readx; Countless shells flew out of several positions of the [***] squadron and fell into the fleet with the pleasure of revenge, slaughtering enemy soldiers and warships without mercy!

Although the commander of the Third Fleet tried his best to counterattack, he could not determine the position of the artillery brigade in the middle of the ground, and could only guess the approximate position based on the ballistic curve of the shells, while the artillery school firing detachment of the heavy artillery brigade condescendingly commanded the artillery attack on the Tibetan mountain rock, constantly adjusting the impact point of the projectile, so that the enemy had nothing to hide!

When the third destroyer was sunk, the commander of the fleet could no longer sit still and hurriedly ordered a retreat. www.biquge.info By this time, more than half of the ships had caught fire, and the cruiser "Yuenomaru", which was the flagship of the fleet, was even more scarred, and even the main turret in the bow was blown away.

Seeing that the enemy was trying to escape, Glory hurriedly shouted: "Brothers, go to the top of the mountain, beat these dogs with cannons, and avenge the sacrifices of the brothers!" ”

The soldiers cheered in unison, and they didn't even bother to pick up the weapons and ammunition that were all over the ground, and rushed to the top of the mountain.

As soon as they heard the order to retreat, they turned around one after another, hoping to escape from the battlefield as soon as possible, but the waters near Madang were originally the narrowest places in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and in recent days several warships have been sunk in a row, plus the warships of the Chinese Navy have been scuttled and sunk to seal the river, and the waterways that can be used are even less pitiful.

The two destroyers at the front of the fleet collided violently, and the thousands of tons of behemoths set off huge waves on the surface of the river, and then a raging fire broke out, and the turbulent river water poured into the hold from the torn side, and the hull gradually tilted down, and it was in danger of sinking at any time. The sailors desperately snatched the few lifebuoys, and some simply jumped into the Yangtze River. One of the warships behind tried to bypass the side, but ran aground on the river, unable to move, completely blocking the retreat of the other ships, so that a total of eleven warships, including the cruiser that served as the flagship, were blocked in the narrow waterway.

The squadron immediately concentrated its firepower on bombarding this group of turtles in the urn and sent them to the bottom of the river one by one.

By the time Rongguang and the others pushed the cannons out of the pillbox, the artillery bombardment on the river had come to an end, and the ships in the encirclement were either sunk or struggling in the flames. The Heavy Artillery Brigade aimed at the defenders of Xiangshan and the attacking troops of the Yue Army gathered in front of the Zangshan Rock and Madang Fortresses.

The artillery company commander watched the artillery fire of the brother troops covering the entire mountain field, and the soldiers of the army hugged their heads in the smoke and flames, rubbed their hands excitedly, and said to Rongguang: "Battalion commander, let's also bomb the damn!" ”

Rongguang shook his head and rejected his proposal: "Let's just use these few cannons, it won't make much use to join them, it's better to attack more valuable targets!" ”

The artillery company commander asked curiously: "What target is more valuable?" ”

Rong Guang pointed to the dense human heads on the river with his hand, gritted his teeth and said, "These are more valuable targets!" His grandmother's, how many of our brothers were killed just now, and now that the situation is reversed, how can we let them go? Then he slapped the artillery company commander on the shoulder and said, "I usually brag about how accurate my artillery is, but now that the target is below, you can show it to the brothers!" ”

The commander of the artillery company said in a loud voice: "If a shell misses today, I will screw off my head and give you a night pot!" After speaking, he shouted to his subordinates: "Brothers, aim for me!" Then, quickly run to the front of the gun emplacement to direct the troops.

Rong Guang raised his arms and shouted: "The others will follow me to the river to fight the water dogs!" Then he strode towards the river.

Grenades and mortar shells continued to fall in the middle of the army, and the dense crowd gradually thinned out, and the soldiers who were lucky enough to escape desperately swam towards the shore, but before they could reach the shore, they were swept down by oncoming bullets, and countless corpses floated downstream along the river. The remnants of the Yue army had to turn around and swim towards the north of the river, but after the double test of artillery fire and river water, only a dozen Yue soldiers landed on the other side.

After the heavy artillery brigade cleared the troops at the front of the position, it began to extend its firing, concentrating all the artillery to bombard the Xiangshan position. More than 100 heavy artillery pieces poured steel and explosives on the positions of the Yue army at a rate of one shot per second, and the huge attack power of 150 mm grenades made the Yue army have nothing to hide: all the fortifications on the surface disappeared after three minutes, the barbed wire was blown into a section several meters long, and the only thing the army could rely on was the dozen or so strong bunkers built by the junior high school [***] team.

The ferocious shelling lasted for half an hour, and the surface of Xiangshan turned into a scorched earth, and the hard rock was baked like a cake, leaving clear footprints on it. Dozens of shrapnel can be found in the dense craters from the top of the mountain to the bottom of the mountain, and dozens of shrapnel can be found in a handful of dirt.

After the artillery fire subsided, the two infantry battalions of the 26th Division launched an attack on the Xiangshan position under the cover of light and heavy machine guns, and the troops did not meet any resistance at the foot of the mountain.

After advancing to the mountainside, they began to encounter sporadic resistance, and instead of jumping out of the dust a dusty, bloodstained soldier, either howling and dying blows, or directly detonating the grenades on their bodies.

After dozens of casualties, the troops finally reached the top of the hill, and at this time, hundreds of Japanese soldiers hiding in bunkers launched a counterattack, they carried bright bayonets, opened the way with light and heavy machine guns, and rushed towards them with howls.

The attacking troops stopped the Japanese army with a dense rain of bullets and called for artillery support. Immediately afterwards, dozens of shells covered the hill again, setting off patches of blood rain in the formation of the army, and the enemy fell to the ground one after another like wheat that had been cut down, and a small number of soldiers fled back to the bunker and resisted stubbornly.

Due to the very narrow entrance to the bunker, the attacking troops could not give full play to their superiority in strength and firepower, and in the process of clearing the first bunker, they were not only repulsed twice in a row, but also wounded more than a dozen soldiers. Finally, the troops hurriedly brought up three flamethrowers from the rear and attacked the bunkers one by one.

A long fiery snake squirted down the tunnel, and then there was a terrible scream, and several flaming figures rushed out, only to be knocked to the ground by a dense barrage of bullets, turning into a charred heap.

At two o'clock in the morning, the soldiers in the last bunker were also killed, and the flag of the 26th Division fluttered on the top of Xiangshan again!

In this battle, Gao Fei successively invested a large number of main forces and a heavy artillery brigade to completely annihilate the Botian detachment of the Yue Army at the cost of more than 2,000 casualties, inflicting heavy damage on the 101st Division and the Marine Brigade, killing and wounding more than 10,000 soldiers, sinking 17 warships, and damaging 8 ships.

It is worth mentioning that the number of casualties in the 26th Division accounted for only a quarter of the casualties, and the proportion of seriously wounded was also significantly reduced.

The recovery of the Xiangshan position completely changed the situation of the battlefield in the south of the Yangtze River, the fleet was stagnant under the threat of heavy artillery, and the channel was completely blocked by the sunken warships, and the headquarters had to give up the attempt to attack Wuhan by water, so that the base camp of the national political axe could calmly deploy troops to resist the offensive of the North China Front!

According to the original plan of the headquarters, the operational objective of the 11th Army of the Central China Front led by Okamura Ninji was to seize the Jiangfang fortresses and strategic points along the Yangtze River, cooperate with the navy to advance along the west, and attack Wuhan on the back. At the same time, due to the blockage of the shipping lane, the navy could not continue to advance westward, so it had to change its battle plan and prepare for the army to concentrate superior forces to break through the defense line of the 26th Division, and then seize Jiujiang and then move westward. In order to achieve the above objectives, Okamura Ninji retreated to Anqing, and increased a large number of troops from the northeast and the local area to replenish the troops, and at the same time stored a large amount of war materials in preparation for another attack.

Chiang Kai-shek was extremely excited after receiving the battle report of the 26th Division, and once again issued an order to commend Gao Fei and the officers and men of the 26th Division, and assigned the 53rd and 167th Divisions of Jiangfang to the command of the Wuhan Garrison Command, which was fully responsible for the defense of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

After receiving the order from the base camp, the commander of the 167th Division, Zhan Shutang, and the commander of the 53rd Division, Bai Yuehai, hurriedly set off from their respective stations to Madang Fortress to meet their new commanders.

When the car was halfway there, a strong wind suddenly blew, and dark clouds rolled in the originally clear sky, and after a few dull thunders, the rain crackled down, leaving a wineglass-sized depression on the floating earth. Immediately afterward, lightning and thunder roared in the wilderness, and the dark sky seemed to open a gap, pouring the continuous rain from mid-air. The rain quickly collected on the ground, and the previously dry and hard road surface immediately became soft and muddy, and the wheels of the car spun in vain, but the body sank deeper and deeper, and could no longer move a single inch.

Zhanshutang looked around, and could only see a vast white patch, and the objects twenty or thirty meters away could not be distinguished at all. He saw that Bai Yuehai's car in front of him was also in trouble, so he pushed the car door, jumped into knee-deep muddy water, and walked towards the front. The guards hurriedly gathered and put their umbrellas on his head, while shielding themselves from the wind and rain.

Bai Yuehai hurriedly pushed the car door, asked Zhanshutang to get in the car, and asked tentatively: "Old Zhan, now we are still several kilometers away from Madang, and the rain is falling so urgently, it is better to go back, and it will be the same if you come back another day, don't you say?" ”

Zhan Shutang hurriedly shook his head after hearing this: "Brother Yuehai, we must leave a good impression when we meet our boss for the first time, otherwise we will definitely have a bad time in the future!" Although Gao Fei is at the same level as us, he is now the deputy commander of Wuhan, and he is not even an opponent of the little devils in the war, how can we get a little light after we join, but we can't let this little rain spoil things! ”

Bai Yuehai nodded and said, "Okay, just listen to your brother!" With that, he pushed the door and jumped down.

"Who? Hold it! After walking for dozens of minutes, the shouting of a sentry suddenly sounded in the bushes on the side of the road, followed by the sound of a bolt being pulled.

"Don't shoot, your own people!" Bai Yuehai shouted loudly: "I am Bai Yuehai, the commander of the 53rd Division, and I am here to visit General Gao with the commander of the 167th Division!" ”

As soon as he finished speaking, several heavily armed soldiers suddenly stood up from the grass on the side of the road, all of them wearing thick camouflage on their backs, no wonder they were not noticed at close range.

After carefully examining their documents, the soldiers immediately saluted the two division commanders, and two of them led the way, while the lurking post in the bushes for interrogation did not appear from beginning to end.

Zhan Shutang and Bai Yuehai glanced at each other, and they both saw a look of surprise in each other's eyes: the army after the big victory was still able to maintain such a high level of vigilance, no wonder the army was continuously defeated at their hands!

After passing two more sentry posts, the group came to the foot of Xiangshan, and the soldier who led the way said: "I will send it here, and the high commander is waiting for the two division commanders on the mountain." The salute quickly disappeared into the rain.

The two division commanders told the guards to wait at the foot of the mountain, and then walked up the hill with their tarpaulin umbrellas.

"Brother Yuehai, look underground!" Zhanshutang said in a low voice.

Bai Yuehai looked down and saw that the surface of the hillside was all red mud, and the stone wall that had been washed clean by the rain was full of craters, and there were bomb fragments everywhere, you can imagine how fierce the battle was at that time!

To their surprise, the mountainside was filled with busy soldiers, some digging trenches and bunkers in the hard stone walls with shovels and pickaxes, others piling up gravel and earth on the edges of the trenches with bamboo baskets, and still others blasting the mountain with explosives, apparently preparing to build bunkers and tunnels.

Zhanshutang and Bai Yuehai were looking at it vigorously, when they suddenly heard someone behind them speak: "The two division commanders, please come to the headquarters and sit down!" ”

The two hurriedly turned around, only to see a young officer in a major general's uniform looking at them with a smile.

Zhanshutang and Bai Yuehai hurriedly raised their hands and saluted, and asked, "You are General Gao, right!?" ”

Goofy returned the salute and said, "I'm Goofy!" Then he made a gesture of invitation and said, "It's windy and rainy here, so let's talk to my headquarters first!" ”

Bai Yuehai felt very strange when he saw the 26th Division braving the rain to build fortifications, and immediately asked after taking his seat: "General Gao, hasn't the army been defeated and returned to Anqing, why are you still in such a hurry to repair the fortifications?" With such heavy rain, the brethren are prone to illness! ”

Gao Fei smiled bitterly and said, "I don't want to either!" He pointed to the pouring rain outside the window and said: "The main channel of the Yangtze River was originally blocked by sunken ships and could not be passed, but now the torrential rain has not stopped, and the river has risen several meters. Then he looked at Bai Yuehai and said, "Master Bai really loves soldiers like a son!" ”

Bai Yuehai waved his hand again and again: "Where, where!" It's still far from General Gao, and you were on the hillside with your brothers just now, and it was really touching to see it! It is very rare to be in a high position as the commander of the group army and to be able to share weal and woe with the soldiers at the bottom! ”

Goofy smiled and said, "I'm just looking around, it's nothing." ”

Zhanshutang saw that Gao Fei was very easy-going, and he didn't have the arrogance that he was worried about, his mood gradually relaxed, and he asked tentatively: "General Gao, the base camp has placed our two divisions under your command, but we suffered a lot of losses in the battle of the Yue army to capture Madang Fortress, and the consumption of weapons and ammunition is also very huge, can you give some time to rest and replenish first?" ”

Gao Fei saw that Bai Yuehai also looked at him with concern, knowing that the two of them were very concerned about this issue, as a non-descendant force, they knew the stakes of preserving their strength, and if there was no replenishment in the continuous battle, the base camp would probably take the opportunity to cancel the number of the troops.

Thinking of this, Gao Fei said briskly: "This problem is not big, after the rainstorm, the ground is muddy, and it is difficult for the mechanized troops of the army to move, plus they also have to replenish troops and materials, there should be no large-scale action in the short term, you can withdraw first and rest for ten days, and this place will be defended by our 26th Division." As for weapons and equipment, I will ask the base camp for support, but now that the war is raging, there are many troops that need to be reorganized, and it may take a while. After speaking, he looked at the two division commanders opposite him with inquiring eyes.

Bai Yuehai did not hide his dissatisfaction, he said: "Although we are also the Central Army, but in the eyes of the base camp, the Jiang Defense Army is originally a second-rate army, plus we lost the horse as a fortress, and it is already very polite not to remove us from our posts and investigate, how can we be given priority to supplementing!" ”

Zhanshutang hurriedly signaled Bai Yuehai with his eyes not to complain about the base camp in front of Gao Fei, the 53rd Division and the 167th Division are the Central Army after all, and blowing up their ugliness in front of outsiders will only make people laugh.

Seeing that Gao Fei just smiled casually, Zhanshutang didn't make any comments on Bai Yuehai's words, so he said mockingly: "Actually, we can't complain about the base camp, they handed over such an important strategic place to us to defend, which shows that they still trust the Jiang Defense Army, but we are too bad!" He bowed his head in shame.

Gao Fei didn't want to express his opinion on the internal affairs of the Central Army, so he could only comfort a few words casually, and then suggested: "Our army has captured a lot of weapons and equipment in this day's battle, if the two of you don't dislike it, they will use it first, how about it?" ”

Zhan Shutang and Bai Yuehai were overjoyed when they heard his proposal, and hurriedly thanked him repeatedly. Zhanshutang said: "Although the standard of the military weapons is different, the quality is still much better than that made in Hanyang, and we can replace the troops that are still using old weapons with the equipment of the Japanese army, which should be able to improve the combat effectiveness." ”

Gao Fei suggested: "I think the veterans are used to the Zhongzheng and Hanyang made, and it may not be used to replace them with the 38 style, so it is better to equip all these Yue weapons with new recruits, so that the impact can be minimized." In addition, as the battle continues, there will definitely be a continuous capture of the weapons and equipment of the army, which should be able to meet the needs of this part! ”

(To be continued)