Originally, the Tainan 1st Division Headquarters and the 279th Regiment were located in the southeast of Lu, the core regiment was in the southeast of Li, and the 22 Regiment was in the northwest of Lu and northwest of Li.
However, since the arrival of the Kwantung Army, the Japanese troops in the two places who were originally trapped in the isolated city suddenly became arrogant. The troops in the first division fought several times with the two remaining brigades in Licheng and Lucheng, but they failed to gain any advantage.
Especially in the Lucheng area, due to the close distance to the Changzhi battlefield, the Japanese troops stationed here relied on highway lines to conduct continuous raids deep into the base areas.
At first, the third battalion of the 279th Regiment, in order to cover the transfer of local people, fought against the oncoming more than two hundred Japanese troops. In terms of numbers, the third battalion was more than twice as many as the Japanese troops, and its weapons and equipment were equally good.
As soon as the two sides fought, they were both surprised by the other's fighting power. After two hours of fighting and more than ten miles away, the main forces of both sides arrived one after another.
Upon seeing this, Ding Wei immediately ordered the troops to retreat. After evacuating to a safe area, he counted the number of people. During the transition, there were more than 50 stragglers in the first battalion, more than 60 people were slightly injured, and the casualties reached 5 points.
one.
Since then, all the troops in the first division have been broken into pieces and engaged in guerrilla warfare with the Japs. This has dispersed the Japanese troops in a disguised manner, and the center of gravity of the battlefield has been forced to shift towards Li City.
The junction of Licheng and Lucheng, the first division headquarters.
Ding Wei and Xiang Ying have received the telegram from the Shexian County Cadre Corps.
"You still have to use your brains when fighting. You can't fight head-on with the little devils!" Ding Wei said after reading the telegram, and then frowned: "Before, we underestimated the enemy too much, so we used our combat experience with the local little devils to fight
The Kwantung Army fought and suffered a loss!"
"Yes, Zhou set up an ambush and annihilated a lone Japanese division that penetrated deeply, and won a complete victory with almost no casualties. In fact, this group of Kwantung Army is much more powerful than ordinary little devils!" Xiang Ying nodded and said.
After Xiang Ying finished speaking, Ding Wei didn't say anything. He twisted his forehead into the Chinese character "Sichuan" as if he was thinking about something. After a long time, he said: "This battle can't go on like this. The Handan Chang Highway divides Licheng and Lucheng into two parts. Let's
The defense area of the first division is long and narrow from north to south, and the strategic depth from east to west is not enough. The Japanese army relies on roads to sweep the base area, and can sweep back and forth in half a day. In addition, the villagers are hidden in the mountains. Even if the soldiers engage in guerrilla warfare with the Japanese army, there is still not enough space to turn around.
!”
"If there are no worries, it is okay for the troops to withdraw to Binh Thuan during the battle. But now the main force is hiding in Binh Thuan waiting for opportunities. It is not appropriate for us to draw the war to Binh Thuan!"
"In short, the current military operations are too passive and restricted. The fighting elsewhere is lively. Only our division is still fighting. This is not good!" Ding Wei said.
"By the way, Shen Fang just mentioned in the telegram that they are still at Dongyang Pass?"
"It's right in Dongyangguan!" Xiang replied.
"Hey, why did I forget this good place, Dongyang Pass!" Ding Wei patted his slightly bald head, and then said: "Give the basic group power and ask Shen Fang to lead the basic group to guard Dongyang Pass.
Two days, don’t rush to hand it over!”
"In case the Kwantung Army is defeated and wants to withdraw to Handan, as long as Dongyang Pass is in the hands of our Eighth Route Army, it will be equivalent to cutting off the Japanese army's retreat!"
Then Ding Wei rolled his eyes and thought of a bold battle plan. After Xiang Ying heard it, he said with hesitation: "Old Ding, you are too bold. You have to ask the commander of the military region for instructions before implementing it. You
You can’t make the decision without permission!”
"Hey, I've never been greedy for power, but since the military region has handed over the command to me, I have to fight a good fight!"
"This matter needs to be done while it's hot. I'll go and assemble the troops right away. You can send a report to the military region headquarters and the primary regiment. By the way, I'll notify the 22nd regiment!"
The Japanese squadron responsible for escorting ammunition supplies in Licheng set out from Licheng in the morning and arrived at Dongyang Pass at around 1 p.m. It should be expected that they would be able to return to Licheng in the evening.
There were frequent telegram exchanges on the Eighth Route Army side, and when the first division sent a reply to the Shexian County cadre regiment, it was not yet two o'clock.
After that, Xiang Ying led a divisional agency and a backbone regiment to build momentum in Licheng and Lucheng. Ding Wei personally led the main force of the 279th Regiment on a forced march to Dongyang Pass. At the same time, Liu Tianming, the leader of the 22nd Regiment, also led the main force of the two battalions.
The team directly under the regiment rushed to Dongyangguan from the other side of Handan-Chang Highway.
At four o'clock in the afternoon that day, the two regiments arrived one after another, but did not enter the customs. Shen Fangzheng led the soldiers of the basic regiment to build a position.
"Captain Ding, Commander Liu, you are here!" Shen Fang stuck the shovel in his hand into the soil and strode towards the two of them.
"This ambush position was chosen well!" Ding Wei looked around, then asked the guard to take out a map and pointed to a certain place on the map: "This is it, Houqiuling!"
"Yes, you see, this place is less than five miles away from Dongyang Pass. We have destroyed all the Japanese strongholds in the direction of Licheng. The nearest Cuijiazhuang stronghold is also twenty miles away!"
"The mountains on the south side of this place are high and mostly cliffs, which are difficult to climb. The terrain on the north side where we are located is complex and there are many valley mouths, which is convenient for troops to attack. At the same time, if the Japanese army attacks, they can only divide their troops and attack from multiple routes, so the ambush point is set up behind this place.
Qiuling is very suitable!" Shen Fang introduced.
"Okay, it's here!" Ding Wei said.
Although Ding Wei is the military chief of the First Division, the 22nd Regiment and the Shexian Key Cadre Regiment are not under the jurisdiction of the First Division. Fortunately, before the war started, the division headquarters and the Tainan Military Region had clarified the issue of command authority.
"This batch of ammunition supplies for the Kwantung Army is just a bait. It will definitely catch big fish. God is helping us with this batch of ammunition supplies!"
At that moment, Ding Wei was not polite and directly issued a specific combat order: "Our 279th regiment, as the main force, is distributed throughout Houqiuling. Lao Liu, your 22nd regiment sent a battalion to set up an ambush at the foot of the mountain south of the avenue to prevent the Japanese troops from escaping.
, and at the same time, send another main battalion to block enemy reinforcements outside the Cuijiazhuang stronghold!"
"The basic regiment is deployed inside the pass to act as a reserve force. If any Japanese troops escape into the pass, it's up to you!" Ding Wei finally said.
Neither of the two people present raised any objection to the combat order issued by Ding Wei.
"It's been a waste of time these past two days. The soldiers are all holding their breath. It's just a good time to kill the little devil to relieve their anger!" Liu Tianming said in a deep voice.
Soon after, a soldier from Dongyang Pass, dressed as a puppet army, rode on a war horse, carrying a handover certificate, and drove towards the Cuijiazhuang stronghold. A part of the 22nd Regiment marched concealed in the mountains and forests, following closely behind.
The enemy troops stationed in Cuijiazhuang were local Japanese and puppet troops, and the Kwantung Army brigade was mainly responsible for out raids.
As expected by Ding Weizhi, the little Japanese was horrified after hearing this. After repeated confirmations, he was finally convinced that the Japanese squadron responsible for escorting ammunition supplies was ambushed by the main force of the Eighth Route Army after coming out of Dongyang Pass.