As the sky gradually turned dark, the defense battle around Heze County slowly came to an end. This battle was a decisive battle between the main forces of both sides. Although the process was short, the number of participants on both sides was as high as 30,000.
The main force of the 32nd Division was basically wiped out, but there were still a few lucky Japanese troops who accidentally escaped from the encirclement and dispersed. Such situations are inevitable.
So Zhou Weihan ordered that the military region's direct team and the 40th Regiment be stationed in Heze City. The 37th Regiment and 38th Regiment were responsible for cleaning the battlefield. The 39th Regiment stationed in Zhencheng, north of Heze, deployed troops to assist with local armed forces to conduct a dragnet search southward.
The First Regiment, the Third Regiment, and the Assault Regiment mobilized capable personnel to form a small force to pursue in the area east of Heze. The Cavalry Regiment was responsible for contacting the local armed forces and militia that had gone underground in Juye and Yuncheng areas, waiting for the surviving Japanese troops to surrender.
Snare.
Outside the city, the originally smoke-filled battlefield gradually revealed its bloody side. Broken corpses were everywhere, and huge craters were filled with blood and mud.
It is not difficult to recover weapons and equipment, but it is rare to clean up the corpses on the battlefield. The remains of the soldiers of the 40th Regiment and the 35th Regiment need to be separated from those of the Japs.
A little further away from the battlefield, the remaining commanders and fighters of the First Regiment, the Third Regiment, and the Assault Regiment were lying on the ground in a mess with weapons in their arms, snoring one after another.
Inside the headquarters, Deputy Chief of General Staff Zhou Weihan, Brigadier Han who taught the 7th Brigade, and others gathered together.
"Chief of Staff, Zhou **, I just reported the battle situation via telegram with Yang **. Yang ** asked me to convey my apology in person. The Japanese army of the 32nd Division suddenly changed their attack route, and our Luxi Military Region was unable to mobilize troops to support in time.
..." Brigadier Han said with an apologetic look.
The deputy chief of staff waved his hand, indicating that the matter was over, and said: "Okay, the plan can't keep up with the changes, the battlefield situation is changing rapidly, how can the Japanese army do what we want!"
According to the previous combat deployment of the Japanese army, the main goal of the Japanese army of the 32nd Division was to sweep the Luxi base area, and the Liangshan Army Division where the 7th Teaching Brigade was located was the first to bear the brunt and was the primary target of the Japanese army.
The Seventh Teaching Brigade is responsible for delaying the Japanese army, and then retreating all the way north from Juye to induce the 32nd Division to divide its troops. At that time, the Western Lu Military Region will base on the strategic depth of the base area, in Xin County and Tangyi in northwest Shandong
, Guan County and other places, Dong'a, Pingyin and other places in the western part of the country to deal with the Japanese army.
Who would have expected that because the Eighth Route Army completely annihilated the 35th Division in Dongming, the 32nd Division and the 21st Division changed their combat objectives and pointed all the way to Heze, while the troops of the Western Shandong Military Region were far away in northwest Shandong
, Thailand and other places cannot provide timely support.
"Have all the wounded been transported to the hospital?" Zhou Weihan asked.
"After the battle, the stretcher team went to the battlefield to transport the wounded, and health workers from several regiments also gathered at the hospital to provide support!" a staff officer at the command headquarters reported.
"Yes!" Zhou Weihan nodded when he heard this: "The meals must be prepared as soon as possible. After they are prepared, let the soldiers eat and go to several camps outside the city to rest!"
"Yes!" the staff officer responded.
Originally, there was a dedicated person in charge of these matters, so Zhou Weihan didn't need to ask, but he still had to ask a few questions before he felt reassured.
"Commander **, a telegram from the Southwest Shandong Military Division. The telegram said that Li ** and Political Commissar Luo were not at the headquarters. The staff of the headquarters did not find the two chiefs. However, the staff of the headquarters reported that the battle was going smoothly, and the two
The leader should have gone to the battlefield in person!" the telegraph operator reported.
Zhou Weihan's face darkened when he heard this. After the battle in Heze, he immediately asked someone to contact the Southwestern Shandong Military Division. Unexpectedly, there was no reply. Zhou Weihan even doubted whether the headquarters of the Southwestern Shandong Military Division was
Something unexpected happened.
After sending several times, I finally received this telegram.
"Send someone to look for it again!"
"yes!"
"How's it going? What's the situation like with Li Yunlong? He hasn't been found yet?" asked the deputy chief of staff on the side.
"It's normal to go to the battlefield after the war. I guess Lao Li should have gone to the front line to visit the wounded and learn from his experience!" Brigadier Han excused Li Yunlong.
Zhou Weihan couldn't help but laugh after hearing this: "I still know about Li Yunlong. It is possible to visit the wounded, but if he goes to the battlefield to sum up his experience, then the sun may have risen from the west!"
Brigadier Han saw that Zhou Weihan had finished the business at hand, and then he thought, it would be better to return to the base quickly.
"Chief of Staff, Zhou **, since the battle is over, I won't bother you anymore in Heze and will lead my troops back to the base area!" Brigadier Han said.
Zhou Weihan and the Deputy Chief of General Staff looked at each other. The Deputy Chief of General Staff lowered his head and picked up a document on the table, as if he hadn't heard anything.
"Hey, there's no rush!" Zhou Weihan took the initiative and took Brigadier Han's arm, forcing him down on the stool: "The meal is being prepared, at least have a hot meal before leaving. Besides, you guys teach the Seventh Brigade
These two days have been busy, so we have to let the soldiers rest for a night before leaving!"
"It spreads as if I, Zhou Weihan, don't know how to treat guests. This will affect my reputation!"
Brigadier Han grinned and said: "No, we are all brother troops, why are you so polite? I taught the 7th Brigade to be an auxiliary, and I feel bad when I think about it now!"
"No, I don't think you are happy staying here. Why did I hear that the Japanese commander Takahiro Sakai seems to have fallen into your hands this time!" Zhou Weihan still held on to Brigadier Han's arm while speaking.
.
"Ah?" Brigadier Han opened his mouth wide, as if he had been greatly wronged: "Is there such a thing? How come I don't know? I'm going to ask who is so brave to capture a Japanese major general alive and not report it to the police?
!”
"Hey, I didn't say he was captured alive just now!" Zhou Weihan said.
Brigadier Han was stunned when he heard this, and the deputy chief of staff on the side finally couldn't help laughing: "Okay, stop joking, Sakai Takaki will definitely be sent to the headquarters, or even to Yanzhou
Go, don’t even think about taking me away quietly!”
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! "It is really lucky to capture a Japanese infantry regiment commander alive. In exchange, the thirty-six artillery pieces captured in the Japanese artillery wing this time
, you can choose twelve to take away!”
Brigadier Han had a sad face. Under the joint efforts of the Cavalry Regiment and the 7th Teaching Brigade, the Japanese Artillery Regiment, two mountain artillery brigades and a field artillery brigade, all fell into the hands of the Eighth Route Army, and a group of Japanese artillerymen were captured at the same time.
.
It stands to reason that if brothers from the same family work together to do business, they can still make a little bit of the money they make, even if they don't share it equally. The Seventh Brigade also participated in the battle, so isn't it natural for them to share a few artillery pieces?
"Can you please give me a nice word?" Zhou Weihan asked directly.
"Okay, twelve artillery pieces are quite a lot, but I want all the mountain artillery, and I also want to take away some of the Japs' artillery!" Brigadier Han finally said.
As time went by, the dispersed troops returned one after another, and Li Yunlong, who was on the front line, also returned to the headquarters to report on the battle situation.
The next day, a piece of thunderous news reached Yanzhou, causing an uproar within the Japanese army in Yanzhou.
After Liu Benggong, who led the way for the 32nd Division, brought the Japanese troops all the way to Heze, he was sent by the Little Devils to contact powerful local people. As a result, before the matter was settled, news of the Japanese army's defeat came.
After hearing the news from the local villagers, the large family where Liu Bengong lived at that time immediately decided to capture Liu Bengong. Unexpectedly, after the militiamen gathered, Liu Bengong saw that the situation was not good and his soles were smeared with oil.
Liu Benggong was familiar with the local situation, but the local militia did not catch him. Later, he encountered several more Japs while fleeing eastward.
In this way, under the leadership of Liu Bengong, they hid in Tibet along the way, successfully got out of Juye, and arrived in Jiaxiang occupied by the Japanese army.
Then the news of the defeat of the main force of the 32nd Division was quickly reported to Yanzhou where the division headquarters was located, and Liu Benggong and others were taken to Yanzhou for questioning.
At the North China Expeditionary Force Headquarters, as the war progressed, Okamura Neiji couldn't sleep at night due to the stalemate fighting situations in various places. Especially the war in southwest Shandong, Okamura Neiji's heart was blocked every time he thought about it.
The adjutant carefully opened the door and saw Okamura Neji standing alone at the window, staring into the distance.
"What news is coming from the front line?" Okamura Neji turned around and asked.
"Your Excellency, General, a telegram has been sent from the headquarters of the 32nd Division in Yanzhou!" The adjutant closed the door, as if trying to isolate the noisy sounds in the headquarters.
"Yanzhou? Could it be that the Thirty-second Division also..." A possibility immediately emerged in Neji Okamura's mind.
"According to the report of the 32nd Division, the 211th Regiment, the 212th Regiment, the Artillery Regiment, and the Search Regiment, led by General Takaki Sakai, the commander of the Infantry Regiment, totaling more than 9,000 Imperial Army soldiers were almost completely destroyed in Kawasawa.
!" The adjutant gritted his teeth and said.
"Is the news confirmed?"
"Confirmed, the source of the news is the personal accounts of several imperial soldiers who survived by chance. The Eighth Route Army used large-scale artillery under Heze City, and even a flying team flying the sun flag bombed the imperial army. Based on this, thirty
The Second Division was defeated!"
"A formal flying team?"
"Yes, multiple Imperial Army soldiers confirmed the news!"
When Okamura Neiji heard this, his face didn't seem to have much fluctuation. What's so surprising about how many planes the Eighth Route Army produced? When will a navy be planned? This ridiculous idea flashed in Okamura Neiji's mind.
Flash past.
"It is no longer necessary for the Imperial Army to carry out a large-scale sweep of the Eighth Route Army's Hebei, Luyu and Henan base areas. If it continues, the Imperial Army's soldiers will only sacrifice their lives in vain. If the notice continues, the 21st Division must conserve its strength and quickly retreat to Shangqiu."
!”
"Hey, General, I'm going to inform you right away!" the adjutant hesitated, secretly thinking that it might not be so easy for the 21st Division to escape.
As for the rest of the troops, Neji Okamura did not mention it because before that, news of the defeat of the First Independent Mixed Brigade in Anyang, the East Asia Alliance Autonomous Army in Zhangbei, and the Japanese troops in Huaxian and Junxian counties had spread.
Come.
Under the command of Zhou Weiguo, the Zhinan Military Division and the Zhangbei Military Division dispatched a total of four regiments, first defeating the East Asia Alliance Autonomous Army, and then severely damaging the Japanese army in Anyang.
Wang Yigong led the two regiments of the Northern Henan Army Division and the 29th Regiment, which defeated and severely damaged the puppet army headed by Sun Dianying.
Then, one regiment was dispatched from Zhinan and Zhangbei respectively, approaching the Liangpu area from Qingfeng. The Independent Fourth Regiment and the 29th Regiment of the Northern Henan Military Region marched eastward from Huaxian County to the Liangpu area.
Compared with the gloomy look on the Japanese side, the Eighth Route Army headquarters was full of laughter. At the critical moment when the Japanese army dispatched heavy troops to raid various base areas of the Eighth Route Army, the victory of Southwest Shandong was really inspiring and fully mobilized the combat mood of all the Eighth Route Army commanders and soldiers.
"On the 21st, our 1st Regiment and some artillery units of the Assault Regiment wiped out more than 4,000 soldiers of the 16th Division of the Japanese Army in Caoxian County. That night, the 1st Regiment, the 3rd Regiment, the 5th Regiment, the Assault Regiment, the New 1st Regiment, the 35th Regiment, the 36th Regiment
The regiment and other troops annihilated more than 5,000 members of the 35th Division in Dongming, killing the enemy Lieutenant General Division Commander Harada Xiongyoshi!" "On the 22nd, after a long-distance attack, the 1st Regiment, 3rd Regiment, Assault Regiment and other troops joined forces with Lu Xi
The 7th Teaching Brigade of the Military Region annihilated nearly 9,000 of the main force of the Japanese 32nd Division in Heze and captured alive the leader of the infantry regiment, Takaki Sakai. The main force of the Southwest Shandong Military Division joined forces with the 4th Teaching Brigade of the Huxi Base Area to severely inflict heavy losses on the Japanese 21st Division in Cao County.
More than 5,000 enemy troops were wiped out, and only a small number of Japanese troops fled!"
"In this battle, our unit has captured numerous items and suffered many casualties. The specific results are being tallied..."
While Chief of Staff Teng was recounting the results of the battle, some officers nearby were silently counting the number of enemies annihilated in the Hebei, Shandong and Henan Military Region.
"4000,5000,9000,5000!"
"Chief, the number of enemies annihilated in this battle is about 23,000. This is almost the strength of a Japanese Class A division at the beginning of the war. My God, I couldn't even imagine this before!"
"Not only that, this is not counting the puppet troops assisting in the battle. At the same time, the number of Japanese artillery is at least two artillery regiments. Zhou Weihan and the others may have made a fortune in this battle!" Chief of Staff Teng said with a smile.
"It will definitely make a fortune, but the casualties will not be small. I don't know if this battle has left the Hebei, Shandong and Henan Military Region injured!"
"The news of this victory was reported to Yanzhou, and then reported throughout the entire army. Comrades need this exciting victory so much!" the boss finally said.
In the next few days, news of the great victory in southwest Shandong has been fermenting. First, frontline Eighth Route Army newspapers such as "Huanghe Daily" announced the news, and then "Yanzhou Daily" published a related article on the 1st.
Not only that, in order to reverse the sluggish situation of the national anti-Japanese war and stimulate the anti-Japanese enthusiasm of the people across the country, after research and decision by Yanzhou senior officials, it was necessary to change the previous low-key and increase the publicity of the victory in southwest Shandong.
After that, the Eighth Route Army offices in the rear areas published articles in many influential newspapers such as "Ta Kung Pao" and "Shen Shen", announcing the victory of the Eighth Route Army in southwest Shandong. People in the rear areas walked through the streets and applauded.
Celebrate.
In contrast, the attitude shown by the senior leaders of the National Government was slightly ambiguous, but the liaison team of the US military stationed in the mountain city sent a congratulatory telegram to the Eighth Route Army.