readx; After crawling for more than 20 meters, not a single living person was found, but there was a noise at the foot of the mountain, and he hurriedly looked at it, only to see hundreds of soldiers wearing gas masks walking towards the mountain, and his heart was immediately full of anger!

Ma quickly cleared a trench tens of meters long, placed the weapons of his comrades on the edge of the trench, collected more than 20 grenades, placed them next to a heavy machine gun, and then stared at the troops who were slowly advancing. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

The soldiers were advancing along the passage cleared by the artillery fire, when suddenly an earth-shattering explosion sounded in the middle of the crowd, and four or five soldiers immediately fell in a pool of blood, and a bloody thigh flew out more than ten meters in the air, and finally hung on the barbed wire. After stepping on the mine, the army became more cautious, constantly stirring the ground in front of them with the tip of their bayonet as they advanced, as fast as a snail. After a few minutes, the commander of the army could not bear it any longer, and shouted at the back of the attacking troops, and then the soldiers in front immediately shouted in unison, and then ran wildly, regardless of whether there were mines or not.

After a dozen explosions, more than forty more soldiers fell on the hillside, but the attacking troops had successfully crossed the minefield, and in front of them was the first line of defense of the defenders.

The horsepower was unusually calm behind the machine gun, watching the faces of the Yue army gradually become clear in the field of vision, at this time, the front of the Yue army had rushed to a position less than fifty meters away from the trench, however, their physical strength also reached the limit at the same time, and suddenly slowed down.

Ma Li was waiting for this time, he quickly pulled the trigger, and the rain of heavy machine gun bullets swept into the enemy group head-on, and seven or eight soldiers immediately rolled down the hillside.

The sudden blow made the Yue army dizzy, and before he could react, more than a dozen of them had been knocked down, and the others hurriedly lay down on the ground and shot at the opposite side. By this time, Ma Ma had already dropped the heavy machine gun, ran to another position, threw several grenades one after another, and then ran a few meters away to continue the attack with the light machine gun. In this way, he ran around alone in the trenches dozens of meters long, constantly changing attack points and weapons, so that the enemy could not figure out how many people were still on the position.

After the attack was blocked, the commander of the army was very anxious and hurriedly ordered the firing of poison gas shells, and more than a dozen shells soon fell around the trenches, emitting thick smoke. Ma Li hurriedly wrapped his mouth in a towel and without hesitation ran along the traffic trench towards the second line of defense.

Ten minutes later, the army occupied the first line of defense, and the enemy commander deduced from the density of the fire just now that the defenders still had a dozen men at most, so they decided to carry out a multi-way assault.

After seeing that the Yue army was divided into more than a dozen units, Ma Li understood the enemy's intentions, fought and retreated, and retreated to the top of the mountain after killing five Yue soldiers. At this time, the commander of the army already knew that there was only one person who was blocking him!

However, what the commander of the army did not expect was that the telephone line between the positions of the [***] squadron had not yet been cut, and after Bai Yuehai saw through the telescope that the enemy had stopped firing poison gas bombs, he immediately ordered the troops in the tunnel to attack.

Warriors shouted out of several tunnels and bunkers, their weapons spewing angry flames, chasing the scattered enemy from the top of the hill. At the same time, the artillery units braved the dense artillery fire of the Japanese warships to fight back vigorously and bombarded the starting positions of the Japanese troops at the foot of the mountain, making it impossible for them to continue firing poison gas bombs for a short time.

Looking at the Chinese soldiers pouring out of the tunnel, the enemy couldn't figure out how many defenders there were, and even suspected that they had fallen into a trap and began to retreat. How could the defenders let go of this opportunity, and rushed down from the top of the hill, shooting frantically while shouting loudly, although there were only seventy or eighty people, but they actually gave people the momentum of thousands of troops. The army panicked and retreated again and again, and the two lines of defense that had just been occupied were all surrendered, and they ran towards the foot of the mountain. Because the formation was too scattered, many of the troops did not retreat along the route of the attack, and as a result, dozens of mines were detonated, and the two squadrons that were thrown into the attack finally returned to less than half of the foot of the mountain, and the position returned to the hands of the [***] team!

After retreating to the foot of the mountain, the army finally figured out the reality of the defenders, but did not attack again, but took the initiative to retreat, returned to the vicinity of Xiangkou to build fortifications, and put on a posture of protracted combat: dozens of motorboats constantly shuttled back and forth between the river bank and the fleet, transporting a large number of materials, equipment and personnel to the shore.

Due to the lack of gas masks, Bai Yuehai had no choice but to hand over the defense of Xiangshan and Zangshanji back to the reinforced 26th Division, and then withdraw the troops to Pengze County to rest and recuperate, and at the same time equip a batch of gas masks from the quartermaster's office. Gao Fei specially ordered the New Second Division to select dozens of officers to go to the 53rd Division for training to teach how to use gas masks, how to identify and deal with poison gas, and to improve the troops' survivability in poison gas.

After the 26th Division entered the position, it immediately repaired the ground fortifications destroyed by the Japanese army and prepared for a protracted battle.

In the days that followed, the Japanese army adopted very strange tactics: the warships had been cruising in the waters near Xiangkou, covering the construction of fortifications by the landing ground troops, and only sending bombers to attack the defenders' air defense positions, completely ignoring several positions such as the Madang Fortress.

Gao Fei was very confused by the behavior of the army, and hurriedly sent a large number of reconnaissance personnel to find out the situation, and at the same time ordered the 26th Division to carry out several night attacks to test the enemy's reaction. However, the army's defenses were very tight, and with the strong support of the naval guns, it was impossible to get close to its main position. At the same time, the intelligence brought back by the reconnaissance personnel showed that a steady stream of large units of the Chinese army was massing here from Anqing and other places, which was obviously a precursor to preparations for large-scale operations.

Later, a piece of information came from the base camp of the Kuomintang's political axe, saying that the Ninth Division of the Chinese Army was assembling between Susong and Huangmei, and it seemed that it was attempting to cross the river to the south, and asked the headquarters of the group army to make preparations as soon as possible.

After receiving the information, Gao Fei hurriedly convened a military meeting at the headquarters of the division commanders to discuss countermeasures.

Gao Fei said: "The recent behavior of the Yue army is very strange, and it seems that he is not in a hurry to go west, and there must be an ulterior secret. The base camp has just sent information that the Ninth Division of the Chinese Army is assembling between Susong and Huangmei, and it seems that there is an attempt to cross the river and go south to block the rear road of our army. Let's analyze it, what is the purpose of the army? ”

Bai Yuehai was the first to speak, and he said confidently: "When the army attacked the Xiangshan position, it even used poison gas, and it was obvious that it was already exhausted, and it knew that it could not overcome our army's strong defense line, so it was ready to make a detour and directly attack the Hukou fortress. The 9th Division was supposed to be the vanguard sent by Okamura Ninji and was tasked with opening a passage for its main force. ”

Ma Debi retorted: "Wouldn't it be very stupid for the army to do this! First of all, it is completely incapable of playing to the superiority of its Navy. Secondly, the troops crossing the river had to face both our army and the defenders of Hukou at the same time, and fell into the situation of being attacked on their backs. In the end, the troops in Okamura Ninji's hands already had seven divisions and regiments, and they had obvious advantages compared with our army, so how could they take the initiative to give up? ”

Gao Fei nodded and said, "It makes a lot of sense! Yue Jun likes revenge very much, how can he give up after suffering such a big loss in Madang? There must be some other purpose for their arrangement, but we have not yet figured it out, and we need the reconnaissance unit to collect more information. ”

Ma Debi continued: "The 11th Army, as the main force of the Yue Army's attack on Wuhan, if it can't even control the Yangtze River waterway, how can it ensure the safety of its rear and the transportation of materials? I think that the Madang Fortress is determined to win, and now it is only using tactics that we have not yet thought of to achieve this goal. ”

Gao Fei very much agreed with Ma Debi, he added: "Madang is a battleground for soldiers, and it is impossible for the enemy to give up!" In the past few years, although the air defense brigade has shot down more than 30 enemy planes, it has also lost one-third of its antiaircraft artillery and personnel, and once the air supremacy is completely mastered, its deliberate and planned operations will certainly begin immediately. ”

Bai Yuehai asked, "You mean to say that the actions of the enemy's bombers are to clear the way for the movement of the main forces?" ”

Goofy nodded and replied, "That's what I speculated. Let's imagine that after losing the ability to fight against the air, the enemy can use bombers to suppress our heavy artillery, and then use naval guns to cover the troops to attack our positions. Originally, judging from the current situation of the position, it was completely able to withstand the continuous shelling of the Japanese army, but if the Japanese army launched an attack from the flank, it would be difficult to say! ”

At this time, Ma Debi suddenly remembered something, and said: "Commander, in the past few days, a large number of plainclothes men have often appeared near Pengze County, and we have caught some of them, and after interrogation, they confessed that they came to find out the deployment of our army. It is normal for the two armies to confront each other for such a long time, and it is normal for the reconnaissance personnel on both sides to collect intelligence, but the number and frequency of the military dispatch this time seem to be on the high side, and it seems that they have a soft spot for Peng Ze, I don't know for what purpose? ”

Gao Fei got up from his chair with a "poof", hurriedly stepped to the front of the map, picked up a black pencil, and drew two huge arrows on the map, one of which pointed to Peng Ze, and the other pointed to Hukou, and then connected the three points of Xiangkou, Pengze, and Hukou into a circle, and inside was his own troops.

At the same time, the commanders understood the intention of the army, and they all broke out in a cold sweat!

Gao Fei pointed to the map and explained: "The intention of the Yue army is already obvious: first cross the river south with a strong force to cut off the retreat of our army, then concentrate the main force to conquer Pengze, and then detour back to the south side of our army to encircle our army!" At that time, there was the Yangtze River in the north, the heavy army group of the Yue army in the south, and Xiangkou in the lower reaches was occupied by the Yue army, and there was the support of naval artillery. However, the army will definitely compress our army on the edge of the Yangtze River, so that its navy can attack at will, and with the help of bombers, even if it can break through, it will definitely have suffered heavy losses! What's worse is that the Yue army can break through the Hukou fortress in one fell swoop and approach Jiujiang! ”

The commanders present immediately began to think about how to deal with it.

Bai Yuehai said: "Since the intention of the army has been seen through by us, it is better to simply abandon Madang Fortress and retreat directly to the mouth of the lake, and when the time comes, we will join forces with the defenders there, and the heavy troops will be dense, and it will not be so easy for the enemy to surround us." ”

Zhan Shutang shook his head again and again: "Retreat must be ordered by the base camp, Madang's strategic location is so important, how can the base camp agree to give up?" Have you forgotten what the telegram from the base camp and the theater command said last time Madang was lost! ”

Bai Yuehai asked unconvinced, "Can we only sit here and wait for death?" ”

Gao Fei took Bai Yuehai's words and said, "I will explain the situation of the battlefield to the base camp in the name of the headquarters of the Ninth Army, and try to persuade them to agree to the retreat of our army." However, 'will be outside, the king's order will not be affected!' As front-line commanders, we have the right and responsibility to make a favorable choice, and even if the base camp does not agree, we will retreat the same! ”

Liao Qirong, chief of staff of the 53rd Division, has always been old and serious, and he felt a little worried, and he said: "It's not good to do this! What if the base camp holds the fortress accountable for the loss? ”

Gao Fei saw that everyone was focusing on him, obviously very worried about this problem, so he smiled lightly and said: "The purpose of the existence of Madang Fortress is to prevent the Yue army from going up the river, if our army can still achieve this purpose after retreating, the base camp will have no reason to accuse us again, right?" ”

Bai Yuehai was puzzled when he heard Gao Fei's words, and hurriedly asked: "Since you have already retreated, even if you give up the Jiangfang fortress, how can you still achieve the purpose of stopping the army?" ”

Of the few commanders present, only Chen Zijian seemed to understand what Gao Fei meant, and smiled silently alone, while the rest looked at Gao Fei with doubt, waiting for him to reveal the answer.

Gao Fei explained directly: "If we give up Madang and don't move closer to the mouth of the lake, but retreat in stride in the direction of the floating beam, Okamura Ninji will definitely not dare to advance towards the fortress of the mouth of the lake, but will follow closely behind our ass!" The purpose of the 11th Army is to attack Wuhan on the back with the cooperation of the navy, and if we let our 70,000 or 80,000 people stay on the south bank of the Yangtze River, it will be tantamount to hanging a knife over our heads! Because our army can attack again at any time and take back Madang Fortress! Okamura Ningji's goal is to occupy Wuhan, and it is impossible to keep too many troops in Madang, so his best choice is to annihilate our army in the area around Pengze and eliminate hidden dangers! ”

Everyone suddenly brightened, and Zhanshutang further put forward his own suggestion: "In this way, we can choose favorable terrain to ambush the Yue army in the process of retreating, and strive to eat one piece, and the situation will be very favorable to our army!" ”

Goofy nodded appreciatively and said, "That's how I planned it!" ”

Liao Qirong asked again: "In case Okamura Ningji leaves heavy troops and some warships in Madang, and then continues to move westward, how should I deal with it?" We built the same iron wall as the fortifications of Madang, and it is difficult to deal with them by ourselves! ”

Goofy replied with a smile: "This is not a problem! There are hundreds of kilometers of river banks from Anqing to Jiujiang, how many points does Okamura Ningji guard? As long as the Yangtze River is controlled, it is equivalent to breaking his neck, and I am not afraid that he will not follow us like a dog! ”

Hearing Goofy's comparison of Okamura Ninji to a dog, the commanders burst out laughing.

Bai Yuehai said with a smile: "Since our commander is going to fight the dog, you have to choose a good place, otherwise it will not be good to be bitten by a dog or run away by a dog!" Then he said to everyone, "Do you say you?" ”

There was another burst of laughter in the Command.

After Gao Fei waited for everyone's laughter to subside, he pointed to the map and said, "The area around Pengze is hilly and has many rivers, so it is a good place for ambushes!" There is Yangjialing, about fifty kilometers southwest of Pengze, surrounded by mountains, forming a pocket shape, and the vegetation on the slopes is dense, which is very easy to hide, so I decided to use this place as a battlefield! ”

Bai Yuehai hurriedly asked for battle: "Commander Sun, just hand over the task of the main attack to the 53rd Division, we have to find the devil to avenge the poison gas attack!" ”

Goofy waved his hand to signal him to be calm, and said, "I have a better task for you - lure the enemy!" Then he explained: "According to the arrangement of the army, the focus of the attack must be in the direction of Pengze." When the time comes, all the other troops will retreat to the predetermined area to ambush, and the 53rd Division will hold on to Pengze for a while, and then fight and retreat, and bring the enemy over to complete the task! ”

Chen Zijian reminded: "Army commander, we are not sure how many troops the army will invest to attack Peng Ze, in case the enemy's strength is more than two divisions and regiments, we will not be able to swallow it in one bite, we still have to think of a more secure way first!" ”

Gao Fei nodded and said: "I have already thought about this problem, according to the existing strength of Okamura Ningji, the number of troops invested in Peng Ze will not exceed three divisions, but it will not be less than two divisions, it must be very difficult to annihilate them all, so my plan is to annihilate one of them, even if it is a wing." Then he looked at Bai Yuehai and said: "This will test the acting skills and fire control of the troops who are responsible for luring the enemy: we must try to widen the distance between the pursuing troops of the Yue Army, so that they cannot support each other!" ”

Bai Yuehai immediately got up and said, "There is no problem with this!" When retreating, I can leave some men in the back, specifically responsible for blowing up the bridge and destroying the road, and after letting the front army pass, I can block its follow-up troops, so that I can definitely open a certain distance! ”

Gao Fei added: "When the time comes, the reinforcement troops can take over and completely cut off the retreat of the army's forward!" ”

Then Gao Fei began to assign tasks: "Tonight, the heavy artillery brigade and the anti-aircraft artillery brigade will withdraw from their positions first and advance in the direction of Yangjialing; The 60th, 26th, and 167th Divisions will begin their retreat tomorrow afternoon, and must arrive at the pre-set positions before dawn; The 53rd Division was responsible for luring the enemy; The new second division was responsible for the break. Before withdrawing, the guards of the various positions of Madang Fortress should leave a small number of watchmen to prevent abnormal movements of the army. ”

That night, the heavy artillery brigade and the antiaircraft artillery brigade quietly began to retreat under the cover of night, and trucks dragging artillery were lined up on the road for several kilometers.

The following morning, the enemy's bomber group appeared over the positions of the former air defense brigade as usual and unceremoniously dropped all the bombs, but unexpectedly did not meet a counterattack. After returning home, the army dispatched three reconnaissance planes according to the information fed back by the bomber pilots, circled the woods several times, and confirmed the information that the air defense unit of the [***] squadron had withdrawn.

By the time the aviation sent the information to Okamura Ninji, it was already the afternoon of the same day, although he realized that the defenders might have detected his intentions, but the troops had not yet been assembled, so he could only urge the troops to speed up the progress and strive to start the operation before the [***] team ran away!

(To be continued)