People are shining their swords, secretly helping the Iron Triangle in Northwest Shanxi

Etsujiro Kono contacted the 53rd Division and prepared to carry out coordinated operations to launch a comprehensive attack on the troops in the Zhongtiao Mountain area.

Even though the 52nd Division and other troops easily captured Kawachi Prefecture this time, Etsujiro Kono was still very cautious.

He did not continue to advance alone, fearing that he would be cut off and become isolated.

He was temporarily stationed in Hanoi County, waiting for the combat response from the Northern Echelon.

The Northern Echelon is composed of the 53rd Division, the Iron Stone Force and other units, with a combat strength of more than troops.

Their overall weapons configuration is relatively complete and they are very strong, making them the main attacking force of the Japanese.

The North China Front Army's deployment for this operation is also mainly based on the northern echelon, hoping that they can be the first to break the deadlock.

Takeda Kaoru received a telegram from the southern echelon, in which he learned that after they crossed the Qin River and captured Hanoi County, the Japanese and puppet troops here were advancing in full force.

The 53rd Division took the lead, followed by the Iron Stone Troops, and all the heavy weapons directly assigned to the army and the front were reinforced to the 53rd Division.

On the morning of February 53st, the rd Division advanced to the area north of Jincheng at a rapid march.

The Iron Blood Force, a subordinate of the Iron Stone Force, and more than 2,000 cavalry troops took the lead in launching the action.

They closely searched the Jincheng area and kept reporting to the 53rd Division Headquarters.

As the battle began, Chen Ziyun had already made quick adjustments and deployments based on the situation on the battlefield.

The Zhongtiao Mountain Guerrilla Command sent the 4th Brigade to Jincheng for defense, and the 5th Brigade to Yangcheng for defense.

The First and Fourth Guerrilla Regiments advanced to Jinmiaopu Town to support operations in northern Henan.

The 4th and 5th Brigades were reorganized from the 1st and 2nd Guerrilla Brigades respectively.

At the same time, the 608nd and 609rd guerrilla regiments under the th Brigade were reorganized into the th and th regiments.

These two brigades are organized according to the reinforced regiment structure, with relatively complete weapons and equipment and strong combat capabilities.

As for the First and Fourth Guerrilla Regiments, they are directly affiliated to the troops.

Up to now, Chen Ziyun’s Zhongtiao Mountain Guerrilla Command has six regiments of troops directly under its command.

"Use the 4th Brigade and the 5th Brigade, and the attached Cavalry Regiment, the 1st Artillery Regiment, the 2nd Artillery Regiment, and the Guard Regiment to defend the Jincheng Yangcheng line."

"The Third Brigade of the Northern Henan Region gradually retreated westward, attracting the Japanese troops to Wangwu Town and other areas for siege and attack."

"The 1st Guerrilla, 4th Regiment, Heavy Artillery Battalion will temporarily transfer Captain Li Yunlong to command the battle."

"Contact Division Commander Chu Yunfei and have his 201st Division defend Zhongtiao Mountain with all its might to prevent attacks from Japanese troops in southern Shanxi and other places."

Chen Ziyun immediately made arrangements and deployments based on the situation on the battlefield.

When the signalman received the report, he did not dare to delay at all and started sending electricity immediately.

By the afternoon of the 21st, the Japanese Tieshi troops took the lead in attacking. They had tank troops and Tiexin troops and launched an attack on Jincheng.

There were about 9,000 Japanese and puppet troops who constantly attacked Jincheng.

Xu Chengpu's Fourth Brigade, which entered Jincheng, defended tenaciously, and the artillery directly under the brigade also launched continuous shelling.

The troops of both sides fought repeatedly, and both sides suffered casualties.

The Tiexin troops attacked until night but were unable to break through the outer positions.

However, the combat effectiveness of the Tiexin troops also surprised the Fourth Brigade.

This group of Japanese and puppet troops was quite strong, well-equipped and had strong assault capabilities.

Their weapons are quite complete and they can coordinate well when attacking.

Of course, they also have a shortcoming, which is that the number of artillery is obviously insufficient.

Xu Chengpu, the commander of the 4th Brigade in charge of defense, quickly sent a telegram to Chen Ziyun, detailing the situation on his side. He was worried that once the Iron Stone Force was reinforced by artillery, it might pose a greater threat.

So he hoped to transfer the artillery troops as soon as possible to strengthen the defense of Jincheng area.

After receiving the report from Xu Chengpu, Chen Ziyun immediately transferred Zhou Wenbo's Second Artillery Regiment over without any hesitation.

At the same time, he deployed the Zhangwu Cavalry Regiment in the northeast of Jincheng so that it could provide support for combat at any time.

At ten o'clock in the evening, the Iron Stone Force stopped its exploratory attacks.

Japanese Major General Shigeyoshi Kurino, who was in charge of commanding the two reinforced infantry regiments of the Tiexin Force, began to report in detail to the commander of the 53rd Division, Kaoru Takeda.

They discussed and wanted to learn from previous lessons so as to capture Jincheng in the shortest time possible.

The Japanese northern echelon stopped the combat attack, but the southern echelon here.

During this day, they continued to launch tentative attacks.

Liang Ruxian's Third Brigade retreated to the defense line of Kejing Town, Chengliu Town, and Potou Town.

The main force of the brigade is still intact and still has combat capability.

The Japanese continued to launch tentative attacks and learned the detailed situation of the defenders.

The commander of the 52nd Division, Etsujiro Kono, adopted a strategy of a night surprise attack, and this time he mobilized all three routes of his troops.

The Jiangdao Detachment attacked Kejing Town, the Guchuan Detachment attacked Potou Town, and the 52nd Division gathered its main forces to attack Chengliu Town.

At twelve o'clock midnight, the three troops of the Japanese southern echelon advanced rapidly westward along the towns of Ziling Town to Meng County.

The Third Brigade currently has only more than 6,000 troops, but the Japanese have dispatched nearly 30,000 troops to launch an all-out attack.

By three o'clock in the morning of the 22nd, the troops of both sides launched fierce fighting on the front lines of Kejing Town, Chengliu Town and Potou Town.

The Jiangdao Detachment, with the 41st Regiment as its core, and troops quickly achieved victory.

At around five o'clock, the Jiangdao Detachment captured Kejing Town.

At the same time, the Guchuan Detachment formed by the 47th Regiment was even more ferocious. In Potou Town, they organized and annihilated a reinforced company of the 604th Regiment of the rd Brigade!

At nine o'clock in the morning, after suffering more than 600 casualties, the Third Brigade was forced to move towards Wangwu Town.

After they evacuated, the Japanese southern echelon had been advancing westward one after another, and the towns that had been recovered in northern Henan were almost all being captured one after another.

The Third Brigade was also a force of 7,000 people, but now only 6,000 people are left. They suffered 1,000 casualties.

You must know that Chen Ziyun did not give them the order to hold on to the death, but they still suffered heavy losses, which shows the combat strength of the Southern Echelon.

After the Japanese southern echelon captured the front-line position in Kejing Town, they did not rashly continue to advance westward, but stayed there.

They entered the town to rest and at the same time continued to send troops to search the surrounding areas.

On February 22, the Japanese northern echelon launched a series of fierce attacks on Jincheng.

In the morning, the 53rd Division dispatched its main force to attack.

The three infantry regiments, the 119th, 128th and 151st, launched a wave-like tactical attack.

Behind them, there are field artillery regiments and independent mountain artillery regiments providing support.

These two regiments assembled thirty-six field guns and thirty-six mountain guns.

At the same time, the three infantry regiments were also reinforced with independent machine guns, independent mortars and other heavy weapons.

By two o'clock in the afternoon, the three infantry regiments began to withdraw.

But the attack of the northern echelon did not stop, and the Japanese iron-hearted troops began to join the battle! (End of this chapter)