The moonlit wilderness is like a silent sea, and the heat of the day is long gone, only the coolness of the second half of the night. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info The subtle wind blew through the fields, and the tips of the leaves of the crops seemed to glow, and when you got closer, you realized that they were flying fireflies, and they were floating in all directions. But unlike the previous nights, there were no insects or dogs barking tonight, only the shrill grinding of tracks and the powerful roar of tank engines.

The Panzer Corps was in pursuit, but it was not an easy task. Near the Yellow River, there were four or five rivers north of Heze, each of which had to be bridged to allow tanks and cars to pass through smoothly. The delay in building bridges along the way made Major General Hu Xianqun, commander of the 1st Tank Brigade, worried that he would not be able to catch up with the Japanese troops who would retreat in the afternoon, but the rear army headquarters sent a telegram over, saying that it had ordered Li Bifan's division of the 23rd Division, which was originally stationed in Heze, to snipe and contain the Japanese retreat with all his might.

The 23rd Division is the Hunan Army, and the division commander Li Bifan and the chief of staff Huang **** are both from Hunan Jiahe. Although the determination of the Hunan army to resist Japan should not be underestimated, whether a light infantry division that could not even be equipped with light and heavy machine guns could delay the retreat of the Japanese heavy artillery wing is a question worthy of in-depth study.

"Brigade seat, the reconnaissance battalion said that gunshots were heard in front and flares were seen." Lieutenant Colonel Dong Jiarui, commander of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Tank Brigade, personally ran over to report the news, and he rode a captured Oriental horse and found the brigade headquarters under the moonlight on the crops.

"Gunshots?! Flares? "Hu Xianqun has been standing in the turret and traveling north with the tank." Was it the 77th Division that exchanged fire with the Japanese army? ”

Compared with the tank that wants to build a bridge to cross the river, the bicycle of the motorist is much more convenient, and when it encounters the river, it is to directly carry the bicycle and wade over, and if the water is deeper, then pull a rope and drag the rope to cross the river. The march came down in the middle of the night, and the result was that the motorized infantry division ran to the front, and the armored division was still behind.

"No, not really." Lieutenant Colonel Dong Jiarui is a monkey, and he has to ride a horse to reconnoitre, and before coming to report, he rode to the front to hear the sound of gunfire, and the motorized infantry division mainly uses machine guns and submachine guns, supplemented by rifles, but the sound he hears is basically a dull sound of a rifle rather than the clatter of a submachine gun. "Most likely the 23rd Division."

"Where?" Hu Xianqun stood on the tank, bowed his head and shouted at the car.

"Report to the brigade, the front is Linpu, and after the Shusha River and the Jisha River is Dongkou." The staff officer reported.

As long as the bridge is not built, the tank can still travel very fast, and it can travel at least 15 to 20 kilometers in an hour. From Zhangwanji to Dongkou, it is more than 50 kilometers away, and it can be driven in three hours. But now that the sky is about to dawn, the troops are still ten kilometers north of Dongkou, and they are separated by two rivers.

"Let Xiao Pingbo investigate immediately!" Hu Xianqun glanced at the bright moon falling in the west, and immediately ordered the search battalion to go to the crossfire site to investigate.

At the same time, at Zhengying and Fuchun, south of Juancheng, the blocking battle against the Japanese heavy artillery wing entered a climax, and the 23rd Division resisted and sniped the Japanese army to the north in the area less than two kilometers between the Shusha River and the Kisha River, which flowed from east to west. On this night, the Panzer Corps had to build a bridge to advance, and the Japanese army also had to build a bridge to advance, and more often than not, it had to remove the mines planted by the 23rd Division at the bridgehead on the road. The only difference is that the Japanese army retreated north along the official road from Heze to Juancheng, and then walked ten kilometers due west to Dongkou after arriving at Juancheng; The 88th Army drove directly from Heze to Dongkou, ten kilometers west of the Japanese army from their current position.

In order not to attract the attention of the pursuing troops in China, Major General Kanaokaqiao of the 8th Wing of the Independent Field Heavy Artillery Force at first forbade the Japanese to open fire -- the sound of gunfire could not reach far at night, but the sound of artillery could reach more than 10 kilometers away. As soon as the artillery was fired, perhaps the other units of the Chinese army would surround them when they heard it. But after fighting for more than half an hour, the Shina Army in front of him fought to the death and did not retreat, and twice drove back the soldiers who rushed across the river, and after informing the commander of the 6th Field Artillery Wing, Marui Tsuruyoshi Daisa, Major General Kanaoka decided to open fire.

Neither of the two heavy artillery wings had artillery of less than 100 mm caliber, so they had to let two squadrons of 150 mm heavy artillery urgently open fire, and after more than ten minutes, the eight heavy artillery pieces bombarded the other side of the river without waiting for a test firing. The roar of artillery on a moonlit night could be heard more than a dozen kilometers away, and the position of the 23rd Division was suddenly overturned under the intensive attack of heavy artillery. The heavy artillery not only kills direct hits, but also has the effect of stun and stun. I don't know what the situation of the soldiers on the front line is, but Li Bifan, the division commander who is in the second line of defense, after a shell explodes nearby, he only feels that the world is spinning when he is swept by the air wave, and he doesn't feel anything else, he only kneels on the ground and vomits vigorously, even if he wants to stand up, he struggles to fall.

"Junza! Junza! A familiar person was calling him, but he couldn't remember who it was, and he couldn't hear what he was shouting.

Li Bifan was stunned by the artillery fire, and the chief of staff Huang **** sighed, and then issued an order: "Immediately send an order to the front line, the devil is going to come in, prepare for a white-knives battle." ”

The heavy artillery of the Japanese army continued to wreak havoc, but fortunately, the telephone line was not cut off, and the order of Chief of Staff Huang **** soon reached the front line. At this time, the front line was also a mourning, and the heavy artillery blew up the improvised anti-artillery trenches into large craters, and each shot was splashed with flesh and blood, and mud and sand rushed to the sky. The predecessor of the 23rd Division was the engineer battalion of the 8th Army of Tang Shengzhi of the Northern Expeditionary Army, and the division commander Li Bifan was also an engineer, so he naturally paid attention to anti-artillery, but the artillery was fired with 150mm howitzers, each shell was more than 30 kilograms, which was about to catch up with one person heavier; In addition, in the field, the defenders' positions have no defense against this kind of shells, and the people die wherever the shells hit, but fortunately, the soldiers are all veterans, and they don't want to collapse like the 195th Division in the city.

After less than ten minutes of shelling, Li Yanwu, commander of the 67th Brigade, ran to the division headquarters in a row, and his face was full of tears except for the sand. He grabbed Li Bifan and said loudly: "Junzuo, I can't stand it!" I can't stand it! If you hold on any longer, the whole army will have to explain here! ”

"If you can't stand it, you have to stand it!" Li Bifan took out the telegram he had just received, and said with great momentum: "The chairman ordered us to stay until dawn, and we will stay until dawn even if we die!" You know, the Japanese are running for their lives, they're running for their lives, hahahaha..., they're going to run for their lives, hahahaha......"

"Junza! Junza! Li Yanwu only felt that the division commander was crazy, and looked at Li Rongzuo, the commander of the supplementary regiment beside Li Bifan, and said, "What about the chief of staff?" ”

"The chief of staff went to Fuchun's side." Li Rongzuo said, "The 68th Brigade will not be able to withstand it." ”

"The 23rd Division is the last person killed in battle, and it must be held until dawn." Li Bifan slapped the telegram and stood up. He glared at Li Yanwu, "If you dare to withdraw from the 67th Brigade privately, then don't say that I will enforce military law regardless of the situation." ”

"I ......" Li Yanwu touched a handful of tears, he cried and said: "How can I have, now the troops are facing the river on both sides, and there are devils in front and back, where can you let me retreat?" If you want to die, you will die together, and when you go down, I told my eldest brother that you wiped out the 23rd Division. ”

After Li Yanwu finished speaking, he pushed open the door of the division headquarters and walked out, and his words made Li Bifan slightly stunned. The 23rd Division was only an engineer battalion before, and then it relied on the battalion commander Li Yunjie to pull little by little, and recruited a large number of Jiahe children, before it became the 23rd Division, which is known as the 'Li Family Army' today. Li Yunjie died of illness in Guizhou the winter before last, and before his death, he recommended Li Bifan to be the division commander, and the two brigade commanders Li Yanwu and Li Yuesen may not be convinced, but now that the 23rd Division has the military order of the Supreme Command, and it is located in a narrow area between the two rivers, they can't withdraw privately even if they want to do it in history.

Li Yanwu was complaining about Li Bifan, saying that he was sorry for his eldest brother Li Yunjie, but the reason why Li Yunjie asked Li Bifan to be the division commander was because he could inherit his legacy: to build a democratic republic like the previous allies. At this time, the foreign enemy invaded, and Li Bifan consciously had a clear conscience.

'......Boom' Li Bifan remembered his eldest brother Li Yunjie when he thought of his eldest brother Li Yunjie, the artillery fire of the Japanese army outside was extending backwards, and it was obvious that the Japanese army had crossed the river at night and touched it, and he began to fidget. Although the Japanese army had been driven down the river twice before, it was when the Japanese army did not open fire, and now the Japanese artillery is raining down, and it is still unknown whether the front line can be held.

"The devil is coming! The devil is here! As soon as the artillery fire extended behind him, Liu Guanxiong, the commander of the 134th Regiment hiding in the anti-artillery hole, drilled out, and the 134th Regiment was guarding Zheng Ying north of the vegetable and sand river, which was one of the main roads leading from Heze to Juancheng. During the day, the bridges over the Kisha River and the Zhisha River were blown up, and the Japanese troops left behind in Juancheng City in the north had only one brigade, and they couldn't do anything with the 23rd Division at all, and now the key was to hold the line of the Zhisha River.

"Grenade! "Although the artillery fire in the trenches stopped, there was a pungent smoke everywhere, and the soldiers stepped on the high and low trenches and began to prepare for battle....... The grenade was the first to be prepared, and the enemy could not be seen clearly in the dark, and the flare could not be fired until the thirty-knot heavy machine gun was set up -- this flare was specially issued by the commander Xue Yue when he went to Lanfeng for a meeting.

"Bang... Bang......" not loud gunfire rang out over the position, and two flares hit the position in the air. Like fireworks during the New Year, flares burst into the air and immediately burst into the air, emitting a pale glow. It instantly illuminated the trenches arranged by the 23rd Division along the area of the Zhesha River, and even brightened up the Japanese troops who were wriggling like leeches crossing the river.

"Fire! The regiment commander Liu Guanxiong saw the ...... of heavy machine guns and immediately ordered the mortars of the regiment to open fire and the heavy machine guns to fire. The sound of mortars and heavy machine guns began to fire, and the Japanese troops in the river and on the river bank were suddenly killed, but it was too late, and the mortars could only suppress the Japanese troops on the river, and the Japanese troops who had already crossed the river had already rushed up with bayonets.

"Grenades!!" The platoon commanders in the trenches also saw it well, and they ordered the soldiers to start throwing grenades under the fire of 30 heavy machine guns and Czech light machine guns. The black dot suddenly flew out and exploded forty or fifty meters away. In the explosion, the devils seemed to be killed, but Liu Guanxiong knew that they were not dead, they were waiting for the flare to go out, and then rushed up to fight with him.

The flares that were as bright as day burned in the air for a short period of more than a minute, and then slowly extinguished, and the Japanese soldiers who were lying on the ground saw that the flares that the defenders had not lit up again, and immediately got up and rushed forward. The trench was on the bank of the river, and most of the Japanese troops who rushed over were stopped by the human wall formed by the defenders, but a few people used too much force and fell into the trench.

In order to prevent exposure, no one dared to make a sound or shout during the night fight, and then after the flares stabbed, the night immediately went dark, and at this time the hand-to-hand combat began - in the darkness, the soldiers on both sides could only distinguish each other by touching the style of their helmets, and of course they could also see whether the opponent's military uniform was wet. But under the order of the regiment commander Liu Guanxiong, the shirts of the soldiers of the 134th Regiment were all soaked, and only the trousers and shoes were dry, and the order of the regiment was that as long as the opponent's pants were wet, they would be stabbed with a knife, but the battle did not end immediately, and the uniforms of both sides were all wet, and in the end, they could only distinguish between the enemy and the enemy by touching the helmets and armed belts.

The 134th regiment on the front line was fighting hand-to-hand, and the reserves in the back could not come up at all because of the suppression of artillery fire. Only the dark hand-to-hand combat of muffled, wheezing, and screaming lasted for half an hour, and in the end, the Japanese troops with fewer people could not only retreat, but these people had not yet driven out of the trenches, and a group of Japanese troops poured across the river, and under the impact of this new force, the 134th Regiment was defeated and retreated.

"Don't quit! No refund! Ah......h "Tuanza!" Several voices immediately shouted, desperately trying to get closer to him, but they were all killed by the Japanese soldiers around them.

"Your Excellency, our army has occupied the Zheng camp!" Chief of Staff Yuno Yamada reported to Major General Kanaoka.

"Yo Xi!" Kanaoka breathed a sigh of relief, and then he said to Yamada Matsuji of the Funahashi Brigade: "Erect a pontoon bridge immediately,"

"Hey!" The sky is about to dawn, and the troops cannot be outside Juancheng. Now as soon as the soldiers took the Zheng camp on the other side of the river, the sappers immediately built a bridge.

"Junzuo, Junzuo, Zheng Ying is lost!" At the division headquarters one kilometer north of Zhengying, division commander Li Bifan also received an order.

"Where's Hongji?!" Li Bifan said hurriedly. If the Zheng battalion is lost, if the Japanese army builds a bridge, not to mention the rest, the car and machine guns rush straight over, and they will not be able to hold it.

"Commander Liu is martyred!" The adjutant hesitated for a moment, and the commander of the first regiment died at the forefront without disgrace to the 23rd Division.

"As soon as the devil builds a bridge, we can't stop it. Come on, come with me and take the position back! Li Bifan Huo Ran got up, put on his military hat and was about to go out with the reserves.

"Junzuo, do you really want to fight for your family here?" Li Rongzuo, the commander of the supplementary regiment, was also an old man of the 23rd Division, and the four main regiments were all sent out, and only the supplementary regiment and the special service company were left in the division headquarters.

"The military order is like a mountain!" Li Bifan said resolutely, "If you don't stop the devils, they will all run away!" Heavy artillery! It's all heavy artillery! ”

"Junza, what's the use of our heavy artillery?! You just give...... Just leave some seeds! Li Rongzuo pleaded.

"We ...... Ay! Heavy artillery is really useless against the 23rd Division, but it is very useful against the war, and Li Bifan didn't have time to explain in a hurry, he said: "If you want to recognize me as a brother, bring your people with me." It won't be long before dawn, and I'll die and drag on the Japanese pants! (To be continued.) )