On the vast plains of southern Hebei, the weather was beautiful, the moonlight illuminated the way forward for the Eighth Route Army, and the breeze blew on their faces, shaking the spirits of the exhausted soldiers.
On the north and south sides of the Shide Line Railway, at the same time, eight infantry regiments and four artillery regiments of the Eighth Route Army were galloping eastward along the railway line. The supplementary regiment of the Tainan Military Region, the first regiment and the third regiment of the Hebei, Shandong and Yu Military Region, and the Assault Regiment
The regiment is on the north side of the railway line, the 385th Brigade of the Taibei Military Region, and the New 10th Brigade are on the south side of the railway line.
The two armies were like two arrows leaving the string, advancing toward the same goal along the route planned by the division headquarters, and then advancing. The assault regiment at the forefront was only twenty kilometers away from Motou Town.
At the same time, after the troops of the 110th Division got off the train, Mamoru Iinuma's order was passed to various Japanese troops, and more than 2,600 Japanese troops of the 110th Regiment, the leading force, accelerated their march.
Not far away, "Boom, boom, boom!" came several explosions, and the light of the fire was extremely conspicuous in the dark night.
"Baga, what's going on? Stop advancing and be on alert!" 110th Regiment Captain Kawashi Kenjiro asked with a dark face.
After some inquiries, the adjutant immediately jogged back to report: "Sir, the soldiers in front accidentally stepped on a mine laid by the Eighth Route Army. Two soldiers were injured. No trace of the Eighth Route Army was found. It should have been planted before the evacuation!"
"Lead the way and notify the engineers to clear mines!"
"Hi!"
Several Japanese officers headed by Kawani Kenjiro rushed to the scene of the incident and saw that under the light of the fire, minefields seemed to be everywhere on both sides of the railway.
There are stones placed on the surface, and there are also many iron balls. What's more, there are signs saying "beware of mines" directly inserted. These are just placed on the surface. There are many more buried in the soil. Of course,
, at least that’s what Kenjiro Kasai thinks.
The terrain of the section of road that the Japanese army was passing through was somewhat clever. It was caught between two hills. The minefields laid by the road-breaking team extended from both sides of the railway to the hills on both sides. Kenjiro Kawanishi looked at it with a gloomy expression.
The scene before me.
At this time, the Japanese engineers of the 110th Regiment had already begun demining. An experienced engineer carefully approached two iron balls the size of watermelons. He looked left and right and found no place to detonate. He touched it lightly and discovered what was inside.
It was actually empty.
There were several other kiddies holding detection equipment and wandered around the sign warning of mines for a while. When they finally dug out, they discovered that there was nothing in the soil.
The Japanese engineers dug here and there, but what they unearthed was a pile of dumb mines, although in the end, few exploded.
"Baga, this is the Eighth Route Army setting up a suspicion formation in the old town to slow down the imperial army's march. Tell the troops to move forward at full speed!" Kenjiro Kawashi was worried that the division headquarters would send someone to urge them, so he immediately ordered the troops to move forward.
After hearing the order, the more than a hundred Japanese soldiers on the scene showed obvious hesitation, fearing that they might be unjustly killed. At the urging of the squadron leader, more than a hundred Japanese soldiers formed a formation on both sides of the railway and slowly marched
After walking into the minefield and walking less than five or six hundred meters, there were continuous explosions.
"Sir, our department is responsible for opening roads. The Eighth Route Army's minefields have spread over an unknown distance at the moment. It's better to open a road from the hills on both sides. Maybe the march will be faster!" said the adjutant on the side.
At the same time, behind a pile of bushes on the hill on the south side, a dozen soldiers from the Eighth Route Army's road-breaking team had a panoramic view of the little Japanese's situation.
"Hey, platoon leader, this is a great idea. You don't have to fight with the Japs, but they slow down their march!" A soldier holding a 50-meter cannon in his arms laughed.
"Bullshit, this is what we do. If I don't have any skills, my superiors can let me go out to perform tasks. Just wait and see, the comrades in the other road-breaking teams will suffer more losses!" said the platoon leader.
"Have the district squadron and militia been withdrawn?"
"It's already been moved to a safe place!"
"Well, it's time for us to leave, but before we leave, we have to shoot the little devil. We can't let our platoon do some odd jobs while other troops are eating meat!"
"You see, those more than a hundred little Japs in front are walking in the front, and among the few little Japs watching the fun in the back, there must be little Jaap officers. If there is no trouble, there will be big fish!"
"Platoon leader, take a look at mine!" The soldier who spoke waved his hand, and several soldiers behind him showed what they were holding.
The road-breaking team sent out by the Jinan Military Region was a ranked combat unit, supplemented by local armed forces and a large number of militiamen. They were accompanied by three 50mm cannons, and they repeatedly performed extraordinary feats when attacking Japanese railways.
"Platoon commander, there are only twelve grenades left, should they be used up?" the soldier asked.
"Light them all up. Even if they aren't big fish, it's still worth killing these little devils!" said the platoon leader.
The mountain forest where the road-breaking team was hiding was only seven or eight hundred meters away from the railway. However, because the Japanese army focused their attention on the minefields, they did not immediately launch a search of the mountain forest.
The soldiers quickly set up three 50-meter cannons. The torches held by the little devils were nothing more than living targets. Twelve grenades flew in the direction of Kanishi Kenjiro. In the blink of an eye, Kasai Kenjiro and others were killed.
Covered by all the little devils.
Continuous explosions were heard, thick smoke filled the air, and fires were everywhere. The hundreds of little Japanese who had just breathed a sigh of relief in front of them all looked at the scene that happened in front of them in shock.
"Baga, the enemy is attacking, protect the squadron leader quickly!" the loyal little Japanese squadron leader shouted angrily.
After a group of kidnappers arrived, they found that Kawashi Kenjiro and others had all fallen into a pool of blood, and no one was spared.
By the time the little devils started searching the mountains and forests on the south side, the road-breaking team had already fled.
Iinuma Morihaya, the commander of the 110th Division at the rear headquarters, was quite impatient. He was about to send someone to the 110th Regiment to inquire when he saw a little Japanese officer running towards the division headquarters in a hurry.
"Your Excellency General, our unit encountered an Eighth Route Army minefield in the front. When the commander of the regiment was inspecting the site, he was unfortunately shelled by the Eighth Route Army and died!" the little devil reported with a sad face.
"Nani?" Iinuma Mamoru was shocked when he heard this. He heard the explosion coming from the front, but he never expected that one of his own generals would be lost before the battle with the Eighth Route Army officially started.
The sudden attack and the news of the death of the 110th Regiment Captain were forcibly suppressed by Iinuma Mamoru, and did not cause much ripples within the 110th Division.
Out of desperation, in order not to waste too much time, Iinuma Mamoru immediately ordered the Japanese troops to divert to the hills on both sides in an attempt to bypass the minefield.
An unnumbered road-breaking team composed of main forces, local armed forces and militiamen successfully used the terrain and minefields to delay the Japanese troops of the 110th Division for half an hour when the 110th Division was eager to return to Shimen.