At two o'clock in the afternoon on February 29th, Guandi Temple outside Chaoyang City in western Liaoning...
After Kobayashi Kakutaro, chief of staff of the Eighth Division of the Japanese Kwantung Army, read the urgent message from Ishikawa Koichi, all the generals in the room fell into silence and nervous thinking.
Xiyi stood up with difficulty, dragged his injured leg, slowly took two steps forward, gently pushed away the adjutant who stepped forward to help him, turned back to the map, stared for a moment, and asked in a hoarse voice:
"How long has it been since the Cavalry Regiment and the Third Manchurian Cavalry Brigade set off?
"Forty-five minutes later, the 14th Manchurian Army Brigade also rushed to the Butterfly Valley battlefield at full speed before half an hour, striving to attack the north and south with Shi Jun's 7th Independent Mixed Brigade before dark, and eliminate the enemy's main brigade in Butterfly Valley.
Day. Completely clear the obstacles for our right wing troops to move south.
Taro Hayashikaku finished answering loudly, his mouth moved, but in the end he did not continue.
Nishi Yiichi, who had his back to Hayashi Kakutaro, seemed to see the expression on his chief of staff's face, still looking at the map. He asked calmly: "Why didn't Kobayashi-kun finish his sentence? Are you worried that the situation will be as Ishikawa-kun estimated?"
, fell into an ambush surrounded by the enemy for reinforcements?"
"Hey Yi! This is what my subordinates are most worried about. Kobayashi Kakutaro answered truthfully, and more than ten generals around him looked at Nishi Yiichi nervously.
Nishi Yiichi slowly turned around: "Please, Mr. Kobayashi, please send an urgent message to Captain Miyake of the Cavalry Regiment and tell him not to be too hasty, just advance slowly, and wait for the main force of the 14th Manchuria Brigade to catch up, and then let him
The 3rd Manchurian Cavalry Brigade took the lead in charging and ordered the 14th Manchurian Brigade to quickly follow up. Miyake-kun's cavalry
The regiment protected the two wings of the Manchurian army and strictly guarded against possible enemy attacks to ensure that the main force could smoothly coordinate with the Ishikawa Brigade from the north and south to carry out attacks. At the same time, Sato-kun's 17th Regiment and the Nomura Battalion of the Artillery Regiment were ordered to
Watanabe-kun's transportation team quickly assembled and was ready to set off at any time."
Taro Hayashikaku agreed and immediately went to deliver the order. He knew what Nishi Giichi's order meant. The primary purpose was to let the puppet troops bear the brunt of danger first, and his main force would then make further responses based on the battle situation. The cavalry regiment
It was for this reason that the 17th regiment and the artillery regiment were assembled and ready to go.
Taro Hayashi Kakuta strongly agreed with Nishi Giichi's decision. Like all the Kwantung officers and soldiers, he had always believed that the lives of the officers and soldiers of the lowly Manchurian army were not as important as the safety of the Japanese Emperor at any time. At the same time, Kobayashi Kakutaro also
It is judged that Nishi Yiichi has not yet
I completely agree with Ishikawa Koichi's prediction. At least judging from Ishikawa Koichi's emergency call, he is still not sure whether the Chinese army will definitely surround the point for reinforcements. Even if it is to support or suddenly gather forces to attack any of the main forces, it is impossible to judge in a hurry.
Which direction is the focus of the attack?
That morning, the Kwantung Army Headquarters dispatched an aviation squadron to conduct four hours and seven batches of aerial reconnaissance in the Chaoyang area. No trace of the main force of the squadron or any abnormality was found. Another squadron's
The eight bombers circled countless places in the air until they almost ran out of fuel. They could only drop the bombs they carried into four remote villages and towns, and they were in despair.
Returning from the ground, it was unable to play the role of assisting the Eighth Division expected. However, the two brigades on the left and right continued to report being frequently harassed by the enemy of different sizes. The cunning squadron often suddenly approached and attacked fiercely.
The troops quickly retreated before organizing a counterattack. Affected by the heavy snow and unable to judge the enemy's situation, the troops under attack did not dare to pursue any pursuit.
This strange tactic that he had never encountered before gave Kobayashi Kakutaro a headache and very alarmed. Thinking of the operational characteristics of the Anjia Army mentioned in Ishikawa Koichi's report, Kobayashi had a vague premonition that something unexpected would happen.
Danger, but where the danger exists and what the hidden dangers are, Xiao Lin is as unpredictable as Shi. After all, the opponents they encounter are not stragglers and Green Lin.
The volunteer army composed of hasty soldiers is not the Northeastern Army, which has a profound Japanese imprint from beginning to end, and even its military thinking. It is an elite direct lineage of the Central Military Army that has rapidly risen and grown in China's six-year civil war. It has outstanding military exploits and is famous both at home and abroad.
The army, especially the toughness and iron-bloodedness displayed by the army in the 129th Battle of Shanghai, left a profound impression and mystery on the Japanese Army.
Faced with such a powerful opponent who is well-equipped, has unique military training methods and military ideas, Kakutaro Kobayashi feels the pressure on his shoulders is getting heavier and heavier. If the Western Front with the Eighth Division as the main force cannot move south smoothly as planned, what will happen to the opponent?
Chengde's first-line squadron posed a threat from three sides, and Hayashi Kakutaro knew what kind of severe punishment awaited division commander Nishi Yiichi and himself.
Objectively speaking, Lieutenant General Nishi Yiichi, the commander of the Eighth Division, is a man who is extremely loyal to the Japanese Emperor and the Army. He has a loyal character and never participates in clique disputes in the army. But from another perspective
, and it is precisely because of this that there is a shortcoming of hesitation. Just like how he dealt with the battle situation in front of him, he seemed to issue orders decisively and made response plans and plans, but he still could not get rid of the shortcomings of passive response.
After Chief of Staff Kakutaro Kobayashi left, he immediately made what he thought was a very safe decision, which was to quickly send the original text of Ishi Koichi's emergency report to his immediate superior, Guan Jun, together with his own response decision.
Commander Nobuyoshi Muto seemed to behave in a well-behaved manner, but in fact he had the purpose of cleverly shirk responsibility. However, it was precisely because of his appropriate behavior that he received great help in the subsequent summary of the campaign.
The battle of Shi's brigade to attack Butterfly Valley King Xulun's brigade has begun. The insidious and cunning Shi'hao Yi adopted three consecutive partial feint attacks, and in just over half an hour he defeated the general strength of the defenders, two mortar firing positions and
I basically looked at the distribution of machine gun firepower points and said, "Hun Shan has a different body." He said that reading is easy to do outside.
After figuring out the opponent's trump card, Ishikawa Hiroshi did not commit troops to launch an attack. Instead, he ordered the two company captains under his command to mobilize their surviving artillery to form a temporary artillery brigade and use it intensively. The other units were arranged in an orderly manner in accordance with combat requirements.
Open, use mortars and grenade launchers to engage in exchanges of fire with the defenders occupying the advantageous terrain, to delay the arrival of reinforcements from the Chaoyang direction 21 kilometers away to the north, and then go all out to launch a fierce attack on the defenders' positions.
"Shi" Haoyi did not tell the two regiment captains and subordinate officers another important reason, that is, once the high-speed reinforcements were ambushed or blocked by the squadron during their march, his seventh mixed brigade could still immediately
In an invincible position, the Chinese ** team with only about one brigade in front of them did not dare to leave the advantageous terrain it currently occupied, and was unable to attack the 7th Independent Mixed Brigade, which far exceeded them in numbers and combat effectiveness.
To take a step back, if the situation changes drastically and the situation is urgently attacked by a sudden enemy attack, Ishikawa Koichi can also give an early warning through a brigade that stays behind to be on guard, and direct his troops to retreat two kilometers to shrink the defense, as tight as nails.
The ground was nailed to this main road of great strategic significance, while minimizing losses, waiting for the arrival of reinforcements from the 8th Division, and then seizing the opportunity to launch a sudden counterattack against the attacking Chinese troops.
Wang Xulun, who was on the high road northwest of Butterfly Valley, was confused by the abnormal actions of the Japanese army. After discussing with his chief of staff Dong Yizi and two old regiment commanders, he determined that the Japanese army, which was blocked in the south, launched three exploratory attacks.
The subsequent artillery fire exchange was not advantageous, most likely to delay the arrival of reinforcements, and then use the favorable situation of the north-south pincer attack to launch a fierce attack.
Wang Xulun quickly telegraphed his headquarters' opinions to division commander Gu Changfeng. Within three minutes, Gu Changfeng called back to express his agreement. While telegraphing Wang Xulun that enemy reinforcements had entered our army's ambush circle, he once again ordered Wang Xulun to hold on to the pond in accordance with the established plan.
Butterfly Valley, wait for the main force to finish taking care of the Japanese reinforcements, and then turn around to take care of the 7th Mixed Brigade.
After clearly seeing the Japanese army's intentions, Wang Xulun was no longer in a hurry, and ordered the four regiments under his command to stop shooting, pay attention to concealment, save ammunition and observe closely, and let the little Japanese fend for themselves.
The prudent Chief of Staff Guan Shan made an important decision in time and ordered the centralized use of seventy-two mortars divided into two parts and stopped using the original launching position. Use this rare time to transfer and quickly establish a new launching position.
positions to prepare for the coming war.
Ishikawa Koichi was startled when the entire Wang Xulun brigade stopped fighting back. He pondered for a moment and decisively ordered his troops to stop shelling and testing machine gun fire. The battle area with a radius of five kilometers gradually calmed down. The fierce fire coming from the north
The sounds of explosions and firefights became increasingly clear.
The officers and lieutenants of the Suji Seven Independent Mixed Brigade finally became anxious. More than ten officers and captains almost unanimously ran to Ishikawa Koichi to ask for advice.
Shi Haoyi knew that the situation he was most worried about had become a reality. He suppressed the urgency in his heart and calmly informed the officials of his judgment:
The main force of the Chinese ** team finally appeared. Through an ambush on our brigade, they mobilized reinforcements from various departments and launched strategic attacks. However, based on the overall situation on the battlefield and the analysis of the current battle situation, the enemy attacked the main force of our reinforcements.
Won't
There are more than 8,000 people in two brigades. If we want to destroy the 8th Cavalry Company that is heading south at full speed. The two main brigades of the Manchurian Army have a total of more than 12,000 people. It is simply impossible. Our troops only need to be prepared and wait patiently for the West.
Just follow General Giichi's orders.
However, at this time, Ishikawa Koichi did not know that he, like the Kwantung Army Headquarters and the Eighth Division Headquarters, had made a fatal mistake. The strength of Gu Changfeng's 44th Division and Yang Jiuxiao's Independent Second Division had
Far more than the 18,000 they estimated, there were more than 27,500, and among the more than 27,000 soldiers, there were less than 500 non-combatants, especially Gu Changfeng, who was in his 40s.
Two for the Fourth Division and two for the Brigade
The regiment, as well as the two main regiments drawn from the Independent Division and the 17th Division, are both elite troops among the few in the Chinese Army. Their sophisticated equipment and rich combat experience are not comparable to ordinary armies.
Therefore, the blows being suffered by two brigades of puppet troops and a regiment of more than a thousand cavalry are far difficult to measure based on common sense. Once the battle began, most of the Japanese puppet troops who entered the ambush circle suffered heavy losses, like a thunderbolt from the sky:
The Third Manchurian Cavalry Brigade, which was at the forefront, stepped on a series of shallowly buried mines, and the huge series of explosions continued. The sky-high flames and billowing smoke had not yet reached their highest point. More than 150 large and small caliber weapons
The mortars roared in unison, earth-shaking, under ten minutes of artillery fire coverage and crazy strikes from more than 400 light and heavy machine guns.
Under this, more than 3,800 officers and soldiers of the 3rd Manchurian Cavalry Brigade were almost wiped out. The 6,000 officers and soldiers of the 14th Manchurian Infantry Brigade fell in large numbers. The Japanese cavalry moved behind under the pretext of covering the two wings.
The regiment's more than 1,100 cavalry were not much better. The greeting they received was twice as warm as that of the puppet troops who had completely stepped into the ambush circle.
What's even more terrible is that the ten minutes of artillery fire and machine gun attacks have not yet ended. Gu Changfeng, the proud and unyielding tiger general who never sticks to routines, has given the order for an all-out charge. For a time, the sound of military bugles and the sound of killings are loud.
One of the camouflage cloaks
Thousands of soldiers rushed down the slope from all directions, rushed out of the ravines and dense forests, and ran headlong into the smoke-filled and wailing enemy troops. They used submachine guns, light machine guns, automatic pistols and other superior equipment to attack any enemy they faced.