Maehara's mortar salvo tactics were very successful. About two regiments of cadets from the 12th Division and 36th Brigade on the north bank suffered heavy casualties in this bombardment. In just about ten minutes, at least a thousand cadets were killed. He fell in a pool of blood, including Qiao Benshan, the chief of staff of the 12th Xuebing Division, and Qiao Benshan became the highest-ranking officer who has died since the founding of the Xuebing Army.
Qiao Benshan's sacrifice was valuable. The last voice left in the world for which he paid his life reminded Qian Shuanglin and other officers. Qian Shuanglin was the leader of the 127th Regiment and the highest-ranking officer below Qiao Benshan on the North Bank. officer,
The invading artillery fire came so suddenly, but the bonfires lit on the river beach provided illumination for the enemy in the darkness. As the fires caused by the explosion continued to increase, there were no blind spots in the river beach where the North Bank student army was located. When the mortar fire sounded, Qian Shuanglin reacted, but what he was thinking about at that time was to organize troops to find the enemy hiding in the dark. Qiao Benshan's words reminded him that in this situation, if he organized troops to fight back If so, they would probably have been shot down by mortars before they even got in front of the enemy.
"Brothers, don't run around, get in the water, get in the water, and run towards the river." He shouted loudly, hearing the groaning at his feet. He quickly picked up the injured soldier and ran towards the river.
Qian Shuanglin stepped forward to organize. The battalion and company commanders who were stunned by the bombing immediately reacted. They followed the same example and organized the soldiers around them to run towards the river. The trainees from the company closest to the river soon Plunging into the cold river, the company belonged to the 127th Regiment. They were responsible for the task of supporting the troops crossing the river, so they stayed on the riverside. Yu Changhai, the commander of the company, was very alert. After leading the soldiers into the river, He shouted loudly: "Brothers, go to the left, quickly."
The left side was farther away from the bonfire, just enough to split the enemy's line of sight. However, when the flares rose into the sky, Yu Changhai knew that the enemy had been prepared. The enemy's purpose was not only to inflict heavy damage on them, but also to annihilate them completely. ,
"Get down, brothers, get down." Yu Changhai said, taking the lead and lying down on the river beach. He buried his whole body except his face in the water. He looked at the brothers who were still being slaughtered on the river beach, and felt like The knife was twisted, and his hands were fiercely grabbed into the river beach. The nail of his right index finger was broken off by a pebble and he couldn't feel the pain. The huge mental pain occupied his body and mind. If he could, he wanted to rush to the shore and face him. The enemy was shooting everywhere, but what made him more miserable was that so far, he didn't even know who the enemy was.
On the south bank, Jiang Hongming held back his tears, shook Ye Zhao's left arm vigorously, and said: "Old Ye, Old Ye, think of a solution quickly, Old Ye, we can't go on like this." Suddenly, he went crazy like a madman. He rushed into the river and shouted to the center of the river: "Gao Yongxiang, come back, come back quickly, Gao Yongxiang, come back as soon as possible, come back quickly."
The commander of this group of troops crossing the river is Gao Yongxiang, the commander of the 36th Xue Brigade. The wind is blowing from the northeast today, and Gao Yongxiang and the others have already reached the center of the river. Therefore, even though Jiang Hongming shouted, his voice broke. Gao Yongxiang, however, could not hear a single word.
When the sudden change occurred on the north shore, Gao Yongxiang's initial reaction was the same as that of Ye Zhao. Through the telescope, he saw the process of Qiao Benshan's sacrifice more clearly. Then, he suddenly shouted loudly to the cadets on the raft: " Hurry, hurry, hurry up." Feeling that the cadets were slow, he walked to the edge of the raft, grabbed the board from one of the cadets, and started rowing by himself.
Ten minutes later, the bombardment finally ended, and Ye Zhao finally calmed down. He first asked people to pull Jiang Hongming, who had screamed hoarsely, back to the shore, and then said to deputy division commander Chang Zhiguo: "No matter what method you use, Find some boats as soon as possible, I want to cross the river."
Chang Zhiguo was responsible for the specific matters of crossing the river. When something like this happened on the north bank, his heart was bleeding with pain. However, he remained awake enough. He said: "Master, wait a minute. We are not even connected to the enemy now." No one knows, Master, okay, okay, I’ll go right away.”
Ye Zhao suddenly turned his head and stared at him. When he saw Ye Zhao's livid face, he realized that he could not anger him now, so he took a step back, and then hurriedly left with several staff members.
On the north bank, in a crop field about 600 meters east of where the Xuebing Army gathered on the river beach, Maehara Shengtoshi suggested to Yoshio Jotsuka: "Division Commander, it seems that there are no artillery troops stationed on the south bank of the Chinese Army. , then, the size of this student army should be a brigade. Sir, do you think we have given the Chinese people the hope of rescuing the troops on the north bank, and only sent out our 10th Regiment to attack. Based on my attack on the student army, Understand that if they find that we only have one regiment, they will definitely send troops to rescue them. By then, if we all dispatch, we will be able to completely annihilate the student army."
Maehara Sungmin actually had an ulterior motive for what he said. In his opinion, without artillery support and no matter how many people came to die, no matter how many cadet troops there were on the south bank, it would be impossible to continue crossing the river. This was also This means that the only results that the 10th Division can achieve in the end are these students on the north bank. So, instead of sharing this fruit with everyone, it is better to let yourself take it all.
I don’t know if Yoshio Jotsuka thought what he said was reasonable, or he heard the voice-over and wanted to help him. After thinking for two minutes, Jotsuka said: "You can try this. After the shelling just now, China There are only about one regiment left, and they have no fortifications to defend. Even for encirclement and annihilation, one of your regiments is enough. I will go and explain to the commander."
Maehara was overjoyed: "Sir, that would be troublesome."
Jozuka smiled at him, and then, escorted by a group of military police, he went to find Nishio Hiszo.
The bombardment was not endless, which finally made Qian Shuanglin feel relieved. He was not afraid of death. In fact, after experiencing the initial panic, the emotions of the trainees quickly stabilized. After getting rid of the fear of death, they lurked in the cold water as a company unit. Everyone's only thought was to defeat this enemy in order to avenge their fallen comrades.
Two consecutive flares rose into the sky, and as a red signal flare rose into the sky from the west, the next moment, shouts of death and intensive gunfire from machine guns came from the east. The enemy finally appeared, and it turned out to be Japan. After confirming the enemy's identity and quantity, Ye Zhao on the south bank relaxed a little. Although he didn't know where this Japanese army came from, since it was not the Central Army or the national army of other factions, and There is only one regiment in size, so let's fight hard and taste the blood. At the moment of the sneak attack, did the little devils think that from now on, they would fall into the fierce revenge of the student army and lose him? Mom, a regiment dared to sneak attack my brigade. The little devils are getting bolder and bolder. Have they forgotten the lessons of the Battle of Nanjing? Ye Zhao naturally thought so angrily, not realizing that a Japanese on the north bank The trap woven with ulterior motives is waiting for you,
On the North Bank, when the unique military uniforms of the Japs appeared in the eyes of Qian Shuanglin and others, they stopped gnashing their teeth, gathered their spirits one by one, and devoted their whole body and soul to the battle that was about to begin.
It was a very strange psychology. Although the artillery attack just caused them heavy losses, after discovering that the enemy was Japanese, the trainees were not intimidated and did not continue to curse in an aggressive manner. A sense of superiority quickly filled them. Filling their hearts, they are now thinking more about how many Japs they can kill and how many Japs they have to kill to avenge their comrades. From Qian Shuanglin to the recruit Danzi, they are completely unaware of it. The enemy is several times our own, and I may die in this battle, just as if they can win a war with the Japanese,
"You're a little Japs after you've left his mother behind." On the raft, Gao Yongxiang handed the plank to its owner, stood up and looked at the Japanese soldiers advancing at a waist, sneered with his hands on his hips,
"How dare those stupid little devils attack us? Damn it, these devils deserve to die."
"Brothers, row hard, don't let the brothers on the north bank take all the credit."
... As expected of comrades in the same division, the cadets on the north bank and the cadets on the raft actually have a clear understanding of each other, and even their thoughts are in the same pattern.
The only person who was worried was Jiang Hongming. Perhaps because he had fewer opportunities to go to the battlefield in person, or perhaps because he had not participated in the Battle of Nanjing, the temporary advantage in the strength of the Japanese army made him very worried about the officers and soldiers on the north bank. He said to Ye Zhao : "Maybe you are right, I don't know if they can hold on until we get there."
Ye Zhao was full of confidence in it. He said fiercely: "It must be possible. Throw his mother away. This time I will let the little devil steal the chicken without losing the rice. Throw his mother away. I think my team is easy to bully. This time I will I'm going to beat their shit out."
Ye Zhao was really angry, but he was a little confused as to who this anger was directed at. The intelligence provided by the headquarters and the intelligence detected by the scouts showed that there were no Japanese troops on the other side, but now, there were The most hateful thing about such a Japanese army coming out was that they actually attacked me in a sneak attack.
On the north bank, under a poplar tree, after Nishio Hisao listened to Yoshio Jotsuka's report, he looked at the dark south bank and said: "Maehara's analysis is very reasonable, and it is indeed a good plan to lure the enemy. With our As for the understanding of the Xuebing Army, adhering to Ouyang Yun's style, most of the officers of the Xuebing Army are very defensive. Once they find out that our army only has one regiment, they will definitely dispatch all the troops to rescue them. Haha, originally they were only interested in this. It's a pity that we were able to annihilate such a small number of enemies. In this way, we should be able to annihilate all these students. If this battle is successful, Maehara's contribution should be the first."
"Your Excellency is wise, and only under your command can Maehara exert his full capabilities."
"Haha." Enjoying the flattery from Jōzuka, Nishio burst out laughing, feeling extremely proud for a moment.