Jiang Haidong, commander of the 1st Division, learned that the forward troops' attack on Zhuozhou had been frustrated, and immediately set out from Dingxing with the division headquarters and two other Class A infantry regiments, and rushed all the way to Zhuozhou.

"Division commander, you are incompetent and failed to capture Zhuozhou on time, please punish you!" Liu Yidao was a little ashamed, came to Jiang Haidong, bowed his head slightly, and said.

"Tell me about the situation, our army has the advantage of tanks and artillery, and with the momentum of a great victory in Dingxing, why can't even the devil's field defense line break through?" Jiang Haidong was indeed a little angry, according to the information sent back by Long Yingwei and the intelligence officers of the underground party, the devil's troops in Zhuozhou were not more than their first division.

The only advantage is probably that the devils are on the defensive, with strong fortifications to rely on, and as for the air threat of the devils, because the air defense of the dragon's tooth column has become insignificant.

In such a favorable situation, a tank regiment, an air defense regiment, an artillery regiment and an infantry regiment, nearly 20,000 troops could not take the Japanese army's outer defense line in Zhuozhou, and they were really disappointed.

However, Jiang Haidong did not directly blame, Liu Yidao has been with him for a long time, and he can be regarded as a tiger general who can fight well, and there must be a reason why he can't take the Japanese position.

So he asked, "What the hell is going on?" Let's talk about the specifics. ”

Liu Yidao quickly explained to Jiang Haidong the situation that the devil dug an anti-tank trench, organized a death squad, and greatly reduced the lethality of his own artillery group.

After listening to this, Jiang Haidong thought for a while and said, "Anti-tank trench? It seems that the Japanese army is not full of wine bags and rice bags, and as for the decline in the lethality of the artillery group, I think it should be the devils who built anti-artillery holes in their defensive positions. ”

Liu Yidao nodded in agreement and asked, "Then division commander, what should we do next?" ”

Jiang Haidong looked up at the sky and said, "It's almost dark now, and the fighter plane for a quick battle is no longer there, order the troops to stop attacking, be prepared, and rest on the spot." Tomorrow at dawn we will start preparing for the attack. ”

"Yes." Liu Yidao answered, turned around and went to make arrangements.

On the side of Bazhou, although the devil also changed the tactics of passive defense according to Okamura Ningji's instructions, because Qiao Youhua transferred several elite units directly under the Dragon Tooth Column to Bazhou, he joined forces with the 4th Division to attack.

The combat effectiveness of the Dragon's Tooth Column attacking in the middle was far greater than that of the Northern Expeditionary Army on the left and right, when the difference in strength between the two sides was large enough to reach a certain level.

Some tactical adjustments have been somewhat useless.

Under the full firepower bombardment of the tank armored brigade, heavy artillery brigade, air defense regiment and artillery directly under the division headquarters of the 4th Division, and tens of thousands of elite infantry, tens of thousands of elite infantry took turns to attack.

The devil failed to hold the field defense line in Bazhou for even a day, and when it was approaching dark, the Japanese puppet army suffered three or four thousand casualties, and was forced to abandon the field defense line outside the city by the strong assault ability of the dragon's tooth column, retreating to the city of Bazhou, relying on the city defense to resist stubbornly.

Before nightfall, Li Yunlong, according to Qiao Youhua's instructions, ordered the troops to stop the attack.

After all, now the Dragon's Tooth Column has absolute superiority in artillery fire, tank armor, etc., and these advantages will be greatly reduced at night, so it is different from the previous time when the enemy had superiority in artillery fire, air force, etc.

The Dragon's Tooth Column does not need to attack at night, because if you attack at night, your own equipment advantage will be wiped out, and the gains outweigh the losses.

Beiping, in an office of the headquarters of the Japanese invasion of China.

Okamura Ninji is working here, and since Tada Jun handed over the command to him, he has not asked too much, and basically handed over all the command power to him.

But Mamoru Iizawa, as the chief of staff, stayed behind to assist Okamura Ninji in handling military affairs, because now the military affairs that come back from the front every day are like a tide, and a commander will definitely not be able to keep busy.

As the chief of staff, Mamoru Iizawa also has to lead a group of staff adjutants under his command to run at full strength and perform their functions.

Okamura Ningji was busy, Iizawa Mamoru suddenly walked in from outside the office with a hurried expression, holding a telegram in his hand, and when he met, he stood up and saluted Okamura Ningji and said: "Okamura-kun, this is the latest telegram sent by the Bazhou and Zhuozhou Garrison Command, Bazhou's outer defense line has been broken through by the Zhina Army, and the situation is much worse than Zhuozhou."

Fortunately, now that it is dark, the Chinese army has stopped attacking, but the offensive of the Chinese army is too fast, and if we can't recapture the lost positions tonight, then Bazhou may be in danger tomorrow. ”

After listening to this, Okamura Ningji pondered for a while, and said: "Iizawa Mamoru, you immediately send a telegram to the garrisons of Bazhou and Zhuozhou, and order them to organize an elite commando team after twelve o'clock tonight, go out of the city to attack at night, launch a counterattack on the Chinese army, and recapture the positions we have lost."

In addition, at most tomorrow, 20,000 cavalry of the Kwantung Army will cross the front battlefield of Zhuo and dominate the front line and enter the rear of the China Army to attack and destroy.

At that time, the pressure on them will be greatly reduced, please hold on a little longer, and the victory will definitely belong to our Imperial Japanese Army. ”

After a pause, Okamura Ninji added: "By the way, there is one more matter, prepare a telegram for me and send it to the commanders of the base camp, asking them to transfer a batch of reinforcements and rush to North China to reinforce us in the battle, so as to make up for the loss of combat strength of the front-line garrisons in Bazhou and Zhuozhou." ”

Iizawa Mamoru nodded approvingly, and said with admiration: "Hai, Okamura-kun is really amazing, he is a genius of the Imperial Army, with you, we will definitely be able to win this battle and regain the glory and dignity that belong to our Imperial Army." ”

Okamura Ninji smiled lightly and said: "Haha, Iizawa-kun has won the award, if this battle can be won, it is the joint efforts of all the imperial army soldiers and all the monarchs in the headquarters and sincere unity, and it is definitely not the work of Okamura Ninji alone." ”

…………

The night is like ink, and I can't see my fingers.

In the south of Zhuozhou City, only a gust of wind blows, blowing grass and trees, and under the dark night, an elite Japanese army suddenly quietly went out of the city along a secret communication trench from the city.

Entering their positions outside the city, two more elite Japanese troops quietly left the city from the other two directions, and then these three Japanese troops agreed on a time and dispatched at the same time.

Quietly crawled out of the trench, came to the anti-tank trench, laid the planks, and quickly made a guò, feeling towards the first line of defense lost during the day on the opposite side.