The yang rice in the middle of the day is hot and dazzling. The highest point of the system with the temperature rise is also high. Everyone in the team was panting and puffing. And they were sweating, although they were already advancing as lightly as possible, but they couldn't get up quickly, after all, they had already traveled nearly forty kilometers, and it was a rapid march.

"Quick! Fast! Keep up! Keep up! ”

Zhang Guodong stood on a slope on the side of the path, shouting at the exhausted soldiers, and kept raising his hand to wipe the sweat on his face and neck.

This is the edge of the hilly area in the northwest of Xiuyan, and it is already very close to Xiuyan City. Zhang Guodong's company was the "Sharp Knife Company" in this raid, and they were responsible for opening the way in front of the main force and acting as a fire reconnaissance unit.

Today, before dawn, he drove from the assembly area of the Whistle River, spent the morning rushing to the upper reaches of the Dayang River, and after lunch, he rested for half an hour, and then, Zhang Guodong led his infantry company to continue to advance to the deep area of Xiuyan, followed by a whole one. The infantry brigade and a mountain brigade, as well as a small number of rearguard units, with a total strength of nearly seven thousand men, were the first column sent by the First Army to outflank Xiuyan.

After a long period of rapid marching, more than a dozen soldiers of Zhang Guodong's "Sharp Knife Company" have fallen behind, but even so, the troops cannot stop advancing, and now they are rushing for time, and the order given by Zhou Daogang, commander of the First Army, to the first column is very clear, that is, "advance, advance" until encountering the enemy can be imagined. In order to ensure the marching degree of the troops, Zhang Guodong even ordered the officers and soldiers to empty their bags as much as possible, and even left the general blanket at the rear advance base to bring as much ammunition as possible.

Zhang Guodong didn't know exactly where he was standing now, although he had a military map in his hand, but the map only vaguely referred to this hilly area as the "Great Dividing Range." It is said that this name was still marked on the map used by the Russian ** team in those years, and was later used by the Japanese army, and then by the surveying and mapping department of the reconnaissance unit of the Chinese Air Force.

As the name suggests, the altitude of the "Great Dividing Range" here is not low, and it is located in the middle of the Liaodong Peninsula, dividing the "Luda leased" into two, the east is the Xiuyan garrison area, and the west is the Gaiping garrison area, due to the rugged terrain. It was not suitable for the rapid advance of armored troops, so it was the infantry in the First Army who took on the task of fighting in a roundabout way.

Originally, it was most appropriate to let the mountain brigade of the 1st Prisoner Division walk in the forefront of the roundabout troops, because the division was a mountain army, and it was most suitable for mountain operations in terms of training and weapons and equipment, but in the end, Zhou Daogang made a decision and sent Zhang Guodong Company, which was subordinate to the 1st Wounded Division, to the forefront to act as a sharp knife unit.

The sharp knife troops, that is, the troops that rushed to the forefront, had advanced into the depth of the battlefield before the main force was dispatched, and the commander of the first column threw out the "sharp knife troops" first. See if there are any vicious dogs blocking the road ahead, there are several "sharp knife troops" like Zhang Guodong Company, which are not far from each other, and once they encounter the enemy, they can quickly support and notify the main force behind.

The main reason why Zhang Guodong was sent to lead his company to the forefront was because this company was a unit of the first wounded division of the National Defense Army, and its weapons were mainly Japanese-made rifles, which could replenish bullets on the spot. "And the Japanese Kwantung Army stationed in the brigade is also equipped with this rifle, in case Zhang Guodong's troops are cut off from the back route, they can also seek ammunition supplies on the battlefield, so that they can hold out longer.

Like the wounded division, the temporary division is the "Beiyang relic" unit that Duan Qirui desperately retained. At the beginning, Duan Qirui was particularly fond of Japanese-made rifles. Therefore, these two divisions use the "38 Dagai" as the main rifle, which is very different from other Wehrmacht units, and it is precisely for this reason that these two divisions are also called "Dagai Divisions".

Although it is a class A inferiority, in addition to the military salary is on par with other class A divisions, in other aspects. "The wounded division is no different from the B division, and the other A divisions are equipped with a submachine gun in each squad, but in ! Inside the Dental Master. Each platoon was assigned one submachine gun.

In this roundabout operation, the military headquarters of the First Army attached great importance to it, and deliberately strengthened the light weapons and equipment of the sharp knife troops, and now Zhang Guodong company, each squad has been assigned two submachine guns, and two machine gun platoons have been strengthened, equipped with nine millimeter mortars, in order to ensure the continuity of artillery fire, each soldier in the company has carried at least one mortar shell, and even Zhang Guodong has stuffed two shells in his backpack.

In addition, each squad also strengthened a light machine gun, although the fire of the light machine gun is far less sustained than the heavy machine gun, but lightweight, very suitable for long-distance fast marches, in addition, the department also strengthened a communications platoon, equipped with a radio station, and because of this, Zhang Guodong's this, "Sharp Knife Company." The actual strength of the army is close to three hundred, and the combat effectiveness is very strong.

Due to the large amount of ammunition carried, even after the backpacks were emptied, the burden on the officers and men was still not lightened, and everyone was very tired after climbing mountains and wading through rivers along the way. Otherwise, whether you can make it to your intended destination before dark is still a matter of opinion.

Standing on the slope, Zhang Guodong and the company deputy studied the map, although the company deputy is a stunned young man who has just come out of the junior command class of the 6th Army University, but this military quality is indeed so much higher than Zhang Guodong, pointing to the map and making a comparison, he confidently guarantees that he can arrive at Jiulizhuang before dark.

Jiulizhuang is about Jiuhuali away from Xiuyan. Located at the rear of Xiuyan, next to the road that leads to Xiuyan through the Great Dividing Range, the first column of this roundabout battle... The task is to cut off the road connecting Xiuyan and Lambping. Once the Japanese army reinforces Xiuyan from the direction of Gaiping, the first column is the main force to block the enemy army in Gaiping, and if the enemy in Xiuyan abandons Xiuyan and retreats to Gaiping, the first column can also block the way of the Japanese army, ensure that the main force rushes over from the rear and eats it in one bite, of course, if the Japanese army in the direction of Gaiping does not reinforce, and the Japanese army in Xiuyan does not run to Gaiping, then the first column will quickly move closer to the main force occupying Xiuyan. Hold on to Xiuyan and wait for the next order from the General Staff of the 6th Army.

Zhang Guodong put away the map and asked a platoon commander who was standing next to him to count the number of people, and learned that two more soldiers had fallen behind, but now he really didn't have time to wait for the stragglers to catch up, he had to rush to Jiulizhuang as soon as possible, and those who fell behind had their own rearguard troops to gather.

"Brethren! Work hard, there is Jiulizhuang ahead! When we get to the place, let's have a good rest! ”

Zhang Guodong cheered up the soldiers as he took a few packs of ammunition from a machine gunner and loaded them into his already stuffed backpack. Then he rushed to the front of the team with the company mate.

There is only one thought in the minds of all people. That's forward, forward! Be sure to get to Jiulizhuang before dark, and set up positions there, waiting for the follow-up troops to arrive.

But Zhang Guodong was a step slower after all. When he arrived at Jiulizhuang with his team at five o'clock in the afternoon, the spearhead soldier who was at the forefront of the team brought a piece of news that made Zhang Guodong a little depressed, the Japanese army had occupied Jiulizhuang, there were no more residents there, and the Japanese commander obviously understood the importance of Jiulizhuang.

Zhang Guodong took the company and his deputy to the vicinity of Jiulizhuang, lurked on the mountain, and reconnoitred with a telescope, and roughly estimated that the Japanese army in the village was about 200 people. There were not many people, but they were relatively well armed, he had at least five machine guns and four mountain guns, but he had not yet set up a position, and it seemed that this Japanese army had just arrived, and the Chinese people who had been driven away from Zhuang by the Japanese were still throwing on the road connecting Gaiping and Xiuyan.

Now there are two choices in front of Zhang Guodong: the first choice is to attack decisively, take advantage of the unstable foothold of the Japanese troops, and take Jiulizhuang in one go; The second option is to wait for the arrival of the follow-up troops. Then concentrate forces and firepower to take Jiulizhuang.

Zhang Guodong just thought about it for a moment, and then made up his mind, and he decided to attack immediately. Take Jiulizhuang before the Japanese army finished building fortifications.

Under Zhang Guodong's order, some officers and soldiers quietly touched the ridge and looked down on Jiulizhuang, the machine gun platoon also established an artillery position behind the ridge, and nine brand-new stone mm mortars began to adjust the angle and square, and the artillery commander squatted on a bush on the ridge, carefully calculated and shot Zhu Yuan, preparing to end the four mountain guns of the Japanese army at the moment of the battle, and then sweep away the Japanese troops in the village.

After only half an hour, the battle preparations were ready, and the infantry had reached the dense forest at the foot of the mountain, waiting for the trumpet to sound.

"Ready! Fire! ”

Zhang Guodong lightly shook the arm, and the nine mortars fired.

"Tom! Tong!

"Boom! Rumble!

In the first round of salvo fire, the artillerymen blew up a mountain gun, and the Japanese troops in Zhuangli were suddenly disorganized by the sudden blow, and before they could organize effective resistance, the second round of artillery fire passed quickly, this time, not only blew up another mountain gun, but also detonated the pile of fused shells piled up on the side of the mountain artillery, and the ammunition was extremely powerful. All the mountain artillery and ammunition were destroyed in an instant, and the black smoke that rushed into the sky covered the fragments of the stumps of the Japanese soldiers and flew into the sky, and the violent explosion was deafening, and those shells that were not detonated were also blown up high and fell far away.

Losing the cover of artillery, the Japanese infantry was a toothless tiger, considering that the buildings in the village could be used as bunkers, Zhang Guodong decided to use the infantry to calculate the Japanese troops in the village as much as possible.

"Dog's little devil! Ran into Lao Tzu. Count you out of luck! Trumpet! ”

Zhang Guodong stood up, looked at Zhuangli with a telescope, and saw some Japanese soldiers stumbling towards the southeast of Jiulizhuang.

"Didi and ... Didi and ..."

The trumpeters blew the trumpet, and there was a shout at the foot of the mountain, and the infantrymen, who had long been unable to hold back, rushed towards the village with their rifles loaded with bayonets, and at the same time, the machine gunners who were responsible for covering the infantry charge also opened fire immediately.

"Da tart goo,,tart goo,"

At the same time, the artillerymen also moved the mortars to the bottom of the ridge and fired directly at the sight, cooperating with the machine gunners to suppress the Japanese machine-gun fire, and the shelling ended quickly, and the white-knuckle melee battle immediately began in the village. Although some of the Japanese tried to resist stubbornly, but the submachine guns and grenades and directional mines in the hands of the first people quickly let them know what is called "melee fire support" in just a few minutes, the northwest corner of Jiulizhuang fell into the hands of the squadron, and the next ten minutes of close combat completely broke the fighting spirit of the Japanese soldiers, and the remaining Japanese soldiers who did not die ran to the outside of the village, but under the fire of the rifle, most of them fell on the wide road, and the battle ended.

Zhang Guodong finished his command in Zhuangli, ordered the soldiers to immediately build fortifications, and then hurried to the back of the ridge, at this time, the platoon had already set up the antenna of the radio station, and immediately photographed the first telegram from the company commander.

"The outpost battle has begun, after a short battle, our troops have captured Jiulizhuang, and have begun to build fortifications nearby, regardless of the enemy's offensive, our troops will stick to this, hope that the main force will arrive as soon as possible."