Li Daben's fifth regiment was deployed in the middle of the area west of Dongxiaozhuang and east of Sanjiaji. It stands to reason that the terrain around Sanjiaji would be an excellent ambush position.
However, Sanjiaji is a large-scale market jointly operated by the Japanese Army and the Eighth Route Army along the Handan-Changchang Highway. Convoys traveling to and from the Sanshan, Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong, and Henan regions, and various businesses gather here, and there are many stall fees every day.
Li Da did not want the three families to be destroyed by the war, so after reporting it to Zhou Weihan, he chose an excellent ambush location.
Fortunately, in the Tainan base area, the regiments often built fortifications inside the defense area on weekdays. In order to cope with the large-scale raids by the Japanese army, the endless mountains along the Handan-Changchang Highway were no exception.
The position of the Fifth Regiment is located in the mountains and forests, bordering the Handan-Changchun Highway.
From the position, the Handan-Changchang Highway was in full view. Since this was not a battle of annihilation, in order to facilitate the retreat, Li Dagen did not arrange the position in a ladder shape, but instead arranged it in a semicircle along the highway.
The first battalion, which has the most sophisticated weapons and equipment and the most powerful combat effectiveness, is placed in a prominent position in the semicircular position. The second and third battalions are located at two later positions. When retreating, they protect the flanks of the first battalion.
The soldiers were divided into squads and were arranged in scattered positions. A dozen heavy machine guns were arranged in two alternating positions behind the first battalion.
The 50 mortars used as squad-level firepower in the fifth regiment were concentrated in each battalion, mixed with 60 mortars, and three raid firepower points were set up.
The nearest soldiers of the 1st Battalion were only more than 200 meters away from the road, and the soldiers of the 2nd and 3rd Battalions further away were less than 400 meters away.
At this time, Li Daben and Political Commissar Luo Jie were squatting on the prominent position of the 1st Battalion.
Roger, the political commissar, did not raise objections to such a radical combat plan proposed by Li Da. On the one hand, Roger was more bellicose, and on the other hand, the terrain here was really conducive to ambush.
There is a quarry here, and part of the stones collected are sold to local villagers to build houses, while the other part is used by the troops to build fortifications and build bunkers inside the base area.
More than 200 meters in front of the first camp were exposed rock walls, with scattered stones wandering among them. The mining area spread for at least four miles, and they were all mined next to the road.
"Shitou, I'm telling you once, once I give the order to retreat, you are not allowed to fight. You can't just ignore it when you become stubborn. Whether you can eat some of the little devils depends on you!" Li Da's ability is in fighting!
I gave another warning before.
"I understand, just watch. Give the kid a hard blow first. When the kid bites us, we will retreat as a battalion and be sure to drag the kid into the ambush circle!" said the magnet of the first battalion commander of the 5th Regiment.
He opened his mouth and patted his chest.
"As long as you understand, the detachment leader is watching the whole process from behind!"
"I know, I know!"
Zhou Weihan's name was really useful. The magnet subconsciously shrank his neck and responded hurriedly.
"Commander, the chief of staff is here!" the guard company commander reminded lively.
Li Daben glanced back and saw Xing Zhiguo coming from the Third Battalion with two guards.
"Chief of Staff, why are you here?"
Xing Zhiguo wanted to say that Zhou Weihan was worried about the Fifth Regiment, which was the frontline battlefield against the Japanese army, but he swallowed back the words: "What's the matter, isn't it my duty as chief of staff to inspect the positions before the war? I can't come yet?
"
Li Da is such a clever person. He immediately understood with a blink of an eye that his superiors were worried about the Fifth Regiment.
He immediately said: "Chief of Staff, don't worry. As the first unit to fight against the Kwantung Army, our fifth regiment will win. I can guarantee that at least 500 little Japs will be eliminated before all the soldiers of our fifth regiment are evacuated!"
"Okay, what I want is your morale!"
Several people talked for a while, but Xing Zhiguo had no idea of leaving. Li Daben glanced at Roger, who quietly shook his head, indicating that it was not easy.
As time passed, and at noon, the sun shone brightly, and the vanguard of the Kwantung Army finally emerged.
The Japanese army that set out from Handan consisted of thirteen infantry brigades alone. They formed a long formation of four people in a row and spread over five or six miles. How to arrange the troops was a big problem.
According to Imada Yukio's arrangement, two infantry brigades took the lead and were at the forefront.
Four infantry brigades followed as the second echelon. The two phalanxes were three or four miles apart. If an accident occurred, they could provide rapid support.
An infantry brigade and a heavy artillery regiment pulled by trucks, baggage troops and headquarters were in the middle, and the remaining six brigade served as the final echelon of troops.
In fact, all the Japanese infantry were useless. A partial division could have gone south from the Handan-Changchun Highway and taken a small detour to reach Changzhi.
However, before Yukio Imada arrived, Neiji Okamura had repeatedly told him not to divide his troops in order to prevent being ambushed by the Eighth Route Army troops.
At this time, Li Daben was lying in a bush, looking through the gaps in the woods at the Japanese troops marching toward him on the road.
"Damn, these little devils look interesting in terms of their momentum. They are very different from the laziness shown by the little devils we have come into contact with in the past!" said Li Da, who was good at smashing things.
"Yes, the Japanese soldiers under Terauchi Isamu are probably going to be exhausted. They are all so big and round that their bellies are protruding!" Roger joked from the side.
The Japanese troops who were marching all the way also noticed the unique "landscape" in front of them, but the little Japanese commander thought it was mined manually by the local Japanese army, so he didn't pay attention to it. He just wondered why there was no construction in such a dangerous terrain and place.
stronghold.
On the first battalion's position, seeing that the middle troop of the Japs' march was in front of him, Magnet picked up a long gun, pointed it at a Japs who was looking around, and shot him.
Magnet's shooting skills were still good, and the little devil fell to the ground. With the sound of the gunshot, there was a loud sound of gunfire all around.
In particular, the dozen or so heavy machine guns placed behind the first battalion had the most intense firepower, with more than a dozen tongues of flame sweeping towards the Japanese marching column.
In the blink of an eye, the Japanese army's marching column was forcibly cleared. At the same time, the three battalions' most powerful mortars kept pouring artillery fire at the little Japanese.
The only pity is that Li Da did not dare to place his position too close to the Japanese army, so the grenades of the soldiers were of no use.
The magnet's first battalion was worthy of being the foundation of the independent brigade of the new second regiment. Taking advantage of the panic of the Japanese army, the first few rows of guns knocked down many little Japs.
"Okay, this is the effect we want!" Li Daben was always observing the movements of the battlefield with a telescope, obviously very satisfied with this wave of surprise firepower.
