Chapter 703: The Eighth Route Armys Ma Qiruo Defense Line
Shangqiu City was not close to the forward position, and it took Sun Liangcheng and the two of them more than an hour on horseback to get there.
Inside the headquarters of the 38th Division, the two commanders of the 1st and 2nd Regiments of the Appeasement Army were waiting anxiously. Originally, before Sun Liangcheng left Shangqiu City, he contacted the 38th Division Headquarters by phone and ordered the 1st and 2nd Regiments to quickly
Gather troops to suppress the defecting pacification army soldiers in the forward positions.
But before a group of appeasement army officers could take action, a phone call came from the Japanese, ordering the appeasement army troops to stay put.
The two completely contradictory orders left all the officers of the Appeasement Army at a loss. Although Sun Liangcheng was his direct superior, the Japanese were the supreme emperors, not to mention that Japanese instructors were deployed at the regimental and battalion levels.
When Sun Liangcheng arrived at the division headquarters, he saw a group of officers wandering around the room like headless flies: "When I came, I saw that the troops had already assembled, why didn't I start taking action?"
The first commander and the second commander looked at each other and said with a wry smile: "Sir, calm down. After you gave the order, the Japanese also called. The newly arrived Mitsuo Nakazawa ordered the troops to stay put and not to act without authorization. So did we.
I have no choice but to stay at the division headquarters and wait for you, the military commander, to make a decision!"
Sun Liangcheng's face was gloomy and uncertain, and he did not expect that Nakazawa Sanfu would bypass him to issue orders.
"Military seat, why don't you ask the Japanese for instructions in person? If the follow-up troops don't go up, the three regiments and divisions in the forward position will probably be gone. If the Eighth Route Army takes the opportunity to attack, it's just us.
You can’t stand it!” Zhao Yunxiang suggested.
"Send my order and all troops will attack immediately!"
"But, where are the Japanese?"
"Don't worry about it. As long as you have soldiers, you have the right to speak. Otherwise, whether it is the Eighth Route Army or the Japanese, we will dare to look down on us. At worst, I will lead the team and return to the Chinese army!" Sun Liangcheng said sadly.
The Thirty-Eighth Division seemed to be in a good position between the Japanese and the Eighth Route Army, but in fact it was in a worrying situation. Sun Liangcheng knew this.
Originally, the appeasement army was to be stationed in various military-controlled counties in southwest Shandong. Sun Liangcheng held military and political power and could use the tax revenue of each military-controlled county to supply the appeasement army. However, after the Battle of Southwest Shandong, the Japanese Cavalry Fourth Brigade was completely defeated and lost the battle against southwest Shandong.
The control of the region also made the appeasement army rootless and could only be stationed scattered along the old route of the Yellow River.
At that time, after Sun Liangcheng left the conference room, Nakazawa Mizuo's proposal did not get the approval of the local faction. The reason was that the attack would be one day earlier than the scheduled time, and the two sides were still arguing about it. However, Nakazawa Mizuo argued that the opportunity was fleeting.
For this reason, he was determined to lead his troops to launch an attack immediately.
More than 4,000 Japanese troops from the 16th Division were stationed in the camp outside Shangqiu City. They came by train, and the trucks provided by the Japanese troops in Shangqiu were only enough to transport supplies.
More than 4,000 Japanese troops were gathered in the middle of the night and marched on two short legs. In addition, they marched at night, and they had to walk for two and a half hours to reach the forward position.
Mitsuo Nakazawa was sitting in the truck, looking at the still dark sky outside through the window. He turned to the adjutant and asked, "What time is it now?"
"Sir, it's ten minutes past three in the morning!" the adjutant replied.
"Youxi, there is still enough time. Please notify each brigade immediately to launch an attack from the designated location!"
The adjutant heard this and was about to get out of the car to deliver the order. A Japanese messenger soldier at the front of the marching team trotted over and reported: "Sir, Chief Jing Min ordered me to come and report that the appeasement army in front has controlled the situation, and,
..."
"Baga!" A trace of anger flashed across Nakazawa Mizuo's face: "And what? Tell me quickly!"
"There is a conflict between the pacification army and our troops. Soldiers from both sides have been confronting each other. There is a possibility of fighting at any time!"
"Bagaya road!" Mitsuo Nakazawa jumped out of the truck holding a command knife: "These damn Chinese people should be taught a lesson!"
"Order the troops to advance at full speed and disarm all the Chinese people. Anyone who moves will be killed on the spot!" Mitsuo Nakazawa said to the adjutant again, and then rushed to the scene of the conflict under the guidance of the messenger.
Sun Liangcheng ignored Mikao Nakazawa's order to keep the appeasement troops on standby. Of course, he considered the consequences. As a wallflower, the first thing he had to understand was the balance of local forces. Otherwise, he would be caught in the conflict between the two sides if he was not careful.
Crushed to death.
Now that the local faction and the foreign faction within the Japanese army are not dealing with each other, and the foreign faction is strong, the importance of the 38th Division of the Appeasement Army has become obvious.
When Mitsuo Nakazawa arrived, the situation was not as bad as he imagined, but it was beyond his expectation.
The reason is that the two sides facing each other are two groups of Japanese troops.
One group consists of more than a thousand Japanese troops from the 45th Brigade of the 38th Regiment of the 16th Division, and the other group consists of Japanese troops transferred from the 41st Division. There are more than 800 Japanese troops in the forward position.
Jing Minming insisted on entering the headquarters of the 38th Division to capture Sun Liangcheng, who had disobeyed orders. However, the local Japanese army prohibited Jing Minming from entering with his troops on the grounds that Sun Liangcheng was following orders from the superiors to stabilize military morale.
With Jing Minming's arrogant nature, he would never take the Chinese seriously. Even though this man was a general with heavy troops, now that both sides were Japanese, no one dared to fire the first shot.
"Baga, how can the soldiers of the Japanese Empire kill each other? Put down your weapons!" Mitsuo Nakazawa shouted sharply.
After hearing Mitsuo Nakazawa's order, Jing Minming was about to say a few words, but he glared back, then waved his hand to order his soldiers to put down their weapons first.
"Why don't you put down your weapons?"
"Our department has not received the order from the commander!" the leading Japanese officer said forcefully.
"Who is your commander?"
"Kurojima Morita Daizuo!"
"Bagaya Road, I have full authority to command the imperial army in the Shangqiu area under the orders of the commander of the Harada Xiongyoshi division. My order is the order of the commander of the Harada Xiongyoshi division. I order your troops to put down their weapons and get out of the way!"
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Sir, as far as I know, our department is not on the list of operations to raid the Eighth Route Army base area, so you have no right to command our department!"
When Mitsuo Nakazawa saw the Japanese officer opposite being so disrespectful, his face suddenly darkened, and he immediately understood that this group of Japanese soldiers had obviously received the order.
At dawn, Araki Sadahiro and Kuroshima Morita arrived late.
"Araki-kun, you are overly worried. You see, no matter how arrogant Nakazawa Sanfu is, he will have to swallow his breath in Shangqiu. He will not dare to completely offend us to death, even if this matter reaches its peak.
There, let’s stand and reason, after all, you need to take responsibility for changing the scheduled attack time without authorization!”
Kuroshima Morita was full of energy and obviously slept well last night. In contrast, Sadahiro Araki had dark circles under his eyes. Even worse was Mitsuo Nakazawa, who had to spend the whole night in a tent.
As for the forward position, before dawn, Sun Liangcheng and Zhao Yunxiang went to the front line to shout in person, and barely suppressed the mutinous troops. Afterwards, they counted the number of people and found that there were originally more than 3,000 people in the three and four regiments, but now only a thousand were left.
People come forward.
The Eighth Route Army did not fire a single shot, but reduced the number of the appeasement army by nearly 2,000 people before the war. At the same time, it also obtained all the weapons and ammunition for these 2,000 people.
"Military seat, the people below are reporting that Sadahiro Araki and Morita Kuroshima are here. Do we need to show up?" Zhao Yunxiang said.
"No, wait a minute, let the Japanese start fighting among themselves, wait a minute!" Sun Liangcheng, a wily man, had no intention of causing trouble for the Japanese at this time.
As expected, after the three young Japanese with the highest military rank in the Shangqiu area met, the atmosphere was not so harmonious.
"Araki-kun, today the division headquarters has sent another telegram to confirm that the attack time is 12 noon today. I have now dispatched a transportation team to deliver combat supplies to the front line. The war is imminent. Let the soldiers of the Imperial Army take a bite.
Warm up the food!" Araki Sadahiro said in a warm tone.
"Can the pacification army still fight?" asked Mitsuo Nakazawa.
"Nakazawa-kun, please be patient for a moment. I will call Sun Liangcheng and you will know after asking!" Araki Sadahiro returned and turned to look at the adjutant.
Sun Liangcheng was hiding on the front lines waiting for this opportunity. Hearing that Araki Sadahiro summoned him, he couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief.
"Taijun, our appeasement army is ready for battle. As long as the imperial army gives an order, we can launch an attack on the Eighth Route Army!" Sun Liangcheng said with his waist bent and his attitude was extremely sincere.
"Youxi, Sun Sang, I am very satisfied with your handling. How about reducing the number of troops?"
"Reporting to Taijun, the mutinous soldiers are mainly concentrated in the third and fourth regiments, with nearly two thousand people. However, the remaining soldiers are loyal to the imperial army and the battle will not weaken. Please rest assured, Taijun!"
Araki Sadahiro was very satisfied with Sun Liangcheng's attitude. He turned to Nakazawa Mitsuo and said, "Nakazawa-kun, you should be relieved now!"
On the other side, on the other side of the old Yellow River, the soldiers of the entire 41st Regiment were still immersed in the joy of receiving weapons and equipment from the surrendering troops.
In contrast, the atmosphere at the forward headquarters was slightly tense. Luo Benzhong hurriedly walked into the headquarters and said: "Local cadres have brought this group of surrendered appeasement soldiers with local armed forces to the rear for centralized custody. At most
I'll call you back at noon. How is the situation on the front line?"
"On the whole, the pacification army has stabilized, and the main force of the Japanese army should have arrived. I am worried that the Japanese army will launch an attack in advance, and I have ordered all the commanders and fighters of the 41st Regiment and the New Regiment to be ready for battle!" Li Yunlong said.
The old course of the Yellow River is the first line of defense for the southwestern Shandong base area to resist the Japanese invasion of the base area. Since 1938, the old man had Huayuankou bombed, causing the Yellow River to change its course. The water level of the old course of the Yellow River that passes through Dongming, Caoxian and other places has become shallower. The local people have found suitable
The location allows you to cross the river.
At its peak, the Yellow River was more than two meters deep in places and more than one meter shallow in places. However, the cliffs on both sides were undulating, with an average height of about four meters.
At first glance, the Eighth Route Army had a high advantage. If the Japanese army crossed the river, they would be stuck in the mud and would have difficulty moving.
However, the old course of the Yellow River in Caoxian County, excluding the part from north to south, only the part from west to east is more than 50 miles long. This also resulted in the Eighth Route Army troops along the way having to be stationed in scattered places, and their strength was too scattered.
At that time, when Zhou Weihan proposed a long-term confrontation with the enemy along the old course of the Yellow River, it was a helpless move. To the north of the old course of the Yellow River, there was a vast plain. If the Japanese army raided the base areas, the Eighth Route Army troops could only temporarily abandon part of the base areas.
Look for favorable terrain in the rear to block the attack.
Along the entire old route of the Yellow River, there is an average of six to seven hundred meters per stronghold. On weekdays, the number of soldiers stationed at each stronghold ranges from a squad to a platoon. At this time, due to the addition of a new regiment, the number of soldiers stationed at each stronghold has increased.
At least half a company.
The stronghold is built with masonry. There are several ring-shaped bunkers buried in the soil in front of the stronghold. They are all built with strips of stone one meter long and sixty or seventy centimeters wide. In order to conceal the existence of the bunkers, there are nearly two hundred bunkers along the way.
They are all buried in the loess. From the south bank of the old Yellow River, it looks like the Eighth Route Army built an above-ground trench along the river bank that is more than fifty miles long.
The upper floors of the bunker are covered with thick loess. Even if the Japanese army discovers the existence of firepower points, if the existing infantry artillery and mountain artillery hit the front, not even five or six rounds of artillery shells will be able to blow it up.
Despite all the efforts to build a seemingly tight defense line, there are still loopholes. Li Yunlong jokingly called it the Eighth Route Army's Ma Qiruo Defense Line.
It was approaching noon, Kuroshima Morita looked at the time, and it was getting closer and closer to the time to launch the attack: "Nakazawa-kun, now you can tell me the specific attack plan to break through the Eighth Route Army's defense line!"
Facing Kuroshima Morita's inquiry, Nakazawa Mizuo smiled coldly. He did not suspect that anyone within the Japanese army would leak the battle plan, but he did not bother to communicate too much with these defeated generals of the Eighth Route Army.
"Kuroshima-kun, don't worry too much about the specific attack plan. I have already sent it to the squad leader level. You only need to do the logistics!"
"Hmph, Mitsuo Nakazawa, you are too arrogant. Let me tell you again, the Eighth Route Army unit on the opposite side has extraordinary combat effectiveness. I hope you can do it, otherwise you will bear the responsibility for the defeat!" Kuroshima Morita
roared.
Then Mitsuo Nakazawa ordered the Japanese army and some units of the Pacification Army to change their uniforms. Afterwards, the Japanese army led them to secretly assemble at the designated location and break through the Eighth Route Army's Long Snake Formation in one fell swoop.
In order to reduce the pressure on the attacking troops and prevent the Eighth Route Army troops from quickly reinforcing them, the twelve mountain artillery guns of the mountain artillery brigade were divided into six groups, each equipped with six pure Japanese infantry of about 400 people, and six Type 92 infantry cannons.
They were also assigned to six appeasement armies, each numbering about 500 people. At the same time, each appeasement army separately sent more than a hundred Japanese troops to supervise the battle in the rear.
Although Nakazawa Mizuo was arrogant, he did not follow common sense. He tried to find a suitable crossing point from the south bank of the Yellow River, and then used artillery to bombard the cliff on the north bank. After the cliff collapsed and a ramp was formed, all attacking troops immediately forcibly crossed the river.
.
"Here he comes, the little devil is here, report the Japanese army's crossing point immediately!" The Eighth Route Army strongholds along the line began to report upward one after another.
