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Chapter 214: Night Raid, Crossing the Qin River

"Captain Tan, Captain He! We have now surrounded Qinyuan County on three sides, but the Japanese are defending the city and are not coming out. With the continuous supply of logistics from the east bank of the Qin River, it will not be easy to take it down!"

The commander of the 3rd Army, Zeng Wanzhong, also arrived at the outskirts of Qinyuan County in the middle of the night. At this moment, he was leading his three division commanders and Tan Qiuzon and others to discuss the battle plan.

Although he was a lieutenant general, Xu Le, the commander-in-chief, said before the war that the 88th Army would be the main force in this battle, and their two army groups would be auxiliary, so even he had to listen to the opinions of a colonel.

Unless there are special circumstances, his entire 3rd Army will have to obey the command of Tan Qiuzon and others.

But Zeng Wanzhong and others did not refuse to accept it. The reason was simple: the other party's armored vehicles and rocket launchers were clearly displayed there.

Tan Qiuzong shook his sleepy head and said, "The information from the 664th Regiment has arrived. The Japanese gave up Qinshui County and Yangcheng County without any resistance. So my initial estimate is that the Japanese want to rely on the natural barrier of Qin River to stop us.

However, due to the special geographical location of Qinyuan County, the Japanese had to guard it, which was indeed a tough nut to crack.

But as long as we capture Qinyuan County, Changzhi will be within reach, and then our two regiments can go straight to Changzhi.

We dealt a fatal blow to the Japanese in Wuma Village. Now the defense of Qinyuan County is not yet complete. The best way is to fight quickly and decisively. Otherwise, when the Japanese's supplies arrive, it will be even more troublesome for us to fight.

If you have any ideas, please tell me!"

After he finished speaking, the people of the 3rd Army fell into deep thought. Their equipment was backward, with only two artillery battalions in an army, and those were small-caliber ones.

According to preliminary estimates, there are at least 5000 Japanese and puppet troops in Qinyuan County at this moment, and there are many heavy weapons defending the city. It would be a pipe dream to let them attack the county town heavily guarded by the Japanese alone.

Even if we succeed in taking it down, the losses will be incalculable.

After a moment, the talkative He Weili spoke up: "The Japs rely on nothing more than the Qin River at the East City Gate. They can get a steady supply from there. So we just need to cut off this supply line!"

Tan Qiuzong nodded and said, "The best breakthrough point is indeed the East City Gate. The only way is to force a crossing of the Qin River and outflanking the enemy from behind!"

Zeng Wanzhong said: "In order to ensure the safety of the rear, the Japanese must have strengthened their vigilance along the Qin River. It won't be easy to force a crossing!"

Then he looked at Tan Qiuzong and the other two and said, "Besides, only the armored vehicles of your two regiments can force a crossing. And there is no way to transport heavy weapons over. If you succeed in crossing the river, the Japanese will definitely gather heavy troops to attack you from the front and back."

He Weili thought for a moment, then pointed to a location on the map and said, "I have an idea. This is Zhujia Village, 10 kilometers north of Qinyuan County, which is now occupied by our army. We can cross the river from there, then go downstream and land at Kongjiapo on the east bank of the Qin River.

In order to land safely, we transferred the rocket artillery battalion and the artillery battalion to Commander Zeng, and launched a feint attack on Qinyuan County at night to attract the attention of the Japanese! "

Zeng Wanzhong shook his head slightly: "This method is feasible, but after you cross the river, you don't have heavy weapons. How can you face the attack of the devils?"

Tan Qiuzong immediately made the decision: "Well, our two regiments have more than 100 mortars. Your 3rd Army can lend us some mortars. After we cross the river, we will not engage in a direct confrontation with the Japanese. We can use mortars to bomb them."

"Sure!" Zeng Wanzhong also nodded: "I will transfer all the mortars of the 12th Division and the 34th Division to you, and I will also give you all the shells. As long as you guard the east gate, I promise you that I can take the county town within 6 hours!"

The original plan to attack the county town after daybreak was changed to a surprise attack by crossing the Qin River at night and implementing a tactic of encircling the town on all sides.

In the middle of the night, the 520th and 521st Regiments made emergency adjustments. Except for mortars and rifles, they did not carry any other weapons and carried as many mortar shells as possible.

At 1 a.m., the two regiments quietly went down to the river from Zhujia Village under the cover of darkness. In order to minimize noise, all armored vehicles drove at a low speed along the water flow.

The 7th, 12th and 34th Divisions launched feint attacks on the north, west and south of Qinyuan County respectively. Rocket launchers and artillery fired continuously at the city walls.

After drifting for half an hour, the 520th and 521st Regiments successfully landed secretly at Kongjiaopo, and then launched an attack on Qinyuan East Gate Bridge.

The Japanese also realized that something was wrong and tried to blow up the bridge. Even if they were trapped to death in the city, they would not let the follow-up troops of the 88th Army cross the river.

As a result, throughout the second half of the night, the Japanese and the 520th Regiment engaged in several close combats for the bridge.

.......

August 1, early morning.

The Japanese troops who came from Qin County to support Qinyuan County were repelled several times by the 521st Regiment, and the two regiments were completely surrounded.

At 7 o'clock, the western city of Qinyuan County was breached, and the 7th Division immediately attacked into the city.

It's like a piece of glass. If there is a crack at one point, the whole piece of glass will break with just a slight tap.

In less than half an hour, all three city gates were breached and troops from three divisions poured into the city.

The 520th Regiment also took the opportunity to launch a fierce attack on the East City Gate, forcing the last of the Japanese to the east of the county town.

On the other hand, the 1st Cavalry Army arrived at Lishi County and encountered slight resistance from the Japanese, but for some unknown reason, the city gate of Lishi County opened by itself.

The 1st Cavalry Division seized the opportunity and rushed into the city. What they saw shocked them: most of the Japanese defenders on the city wall were killed or wounded. It seemed that they had been attacked from within.

When they captured several puppet soldiers and interrogated them, they knew nothing about anything. They said that suddenly a group of people dressed as civilians started a riot in the city, and they took control of the city gate in just 5 minutes, and then these people disappeared without a trace.

Zhao Chengsui, commander of the 1st Cavalry Army, couldn't figure it out. If there was an insider, why didn't he receive any notification?

Could it be the guerrillas who did it?

However, after the last Queshu Valley Battle, although the 88th Army had achieved great results, the guerrillas throughout North China suffered a deadly raid by the Japanese, and it was unlikely that they would be able to organize such an effective military operation in a short period of time.

Moreover, according to the puppet army, each of these traitors had extraordinary skills and had received rigorous military training. They all used submachine guns.

This matter was reported to Jiang Feng. Jiang Feng seemed to understand something and ordered the 1st Cavalry Army to continue northward, occupy Dawu Town connecting to northwest Shanxi, and control the central part of Luliang Mountains.

In Xiaoyi and Jiexiu, after a night of fierce attacks, the armored division and mechanized infantry division also entered the city and engaged in street fighting with the remaining Japanese troops.

This is a one-sided crushing. With tanks and armored vehicles, they basically occupy wherever they reach.

The Japanese in both counties were unable to resist.

Because of the fall of Lishi, the Japanese in Xiaoyi gave up their plan to retreat to Linfen, and retreated to Pingyao County together with the Japanese in Jiexiu.

Just when the troops had completely occupied Jiexiu County, a piece of bad news reached Xu Le's ears.

[The author says that a topographic map of Shanxi Province is attached]