On June 30, 1938, the Battle of Anqing escalated into the Battle of Anqing, and the Chinese side first changed its deployment and ordered Luo Zhuoying, commander-in-chief of the 19th Group Army, to go to Anqing to command the operation, with Huang Wei's 18th Army, Yu Jishi's 74th Army, Tang Shizun's 21st Army and Xia Chuzhong's 79th Army as the middle road group, under the direct command of Luo Zhuoying, responsible for besieging the Japanese Sakamoto detachment and Uchiyama Brigade; With the 107th Division, the 10th Army, and the 31st Army as the blocking and reinforcement corps, Yang Sen as the commander, and Xu Ming as the commander-in-chief of the front, blocked the Japanese army from Tongcheng south; With Xu Yuanquan's 10th Army as a guerrilla regiment, it fought guerrilla on the communication line near the line of communication from Hefei to Tongcheng.

The 18th Army has always been the most elite army, and it is the old capital of Chen Cheng of the Department of Civil Engineering, Luo Zhuoying has been the commander for 5 years, and he only stepped down at the beginning of the year, and now he is familiar with command. The 18th Army was resting in De'an, Jiangxi Province, and after receiving the telegram order, it completed the assembly on the night of the 29th, and then went from the Nanxun Line to Jiujiang, transferred to Anqing, and arrived at Anqing at noon on July 1 after an emergency march of more than 30 hours.

Luo Zhuoying saw that most of the two main divisions of the 11th Division and the 60th Division arrived, and his heart settled down, there are many troops here in Anqing, and there are few that can be used to attack fortifications.

"Liangzhen, how is the situation at the front?" Luo Zhuoying flew over from Nanchang, in such weather, it was really not easy for the plane to land, and when he saw Yu Ji, he couldn't wait to ask.

Yu Jishi's eyes were bloodshot, and he obviously didn't sleep all night, "Commander-in-Chief Luo, the Japanese army has stopped attacking and is now retreating to the line from Hanjialing to Caojialou." Yu Jishi pointed to the map, Hanjialing is located about 10 kilometers northeast of Jixian Pass, not far from the moon-shaped mountain, next to a small lake.

Chief of Staff Xu Zuyi quipped beside him, "If the Japanese army has no food, they can still catch some fish and shrimp from the lake." ”

Everyone laughed, and Yu Jishi said: "That's also a high-ranking officer of the Japanese army." ”

Luo Zhuoying saw that although the generals were tired, they looked relaxed, and felt a little strange in their hearts, Huang Wei next to him was a relatively rigid officer, who had studied in Germany and was deeply influenced by the culture of the German ** team, so he frowned and asked: "Commander Yu, didn't the Japanese army try to break through?" ”

Yu Jishi glanced at Huang Wei and said with a smile, "I'm afraid the Japanese army doesn't know which direction to break through." ”

The squadron dispatched troops to prepare to annihilate the Japanese troops of the two brigades in one fell swoop, but the encircled Japanese troops almost did not move, which seemed incredible, but those who knew the inside knew that this was almost inevitable.

********

The temporary headquarters of the Japanese army in Hanjialing, the Sakamoto Brigade and the Uchiyama Brigade, quarreled again, and the reason why they said it again was because this was their third large-scale quarrel today.

Qing Shui Zhishan slapped the table with a bang, "No, absolutely not!" Can a brigade without heavy artillery still be considered a field heavy artillery brigade! This is a unit built by the people at a huge cost of public money, and it must not be destroyed by our own hands. ”

Just now, the general of the Sakamoto detachment suggested that the heavy artillery be destroyed, and when the people of the Uchiyama brigade heard this, they barked like a cat having its tail stepped on.

"This doesn't work, that doesn't work, how can you go on the road with these heavy guys?" Yogeo Takada was dissatisfied.

The total strength of the two detachments exceeded 15,000 people, and it was very possible to break through with the combat effectiveness of the Japanese army, but it would not work with these heavy artillery, as long as the squadron destroyed the road, it would not be blocked, and the Japanese army could not walk a few miles every day, and it would probably take 1 week to return to Tongcheng.

The squadron does not block? That is impossible, and intelligence has shown that a large number of Chinese siege troops are coming.

"There is no need to go on the road, just wait here on the spot, and the army command will never turn a blind eye to our predicament!" Shimizu Shaozo said firmly.

"How to solve the grain bomb? Bullet soldiers have less than 100 rounds per person and less than 3 days of food! ”

"No bullets, annihilate the enemy with bayonets, no food, kill ... Kill the horses! ”

"What! Bastard, do you know what you're talking about! "Now the people who came to the Sakamoto detachment were furious, the Japanese army's war horse is a very valuable strategic resource, and the soldiers who have the war horse often have a very deep relationship with the mount, seeing that the Uchiyama brigade hit this idea, how can the Sakamoto detachment not be angry.

"Enough!" The brigade commander Uchiyama Eitaro couldn't help but stand up and shout when he saw that the two sides were arguing more and more fiercely.

Then he said coldly to Tokutaro Sakamoto: "Even if all the jade of my troops is broken, the artillery will never be destroyed." After saying this, Uchiyama shook his head and left, leaving the command room.

Sakamoto sat on the table, like a sculpture, motionless, ignoring Uchiyama's departure.

I don't know how long it took, Sakamoto opened his eyes, and all the officers of the Uchiyama unit had left, and those who stayed behind were his subordinates, and everyone's faces were very heavy.

"Cheer up! My 11th Brigade has not yet reached the point of exhaustion! ”

********

"Nakajima-kun! I found a rice field with a lot of rice! "A panting Japanese arrived.

"Really? Take me quickly, everyone bring the sack, hurry up! ”

Several Japanese soldiers looked at the eyes with joy, there was 1 acre of rice, although it was barren because of the war, but the golden rice mixed with the weeds still looked so lovely.

It's hard to imagine that this was the Japanese army's notoriously fierce 6th Division, and now they seem to have returned to the era of peasants and soldiers 400 years ago.

The riflemen used a bayonet to cut rice, the machine gunner carried a bag of rice on his back, and the ammunition man was looking for something with a wooden stick.

"Ah, it's a vole's hole, come on, everyone get ready..."

The Japanese army has become an expert rat catcher again, some of them are digging in front with sappers and shovels, and some are detouring and encircling the route of the vole, and it can be seen that the 6th Division of the Japanese Army is worthy of being an elite division, whether it is cutting rice or catching rats, it has a clear eye.

Since the Japanese army was surrounded, it has launched a vigorous search for food, and now the slogan here is "Finding a potato is equal to destroying a Chinese soldier!" ”

Yesterday a soldier found a pumpkin, and the happy captain personally came to reward him, and then came to taste it himself. Now, eating a pumpkin meal is quite a luxury!

"How's the situation with Tongcheng's Zhina army?" Tokutaro Sakamoto asked without looking up, and when he saw a person walking in, he thought it was a communications soldier.

found that no one responded, and when I looked, it was Eitaro Uchiyama. Uchiyama's face was like frost, and he held a telegram in his hand.

The telegram was sent from Tongcheng.

"To the dear and loyal front-line officers and soldiers: Thanks to the struggle of all officers and soldiers, tens of thousands of troops have been killed... The fathers and brothers of the officers and soldiers, as well as the compatriots of the whole country, sincerely thank you for their concern for the battlefield in this area, and hope that we can show off the honor of the Imperial Army to the fullest... I hope to keep my iron heart strong and continue to fight. ”

It has been five days, the Japanese army is now completely surrounded, the 74th Army and the 18th Army of the squadron are launching fierce attacks day and night, the food and ammunition of the Sakai detachment are almost exhausted, and there are white-knuckle battles on many positions. What was received from the division headquarters was not a message of breaking through the enemy's blockade, but such a telegram.

Can the telegram be eaten as a meal!

The telegram was signed by Shiro Inaba, and Sakai, probably not wanting to complain about his superiors, said: "It is also very difficult for the division commander to be there, how can the troops hastily drawn from various places coordinate?" And how to unify the command? ”

"You can't go without an inch for 5 days, is there a dangerous mountain like Jixian Pass in the trailer river?" No wonder Uchiyama was angry, it is said that troops were drawn from multiple divisions, but he was blocked by the enemy at the gate of Tongcheng and couldn't get out.

"But there is a river there, the 107th Division is the strongest force in China, Uchiyama-kun, if you lead a force and defend it to the death, can the opponent easily break through?" Tokutaro Sakai asked rhetorically.

"This..."Uchiyama couldn't answer, Sakai's words were right, defense is always more difficult than offense, as long as the defending side is an elite unit, it is difficult to break through on the right terrain. Like the Battle of Songhu and the Battle of Xuzhou, the 3rd Division, the 5th Division and the 10th Division, which are permanent divisions, encountered the stubborn squadron, and the battle was extremely difficult.

Uchiyama's face looked extremely pale today, and he didn't answer Sakai's words, but said, "Sakai-kun, is it too late to disassemble the heavy artillery and bury it everywhere now?" ”

Eitaro Uchiyama, who has always been stubborn, finally admits defeat, but Sakai is not happy.

It's late! Sakai lamented in his heart, five days ago, taking advantage of the opponent's failure to complete the tight encirclement, abandoning artillery and baggage, there was absolutely hope of breaking through, and now it is no longer possible, how to let the hungry soldiers take bayonets to break through the opponent's resistance.

"Sakai-kun, I'm really sorry!" Eitaro Uchiyama lowered his head and said with difficulty.

Sakai shook his head with a wry smile, "Uchiyama-kun, it's not your fault, without heavy artillery, there will be no heavy artillery brigade, and the troops who fled back from Anqing can no longer become the elite of the imperial army." ”

The two men sat there, motionless, and even the sound of the cannon that was getting closer and closer could not affect it in the slightest.

"Kill the horses!" Sakai said with the same difficulty.

On a hillside in Hanjialing, a Japanese soldier turned his face away, his face full of tears, and he couldn't bear to watch his mount being slaughtered.

Because of the lack of bullets, it is not possible to shoot a war horse, it must be carried out with a knife, the 6th Division has killed Chinese soldiers, women and children with bayonets, but it is different to kill its own war horse. The Japanese army attaches great importance to the war horse, the war horse from birth to breeding are extremely professional and thoughtful, in the process of peacetime, the owner of the war horse is personally taken care of, to accelerate the relationship between people and the war horse.

It's a strange feeling to see a mount turned into food.

The others didn't seem to feel the unhappiness of the owner of the war horse, and their mouths were full of oil.

"Ah, what a delicacy!" A Cao Chang exclaimed loudly.

"Michiji, give me another bowl!" Cao Chang shouted to a new guy.

The 2 troops combined had more than 2,000 war horses, enough to eat for 10 days. But what about ammunition and medicine, the encircled Japanese troops were still in deep trouble.