Li Mingfeng and Xiao Yongzhi heard that Guo Bingxun had opened his mouth to see off the guests, and they did not dare to delay. They immediately rushed back to the army to receive additional troops, and organized a regiment as quickly as possible, plus a mountain artillery battalion from the brigade artillery regiment, one hundred The millimeter howitzer company and the heavy mortar battalion strengthened by the headquarters were led by Li Mingfeng and went south overnight, first rushing to the west bank of the Guokui River, one of the blocking areas designated by the headquarters.
Hurrying to the west bank of the Guokui River, Li Mingfeng received a report from the reconnaissance force before he could take a breath, check the terrain, and build fortifications: "A large number of Japanese troops were found on the east bank of the Guokui River preparing to cross the river. One of their leading troops The squadron has crossed the river and established a covering position."
This time going south, Li Mingfeng was very cautious. He deployed his most effective reconnaissance staff and the oldest company commander in the army, and led a leading company composed mainly of veterans to advance lightly, while the main force behind him kept their hands with them. The maximum communication distance range of a two-watt walkie-talkie.
Before leaving, Li Mingfeng specifically told the company commander to be cautious and to put forward troops composed of experienced veterans. They were not allowed to fire when encountering an enemy situation and reported the situation as soon as possible. Li Mingfeng had no choice but to do so. The reconnaissance company of the regiment only brought half of the company, and the rest was left to the first brigade. Lacking the reconnaissance force at hand, he could only temporarily mobilize the front-line combat company.
However, it was Li Mingfeng's caution that allowed the vanguard troops to discover the traces of the Japanese army before the enemy. Otherwise, once they were discovered by the Japanese army before approaching the enemy, I am afraid that judging from the current situation, the situation would be very unfavorable to them. Although the Guokuihe River is Muleng The main tributary of the river, but it is not a big river after all, especially because the flood season has not yet arrived, so the water volume is not large.
When the water is shallow, you can even ford the river in many places. Once the Japanese army discovers that Li Mingfeng has arrived, they are likely to forcefully cross the river. For those who are marching south from Boli County at the speed of a forced march, they are already extremely exhausted and cannot even do the most basic things. For the troops led by Li Mingfeng, who had no time to build field fortifications, this was not a good thing.
Hearing that the Japanese army had arrived at the Guokui River line and began to cross the river overnight, Li Mingfeng was slightly surprised: "Aren't the Japanese troops still at the Diaolong River line? How could they arrive at the Guokui River line a full day ahead of the headquarters intelligence? This little devil It came really fast, thanks to me taking the first step. If I had acted according to the plan, by the time all the troops were replenished and moved south, the Japanese army would have already crossed the river."
"Once the little devil crosses the whole river in advance, he will be really passive. From Guokui River to Sifang Dingzi Mountain, the door is almost wide open. If this little devil takes advantage of us and crosses the river first, then But it was really lively. Fortunately, I was more cautious."
After instructing the communications staff to report the situation to the headquarters immediately and instructing his subordinates to prepare for battle, Li Mingfeng and Bai Qishan, the commander of the fourth regiment, immediately rushed to the bank of the Guokui River to observe the enemy's situation.
When Li Mingfeng rushed to a small dirt bag more than 300 meters away from the west bank of the Guokui River, he raised his telescope and looked at the densely packed torches and large piles of bonfires on both sides of the Guokui River to the east. He was shocked: "The little devil is so damn cunning. I'm afraid it's not just the main force of the 18th Regiment here now."
After careful observation for a while, I saw that the Japanese army had temporarily built hundreds of rafts and they were ferrying people back and forth in a hurry. Some Japanese soldiers were measuring the water depth, preparing to find shallow water areas that could be forded, and trying to move the east bank of the river as quickly as possible. Troops transported across the river.
Li Mingfeng put down the telescope in his hand and looked at Bai Qishan beside him and said: "Old Bai, it seems that the Japs are coming with us, and they have just started to cross the river. The Japs are attacking from east to west, pretending to be on the front line of the Diaolong River. In fact, the main force has already arrived. We rushed to the front line of the Guokui River at the same time, and we had a really good time, and we even managed to hide it from No. 3. It seems that this Uemura Toshido is really quite clever and cunning."
"In this case, you immediately notify the artillery and ask them to ignore the Japanese troops who have come ashore on the west bank of the river. Concentrate their artillery fire on the bright spots on the east bank and give me half a base. Let the heavy mortar battalion and regimental artillery concentrate their firepower on the river for me. Blockade and cut off the Japanese army's route to continue crossing the river.
"As for the Japanese squadron on the west bank of the river, don't worry about them. Concentrate an anti-aircraft machine gun company to suppress them and don't let them develop in depth. Also tell your troops to deploy immediately and start building fortifications along the river. Prepare In battle, remember that when constructing blocking positions, you must make more use of natural barriers."
Having said this, Li Mingfeng couldn't help but regretfully said: "If I had known this earlier, why not bring over the 107th Rocket Artillery Battalion attached to the column. The Japs are now gathering in a group on the east coast. It is exactly this kind of thing. This is the best time for artillery to show its firepower. This time we brought twelve short-legged mountain cannons and four 100mm howitzers, which are a bit weak."
On the other side of the river, Li Mingfeng was seizing the time to prepare for the battle. On the other side of the river, Lieutenant General Toshichi Uemura, the commander of the 29th Division who personally commanded the 18th Regiment on the North Road, was also supervising the captain of the 18th Regiment, Colonel Takano Naomichi. He seizes the time to cross the river. He knows very well that the illusion he put up by staying on the front line of Diao Long will be seen through sooner or later. Once the opponent realizes that something is wrong, he will be the one who is in danger and goes south. He does not want to repeat the fate of Machijiri Yuki and Tokawa. Jiro's mistakes.
Lieutenant General Toshimichi Uemura spent most of his military career as a staff officer, from division staff to lieutenant general and chief of staff of the Third Army, but he was very shrewd. This time, the main force of the 29th Division went eastward for rescue. For the Sixth Division, he did not rush to march, but marched steadily along the way.
After losing contact with the headquarters of the 6th Division, instead of speeding up the march, they actually slowed down consciously. They even ignored several urgings from Army Commander Namada Juichi. No matter how the Army Headquarters urged them, they just continued step by step. Go, never underestimate the enemy and advance rashly
It was not until he arrived at the front line of the Diaolong River that he left the baggage troops and a small number of engineers behind, pretending to be the main force. He led the main force of the 18th Regiment, breaking the practice of not marching at night, and suddenly marched straight into the Guokui River at a forced march speed. It was created by trying to take advantage of the opponent's paralysis after a big victory.
He is very clear about the combat effectiveness of the Sixth Division. Even if the opponent defeats the Sixth Division, the casualties will definitely not be light. Judging from the information transferred from the military headquarters, the opponent's firepower is indeed strong, but there are not many additional troops. The current situation is All the troops should have been used up.
Moreover, judging from the enemy information report transferred from the army headquarters, they are currently concentrating their main force to go west to look for trouble with the 14th Division. However, there are not many troops in the southern part of Boli. If the 29th Division takes the opportunity to break into its depth and lead the area with points, If played well, it is likely to destabilize the opponent's front line.
Looking at the 18th Regiment that was nervously crossing the river, Lieutenant General Toshidō Uemura touched the neatly trimmed snot moustache under his nose, and said to Colonel Naomitsu Takano next to him: "Hurry up and don't stop after crossing the river. Immediately go to Marching from the north, we must reach the sheep pasture land in Boli and the front line of Hushan before tomorrow morning."
Regarding Toshichi Uemura's order, Colonel Takano Naomitsu said with some confusion: "Your Excellency, Division Commander, the situation in the Sixth Division was tense before, and you walked slowly and slowly. Now the Sixth Division has ceased its activities. Why are you so anxious? You are not afraid of going deep alone and suffering the consequences of these cunning Chinese people."
"Judging from the enemy information report transferred from the army headquarters, these Chinese people are very cunning, well-equipped, and have strong firepower. We are advancing alone now. If we are ambushed, the terrain here and the surrounding situation are very likely to It's a shame to suffer such a heavy loss. Even elite soldiers and generals like the Sixth Division have disappeared. Do you think the division commander thinks that the newly formed Twenty-ninth Division is even more powerful than the Sixth Division?"
"Is it the Eighth Division that cannot stand up in battle, the Eleventh Division that is now attacking from east to west, or the Fourteenth Division that is now unable to protect itself? The Eighth Division has lost its combat effectiveness inexplicably. What exactly did it encounter? It has not been found out yet, but the 11th Division has been transferred to the Tieshanbao front line."
"In addition to these divisions, what other troops does the current Fifth Army have that it can use? This time we go to war, even the border guards have been mobilized. We are trapped in a tight siege. Who else can come to rescue us? .”
"Your Excellency, Division Commander, I beg you to be more cautious. Since the battle was launched, we have received several pieces of useful information. From the Kwantung Army Headquarters to the Fifth Army, we still haven't figured out how many troops and firepower the opponent has. I’m still at a loss as to what the configuration is. The opponent’s main force has all been transferred from the west to besiege the 14th Division. Hum, I can neither disbelieve it nor fully believe it.”
Regarding Colonel Takano Naomichi's words of defeat before he joined the battle, Uemura Toshichi did not get angry as expected. He just said calmly: "Takano-kun, saying such words without the spirit of Bushido is not your usual style. Isn't it? The 29th Division is worse than the 6th Division."
"The Sixth Division has always been known for its tenacity in the Imperial Army. This is true, but the Twenty-ninth Division is not a soft-legged crab like those Osaka soldiers. Remember, the Imperial Army is the most combat-effective among all the armies in the world. , the most fierce army that is not afraid of death and dares to devote itself to the belief of serving the emperor, no matter which division it is, there is no weak force in the imperial army."
"The failure of Lieutenant General Machijiri Yuki was not because the opponent's combat effectiveness was stronger than the imperial army. It was because of our intelligence errors and problems with high-level command. He Machijiri Yuki also had certain reasons for underestimating the enemy and reducing the strength of his troops. Too concentrated on the front line, the Sixth Division had already been killed by its opponents, with more than half of them killed before even engaging in battle."
"But we are different. The Sixth Division is the strongest soldier of our Imperial Army. Its tenacious fighting will is unparalleled in the Imperial Army. Although their entire army was destroyed, the number of casualties of their opponents will probably not be higher than theirs."
As small as that, they are now depleted of men and horses and have suffered heavy losses."
"Our 29th Division adopts a fictitious and real tactics, taking advantage of its weakest moment to penetrate its depth with the main force, completely disrupting their deployment. Regardless of whether it is true that their main force is besieging the 14th Division,
As long as we are inserted at the front line of Sifang Dingzi Mountain, we can join the 14th Division to the west at any time, and we can join up with the 11th Division to the east to flank their forces on the eastern front."
"At that time, the initiative of the entire battle will fall into our hands. I don't think they have the strength to devour us like they ate the Sixth Division after suffering heavy casualties in the previous battles. This can be considered a battle."
Machijiri-kun, the loser, is the greatest contribution to this battle."