A platoon of the first battalion successfully eliminated the enemy's scouts who set out first.
At this time, the main force of the Fourth Independent Brigade had already set off from the village, but the marching column did not light torches.
Worried that the enemy troops would escape silently, the 1st Battalion's position was only three miles away from the entrance of Xiaozhangzhuang Village.
"We have only been stationed in Xiaozhangzhuang for less than four hours, why are we starting to march again?" A soldier from the third battalion of the first regiment of the fourth independent brigade complained in a low voice.
"This is a good thing. You see, we are marching towards the south. This way we don't have to fight the main force of the Eighth Route Army. You kid, have fun!"
"The host has finally figured it out. If we really go north to support the military, we still don't know if our brothers will survive.
When we marched during the day yesterday, you also saw that the main force of our Sixty-ninth Army in the north had many scattered small units running south. Only our Independent Fourth Brigade bravely headed north. This is not going to the north.
Jump into the fire pit!"
"That's it, it's not good to offend anyone, you have to offend the Eighth Route Army. These Eighth Route Army are always willing to fight with their own lives. Even the little devils can't get any benefits. Just rely on us. Isn't that the old man who eats arsenic and lives impatiently?
"
Although the remaining officers and soldiers of the Fourth Independent Brigade did not take the opportunity to flee, they still had a lot of complaints about going north.
"Shut the hell up and talk about the commander behind his back. Are you impatient? You guys can run to the front and be the vanguard!" an officer from the third battalion cursed with a dark face.
The people who had just been discussing suddenly shrunk their necks, closed their mouths, and trotted to the front of the marching column.
...
On the position of the first battalion, the commander of the first battalion, Ding Sheng, looked up at the sky. The sun had already peeked out slightly in the east.
"Instructor, look what time it is! The sun is coming out soon!" Ding Sheng asked.
"It's almost half past four. It's summer now and the sun comes out early," said Sun Jiu, the instructor of the first battalion.
Ding Sheng looked around and said, "Damn it, I'm only a little older now. It was still dark just now, but now it's daylight. What should I do?"
"It doesn't matter if it's daylight, what can you see clearly in a night battle, but you can't call for artillery support!"
While the two were talking, two soldiers ran over from the front: "Battal commander, instructor, the enemy's large force has left the village and is coming towards us."
After hearing this, Ding Sheng hurriedly said: "Guard, please quickly inform each company to take cover and stop digging fortifications!"
The sound of messy footsteps came from far away. Ding Sheng poked his head out slightly and could already see the figure of the enemy's vanguard walking towards the position.
The four heavy machine guns of the heavy machine gun company of the first battalion deployed on both sides were carried out from the trenches dug by the soldiers.
Ding Sheng turned sideways, counting silently in his mind, then suddenly leaned out and shouted: "Hit!"
In an instant, a battalion of light and heavy machine guns and more than 300 rifles opened fire simultaneously.
The vanguard of the enemy army was instantly knocked down. Since there were no bunkers outside the village, many people were shot straight and fell to the ground.
Suddenly encountered an attack, the march of the Fourth Independent Brigade was in chaos, and many people ran towards the two wings.
"Get down, everyone get down!" the enemy officer shouted.
At the same time, the two battalions of the 3rd Wuqin Regiment deployed on both wings heard the sound of gunfire from the 1st Battalion's position, and rushed forward with their men from both wings.
The march of the Fourth Independent Brigade was cut off in the middle, and the two battalions of the Wuqin Regiment split into two groups. The second battalion blocked the enemy's retreat in front, while the third battalion pursued the retreating enemy.
"Brigade, please retreat to the village quickly. There are no bunkers outside. We can't stop the Eighth Route Army's offensive at all!" said Zhang Shifan, deputy battalion commander of the enemy's first battalion.
The Fourth Independent Brigade encountered a surprise attack, but as the brigade commander, Duan Haizhou remained calm and composed: "No, we can't leave our surrounded brothers behind! You and your men rush up to me and tear a hole to get out!"
Zhang Shifan glanced at the more than 100 people left in his battalion. From time to time, someone was shot and fell to the ground. He said loudly: "Brigade, most of the troops of the third battalion and my first battalion have been tightly surrounded by the Eighth Route Army. They
Hopeless!"
Dong Jiang, who has been accompanying Duan Haizhou, said: "Brigadier Duan, what Battalion Commander Zhang said is right, you are the brigade commander, you can't make any mistakes! The remaining brothers are still counting on you!"
"Brigade seat, you take the first battalion and the brigade headquarters to withdraw first, and I will take the second battalion to hold off the Eighth Route Army!" said the commander of the 1st Independent Fourth Brigade.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, a stray bullet flew over and hit a regiment leader directly on the head.
Dong Jiang and Zhang Shifan looked at each other, and they ran towards the village with Duan Haizhou on their left and right.
Zhang Shifan shouted while running: "Second Battalion Commander, you and your men will stop the enemy at the original defense line outside the village."
The second battalion commander of the 1st Regiment of the 4th Independent Brigade turned dark and cursed: "Damn it, my brother-in-law actually ordered me because he is the brigade commander!"
Although Zhang Shifan was only the deputy battalion commander, he was Duan Haizhou's brother-in-law and was in charge of the first battalion as deputy battalion commander.
The enemy's second battalion commander was cursing, but he was unambiguous. After all, it was about the brigade commander's safety. Seeing that Duan Haizhou and his party had safely evacuated into the village, he ordered his second battalion to retreat.
After receiving the order, the soldiers of the enemy's second battalion covered each other and retreated. When they retreated to the trenches of the original defense line, they began to counterattack again.
Zhou Weihan and Wu Qin stood not far behind, observing the situation on the battlefield.
"Commander, most of the enemy's troops are surrounded by us, and only a small part has withdrawn into the village!" Wu Qin said from the side.
Zhou Weihan looked grave and handed the telescope in his hand to the monk.
Wu Qin saw Zhou Weihan's expression was wrong and hurriedly explained: "Commander, it's dawn today. Our troops are deployed too close to the entrance of the village and there is no time to eat all the enemy's troops."
"Hmph, you think I'm thinking about this. We are all Chinese, but now we are forced to beat our own people. In the end, all that is lost is China's national defense strength. The result is that the Japanese who are watching the fun are at an advantage!" Zhou Wei
Han said in a low tone.
"Order the troops to stop attacking and shout to the surrounded enemy troops to surrender!"
"Commander, what should we do with the enemy troops who have withdrawn into the village? The headquarters of the Fourth Independent Brigade is still there. It is not easy to recruit them to surrender!" Wu Qin asked.
"Then it depends on Dong Jiang. I hope he can play a role!"
Xiao Zhangzhuang.
"Bridge, the gunfire outside has stopped!"
"How many people are left in your battalion?" Duan Haizhou asked.
"There are only a hundred or so left, and the rest are trapped in the encirclement of the Eighth Route Army!" Zhang Shifanhui reported.
"You take the first battalion and the brigade guard company to the north side of the village to prevent the Eighth Route Army from attacking from the north! The six mortars of the mortar company are placed on the north and south sides respectively!" Duan Haizhou said.
"Hotel, the security company has been transferred, what will you do?"
"After the nest is overturned, are there any eggs left? The Eighth Route Army is really going to invade the village. What's the use of a guard company!"
Zhang Shifan left with the First Battalion and the Guard Company, leaving Duan Haizhou with only the communications platoon directly under the brigade headquarters, the health team, and about twenty people from Dong Jiang's reconnaissance company.