sides of the ditch to facilitate fighting.
Level the parapets on both sides, leaving a 1-foot path on each side for people and horses to walk on, thus forming a back seat.
Secondly, ditches were dug every three or four miles to provide a staggering place for rural carts to travel. Such staggering places were generally arc-shaped or circular, with a mound in the middle and traveling ditches on both sides, similar to today's traffic turntables.
Its design purpose is to facilitate vehicle traffic in rural areas and to prevent the enemy from shooting deep in the ditch.
The depth of each trench is generally 1.8-2 meters, with the maximum being 1.5 meters. Including the height of the parapet, the width is generally 1.5-2 meters, which can meet the traffic requirements of rural trucks.
In this regard, Zhou Weihan also put forward several requirements. First, wherever trenches are excavated, crop fields should be avoided as much as possible.
Second, try to excavate along the roads that people use daily to form a dense transportation network, so as to replace the roads on the flat ground with ditches to prevent a single ditch from being easily blocked by the Japanese army.
Third, both ends of the ditch should go deep into villages or hidden places in mountains and forests to facilitate the entry and exit of soldiers and civilians.
Fourth, stepping stones, bunkers, foxholes, drainage wells, drainage ditches, entrances and exits, etc. should be added to the ditch as appropriate to meet combat needs.
Fifth, a ditch not only has main ditches and branch ditches, but its width, depth, slope and internal structure must be determined according to applicable conditions. At the same time, it must also be "connected with ditches and villages".
Once the order was issued, the district government immediately mobilized villagers and soldiers to mobilize people in the area involved, and the army also sent personnel to serve as technical personnel.
At the same time, mass organizations under the leadership of governments at all levels assumed important responsibilities, such as the Peasants’ Salvation Association, the Workers’ Salvation Association, the Youth Salvation Association, the Youth Anti-Japanese Vanguard, the Women’s Salvation Association, the Educational Society’s Salvation Association and the Businessmen’s Salvation Association.
Someone comes out.
In just three days, the number of young and middle-aged people gathered in Qingfeng County alone, including villagers, soldiers and ordinary people, reached 40,000, and then a steady stream of strong laborers came from other places.