Not long after leaving the city, I learned that there was a blocking position set up by the Eighth Route Army in front of me. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 Info This kind of news is undoubtedly bad news for the Japanese army who want to break through as soon as possible.

But even then, they don't have much choice. As Itagaki said to his subordinates, since they had come out of Jinzhong City, they could only fight all the way until they were safely freed from the encirclement and interception of the Eighth Route Army.

Troops were arranged to start filling in the big potholes that had been blown out in a hurry, and Itagaki also sent troops from the rear to prepare to attack the Eighth Route Army position blocked on both sides of the road again. Without that, they simply won't get far.

Once the troops sent by He Zhengdao to other places return, there is only one way to await the fate of the Japanese army that has broken through to them. If they want to change this fate, they can only fight all the way!

Similarly, for He Zhengdao, what he had to do was to keep blocking and pursuing these Japanese troops out of the city from the front and the rear. After dealing with the Japanese troops along the way, he was able to concentrate on clearing out these Japanese troops who were preparing to escape from Shanxi.

As for the Japanese troops in Henan and Hebei, He Zhengdao believed that the other Eighth Route Army, which cooperated in the battle, had the ability to contain those little devils. What he has to do now is also to end the Shanxi war as soon as possible and reduce the burden of this war on the headquarters.

The troops under the command of Itagaki have broken through from Jinzhong City. The troops of the Eighth Route Army, which were deployed in other directions, also quickly retreated accordingly. He Zhengdao ordered the same rapid march in the direction of Shouyang.

There is only one thing that these withdrawn troops have to do, and that is to replenish the strength of the blocking positions. At the very least, let Itagaki know that it was wishful thinking that he wanted to rush to Shouyang to join the 21st Infantry Brigade.

After beating the second line of blocking positions, Itagaki received a telegram from the front-line troops, and saw that there were thousands of casualties. Itagaki also realized that the Eighth Route Army was constantly consuming the strength in his hands through this method of warfare.

Also aware of this situation was the chief of staff of the division who broke through with Itagaki . It is one thing to understand, and in the face of the current situation, the Japanese army does not seem to have much choice. If you don't break through, there is only a dead end.

If they break through, they may continue to wear down their troops, but as long as they plan properly, they may still have a chance to survive. In order to survive on this front, they must keep moving forward at all costs.

'Keep attacking!' At this point, we can only fight with the Eighth Route Army to see who can hold out to the end! ’

Itagaki, who was ruthless, also realized that this breakthrough road would not make it too easy for them. At this point, he could only instruct the troops to continue to attack the Eighth Route Army with a decisive heart and consume the blocking force of the Eighth Route Army.

Seeing that after a night of fighting, the entire army had only advanced more than ten kilometers, and the tired Itagaki couldn't help but sigh: "This attack is too slow!" We must speed up and move forward and rush to Shouyang City as soon as possible! ”

'General! After a night of fighting, our troops were already exhausted. Most importantly, the constant fighting, which led to an increase in our light and serious casualties. Our field hospital is no longer able to treat so many wounded! ’

'No way, have to find a way!' At this point, do we have any other options? Leave these wounded behind, they have only one way to die. From the baggage troops, arrange for some more soldiers to come over to help.

Priority will be given to those with minor injuries for medicines carried. As for some of the seriously wounded, we can only pray that they will hold out until the next rest. Otherwise, they will only have to shatter the jade. At this time, we must give priority to ensuring the combat effectiveness of the troops! ’

Even if Itagaki knew that such a decision was a bit cruel, the lightly wounded would undoubtedly consume less medicine than the medicine needed to treat the seriously wounded. And these lightly injured may be able to have a certain degree of self-defense ability after simple treatment.

When the time comes, they will really encounter any danger on the way to break through, at least they will not be without resistance. In contrast, the seriously wounded have lost their combat effectiveness, and even if they are provided with medicines, it is impossible to have the ability to protect themselves in a short period of time.

When He Zhengdao made every effort to block the Itagaki that broke through in the direction of Shouyang, the 2nd Reconnaissance Regiment and the 120th Brigade of the 120th Division also launched an attack on Shouyang City. The 3rd Infantry Division, which followed behind, also joined the siege battle.

Seeing that the Eighth Route Army was attacking from all sides, the commander of the 21st Infantry Brigade trapped in the city said with a headache: "Baga! Why did the Eighth Route Army outside fight more and more? If it goes on like this, we're afraid we won't last long! ”

'Earlier, the division commander sent a telegram that they had set out from Jinzhong City and were coming towards us. As long as we hold out for two days, I believe that the Eighth Route Army outside the city will retreat. Now, we can't break through! ’

The 21st Infantry Brigade transferred from Yangquan to Shouyang actually seemed to regret it somewhat. At present, they know a little about the situation of the 116th Division. That division, I'm afraid it won't last long.

If they had chosen to retreat to Shijiazhuang earlier, they might have joined the Hebei garrison by now. But if the main force of the division and regiment that is still in Shanxi is not saved, as subordinates, they ask themselves if they can't do it.

It's a pity that now it seems that they can't rescue the main force of the division, not to mention, but it is very likely that they will put themselves in it. Now, except for Shouyang, which they are holding, the rest of the surrounding counties, large and small, have been recovered by the Eighth Route Army.

It can be said that except for the Itagaki troops who are breaking through to their side, there are no reinforcements to apply for around the 21st Infantry Brigade. In contrast, the Eighth Route Army outside the city was constantly increasing.

In the past two days, although the Eighth Route Army outside the city did not launch a large-scale siege. But the small team attacked and harassed, and it was never interrupted. The hunting of snipers and the irregular shelling of artillery made the Japanese troops in the city feel tormented.

If it weren't for the little devils in the city who knew it, it would be relatively safe to stay in the city. It is estimated that under such a situation, many little devils will choose to abandon the city and flee. But the question is, where can they go when they get out of the city?

Putting aside the main forces of the Eighth Route Army, the county brigades and district squads that are currently sweeping the entire Shanxi Province will make these Japanese troops, which are scattered with the main forces, eventually become the targets of guerrillas and militia.

At this moment, the 3rd Infantry Division, which also arrived in Shouyang, had just arrived at the intended attack position when the liaison officer of the 2nd Reconnaissance Regiment came over. Looking at the news from the liaison, Lu Zhencao also knew that time was pressing at present.

Really let the Itagaki troops who broke through the siege converge with the 21st Infantry Brigade in the city. It is undoubtedly difficult for them to stop such a large wave of little devils. For this reason, it is necessary to deal with the group of little devils in front of you as soon as possible.

Lu Zhencao, who had thought about this clearly, quickly said: "Tell you the regiment leader, I already know the situation." In tonight's siege battle, the artillery units of our division will also cooperate with you in the siege. In the southwest two directions, our third division undertook it. ”

'Yes, Master Lu! ’

After receiving Lü Zhencao's reply, the liaison officer quickly left the 3rd Infantry Division. Not long after, Lu Zhencao convened a meeting of the commanders of the main forces of the division to arrange tonight's combat mission.

Before the meeting, Lu Zhencao still gave the order for the whole division to rest and recuperate. For them, this rapid march was naturally a bit hard. Therefore, there was no major fighting during the day, so it was natural to let the officers and men have a good rest.

Nowadays, many of the main forces of the Eighth Route Army have become accustomed to the rules of resting during the day and fighting at night. Compared with the cold weather at night, the temperature is at least higher when you rest during the day.

It's just that the weather hasn't been very good these days. Many officers and men of the Eighth Route who were resting had to find a place to rest in shelter from the wind and rain. Although the troops distributed a lot of captured Japanese raincoats, these raincoats were also not available to everyone!

In general, raincoats are given priority to the troops on duty. Most of the troops who did not have a combat mission wore military uniforms and found a relatively comfortable place, but rested with their clothes and waited for the arrival of night.

'The liaison officer of the reconnaissance brigade has just arrived, and we are the last troops to arrive in Shouyang. Earlier, the 2nd Regiment of the Reconnaissance Brigade and the new 1st Brigade of the 120th Division had already blocked this group of little devils who had escaped from Yangquan in Shouyang City.

Next, our division still has to undertake the corresponding siege mission. It's still the old rule, tonight the first regiment and the second regiment will serve as the main attack, and the third regiment and the fourth regiment will serve as the side response. Our division only needs to be responsible for the south gate and the west gate, and the other two city gates are in charge of friendly and neighboring troops.

The artillery regiment directly under the division will cooperate with the new 1st Brigade and the reconnaissance regiment to carry out siege artillery shelling tonight. If the two of their forces are in need, you will also provide them with artillery support and try to settle the battle tonight, understand? ’

'Yes, Commander! ’

Even during this time, the troops of the 3rd Infantry Division also felt very hard. But looking at the city that has been recovered all the way, the officers and soldiers participating in the battle feel very excited. In their opinion, this is also a very honorable thing.

Although the unit was newly formed, the officers and men of the 3rd Infantry Division also showed self-confidence as they watched the victorious battles. Earlier, even some recruits still had a fear of war, which would have been replaced by a sense of victory and honor.

Although there were casualties in every unit, most of the wounded were sent to the rear hospital in time, and the fallen comrades-in-arms also had special personnel responsible for the aftermath. Many recruits feel that this soldier is worth it!

Moreover, after so many battles, all regiments, battalions, companies, platoons, and squads have a sense of collective honor. As Lu Zhencao said earlier, no matter which unit they came from before, they are now soldiers of the Third Infantry Division.

Compared with the Japanese troops who were responsible for attacking the Taiyuan direction with the 1st and 2nd Divisions, their division only recovered some cities in Yangquan. In the eyes of many officers and men of the Third Division, they still have to work a little harder.

We can't relax our requirements for ourselves because they are the third division. After all, compared with the 1st Division and the 2nd Division, although they are mixed units, their weapons and equipment are almost the same as the other two main infantry divisions.

In the eyes of many officers and soldiers, this kind of internal competition is also a collective honor that belongs to them. In order to fight for more victories and honors, they must also fight hard to destroy more little devils! (To be continued.) )