I fought guerrilla warfare in the Yimeng Mountains during the Anti-Japanese War

On the morning of July 1938, 7, the 6th Brigade of the 199th Division (with Liu Yuanshan as the Brigade Commander) deployed defenses in the Qiligang area outside the west gate. At 574:4, the Japanese army bombarded the defenders' positions until about 50:7, firing more than a thousand rounds. The positions of Zhujiagang and Wang Daying were destroyed, the commander of the 287th Regiment, Zhao Wohua, was killed, and many officers and soldiers below the battalion level suffered casualties.

Under the cover of artillery fire, more than a thousand Japanese troops attacked Zhujiagang and Gexiaodian, the junction of the 48th and 199th Divisions, and broke through the first line of defense of the defenders.

In order to turn the tide of the battle, Han Jun, commander of the 144th Brigade, led the rest of the brigade to counterattack the enemy after the 288th Regiment of the division reserve held the second line of defense. After fierce fighting, they finally recaptured the lost positions of the first line of defense.

Afterwards, the Japanese army concentrated artillery fire and 6 aircraft to cover the follow-up troops to continue the attack. The 283rd Regiment and the 284th Regiment each drew a part of their forces from the left wing of the position, and the 574th Brigade drew a part of its forces from the right wing of the position to counterattack the enemy, attempting to thwart the enemy's offensive.

However, due to the bombing of enemy aircraft and the fierce charge of infantry and cavalry, the defending troops suffered heavy casualties and abandoned their positions and retreated westward at around 8 a.m. The Japanese army was in hot pursuit.

The defenders were poorly organized and defeated during their retreat, and part of the Japanese army took the opportunity to rush into the city from Deshengmen. As the main force of the defenders was stationed outside the city, the city was short of troops, and there were traitors inside the city, and some of Song Shike's subordinates also rebelled, the city lost control.

At around 9:26, the headquarters of Xu Yuanquan, commander of the 48th Army Group, was blown up by the Japanese army. Xu Yuanquan ordered Xu Jiwu, commander of the 144th Division, and Han Jun, commander of the th Brigade, to move to the southwest of the city to supervise the battle and retreat to the north gate to try to gather scattered soldiers for a counterattack. However, due to the enemy's front and back attacks outside the city, the army's morale was shaken, and the command and communication failed, it was difficult to organize effective actions.

At around 1 p.m., the defenders retreated to the west and north of the city, and Hefei fell.

Chen Feng felt very heavy-hearted after reading the war report. Although he knew that Hefei could not be defended and that its fall was delayed some time compared to history, the fall of Hefei meant that the entire Jinpu Line was opened.

The Japanese army's next focus will be divided into two steps. The first step will be to gather troops to attack Henan and look for opportunities to infiltrate Wuhan. The other step will be to concentrate its forces to eliminate the anti-Japanese forces east of the Jinpu Line, mainly in the Jiangsu, Shandong and Anhui regions.

A brutal encirclement and mopping-up operation was about to come. Although the guerrillas were well trained, tunnel operations were not something that could be done overnight.

We can't wait any longer. The stockpiled food is enough for a year, but the weapons and ammunition are still insufficient. One or two major battles are enough. If we face the siege of the Japanese army for a long time, there will definitely be problems. Chen Feng is now always worried about insufficient firepower.

After countless soldiers' disguised reconnaissance during training, the news about Mengyin City and Pingyi City became completely transparent. The two county towns were about the same distance from Mount Mengshan. Chen Feng planned to start with Mengyin, mainly because there were more troops and weapons and equipment in Mengyin City. More importantly, there were six infantry guns left behind by the Ono Regiment that were inconvenient to carry last time.

After the guerrillas' attack on the food-grabbing team, there are still 150 Japanese troops and 120 puppet troops in Mengyin City. Although their strength is matched with that of the Mengshan guerrillas, they are willing to steal but have no intention of stealing. I believe it will not be difficult to take Mengyin.

On the afternoon of July 7, the guerrillas disguised themselves as civilians in groups of three or four and infiltrated towards Mengyin City. Their mission was to enter the county town, find out the troop deployment that night, and send people to support them, so as to capture Mengyin City with internal and external support.

In the evening, the second platoon of the second company was left to defend Mengshan, and all the remaining troops rode towards Mengyin. Chen Feng set off with the follow-up troops, and the medical team was also brought along. There would definitely be casualties this time.

Yang Yuejiao and her sister didn't know how to ride a horse, so Chen Feng and Liu Caiyun each carried one, and the others each rode a horse. After a journey of 60 kilometers, the team arrived outside Mengyin City at 8:30.

After Yu Dabao was eliminated by the Yimeng guerrillas, Gou Chuanping was promoted to the company commander of the first company of the puppet army camp on the front line.

This company commander named Han Xianhui once followed Liu Heiqi in Linyi City. He was a survivor of the bombing by the Lone Wolf Commando. He was so scared that he secretly returned to his hometown. However, after the Japanese army controlled Mengyin City, he continued to be a bandit and became a traitor. He took over Yu Dabao's position and became more aggressive. Although he dared not leave the county, he abused the people in the county. Many girls and young wives had no choice but to go to their relatives in the countryside.

Han Xianhui and Hou Chuanping were drinking Japanese sake. Gou Chuanping had spent a few years in Dalian and there was no problem in communication between the two. Although they despised this traitor very much, they still had to rely on the Imperial Army to collect grain and raise money in the future. The lives of the Imperial Army were precious and could not be lost in the guerrillas' sneak attack.

Han Xianhui had almost finished drinking:

"Taijun, you don't have to worry about food. Starting tomorrow, I will lead the team to rob it. We won't go far, but will place more spies near the county town. If we encounter an ambush, we can retreat to the county town immediately."

"Hey, Han Sang has been worrying so much about the Imperial Japanese Army. I won't treat you unfairly. As long as you can get enough of what the higher-ups require, I will recommend credit to Han Sang."

"Madam, all the credit is yours. I just need to make a living."

"Ha ha ha ha"!

Gou Chuanping laughed:

"Han Sang, you are the smartest Chinese I have ever met. Believe me, as long as you grab enough food, I can give you what you want right away."

While the two men were still bragging and drinking, the vanguard had already silently captured two city gates.

The defense of Mengyin County was not strong. In fact, the two city gates were of little use. Half of the city walls on the east and west sides of the city had already been destroyed, and there were roads leading into the county everywhere.

There were only two squads of Japanese soldiers and two squads of puppet troops guarding the two city gates. The first group to set off were all members who could carry out special operations, and it was effortless for them to take over the two city gates.

The gathering point of the Japanese and puppet troops had been found out long ago. The Japanese occupied a wealthy family's courtyard with three entrances and exits. The soldiers rested in the first two rows of rooms in the courtyard at night, and the back row was used to store ammunition and supplies.

Gou Chuanping was also afraid of being attacked at night, so he demolished all the surrounding houses, set up two sentry posts, and built four watchtowers at the four corners of the compound. The defenses were very tight.

The puppet army was not far from the Japanese army and was stationed in the old county government office. Some lived in houses, some set up tents, and some slept on the floor. It was dirty, messy and chaotic.

When Chen Feng arrived at the city gate with the follow-up troops, the team in front had already surrounded the old county government office and the compound where the Japanese were stationed. The team advanced quickly under the guidance of the support. There was no one on the street at all. Although there was no curfew, it was impossible to hide at this time. Who among the ordinary people dared to go out on the street so late at night?

When the team arrived at the location, Chen Feng gathered all the platoon leaders and issued a combat order. The puppet troops were handed over to the Huang Shanhe Platoon and Lu Feihu Platoon of the Third Company to deal with, and the remaining three platoons would deal with the Japanese troops in the compound. The four mortars adjusted their firing parameters, one to deal with the puppet troops, and three to deal with the Japanese troops.