The artillery moving with the 60th Division includes all the artillery units of the 3rd Division and the 60th Division, which adds up to one and a half brigades. Among them, 18 are 150mm heavy artillery, and 36 are each of 120mm and 105mm. Gates, including self-propelled ones, plus those of the Fifth Division, add up to more than 150 gates. With so many cannons roaring together, the effect created is earth-shattering.
Before that, because Li Hanhun hid the artillery units of the Fifth Division so well, the Japanese army thought that there were no artillery units on the other side. Therefore, when launching an attack on Li Ling, Kunizaki Noboru did not hesitate to use all the artillery units. Participating in the war, this completely exposed its artillery position. Although it was later alerted by a reconnaissance plane and moved, it could not escape the eagle-like eyes of the soldiers of the Wolf Fang Squadron.
Such a sudden and violent artillery fire immediately stunned the little Japs who had previously been highly motivated. Many Japs had no sense of precaution. Although they survived the artillery fire, their ears were deafened.
Kunisaki Noboru's premature death in battle was fatal to the Japanese army. Although his adjutants Yasuda Kazuo and Saito Haruyoshi were not killed by artillery fire because of their relationship on the front line, the people in the headquarters who accompanied Kunizaki Noboru to see Amaterasu But it included all the staff officers and the communications team. Just like Naojiro Amaya's reaction, when the cannon sounded, Yasuda Kazuo and Saito Haruyoshi immediately picked up the phone and called the headquarters. However, what was waiting for them was a blind tone.
At this time, they did not know that Kunizaki Noboru was dead. Faced with the inquiries from the middle and lower-level officers and soldiers on the front line: "Major, what should we do now?" The two men subconsciously issued the order to defend and encouraged their subordinates: "Don't be afraid. The 18th Division is not far away from us, and when they come with reinforcements, it will be the end of the Chinese people."
This round of shelling lasted for a full quarter of an hour. Under the command of You Hongjun, commander of the artillery brigade of the First Army, the artillery troops were divided into two positions and plowed all the Japanese positions with artillery fire. After a quarter of an hour, a loud charge bugle sounded. , the armored troops of the Xuebing Army, which the Japanese army feared and envied the most, all drove out of the grove where they were hiding, and tore open the road to Xiushui River with almost no effort.
At that time, Naojiro Amaya had already learned the news of Kunisaki Noboru's death in battle from Yasuda Kazuo. This little devil was decisive and immediately took over the command of the Kunisaki detachment and ordered all the troops of the Kunisaki detachment to abandon their existing positions at Chaotanyani. The small village where the detachment was staying approached, trying to use the houses in the village to defend. At this time, Amaya Naojiro thought that the Xuebing Army would definitely take advantage of the situation to launch a general attack and eat him in one bite.
However, after half an hour passed, he was puzzled, because the expected general attack did not start. On the contrary, after part of the cadet army tore apart the defense line, they actually went behind him. At the entrance of the village, Yasuda looked into the distance with a telescope. After standing there and watching the mighty tanks and armored vehicles of the Xuebing Army go away, he said to Tian Gu: "General, do the Chinese want to surround our army? Their tank troops should have gone to Xiushui River."
Amaya was looking at the map at this time. When he heard Yasudaichi's words, he suddenly slapped the table and shouted: "No, hurry up, gather the team and go to Xiushui Bridge."
Yasuda glanced at the map and immediately understood what he meant. His expression changed, he immediately put his legs together and said "Hai", and then ran away with a thump.
Amaya turned to his communications squad leader, Second Lieutenant Kyuta Shimoyoshi, and said: "Hurry up and send power to the headquarters. Our army is attacked by the superior cadet army. The Chinese artillery force is huge. We request uninterrupted support from the aviation force. In addition, we hope that the 18th Division The regiment can move closer to Xiushui Bridge to meet our army, but our army has been surrounded."
The Xuebing Army was located in the command post below Li Ling. After receiving the feedback from the Langya Team, Li Hanhun looked happy and said to Ouyang Yun: "Commander, the shelling just now was very fruitful. The Japanese artillery unit was completely defeated. , the armored troops also suffered considerable losses, and Squadron Leader Xiao Yi suggested that our army beat up the drowned dogs."
Ouyang Yun said: "The drowned dog must be beaten, but it is not the time yet. We will wait and see how the Japanese army reacts."
A few minutes later, Ge Yunfei stood up excitedly and said: "Report to the commander, there is a call from the Langya team ahead, and the Japanese army has begun to retreat towards Xiaqiao Bridge."
A smile appeared on Ouyang Yun's face, and he looked at Li Hanhun, and he said: "It seems that Kunisaki Noboru and Amaya Naojiro are not too stupid, they have already understood our 'intentions', okay, I will order now, According to the original battle plan, the entire army will attack."
The telegraph and telephone rang. The staff officers and telegraph operators began to send messages or make phone calls to their respective units according to their division of labor. Soon, the two regiments selected from the Fifth Division began to follow the Japanese army. After lurking for a period of time, the other troops began to run towards the Xiushui River along the march route of the previous armored troops.
To the west of Xiaxiu Bridge, Wang Changyun was shirtless and sweating profusely with the soldiers digging fortifications. Next to him, regimental instructor Ding Banxue took his clothes and said with a guilty look on his face: "Old Ding, just let me I'll do it for a while. I'm not very good at fighting, but I can still dig in the mud. You'll have to direct the battle later, so don't be too tired."
Wang Changyun was a tall man with a loud voice. He struggled to deliver a shovelful of soil to the top of the trench and said: "Qiu, what's the use of digging for a while? You don't know, I'm busy farming in my hometown." When I was young, I could do it for three days and three nights without sleeping."
Wang Changyun always spoke in a false and true manner, and Ding Ranxue did not take it seriously. He smiled and said: "I can see that the commander has always advocated the integration of officers and soldiers. However, few of you officers from Fujian and Guangdong accept it as quickly as you. Yes, there is no news from the command center yet."
"Yes, grandma, if the little devil doesn't leave from here, we will suffer a big loss. Not only will we not win the battle, but we will sweat so much in vain." When he said this, he didn't know which root he touched. Nervous, he threw the engineer's shovel away, grabbed the edge of the trench with his hands, and stepped up with his legs, saying: "No, I have to send a call to ask. It would be too stupid to just dig the soil without shooting."
It was such a coincidence that just when Wang Changyun was looking for a telegraph operator, Chief of Staff Tu Dai came with the latest telegram. From afar, he shouted: "Old Wang, good news, the little devil is here."
I don't know if they were influenced by Wang Changyun. Except for the "freak" Ding Banxue, the officers of the 604th Regiment were all militants. Among them, Chief of Staff Tudai and Regiment Commander Wang Changyun were the two most prominent ones. ,
Wang Changyun's big mouth immediately opened and he asked with a big smile: "Really." He wiped his hands on his camouflage uniform, took the telegram and looked at it carefully. He immediately laughed even louder, signed for the telegram, and handed it over. He gave it to Tudai for safekeeping, and he yelled at Si Ye: "Listen to me, you are so stupid. We can finally open for business. Brothers, hurry up. The commander has said that the key to the success or failure of this battle depends on It's ours, hehe, I heard that if you fight well, you can get a glorious title or something, um, that 'hero group, model group' or something like that, let's make one too, how impressive it is."
Tu Dai continued: "That's right, look at my army, there are three regiments with the honorable title, why can't we build one? Hehe, I hope there will be more little devils."
Ding Banxue smiled bitterly when he heard this. He thought to himself, "Why don't people die in a war? Do they think it's a holiday?"
At this time, Tu Dai must have suddenly remembered, and whispered to Wang Changyun: "Old Wang, I forgot one thing."
"What."
"The district military commander asked us to conserve our strength, but now we have violated his order."
Wang Changyun glanced at him sideways and said: "The little devil has hit the ball right at the doorstep, but he still has the ability to save the ball. The district army elder is confused, don't listen to him."
When it comes to platooning and fighting, there aren't many people who can be stronger than Wang Changyun among those who have learned from the Fourth Army. The key reason why he stayed in the position of regiment leader for six years is that he has such a bad mouth. Tu Dai didn't expect him to be like this. He shouted without any scruples. You must know that Ding Banxue was still nearby. In the minds of the western Fujian officers, these so-called political directors and regimental leaders were actually spies set up by Ouyang Yun. He glanced at Ding Banxue. , can’t help but feel a little embarrassed,
Ding Banxue knew his thoughts clearly, but he just smiled and said nothing. Speaking of which, there were many rectification staff assigned to the Xuebing Army to study the Fourth Army, but he seemed to be in the best situation. The key is to find a master like Wang Changyun. It is well known that the Fourth Army is in the Cao camp and the heart is in the Han Dynasty. However, Ouyang Yun does not look at them differently, which alleviates the conflict between the two parties to a certain extent. Among them, those with simpler intentions, such as "Wang Laocou" (Wang Changyun's nickname), were bribed at once (Ou Shounian's words).
The officers and soldiers of the 604th Regiment were not good at civil engineering work before joining the Xuebing Army. This has something to do with Wang Laorou's leadership methods and fighting methods, because in the entire Fujian army, the 604th Regiment has always been famous for fighting tough battles. Yes, and what Mr. Wang likes to do most on the battlefield is to rush to the front of the team with a gun in hand. Of course, he has been injured for this, but he seems to be a lucky general, and he only suffers a few losses each time. It was just a minor injury. It was difficult for Wang Changyun to accept that the Xuebing Army emphasized civil engineering training. It was precisely because of this that he became familiar with Ouyang Yun. According to his idea, the key to fighting is to dare to rush. The so-called brave men meet on a narrow road. Sheng Ran, after being punished by Ouyang Yun to stay in the training class for two weeks, received a series of theories, he suddenly realized that he began to pay attention to the team's civil engineering training, and only then was he able to receive such a victory in this battle. An important task,
In the distance, the footsteps of the Japanese army seemed to have been heard, and the three fan-shaped trenches centered on Xiuxiao Bridge of the 604th Regiment had not yet been completely dug. Wang Changyun, who had received the exact combat mission, shouted excitedly and loudly, and then again Jump into the trench, pick up the engineering shovel and shovel the soil hard,
The battle taking place at Xiuxiu Bridge is destined to be the most critical in the second stage.