Devil's Army

With the arrival of the 5th Brigade, the defense line in Kuancheng County, Rehe Province became stable.

Xinglong County in Rehe Province is adjacent to Jixian County, the military and political center of the First Anti-Japanese Army. After the First Anti-Japanese Army gained a foothold in Rehe Province, it began to consider taking back Xinglong County.

In this way, the defense zone of Jixian County of the First Anti-Japanese Army could advance more than 100 miles to the north.

On this day, the commander of the Fifth Brigade arranged for the reconnaissance platoon leader to take a few people into Xinglong County to understand the Japanese army's deployment situation in the county.

As Kuancheng County was recaptured by the devil troops, the Japanese troops in Xinglong County were facing a formidable enemy. They intensified the search at each city gate. If anyone was suspected, they would be arrested immediately. If anyone refused to be arrested, they would be shot on the spot.

In order to prevent unnecessary casualties, the reconnaissance platoon leader arranged two team members with good marksmanship to ambush outside Xinglong County.

If the reconnaissance platoon leader and two other team members who were about to sneak into the city were in danger, they would immediately open fire and attack the Japanese and puppet troops searching at the city gate.

The two team members mingled with the common people and successfully entered Xinglong County.

When the platoon leader sneaked into Xinglong County, a puppet soldier who had nothing better to do stopped him:

"Your accent doesn't sound like you're from around here?"

"I am from Tangshan and I am visiting my uncle in Xinglong County."

"Tangshan? That's the base of the evil army. Why did you go in to look for your uncle? You look like a soldier."

"Boss, I dare not say that. I am just a farmer. I went to Xinglong County to see my uncle to discuss getting married this year."

The puppet army's interrogation of the platoon leader attracted the attention of the Japanese army. A Japanese soldier came over with a gun in hand and tied up the platoon leader without saying a word.

At this moment, a gunshot was heard in the distance, and the Japanese soldier was shot in the head on the spot.

The common people at the gate of Xinglong County were in turmoil and wanted to rush into Xinglong County.

The platoon leader also wanted to take the opportunity to sneak into the city.

Suddenly, a burst of gunfire was heard in Xinglong County, and several civilians who were running in the front were shot and fell on the spot.

Then the puppet troops and Japanese troops in the city closed the city gates, and the platoon leader was also locked outside the city.

The Japanese soldiers on the city wall also felt they were facing a formidable enemy and immediately fired towards the place where the gunshots had just been heard.

The platoon leader and the civilians who had just left the city or were preparing to enter the city all lay on the ground, not daring to move.

The Japanese army fired arrows for more than ten minutes, and when they saw no movement, they stopped firing.

The platoon leader and the people outside the city hurriedly ran away.

The reconnaissance platoon leader failed to sneak into Xinglong County, so the county's reconnaissance mission was taken over by the two scouts who had already sneaked in.

The two scouts who sneaked into the county divided the tasks. With the central street of Xinglong County as the boundary, one was responsible for investigating the Japanese army's deployment, manpower, and firepower points at the city gate to the north.

The other one was responsible for investigating to the south of Xinglong County.

The next evening, the two scouts returned to the Kuancheng County Headquarters and reported their findings to the Fifth Brigade Commander:

The walls of each Japanese city gate were equipped with two machine guns, a squad of Japanese troops and a platoon of puppet troops.

Including the Japanese and puppet troops patrolling the streets and entering and leaving the command center, it is estimated that there are about 300 Japanese troops and about 500 puppet troops in Xinglong County.

The commander of the Fifth Brigade also arranged for a Golden Eagle UAV to survey the general topography of Xinglong County and found that Xinglong County is located in the Yanshan Mountains. The terrain is mainly mountainous, with large undulating terrain and numerous mountains, canyons and hills.

This kind of terrain makes it difficult for an army to advance quickly, but the Japanese army can use the favorable terrain to hide and set up ambushes.

Moreover, transportation in Xinglong County is relatively inconvenient. When attacking the county, it is necessary to prevent the Japanese army from destroying those bridges and cutting off the First Army from continuing to advance deep into Xinglong County.

After analysis, the commander of the Fifth Brigade believed that it would not be difficult to attack Xinglong County, but if the bridges were not occupied in advance, the subsequent casualties would be heavy.

At this time, Captain Pei volunteered, saying that their Lubei guerrillas could be competent for this task.

Many members of the Lubei guerrillas were from Xinglong County or had relatives living in Xinglong County, so they could sneak in. But they couldn't bring in weapons and ammunition.

When the Fifth Brigade Commander heard this, he immediately responded:

"We can deliver weapons and ammunition via the Golden Eagle drone, but how many members can you sneak in?"

"Conservatively speaking, about a hundred people should be able to get in."

"You have about a hundred people guarding several bridges. There are only 20 to 30 people on each bridge. The task is very difficult."

"Brigade Commander, we promise to complete the mission and hold out until the main force arrives." Captain Pei stood up and saluted.

"Okay, I'll arrange for an Army Aviation soldier to sneak into the city with you. Two days later at five o'clock in the evening, in the open space near the railway bridge on the north bank of the Luan River, I'll arrange for a Golden Eagle drone to replenish your ammunition and supplies.

At six o'clock in the morning on the third day, we will launch an attack on Xinglong County.

Your mission is to ambush the Japanese troops guarding the bridges from behind when the main force attacks, and prevent them from blowing up the bridges.

"Yes!"

Upon receiving the order, Captain Pei hurried down to make arrangements.