Boom, boom, boom! ”

More than a thousand little devils who rushed ashore were hit by heavy artillery fire, and the rhythm of the enemy's offensive was completely disrupted.

The cavalry battalion and the officers and men of the 51 st set up defensive positions at the forefront, and together they fought against the attacking imps.

The devil's death squad organized several charges, but they were all repulsed, and the enemy suffered heavy losses.

A few kilometers away on the south coast, Nakajima Nagao saw through his telescope that the landing force had suffered heavy casualties and had failed to succeed in repeated attacks, so he decided to temporarily withdraw the front-line troops and redeploy offensive tactics.

"Bagaya Road, how can the Chinese army be so tenacious!?"

"Turn in, retreat!!

The little devil's attack was blocked again and again, and the devil commander ordered to evacuate.

Soon, the attacking devil troops withdrew on all fronts, and the corpses of more than 1,000 little devils were abandoned on the north bank, and the corpses of devils were densely scattered on the river beaches and positions.

Yu Changsheng in the front-line command post saw the little devil retreat to the south bank, and his grim expression eased a little.

"Damn, the little devil has finally been beaten back!"

Li Hong made a phone call to the forefront and informed the cavalry battalion soldiers to pursue the escaped little devil.

"Boom, boom!"

"Da Da Da!"

The soldiers of the cavalry battalion jumped out of the trenches, and with submachine guns in their hands, they hit the little devils who fled from the shore.

The bullets were tightly bitten behind the enemy, and the little devils who ran behind were shot and rolled to the ground.

Multiple rocket launchers shelled the little devils who retreated to the bank of the river, and the little devils on the bank were blown up by the shells and hid in Tibet.

"Da Da Da!"

Some of the little devils knelt or lay on the ground, and they pulled the bolts of their guns to fight back, covering the other little devils to escape by boat.

After a fierce battle on the shore for more than ten minutes, in the end, there were two or three hundred more corpses of the little devils, and the rest of the little devils hurriedly returned to the south bank.

After the devils retreated, the artillery of the security regiment stopped shelling, and the cavalry returned to the flank positions.

The battle was over, and it was getting dark.

In order to guard against the next Japanese attack, Yu Changsheng returned to the headquarters of the 51st Army and held a military meeting to redeploy troops and lay out the defensive line on the front line.

Li Hong's security regiment is now attached to the Third Army, so he also participated in this military meeting.

There were more than a dozen officers and generals sitting in the conference room, most of whom were officers of the 51st Army.

Although Yu Changsheng was the supreme commander of the Third Army and had several corps under his command, only the 51st Army absolutely obeyed his command among these troops, and whether the other troops obeyed the orders completely depended on the mood of the other army commanders.

After today's tragic battle, the 51st Army suffered more than 2,000 casualties, and if it were not for the assistance of the security regiment, the casualties of the 51st Army might have been even greater.

The officers and generals of the 51st Army, considering the issue of casualties among the troops, had a discussion.

Some officers advocated temporarily abandoning the defense line on the north bank of the Huai River, and some generals did not agree to withdraw, if the 51st Army withdrew, I am afraid that it would threaten the entire Xuzhou war situation.

The officers and generals in the conference room had their own opinions, half of the officers agreed to withdraw, and the other half did not.

"Commander, our 51st Army must withdraw its troops as soon as possible, the Huai River Blocking Battle is completely a war of attrition between the lives of officers and soldiers for the lives of the enemy, according to such casualties, our 51st Army will be gone, it says that there are reinforcements, but so many days have passed, where are the reinforcements of the Central Army? It's true that we were raised by our stepmothers! ”

The Fifth Theater of Operations allowed the 51st Army to block the attack on the Huai River, and the 51st Army had already completed the blockade in accordance with the specified time, but there were no reinforcements for a long time.

"Commander, the casualties of our 51st Army are indeed very large, but we must not withdraw now, we can't be like the generals of other troops, in order to preserve our strength, ignore the overall situation, if we really withdraw, future generations will poke the backbone of our 51st Army in the future!"

This military meeting, from the beginning of the discussion, turned into a fierce debate, and the two sides argued for a long time, but in the end there was no result.

Li Hong listened quietly in the command headquarters, never saying a word, and both sides of the argument had a certain reason.

It's just that his inner thoughts are that he neither agrees to withdraw troops nor agrees to defend to the death, and Li Hong is more inclined to seize the enemy's weakness and take the initiative to attack.

The most difficult thing in the conference room was that Yu Changsheng hesitated for a long time and did not give an order.

If the 51st Army hastily withdraws, it will indeed have a great impact on the entire Battle of Xuzhou, and even the entire Battle of Xuzhou will end in a fiasco.

Then, if the 51st Army continued to stay on the defensive line, the casualties would be unbearable for Yu Chang Sheng.

If such a crazy attack by little devils continues, the 51st Army will be defeated in a few days.

Yu Changsheng was in a dilemma, he sat at the conference table and thought for a long time, thinking of a balanced solution.

Instead, Yu Changsheng really had no choice but to look at Li Hong, who was speechless.

"Li Hong, do you agree to withdraw the troops, or do you continue to hold on?"

Li Hong straightened his military uniform, stood up and replied: "Sir Yu, I heard the discussion of the commanders just now, and what everyone said makes sense, but in the opinion of the humble position, it is the next policy to defend and withdraw the troops. ”

Li Hong's words were astonishing, and neither side agreed with them, and he overturned the remarks of all the officers present on the spot.

If someone else said this, the officers present would definitely not be convinced, and Li Hong could say such a thing, presumably he had other plans.

Yu Changsheng was also surprised by Li Hong's words just now, and he continued to ask: "Li Hong, you are also a member of the Third Army, do you have any good suggestions, or plans, just say it." ”

"Yes, Sir Yu, then the humble position will dare to speak in front of the chiefs and talk about his humble opinion."

Li Hong moved away from the stool and moved under the map hanging in the middle.

He picked up a baton in his hand, pointed to several villages on the north bank of the Huai River on the map, and said his opinions rigorously.

"The 113th Division of the Japanese Army received an order to die, and the enemy's next attack will definitely be more ferocious, I suggest that the two divisions of the 51st Army withdraw from the first-line position, enter the second-line position, and then divide the troops to guard Huangtang Village, Wangji Town, and Qiantang Village, and the defenders can rely on the terrain of villages and towns to resist the Japanese army."

After the officers and generals listened to Li Hong's words, a general with the rank of lieutenant general stood up.

"Commander Li, this defensive plan of yours can indeed reduce the casualties of the 51st Army, however, we are facing a division of the Japanese army, if the reinforcements do not come for a long time, the 51st Army will fight fiercely for days, and the final result, I think you are clear......"

"Ladies and gentlemen, the 51st Army is blocking the north bank of the Huai River, and the predicament it is facing is clear to the commander of the theater, and I, Li Hong, can assert here that reinforcements will arrive within three days!"

Li Hong said with certainty, because the Huaihe defense line is related to the entire Xuzhou battle situation, it is impossible for the war zone to see death without help!

(End of chapter)