Yamamoto set up an ambush with great success, everyone was surrounded by a dangerous situation

  The actual front line of the battle was not in Qingzhou, but 50-60 miles away from Qingzhou. In this battle, a total of 110,000 troops were deployed on both sides, making it one of the largest battles in the history of the War of Resistance against Japan. As soon as the battle began, both sides fought fiercely, with the Japanese sending out ten planes to bomb the Chinese army's positions indiscriminately. The Chinese army was powerless against the Japanese air raids and could only endure the bombing. Moreover, Yamamoto Isoroku had assembled 50 large-caliber mountain guns, which fired shells that exploded violently on the Chinese army's positions, causing the ground to shake. Yamamoto had implemented his "Death God Plan" and would not give the Chinese army any chance to breathe. The strongest force in the Chinese army was undoubtedly Liu Chenzhou's 11th Division, but despite their bravery, they were severely battered by the Japanese artillery fire. Ge Wangshan repeatedly urged Liu Chenzhou to use the mortar battalion, but Liu refused, knowing that if he did, the Japanese would quickly locate the mortar positions and destroy them with their artillery within half an hour.

  So Liu Chenzhou ordered the mortar battalion and the god cannon battalion to hide well, and not to use these two mortar battalions unless absolutely necessary. Guo Yiming's independent brigade was also struggling at this time, so Guo Yiming had no choice but to take out all his own resources to deal with the current crisis. In order to eliminate the Yamamoto Brigade, Guo Yiming went to the Eighth Route Army headquarters and begged for a million hand grenades. Finally, the headquarters had no choice but to give Guo Yiming 80,000 hand grenades. It was these 80,000 hand grenades that fully played their role. At that time, the Eighth Route Army did not have any artillery, not even the smallest caliber 97-style mortar, so the independent brigade's firepower was clearly at a disadvantage.

  However, Guo Yiming had an ingenious idea. He invited many carpenters to manufacture a new type of weapon using wood. This new type of weapon was called a folding hand grenade launcher. In fact, these so-called folding hand grenade launchers were just giant slingshots. Three or four people would use force to pull open the giant slingshot, then tie three or two hand grenades together, and then use the giant slingshot to shoot the hand grenades out.

  This folding hand grenade launcher had several advantages. First, its materials were readily available everywhere. Second, its structure was simple, and anyone with a little bit of brains could make such a hand grenade launcher. Third, it was lightweight and convenient, and when not in use, the hand grenade launcher could be folded up, and two people could easily carry it away. Fourth, this folding hand grenade launcher had the most core function: it could tie three hand grenades together and shoot them to a distance of 400-500 meters. For the Eighth Route Army at that time, this was simply a large-caliber mountain cannon.

  Kumamoto Ichiman was in charge of annihilating the Eighth Route Army Independent Regiment. Kumamoto assembled a mortar battalion to bombard the independent regiment, and at first, the Kumamoto division had the upper hand. However, Guo Yi Ming immediately ordered his troops to counterattack using folding grenade launchers. The soldiers responsible for operating the folding grenade launchers were equivalent to the artillery of the Eighth Route Army Independent Regiment. They were extremely skilled in operating the folding grenade launchers and quickly set up over a hundred launchers.

  Dozens of soldiers were responsible for bundling grenades, with an average of three grenades tied together. The grenade fuses were fixed on the launcher, and when the grenades were launched, the fuses were pulled away. These soldiers calculated the distance and position of the target before launching the grenades, estimating how much force was needed to accurately hit the target.

  The launched grenades hit their targets with precision, silencing Kumamoto's mortar battalion. Guo Yi Ming ordered his "artillery" troops to aim at Kumamoto's light and heavy machine guns and fire fiercely.

  In an instant, the Kumamoto Brigade's firepower was continuously destroyed, and those bundles of hand grenades accurately fell on the targets they wanted to hit. The Kumamoto Brigade not only had its firepower greatly weakened but also suppressed it so much that it couldn't lift its head. Kumamoto Ichiman was shocked, he never thought that the firepower of the Eighth Route Army Independent Regiment would be so fierce.

  Kumamoto Ichiman hurriedly requested reinforcements from Yamamoto Shūichi, but instead of giving him reinforcements, Yamamoto scolded him severely. Yamamoto believed that the Kumamoto Brigade had 20,000 people, while the Eighth Route Army Independent Regiment had only more than 4,000 people, and the Kumamoto Brigade's weapons and equipment were much better than those of the Eighth Route Army Independent Regiment. If you can't even deal with the Eighth Route Army Independent Regiment, you might as well commit seppuku to apologize to the Japanese Emperor.

  Kumamoto Ichiman was scolded by Yamamoto until he was covered in blood, and Kumamoto had no choice but to order his troops to eliminate the Eighth Route Army Independent Regiment at all costs. The 343rd Brigade of Chen Guang's army also clashed with the Koga Brigade, although the Koga Brigade was newly formed, they were a group of desperados under the poison of Bushido, and they charged forward like mad dogs, so the 343rd Brigade was also about to be overwhelmed.

  (Note: This is a translation of a passage from a Chinese novel or story. The content may not be historically accurate or factual.)

  Yamamoto was indeed a cunning commander, while commanding the Yamamoto Brigade to attack Liu Chenzhou's 11th Division, he also inquired about the Flying Tiger Cavalry Regiment. In fact, Yamamoto Shūichi had long been eyeing the Flying Tiger Cavalry Regiment, which had repeatedly inflicted heavy casualties on the Japanese army, including the Yamamoto Brigade itself. If it weren't for the Flying Tiger Cavalry Regiment disrupting the Yamamoto Brigade's formation last time, Liu Chenzhou's 11th Division would not have had any opportunity to counterattack, and the Yamamoto Brigade would not have suffered such heavy losses. The 11th Division might have been annihilated by the Yamamoto Brigade in the previous battle, so it would not come out again to compete with the Yamamoto Brigade. Therefore, Yamamoto Shūichi vented all his anger on the Flying Tiger Cavalry Regiment. He knew that if the Chinese army was trapped, the Flying Tiger Cavalry Regiment would definitely come to reinforce, so he carefully analyzed the possible routes of the Flying Tiger Cavalry Regiment. After hundreds of times of repeated consideration, Yamamoto finally made a decision: the Flying Tiger Cavalry Regiment must take the western route, and if they took the western route, they had to pass through that mountain valley. Therefore, Yamamoto ordered Nakamura's brigade and the 4th Mixed Brigade of the Imperial Japanese Army to ambush on the big mountains on both sides of the valley.

  Here is the translation:

  Yamamoto did this for two reasons. First, the mountain valley was strategically located and easy to defend but difficult to attack. Second, the high mountains and dense forests made it an ideal place for concealment. As long as the troops lay in ambush on both sides of the forest or hid behind rocks without moving, the Flying Tiger Cavalry would not be able to detect them. Therefore, once the Flying Tiger Cavalry entered the valley, they would surely be annihilated.

  Yamamoto ordered Nakamura's brigade and the 4th Mixed Brigade of the Imperial Guard to eliminate the Flying Tiger Cavalry at all costs. To ensure complete victory, Yamamoto frequently sent reconnaissance planes to patrol the skies above the Flying Tiger Cavalry's movements and also to check if there were any other Chinese troops coming to reinforce them.

  Unexpectedly, not only did they not discover any other Chinese troops coming to reinforce, but they also didn't see the Flying Tiger Cavalry. Yamamoto was puzzled, wondering how it was possible that the Flying Tiger Cavalry wouldn't come. There must be some trickery involved. Later, Nakamura's brigade sent a telegram saying that the Flying Tiger Cavalry had arrived at the front of the valley.

  Yamamoto's heart leapt with joy when he heard this, thinking to himself: "The Flying Tiger Cavalry has finally appeared! As long as they enter the valley, none of them will be able to escape." However, not long after, Nakamura's brigade sent another telegram saying that the Flying Tiger Cavalry seemed to have discovered the ambush and were circling around the front of the valley without daring to enter.

  Yamamoto was baffled, thinking to himself: "Could it be that the Flying Tiger Cavalry has already detected some weakness or that Nakamura's brigade has inadvertently exposed their target?" Yamamoto hastily sent another telegram to inquire, but Nakamura insisted that they had concealed themselves well and hadn't revealed any weaknesses. Yamamoto was even more perplexed.

  Yamamoto asked again: "Has the Flying Tiger Cavalry still not entered the valley?" Nakamura replied: "The Flying Tiger Cavalry has been circling around the front of the valley, coming and going like a merry-go-round, without stopping for a moment. I don't know what the specific reason is."

  Yamamoto Shūichi was even more perplexed, thinking to himself: What does the Flying Tiger Cavalry want to do? If they discover any problems, they can either choose to leave or enter the valley. Why are they wandering back and forth in front of the valley? Could it be that they have already discovered the ambush in the valley? Yamamoto thought again, but it's impossible. If the Flying Tiger Cavalry had discovered the ambush, they would have hurriedly left the valley. Why were they hesitating and lingering there? There can only be one explanation: they had carefully observed the valley and found its terrain to be extremely treacherous. If they rashly entered the valley, they feared being ambushed. But if they didn't enter, the valley was the only passage to Qingzhou. So they were in a dilemma, unable to advance or retreat. That's why they were wandering back and forth in front of the valley, carefully checking for any ambushes within. Yamamoto couldn't help but let out a cold laugh, thinking: How cunning the Flying Tiger Cavalry is! They actually discovered that the valley's terrain was extremely treacherous. If you don't enter, you can't rush to Qingzhou to reinforce. In this way, although we can't annihilate the Flying Tiger Cavalry, they also can't come to reinforce. Since it's like this, let's just drag it out and see who can last longer. I want to see how long the Chinese army trapped in the encirclement can hold on.

  So Yamamoto, in order to be absolutely sure, sent an inquiry every half hour on average to ask about the situation of the Flying Tiger Cavalry Regiment. Nakamura's brigade, of course, replied truthfully to Yamamoto Shūichi. Yamamoto Shūichi's excited emotions were beyond words. He believed that he had already won this battle and thought to himself: "Liu Chenzhou, Liu Chenzhou, I'd like to see what other tricks you have up your sleeve to escape my clutches." According to Yamamoto's rough estimate, the surrounded Chinese army, including the 11th Division, the Independent Regiment of the Eighth Route Army, and the 343rd Brigade of the Eighth Route Army, could hold out for at most seven or eight days. After seven or eight days, everything would be settled, and the Chinese army within the encirclement would be completely annihilated under the intense bombing of the Japanese planes and the fierce attack of the Imperial Japanese Army. Therefore, Yamamoto Shūichi was excited to the extreme. On the afternoon of the fourth day of the battle, he hastily sent a telegram to Okamura Yasuji: "The Chinese army can hold out for at most three or four more days. After three or four days, all the Chinese troops within the encirclement will be eliminated."

  This chapter is 57 Yamamoto set an ambush, everyone was surrounded by danger, the address is: If you think this chapter is not bad, please don't forget to recommend it to your QQ group and Weibo friends!