It takes a certain amount of time for the mustard gas to dissipate. Therefore, although the 120th Field Artillery Regiment succeeded with one blow, leaving a defensive gap in the defenders' frontline positions, Miura Saburo did not dare to let the 65th Infantry Regiment launch an immediate charge. Quietly waiting for the best time to attack,
On the Yushan front line, the Japanese army would not attack, but resorted to the most cruel methods as soon as they took action. More than a thousand cadets fell to the mustard gas. Because it was an erosion-type gas, many cadets died in extremely miserable conditions, with ulcers, pus, and bleeding all over their bodies. It hurts to death, and most of them have difficulty breathing due to inhaling too much poisonous gas. Even scratching their own throats doesn't work, and they suffocate to death.
The Xuebing Army has popularized knowledge about poison gas bombs. In the headquarters that was converted from the former Hufeng Primary School, Du Linzi and a group of officers under him were filled with indignation. Du Linzi clenched his hands and bit his lower lip with his teeth until it bled, and he only said: He said: "Blood debts must be paid with blood.
On the Yushan front line, the Japanese army immediately impressed Xue Erjun, Leping and Dexing. Although the Japanese offensive looked aggressive, it seemed a bit weak, especially in Leping. The 101st Division had two brigades in a row. After being crippled, its offensive suddenly weakened, and began to show a trend of heavy thunder and small raindrops. The person in charge of the defensive operations in Yingtan was Gao Yongxiang, the commander of the 5th Xuexi Division. This made him feel uneasy and worried about the Japanese army's covert attack. Defending the meeting is not conducive to the sneak attack of the third guerrilla division.
In order to prepare New Year's gifts for Hirohito, Shunroku Hata and Chiro Fururuso excitedly launched a New Year's strategy. They first replaced the 16th Division with the 101st Division and the Composite Fourth Brigade, and then made it a point to celebrate the New Year as well. He secretly reached a tacit understanding with Matsui Iwane to paralyze the Xuebing Army with his posture, and wanted to disrupt the Xuebing Army's judgment by blooming in many places.
Ye Zhao made a good judgment. Yushan is indeed the main attack direction of the 5th Army, but this is only one of them. Shunroku Hata's ambition is not only to capture Shangrao and Yingtan, but also to completely annihilate the Second Xue Army and the three Xue Second Army. The division plus brigades and regiments of directly-controlled troops and the Shangrao and Yingtan Self-Defense Corps totaled only 45,000 people. The 5th Army plus Hata Shunroku's direct troops had 193,000. The Japanese army had four times the strength of the Xuebing Army. And he also has control of the air. No wonder Shunroku Hata would have such an idea.
In the plan of Hata Shunroku and Furuzou Qianro, Yushan is the main direction of attack on the surface, while Leping is another main line of attack secretly. Let alone Yushan, the Japanese army has two divisions plus an independent tank brigade and A puppet military brigade has an overwhelming advantage in terms of both strength and equipment. As for Leping, the Japanese army has one division and one mixed brigade. It goes without saying that it has an advantage in strength, and its most advantageous thing is that the fourth mixed brigade has so far None of them showed their faces. They belonged to a hidden force, so they were suitable for launching sneak attacks from other directions.
Around eleven o'clock, when the 101st Division launched another attack on the 13th Academy Brigade, more than 10,000 Japs who had mixed into the 4th Brigade, under the leadership of the brigade commander, Major General Shinkura Ichinon, used the disguise of a regiment to The army and a brigade of Japanese soldiers were the vanguard. They took military trucks out of the city from the north gate of Leping and turned westward along a main road.
Around 11:30, at the head of Wengjia Village on the north bank of the Le'an River, where Guanfeng Township is located 12 kilometers west of Leping, several figures gathered together and talked quietly amidst the intermittent sound of New Year's firecrackers.
"Boss Tie, please find out clearly. This is Wengjia Village, Guanfeng Township, about ten kilometers away from Leping County." A short black figure said,
"Boss Iron" is naturally Jiang Tietou, the eldest brother of the five Jiang brothers. Their reconnaissance battalion moves with the Third Guerrilla Division and is responsible for reconnaissance operations. The soldiers in the reconnaissance battalion are fast and can get at least ten kilometers away from the main force. After entering the boundary of Leping County an hour and a half ago, they spread out to search for the Japanese military garrison and reconnoiter the surrounding detailed terrain in order to find the best entry point for the main force to raid Leping County.
Wengjia Village was the gathering point chosen by Jiang Tietou. Every five minutes, Jiang Tietou and his brothers climbed up a nearby tree and used flashlights to send out signals. After a quarter of an hour, a group of scouts followed the signal's instructions. Back at the meeting point, this team of scouts included a new recruit, Huang Zhongming, so Jiang Tietou specifically warned them not to go too far. But for this team, they only walked about three kilometers before they made an astonishing discovery.
The leader of this team was the commander of the first company, Meng Taishan. He seemed particularly excited. After receiving the code, he ran to Jiang Tietou and said, "Boss, guess what we found."
"Don't be so secretive, just tell me."
"There are densely packed Japs, at least one regiment. Boss, I suspect that the Japs want to take a detour and sneak attack. The target is most likely Yingtan."
Jiang Tietou became nervous and asked: "Seriously."
Meng Taishan nodded affirmatively,
"How far are they from us and what direction are they going?"
"They are directly north of us, heading west. Boss, please report to Commander Jiang as soon as possible. We may be able to ambush them."
"It's not your turn to make the decision on this kind of thing, Xiaoliang, call the Third Division headquarters immediately."
Soon, the call was connected. At this time, the Third Guerrilla Division, led by Jiang Tiezhang, walked along the Le'an River to the Guzhen Town area. After receiving this information, Jiang Tiezhang asked the troops to turn to the northeast. , while looking for his third brother Jiang Tieyao and his three brigade commanders to discuss countermeasures,
"Eldest brother suggested that we attack the Japanese in an ambush. I have asked him to verify the specific strength of the Japanese army. Third brother, what do you think?"
Jiang Tieyao: "We went to Leping for a sneak attack. Now that the Japs are here, it's the best. We lack heavy weapons and it would be a disadvantage to attack the city. But if we fight in the field, it will be easier to control our troops. We need to When fighting, seize the time to choose an ambush position so that you can have more time to make preparations."
The officers of the Xuebing Army guerrilla force loved sneak attacks and ambushes. Naturally, the three brigade commanders had no objection. Jiang Tiezhang personally contacted Jiang Tietou and determined that the Japanese army's target was either Yugan County or Yingtan City, and confirmed After knowing the direction of the Japanese army's advance, it was immediately decided to place the ambush site at Tietou Peak in Lefeng Town on the south bank of the Le'an River. Tietou Peak was only about 500 meters away from the Le'an River, and could just hold on to the only one in this area. Although the Zhangyang Iron Cable Bridge was freezing, the Japanese army could cross the ice across the river. However, once the war started and the ice was blown open, the only way for the Japanese army to continue southward would be the Zhangyang Iron Cable Bridge.
After the ambush location was determined, the Third Guerrilla Division quickly turned northwest and arrived at Tietou Peak half an hour ahead of the Japanese army. The Seventh Guerrilla Brigade ambush directly on Tietou Peak. The Eighth and Ninth Brigades crossed the river, and the Eighth Brigade First, they sent people to Guantang Village on the other side of Zhangyang to greet the villagers. Then they laid a large number of mines at the east and north ends of the village. They then ambushed Houlang, 500 meters west of Guantang Village. The Eighth Brigade ambush on the left wing. , the ambush point of the Ninth Brigade was naturally the right wing. They first laid hundreds of mines on the road, and then spread out towards the east, lurking directly in the snow.
Jiang Tiezhang's troops were ambushed on a hill opposite Tietou Peak. He set up his headquarters on a flat land on the hill, and then contacted Jiang Tietou again, asking the latter to report the movements of the Japanese troops at any time. , wholeheartedly began to wait for the mixed fourth brigade to enter the ambush circle,