Bright Sword: Construction starts from southeastern Shanxi

Overnight, Zeng Jiwen received a reply from headquarters. It turned out that when Zeng Jiwen reported the situation he had discovered to headquarters, the headquarters was not quite clear about it, so they began to investigate and finally figured it out.

It turned out that the Japanese battalion stationed in Pingding belonged to the 79th Regiment of the 40th Brigade of the 20th Division, a unit Zeng Jiwen knew well. They were preparing to advance southward toward Xiyang and completely occupy it. Meanwhile, the Japanese battalion at Jiulongguan was also identified as belonging to the 1st Battalion of the 136th Regiment of the 109th Division.

Since an entire battalion of the 79th Regiment was wiped out by Zeng Jiwen, and the regiment has not yet received any reinforcements, the headquarters estimated that a battalion of the 109th Division was temporarily used as a supplementary battalion for the 79th Regiment.

The 109th Division is currently the guard division of the North China Front Army, responsible for guarding the occupied areas. Its combat effectiveness is much weaker than that of the Japanese 20th Division.

It was estimated that it was too late to withdraw troops from the rear, so the Japanese army planned to withdraw a battalion from the rear security division to supplement the 79th Regiment. At the same time, the two Japanese troops split into two groups and worked together to capture Xiyang.

After Zeng Jiwen learned the news, his eyes suddenly lit up. There were only two battalions on one side and a Japanese security battalion on the other side. Suddenly, a combat plan emerged in his mind. If the plan was completed perfectly, the weapons and equipment for the new regiment planned to be formed this winter would be ready.

So, Zeng Jiwen and the brigade team began to discuss how to defeat the Japanese troops that were about to enter.

According to the current situation, the Japanese troops coming from Jiulongkou would have to pass through a largely mountainous area along their route. Zeng Jiwen, after analyzing the terrain, concluded that if they were to attack Xiyang, they would have to pass through Nanjiedu, Beijiedu, and Huangyadi, east of Xiyang. This river valley would be ideal for ambushes. Huangyadi, in particular, was flanked by cliffs, making it difficult to launch a charge but ideal for ambushes.

However, the 79th Regiment coming from Pingding was different. They just had to go south. Although they passed through some mountainous areas, the terrain was low and not easy to ambush. Only when they passed between Zhangzhuang Town and Lijiaxiang, they could set up an ambush from Lianhua Mountain, which was high above them.

According to the current marching route of the Japanese army, the Japanese army in Jiulongkou must first reach Xiyang, occupy Xiyang, and then wait for the arrival of the 79th Regiment to continue advancing towards Heshun in the south.

Thinking of this, Zeng Jiwen had an idea, so he turned to the telegraph operator.

"Immediately send a telegram to the political commissar, informing them of the news of a Japanese battalion approaching from Jiulongkou. At the same time, have them ambush and eliminate this battalion at Huangyadi, near Zhaobi Township in the defense zone. Huangyadi is surrounded by cliffs on both sides. As long as we block the gaps in front and behind, we can completely shut the door and fight the enemy."

At the same time, in order to ensure the smooth progress of the ambush, Zeng Jiwen quickly sent the artillery battalion's 90mm mortar company to the 781st Regiment.

Then he continued, "At the same time, tell the Chief of Staff to have Lao Wu lead the 1st Battalion of the 783rd Regiment through Zhanshang Town and assemble at Lianhua Mountain."

Zeng Jiwen calculated the forces at hand: three fully staffed Japanese-equipped battalions, two mountain artillery companies, one heavy artillery company, and one ordinary Japanese-equipped battalion. This was sufficient to ambush the 79th Regiment at Lianhua Mountain by surprise. However, he feared they would not be able to completely wipe them out this time. The terrain was only backed by mountains on two sides, and if the Japanese fled, the front and back would be open, making it difficult to completely wipe out the regiment.

After saying that, Zeng Jiwen decided that he and Cai Xu would lead the 782nd Regiment to Lianhua Mountain. Once the ambush at Huangyadi began, the Japanese army would definitely speed up to rescue the 109th Division brigade in Xiyang.

At the same time, he also submitted his battle plan to the Eighth Route Army Headquarters and requested approval.

At 14 p.m., on Lotus Mountain.

Zeng Jiwen, Wu Lin and others stood on a high place and looked down at the terrain.

The hillside opposite Lianhua Mountain was not high, but rose slowly. The front and back were all plains. If we were to hold the line on the plains, our forces would be too dispersed and easily broken through by the Japanese.

Therefore, we had to think of a way to drive the Japanese army to the opposite side and then surround them, while at the same time preventing the Japanese army from occupying the opposite hillside and stationing there waiting for reinforcements.

After discussing with Wu Lin and others, they decided to place the 1st Battalion of the 782nd Regiment and its artillery positions on Lianhua Mountain, with the 3rd Battalion positioned further back on the top of the opposite slope. They also decided to place the 1st Battalion of the 783rd Regiment in front of Beiduhai Village, the southernmost area, where the terrain was extremely open, to prevent the Japanese from making a strong initial advance. Meanwhile, the 2nd Battalion of the 782nd Regiment would outflank the Japanese rear.

In this way, after the Japanese army completely entered the encirclement, the artillery and those with good marksmanship would first kill the enemy's machine gun squadron and artillery squadron, and then the 1st Battalion of the 782nd Regiment and the 1st Battalion of the 783rd Regiment would begin to attack the Japanese army, the 2nd Battalion of the 782nd Regiment would follow from behind, and the 3rd Battalion would only leave a small force on the top of the mountain to shoot.

Once the gunshots were heard, the Japanese commander would certainly observe the terrain in a panic, and then find that the weakest link in the entire encirclement was the Third Battalion, and they would definitely all head towards the opposite side of Lianhua Mountain.

In this way, it is guaranteed that the Japanese army will not break out in the other two directions. When the Japanese army rushes to the halfway point of the uphill mountain, the firepower of a complete Japanese-equipped battalion will be launched instantly, thus ensuring the successful annihilation of the 79th Regiment.

On the morning of the second day, at Huangyadi, the 781st Regiment was in ambush position.

Scouts from the 389th Brigade discovered early in the morning that the Japanese army was about to reach Huangyadi.

After inspecting the nearby terrain, Political Commissar Zhou Shi and Deputy Brigade Commander Huang Hanjia discovered that the northern part was flat and the southern part was steep. From Nanjiedu Village to the south, the river became narrower and narrower, and the mountains on both sides became higher and higher, forming a natural and dangerous checkpoint at Huangyadi. In addition, there were a large number of ditches, ridges and slopes along the way, which allowed the troops to hide well and not be discovered, allowing them to fight step by step and lure the enemy into deeper territory.

When the Japanese troops were lured to Huangyadi, there were cliffs dozens of meters high on both sides of Huangyadi, which were easy to defend and difficult to attack. This not only slowed down the speed of the Japanese troops' counterattack charge, but also limited the observation field of the Japanese artillerymen. The artillery of the brigade could effectively carry out shelling without fear of being discovered by the Japanese army.

In addition, once the battle has entered a decisive battle, we can form a pincer attack from both sides, which is conducive to firepower strikes on the Japanese army. If we can completely lure the Japanese army to Huangyadi, there is only a river beach for assembly, but the river beach has an open terrain and the Japanese army has no way to hide. It can be said that they are directly exposed to our army's firepower coverage. Then we can use the mountains for cover, concentrate firepower from a high position, and directly annihilate this Japanese army.

Judging from the local terrain of Huangyadi, there are cliffs dozens of meters high on both sides of Huangyadi, which are easy to defend and difficult to attack. They can not only slow down the speed of the enemy's counterattack, but also limit the enemy's observation field, so that our army can disperse and hide during artillery attacks, effectively avoiding casualties. In addition, it is beneficial for our army to control the initiative of the battle. From the specific terrain, if

After comprehensive consideration, Huang Hanjia decided that the first battalion would set up an ambush in Fengju Village south of Huangyadi, occupy the front-line positions in the nearby Beishan Mountain, and launch a frontal attack on the enemy; the second and third battalions would set up an ambush on the high ground around Gongjiazhuang east of Huangyadi, launch a flank attack on the enemy, assist the first battalion, and use a small number of troops to conduct guerrilla vigilance on Huangyadi Village; the regimental command post would be deployed on the back of the mountain top near Huangyadi, and the artillery would move with the command post, responsible for curbing the Japanese firepower.

As time went on, the Japanese army began to come into the sight of the 781st Regiment.