At the headquarters of the 11th Army in Wuhan, the chief of staff, Major General Numata Taka, and the master of the war room, Kazuo Miyazaki, were reporting to Okamura Ninji.

"Miyazaki-kun, have the soldiers lost in the 107th Division and the 101st Division been replenished?"

Kazuo Miyazaki reported: "Report to Your Excellency Commander, the reinforcements from the mainland have given priority to replenishing these two divisions, but if you want to restore your combat effectiveness, I am afraid it will take at least a few months." The 101st Division has experienced many vicious battles over the past year or so, and the experienced veterans have almost lost everything, and most of the remaining soldiers are either returning soldiers or recruits who have never been on the battlefield, and it is difficult to guarantee their combat effectiveness! There is also the 107th Division, the combat effectiveness of this newly formed unit is already worth scrutinizing, plus the fierce battle experienced in Nanchang a few months ago, and even some soldiers have suffered from war phobia, and they will become hysterical when they hear the gunshots, which affects morale very much! ”

"Ah...... It's really embarrassing. After hearing this, Gangcun Ningji's brows also furrowed deeply. This kind of thing is the last thing a commander wants, and it is difficult for a soldier to recover from fear. In addition, the Japanese army conscripts all conscripts in a unified manner in one region and then put them in the same unit, which can greatly enhance the sense of honor and competitiveness of the troops, but once there is any unfavorable news, it is very easy to infect the surrounding companions.

Okamura Ninji only pondered for a moment before making a decision: "Send those soldiers who suffer from phobia back to their homeland immediately, and they must not be allowed to continue to spread such pessimistic thoughts!" ”

"Hay!" Kazuo Miyazaki hurriedly bowed down and agreed.

"Bang ......"

At this moment, the door to the office was suddenly pushed open, and Ichiro Miyamoto stumbled in.

Okamura Ninji, who was already in a very irritable mood, saw Miyamoto Ichiro's stumbling steps and embarrassed appearance, and a nameless fire rushed to his heart, and he immediately scolded: "Yaga...... Have you forgotten even the most basic courtesy? Get the hell out of here! ”

"Hai ......"

Miyamoto Ichiro was stunned for a moment, and then realized his faux pas. He quickly retreated and closed the door, and a moment later there was a knock at the door.

"Come in!"

Miyamoto Ichiro pushed open the door and walked in quickly, took out a telegram from the folder and put it on the table, and said quickly: "Your Excellency Commander, the former garrison commander of Jiujiang, Tsuchida Yongxiang Osa, has called, and the army of the people of China is launching a fierce attack on Jiujiang. Request tactical guidance from the command! ”

"Nani?"

"It can't be!"

"Are the people of China crazy?"

Three shouts of surprise rang out in the office almost simultaneously.

After Sansheng's exclamation, the office miraculously fell silent again, and after a pause, Numata Taka muttered to himself: "It shouldn't be, the troops below haven't reported anything abnormal these days, why did the person suddenly attack Jiujiang, Miyamoto-kun, have you verified the following situation?" ”

"Verified!" Miyamoto Ichiro hurriedly replied: "I just asked about the following places, and there is nothing abnormal, only the Jiujiang side has been attacked. ”

Okamura Ninji asked in a deep voice, "Which army is it?" How many troops? ”

"Yes......" Ichiro Miyamoto swallowed. Sneaking a glance at Okamura Ninji, his voice became a lot quieter: "Yes...... It's the 202nd Division of China! The strength of the army is about a brigade or so. ”

"202nd Division...... Su Jin...... It's him again! ”

Okamura Ninji's teeth rattled, and he punched the table, and after the loud bang, the teacup on the table was bounced up and fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.

"Just a brigade of troops dares to attack Jiujiang, does he really think that the warriors of the empire are all muddy?"

Speaking of this, Okamura Ninji looked at Numata Taka with fierce eyes, and an order popped out from between his teeth: "Numata-kun, you immediately order Tsuchida Yongxiang to drag this army to Jiujiang for me." The 3rd and 13th Divisions set out immediately, and must arrive at Jiujiang within three days to encircle them. I'm going to eat all this daring force! ”

"Hay!" There was a fierce reply in the office......

The news that the 202nd Division launched an attack on Jiujiang alone not only surprised the Japanese, but also caused a sensation within the Ninth Theater, and Xue Yue, commander of the Ninth Theater, was also greatly shocked by this.

"Bastard...... What does this Su Sansi want to do? After just a few days of stable life, he couldn't sit still, or was he too comfortable to stab me in a hurry? ”

In the Ninth Theater Headquarters in Changsha, Hunan, Xue Yue, who was shocked when he learned that Su Jin had launched an attack on Jiujiang without authorization, was furious. After the Battle of Nanchang, the **** and the Japanese army entered a short truce at this time. Due to the large casualties of everyone a while ago, the two sides tacitly agreed to lie in the nest and lick their wounds, except for some small fights, there was no major battle, but now everything Su Jin has done is very likely to break this delicate situation, which naturally makes Xue Yue very angry.

Wu Yizhi, the chief of staff of the theater on the side, chuckled lightly when he saw Xue Yue angry.

Xue Yue saw Wu Yizhi laughing on the side. Very unhappy said: "Xuexing, I'm in a hurry like this, you still laugh!" ”

Wu Yizhi smiled and said, "Boling, don't be too anxious, I think this matter may not be as serious as you think." ”

"Why isn't it serious?" Xue Yue said angrily: "Now that the various units of our Ninth Theater have not fully recovered their strength, who can bear the responsibility of triggering a full-scale war between the Ninth Theater and the Japanese Eleventh Army?" Su Jin attacked Jiujiang without authorization, if it succeeded, it is good to say, in case of failure, how could the Japanese not take the opportunity to attack Nanchang, if Nanchang was lost again, the consequences would be serious! ”

"Brother Boling, you don't have to be like this." Wu Yizhi shook his head and said: "The ancients were cloudy, and misfortune and fortune depended on blessing and misfortune. In my opinion, this is not necessarily a bad thing. Do you think, although this guy Su Sansi is ...... on weekdays Although it is more belligerent...... But when did you see him doing a loss-making business, his troops have fought more than ten battles with the Japanese in the past year or so, and he didn't take advantage of it. Besides, this time he dared to take the initiative to attack the Japanese army, do you think, if you are not sure that he would dare to do that? ”

"Huh...... That's what you say! ”

Xue Yue was also stunned by the sudden bad news just now, and after Wu Yizhi said this, he also came back to his senses, it seems that this is really the case. This kid has always been a monkey spirit in a war. This time, he would take the initiative to attack the Japanese, which is not his style.

After exhaling a long breath, Xue Yue slapped his head and smiled bitterly: "Look at me, I am all confused by this kid." This kid just sent me a telegram a few days ago, saying that he wanted to take the initiative to launch a tentative attack on Jiujiang in order to test the results of the troops' training. But I refused, I didn't expect this kid to make up his own mind. ”

Wu Yizhi nodded: "If that's the case, there shouldn't be any problem, the 202nd Division has now expanded to more than 20,000 people, even if a unit is sent to test the training results, it shouldn't have much impact on the garrison strength in Nanchang." ”

Xue Yue thought for a long time, but slowly shook his head: "No, for the sake of safety, we still have to prepare in advance." You immediately send a telegram to the 74th Army and ask them to send a division to rush to Xiushui, and if the war does not go well, it is good to reinforce Nanchang. ”

"Hmm. It's also a safe approach. Wu Yizhi agreed, and the matter was settled, both of them thought that this matter was just a small-scale battle, and it would naturally end in a day or two, but the subsequent battles greatly exceeded their expectations......

"Boom ......"

A cannonball exploded at the foot of Xiaobao Mountain, and the violent explosion blew a large amount of gravel and earth into the sky, and the dust in the sky made the originally clear sky dull.

Yusho Tsuchida stood behind a bunker. Watch the battle through a telescope.

"Whoosh...... Boom ......"

Two more shells landed on the position, and the dust obscured his vision.

"This damn Shina is still shelling. Are they too many shells to shoot? ”

Tsuchida Yongxiang Osa gritted his teeth and secretly cursed the Huaxia people on the opposite side in his heart, the battle had been fought for more than an hour, but the Huaxia people on the opposite side did not attack at all except for bombarding the Japanese positions with artillery. After more than an hour of bombardment, the surface position of Xiaobaoshan had been blown into ruins, and Tsuchida had to order his soldiers to take refuge in the tunnels and anti-artillery holes.

As an officer with more than ten years of military experience. Originally, he also ordered the artillery brigade to counterattack, but in less than 20 minutes, a fully formed artillery brigade with more than 20 field and mountain artillery pieces was almost completely lost.

"Fortunately, I have ordered the reinforcement of the protection of the position before this, otherwise it will be really difficult to pass this level today!" In the face of constant artillery fire. Yusho Tsuchida muttered to himself while looking at the civil engineering fortifications built with thick logs and mulch above his head, and he was full of confidence in the civil engineering works that he personally supervised and built, and it was for this reason that Yusho Tsuchida had such confidence in building a strong enough civil engineering before he had obtained a degree in the engineering department.

In Tutian Yongxiang's view, relying on such a solid position, let alone holding on for two days, even ten days and a half months is no problem, as long as the commanding heights of Xiaobaoshan are not lost, it is impossible for the opposite Chinese army to attack Jiujiang.

In an open area two kilometers from the Xiaobaoshan Highlands. The officers and soldiers of the howitzer battalion under the artillery regiment of the 348th Brigade were building field artillery positions in this open area at this time. Each artillery regiment has two light howitzer battalions, armed with 54 105 mm M101 howitzers, while smaller guns and mortars are all assigned to the regimental units below.

According to the newly edited operational outline of the 202nd Division, the 105-mm howitzer of the 202nd Division is responsible for the task of using direct fire or curved fire to eliminate the enemy's firepower in the offensive attack. The fortifications built by the Japanese army on the outskirts of Jiujiang City also needed to be uprooted one by one with large-caliber artillery, which was called a point-and-point attack in the 202nd Division.

"Target Japanese target No. 035, 2036 meters away, fire!"

A few minutes later, with a command, the 105mm howitzer of the artillery position, which had been placed on the flat terrain, slammed back, and a cloud of orange flames erupted from the muzzle. Seven 19.08-kilogram grenades fired from seven M101 howitzers of the howitzer battalion flew at a speed of 472 meters per second towards the targets that had been aimed.

"Artillery (shelling)!"

Several Japanese soldiers hiding in the civil fortifications and looking out from a distance immediately shouted loudly after seeing the clouds of smoke rising from a distance, and as the roar fell, the sound of shells breaking through the air immediately reached the ears of the Japanese troops in the anti-artillery holes or fortifications, and some Japanese soldiers closest to the field fortifications also panicked and rushed into the field fortifications to avoid the shelling of the Chinese.

The fact that the fortifications made of 50 centimeters of soil and thick logs can protect the soldiers inside the fortifications to the maximum extent during shelling and bombardment is a battle-tested and respected by all soldiers. It is precisely because of this that Tsuchida Yusho Daisa built dozens of civil fortifications made of logs and mulch in the eight-kilometer long defense line around Xiaobaoshan. But there is a premise for all this, that is, these fortifications must not be directly hit by shells of more than 100 calibers!

"It's ......!"

"Boom ......"

A 105-mm grenade with a whizzing sound of breaking through the ground after hitting the fortifications of the Japanese army. Because the anti-armor high-explosive shell was used, the shell did not explode immediately, and when the grenade broke the thigh-thick log through the covering soil tens of centimeters thick, the Japanese soldiers who were dodging in the fortifications could almost hear the sound of wood cracking after the shell penetrated the soil layer and the log was hit and deformed.

"Boom!"

With a somewhat dull explosion, the shells that penetrated the overburden and wooden beams exploded inside the fortifications, and the earthworks covering and broken beams that seemed to be extremely strong were thrown into the sky by the violent explosion inside, and the wreckage of the Japanese soldiers in the bunker was also at least ten meters high in the air.

"Good...... Hit! ”

Several staff officers of the 348th Brigade, who were watching with binoculars, shouted excitedly, and Li Wei, who was standing in front, turned his head and scolded with a smile: "What are you shouting, it's just a hit on a fortification, and it's still far from the requirement, this time I want to see if the artillery regiment can complete this task" (to be continued). )