Almost at the same time that the first bomb fell on the courtyard of the Dagong Yarn Mill, the counterattack of the Nineteenth Route Army and the Fifth Army also began.

The attack time, which was originally scheduled for zero o'clock, was changed to two o'clock in the morning at Gao Zhihang's request. The reason was that Gao Zhihang feared that the general attack in the Loutang area would raise the vigilance of the Japanese troops in Hongkou, and thus might sabotage the plan to bomb the Dagong Yarn Factory.

Although Jiang Guangding was very reluctant to change the battle plan, he believed that changing the order of the dynasty and the night was a taboo in the army.

But after all, Gao Zhihang was to blow up the Japanese planes, and he was helping the 19th Route Army and the Fifth Army fight against the Japanese army. Zhang Zhizhong also persuaded Jiang Guangding that if Gao Zhihang could blow up dozens of Japanese planes at night, it would have a huge impact on the general offensive. Moreover, the two-hour delay in the attack also made it easier for the troops to organize. Jiang Guangding reluctantly agreed.

In order to confuse the commander-in-chief of the Japanese Shanghai Dispatch Army, Shirakawa Yoshinori, and the commander-in-chief of the front, Ryokarata Takashi, the 19th Route Army and the Fifth Army launched shelling of the Japanese army on the entire eastern front at the same time. Since the artillery supported by Song Zhewu had already arrived in Taicang three days ago, the artillery of all units had already been received yesterday. Moreover, Song Zhewu, who vigorously supported the anti-Japanese war in Shanghai, was afraid that because of the sudden increase in so many artillery, the 19th Route Army and the Fifth Army might not be able to find so many skilled artillery for a while, so he not only brought artillery, but also sent hundreds of artillery in a structured manner.

The 19th Route Army and the Fifth Army now have nearly 200 artillery pieces of caliber of 75 mm or more, plus several hundred mortars of 60 mm to 120 mm, for a total of more than 60 large and small artillery pieces. For a time, the artillery on the front of more than 20 kilometers was rumbling and the fire was shining, and the momentum was very terrifying.

Since the Japanese army launched a general offensive on the whole front last night, it has been chasing the 19th Route Army and the Fifth Army, and there is no time to rest at all, and all the troops are very tired. Prepare to attack again tomorrow.

Therefore, the sudden and heavy shelling caused the Japanese army, which was almost unsuspecting, to suffer a great loss, and the troops on the front line were awakened in their sleep. Then he rushed out of the camp and ran into the field to take shelter in the face of flying shrapnel.

The target of the two heavy artillery regiments of the Fifth Army was the line of Yinjiazhai south of Loutang and Zhujiazhai, and the frontal width was only two kilometers. The main thing is to clear the obstacles as much as possible for Shi Ming and Sun Liren's interspersed troops.

The improvised fortifications of the Japanese army were simply vulnerable to the blows of large-caliber howitzers. After ten minutes of shelling, the Japanese improvised fortifications were already unrecognizable. It was only then that the Japanese artillery, awakened from their sleep, began to return fire.

At the starting position of the troops three kilometers west of Zhu's house, Sun Liren was dressed in military uniform and wore a steel helmet. At this time, he was standing on the roof of a civilian house, holding a telescope and observing the spectacular shelling scene on the front line.

In the dark night in the distance, strings of firelight continued, faintly dyeing the eastern night sky red, and the rumbling of cannons continued. It was the first time Sun Liren had seen such a fierce shelling scene, which made him very excited.

Two red flares rose from Penglang, a few kilometers to the west, in the darkness of the night. The color of these two red flares is very bright.

With his back to Sun Liren, he had been watching the staff officer in the direction of Penglang. Hurriedly reported to Sun Liren.

"Report to the brigade commander, the signal from the General Command that in ten minutes the artillery fire will be extended fire."

Sun Liren put down the binoculars, turned around, looked at the signal flare in the night sky, and asked the staff officer: "Have the regiment and battalion commanders arrived?" ”

"It's here. They're all waiting in the yard. ”

Sun Liren handed the telescope to the staff officer and went down the ladder to the courtyard.

The small courtyard was filled with a large group of young colonel-ranking officers. Only one officer in his forties was a major general. …,

The major general's name is Mo Xiong, and he is the former chief staff member of the Tax Police Corps. He is currently the Chief of Staff of the Separate Brigade.

This Mo Xiong, whose name is Zhiang, is a native of Yingde, Guangdong, although he has just passed the age of not being confused, but his qualifications are extremely old.

At the age of 13, Mo Xiong went to Guangzhou Shishu Catholic Church as a young man, and at the age of 16, he joined the League. During the Huanghuagang Uprising, he entered the Qing New Army to carry out the task of rebellion. After the Wuchang Uprising, Guangdong became independent and formed the Northern Expeditionary Army to go north, and Mo Xiong successively served as a platoon commander and company commander in the Guangdong Northern Expeditionary Army. has repeatedly made military exploits, and because of his bold and righteous spirit, he is known as "Brother Mo" in the army.

In June 1922, Chen Jiongming's troops staged a mutiny. At that time, Mo Xiong served as a battalion commander in the Wuyue Army and the commander of the Wuzhou garrison. During this period, Mo Xiong refused the lure of Chen Jiongming's high-ranking officials, and secretly sent his company commander Zhang Yu to the Yongfeng ship to express his loyalty to Sun Yat-sen, and asked Sun Yat-sen to send important personnel to Wuzhou to contact the Dian army, the Gui army, and the surviving part of the Guangdong army, and mobilize and organize the coalition army to go east to fight Chen. Sun Yat-sen successively sent his adjutant Zhang Meng and Xue Yue, who was the battalion commander of the guard regiment, to Wuzhou, and with the help and liaison of Mo Xiong, in December of that year, Yunnan, Guangdong, and Guizhou successfully held the "White Horse Alliance", and Mo Xiong served as the commander of the former enemy, leading 40,000 righteous divisions down the Xijiang River. The Western Route Coalition drove Chen Jiongming out of Guangzhou in one fell swoop, making great contributions to Sun Yat-sen's establishment of revolutionary power in Guangzhou for the third time. Because of his meritorious service, Sun Yat-sen personally appointed Mo Xiong as the commander of the major general and brigade of the Guangdong Army.

After the Zhongshan Ship Incident, Chiang Kai-shek first appointed Mo Xiong as the lieutenant general and commander of the 11th Division of the Guangdong Army, and ordered him to collect the armed forces of Yang Jinlong and Liang Shifeng of the Guangdong Army. After completing the task, Mo Xiong's 11th Division of the Guangdong Army was surrounded by the 1st Division and forcibly disarmed.

At the end of 1930, Mo Xiong went to Shanghai alone to find his old friend Song Ziwen, then Minister of Finance of the Nationalist Government, who was left by Song Ziwen in the Ministry of Finance as a major general inspector, receiving a salary of 200 oceans a month, and his life was leisurely. After the start of the Songhu Anti-Japanese War, Zhang Yuannan, Song Ziwen's brother-in-law and head of the Third Regiment of the Tax Police, was afraid of the war, and after being scolded by Song Ziwen, he was also forced not to leave the army. But in the end, Song Ziwen couldn't hold back his wife's tears, so he wanted to ask Mo Xiong to be the head of the third regiment.

After Song Zhewu recommended Sun Liren as the commander of the Independent Brigade, considering Mo Xiong's qualifications, Sun Liren suggested that Song Ziwen appoint Mo Xiong as the chief of staff.

In addition to Mo Xiong, there are also Zhao Junmai, commander of the first regiment, Han Wenyuan, commander of the second regiment, Liu Tianshao, commander of the third regiment, Gong Xianxiang, commander of the fourth regiment, Liu Tianxiao, commander of the tank battalion, Wang Tong, commander of the chariot battalion, Chu Tian, commander of the special service battalion, Wang Mozhi, commander of the cavalry battalion, etc., in addition, there are Liu Xiao, commander of the engineer battalion, commander of the antiaircraft artillery battalion, commander of the artillery battalion, commander of the communication battalion, commander of the baggage battalion, and others.

Originally, Song Ziwen only sent the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd regiments to the Fifth Army to form an independent brigade, and the 4th Regiment and all the troops directly under the General Regiment remained at the General Regiment Headquarters. The reason why this is so is that Song Ziwen is determined to fight to the death against the Japanese in Shanghai. However, after all, the Tax Police Corps is an American-style unit established by him, and it is not easy to come by, and he wants to leave a seed for the Tax Police Corps.

But after Song Zhewu recommended Sun Liren as the commander of the independent brigade, Sun Liren insisted that his fourth regiment also be brought to the battlefield, otherwise he would refuse to take up his post. Song Ziwen was ruthless. not only agreed to Sun Liren's request, but also left the teaching team behind, and simply handed over several directly subordinate battalions to Sun Liren. The total number of independent brigades reached more than 24,000 people, which was more than the number of Shi Ming's 187th Division.

Among these battalions, there were no tank battalions and armored battalions, and tanks and armored vehicles were scattered in four regiments in company and platoon units. Sun Liren after reading Song Zhewu's telegram on the new mode of armored assault. Greatly inspired and having a new understanding of the use of tanks and armored vehicles, it was proposed to form tank battalions and armored battalions, and to form an armored regiment composed of tank battalions, armored battalions, cavalry battalions, special service battalions, and engineer battalions, with Sun Liren personally serving as the commander. …,

I heard that it was Song Zhewu's meaning. Song Ziwen immediately agreed to Sun Liren's suggestion.

Looking at the regimental battalion commanders who were gearing up, Sun Liren said in a straight voice: "Everyone, in another ten minutes, our army's artillery fire will be extended fire, time is pressing, I won't say anything superfluous, I just want to tell you, this battle." It was the first battle since the establishment of our tax police corps. Moreover, it is still a tough battle, and whether or not the 9th Division of the Japanese Army can be annihilated depends on whether our independent brigade can complete the task of interspersing and dividing on time. ”

Sun Liren pointed to the outside of the courtyard and said: "The equipment of our independent brigade is the most well-equipped even among all the armies in China. With such sophisticated weapons, we must not only fight this battle well, but also show the prestige of the independent brigade. Otherwise, we will not only be ashamed of the huge amount of money that the state has spent on us. I'm even more sorry for the full support of our Shanghai people. You say, can we fight well! ”

"Yes!" The regimental battalion commanders replied in unison.

"Good!" Sun Liren waved his hand to stop everyone.

"Five minutes later. The armored regiment set out as the vanguard of the assault of the whole army, opening the passage for the whole army. I will personally lead the armored regiment in a surprise attack. The follow-up troops are under the command of the Mozambican Chief of Staff, and the troops must act quickly and not fall into battle. ”

"Leader Zhao."

Zhao Junmai, the head of the first regiment, is 1.8 meters tall and very strong and burly. A native of Baiguo Township, Hengshan County. He graduated from Seijo High School in Japan, the Department of Civil Engineering of the University of Wisconsin, and the Novocht Cavalry Academy in the United States.

Don't look at Zhao Junmai has received a higher education in the United States, but he seems to be born with military material, he is not only superb swimming, but also good at judo, good at wrestling, once famous in the United States, is China's first international freestyle wrestler; And he also has superb riding skills, practicing both internal and external kung fu.

It is worth mentioning that Zhao Junmai entered the University of Norwich in the United States in 1926 to study military affairs, and soon became the captain of the school's wrestling team. In 1927, he participated in the wrestling competition of 10 key universities in the United States and was the only undefeated player at that time.

"Here." Zhao Jun took a step forward, and the shiny riding boots on his feet "snapped" for the first time, and immediately reported.

"After the armored regiment tore open the Japanese position, the first regiment had to quickly follow up, hold the breakthrough, and ensure the safe passage of the follow-up troops. Remember, whether or not we can hold the breakthrough is not only related to the safety of the armored regiment, but also related to whether our army can encircle and annihilate the 11th Division of the Japanese army, and even whether the Shanghai War of Resistance can be won. Can you complete the task? ”

"Please rest assured that even if the first regiment fights to the last man, it will ensure the safety of the breakthrough." Zhao Junmai replied loudly.

"Good!"

"Commander Zhang Zhizhong published the "Letter to the Officers and Men of the Whole Army" in the "Central Daily" on February 15, and now, everyone will read it out with me.

“…… The Japanese were not only enemies of China, but also enemies of the world. To defeat Japanese imperialism is not only an enemy for China, but also a public enemy for the world! …… The generals of our 19th Route Army defended the land and Shanghai, resisted the violent sun, charged into battle, fought bloody battles for ten years, fought for the personality of the country, sought survival for the nation, and repeatedly performed miraculous feats, and the merit was in the party and the state. ”

“…… Governing the individual, swear to share weal and woe with the soldiers of our army, and live and die together! I look forward to all my soldiers, people have the heart of death, to save the country, to save the nation! ”

“…… The extermination of the Japanese is not only the merit of our soldiers, but also the glory of our country and nation! The survival of the party-state is ...... in one fell swoop Contribute to our great achievements. Carry forward the spirit of our Whampoa and expand the glory of our history. ”

"Comrades! Work hard, try to win in the end! In our blood. to cleanse all the sins of the world; With our bones, we will lay the foundation of the country! ”

Sun Liren recited Zhang Zhizhong's "Letter to the Soldiers of the Whole Army" aloud, and every time he read a sentence, everyone read it aloud. The more everyone read it, the more excited they became, and when it came to the last few sentences, everyone shouted out completely in an angry voice. …,

Sun Liren waved his hand and said, "The officers of the armored regiment stay, and the rest of the personnel immediately rushed back to the troops and prepared to leave." ”

These agitated regimental battalion commanders. They all trotted all the way out of the courtyard gate, got on their horses, and beat their horses away. Although all the units of the Independent Brigade were concentrated within a radius of one kilometer at this time, these people were in a hurry and all came on horseback.

Sun Liren said to Liu Tianxiao, commander of the tank battalion, Wang Tong, commander of the tank battalion, Chu Tian, commander of the special service battalion, Wang Mozhi, commander of the cavalry battalion, Liu Xiao, commander of the engineer battalion, and others: "I repeat again, the most important thing in our armored regiment is firepower and speed, and you all have to remember that after the battle begins. It must be fierce, fast and ruthless. Got it? ”

"Understood!" Several battalion commanders excitedly replied loudly.

After Sun Liren and Mo Xiong briefly explained a few words, they led everyone to stride out of the courtyard gate.

At this time, on the neatly arranged 60 tanks and armored vehicles, the soldiers of the special service battalion carrying the cover task with submachine guns were already in place. Carden. The flat hull of the Lloyd tank was especially suitable for carrying covering infantry.

Sun Liren jumped into the No. 07 armored car and got into the car, then opened the hatch from the inside and leaned out half of his body. With a majestic wave of his hand, twenty-four Kaden? The Lloyd tank and thirty-six Vics armored vehicles suddenly rumbled into action. Then the tank battalion was in front, and the armored battalion was in the rear. The armored vehicles were followed by cavalry battalions and special service battalions, and at the rear were the engineer battalions.

China's most well-equipped and most advanced unit slaughtered the Japanese defense line at Zhujiazhai.

Under the sudden and fierce artillery fire of the 19th Route Army and the Fifth Army, the Japanese fortifications on the line from Loutang to Yinjiazhai had been completely destroyed, and ten minutes later, the two 105 howitzer groups had begun to turn around and suppress the artillery of the Japanese 11th Division and the 14th Division distributed on both sides of Zhujiazhai.

The Japanese troops, who were already familiar with the firepower of the Chinese army, were very tired and did not expect that they would be subjected to such heavy shelling, so the Japanese troops had no precautions at all when they camped.

Under the heavy bombardment of the 105 howitzers, the Japanese fortifications outside the village, and even most of the houses in the Yinjia Zhai Village have been destroyed, and the Japanese soldiers who slept very well suffered heavy casualties, and many people were even killed by the explosion and crushed to death by the collapsed houses in their sleep.

However, after all, this was a permanent regular division of the Japanese army, and its combat effectiveness was very strong, and the remaining hundreds of Japanese troops quickly rushed out of the village under the command of the officers and entered the trenches and remnants of the fortifications in front of the village entrance.

According to the thinking of the Japanese army, after the preparation of the opponent's artillery fire, an infantry attack followed. Moreover, the more prepared artillery fire, the more fierce the subsequent infantry charge. They were ready to put up desperate resistance, just waiting for the opposing infantry to attack.

What the Japanese did not expect was that they did not meet the charge of the infantry of the Chinese army, nor did they hear the shouts of the Chinese army's customary charge, but in the rumbling cannon, they heard the roar of the motor, and this roar was getting closer and louder.

The loud roar that came from behind the dark curtain in the depths of the night made the Japanese soldiers feel a sense of fear, and under the orders of the captain, the light and heavy weapons of the Japanese began to fire fiercely into the darkness where the roar was heard. This kind of shooting can give the Japanese army a sense of security.

It's just that this sense of security of the Japanese army soon disappeared without a trace. When the first Carden. When the Lloyd tank rushed out of the darkness, the nerves of the Japanese army basically collapsed.

At this time, the Japanese tank development was just beginning, and it was developed on the basis of the French "Renault" FT17 light tank and the British "Victor" light tank. The Japanese Type 89 "Qiha" medium tank has been designed since 1927, with a total combat weight of 10 tons, a maximum speed of 25 kilometers, an engine power of 100 horsepower, a width of 2 meters, a 37mm gun and more than 1 machine gun, and the main armor can resist the attack of 37mm shells within 600 meters. However, the Japanese army was slow to develop, and it was not until April 1929 that the prototype was completed at the Osaka Arsenal, and in the same year, it was finalized as a Type 89 medium tank. It was put into production only last year, and there were very few of them, only the Japanese Guards Division was just equipped with eight vehicles. …,

The Japanese Army has always suffered a loss in the competition with the Navy for military spending, and the Marines can afford to buy British armored vehicles, but the Army cannot afford them. Therefore, although the Japanese army has heard of such things as tanks and armored vehicles, the vast majority of people have never seen what tanks look like.

Carden of the Tax Police Corps. The Lloyd tank was actually a British modification of Polish production, armed with a 47mm short-barreled gun and a machine gun.

The bullets from the Japanese light and heavy machine guns hit it, and it had no effect on it except for the clanging sound. After the turret of this tank rotated slightly, I saw a flash of fire from the muzzle of the small cannon on the tank, and a heavy machine gun of the Japanese army was blown up and parts flew around, and the machine gunner was blown to pieces.

As the roar approached, one after another swarthy tanks and armored vehicles burst out of the darkness and lined up 60 meters in front of the Japanese trenches. Not only twenty-four Carden. One after another, the short-barreled guns of the Lloyd tanks kept clearing the Japanese machine-gun firing points, and the machine guns on the tanks and armored vehicles were also so dense that the Japanese could not raise their heads with a dense rain of bullets.

Although the Japanese army struggled desperately and sent more than a dozen death squads armed with explosives to rush out of the trenches to blow up these terrible "killers", almost none of these Japanese daredevils could break through 20 meters before they were sieveed by a dense rain of machine-gun bullets from multiple directions.

In the eyes of the Japanese, the Vickers armored car and the tank were not much different, both had turrets, except that there was a small cannon and a machine gun on the tank, and there were no small guns on the armored car, but only two machine guns. Under the suppression of their dense firepower, Chu Tian commanded the special service battalion to begin to detour to the flanks of the Japanese army.

These sixty black and swarthy steel monsters that constantly spewed tongues of fire completely destroyed the will of the Japanese army. It is impossible to retreat, and to stay in the trenches, you can only wait for death, rush forward, and maybe have a glimmer of life.

The captain of the Japanese army stared at the blood-red eyes, brandished his command knife and shouted loudly to take the lead in rushing out of the trenches first, howling and leading the remaining Japanese troops to launch a decisive assault, trying to rush in front of these steel monsters and "hand-to-hand combat" with them.

Because the Japanese army had their backs to the Zhu family's house, which had been burned by artillery fire, when they charged, the firelight reflected their figures very clearly. The Japanese dared to rush out of the trenches, which was what the machine gunners on the tanks and armored vehicles could not ask for, and holding the machine guns in the cars was a fierce sweep.

There were a total of 96 machine guns on the 24 tanks and 36 armored vehicles, and such a dense rain of bullets was definitely the most dense since the 128th Shanghai Anti-Japanese War.

Although the special service battalion following behind the tanks and armored bodies was not equipped with heavy machine guns, it had ZB26 light machine guns in each squad, one submachine gun and one barge gun per squad, and the more than 1,000 people in the battalion did not have a rifle. As soon as the Japanese troops rushed out of the trenches, the personnel of the special service battalion also rushed out from behind the tanks and armored vehicles, and swept the Japanese troops with submachine guns.

It's just that they are very disappointed that not to mention that the vast majority of the officers and men of the special service battalion did not have the opportunity to squeeze into the front row to shoot, even the soldiers who rushed out first, and no one had the opportunity to shoot a shuttle of bullets. Because, in just a moment, in front of sixty tanks and armored vehicles, there was no longer a single Japanese soldier standing.

Such a formation made the special agent battalion commander Chu Tian excited, and he was addicted.

Zhu's house was just a breakthrough, Sun Liren didn't want to delay time here, so he ordered Chutian to send a company into the village to search for the remnants of the enemy, and insisted until Zhao Junmai's regiment followed, and the other troops, led by the tank, bypassed the village and quickly inserted eastward. (To be continued......)