"The platoon commander reported to Commander Luo of the headquarters that Xie Jiaqiao was in an emergency, and a brigade of the Japanese army was attacking us, and the situation was critical, and he asked for reinforcements. Pen, Fun, Pavilion www.biquge.info" Chen Fei called Fang Min in the second company.

"Yes! Battalion commander! Fang Min said.

Ten minutes later, the command called back. Fang Min called over and said, "Battalion commander! The headquarters called that the troops must hold out until early tomorrow morning, and the 39th Army was rushing to reinforce in the starry night. ”

"Got it!" Chen Fei said.

"Company Commander Wang, dig a trench in front of the pillbox, which will be the last line of defense of the independent battalion." Chen Fei connected to the four connecting roads.

"Yes!" Wang Dashan received the order and immediately began to act.

At 1 p.m., the 65th and 104th Wings began to attack the south bank of the Xie Jia Bridge.

Zhao Liu blew up the stone bridge when the Japanese army crossed the bridge, and the Japanese infantry seeped water to cross the river, and was sniped by the first and third companies.

The Japanese artillery fire pressed the two companies, and Chen Fei shouted: "Resist, don't retreat!" "If the Japanese army is allowed to cross the river, it will definitely not last until tomorrow morning.

"The old gun shoots all the shells out." Chen Fei shouted.

The seven mortars of the old guns were fired continuously, and the grenadier components were supported by one or three companies.

Due to the fierce artillery fire of the Japanese army, the old guns could only be fired three times, and the positions were shifted, and the mortars could only be kept by frequent and continuous transfers, otherwise they would have been destroyed by the Japanese artillery fire long ago.

The Japanese army attacked non-stop for a moment, trying to capture the south bank in one fell swoop, and the 1st and 3rd companies braved huge casualties to not give an inch.

"Zhao Liu, Tang Bing will hold on until dark even if he runs out." Chen Fei said.

"Yes!" "Yes!" The two turned around and went to command their respective companies.

Chen Fei ran to the fourth company and said to Wang Dashan: "You have to be fast, the trenches should be deep, criss-crossed, and connected with the pillboxes, if the Japanese army continues to attack at night." Only this trench can be relied upon. ”

"Yes! Battalion commander! Wang Dashan said.

"Mouse, except for the one, two, and third companies, and the artillery platoon, everyone else is helping to dig, go and notify you." Chen Fei said.

The fighting on both sides of the river has heated up.

Ding San's sharpshooters were scattered in different places, specializing in blocking grenadiers, heavy machine gunners and commanders, and played a great role in stopping the enemy.

The machine guns of each company increased considerably, causing heavy casualties to the attacking Japanese troops, and at this time the Japanese tanks appeared on the north bank, and four tanks stopped on the shore to provide fire support to the infantry.

Chen Fei looked at it and secretly said that it was going to be broken, and the artillery support of the tank was far greater than that of mortars and grenadiers.

Chen Fei picked up the phone and said to Fang Min: "Platoon Commander Fang, ask the headquarters for 37 anti-aircraft guns, the tank is coming, hurry!" At the same time, he ordered the second company to also go up to support.

The independent battalion fought very hard, and from time to time fighters were blown up by Japanese tanks.

The independent battalion of the 88th Division also fought bloodily, insisting on not retreating an inch, firing at the Japanese river-wading infantry under artillery fire and throwing grenades.

The defense line of the second company was almost broken by the Japanese several times, but they were all beaten back by the guard platoon led by Chen Fei.

Chen Fei led the guard platoon to support various critical positions non-stop.

Due to the artillery attack of Japanese tanks, the casualties of the independent battalion rose rapidly.

"The anti-aircraft artillery is up!" I don't know who shouted.

Chen Fei looked back and saw that four soldiers were pushing a 37 battle defense gun, and two soldiers were carrying two boxes of ammunition and were heading towards the forward position.

"Mouse, call the old gun to fight the tank with the anti-war artillery." Chen Fei shouted.

After 2 minutes of preparation, the 37 anti-aircraft guns opened fire "Boom! "The shell hit one of the tanks with white smoke in tow.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! "Mortars from old guns also began to fire at tanks.

"Boom!" At this time, a mortar shell hit the tank.

The remaining two began to retreat, and the dust and fog caused by the mortars made the tank's vision unclear.

"Boom!" Another shell hit the tank directly.

"Transfer, transfer!" Chen Fei shouted at the anti-artillery soldiers.

Hearing Chen Fei's shout, the 37th Battle Defense Artillery Group hurriedly began to shift its position.

The old gun also ordered the mortar to be transferred.

The Japanese lost three tanks in an instant, and the last one could only retreat when they saw the attack of the anti-Japanese artillery.

Although the tanks retreated, the Japanese infantry attacked more violently, and the pairs of infantry, led by their respective officers, charged desperately.

The fighters of the separate battalion desperately threw grenades, and light and heavy machine guns did not shoot from the ground.

The cooperation of the Japanese troops also came up, and the grenadier stared at the heavy machine gun and fired, "Boom! "The heavy machine-gun position was blown up by three grenadiers.

Some light machine guns were also patronized by grenadiers, with heavy casualties, and the separate battalion could only resist with grenades.

Seeing this, Chen Fei called the old gun over and said, "The artillery cover depends on you, and your artillery fire cannot be broken." ”

The old gun nodded firmly.

The mortars of the old guns were sometimes scattered, sometimes gathered, and well covered and supported the forward positions of the independent battalion.

Forward positions were attacked by heavy artillery. The Japanese army used heavy artillery in a small area, regardless of the casualties of their own people.

The independent battalion that had been hit by heavy artillery suddenly opened a vacancy, and a single shot of heavy artillery could knock out a single piece of fighters on the position.

The Japanese army took advantage of the heavy artillery attack to capture the south bank in one fell swoop, and a large number of infantry soldiers took off their uniforms and charged naked.

"Mouse, call for reinforcements from the fourth company!" Chen Fei said calmly.

"Yes!" The mouse immediately called.

The three companies in the forward position combined were less than 200 people, and Chen Fei shouted: "Pick up a gun and fight if you are alive!" ”

The Japanese infantry had already crossed the river, and many wounded men rolled out of their positions with explosive packs or grenades, and they died with the enemy.

Chen Fei's submachine gun never stopped, and the barrel of the gun smoked.

Due to the resolute resistance of three companies of the independent battalion, reinforcements from four companies came. As soon as the fourth company arrived, grenades and light machine guns also followed, beating the Japanese soldiers who wanted to rush ashore to a river of blood.

As soon as the Japanese retreated, they formed a cross-river fire.

"Company Commander Wang, how is the trench dug up?" Chen Fei said.

"It's too late, there's not enough time." Wang Lian said.

"Now there is no choice but to hold the front line and wait for dark." Chen Fei said.

"Okay! I know it's hard to fight back! Wang Lian said.

The shelling, which had just stopped for twenty minutes, came again, but this time the shelling exploded on the position and only sent out yellow smoke.

Chen Fei was startled at first, and then shouted desperately: "Gas bomb, gas bomb, cover your mouth with a wet towel, quick!" Cover your mouth with a wet towel! ”

The soldiers of the original 88th Division all knew about poison gas bombs, and the veterans also had gas masks, but the new fighters did not understand, and four or five soldiers were immediately smoked by the poison gas and kept coughing violently.

At this time, the Japanese infantry wearing gas masks began to attack again.

A few of the new fighters were not intimidated by the guns, but were frightened by the poison gas, and their hearts were shaken, and their faces showed fear.

Chen Fei thought to himself, it's broken! immediately rushed to the rear of the position, raised his gun and shot into the sky: "Where I stand, whoever crosses it will die, fight with the devil!" ”

"Fight with the devil!" Zhao Liu shouted.

"It's all dead anyway, bring a few pads!" Tang Bing laughed.

The two company commanders quickly stabilized the morale of the army.

When the Japanese were crossing the river, they were attacked by a large number of grenades.

The artillery platoon of the old guns was blown up by the heavy artillery just now, and the four pursuit guns fired the last round of ammunition without reservation.

The Japanese attack was again blocked on the south bank.

It was getting dark, and the Japanese offensive stopped.

Chen Fei came to the trench in front of the pillbox, and only the heavy machine gun platoon, the cooking platoon and the communications platoon continued to dig the trenches.

Chen Fei sat on the edge of the bunker, took out a cigarette, and smoked while thinking about the next battle.

"Mouse, order the 123rd Company to retreat and defend here, and at the same time speed up the trench fortifications." Chen Fei said.

As soon as it got dark, only 158 people remained in the 123rd Company, which had retreated to the last line of defense.

"Old Zhangtou go get something to eat!" Chen Fei saw Lao Zhangtou and said.

"Okay, battalion commander!" Old Zhang Tou put down the work in his hand and prepared to eat.

By half past nine in the evening, the trench fortifications were almost complete and could defend against medium guns.

The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd companies also entered the trenches to rest, and the 4th Company and the 3rd Platoon had been holding on to the riverside positions on the south bank from time to time to engage in firefights with the Japanese.

Ding San took advantage of the dark night to bury many dangerous mines by the front river.

At 12 o'clock, all kinds of Japanese artillery fire began to shell the south bank again.

If you haven't been on the battlefield and are frightened by this earth-shattering cannonade, and the soldiers of the independent battalion have become accustomed to it, smoking and chatting, chatting and chatting, and the bison in the bunker still appreciate this fierce artillery fire as a firework.

As soon as the shelling stopped in 30 minutes, the 104th Wing and the 65th Wing had been charged to the front of the four companies on the left and right of the bridge center, and when the Japanese began to wade the river, the guns burst into flames in an instant. The Japanese army was highly disciplined and would not retreat without the commander's order.

The army rushing up from behind was blocked by the wounded and corpses in front, and the attacking formation slowed down for a moment.

The fourth company seized the fighter plane and desperately threw grenades into the river.

Chen Fei and the guard platoon also joined the battle, and the small river under the Xie Jia Bridge became a nightmare for the 103rd Brigade Commander, and the small river became a real river of blood.

At this time, Japanese mortars and tanks came up to support the charge. Since the artillery platoon ran out of shells and could not inflict greater casualties on the enemy, the Japanese army, with the support of mortars and tanks, suffered many casualties in the second company, and now a desperate situation has been formed.

Seeing such a situation, Chen Fei resolutely ordered everyone to retreat.

"After Ding San is broken, retreat and retreat to the trenches!" Charge shouted.

The fourth company began to retreat, and Ding San also retreated while fighting.

When the Japanese army rushed to the front line and touched the dangerous thunder buried by Ding San, a large number of grenades and explosives began to explode one after another, successfully blocking the pace of the Japanese attack.

Ding San planted the last batch of mines in the small holes dug in advance during the retreat.

The Japanese rushed to the position and followed the retreating troops in pursuit, but they did not expect that there were mines waiting for them, and mines were constantly being stepped on.

The continuous explosion of mines demoralized the Japanese troops, and the blocking troops appeared in front of the hillside, and the Bison's heavy machine guns began to fire condescendingly.

The Japanese did not expect that there was such a powerful blocking force here, and the Japanese troops who rushed in front were shot and fell to the ground.

The Japanese commander did not know the situation ahead and the darkness of the night, so he could only abandon the attack and occupy most of the town of Xiejiaqiao.

But in order to really occupy the entire Changshu in front, it is still necessary to pass through the front position, and this is the end of the Wufu line, and the pillboxes on the hillside are permanent fortifications, designed by the Germans, strong and reliable, and the angle is reasonable, and the Japanese army wants to pass in a short time, and the pressure is also very great.

Tian Meier, commander of the Japanese brigade, could not figure out the situation in front of him, so he could only call for all kinds of artillery strikes, and wait until dawn to observe the situation in the front position before attacking. Chen Fei just had to hold on to the shore until dark and wait for the Japanese army to come here for a decisive battle, so as to buy more time for the arrival of reinforcements.

The Independence Battalion suffered huge losses after this day of fighting, with the four companies combined with 324 men left, compared to nearly 1,000 in the four companies a day earlier.

Chen Fei really wanted everyone to survive, but there was no way, the more Chen Fei thought about it, the more depressed he became.

The four companies were all scattered in the trenches, and Lao Mantou and Lao Zhangtou braved the artillery fire to distribute all the ammunition in stock to the soldiers.

The fighters hid in the anti-artillery holes, chatted, rested.

The Japanese army is also reorganizing its troops and taking a break.

Both sides will make a last-ditch effort at dawn tomorrow.