At the end of the second phase of the Battle of Songhu, the Nationalist army failed to achieve its expected goal and drove the landed enemy back to the sea, and the two sides entered a stalemate. In the face of a strong enemy, the national army fought hard and fought hard for every inch of land, and its spirit of fighting to the end won dignity for the Chinese army.

Both sides made a fatal mistake in this battle, continuing to fight and refuel tactics. When the Japanese army occupied Luodian for the first time, it did not deploy heavy troops, and Luodian was recaptured by the national army. In the end, the two sides entered into a bitter battle, which led to heavy losses on both sides.

In this anti-landing operation, neither China nor Japan achieved the first goal, that is, the primary purpose of the Chinese side was to drive the enemy into the sea, and the Japanese army did not achieve the goal of cutting off the retreat of the Nationalist army in Shanghai.

In this regard, the warring parties had to retreat, the Nationalist army to block the enemy's advance in depth, and the Japanese army to break through quickly to defeat the Nationalist army.

In this way, the two sides will inevitably invest more troops, which means that the first battle of Shanghai will become a place where the two countries will gather heavy troops.

Fortunately, the Japanese military top brass made a mistake in judgment and believed that North China was the main battlefield, resulting in the evil consequences of increasing troops one after another. The national army made corresponding adjustments and gathered the main force to reinforce Shanghai, creating favorable conditions for the next stage of operations.

On September 12th and 13th, the two sides entered a period of calm. Both sides are actively preparing for battle, replenishing troops, and drawing up operational plans for the lower divisions. Calm may not be a good thing, but it means that a bigger and more brutal battle is about to begin.

Although the base camp met the requirements of his five and a half divisions, the two divisions suffered heavy losses in this landing operation, and even some individual wings were almost completely wiped out, leaving only a few hundred people. Matsui ignored the will to fight of the Chinese army and their determination to resist Japan.

Matsui Ishine looked at the generals sitting there, at this time, the 3rd Division and the 11th Division had completed the replenishment, and other reinforcements had also landed one after another, and he asked, "Everyone, now start discussing the next battle plan." ”

The commander of the 3rd Division, Fujita Jin, said: "Chen Cheng's left wing army withdrew to the preset position on the line of the Panjing River the day before yesterday, and the main force of the first line was north of Yunzaobang, east and west of the Panjing and Dijing rivers. The subordinate plan is that the 3rd Division of our division will advance westward along the Baoliu Highway, break through the national army front of Panjing and Dijing, and then occupy the two major points of Liuhang and Gujiazhai, and then advance in depth through Yunzaobang in the south. ”

At this time, Fujita Jin was still very naïve and wanted to encircle and annihilate the main force of the Chinese army. Advance in depth, cut off the retreat of the Chinese army, achieve the goal of completely annihilating the main force of the Chinese army, and completely solve the Chinese war.

Fujita Jin's idea is also the idea of the Japanese army's base camp, wanting to fight a decisive battle with the Chinese army in Songhu, Songhu belongs to the plain, they occupy air supremacy, sea supremacy, it is very beneficial to them, so it is the best time to eliminate the main force of the Chinese army in Songhu.

The commander of the 11th Division, Munetake Yamamuro, agreed, saying: "I agree, but we must pay attention to the safety of the flanks. Your Excellency Commander, our 11th Division can assist the 3rd Division to focus on attacking the enemy troops in the area around Luodian and covering the security of the flank of the 3rd Division. ”

Matsui thought twice and felt that this plan was feasible. Two combat orders were immediately issued.

First, the 3rd Division was ordered to attack the defense line of the Panjing and Dijing national armies, defeat Chen Cheng's 15th Army, and then make a deep detour and go south to Wenzaobang and Dachang;

Second, the 11th Division, together with the newly arrived Shigetsu Detachment, was ordered to clear the Chinese army along the north-south line of the Yueluo Highway from east to west, between the three rivers of Panjing, Dijing and Yangjing, and focus on attacking the Nationalist army in the area around Luodian to cover the flank of the 3rd Division, and then move south to coordinate with the 3rd Division to attack the Dachang and Nanxiang areas.

At the same time, the 9th Division and the 13th Division that had just landed reinforced Hongkou and intensified the offensive against Zhabei. Once Zhabei is captured, Shanghai can be taken directly in the south, and Dachang and Wenzaobang can be attacked in the north, and the main force of the Chinese army can be combined with the army sent from the north.

Although the idea is good, war is not subject to unilateral will.

From September 12, the Japanese 11th Division, after being replenished, launched a frontal attack on the 15th Army of the Nationalist Army west and south of Luodian on the 14th. By this time, Hu Zongnan's First Army had arrived in Shanghai and was soon engaged in battle. Xue Yue's 19th Army arrived soon, and troops from all over the country were also engaged in battle.

There are still 4 days left before the Mid-Autumn Festival, and many people may not be able to see the full moon that night. The night in Zhabei was exceptionally quiet, the Japanese army in Hongkou had begun to assemble, and the division headquarters ordered all troops to enter the defense area.

Ye Lei took the three companies into his defense area. The number "three" is unlucky for many soldiers, and commanders tend to put them on the front line in their combat habits. In front of the second battalion is the third battalion, and in front of the second company is Ye Lei's third company, and they are responsible for the defense area of Dongxing Road.

"Company Commander~"

"Company Commander~"

“……”

Ye Lei and Cheng Zifeng inspected everywhere, and the soldiers got up one after another. It is a circular fortification with eight warriors stationed in a large circle, with a large column in the middle, between which the warriors are located and the sandbag fortifications, which can effectively prevent enemy shelling.

Cheng Zifeng joked: "Everyone have a good rest, Chief Ye said, wait until August 15, please have a big meal!" ”

A soldier asked, "Company commander, is it really?" ”

Ye Lei said: "Really, please eat meat and moon cakes!" Rest first, brethren. ”

Ye Lei made his rounds twice a day, and he just wanted to remember the faces of these young soldiers. The Eighth Route Army was called "Comrade", and the National Army was called "Brother".

Ye Lei once watched an interview with a veteran of the National Army in Songhu, and when he heard the word "brother", he said indignantly: "Now movies and television deliberately call the word 'brother' of the national army so child's play, because those directors of Wang Ba have never been on the battlefield; only those who have been on the battlefield will understand the true meaning of the word 'brother', and we really regard every comrade-in-arms around us who is bloody together as our own brothers!" ”

At this time, Ye Lei can more or less understand the mood of the old soldier, in this battlefield of life and death, the only thing the soldiers can trust is the brothers around them.

After inspecting here, Ye Lei and Cheng Zifeng went to other places to continue their inspection, Ye Lei asked, "When did I say that I would invite everyone to dinner?" ”

Cheng Zifeng said with a smile: "Aren't you the eldest young master of the Ye family, even if you invite you." ”

Cheng Zifeng had a hunch, not to mention the 3rd Company in this battle, there would not be a few left in the 2nd Battalion. All that can be done now is to feed the soldiers and kill the devils.

Ye Lei felt speechless, the really rich young master was Ye Hua, and his monthly military salary was only 18 yuan. But there's nothing wrong with having a good meal for the soldiers. As the commander of the third company, he rarely trained them, and Ye Lei felt a little guilty. However, Ye Lei is leaving again tomorrow.

Xie Jinyuan, deputy of the regiment, proposed to let Ye Lei assist the third battalion as a regimental staff officer, and the defense of the third battalion was deployed by Ye Lei himself, and only Ye Lei could give full play to his combat power, so this time Ye Lei was transferred to the front line.

The battle in the north has begun, and Zhabei has spent a quiet night. However, since that day, Zhabei has never been quiet.