Bright Sword: Start with Ding Blast Bridge, Homemade Sweet Potato Cake

The First Army was facing the crisis of breaking out from the north to the south. Many county towns in the mountainous areas were in danger, and there were also signs of being surrounded and broken through in the plains.

After being warned, Yoshio Iwamatsu did not dare to let go of an inch of land and decided to make a flip-over arrangement.

The 41st Division deployed in the southern part of Taiyuan was transferred to the northern Xin County area to stabilize the Xinding Basin and block Ding Wei's troops from attacking the south.

The devil's combat effectiveness has indeed declined significantly.

The most powerful ones left in the First Army were only Type B divisions, and the early Type A divisions were the real experts in field combat.

The Japanese were powerful, but they were completely wiped out in the large-scale battle at the beginning of the war.

When the war of resistance first started, the intention was to end the war in three months, and the Japanese fought very harshly.

Use elite divisions to attack fiercely, and leave 1 to 2 reinforcements in the rear.

If you lose one, you will get one replacement; if you lose ten thousand, you will get ten thousand replacements.

This style of fighting was indeed fierce, using the most elite soldiers to fight the big battles, but after each large-scale battle, the division was crippled and needed at least six or seven months to recover.

After the Battle of Wuhan, the elite divisions before the war were basically destroyed, and the so-called old Japanese also suffered almost all casualties.

Two years after the war of resistance, old Japanese soldiers became a scarce commodity.

When the Pacific War broke out last year, a large number of relatively elite divisions were transferred to the southern front to fight, and the combat effectiveness of the troops left behind in the enemy-occupied areas declined significantly.

The Japanese invaders' attack on China was definitely not smooth sailing. Although we were constantly defeated and retreating, we were able to use our status as an agricultural country to grind down the elite Japanese troops.

A large number of troops were mobilized, just like at the beginning of the mopping-up operation, and the infantry of the 41st Division arrived in Xin County in turn.

The division commander, Abe Heisuke, had just arrived in the mountainous area in June and handed over the command to the former division commander, Lieutenant General Shimizu Nobuki, and took charge of the 41st Division, taking charge of security and combat missions.

This is a veteran who participated in the Battle of Nomonhan and is best at border defense.

The North China Expeditionary Army positioned itself as garrison and security operations, which was suitable for generals who were good at defense.

The 358th Regiment and the Independent Regiment were the first to be affected.

The garrison areas of the two regiments were on the east and west sides of Xin County. Suddenly, a division of Japanese invaders rushed over. The three main regiments were stationed in Yangqu, Xin County, and Dingxiang. Just looking at the marching columns, they were stretched out far away.

The frightened observation post retreated far away.

Li Yunlong cursed and even wanted to launch a second attack on Dingxiang County.

Upon learning that an infantry regiment was approaching, the small guerrilla force of the independent regiment was dispersed.

The strongholds and turrets in the area were reinforced with firepower.

Just taking a gun tower as an example, if the troops stationed there are all puppet troops, they will surrender on their own without you having to fire.

If the troops stationed there are all Japanese soldiers, even if the artillery tower is blown down, the remaining Japanese soldiers will still insist on fighting back.

Before dying, he will try to raise his gun and shoot.

The difficulty of the strategies for the two cannot be compared.

North of Xin County,

Along the Yunzhong River and Hutuo River, the Japanese quickly deployed defensive fortifications and put on a grand gesture.

Civilians and coolies were conscripted to quickly dig trenches, lay barbed wire, and build bunkers.

Kong Jie, Zhou Weiguo and Ding Wei came to the front-line observation post and looked at the 41st Division which was in full swing. They all frowned.

"Commander, this group of devils has adopted a different posture. With the strength of a division, they are taking a defensive stance against our Jinbei Column?"

Zhou Weiguo put down the telescope, pursed his lips and took a breath.

He was just trying to see how the Japanese division would launch an offensive to the north, but the current result was not quite what he expected.

What could Ding Wei say?

"It seems that our new opponent is a general who is good at defense. That's quite interesting."

In the past, Ding Wei would have a headache.

The Jinbei Column, which had just acquired a howitzer battalion and assembled an artillery regiment, was thinking of finding a live target to practice with.

Isn’t it a coincidence that the 41st Division arrived and asked Ding Wei to verify the firepower of the column.

The troops took a short break, and the time moved from June to July.

The sun was hanging high above the pole, and it was so hot that it was hard to breathe.

The Japanese still conscripted civilians to build fortifications day and night to strengthen the defense.

Even concrete semi-permanent fortifications were added.

This requires talking about Abe Heisuke's combat experience. Before coming to Shanxi, he fought against the Soviet security forces in the Kwantung Army.

The Soviet artillery and tanks were so powerful that Abe Heisuke learned how to defend.

It has to be said that the battlefield is the best teacher and it has produced an excellent student.

There is an isolated mountain in the middle of the Xinding Basin, which is also the only highland in the plain area.

The Japanese army, which had rich defense experience, did not make any defensive deployment on the high ground, and even abandoned it as if it was a gift to Ding Wei.

It seemed like a trap, and for a moment I couldn't find out what the problem was with the trap.

"Old Kong, arrange for reconnaissance personnel to go to Jinshan to find out the details of the other party."

The weather is hot and wearing only a piece of cloth makes people feel dizzy.

Ding Wei took a sip of cold water, gritted his teeth, and put his hands on his hips.

Allowing the Japanese to build fortifications will only be detrimental to the subsequent attack.

We have to send out snipers to attack their sentries and test what the Japanese are thinking.

Transfer three companies along Jinshan to find out what the Japanese are thinking.

The troops arrived at the front line and sneaked to the vicinity of Yunzhong River in the dark, using their rich experience to search for the Japanese sentries.

As soon as they opened fire, they were forced back by light machine gun fire.

The soldier nearly lost his life.

The Japanese deployed a large number of light machine gun fire points along the river, ready for battle.

Don’t seek merit, but seek no faults.

The main force of the 41st Division entered Xin County, and the division's mountain artillery battalion also focused on defense, aiming towards Jinshan.

Lieutenant General Abe Heisuke came to the front line from time to time to inspect the positions to ensure that everything was safe.

The 358th Regiment and the Independent Regiment on the left and right wings were also watching and waiting, and they were also unable to figure out the Japs' pulse.

No sweeps, no attacks, instead they focused on building fortifications and trenches, and deployed a tortoise-shell-like defense.

Is this still a Japanese devil?

You know what, at least the situation in northern Shanxi has been stabilized.

There were no large-scale casualties. Ding Wei, Li Yunlong and Chu Yunfei did not launch a serious battle.

Several small-scale attempts by the three parties were also forced back by the intensive firepower.

Jinshan is an isolated mountain located in the plains, lying there naked, waiting for Ding Wei to fire artillery and shoot from above.

Something is wrong. This is terribly wrong.

A light rain broke the brief heat.

The rainy weather brought a slight cool breeze, which was really good weather for fighting.

Ding Wei couldn't help it. Even though there was an entire division of troops facing him, he still wanted to test the waters.

Kong Jie's words woke him up.

"The enemy's firepower is tight, as if they know we are going to attack them. If we attack them head-on, I don't know how many shells we will waste."

He does not mean that.

Ding Wei was such a perceptive person that he realized the real intentions of the devils.

This was to use defensive means to consume all the shells in his hand. What difference would a howitzer without shells be compared to scrap metal?

The Japs were certain that their Eighth Route Army could not produce 150mm grenades, so this batch of weapons was a perfect weapon in their hands. However, once they were actually used, their deterrent power would be insufficient.