The guns were thundering, the smoke was filled, and the city wall on the north side of Jiangxian County seemed to be trembling. In the past few days, under the heavy artillery bombardment of the Japanese army, the city wall has shown a pale and dilapidated scene. After the Japanese commander Tada Jun gave the order to take the county seat of Jiangxian on the 5th, Japanese bombers also joined in the bombardment of the city wall. The 9th Brigade of the Japanese Army mainly attacked the left side of the county, the 36th Division mainly attacked the right side of the county, and the 3rd and 4th Divisions of the puppet army were responsible for the attack on the left and right flanks. The 80th Army, which defended the county seat, had its 165th Division on the left and the 34th Division on the right.

Not to mention that the offensive and defensive battles in the county town were inseparable, but unexpectedly, Gongzhuling on the west side of the county suddenly became a more dazzling focus. The reason was that the 80th Division of the 27th Army retreated to Gongzhuling on the west side of Jiangxian County for defense, and the Japanese army saw hope in the direction of Gongzhuling.

On the contrary, the Japanese 36th Division and its 71st Brigade were convenient for the 27th Division to fight each other on the first day of the war, and the attack on the 27th Division was very effective. As soon as the battle began, the 71st Regiment of the 36th Division forced the 27th Division to abandon Nianci and retreat to the second and third lines of defense, and then the Japanese 71st Brigade followed the 27th Division and pursued to the Gongzhuling Defense Line. The Gongzhuling position, as the flank of Jiangxian County, is the core line of defense, and the 27th Division cannot retreat any longer, and there is no doubt that the offensive and defensive operations have entered a white heat.

Since the Japanese commander Tada Jun ordered the capture of Jiangxian on the 5th, the Japanese 71st Brigade launched a round attack at Gongzhuling. The Japanese army believed that as long as Gongzhuling was captured, the left wing of Jiangxian would be opened, and Jiangxian would be within reach. For two consecutive days, the 71st Brigade of the Japanese Army, under the cover of more than 20 bombers, launched 15 charges. The surface position of Gongzhuling changed hands several times and was recaptured, and the battle was very fierce.

The battle situation was sudden and sinister, and the atmosphere in the Hengqu front-line headquarters was very tense. The Japanese intensified their attacks on the eastern and northern fronts, and the pressure on the front-line command increased suddenly. At this time, Ouyang Jian was also very anxious, the 27th Division suffered heavy casualties in just two days, and the Japanese army obviously changed its tactics.

"General Ouyang, the commander of the 80th Army, Kong Lingsui, called, the 27th Division defending Gongzhuling, after two days of bloody battles, more than half of the casualties, Kong Lingsui asked for reinforcements." Sun Weiru continued: "General Ouyang, the situation is very critical, otherwise Kong Lingsui would not be able to call in person to ask for reinforcements. Ouyang Jian hesitated for a moment and said: "The Japanese army suddenly increased its attack, it must be the Japanese army headquarters that issued a death order, and we must also change the enemy change." I ordered the 27th Division to retreat to Jiangxian County this evening, pull up the 308th Division of the 47th Army, and ordered Huang Bingzhong, commander of the 308th Division, to come to see me quickly. ”

In less than an hour, Huang Bingzhong, commander of the 308th Division, came to the headquarters. Without any extra greetings, Ouyang Jian brought Huang Bingzhong to the sand table and said, "Senior Commander Huang, this is a model of the Gongzhuling position. The 383 heights on the left side of the Gongzhuling Ridge are the main points of the Gongzhuling position, and as long as the 383 highlands are held, the Gongzhuling position will not be lost. "The 308th Division was originally responsible for the eastern defense, and after the Theater Command made the 4th Army serve as the general reserve corps, the 308th Division was incorporated into the 47th Army, which was dominated by the Sichuan Army. The current situation is critical, and Ouyang Jian decided to pull the 308th Division up to hold Gongzhuling.

"Please rest assured General Ouyang, even if you spill blood on Gongzhuling, you will not hesitate to do so!" "Nonsense, you're all dead, can Gongzhuling hold it? Remember to fight with your brains. There is no danger to defend on the 383 heights, you can only make full use of the tunnel fortifications, and you must continue to replenish the troops to the high ground at critical moments. As long as you can hold out for 3 days, the Japanese offensive will be exhausted. "Ignorance, understood!" Ouyang Jian held Huang Bingzhong's hand and said, "You are the commander, don't always think about going hard, you have to come back alive for me." ”

At midnight that day, the 308th Division entered the main position at Gongzhuling and replaced the 27th Division. Less than 3 hours after the 308th Division entered the Gongzhuling position, the Japanese launched a fierce offensive. The commander of the Japanese army, Tada Jun, also saw the importance of Gongzhuling, so he transferred a wing from the 37th Division to strengthen the attack on the Gongzhuling line. As a unit with no combat experience, the 308th Division underwent a severe test on the first day of combat. The Japanese army formed a series of offensives, and one wave of unsettled attacks was thrown into the attack. Just as Ouyang Jian judged, the 383 Heights became the focus of contention between the two sides.

Due to the narrow territory of the 383 Heights, only one company of soldiers can be deployed at a time. Japanese artillery and bombers focused on Heights 383, and Japanese soldiers flocked to the heights to charge. The sound of machine gun fire, the explosion of grenades, and the shouts of grenades on the high ground were all heard, and the Japanese soldiers braved the dense rain of bullets and rushed upwards without hesitation. A heavy machine gun on the left was hit by a shell from a 92 infantry gun, and the heavy machine gun was silent. The Japanese soldiers took the opportunity to swarm into the trenches, and the defending soldiers engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the Japanese soldiers.

Japanese soldiers continued to pour into the trenches, and when the situation was extremely critical, a company of soldiers came up to support. Accompanied by dense grenades, the follow-up Japanese troops were suppressed, and the Japanese soldiers who entered the trenches were eliminated. However, the Japanese army did not stop attacking, and the soldiers who supported it were able to enter the battle, and hand-to-hand combat was staged again, and soon another company of soldiers went up to ・・・・・・.

At the rear division headquarters, all the generals could clearly see the situation of the battle on the 383 heights. "Your regiment has to organize several groups of death squads to support the 383 Heights in turn, now is the time to compete in will, the heroes of the Sichuan army will never be a bad seed, whether they can defeat the Japanese army spiritually, is to fight for their lives." Division Commander Huang Bingzhong shouted loudly,

The battle lasted until dusk, when the Japanese were forced to withdraw their troops, and the Japanese troops at the front of the position left a large number of dead bodies. On the first day of the 308th Division, it suffered 3 battalions of casualties, and 2 battalions on the 383 heights alone. Suddenly the 383 Heights, with its tiny projectile land, became a death camp.

On the first day of the bloody battle, these fledgling Sichuan soldiers were not intimidated by the arrogance of the Japanese army, but on the contrary, they beat their blood. The next day, the battle became more intense, and the two sides seemed to be red-eyed, and there was no longer any tactics, it was completely a contest of will and death. The battle lasted until dark, and the 308th Division paid the price of 1,500 casualties, while the Gongzhuling position, especially the 383, was still in its own hands.

When night came, the soldiers were able to breathe. The logistics troops hurriedly rushed to transport the wounded, and the 308th Division actually paid the price of 3,000 casualties in the two-day battle, which shows how tragic the battle was.

In the hazy night, the soldiers leaned in the trenches, and the fragrant rice was brought over, and the soldiers did not seem to have any appetite, still deposited in the fighting, and no one came to eat. "Brethren. If you don't eat, you can't do it, and tomorrow you won't have the strength to fight the Japanese army. It was only at the officer's shouting that the soldiers began to devour their meals, but their expressions were still numb.

Huang Bingzhong, the division commander in the division headquarters, stared at his blood-red eyes and said in a hoarse voice: "Tomorrow, we will devote all our reserves to the battle, and tell the brothers that as long as they hold out until dark, we will complete the task, and the brother troops will come to replace us." "On the 3rd day, the Japanese offensive weakened significantly, you must know that the Japanese 71st Brigade has been attacking for 5 days, and a wing supported by the Japanese army has also been attacking for 3 days, and the Japanese army has also paid a heavy price. Even so, on the third day, the 308th Division still paid the price of more than 500 casualties.

In the evening of the same day, the 4th Division of the 96th Army of the 177th Army was pulled to Gongzhuling to replace the 308th Division. The 80th Army, which held Jiangxian County, was replaced by the 104th and 178th Divisions of the Sichuan Army. After the front-line troops came down, Ouyang Jian first went to visit the 308th Division and spoke highly of their bloody battles. A few hours later, Ouyang Jian returned to the headquarters and met with Kong Lingsui, the commander of the 80th Army, and several division commanders. Ouyang Jian shook hands with every general and said, "After a month of fierce battles, your department has made great sacrifices for the stability of the Zhongtiao Mountain defense line, and you are good. ”

"General Ouyang, it was you who came to the front line to command, and shared life and death with the officers and soldiers on the front line, so that the soldiers worked together to use their lives. It can be said that in all the previous battles, we fought the most heartily and comfortably this time. Although our department has paid heavy losses, we have not complained at all. Several division commanders also expressed their positions. Ouyang Jian waved his hand and said: "The credit is yours, without the bloody fighting of the soldiers, there would be no stability of the Zhongtiao Mountain defense line." The brutal battle continues, and your unit should hurry up and recuperate, and temporarily stand by as a theater reserve! ”

Ouyang Jian continued: "Commander Kong, for the outstanding performance of your department, I have reported to the Ministry of Defense. Please rest assured, Commander Kong, after the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain, I promise you that I will give you the best weapons, and the replenishment of troops will reach full strength! "Thank you, General Ouyang, for your kindness!" Kong Lingsui was overjoyed. After the generals turned back to the troops, Ouyang Jian sent a telegram to Wei Lihuang as usual, and put forward a proposal for the next defensive situation, and let the defending troops in the whole theater take turns to rest once in order to facilitate the resumption of the battle.

Tadajun's death order did not work, and the eastern and northern fronts attacked for 5 consecutive days without results, and the battle became scorched, and Tada had no choice but to order to stop the attack. On this day, Heng Seisan Shiro braved the cold wind and flew to the Japanese front headquarters in Yancheng. Itako Seishiro saw Tada Jun's depressed expression and said, "Tada-kun, we were too optimistic before the war, and we didn't expect how terrible our opponent was. He turned a flock of sheep into a vicious wolf, a military wizard. At the moment, the battle is in a state of scorching, and we must redeploy. ”

"Ban Hengjun, I didn't expect a group of rabble to use their lives so hard, and the command of the enemy army was exerted to the extreme. The point is that our troops are insufficient, and the reserve division is dragged by the Eighth Route Army in the Taihang Mountains, and it seems that this is the unified deployment of the enemy's army. "Don't be discouraged, there's nothing wrong with your deployment. The enemy's downsizing was a very high move, which we did not anticipate in advance. The closure of Jiangxian and the eastern part is still a key point. The 16th Mixed Brigade was ordered to withdraw to Wenxi, and the 37th Division ended its attack on Xia County and transferred to Jiangxian to intensify the attack. ”

"Banhengjun, there is a change in the base camp for the Battle of the Central Plains?" "The base camp believes that it is impossible to eat the defenders of Zhongtiao Mountain under the current situation, but it is necessary to capture the strategic point of Zhongtiao Mountain and drive the Chinese army to the south bank of the Yellow River. Therefore, the base camp revised its strategic plan, that is, to launch a key attack to break through a little, and not to be in a hurry to slow down the attack. "I understand, the focus is on the northern front, as long as you take the county seat of Jiangxian County, and advance to the south as a whole to force the enemy army to retreat to the south bank of the Yellow River!"