At the command post of the 15th Division at the front of Wulibei, Xiao Feng held a telescope to observe. The 18th Division of the Japanese Army committed numerous crimes on the battlefield in China, and it must show the courage to eat him. If a strong reorganized division can be eaten at this time, it will be able to play a role in recovering Taiwan with half the effort in the next step. At this moment, what Ouyang Jian said in the electric order was still echoing in his mind. The Japanese army has stopped attacking on all fronts and is building fortifications, and the Japanese army's intentions have been clearly revealed, and it must have turned from offensive to defensive.

"Commander, the Japanese army stopped attacking and turned to defense, presumably the Japanese attack was broken. Before the Japanese defense system was formed, whether to launch a counterattack. "The commander of the 15th division is clamoring on the side." It's not just a counterattack, the headquarters demanded that we eat all the 18th divisions of the Japanese army. "Eat them all!" The commander of the 15 division hardly believed his ears. "The combat area is so narrow, which is not conducive to the operation of large corps, and the difficulties can be imagined. But we must show the courage to take the head of the enemy among a million troops and fight a hard war of annihilation. ”

On the same day, Xiao Feng ordered the three brigades of the 16th Division, plus the 2nd Airborne Regiment, the Special Operations Regiment, and the two mountain regiments of the Special Forces (which later crossed the sea) to launch large-scale feints against the 25th Division in the northeast of the Japanese Army and the 101st Division in the east. The purpose of this was to mobilize the 45th Division of the Japanese reserve division in the north to move eastward and create conditions for the annihilation of the 18th Division of the Japanese Army.

The next day, the weather was fine. At the sound of an order, the US bomber group took the lead in launching a fierce bombardment of the defensive positions of the Japanese 25th Division and the 101st Division. Due to the lack of a perfect defensive system, the Japanese defense units were hastily constructed field fortifications. In particular, the Japanese artillery positions had no choice but to disperse and evade under the intensive air attack of US fighters. The Japanese artillery was scattered and could not form a strong artillery support, which made it easier for the attacking troops to attack. At 8 a.m., an attack was launched on all fronts in the northeast and east.

The east and northeast are mountainous and advantageous for the defending side. In the onslaught of the day, the two mountain regiments of the special forces located in the east attacked sharply. The mountain regiment was familiar with the characteristics of mountain warfare, and the mountain regiment, which was on the main attack mission until dusk, attacked sharply with the air support of the US bomber group. The two mountain regiments advanced more than 10 kilometers to the east and captured more than 10 hills. And the troops attacking to the northeast did not achieve much success, and the attacking troops advanced only 2 km to the northeast.

At dusk, in the Taipei headquarters of the Japanese army, the sound of telephones and telegrams was endless. The commander of the Japanese army, Yamashita Fumi, had a grim face, his eyes staring at the military map and he was silent. The heavy attack attempted to drive the enemy into the sea in one fell swoop, but to no avail, and in the blink of an eye, several divisions and regiments had to switch to defensive operations on all fronts, which made Yamashita Fengwen feel very depressed. "It was reported that the enemy attacked sharply in the east of Dajia Airport, and the enemy transferred mountain combat troops, and the 101st Division was forced to retreat 15 kilometers, and the defensive pressure was extremely great." An operational staff officer reports.

The chief of staff of the Japanese army said: "The enemy's attack direction is in the east, and it is not difficult to see that the enemy's goal is to capture the strategic point in the central part of Nantou, and then wave his troops eastward to cut off the north-south connection of Taiwan. "The enemy is very cunning. The 91st Division is moving from Taitung Port to Lotus, and we have time to build a solid defensive line in the Central Mountains. Now we must figure out the direction of the enemy's main attack! Yamashita Fengwen's eyes looked at Hsinchu and said: "Order the main force of the 47th Division in Hsinchu to move to Zhudong in the south to ensure the safety of the rear of the 18th Division." ”

Shanxi Fengwen was still worried about the safety of the east, so he gave up the Japanese 47th Division in Hsinchu to go out of Zhudong, with the aim of liberating the reserve 45th Division, which could be transferred to the east at any time to strengthen its defense. According to aerial reconnaissance that day, the 45th Division of the Japanese Reserve Corps did not show any signs of moving eastward. The next day, Xiao Feng ordered the 47th Brigade of the 16th Division to attack in the east and intensify the attack. At the same time, the US military has added a bombing squadron to strengthen air strikes. The offensive area expanded, and the defensive pressure of the Japanese 101st Division increased dramatically.

Although there were 23,000 men in the Japanese Army's Division A, there were only two field wings in the division's combat sequence. The composition of the Japanese army has always continued the purpose of independent operations, and this is the drawback of the Japanese army's unchanging troop establishment, especially in the operation of large corps, and this drawback is even more obvious. In addition to the field wing, which is responsible for the main combat mission, the engineering wing, including the logistics wing, basically does not participate in the front-line defensive operations, resulting in insufficient front-line defensive forces. The Japanese artillery wing and heavy artillery brigade were unable to exert their artillery power at all under the frequent attacks of US bombers, so the Japanese army's defensive strength was dwarfed.

On the other hand, in the battle sequence of the Eighth Route Army, there are two mountain regiments of the special forces, with a strength of about 5,000 people, and the 47th Infantry Brigade has a strength of more than 5,000 people, and it is a single infantry combat unit. Ground fire support is an artillery brigade, which, together with the bomber groups of the US army, forms a three-dimensional attack posture. And more than 10,000 people launched an attack, which was enough to make the Japanese think that the enemy's main attack direction was in the east. In the evening of the same day, the commander of the Japanese army, Shanxi Fengwen, under pressure, ordered the reserve 45th Division to move eastward to strengthen the eastern defense.

On the morning of the next day, the offensive was still raging in the east and northeast. The defensive front of the 18th Division of the Japanese Army in the north was indeed quiet, and there was no sign of attack. At this time, in the Wanli Front Headquarters, Xiao Feng, chief of staff of the 2nd Corps, said to the generals: "The large-scale feint launched in the east has mobilized the Japanese army. According to the Air Force reconnaissance report, the Japanese 45th Division has been transferred to the east. Now our chance has come, and the time of the general attack is set at 8 p.m. At 8 o'clock, the 17th Division took the lead in attacking from the right flank of the Japanese 18th Division. After the 17th Division broke through the Japanese defensive line, it quickly penetrated to the north, and it was necessary to capture Causeway tomorrow morning. After the 17th Division broke through the defensive line, the 18th Division quickly followed up and built defensive positions on the front line of Tucheng and Fengshu. ”

"The mission of the 18th Division is to prevent the 18th Division of the Japanese Army from converging with the 25th Division of the Japanese Army to the east, and at the same time to prevent the Japanese Division from converging with the 18th Division to the west. The Marine Brigade landed at Baishatun in the north at 10 p.m. that night, when the 4th Airborne Regiment landed on the front line of West Lake, and the two joined forces to stop the Japanese from escaping north. We are going to encircle and annihilate the 18th Division of the Japanese Army between Tongliao Town, Tongluo, and West Lake, do you understand? "Got it!" "Now that you understand, let's split up!" After the generals left, Xiao Feng said to the commander of the 1st Independent Artillery Division: "Your 2nd and 3rd Independent Artillery Brigades. Before dark, all of them were stationed on the front line of Daegu Garden, and they had to quickly tear through the Japanese defense line with heavy artillery fire! ”

At 7 o'clock that night, at the Fuzhou military airport, US military transport planes were on standby. In the dim light, the 001st Regiment of the 4th Airborne Division boarded the plane in an orderly manner. The figures of the soldiers appear and disappear from time to time, indicating the atmosphere of the great war. The officer gave the order in a low voice, the soldiers entered the cabin one by one, and the airport fell silent. There were large clouds in the sky, and occasionally a starry sky was revealed, and twinkling stars could be seen. The veil of mystery of airborne operations has been lifted, but the airborne troops still have a sense of mystery and touch everyone's nerves.

In the Fuzhou Joint Command Headquarters, the expressions of the generals and officers were solemn, revealing a tense atmosphere. "Commander Ouyang, the 4th Airborne Regiment has all boarded the plane and took off at 8 o'clock!" Chief of Staff Bai Chongxi broke and sank. He Long said: "Xiao Feng reported that all departments have entered combat preparations, and they will launch an attack on time at 8 o'clock!" Ouyang Jian's gaze turned to Chennault. General Ouyang, air support, please rest assured. In addition to the four bombardment squadrons, the B17 bombardment squadron will also fully support the operation. Ouyang Jian said: "The arrow is already on the string, let's wait patiently for the good news of victory!" ”

After dark, Li Dabao, commander of the Marine Brigade, led his subordinates to appear on the sea surface of Baishatun. Pak Sha Tun is only a small fishing village, and there are two Japanese coast guard squadrons on the shore. The sea was not very visible, and Li Dabao said to the captain of the special operations team on a wooden boat: "The fleet cannot dock for the time being, so your special operations team will go into the water here and swim over." Your mission is to quickly destroy the Japanese troops on the shore and welcome the large forces ashore. "According to the operational needs, the headquarters transferred the special operations group of the Marine Brigade to join the combat sequence.

The sea and night soon swallowed up the figures of the special combat troops, and just as the special combat personnel swam to the shore, the rumbling sound of artillery was heard from the southeast, and Li Dabao knew that the main force was attacking. About an hour later. Dense gunfire and explosions were heard from the shore, and soon the gunfire became sparse and signals were sent from the shore. Li Dabao ordered the fleet to dock, the wooden boat reached the shore and ran aground, Li Dabao jumped into the sea and waded ashore. The captain of the special combat team reported that the two squadrons of Japanese troops had been wiped out, and his subordinates had taken control of Baishatun. Li Dabao ordered to turn on the radio station and immediately report to the command.

At 8 o'clock that night, Xiao Feng gave the order to attack, and immediately several artillery positions opened fire at the same time. The sound of the shelling was like thunder, and a dense number of shells exploded on the Japanese positions. The makeshift fortifications built by the Japanese army were very rudimentary and could not withstand the intensive artillery bombardment. The firelight reflected half of the sky, and the soldiers crouched in the trenches, and their mood was particularly high. After half an hour of shelling, the artillery fire extended, and with the loud sound of the charge horn, the assault troops charged. The troops attacked very sharply, but concentrated a little, and soon the Japanese line was torn apart.

At about 9 o'clock, the main force of the 17th Division went straight north from the breakthrough caliber, ignoring the Japanese troops on the west flank. In the front-line headquarters, the nervous mood of the generals and officers relaxed. "Commander-in-chief, the 17th Division broke through the Japanese line at 9 o'clock and was advancing towards the Causeway attack. The 18th Division followed up and was assaulting the target! "Order the 15th and 19th Divisions to launch a frontal attack, and be sure to hold off the Japanese army." "Report, the joint command called, asking that the 18th division of the Japanese army must be completed tomorrow morning, and the 18th division of the Japanese army must not be allowed to run away!" "Call back, our department will resolutely complete the important task of encircling and annihilating the 18th Division of the Japanese Army."

Just as the 17th Division broke through the Japanese defense line, a large number of aircraft appeared in the sky over West Lake in the north. With the roar of the group, countless umbrella flowers appeared in the sky. Beautiful umbrella flowers bloom in the air, like buds in the air. The Japanese troops stationed at West Lake were stunned when they saw this scene.