"Whoops," the sound of grenades piercing the air reached Anxi Jiu's ears. He instinctively took a step back. With a loud "boom", the firepower point on the left, which was only more than 20 meters away from him, was hit by the grenade. Three The Japanese were lifted high by the air waves, dancing and screaming, and fell from the ruins.
An Xijiu looked to his right again, and the commanding heights naturally formed by the broken city wall bricks had also disappeared. The same grenade exploded, and three imperial soldiers were killed together with their machine guns. , he took a breath of disbelief, and his belief in victory immediately disappeared. If the previous artillery attack proved that the Chinese artillery was very professional, these two artillery attacks told him that there were also mortars among the Chinese front-line troops. gun master,
Cai Hongguang lived up to the name of "big gun". After becoming famous in the raid, he now used it again. With only three artillery pieces, he killed the two suppression fire points set up by the Anxi Brigade on the commanding heights of the ruins. The enemy's machine guns were silenced. Fourteen was overjoyed. He waved his gun and shouted wildly: "Brothers, rush forward, rush forward, and drive out the little devil."
"Kill." The soldiers moved forward bravely. The three in front pulled the triggers at the same time, and the three Wei Qing-style assault rifles opened fire at the same time. A large number of Japanese soldiers on the opposite side fell immediately.
Zuo Anping listened carefully, and then gave Cai Hongguang a thumbs up: "Awesome, I really only fired three shots."
Cai Hongguang made a wild statement before firing: "I only want three shots, do you believe it or not?"
Three artillery fires hit two fire points, and only the observer on the roof can provide approximate data. Even though Zuo Ping An sincerely hoped so, he felt that Cai Dapao was bragging. Who knew he actually did it? Cai Hongguang He grinned and stretched out his hand: "Sir, I'll reward you with a cigarette."
"Okay, I'll give you half of the bag."
Zuo Ping An generously took out the packet of "Great Wall" from his coat pocket and threw it to him.
Anxi Jiu was furious. He waved his command knife and shouted wildly: "Charge, charge." Suddenly, he heard violent and continuous explosions coming from the battlefield on the right, and couldn't help but be surprised, "Ba Ge, the Chinese have launched a counterattack. "He cursed and turned his head to look over, then he was stunned and fell into dementia.
A plume of yellow smoke rose into the sky and drifted away in the wind. The nearby Japanese troops fled for cover. He found that the smoke was drifting towards the Asai brigade behind him, and immediately realized what had happened. "Retreat, retreat." He suddenly hissed in a high voice. He yelled, then turned around and ran away,
The captain's abnormal behavior alarmed the surrounding Japanese. Most of the Japanese quickly turned around and ran away. When one of the Japanese saw the yellow smoke, they immediately shouted in panic: "Gas bombs, those are poison gas bombs. The Chinese use poison gas bombs." "It's gone." The "gas bomb" was like a mad dog that suddenly appeared. The little devil turned pale at the sound and ran away. The attack sequence of the Anxi Brigade was immediately in chaos.
The sudden and inexplicable retreat of the Japanese army made Xing Shishi feel puzzled. However, this was an opportunity to annihilate the Japanese. He would not give up no matter what. He didn't have time to think too much and shouted: "Catch up, kill, kill." With the brothers fighting bravely, the Japanese troops were driven out of the ruins in less than five minutes.
Zuo Ping'an walked out of the alley. He saw the Japanese army retreating in embarrassment and was very surprised: "What happened."
No one could answer him. The soldiers all thought they had beaten away the little Japs. They all ran very fast with high morale, fearing that they would not have the chance to shoot down all the Japs.
The Japanese outside the west gate retreated like a tide. Cui Zhiguo saw it inexplicably. He scratched his forehead vigorously and was puzzled. He called to the correspondent Xiao Cui and pointed to the tower in front: "Go up and call Zuo Xiao." Come down and see what's going on."
Zuo Xiao was helped down from the city wall by Xiao Cui. His eyes were swollen from crying. Xiao Cui saw the tragic scene on the Japanese mortar position and the fearless soldiers who fell under the city wall. He was also very sad and came closer. In Cui Zhiguo's ear, he whispered softly: "Commander, the gas bomb must have been detonated by Platoon Commander Guo and the Japs. Now the Japs outside the west gate are evacuating at full speed."
Cui Zhiguo was startled, and then instinctively touched the gas mask on his back. He remembered something and asked, "Aren't the little devils also equipped with gas masks?"
"I don't know why. Tuan Zuo, should you report the situation to the master?"
The little devil was equipped with a gas mask and had to evacuate the battlefield. This made Cui Zhiguo realize that this matter was unusual and he couldn't help but become worried. He even worried that the reason why the Japanese army retreated was to keep a distance so that they could use gas bombs to avoid causing damage. It is not a secret that the Japanese army used prohibited weapons such as poison gas bombs due to accidental injury. Therefore, at the request of Li Zongren, the participating troops in the Fifth War Zone were equipped with gas masks. Some of them were brought by Guo Da and others from Guangzhou and Taierzhuang. The situation is very special. Taierzhuang is too small. Cui Zhiguo cannot imagine that once the Japanese army uses poison gas bombs on a large scale, the national army will not be able to fight in Taierzhuang. If the Japanese army really wants to use poison gas bombs, how can they stick here? There was no other meaning except to die. He thought about it seriously and decided to go to Guo Da for advice.
He asked Xiao Cui to convey the message immediately: everyone should check the gas masks and be ready to wear them. Then he found the deputy commander Li Yi and asked him to take command of the troops in his place. He hurriedly ran to Guo Da temporary command post,
When the First Xueyi Division and the Mountain Division went to Xuzhou, they were nominally under the command of Zhang Zizhong. The two divisions were not subordinate to each other. In fact, Guo Da enjoyed the actual command power. In other words, when it came to major decisions, the generals of Huang Haifu Yiqian Mountain Division would According to his instructions, power and responsibility are equal. Because of this, in addition to paying close attention to the war in Ximen, he also pays attention to the situation of other troops.
After the raid, Guo Muyi and his tank troops immediately retreated across the river, considering that the Japanese air force would soon arrive on the battlefield. However, even so, they were overtaken by Japanese planes and subjected to a pursuit bombing. Fortunately, they continued The light tanks have thick armor and cannot be destroyed by non-heavy bombs. The load capacity of Japanese aircraft is limited. One bomber can only carry two heavy bombs. The scale of this dispatch is also limited, so the tank force has experienced half of the Japanese fighter planes. After hours of pursuit and bombing, only three tanks were lost in the end, and one was damaged, which hardly affected the combat effectiveness. The safe departure of the tank troops from the battlefield once made Guo Da feel relieved, but what he is most worried about now is the safety of the Overlord Brigade. ,
After the Overlord Brigade and the 27th Division stayed in the east of the canal under Li Zongren's order, it meant that they would have to return to the battlefield at any time, and even have to play the role of Guo Muyi's troops and raid the Japanese army again. It is conceivable that once the 51st Army crosses the Wei River, Shanhu and the Grand Canal appeared behind the Isoya Division. The Isoya Division was in danger of being cut off from its retreat, and the cabinet brigade would definitely come to Taierzhuang to respond. Then, in order to ensure that the 51st Army attacked the Isoya Division, Li Zongren If there is sufficient deterrence, the Overlord Brigade and the 27th Division must bear the responsibility of containing the Japanese army. However, the Cabinet Brigade has more than 20,000 troops, the Isoya Division has more than 40,000 troops, plus the Seya Detachment. With the remaining troops of the An Teng Division, Guo Da was very worried that the Overlord Brigade would be in danger of being surrounded by the Japanese army. "Commander Li is too anxious. Our troops are still at a disadvantage. He wants to completely take the initiative on the battlefield. How can this happen?" Possibly, once an accident occurs to the Overlord Brigade and the 27th Division east of the canal, then there will be no troops southeast of Taierzhuang that can stop them from going south along the canal. If the Japanese troops from the Bengbu area come again, the situation in Xuzhou will most likely become uncontrollable. " He and Xu Dalin were lying on the war zone map analyzing the situation. Cui Zhiguo hurriedly walked in. He shouted as soon as he entered the door: "Master, Chief of Staff, something bad is going on. There is an emergency at the west gate."
Guo and Xu looked up from the map and looked at him in surprise. Xu Dalin asked: "Zhiguo, what happened."
Cui Zhiguo's face turned pale because of worry, and he said eagerly: "Isotani Rensuke is going to use poison gas bombs."
"What." Guo and Xu were shocked. Xu Dalin frowned deeply and asked, "Are you sure about this?"
Cui Zhiguo sighed and smiled bitterly, and then told the story about the commando detonating the gas bomb unintentionally.
Guo Da patted his forehead and sighed at his luck, saying: "Zhiguo is a lucky general. Fortunately, the wind is northwest, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous. It seems that Isotani Rensuke has long wanted to use poison gas bombs, but he has been delayed because of the wrong wind direction." We didn't dare to take action, and then Guo Zhengde accidentally detonated it. This matter is not trivial. Lao Xu, it seems we have to readjust the defense of the west gate." He asked Cui Zhiguo: "Have all the Japanese troops outside the west gate retreated? .”
Cui Zhiguo nodded and said, "I think the Japs at the northwest gate will definitely be evacuated later. The gas seems to be mustard gas, and the gas masks won't work at all."
Xu Dalin: "Hurry up and report this situation to the theater headquarters. In addition, report this situation to General Li Pinxian immediately. Their gas masks are worse than ours, and we need to strengthen our preparedness in this area. If that doesn't work, we may have to Take the initiative to abandon the Taierzhuang defense line."
Guo Da thought of another thing and said: "If Isoya Rensuke really uses poison gas bombs on a large scale, even if he only has one cannon left, it will be a great threat to the artillery in Hexi. He must contact Li Jian quickly to let him They immediately moved their positions."
Xu Dalin stood up: "I'll let the communication company generate electricity right now."
Cui Zhiguo asked: "Master, please move our people back appropriately."
"Let's wait and see. If you abandon the defense line and retreat without authorization, you will have to go to a military court."
"But,."
"Zhiguo, you go back first, I will come up with a response as soon as possible."
"All right."
Li Zongren received the urgent telegram from Guo Da, and after reading it again and again with Bai Chongxi, he was shaken by the original plan. Gas bombs were too terrible, especially mustard gas, which can penetrate into the human body through the skin and make gas masks It has become a decoration, and once Guo Da's words come true, the fifth theater's current strength advantage on the Taierzhuang battlefield will be gone.
"Where is Yu Xuezhong?" Li Zongren lay down on the map again and asked Bai Chongxi,
"His previous telegram said that we will definitely be able to pass Weishan Lake before dark today."
Zhang Zizhong gestured between Nigou and Teng County and said: "We don't want them to go to Nigou and Nanbeiluo. How about attacking Teng County instead."
Bai Chongxi pondered for a while and then asked: "You want to raid Jigu's home."
"I have an idea. Is it possible that the batch of gas bombs destroyed by Guo Da and the others were all that Isoya Rensuke brought with the army? If that is the case, within three to five days, the Isoya division will not even think about capturing Taierzhuang. If Isotani Rensuke still has reserves, so if we send the 51st Army there, it will be useless to enter the tiger's mouth. Teng County is the garrison of the Isotani Division, and its supplies must be stored there. Take Teng County first. After Teng County was captured by us, even if Taierzhuang was captured by the Japanese army, they would definitely not dare to attack Xuzhou immediately for fear of having their retreat route taken. This would help us make new adjustments. .”
Bai Chongxi shook his head and said firmly: "Delin, I don't agree with your plan. The risk is too great. Taierzhuang cannot be lost. If Taierzhuang is lost, the Japanese army will pour down. What will happen to Xuzhou? What if Isotani Rensuke He has enough poison gas bombs on hand. What should we do if he uses the gas bombs on the Xuzhou battlefield? Yu Xuezhong must attack Nigou and Nanbeiluo. Only in this way can we relieve the pressure on the front battlefield of Taierzhuang. Our top priority is no matter what we use. The method is to destroy the gas bombs of the Isoya Division. As long as Yu Xuezhong threatens the left wing and rear of the Isoya Division, Isoya Rensuke will definitely lead a counterattack. In this way, the Overlord Brigade and the 27 The division has the opportunity. Let Liu Shurong and Huang Qiaosong find an opportunity to organize capable forces to rush into the hinterland of the Igaya Division. Destroying its gas bombs is the safest way at present. The cabinet brigade has already arrived in Pi County. If the Japanese army's ultimate goal is still If it comes to Xuzhou, Cabinet Shengyu will definitely lead his troops to look for opportunities to cross the river from the south of Taierzhuang. I think it's time to show all our forces. One purpose of the Japanese army's attack on Xuzhou is to occupy this strategic location. Another purpose is to capture In order to annihilate the main force of our army, there are at least two advantages for us to reveal all the trump cards in our hands in advance. First, it makes Rensuke Isotani, Rikichi Andeng and others at a loss as to where to start. Second, they can To cover the actions of Liu Shurong and Huang Qiaosong in Hedong, I have always insisted that instead of letting the Japanese troops in for a decisive battle in Xuzhou, it is better to fight at Taierzhuang. Therefore, even if Rensuke Isotani uses mustard gas crazily, we can quickly dispatch reinforcements from Hexi. , Huge casualties are definitely inevitable in the battle of Taierzhuang, but the key is to see whether we can annihilate another one. As long as the Overlord Brigade and the 27th Division can gain a foothold in Hedong, this is very possible. One morning this morning In the battle, the Japanese army's losses were at least four thousand. If there is another battle like this, even if Taierzhuang is lost, I think the Japanese army will not be able to look west. Then our Xuzhou strategy has been achieved. Brother De Lin, what do you think? "