Wang Xiaoliang reined in his naughty state and asked seriously: "Commander Lei, the devil you said earlier that we fought with this time is our old opponent, which unit of the Japanese army is guarding the Tiger Leaping Gorge Bridge?" ”

Lei Jian whipped at the high mountain in front of him, split the railroad track that could just pass through a train and extend forward from the middle of the cliff, and said: "There are more than ten miles ahead of this railway, and there is the Tiger Leaping Gorge Bridge guarded by the 372nd Wing of the 9th Brigade of the 180th Division of the Japanese Army, and this unit is ....... ”

"Commander Lei, the number of this devil unit, why do I sound so familiar, you stop, let me guess."

Without waiting for Wang Xiaoliang to guess the result, Li Gang immediately asked: "Commander Lei, is the 372nd Wing you are talking about, is it the 372nd Wing stationed in Guangxing City in northwest Shandong?" ”

Wang Xiaoliang looked at Lei Jian and nodded, he didn't expect that the army fighting with him was actually the 372nd Wing that was haunting all the way west, he gritted his teeth and scolded: "This bastard 372 is like a mad dog, no matter how you fight, you can't leave." On both sides of the Yellow River, he was almost plagued by this devil army.

On the way to the west, they fought many times, especially in the blocking battles on the No. 1 and No. 2 heights, if it weren't for the fact that Regiment Commander Lei confused the devil's air transport plane and mistakenly airdropped the reinforced weapons, ammunition and military supplies on the No. 1 highland, we would have gotten a big bargain, and the angry little devil pointed at the sky and scolded his mother, then maybe our battalion would have been heroic on the No. 1 and No. 2 heights. ”

"This unit has very strong combat effectiveness, and it is known as the wing of the Japanese army brigade in Weifang that can fight the most tough battles, and this time it met us again, it is really not that we don't get together, we really don't dare to be careless." Lei Jian knew this unit very well in the information before the crossing, and the commander Fujita Koji Daisa, was an arrogant and ruthless commander, and in every battle with the Chinese troops and the Eighth Route Army, he almost did not suffer major losses, and he was a very stubborn and difficult Japanese army.

Thinking of that battle, Wang Xiaoliang was on the periphery of the No. 1 Heights, hidden in the green gauze tent, under the order of Lei Jian, from behind the devil, rushed out of the green gauze tent, and entered the 372nd Wing, which was almost exhausted.

If it weren't for the fact that under the order of Lei Jian, the first battalion of the No. 1 Heights fought bravely into the enemy group, and under the cover of powerful firepower, the second company of the cavalry battalion led by him would have been wiped out by a large number of encircled devils, and the second company would have been cut off.

Wang Xiaoliang was still a little scared when he thought about it at this time, he looked at Lei Jian and asked again: "Commander Lei, how come this 372 Devil Wing belongs to the North China Front Army and the Ninth Brigade of the 180th Division of the First Army?" ”

"According to the information, the 372nd Wing was ordered to forcibly cross the Yellow River to the west and reinforce the Deshi Line, and this unfortunate Wing was fatally attacked by the Independent Regiment of the Fifth Detachment of the Mountain Column, that is, our old Independent Regiment, in the Yellow River and Qingsha Tent, especially in the No. 1 and No. 2 highlands.

Major General Ikeda, commander of the Tokuzhou Brigade, reported the situation to General Okamura Ninji, commander of the North China Commander, and Koji Fujita, commander of the 372nd Wing, who was bitterly criticized, and ordered the 372nd Wing to continue westward to Quyang between Shi (Jiazhuang) and Bao (Ding), under the command of the 9th Brigade, replenish the troops, weapons and ammunition, and reinforce the Japanese army between Shibao at any time, so as to eliminate the sneak attack of the Eighth Route Army on the line of communication. ”

Ma Mingshan didn't know much about the 372nd Wing, and after listening to Lei Jian's words for a long time, he said to several people, 'This is a stubborn Japanese army unit that can fight', and he actually had doubts, why a reorganized Japanese army wing would be beaten by a regiment of the Eighth Route Army and suffer heavy casualties, how should this 372nd Wing be evaluated?

Lei Jian looked at Ma Mingshan and frowned, and unconsciously shook his head, and this clever guy immediately explained: "Political Commissar Ma, just now a few of us said that we defeated the stubborn Japanese Iron Army, and there is a reason for this.

First, the 372nd Wing marched long and rapidly, had no heavy weapons, did not have much baggage with the accompanying troops, and advanced westward to an unfamiliar war zone, and failed to communicate with the local Japanese troops in time, which created excellent conditions for my five independent detachments to sneak attack and ambush halfway, as well as to destroy the devil's baggage.

On both sides of the Yellow River, on the way westward, they fought with the 372nd Army Wing, resulting in a shortage of ammunition and food for the Japanese army, which could not be replenished in time, and its combat effectiveness decreased significantly.

Immediately after that, on the No. 1 and No. 2 heights, the materials airdropped by misleading enemy planes fell on the positions of our regiment, and the soldiers of the Eighth Route Army, who had been replenished with weapons and food, were like tigers with wings, and their combat effectiveness suddenly broke out.

But the little devil has run out of ammunition and food, and a tired and exhausted Japanese army wing will have much combat effectiveness? Hahaha, Commissar Ma, when I say this, you won't think a few of us are bragging, right? Hahaha. ”

Ma Mingshan said embarrassedly: "Commander Lei, I don't mean this, I just think that our independent regiment is too capable, and can defeat the devils of a wing, and I heard you say that this 372 Wing is a stubborn and very powerful iron army, and it was crippled by the independent regiment of the fifth detachment of the mountain column, I don't know for a while, I feel a little blind in my heart, hey, Captain Lei, you can see this living thought, your vision is really poisonous, it's really amazing, hahaha." ”

During the march, the regimental commanders of the 'One Regiment' made a profound analysis of the 372nd Wing of the Japanese Army, which was about to engage the enemy, and at this time, the hearts of each regiment commander basically had a relatively thorough understanding of the enemy in front of them, which would be of great help to the upcoming battle.

At this moment, Qu Jiaming, who was the vanguard reconnaissance platoon of the 'only regiment', rushed over from the front on horseback and reported on his horse: "Report to Regiment Commander Lei, there are still six or seven miles away from the Tiger Leaping Gorge Bridge ahead, whether the troops are ......." ”

"Order your reconnaissance platoon to continue to move forward and stealthily reconnoitre, once it encounters the enemy, it will dodge if it can, if it can't dodge, immediately carry out a small-scale blockade, and send someone to report to me immediately."

Lei Jian ordered Wang Xiaoliang: "Order the troops to use the green gauze tent on the marching road, as well as the mountains and woods as hidden places, suspend their advance, rest on the spot, and wait for new orders." ”

He ordered Li Gang again: "You pick a platoon of cavalry, and follow me and the guard squad to continue to search and reconnoitre." ”

Lei Jian looked at Ma Mingshan and said: "Political Commissar Ma, the large army will be handed over to you, how the main force will act next, wait for me to convey the order from the front, and then order the fourth battalion as the rear guard of the main force of the regiment to protect the safety of the troops resting on the spot." ”

Everything was arranged, and Lei Jian led a platoon of cavalry and his squad of guards, and rushed forward with his horse.

This small force of more than 50 cavalry soon joined up with Qu Jiaming's reconnaissance platoon that was carrying out reconnaissance in front, and Qu Jiaming reported to Lei Jian: "Report to Regiment Commander Lei, less than three miles ahead is the Tiger Leaping Gorge Bridge, and the troops continue to advance, I am afraid that it will disturb the Japanese troops guarding the bridge, and it will be very unfavorable to the surprise attack on the enemy bridge." ”

"Qu Jiaming has made progress, knows the priorities of the march, and orders all the cavalry to reconnoiter the troops and suspend the advance." Lei Jian said and waved his whip to a forest in the northwest direction and ordered, "Go into the woods immediately and hide." ”

Seventy or eighty war horses hid into the woods, and Qu Jiaming sent soldiers from the reconnaissance platoon to guard the perimeter of the woods, while he followed Lei Jian and waited for orders at any time.

Lei Jian flew off his horse and ordered Li Gang, who was following closely behind: "Deputy Regiment Commander Li, you lead the cavalry platoon to hide about a mile around this forest, search carefully, and find out the surrounding enemy situation. ”

He ordered Qu Jiaming: "I will lead the guard squad to continue to reconnoiter forward, and you will lead the reconnaissance platoon to follow closely behind me and the guard squad about fifty meters behind, and find that I and the guard squad are engaged in battle with the enemy, and we must contain the enemy's fire from both flanks, cover the withdrawal of the guard squad from the battle, and act immediately." ”

Li Gang grabbed the thunder sword and said very politely: "Commander Lei, you can't change this problem, every time before the start of the battle, no matter how dangerous it is, you have to personally get close to the enemy to reconnoitre, once you have a good one, don't say what to do with the 'independent regiment', even our arduous task of raiding the Tiger Leaping Gorge Bridge will be in vain, this time if you trust me, I will lead the team to get close to the Tiger Leaping Gorge Bridge to investigate, and you will definitely bring back the information you need." ”

Lei Jian pushed away Li Gang's hand that grabbed his arm, and said solemnly: "Li Gang, don't make any more trouble, the task of sneaking up on the Tiger Leaping Gorge Bridge is arduous, I must personally grasp the most accurate information in order to command the troops to act in a targeted manner, and your task now is to carry out orders." ”