As night fell, there was a huge explosion in the east of Taizhou City, followed by explosions from the southeast to the northwest of the city. The whole Taizhou City was in chaos, with horses carrying orders.
Soldiers shuttled through the major city gates. The more than 13,000 defenders in the city gathered amidst rapid whistles, and then rushed in all directions outside the city for emergency reinforcements.
"Reporting to the division seat, the Cha'an Bridge seven kilometers east of the city and the Tongyang Bridge six kilometers southeast were all destroyed. The officers and soldiers guarding the bridge suffered heavy casualties..."
"...the Sunduo Gate Bridge and the Taidong River bridge in the north of the city were bombed. The Taidong Fourth Regiment's camp was attacked by hundreds of mortar shells within five minutes. The brothers were having dinner and had no time to respond, resulting in huge casualties..."
"Division seat, the enemy troops from the southwest were lurking in the woods north of Sanjiang Village. They suddenly launched a fierce artillery bombardment at the Doumen Bridge position in the north. Several shells landed on the tiled roof of the main hall of the Tao Family Ancestral Hall. General Qin, the commander of the Second Brigade who was having a meal, was seriously injured.
He died. The commander of the third regiment died immediately. The commander of the first regiment lost an arm and was no longer able to command the battle. The other deputy regiments and battalion commanders suffered many casualties. The brothers of the second brigade were leaderless. There was a large-scale desertion. Commander Qi of the artillery regiment requested to retreat...
"
"Our frontline sentries six kilometers west of our forward position were attacked almost simultaneously."
…
Cui Jinggui, commander of the 12th Division of Sun Army, who hurriedly threw down his job and returned to the headquarters, his face was ashen, without saying a word, he walked quickly to the map, looked at it for a moment, and shouted an order:
"Get me through to General Duan at Nangong Camp immediately!"
"Reporter's seat, the phone cannot be connected. Maybe...maybe the line has been cut off..." the communications staff officer lowered his head and answered tremblingly.
Cui Jinggui turned around and stared coldly at the generals in the hall who were rushing over: "Immediately return to their respective positions and launch vigilance in all directions. It seems that the enemy is harassing us instead of a large-scale attack. No one can mess up."
!Immediately beat me hard when you find an enemy!"
"yes!"
"Tangcheng, immediately lead the guard regiment to rescue Doumen!"
"As you command!"
All the generals in the hall were gone in an instant. Cui Jinggui ordered the phone lines to be repaired quickly and then returned to the map. After a while, Duan Chengze, the lieutenant general of the Ninth Division, rushed over with a trace of blood on the delicate leather whip in his hand.
This former Ningbo garrison commander is currently the deputy commander of the First Army of the Five-Province Allied Forces and the commander of the Ninth Division. He is a senior general with good calligraphy and profound painting skills. At this moment, he has lost his elegance and stability, and his face has changed.
It's all about anxiety.
"Brother Shengwu (characterized by Duan Chengze)..."
Cui Jinggui strode forward to greet him, and then gave a brief report on the situation encountered by his troops. The sound of gunshots and explosions still came from time to time, making him uneasy and irritable.
Duan Chengze sat down quite tiredly, picked up the tea sent by the orderly and drank half a cup: "My side is even worse. All the frontline units have been blinded by the enemy's defensive posture for several days, and they are all unprepared.
The officers and soldiers on the front line suffered heavy casualties. When I came to you, I encountered a small group of enemy troops ambushing me from a distance at the head of Zhangjiabao Bridge. My chief of staff and adjutant were killed and the other wounded. The enemy retreated after a successful attack.
After the chaos, my guard captain led a company of brothers to pursue them on horseback. They were killed by a dense hail of light machine gun bullets before they could go more than two miles. Alas...what do you think of the current situation, dear brother?"
The long-faced and hawk-nosed Cui Jinggui suppressed the nervousness in his heart and replied with some helplessness: "The incoming enemy must be Chiang Zhongzheng's favorite disciple An Yi. This man is young but full of tricks, and his innovative military training methods are unique and effective."
It is astonishing that the actions of his troops come and go like the wind. The most hateful thing is that this man's strange tactics have no rules and no traces. The generals under his command are all brave men from the green forest or other armies who are not afraid of death. It is quite difficult to
deal with.
It is said that this person strictly selects elite soldiers to replenish himself every time he captures them. Anyone with expertise can be promoted quickly. Once recognized, he will be used without any doubt. Moreover, this person takes the lead in battles and eats banquets with the lieutenants of the army on weekdays.
A pot of rice never deducts the pay of the soldiers under his command. The generals and assistants on his left and right are more loyal to him than brothers and sisters. All those who submit to him are grateful and shed tears. Therefore, every battle is brave and everyone fights for the first place.
From Fengxin to Nanchang, from Quzhou to Kunshan, every colleague he encountered was either captured or fled, and no one got the slightest chance from his hands. Not afraid of Brother Shengwu's jokes, I have been studying his tactics for several days.
, I still have no clue, this guy is quite scary!”
"Heroes think alike. Over the past few days, our soldiers have heard that the enemy they are facing is An Yi and his model battalion. They are extremely panicked and timid before fighting. This is really worrying.
I originally thought that a newly formed independent division in Anyi could only block our army's westward march at best to cut off the connection between our army and Xu Beng's front-line friendly forces, but did not dare to rashly take the initiative to attack. No matter how powerful the Anyi department was, it would be at best
It's just a division. As long as the commander's reinforcements move south from the Yancheng line, they will be able to recapture Yangzhou and advance towards Zhenjiang. Only after receiving urgent calls from Commander Zheng twice today did I know that An Yi's troops are not just 8,000 troops. Thousands of experienced troops have been coming to Nanchang in the past few days.
The trained soldiers arrived at Zhenjiang and quickly crossed the river. Anyi's troops were quickly enriched and strengthened. They would definitely attack before our army arrived, break the confrontation between the two armies and gain strategic initiative. In addition, He Yingqin's 70,000 troops on the eastern front
As they continue to cross the river and advance northward, our army has lost the opportunity and may be unable to resist." Duan Chengze expressed his opinion worriedly.
Suddenly, there was a burst of intensive shelling, which made the porcelain cups on the nanmu tea table jingle, and the tiles on the house and the four windows made bursts of noise.
Duan Chengze and Cui Jinggui were startled. They stood up and walked quickly outside the door at the same time. They looked towards the Doumen Bridge, where the sound of artillery fire was rumbling and the flames were a few kilometers away. The rumbling sound of artillery fire continued for a long time.
The communications officer in the room put down the phone and strode behind Cui Jinggui to report loudly:
"Division seat, the enemy artillery suddenly launched a violent bombardment on the front line of Doumen Bridge. The brothers of the guard regiment who had just arrived at the Doumen Bridge position suffered heavy losses. The remaining forward positions suffered a fierce attack from the enemy at almost the same time. It is initially estimated that the size of the enemy's artillery force reached at least two
regiment, otherwise it would not have such huge power and continuous bombardment capabilities."
Cui Jinggui was shocked: "Two artillery regiments? This is the firepower equipment only one army has! Is the enemy about to launch a charge?"
The chief of staff standing aside said anxiously: "I'm afraid, judging from the enemy's blowing up all the bridges to the east and north of us, they must be trying to cut off our retreat, force our troops to fight decisively, or mobilize Gu Zhu from Yangzhou City to join the division.
They launched a pincer attack on me from the northwest and southwest directions to pin down our army here, so that He Yingqin's army on the eastern front could quickly break through the southern front and encircle me. Otherwise, they would not have had to risk their lives to go deep into our army to harass and destroy us.
There must be a huge conspiracy hidden in it!”
"Chief of Staff Chi's words are reasonable. An Yi's division must have received a large number of reinforcements before they dared to attack suddenly. This must be a tentative attack for tomorrow's general offensive to find out the deployment and reaction of our troops. The ultimate goal is to capture Taizhou.
Position, encircle the friendly forces in Taixing and Jingjiang in the south!
Dear brother, without further ado, you immediately dispatch your reserve troops to support the line from Doumen Bridge to Sanjiang Village. If you can allow General Qiao Zhensheng of Gaoyou to defeat the Wangzhuang position of Gu Zhu's troops on the southern front, you will surely be able to contain Gu Zhu who is stationed in Yangzhou.
Tongshi and An Yi's troops cooperate to attack our Taizhou, otherwise if the forward position is occupied by a strong enemy, Taizhou will be in danger!
I will immediately return to the Nangong Camp and dispatch two regiments of my department to storm Huadang Town on the right wing of the Anyi Department to disperse their forces. I will work together with your department to try to keep the Anyi Department to the west of Doumen and strive to support the troops to the west of Doumen.
Reinforcements are coming!" Duan Chengze made a hasty suggestion.
"Report, there is an urgent call from the headquarters. Nantong has been lost. Our Nantong defenders are withdrawing to the north. Three enemy divisions are showing signs of attacking westward." The communications staff officer's hand holding the message could not help but tremble.
Everyone was shocked. Cui Jinggui hurriedly sent the anxious Duan Chengze to the camp gate. When he returned to the headquarters, he immediately ordered the communications staff to call Gaoyou's sworn brother Qiao Zhensheng for help. At the same time, he sent an emergency report to the Yancheng General Headquarters, imploring Army Commander Zheng Junyan to hurry up.
Send troops to help Taizhou.
An hour later, the fighting suddenly stopped. After an hour-long intermittent bombardment, An Yi's troops fell silent across the line.
After receiving the phone report, Cui Jinggui was filled with doubts and panic, but he did not dare to order his troops to risk their lives to advance. He could only order his troops to stick to their positions and closely monitor the enemy's movements. He then called Duan Chengze's troops fifteen kilometers to the south for consultation.
How did he know that under the accurate shooting of An Yi's snipers, no one of his frontline troops dared to send personnel to conduct reconnaissance? What's more, it was night at the moment, and he could only fight against the model battalion, which was famous throughout the country for field operations.
Seeking death.
At this time, Duan Chengze was leading two regiments to set off. When they arrived at the positions east and on both sides of Huadang Town, they were suddenly bombarded by mortars from the rivers on both sides for five minutes, and the sound of light machine gun fire was heard.
Through the night sky, the officers and soldiers on both wings were hit by this sudden attack, and they moved towards the middle road as if lifeless. In the darkness, many officers and soldiers pulled bundles of mines buried shallowly with grenades on the road. The bursts of explosions sparked fire for dozens of people.
The machine gunner pointed out the target, and the hail of bullets and artillery shells flew towards the chaotic groups of enemies, causing heavy casualties to the officers and soldiers of Duan Chengze's department. They screamed again and again. The whole army had not yet reached the one kilometer in front of the Anyi Division's position in Huadang Town.
Morale was robbed, and an uncontrollable mass rout ensued.
In this way, the more than 4,000 officers and soldiers of Duan Chengze's army who rushed to risk their lives lost more than 800 people without seeing a single sign of the revolutionary army. The remaining soldiers were all distraught and fled frantically for their lives. Duan Chengze was unable to stop the large-scale rout of his officers and soldiers who had lost their fighting spirit.
, the original promise made to Cui Jinggui was gone like the wind, and he could only sigh and hastily issue a retreat order, and hurriedly evacuated from the battlefield under the cover of the guards.
In the semi-underground headquarters on the front line of Yangjiaying, Hu Jialin listened to the reports of the communication troops of each department. He did not hesitate to order all the departments to take a rest in hiding, and whispered to Ding Zhicheng beside him:
"Old Ding, it seems that the enemy has been shaken. If you work harder, you can scare the enemy away. Your first and second companies can start to implement the second plan. Remember, tell the brothers not to be reluctant to fight, and to return to the division command immediately after completing the mission.
Department, the main offensive tasks are shouldered by each regiment."
"yes!"
Ding Zhicheng turned and left.
Hu Jialin asked his adjutant to answer An Yi's call, explain the situation of all parties on the front line in detail, and suggested that An Yi let Xia Jian's first regiment and Yin Jinan's independent regiment prepare for the battle against Doumen. An Yi asked Hu Jialin to wait for half an hour and discuss
Then reply immediately.
At the Longchuan Camp Headquarters, An Yi informed Yin Jinan, Yang Bin, Gu Changfeng and others of Huzi's report and suggestions. He walked to the large map and pointed at the location of Duan Chengze's headquarters and said loudly:
"It is estimated that the news that Nantong has been captured by our army has reached the ears of the enemy defenders in Taizhou and Jingjiang. The enemy is now frightened and does not dare to give it a try, especially not to engage in a night battle with our army.
About two regiments of Duan Chengze's troops attacked the outskirts of Huadang Town in the southwest. They suffered a fierce attack from the second regiment and the machine gun company brothers and were defeated. They had all fled back to the Nangong line. Even the guards and brothers could not catch up. Cui Jinggui was in front of us.
The troops now dare not even approach the Doumen bridgehead position. This is something I did not expect before the war. I guess our initial harassment and destruction frightened the enemy. I really thought it was our troops launching a tentative attack with the help of the army.
Therefore, I suggested adopting Huzi's suggestion and immediately moving the artillery forward four kilometers, that is, to the Majiaying area. This is already the limit of our movement and has just reached the maximum range.
Hutou's third regiment and Xia Jian's regiment immediately rushed to Huadang Town to join Chen Zhibiao's second battalion. They then took a four-hour rest. During this period, the third and fourth companies of the guard battalion will conduct uninterrupted harassment of the enemy for you.
, at dawn, concentrated more than 3,000 superior troops to penetrate directly into the junction of the two enemy divisions in the south of Taizhou City, and stormed Taizhou City from south to north. At the same time, Jinan led the model battalion and divisional units to attack with the support of artillery fire.
Doumen, I think one regiment is enough. As long as Doumen is captured, Cui Jinggui will definitely abandon all the baggage and flee eastward without his life. We only need to leave one regiment to guard the west of Taizhou City and monitor the direction of Jiangyan. The other two regiments will quickly turn around and go south.
I can cripple Master Duan Chengze!"
Yin Jinan was shocked: "It's very risky to do this! No reserve team left?"
"Stay! Can't it be enough for Chen Kan to lead a few instructors to coordinate with each department?" An Yi smiled confidently.
The generals looked at each other for a moment, and finally nodded. Yang Bin stood up and said loudly: "I will go to the artillery camp and I will definitely help Jinan blow up the enemy's position in Doumen to pieces, haha!"
In Gaoyou City, Major General Qiao Zhensheng, who is known for his bravery and tenacity among Sun Army units, silently read the emergency report sent by Army Commander Zheng Junyan and his brother Cui Jinggui. After thinking about it for a while, he still issued an order to his generals who had gathered urgently:
"Chunlin, you lead the brothers of the second brigade to stay. I led the first brigade and the division's troops to leave the city quietly immediately, arrived at Wangzhuang in the south of the city, and immediately launched an attack on Gu Zhu's troops. Our plane arrived three days ago and dropped a few
A bomb scared the shit out of Gu Zhutong's three thousand men and they fled without a trace. It's a pity that we found out too late and didn't pursue them! This time we will definitely not let this little-known revolutionary army escape.
, let’s also surround Wei and rescue Zhao! How about it?”
"As you command!"
All the generals under his command stood together, all with high morale.