Retreating to the second-line defense is only the first step of Li Hong's plan, and what he says below is the key point.

"Ladies and gentlemen, what I said just now is only the first step, and the second step is to personally lead the troops to the south bank in a roundabout way to attack the enemy's rear logistics base and flank."

The officers and generals in the conference room were shocked one by one, Li Hong's plan was too bold, he dared to take the initiative to slap the tiger's ass?

Li Hong pointed to a town on the south bank of the Huai River on the map, and then said: "The devil's logistics force is stationed in Fenglin Town, which is 35 kilometers south of the bank.

"The 113th Division has lost its logistical support and is facing a flank attack, and the Japanese army will have worries, I think the Japanese army has no choice but to withdraw its troops."

After listening to Li Hong's battle plan and defense plan, the officers and generals present in the conference room fell into deep thought.

If all the battle plans of the security regiment go smoothly, it is absolutely impossible for the 113th Division to have the energy to seize the second-line position on the north bank of the Huai River.

After a few minutes, Yu Changsheng took the lead in applauding his hands after some thought.

"Bang Bang!"

Soon, the other officers and generals also applauded, saying that they agreed with all of Li Hong's plans.

Yu Changsheng stood up and ordered loudly: "Order, the 113th and 114th Divisions of the 51st Army will abandon the first-line positions on the north bank of the Huai River, immediately retreat to the second-line positions, and defend according to the terrain and passes of each village and town." ”

All the officers and generals stood up in unison and obeyed the orders of Chang Sheng's command.

"Yes, Commander!"

"Adjournment!"

The officers left the command in their own right.

Li Hong walked out of the headquarters and immediately rode back to the security regiment.

Twenty minutes later, the military commanders of Li Hongzhao's group held a combat operations meeting.

"The engineer company is responsible for repairing the bridge across the river overnight, the first battalion takes over the defense line of the cavalry battalion, and the fourth battalion of the reserve is responsible for requisitioning and collecting ships!"

"Yes, Tuanza!"

"Zhou Wenxun!"

"Humble duty!"

Li Hong ordered: "After leaving, you will temporarily act as the head of the regiment, and you will decide how to deal with the affairs of the regiment headquarters!" ”

"Yes!" Zhou Wenxun stood up and replied loudly.

Li Hong asked Zhou Wenxun to be the acting head of the regiment, which was carefully considered, Zhou Wenxun was brave and strategic, and he was cautious.

Subsequently, the officers who received the order left the regimental headquarters to work on their own equipment for the river crossing operation.

More than 100 officers and men of the engineer company carried all kinds of construction tools to the shore, and they did not dare to slow down the repair work for a moment in the dark, risking being washed into the river by the turbulent river.

The cavalry battalion and the fourth battalion of the reserve rushed to several nearby villages and towns to collect ships.

……

At ten o'clock in the evening, the crossing of the river by the combat units of the Security Regiment was completed.

Originally, the security regiment had more than 30 large and small boats, but the fourth battalion requisitioned and purchased more than 50 wooden boats, and the engineer company used the wooden boats to make a pontoon bridge over the river.

Wooden boats float in the river, with planks on the boats, and ropes between the boats, so there is no problem for people and horses to ride on them.

The only troops that participated in the battle were the cavalry battalion and the four battalions of the reserve, which carried sufficient weapons and ammunition, as well as various field dry rations.

In addition to the two battalions fighting, Li Hong mobilized the regiment's six multi-barreled rapid-fire guns to serve as suppressive weapons.

This time, the security regiment fought a sports sneak attack war, and the field artillery and mountain artillery were too cumbersome, and it was a difficult problem to transport these artillery pieces across the river, and the key was that it was quite troublesome to transfer the mountain artillery and field artillery.

Carrying multiple barrel guns, the mobility flexibility is significantly higher than those of heavy artillery.

The officers and men of the battle stood on the bank of the river, and on the bank there was a pontoon bridge leading to the south bank on the opposite side.

"Report to the regimental seat, all the officers and soldiers of the cavalry battalion have been assembled!"

"Report to the regimental seat, all the officers and men of the fourth battalion of the reserve have been assembled!"

Li Hong was fully armed, with a gun on his waist, and grenades, tear gas, and stun bombs hung in front of his tactical vest.

Glancing at the officers and soldiers, he waved his hand and ordered the soldiers to set off.

"All combat troops, cross the river!"

Taking into account the load-bearing problems of the pontoon bridge, the combat units of the security regiment did not all cross the river together, but crossed the river in batches.

The first to cross the river was the 4th battalion, and the officers and men led their horses and carried all kinds of weapons and ammunition to quickly pass through the pontoon bridge.

The artillerymen hung MLRS behind their horses and pulled them across the bridge one by one.

In less than half an hour, the officers and men of the battle safely crossed the river to the south bank with various weapons.

After crossing the river, the engineers dismantled the pontoon bridge and carried all the boats back.

Li Hong led two battalions of officers and soldiers on horseback, with the cavalry as the vanguard and the fourth battalion following closely behind.

They chose to ride on the mountain trails and rushed to Maple Grove Town.

At night, choose to march on the mountain road, although the road is a bit circumferential and difficult to navigate, but it can avoid the devil troops on the road, and it is also three kilometers closer to Maple Grove Town.

"Drive, drive, drive!"

The sound of horses' hooves sounded on the mountain road.

The combat unit of the security regiment rode quickly over the mountain road.

About two hours later, after a non-stop rush, Li Hong led two battalions of officers and soldiers to intersperse under a mountain range near Fenglin Town.

The mountain range is less than a kilometer away from Fenglin Town, and many officers and soldiers saw the flashing searchlights on the wall of Fenglin Town from a distance.

"Phew, hoo!"

Two cavalry battalion scouts reported to Li Hong.

"Report to the group, one kilometer ahead is Fenglin Town."

Another scout in civilian clothes continued to report: "Tuanza, we reconnoitred just now, and there is a brigade of devils stationed in Maple Grove Town. ”

Li Hong nodded, and then jumped off the horse.

He walked to a small and towering dirt slope, holding a night vision binoculars in his hand, and looked in the direction of the city gate of Maple Grove Town.

As the telescope line of sight extended, you can see that there are machine gun fortifications of devils on and below the city gate, and searchlights alternately illuminate the city wall, and the devils are very well defended.

Logistics supply is the guarantee of a unit's combat effectiveness, and the little devil logistics unit will naturally not neglect defense.

After scouting the situation around the city gate for a while, Li Hong ordered his troops to dismount and advance 500 meters.

The enemy was well defended, and there were many firepower points on the towers, and searchlights could shine on the attacking troops from a distance.

If it is attacked, the little devils in the town will immediately react and enter the battle, so that the casualties of the security regiment will definitely be large.

"The cavalry battalion is on standby, the fourth battalion is ambushed on the road to block enemy reinforcements, and the assault team follows me!"

"Yes, Tuanza!"

Li Hong led a special commando team, carrying tools to climb the city, and approached the city gate.

When they reached 100 meters outside the city, everyone stopped moving forward, they lay on the ground, chose to crawl in a low position, and quietly touched the devil sentry under the city tower.

The devil sentries under the castle tower had weapons in their hands and walked back and forth to observe the surroundings.

(End of chapter)