Bright Sword's Bloody War of Resistance

Chapter 271 Force Distribution
1940 8 Month 23 Day.

At this time, the sky was already dark, and the independent detachment arrived near Fengle Station again after a long march of more than ten hours in the dark.

Thanks to the previous destruction of the Ping-Han Railway, the march of the independent detachment to the south was not noticed by the Japanese army.

Xiang Ying, political commissar of the 28th regiment, had been waiting at Fengle station for a long time. Seeing the arrival of the large troops, he hurried up to greet them.

"Captain Zhou, Political Commissar Zhao!" Xiang Ying stepped forward to salute.

Zhou Weihan nodded, and then asked, "Where are the Japanese reinforcements?"

"According to the report from the comrades of the independent guerrilla detachment, the brother army sent a small force to blow up a section of the railway from Qi County to Tangyin, and the Japanese army is still in Qi County!" Xiang Yinghui reported.

"That is to say, the Japanese army will not be able to reach Anyang before noon?"

"It's like this. The straight-line distance from Qi County to Anyang is nearly 130 miles. Many of the railways were destroyed before. The Japanese army may have to walk to the south bank of the Zhang River!"

Just after the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army got a part of the [-]th Division of the Japanese Army to go north along the Ping-Han Railway, the boss immediately ordered the independent guerrilla detachment to destroy the railway along the way.

Starting from Xinxiang, the Japanese army passed through Ji County, Qi County, Tangyin, and finally arrived in Anyang.

Two days before this, the independent guerrilla detachment had destroyed the railways on the north and south sides of Anyang Station. Duan launched a surprise attack, which paralyzed the transportation route of the Japanese army going north.

"Political commissar, you stay and organize the troops, I'll go to the forward position first!" Zhou Weihan said.

Zhou Weihan was not in a hurry to let the troops deploy quickly. First, Zhou Weihan was not familiar with the surrounding terrain. Second, the preliminary preparation work was arranged by Ding Wei and Wang Yigong, so it was reasonable to contact them.

Ding Wei was very bold, and grandly set up the regiment headquarters of the 28th regiment at the bridgehead stronghold on the north side of the Zhanghe Bridge.

Inside the regiment.

A map was spread out on the table, and the map was covered with markers.

"Old Wang, your ability in map work is good, you really showed me!" Ding Wei also had to admit that Wang Yigong, who graduated from Whampoa, still has some skills.

"Let me tell you, this is nothing. Surveying and mapping is a basic skill. Among the students in the same period of Whampoa as me, I can only be regarded as upper-middle level. A senior in the third period of Whampoa is a master. A piece of chalk is on the blackboard. I can draw a map of the entire Hunan!" Wang Yigong said modestly, but with an unconcealable smile on his face.

Ding Wei smiled after hearing this: "Come on, I'll praise you a few times, you're even good at it!"

Unexpectedly, Zhou Weihan pushed the door open at this time and said loudly: "Wang Yigong is not bragging. The senior of the third phase of Whampoa he said was Minister Yang of the logistics department of the headquarters. He was a great person back then!"

When Ding Wei and Wang Yigong saw Zhou Weihan coming, they got up quickly.

"Sit down, tell me how your preparations are going!" Zhou Weihan waved his hand and said.

"It's all on this map, let Commander Wang tell you!" Although Ding Wei was appointed by Zhou Weihan as the commander of this battle, he was not greedy for credit.

Wang Yigong was not polite, and said directly: "Detachment Captain, we sent several small troops to explore the surrounding terrain with the assistance of comrades from the Independent Guerrilla Detachment in one day yesterday!"

"We are now located at the Zhanghe Bridge in the south of Ci County. There are three surrounding locations suitable for crossing the river. One is the Xiaohekou in the southwest of Ci County. In Lin County, where the New Fifth Army of the National Army is located, the Japanese army will not take this route according to my speculation and that of Commander Ding, and at the same time blocked the Japanese army's attempt to detour to the west!"

Zhou Weihan nodded after hearing this, and signaled Wang Yigong to continue talking.

"Thirty miles to the east, at the corner of the Zhanghe River, the river bank is narrow. There is a stone bridge across the river, but the stone bridge is only about one meter wide, and only two people can pass through!"

"The last place is the Zhanghe Bridge right now. Although the bridge was blown up, the river flow here is gentle. In addition, to stabilize the foundation of the Zhanghe Bridge, the Japanese army artificially transformed the terrain on both sides. The Japanese army can cross the river by boat along the piers on both sides!"

"The rest of the area is either turbulent water and densely covered with reefs, or the soil on both sides of the bank is soft, mostly wetlands and swamps, densely covered with reeds and weeds, so it is not suitable for landing!"

"How is the strength of your two regiments distributed?" Zhou Weihan asked.

At this time Ding Wei answered: "The first battalion and the second battalion of the fourth regiment are commanded by Gao Zhiheng, and they are arranged in Shiqiao. The third battalion of the fourth regiment and the three battalions of our 28th regiment are arranged on the north bank of the Zhanghe Bridge. The army will have a brigade of troops to harass the Japanese army from behind!"

"The Japanese army didn't know that the main force of our army was in ambush here, and they were eager to go north for reinforcements. Crossing the river along the Zhanghe Bridge is the fastest plan. Moreover, the Japanese army in Anyang wandered around the south bank yesterday. They must have come to investigate to choose a place to cross the river!"

"Of course the stone bridge was not blown up. The Japanese army has two battalions of infantry alone. If we can induce them to divide their troops, that would be a good strategy!" Ding Wei finally said.

"This time, there will be one or two regiments with me, about [-] people, plus an artillery battalion. How do you want to arrange it?" Zhou Weihan said immediately.

Ding Wei and Wang Yigong looked at each other: "In fact, the Zhanghe Bridge is not suitable for blocking. The river bank line suitable for landing is only 1.5 kilometers. This will make our army's position too long and the depth of the position is small!"

"I have set up three positions on the north bank. The first position has two battalions. At the same time, four battalions of light machine guns are concentrated here, and the other two positions have one battalion each!"

"In addition, on the Zhanghe Bridge, I deployed a guard company, plus four heavy machine guns, and used the height advantage to shoot at the Japanese army."

Zhou Weihan nodded, just as Ding Wei said, the Zhanghe Bridge is indeed not suitable for blocking, as it would disperse too many troops.

And on the way from Fengle Station, Zhou Weihan also observed that the terrain on both sides of the railway is relatively flat, which is suitable for armored assault.

Zhou Weihan took a deep breath and said: "Then play a big game. I will arrange all the light machine guns of the first and second regiments in the first position, and withdraw the guard company on the bridge. I will ask Jing Dagang to take a The heavy machine guns of the regiment were placed on the bridge, the rest of the soldiers of the first regiment supplemented the first three positions, and the second regiment acted as a reserve team!"

"Heh, in this way, the firepower has been greatly enhanced. Under a sudden attack, it is enough for a kid to drink a pot!" Wang Yigong laughed.

"Don't tell me, when did our Eighth Route Army fight such a battle of wealth!" Ding Wei knew the firepower configuration of the independent detachment.

"We want to kill the Japanese army effectively at the first time, and at the same time use the depth of the position to consume the vital strength of the Japanese army. I also specially prepared a surprise for the Japanese army!" Zhou Weihan finally said

(End of this chapter)