Shi Xianggong Temple, 58th Division Headquarters.

It was already more than ten o'clock in the evening, but the dim lights were still flashing in the hut temporarily used as a war room, and the commander of the 58th Division, Feng Shengfa, the deputy division commander, Zhang Jingming, the commander of the 172nd Brigade, He Lingxiao, the commander of the 174th Brigade, Wu Jiguang, and the commander of the four main regiments, Huo Ran, were all there, and they were all standing in front of the big map.

The Japanese army's equipment superiority and training advantage are not a joke, during the day, the 58th Division lost more than 1,000 people and more officers and soldiers were wounded, and the positions of the 348th Regiment and the 344th Regiment on the east bank of the Dijing River were completely eaten away by the Japanese army, and Luodian was lost again.

As soon as it got dark, the Japanese army retreated to Luodian.

When it gets dark, it's the turn of the national army to attack.

The 19th Brigade again sent two reconnaissance teams to conduct night reconnaissance of the Japanese positions east of the Dijing River.

Little Japan was already on guard, which made reconnaissance more difficult.

Judging from the map, the Japanese army has significantly strengthened the defense of Luodian, not only has the strength been strengthened from one infantry squadron to two infantry squadrons, but also equipped with artillery squads, with two infantry guns, and the Japanese troops stationed at Shiqiao have also changed from a squad to an infantry squad, in addition to a Type 92 heavy machine gun, there are also three crooked light machine guns.

The three main regiment commanders all looked grim, and no one took the initiative to ask for help, and yesterday morning, the 344th Regiment besieged an infantry squadron in Luodian Town with a full regiment of troops, and the result was that it was still like that, and this time the Japanese army in Luodian was strengthened into two infantry squadrons, and an artillery squad was also equipped, so this battle was even more difficult to fight.

Feng Shengfa's fierce eyes swept over the faces of the four main regiment commanders and the two brigade commanders, and said in a deep voice: "You have already seen how fierce the Japanese offensive is during the day, if our 58th Division cannot take advantage of the night to recapture the position and expand the depth, then when it is dawn tomorrow, the Japanese army will definitely break through the defense line of Shixianggongmiao."

Once the defense line of Shixianggongmiao is broken through by the Japanese army, I don't need to say more about how serious the consequences are, right? So Luodian must be recaptured, there is nothing to talk about about this, I just ask, who is willing to take the lead in the main attack? ”

The four main group leaders all lowered their heads, and they didn't dare to look at Feng Shengfa's eyes.

Zhang Jingming also looked embarrassed, and was even ready to persuade Feng Shengfa to give up the night attack.

Feng Shengfa sneered in his heart, his eyes finally fell on Xu Shijiu who was outside the crowd, and said: "Ah Jiu, you kid has always had a lot of ideas in war, if I add all the remaining more than 500 soldiers of the supplementary 2nd regiment to your 19th brigade, and then let the guard battalion cooperate with you in the battle, do you have the confidence to take Luodian?" ”

As mentioned above, the 58th Division is a type B division of two brigades and six regiments, in addition to the four main regiments, there are also two supplementary regiments, the only difference between the supplementary regiment and the main regiment is that there is no formal formation, to put it bluntly, there are only soldiers and no officers, in addition, whether it is training or equipment, even the military salary is the same as the main regiment.

In fact, this is also a small trick by Chairman Chiang to fool the local warlords.

In the early hours of yesterday morning and after the fierce fighting during the day, the casualties of the four main regiments were not small, the 344th regiment suffered more than half of the casualties, and most of the soldiers of the supplementary 2nd regiment had been replenished into the main regiment, and now there are more than 500 people left.

From the very beginning, Feng Shengfa had already thought about using Xu Nineteen as the regimental commander, and it was of course unrealistic to replace any of the four main regiment commanders with Xu Nineteen, and even the expansion of the Nineteenth Brigade into an independent regiment would be fiercely opposed by the upper peak, but it was okay to supplement the Nineteenth Brigade into a reinforced brigade.

Xu Shijiu stood upright and replied without thinking: "There is confidence, and there is no need for the guard battalion to cooperate in the battle." ”

What is the attitude of the middle and senior officers of the 58th Division towards Feng Shengfa and Xu 19, Xu 19 couldn't be clearer, if he really wants to let the guard battalion participate in the attack, who will listen to whom when the time comes? Rather than having a dispute between the two sides and dragging each other back, it is better to simply leave the guard battalion and go it alone.

Zhang Jingming, He Lingxiao and Wu Jiguang all looked sideways, and the four main regiment commanders looked at each other, and a temporarily supplemented reinforced brigade wanted to defeat the two Japanese squadrons that were defending against danger? Are you kidding!

"Don't need the cooperation of the guard battalion?" Feng Shengfa couldn't help frowning when he heard this, he also felt that Xu Nineteen was a little overbearing, but he knew better that Xu Nineteen was not an arrogant person who opened his mouth, he must have a reason for saying this, and asked at the moment, "So, how are you going to fight this battle?" ”

Zhang Jingming also said to the two brigade commanders and the four main regiment commanders: "Listen with your ears up, listen to how people fight?" ”

Xu Shijiu sneered in his heart, let you see what is infantry coordination today?

At that moment, Xu Shijiu raised his head, looked straight at Feng Shengfa, and said: "Division, there is another requirement for the lowly position, the divisional artillery battalion must directly obey my command. ”

Feng Shengfa said: "Only this requirement? ”

Xu Nineteen said: "If there is artillery coordination, the Nineteenth Brigade will definitely recapture Luodian before dawn!" ”

"You're going to storm it?" Feng Shengfa was stunned when he heard this, he didn't expect Xu Shijiu to plan to attack as well.

Zhang Jingming, He Lingxiao and Wu Jiguang were all cold and disdainful, and they could only attack if they were so disdainful? The four main regiment commanders are also suspicious, can the artillery be so good?

"Yes, attack!" Xu Nineteen nodded heavily.

Feng Shengfa patted Xu Shijiu on the shoulder and said, "Then it's up to you." ”

"The humble position will never disappoint the expectations of the teacher!" Xu Nineteen stood upright and saluted.

Seeing Xu Shijiu leave confidently, the expressions of the four main team leaders were a little uncertain, Luo Dian is really so easy to fight? The 344th Regiment can barely fight a Japanese squadron, and the 19th Brigade can fight two Japanese squadrons? The two brigade commanders and deputy division commander Zhang Jingming kept sneering in their hearts, waiting to see Xu Shijiu and Feng Shengfa's jokes.

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Half an hour later, the Nineteenth Brigade was stationed.

More than 500 reinforcements had been put in place, and a dense formation had been lined up in a small open space, and Xu 19 was standing on a half-man-high ridge to give training to the reinforcements.

As Colonel Stilwell, who was the military attache in China at the time, said, the soldiers of the national army were indeed the best soldiers in Shijie at that time, they could endure hardships, only two porridges a day, they abided by discipline, as long as the officers did not run, they would never take half a step back, they were not afraid of death, and dared to charge to the death against the Japanese tanks and artillery!

Xu 19 simply said a few words and ended the lecture, and ordered to start adding food, these supplementary soldiers are nominally supplementary soldiers, but in fact, they are all well-trained and experienced veterans, Xu 19 will assign the company commander well, the company commander will assign the platoon commander well, the platoon commander will assign the squad leader well, and the squad leader will assign the soldiers in the squad well, and everything will be in order.

Ten minutes later, the meal was over, and by the time the 19th Independent Brigade reassembled, it had already strictly stood in line according to the assigned haode company, platoon, and squad units at all levels, in addition, two mortar companies sent by the artillery battalion also arrived, each company had three platoons, each platoon had two 82mm caliber mortars, and each mortar had twenty rounds of ammunition!

Xu Shijiu could see at a glance that the two artillery company commanders who led the team were extremely experienced veterans, and their eyes were sharp and cold, giving people the feeling of wolves, cunning, ruthless and disciplined.

Seeing these veterans, Xu Shijiu was completely relieved, worthy of being Cai Zhonghu's apprentice and grandson!

The reason why Xu Shijiu dared to boast about Haikou in front of Feng Shengfa was that the biggest reliance was on artillery!

The terrain on the outskirts of Shanghai is flat, and the groundwater level is high, so it is impossible to dig trenches that are too deep, and naturally it is impossible to build strong anti-artillery fortifications, not to mention the fortifications that the Nationalist army has worked so hard to build, cannot stop the bombardment of Japanese naval guns, heavy artillery, and heavy aerial bombs, and even the 50mm caliber grenadiers of the small Japanese cannot stop them.

But conversely, the Japanese infantry fortifications could not withstand the shelling of the national army.

If it weren't for this, how could Xu Jiujiu dare to storm Luodian with a newly supplemented reinforced brigade? However, Xu Shijiu didn't expect that Cai Zhonghu's apprentices and grandchildren would be even more capable of fighting than he imagined!