After dark, the lights in the tunnel were dim on the position of a certain battalion, and the brutal battle of the day ended. A young soldier with a bandage on his head begged: "Squad leader, don't get out of the line of fire if you're slightly injured, my injuries aren't serious, don't send me down." "No, you have to go down!" "Squad leader, there are only 4 people left in our original team, and the additional soldiers have also been replaced in three batches, I want to avenge my comrades." "Brother, revenge is not for a moment, your task is to go down and recuperate."

The fierce battle lasted for 10 days, the Japanese 22nd Division was replaced with heavy losses, and the Japanese 33rd Division went into battle. The Japanese army replaced the attacking troops, but it was impossible for the defending Eighth Route Army to change its defense, and the reserve corps would not be used unless it was absolutely necessary, because it was necessary to ensure a strong counterattack capability. Fortunately, the soldiers of the replenishment regiment are ready to replenish the forward positions at any time. The reserve soldiers of the Eighth Route Army are no different from the regular troops, except that they have no formal establishment.

Ouyang Jian formed a reserve corps of 30,000 people in the Jiujiang area for the defense of Jiujiang, and Li Guangda, president of the military academy, served as the commander of the reserve corps, and organized the replenishment of fresh blood to the forward troops. The cruelty of the battle was vividly placed in front of everyone, 10 days of continuous fighting, the Seventh Army of the Eighth Route Army, with more than 4,000 casualties, I have to say that the powerful firepower of the Japanese army played a role. Because the Japanese army learned the lessons of the Eastern Front, the artillery positions were scattered and moved at any time, and when the orientation of the Japanese artillery positions was clarified, the Japanese artillery had already been transferred, so the effect on the Japanese artillery positions was very small.

After studying and analyzing the battlefield, the combat staff suggested changing tactics and focusing on artillery strikes against Japanese infantry to maximize the casualties of Japanese soldiers. The enemy changed and we changed, and this move accelerated the casualties of the Japanese soldiers. The strangulation of the Japanese as the attacking side also paid a heavy price of its own. At dusk that day, when the Japanese troops were changing their guards, Commander Yusuke Takakura decided to convene a military meeting to draw up a new battle plan. The generals and officers in the headquarters gathered. The faces of all the generals were cloudy and rainy, and the atmosphere was dull. The offense is ineffective, the attack is boring, and the mood is naturally depressed.

Takakura Youjie's face was still stable and said: "Everyone: We are mentally prepared for today's situation, and we have also thought of a difficult situation. It can be said that we have achieved initial results in the strangulation battle, and the Eighth Route Army has paid a heavy price for this. As the attacking side, we also paid the corresponding price, but our goal was achieved. In order to achieve the final victory in the strangulation battle, we devised new tactics and decided to launch a night attack with the intention of dragging down the enemy army. ”

"The Eighth Route Army was very cunning and used artillery fire to attack our attacking troops, causing heavy casualties to the attacking troops. Our new tactics are to use indiscriminate bombardment by fighter planes and artillery fire during the day and sneak attack tactics at night. Major General Okaki! "Here!" "Your department has dispatched a wing to launch a special night attack, I want to exhaust the Eighth Route Army defending on the position, and I want to drag down the Eighth Route Army." "Obey the order!" The commander of the 33rd Division, Yoshira Okaki, reported loudly.

The young soldiers in the tunnel were still grinding with the squad leader, hoping that the squad leader's subordinates would show mercy and not send him down. At this moment, the sound of gunfire and the explosion of grenades suddenly rang out at the front. "The Japanese army is sneaking up, ready to fight!" The squad leader shouted, and the young soldier picked up a submachine gun and rushed out first. Fierce battles unfold in the dark night. That night, the Japanese launched a sneak attack at many points along the entire defense line, and the battle lasted until dawn, so it can be said that the Japanese army's night sneak attack was very successful.

After dawn, the Japanese army stopped attacking, and the Japanese fighters began to bomb indiscriminately again. The squad leader in the tunnel stroked the young soldier's cheek, and there was no sad expression on his face. Perhaps such scenarios have become commonplace, and the nerves of emotion have been numb. The young soldier's face was pale and seemed to be asleep, and there was a faint smile on the corner of his mouth. The squad leader stood up with a resolute look on his face, raised his hands to salute the army, and saw off his comrades.

In the front-line headquarters, Chief of Staff Zhang Shiying said: "Deputy Commander Su, last night the Japanese army invested two brigades to launch a sneak attack on the 5-kilometer defense line. The defending troops rushed to the battle, and due to poor preparation, the forward troops suffered heavy losses. I didn't expect the Japanese army to launch a sneak attack at night. "After 10 days of fighting, we are familiar with each other's tactics. It is obvious that the purpose of the Japanese army is to drag us down. Chief of General Staff Ouyang warned us that this is not the Songhu battlefield, and fighting for attrition is a strategic plan that we have drawn up a long time ago, but in fact, the Japanese army is already attacking according to our intentions. ”

"Tell the officers and soldiers on the front line that now is the time for us to compete with the Japanese army in terms of will to fight and brave spirit. Ordered the forward troops to organize night assault teams to deal with the sneak attack of the Japanese army. Su Yu said decisively. Throughout the day, the Japanese attack continued to use heavy artillery fire and aerial bombardment, and the ground offensive stragglers were very open, and there were no new tricks in their means. Since the Japanese thunder was heavy and the rain was small, the forward defending troops simply did not get out of the hole. The Japanese soldiers were afraid of the Eighth Route Army's counterattack ability, so they did not approach the trenches easily, and the two sides seemed to have a tacit understanding.

When night comes, during the day the defending troops enter the rear tunnels to rest, and the counterattacking troops enter the front tunnels to stand by. Soon the two sides staged a sneak attack and counter-sneak attack, and although the battle at night was not as spectacular as during the day, the dense gunfire and the explosion of grenades continued. The Japanese artillery did not dare to open fire at night, because they were afraid of exposing the artillery positions and being counterattacked by the artillery of the Eighth Route Army, so the night battle was basically played by light weapons.

Five days later, in the Japanese headquarters, the commander of the 33rd Division, Yoshira Okaki, reported: "Your Excellency, General, after five days of night attacks, our unit suffered more than 700 casualties. The Eighth Route Army was very responsive and had adapted to our tactics. Obviously, the Eighth Route Army organized a night counterattack force, and its experience in night combat was very rich. Takakura Yusuke's face was calm and said: "Your unit has achieved the purpose of the operation, since the Eighth Route Army has precautionary measures, stop the night attack." Tomorrow during the day, the offensive will be intensified, so that the Eighth Route Army will not be able to figure out our intentions. ”

"Your Excellency, your Excellency, you have been attacking for half a month, and the confidence of the officers and men has dropped significantly. As a result of continuous operations, yesterday a bomber of the 7th Bombardment Wing rushed off the runway when landing. The post-mortem investigation was the result of extreme fatigue, and the pilots were seriously underrested, which greatly affected the effectiveness of the operation. "I've thought of this as well, and I've reported it to the Dispatch Force Command. Ordered to bomb the wings, reduce the number of bombing batches, reduce the number of fighters lifted into the air. ”

"Your Excellency, according to the report of the command, the feint on the Eastern Front has not yielded any results. And the Jiujiang direction has been attacking for half a month, and the combat effectiveness of the Eighth Route Army has not weakened in the slightest, and the prospects for the battle of Jiangxi are not good! The chief of staff of the Japanese army looked depressed. The Battle of Songhu and the Battle of Xinkou We achieved a great victory and inflicted heavy losses on the Chinese army. At present, the Battle of Taierzhuang is being fought on the northern front, and although the Chinese army is stubbornly resisting, the dawn of victory on the northern front has appeared. ”

Takakura Yusuke continued: "After careful analysis, the base camp temporarily shelved the strategic plan for westward expansion, and the troops of the northern front took Zhengzhou after completing the Battle of Taierzhuang, and entered Wuhan, completely shattering the confidence of the Nationalist Government in resisting. The key to the capture of Wuhan is Jiangxi, so we cannot back down. Before the war, the base camp carefully analyzed the situation in Jiangxi and held that the Communist Party had been entrenched in Jiangxi for several years and had made meticulous preparations, and that the Eighth Route Army of the Communist Party had first-class weapons and combat effectiveness, so it was understandable that the attack was ineffective. ”

"The war is fought with comprehensive strength, and since we cannot destroy the communist munitions enterprises, we can only consume its soldiers. We must continue to use firepower to strike at them and break their will to resist, so we must not rush into the battle of Jiangxi. In particular, when fighting the Eighth Route Army, which has strong weapons and equipment and combat effectiveness, it is necessary to be patient and persevering. When the time is ripe and the Eighth Route Army is exhausted and difficult to parry, it will capture Jiangxi in one fell swoop. I am sure that when Jiangxi was captured, it was also when China was occupied. ”

After 20 days, the Japanese offensive was sharply reduced. The number of Japanese bombardments and the intensity of shelling decreased significantly. In particular, the ground offense is also stop-and-go. That night, a large group of soldiers of the Japanese army took an assault boat on Saihu Lake in the west of Jiujiang and went straight to Hejiadu. The defense of Hejiadu was an engineer battalion, which found a sneak attack by the Japanese army and did not block it. A large group of soldiers of the Japanese army successfully went ashore, but the Japanese soldiers did not expect that as soon as they landed, they stepped on an anti-infantry mine.

At this time, the engineer battalion, which had already been in full position, took the opportunity to open fire, and the Japanese sneak attack force could not resist it and had to retreat into the lake. The Japanese front command received a report from the Japanese brigade and had no choice but to order the brigade to withdraw. The mines of the Eighth Route Army were naturally known to the Japanese army, especially the anti-infantry mines, which were the most terrible. Although the explosion of anti-infantry mines is not powerful, it can maim soldiers. The most taboo and most worrying thing about the Japanese army in combat was the disability of soldiers.

In the headquarters of the 3rd Corps in Jiujiang, an operational staff officer reported: "The Hejiadu Engineer Battalion reports that at 9 o'clock tonight, a large group of Japanese troops was repulsed in a sneak attack!" "Chief of the General Staff, the Japanese army can't get cheap on the frontal battlefield, and has begun to play guerrilla tactics!" He Long teased. "Order the engineering regiment, including the guerrillas and the militia, and must not be careless, the Japanese army has a strong revenge mentality and will definitely adopt new means." "The Japanese army stopped its offensive on the Eastern Front, the Japanese offensive in Jiujiang also weakened, and our defensive operations were a great success, and at present all the officers and men are full of fighting spirit and confidence." Political Commissar Luo Ronghuan was extremely excited.

Ouyang Jian said with a solemn face: "We temporarily dragged the Japanese army in Jiangxi, but the northern front is not optimistic. The Japanese army captured the key point of Taierzhuang, and Zhengzhou was difficult to hold. If Zhengzhou is lost, the Japanese army will continue to implement the northward strategy, which is what I am most worried about. "You are worried about the safety of Wuhan, and the Ministry of National Defense is currently implementing the Wuhan defense plan, and Lao Jiang proposed to resolutely defend Wuhan." "Wuhan has no depth of defense at all, and there is no strong perimeter defense line, and the situation is not optimistic."

"The front finger reported that a stretcher team transporting the wounded in the forward position was shelled by the Japanese army!" An operations staff officer put down the phone and made an urgent report.