Anti-Japanese War: I have unlimited assistance

Chapter 43 Enter the position!

Before dawn.

The New 1st Regiment, the Independent Regiment and the New 3rd Regiment of the Eighth Route Army, led by their respective commanders, arrived at Suluokou Town after a full night of rushing and marching.

In the woods southeast of Sulongkou.

Li Yunlong ordered the soldiers to take a rest and eat something to replenish their strength.

The food they ate was dry food prepared by the kitchen staff, which consisted of steamed buns and pickles.

Li Yunlong did not immediately order the troops to enter the ambush position, but instead sent scouts to conduct reconnaissance near Wangdong Fort.

Then Li Yunlong ate two steamed buns with pickles, drank some water, and immediately regained some strength.

Fortunately, I took a nap yesterday afternoon, otherwise my eyelids would have been drooping after a night of rapid march.

Li Yunlong called the communications squad leader and gave the order.

"Xiao Zhang, go to this location... Sunjiazhuang informed the 769th Regiment that a cavalry brigade of the Japanese will be coming to reinforce them. After the battle here is over, I will send a machine gun unit to reinforce them."

Although the 769th Regiment was a main force regiment with strong combat effectiveness, it was still not safe against the Japanese cavalry brigade.

What's more, there are Japanese soldiers coming to reinforce by cars, and there are at least thousands of them.

This time, Li Yunlong plans to kill the Japanese cavalry brigade to avenge his fellow villagers!

"Yes!"

The communications squad leader turned around and left with the two soldiers.

Just then Ding Wei and Kong Jie came over together.

"Old Li, what's going on? Why aren't you letting the troops enter the ambush position?" Kong Jie came over and asked.

After the Japanese raided this area, there were hardly any people there, so there was no need to worry about being exposed.

"Not urgent."

Li Yunlong said:
"I sent Zhang Dabiao to Wangdong Fort to scout the enemy situation. He should be back soon."

Li Yunlong turned on the flashlight and looked at his watch: "There are still more than two hours before daybreak, so we still have time."

When Ding Wei and Kong Jie came over, Li Yunlong said, "Old Kong, Old Ding, let me repeat the battle deployment."

After saying that, Li Yunlong used the light of a flashlight to draw a curve on the ground, representing the Hutuo River.

Then place a short stick across the middle of the curve to represent Wang Dongbao Bridge.

If a general loses an order, his army will be defeated and he will die.

If a general gives a wrong order, his army will be defeated and he will be killed.

This was the first time Li Yunlong commanded three regiments in battle, and he had to ensure that everything was foolproof.

"Old Kong, you lead the Independent Regiment and the Third Battalion of the New First Regiment across the river and set up an ambush on the slopes on the north bank of the Hutuo River. Old Kong, you will command the battle on the north bank."

"Zhang Dabiao has gone to the bridge to scout. If there are no Japanese soldiers guarding the bridge, you can cross it."

"If there are Japanese soldiers on the bridge, you can cross the river from this position. The water here is not deep, and you can carry weapons and ammunition across the river."

Li Yunlong pointed to a location on the map:
"Zhang Dabiao will lead the way for you when the time comes."

"Okay!" Kong Jie nodded without objection.

"Old Ding, you lead the New Third Regiment to ambush on the south bank of the Hutuo River. You will command the front. Old Kong, you will stay with a reserve force. I will lead our regiment's second battalion as the reserve force."

"My first battalion reached Yangmingbao and blocked the Japanese reinforcements coming out of Daixian."

"The enemy reinforcements coming from Xinkou and Gangxian will be blocked by the 769th Regiment, our brother unit."

"Any shepherd who appears near Wangdong Fort is an enemy."

"Once the shepherd appears, kill him immediately and have our people change into the shepherd's clothes and herd the sheep to avoid being noticed by the enemy."

"We are very strong in this battle. To reduce casualties, tell the soldiers not to conserve ammunition and to use guns and grenades as much as possible to resolve the battle. We must avoid hand-to-hand combat with the Japanese. The Japanese are not weak in bayonet fighting."

"do you understand?"

Li Yunlong not only repeated the battle plan, but also explained the precautions to ensure that everything went smoothly. "Understood!"

Ding Wei and Kong Jie nodded.

Next, the three of them discussed some combat details.

Just then, Zhang Dabiao returned after completing his reconnaissance mission.

"Dabiao, how is the situation?"

Seeing Zhang Dabiao, Li Yunlong asked.

"Report to the leader."

Zhang Dabiao reported breathlessly:

"I didn't see any Japanese engineers. The bridge should have been repaired, but there are Japanese soldiers on the bridge!"

Li Yunlong frowned slightly: "How many devils are there on the bridge?"

The last time we did some reconnaissance, there were no Japanese soldiers on the bridge. It seems that the Japanese soldiers have become more resourceful.

"There were two small teams of Japanese soldiers, about 20 or so, but less than 30."

Zhang Dabiao said:
"The Japanese have set up a machine gun position at each end of the bridge."

Zhong Zhicheng said: "This bridge is quite important to the Japanese. After it was bombed once, the Japanese will definitely send troops to guard it."

Kong Jie said worriedly: "Since there are Japanese soldiers guarding the bridge, our plan to blow up the bridge will not work."

Li Yunlong's original plan was to wait for the middle vehicle of the Japanese transport team to drive onto the bridge, and then order the soldiers hiding under the bridge to detonate the explosive packs to blow up the bridge. The Japanese transport team would then be in a situation where they would be broken up, and the front and rear of the Japanese would be unable to take care of each other, making the battle easier.

"It's ok."

Li Yunlong waved his hand and said:
"When the time comes, I will order the artillery to use the Type 92 infantry gun to bombard the Japanese vehicles on the bridge. Even if the Japanese vehicles are blown up, the Japanese will still be unable to take care of both ends!"

Ding Wei's eyes lit up. "Old Li, this is a good idea. After we destroy the Japanese, we can also pull the war supplies to the south bank. The problem is, can your artillery fire accurately?"

This time, Li Yunlong brought the brigade headquarters and the new regiment's six cannons.

However, after the battle, two of the guns must be returned to the brigade commander, and the other two guns must be handed over to the division headquarters.

Even though the New 2st Regiment only had two Type infantry guns left, Ding Wei and Kong Jie were still envious.

"I have asked Wang Chengzhu, there is no problem." Li Yunlong said.

Li Yunlong then looked at his watch and said, "All troops can begin their movement and enter their positions before daybreak."

Everyone uttered a low cry and headed towards their respective troops.

Li Yunlong quickly calculated the cost in his mind.

The security forces of the Japanese transport team consisted of two infantry squadrons, a machine gun squadron, an infantry artillery squadron, a motor vehicle squadron, and the Japanese logistics unit.

The Japanese army had about a thousand troops.

Our independent regiment, the new first regiment and the new third regiment have a total strength of more than 3000 people.

In terms of weapons and equipment, the Japanese had an estimated thirty to forty light and heavy machine guns, four 70mm infantry guns, at least 4 50mm grenade launchers, no fewer than 20 rifles, and 500 to 2500 grenades.

The Eighth Route Army had more than 300 light and heavy machine guns, 300 submachine guns, more than 1000 pistols and rifles, and more than 15000 grenades and hand grenades.

Both sides had ammunition in abundance, and the Eighth Route Army had more.

The Japanese have stronger individual combat capabilities, but they are in an ambush situation.

All in all, I have a huge advantage.

As long as the Japanese enter the encirclement, the ambush is half successful.

Thinking of this, Li Yunlong suddenly felt more confident.

He led the soldiers towards Wangdongbao Bridge.

(End of this chapter)