Happy times are always short-lived, just after the Spring Festival, the Battle of Southern Henan broke out, the Japanese 11th Army in order to open up the southern section of the Pinghan Railway to relieve the threat of the national army to the Japanese army in Xinyang, gathered 7 infantry divisions, a cavalry brigade, 3 chariot wings under the command of the commander Yuanbe and Ichiro divided into three directions, left and right 3 directions, launched an attack on southern Henan.

Li Zongren, commander of the 5th Theater of Operations, commanded defensive operations, and since it was a defensive operation, Commander Li decided to use the strategy of avoiding real attacks, leaving a small number of troops to resist frontally, and the main force turned to the two flanks, and when the Japanese offensive forces were scattered, they were encircled and annihilated from both sides and behind.

Fighting raged in the area around Wuhan.

It stands to reason that the 5th Theater is also considered to have a large number of generals, not only the Gui Department, but also the Central Army, such as Tang Sibo's 31st Group Army.

But as soon as the battle began, Chief Li's troops were stretched thin again. A telegram asking for help flew to the Military Commission, and the chairman of the committee is now also a radish and a pit in his hand, you are in a hurry in the 5th war zone, and the Changsha Zhongtiao Mountain is also in difficulty, the chairman of the committee still decided to send an independent division to reinforce after thinking about it, at least the independent division will not involve all parties to use it, not to mention the equipment of the independent division, and the personnel can be regarded as the only (poisonous) scorpion in the Central Army.

Chen Fei received the order, and he gritted his teeth angrily, not that Chen Fei didn't want to go to the front line, but that the troops had just been integrated, and a large number of recruits had just passed the basic training. These few heavy artillery shots are not comparable to the mortars of the independent division, and besides, He Wenjuan was just pregnant and didn't let him stay for a few more days. Chen Fei was angry, but he was still very resolute in carrying out the task, and immediately gave the order to go to the front line.

Since he was going to the front line, the Military Commission was also generous, and a large number of weapons, ammunition, and miscellaneous grains were sent to the independent division, which at least made Chen Fei feel better.

As soon as Commander Li Zongren heard the reinforcements of the independent division, he didn't speak, and the independent division can attack and defend well, which is better than a ragtag army.

Chen Fei saw the map and pondered, now that Yichang is occupied by devils, Chen Fei must find a route to the battlefield in Henan.

A large group of commanders of various units below looked at Chen Fei, waiting for his order, and the chief of staff gave several routes for Chen Fei's reference.

"Now the question is that we leave the barracks without being targeted by the spy traitors?" Chen Fei said.

"So many people will be targeted whenever they leave." Old steamed bun said.

"Why should we avoid many eyes and ears, let's swagger military exercises." Deputy Division Commander Zhu said.

"Look, the deputy division commander's head is turning fast." Chen Fei said with a smile.

"Looks like I'm the one who wants to keep it a secret." Old Zhang Tou said.

"Baggage is a problem, but it should be solved, after all, the baggage problem is much smaller than that of the large army, so it is better to catch up with you in batches, Lao Zhangtou." Chen Fei said.

"Well, that's good, there are many migrant workers in the baggage troops, few real soldiers, and a poor sense of secrecy, so you need more snacks from Lao Zhangtou." Old steamed bun said.

Lao Zhangtou nodded, and he was already planning in his heart.

"Our independent division reinforces Henan, the devil will know sooner or later, but I hope it will be on the battlefield, okay, the troops will be allocated tomorrow, go upstream from Yichang, bypass Yichang and take the official road, and strive to reach Henan in two weeks." Chen Fei said.

"Commander, can I add a little more." Deputy Division Commander Zhu said.

"Speak!" Chen Fei said.

"Along the way, there are so many traitor spies, all reconnaissance units must keep their eyes open, and the division commander asks for the secrecy of the operation, no matter which unit exposes its whereabouts, the division commander and I will take him under the knife." Deputy Division Commander Zhu said.

Chen Fei was stunned for a moment, Deputy Division Commander Zhu from this military academy still has a nose and eyes to do things.

Seeing that everyone was silent, Chen Fei got up and said: "Order, the chief of staff will take the reconnaissance battalion and the independent regiment to set off first, Brigade Commander Tang will lead the second brigade in the center, and the deputy division commander and I will take the first and second regiments and the troops directly under the division to cushion the back. ”

"Yes!" The crowd replied loudly.

Everyone dispersed, Chen Fei called Zhu Guowen and said, "What is the arrangement of the deputy division commander at night?" ”

Zhu Guowen was stunned and said: "There is no arrangement, the troops will leave tomorrow, I will have a meeting with a few regiment commanders, how can I make others look like exercises." ”

"Oh, that's hard, I want to go home, my wife is pregnant, I'll quit with her." Chen Fei said.

"No problem, it should be, it should be, don't worry, I will arrange it." Zhu Guowen said.

Chen Fei nodded and said, "Well, that's okay, I'll go back later." Zhu Guowen was saluting Chen Fei, and Chen Fei returned the salute.

He Wenjuan is not an ordinary woman, seeing Chen Fei go home and tell her that she was about to go to the front line again, although there was an indescribable sadness in her heart, she still tried her best to show Chen Fei's state of reassurance, Chen Fei originally wanted to keep it secret from her family, but she didn't expect He Wenbin to go home too.

Chen Fei had to take advantage of the family banquet to tell everyone to go on the expedition tomorrow, but I hope everyone will keep it secret, everyone is sad when they hear it, or He Wenjuan got up to adjust the atmosphere, so that everyone happily toasted Chen Fei and He Wenbin to Zhuangxing.

He Wenbin returned to the barracks at twelve o'clock that night, and the advance troops were about to set off before dawn.

The next day, Chen Fei also left early to say goodbye to He Wenjuan

The independent division disappeared as soon as it left Chongqing, but the radio was unblocked, and Chen Fei reported the progress of the troops to the 5th Theater of the Military Commission every day. Chen Fei also brought two unexpected people with him on this expedition, Tom and Charlie, and when Chen Fei and the guard battalion were about to set off, Dai Li brought people over, saying that they were two observers specially approved by the chairman, and they only brought eyes and ears but not mouths.

This kind of instruction from the highest level made Chen Fei helpless and could only do it.

A week's high-intensity march also made Chen Fei feel unbearable, every time he arrived at the station, he fell asleep, the independent division is now bearded, disheveled, although the independent division often trains in the field, but this kind of continuous rapid night march is really the first time. The deputy division commander mentioned to Chen Fei if he could reduce the speed, after all, it was not a day or two, Chen Fei shook his head, he would rather rest when he arrived, and did not want to reduce the speed, because although the terrain of the Yangtze River is not complicated, it is not safe, so many people's troops will be discovered by the devil, if they don't move fast, the devil's plane will come, and Chen Fei does not dare to take risks.

Originally, I thought that the two American foreigners couldn't keep up, but I didn't expect the two of them to follow Chen Fei step by step, and they also took pictures of the soldiers when they had time, which made Chen Fei and others feel that these two foreigners were not only not simple, but also must have been trained by the troops, and the independent division rushed to southern Henan It was already a critical juncture of the battle, Li Zongren was overjoyed when he received Chen Fei's arrival, and immediately ordered the independent division to hold the Shahe.

Chen Fei looked at the map, this damn Shahe is the center of southern Henan, and the only way for devils to attack and retreat.

"Damn, you can't let Sun Lianzhong of the Second Army defend, he is a good hand at positional warfare." Chief of Staff He Wenbin gritted his teeth and scolded softly.

"Don't say strange things, order the troops to enter the Shahe. We only need a day or two, and the devil will be here soon. Chen Fei said.

Shahe is a large town, surrounded by rivers on three sides, backed by mountains on one side, and two century-old stone bridges are required to enter and exit the town. As soon as Chen Fei entered the town, he knew that it was not the town that was guarding, but the mountain behind him. As long as the devil controls here, he can take Shahe Town as the center and infiltrate in all directions, just like a chess piece embedded in the chessboard of the national army.

Since there is terrain to rely on, the battle is easy to fight, but a division that originally guarded the Shahe River was only deployed in the town, and did not dig trenches in the mountains, and the bunkers in the town were also a few sandbags and a bunch of so-so.

As soon as Chen Fei handed over the guard division, he immediately ordered the Tang soldiers to take the 2nd Brigade and the engineer battalion to the mountains to dig trenches, and instructed the Tang soldiers that if the town could not be defended, the mountain was the last blocking position.

"Deputy Division Commander Zhu, how about a street fight with the devil." Chen Fei said, time is pressing, and Chen Fei is not talking nonsense.

"Okay, I'll go and set it up." Zhu Guowen said.

And Chen Fei led the guard battalion and the reconnaissance battalion to deploy the defense at the foot of the mountain, but this time the independent division was dispatched.

"Division commander, I'll take the artillery battalion to the small hill over there." Chief of Staff He said as he pointed his finger forward.

"Well, the terrain is good, but the devil's artillery fire is coming quickly, you have to arrange a few more positions, tell the old gun, if you find the devil's tank, don't report it, use the 37 battle defense gun." Chen Fei said.

"Yes!" Chief of Staff He replied, He Wenbin was in command of the artillery battalion, Chen Fei was relieved, the old gun, who was a halfway monk, was desperately okay, and the real artillery battle was almost there.

There was not much time left for the separate divisions, and the units immediately began to move.

"General Chen, your troops are really good, after such a high-intensity march, they immediately turned to the defense to dig trenches, and repaired bunkers are no worse than our American army, I used to underestimate the national army too much." Tom said.

"Our soldiers are all children of poor families, and it is nothing to explain the truth to them." Chen Fei said with a smile.

At this time, a staff officer of the 5th Theater ran over and said, "Which one is Division Commander Chen?" "Chen Fei was wearing the uniform of an ordinary soldier from the time he set off.

"I am." Chen Fei said, the staff officer of the 5th Theater immediately saluted Chen Fei when he heard it, and Chen Fei returned the salute.

"Division Commander Chen, two divisions and one chariot regiment of the devil are approaching Shahe, and Chief Li has ordered that your troops must defend Shahe." The chief of staff said.

"For how long?" Chen Fei asked.

"Chief Li said that if you have to wait for the Tang Department, the two group armies of the Li Department will launch an attack on the Japanese army, and the devils will retreat." The chief of staff said.

Chen Fei was stunned for a moment and smiled bitterly and said, "Reply to Chief Li, the independent division has received the order." ”

The chief of staff saluted Chen Fei and left.

"Chen Fang sent a report to the Military Commission that our unit arrived at Shahe Town, and the 5th Theater ordered to defend it to the death, and there was no time, hoping that Chief Li could quickly encircle the Japanese army." Chen Fei said to Chen Fang next to him.

"Yes!" Chen Fang replied that she would immediately go to the telecommunications office.

In the afternoon, Chen Fei took a look at the defense in the town, the three regiments were in a zigzag shape, and all the troops occupied high-rise buildings, set up light and heavy machine guns, and it seemed that the angles were good, and the devils would definitely suffer heavy casualties when they came.

Chen Fei walked around the town, his face was pale, and he scolded secretly: "Fuck, what kind of fortification is this, Zhu Guowen has never done anything with devils, and the three regiment commanders are also idiots." ”

"Wang Liang asked Deputy Division Commander Zhu and the three regiment commanders to come over and meet their heads." Chen Fei said to Wang Liang.

"Yes!" Wang Liang replied and immediately went to inform him.

Chen Fei saw a hotel next to him and went in, only to see that the boss and his men were there, as if they were entertaining two tables of guests, Chen Fei was stunned, this battle is about to start, there are still so many people in this town, isn't this?

"Sir, what to eat?" Xiao Er came over and said.

Chen Fei said: "There is about to be a war, you still have a store?" ”

"Sir, this war is a war, we ordinary people, we still have to live." Little Erdao.

"Oh." Chen Fei said, so he casually asked for a bowl of tea. After a while, Deputy Division Commander Zhu came over with three regiment commanders.

Chen Fei looked at the four of them and didn't ask them to sit, "What's the matter, so many light and heavy machine gun mounts are rising, Zhao Liu, haven't you fought with devils in the streets, aren't you looking for death?" Chen Fei said.

"This, this, that······" Zhao Liu looked at Lao Gou and Liu Meng as he spoke, and the three of them didn't know how to answer.

"Division commander, I arranged it, so that the shooting surface is wide, the firepower is crossed, and the devils can't get close to the town." Zhu Guowen said.

Chen Fei looked at him and said: "There are two divisions of devils, not to mention airplanes, there are fifty or sixty heavy artillery pieces alone, and when the battle starts, in half an hour, this town will be over, and there is still a high place for light and heavy machine guns to set up positions." ”

"This devil is so fierce?" Zhu Guowen said.

"Forget it, don't blame you for not seeing it, Zhao Liu, you guard the riverside line for me, how long can you keep it, this river is not wide, the devil can swim across it, how to fight yourself, old dog, you guard the middle of the town, his troops are scattered in various streets and alleys, arrange troops to resist gradually, and respond to Zhao Liu at any time, Liu Meng, after you guard the town, line up, and the front can't hold down, you must hold on here, otherwise the troops will be scattered." Chen Fei said.

"Yes, yes, yes!" The three of them replied.

"The time for rearrangement is relatively tight, so tell the brothers to work hard, the anti-artillery pit must be deep, let's go." Chen Fei said.

"Yes!" The three of them replied in unison, saluted Chen Fei and left.

"Deputy Division Commander Zhu gave you a task to evacuate the people in the town, if you don't go, leave a road to the mountains for them when the devils shell it." Chen Fei said.

Zhu Guowen immediately said: "Yes!" He knew that he was not capable enough to lead the troops in battle, and he was just about to leave, Chen Fei said: "Bring the teaching team, you can do this alone." ”

Zhu Guowen smirked and said, "I'm probably too nervous and excited, please forgive me." ”

Chen Fei nodded sincerely when he heard Zhu Guowen's attitude, and then he didn't say anything.

Chen Fei drank a few sips of tea, turned around and went out, he went straight to the mountain, this mountain is called Mantou Mountain, as the name suggests, like Mantou, the engineer battalion is digging trenches at the top of the mountain, including a headquarters, Chen Fei stood on the top of the mountain and looked around, this mountain is like growing out of the flat ground, with a hundred miles in full view, no wonder the devil wants to control here.

If the devils occupy Mantou Mountain, whether they can destroy the 5 theaters, at least the defense line of the 5 theaters will be moved back, and the Pinghan Railway will be successfully occupied by the devils.

"Tang Bing, tell the engineer battalion to dig deeper, the devil's plane will definitely focus on bombing, and when the time comes, I will kill him, the commander of the engineer battalion." Chen Fei said.

"I know, fortunately, there is a lot of wood on this mountain, and the three regiments have connected the trenches on the side to support each other, after all, the side artillery is not accurate, and the heavy artillery is coming, so you can hide on the left and right sides." Tang Bing said.

Chen Fei nodded and said, "As soon as the town below is breached, this Mantou Mountain will be surrounded in all directions, and this water source is a problem. ”

"Oh, don't worry, there's a creek ahead, and the water source is fine." Tang Bing said.

At this time, Lao Zhangtou came up panting, "Lao Zhangtou, have all the supplies arrived?" Chen Fei said loudly.

"To ······· Here, damn it, the mountain road is too difficult to walk. Lao Zhangtou said.

Chen Fei said: "It's more troublesome now, so you won't be hungry when the time comes." ”

"Yes, yes, yes!" Lao Zhangtou replied without looking at it, and Chen Fei climbed up by himself.

Lao Mantou is taking the intelligence department and the communication office to answer the telephone lines of various command headquarters, from the commander to the soldiers, they are busy, preparing for the arrival of the devil.