The final result of Kitashirakawa's discussion with Taro Aso was that they would only monitor the enemy forces in Fengyang County and would not send troops to encircle and suppress them.
Because Kitashirakawa felt that it would be very dangerous to divide the troops at this time. What's more, he had already received news from the 40th Regiment that their ambush failed and the Dragon Boat Festival was already heading for Bengbu.
So it was a very stupid thing for him to send troops to Fengyang County at this time, not to mention that the previous plan did not go out of the city to attack the enemy's reinforcements. And the purpose of sending the reconnaissance team was just to confirm whether the enemy had reinforcements. They all
Where, how many people there are, and when they will arrive in Bengbu.
Therefore, although Kitashirakawa and Aso Taro received the news that the Northeastern Army arrived in Fengyang County, they still stood still.
But at the same time, Dragon Boat Festival had arrived in Fengyang County and joined Wang Tong's tribe.
The Dragon Boat Festival was very fast. When he picked up Japanese weapons and equipment, Fengyang County was still more than 30 kilometers away. But it only took him 90 minutes to arrive with his people.
After meeting Wang Tong, Wang Tong and Duan Wu shook hands cordially. The nearly 40-year-old Northeastern man was so excited that he didn't know what to say for a moment.
Duanwu understands, because many fans have this expression when they see him.
"Old Wang, you take half of the weapons and equipment on the car, and the two cannons are also given to you. I have to give the remaining half to the Sichuan Army."
Dragon Boat Festival directly divided the equipment, because time waits for no one. It is necessary to fight the Japanese early, and he already knew the 40th Regiment and did not pursue them.
In that direction, it should be the defense area of the 113th Division, and the Japs must have gone there to cause damage.
So Duanwu promptly reported the situation to Commander Yu of the 51st Army, and got in touch with Zhou Weiguo and others.
Zhou Weiguo said that the ambush of the Japanese was relatively successful, and one of the Japanese brigade was almost wiped out. However, the little Japanese were also prepared. When a brigade was wiped out, they quickly built a defense line nearby.
In other words, the Japanese troops in that brigade were like abandoned soldiers. The Japanese watched them being wiped out, but used them to build defenses.
The two sides fought fiercely all afternoon and stopped fighting late in the evening.
Zhou Weiguo said: Do you want to make a surprise attack at night? The Japs must have been very tired after chasing for more than 80 kilometers and fighting fiercely for nearly six hours. It was the best time for a surprise attack.
Duanwu said: "No need. One of the Japs' troops, about two brigades, rushed to the 113 defense area. It was supposed to open a gap from there and lead the 26th brigade into the rear of the 51st Army to complete the encirclement."
And if my guess is correct, the Japs should separate the 31st Army from the 51st Army, and use another Japanese army to hold back the 31st Army.
So you don't need to make a surprise attack tonight, but rather an ambush, deploy some of your troops, and then bite the little devil hard.
Don't eat too much at one time. If we eat too much, we will encounter a crazy counterattack by the enemy. Even if the enemy will suffer heavy casualties, we will still suffer a lot of casualties.
In addition, you can ask a section of the Northeastern Army to immediately send the captured artillery of the 26th Brigade to Xuzhou, and have Li Zhongren transfer it to Han Fuju of the Third Army, so that he can block the Japanese army in North China in Jinan, so that Commander Li can have time to attack Zaozhuang.
, organize a big battle in the Taierzhuang area.
This battle is very important to us. If the northern front can last longer, we will have a lot to do on the southern front.
Zhou Weiguo replied: Received. Then the two of them ended their communication via telegram.
So at this time, not only the Japanese army was on the move, but also the Dragon Boat Festival Independent Regiment, Zhou Weiguo's 522nd Regiment, Qiu Ming's Hutoushan Independent Regiment, and part of the Northeast Army were all on the move.
The Northeastern Army and part of the Independent Regiment, including Qiu Ming's Independent Regiment, continued to have a stalemate with part of the Japanese 26th Brigade, while Zhou Weiguo quietly led the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Independent Regiment, as well as all of his 522nd Regiment.
They made a detour in the direction of Bengbu and launched the next ambush battle against the Japanese army.
Of course, this may be a long waiting process, because the 113th Division of the 51st Army has received information about the Dragon Boat Festival and knows that a Japanese regiment is heading towards their defense area.
The 113th Division will not sit still and wait for death, but will at least organize troops to consolidate defenses.
Therefore, it may not be that easy for the Japanese 40th Regiment to open this gap in a short period of time.
However, the battlefield is changing rapidly, and Duanwu will not wait for all parties to fight according to his plan. The first thing he has to do is to create the illusion that our army is eager to retake Bengbu, so that the little Japanese can fight according to his plan.
.
And in this process, all the intentions of the Japanese will be exposed.
In other words, at this time, the Dragon Boat Festival could not yet see through the enemy's plan.
He went to Laian County to seize the Japanese cannons. This was a secret operation, and even if the Japanese knew about it, it would only happen later.
He expected that the Japanese 26th Brigade would pursue him, so he set up an ambush about 70 kilometers away from Mingguang, preparing to directly cripple the Japanese 26th Brigade.
But unexpectedly, the Japanese intelligence agencies were very tenacious. After suffering heavy losses many times, they actually got the news of the departure of the Bengbu Dragon Boat Festival Department and the Zhou Weiguo Department. And with this, they managed to get through the gap between the 51st Army and the 31st Army Defense Zone.
It penetrated through and went straight to Bengbu.
At that time, Duanwu believed that the little Japanese's move was stupid. Without the cooperation of a large army, even if a lone army occupied Bengbu, it would be meaningless.
But after a while, Duanwu realized that his idea might be a mistake. The Japanese were not that stupid. They inserted themselves into the rear of the 51st Army and waited to be surrounded and annihilated in Bengbu City? This was impossible even when he thought about it.
Therefore, Duanwu concluded that the Japanese must have come prepared this time, and the entire Huainan campaign had already begun.
So Duanwu immediately conveyed his guess to Commander Yu of the 51st Army and Li Zhongren of the Fifth War Zone.
Li Zhongren didn't even believe that the Japs came without any warning.
But Duanwu believed that the Japs might have started preparations a long time ago. For example, only two regiments of the 10th Division showed up, so where were the other Japs? Were they not transferred from the northern front, or have they been hidden all along?
Near Sanjia Town? (The original 10th Division fought with the Japanese Second Army on the northern front)
When Duanwu decided to come to An County, he had thought that there would be too many variables in attacking Sanjia Town, so he went to Lai'an County.
But now it seems that Duanwu's idea was correct. Because if he had chosen Sanjia Town at that time, he would most likely have collided with Kitashirakawa. But by then, it might not be that easy for Duanwu to escape.
Therefore, at this time, Duanwu had not yet clearly seen the real intentions of the Japs, so he could not blindly make a judgment and deploy a large number of troops to fight against the Japs who had infiltrated.
Of course, Duanwu had already guessed who the commander of the Japanese army that had infiltrated Bengbu was. Because judging from Ma Ping'an's intelligence, who else could there be besides the Prince of Beibai?