On the pass city of Shanhaiguan, the remnants of the Japanese army who were still breathing saw the arrival of reinforcements, and their morale was greatly shaken, and they even counterattacked one after another, almost squeezing the three battalions from the city.

The chief of staff said anxiously: "Regiment commander, now the situation is unfavorable for us, I suggest that the troops be withdrawn immediately, so as not to suffer greater losses!" ”

The political commissar also persuaded: "Yes, regimental commander! As the saying goes, if you keep the green mountains, you are not afraid of no firewood. This battle cannot be fought. Otherwise, even if the troops are exhausted, the task will not be completed. ”

Commander Wang Huajiu said categorically: "No, order the second and third battalions to continue the attack, and we must take Guancheng." Tell the comrades that hold on a little longer, our reinforcements are coming! ”

The chief of staff wondered: "Where do we get reinforcements?" The 97th has just arrived in Funing County, and I'm afraid I won't be able to get there before dark! ”

Commander Wang Huajiu finally unveiled his hole card and said: "I have notified the 12th Regiment of Jidong in advance, and they are already on their way. As he spoke, he looked at his watch and said with certainty, "There will be two hours at most!" ”

The political commissar and the chief of staff were overjoyed, applauded repeatedly, and complained: "Hey, Lao Wang, why didn't you say it earlier!" Your work of secrecy has caused us to worry in vain. ”

Head Wang smiled apologetically. The Japanese puppet spies have infiltrated very well in eastern Hebei, and the 12th Regiment in eastern Hebei may also have spies lurking. For the sake of secrecy and mutual respect, he and Commander Zeng Kelin agreed to limit the knowledge to confidential correspondents and themselves.

As he was talking, the telegraph operator of the regimental headquarters hurriedly arrived and handed over an urgent telegram directly from the headquarters of the commander of the second theater. Everyone was very surprised that Commander-in-Chief Zheng had never interfered with the command of his subordinates. Not to mention the direct command to the regiment.

Head Wang Huajiu opened the telegram suspiciously, and couldn't help but be overjoyed. It turned out that Zheng Huzi had told them in the telegram that they must hold on for a little longer, because Doolittle's squadron was already on its way. When the time comes, the Air Force will provide them with direct support.

"Great, with air reinforcements, we're going to win!" The chief of staff looked at Guancheng and saw that the battle above was still very fierce, and said to Commander Wang: "Commander, the trapped beasts are still fighting, and the little devils are also desperate." I'll take it up myself. lest the boat capsize in the gutter! ”

Head Wang nodded and said, "Okay." Then be careful! ”

The chief of staff nodded, and immediately led the guard company directly under the regimental headquarters to rush forward.

"Comrades, reinforcements are coming soon, rush with me!"

"Kill! Take Shanhaiguan. Advance to the Great Northeast! ”

……

On the east side of Shanhaiguan. The troops under the personal command of the Japanese co-commander Ruji Daisa, Kamaura Ruji, also began to climb up to Seki Castle from the other side to reinforce them. The soldiers of the two armies collided head-on on the city wall. A fierce battle for the head of the city immediately broke out. The combat effectiveness of the two sides is relatively close, and the strength of the troops is almost the same. For a while, they were evenly matched, so they had to repeatedly play dramas in the city. Such battles are often the most brutal. The most test of the willpower of the troops.

After more than an hour of hard fighting, the city was soon filled with the remains of soldiers on both sides. The battle reached the most critical moment, and the head of Wang Huajiu and Kamaura Ruji Daisa also personally led their troops to rush to the castle to start a bloody battle.

At this moment, there was a sudden dusty cloud on the road on the east side of Sekijo. Commander Wang Huajiu's pupils shrank suddenly, and he secretly screamed in his heart that it was not good, and the Japanese army had reinforcements coming. It turned out that Kamaura Ruji Daisa learned that Shanhaiguan was attacked and was worried that the castle would be lost, so he also asked the division headquarters for reinforcements at the same time.

The commander of the division, Lieutenant General Chishiba Yaezo, was worried about the loss of contact with the 40th Wing, and immediately rushed over with the main force of the division after hearing the news. As the only mobile reserve division of the Kwantung Army. The 25th Division had already been fully motorized, so it came quickly, much exceeding Commander Wang's expectations.

When I was in a hurry, I suddenly heard the guard shouting: "Commander, look, our reinforcements have also arrived!" ”

Commander Wang Huajiu hurriedly looked at the west side of Guancheng, and sure enough, several red flags were waving on the hillside, and thousands of troops were running forward on the road. Originally, the 12th Regiment of Jizhong had only 5 or 600 people, but after the recovery of Lulong, Funing, Changli and other counties, the troops grew rapidly, and now there are as many as 5,000 people, and the strength is still increasing.

"Comrades, quick! The brother troops are fighting a bloody battle against the Japanese invaders, and there are comrades dying every second! ”

Regiment Commander Zeng Kelin also discovered the difficult battle situation ahead, and hurriedly led his troops to reinforce him.

"Comrades, kill me!"

The 12th Regiment brought the most elite 3,000 troops this time, most of these soldiers had served as guerrillas in eastern Hebei, although there were not many people who received formal military training, but all of them had good marksmanship and martial arts.

As soon as this new force rushed up, the Japanese army soon became unable to support it. Because both sides are fighting hand-to-hand in the city, they can't use heavy equipment, and there are more people than they are.

Seeing that the Japanese army was gradually falling behind. At this moment, several trumpets suddenly sounded in the Japanese camp. The Japanese soldiers on the city were stunned for a moment, and then fled to the city one after another. Commander Wang Huajiu personally led his troops to kill and disperse a rear unit of the Japanese army, and suddenly shouted: "It's not good, the little devil wants to shell Guancheng, immediately disperse and hide!" ”

The commander of the 25th Division, Lieutenant General Akashiba Yaezo, was also a veteran general. He saw that the two armies in Guancheng were entangled and did not dare to use the heavy artillery he brought, so he pretended to be invincible and withdrew all the troops on Guancheng. Then you can concentrate the artillery fire.

Although Shanhaiguan is very strong, it is a fortification built during the cold weapon period after all, and it is still not strong enough to deal with modern artillery. I think that the Northeast Army He Zhu National Department had a fierce battle with the Japanese Kwantung Army here, and finally suffered heavy casualties and was defeated and retreated.

"Target front fortifications, shelling!"

The Japanese army had already deployed its artillery positions, and as the commander raised the red flag, more than 20 cannons roared in unison. In the smoke, dozens of shells whistled towards the building. Fortunately, most of the first wave of shells fell in front of Sekijo.

"Fix the ballistics, fire!"

The Japanese adjusted the target of the shooting, Zhuyuan, and bombarded again. The shells flew over a few more and landed on the west side of the building. However, if it continues like this, another round of bombardment will definitely hit Guancheng directly.

"Quick, disperse and hide!" Head Wang Huajiu shouted anxiously.

The 274th regiment was fine. After all, after several years of training, how to avoid artillery fire has long been remembered in the bones. But the 12th Regiment of Jizhong did not receive such training. Especially the recruits who have only been recruited recently are frightened when they hear the little devil firing the cannon. Veterans are afraid of machine guns, recruits are afraid of artillery. They were all scared and scurried around the city like headless flies. What made Commander Wang even more depressed was that the recruits were in chaos and scattered the 274th Regiment.

"Correcting the Ballistic ......" Seeing that the Japanese artillery was adjusting the firing target again, the commander had already raised the red flag in his hand. When Captain Wang saw it, he was scared in a cold sweat.

At this moment, a sudden roar was heard in the sky - the Doolittle squadron had finally arrived!

"Bring the anti-air contact board!" Head Wang Huajiu shouted happily.

Originally, everyone thought that those boards were too heavy and cumbersome. If it is not strictly ordered by the superiors, it should not be discarded. I'm afraid that I would have thrown it to the villagers as firewood a long time ago. The soldiers opened the anti-air contact board with all their hands, and some soldiers waved their flags into the air to signal that Doolittle and the others would not mistake their target. In fact, there is no need to be so troublesome, Zheng Huzi equipped each crew with several Chinese soldiers. Because in the eyes of the Americans. The Chinese are not much different from the Japanese.

Whew...... Doolittle squadron circled in the air. Then quickly pull it down. The technology of high-altitude bombing at that time was immature. If you want to blow up accurately, it's best to fly over your scalp.

"Target Japanese artillery positions, drop bombs!"

Several cluster bombs fell from the sky. Smoke and shrapnel engulfed the hill in an instant. Although this kind of cluster bomb is not as good as the devil's egg of the US military, its lethality is also quite amazing. Within a radius of 100 meters from the point of impact of the bomb matrix, any exposed living force will be torn to shreds.

Rumble...... In a matter of seconds, the Japanese artillery wing, which was still showing off its might and invincible just now, no longer exists. The smoke cleared, leaving only the remains of artillery and bloody bones on the ground.

After taking out the artillery position, the US planes did not leave, but used their on-board machine guns to desperately strafe at the Japanese troops. Don't look at the B25 as a bomber, but it is frantically loaded with 18 12.7mm large-caliber machine guns. 16 planes is 288, if you don't count the artillery fire, this firepower is almost as good as a division of the Japanese army.

As a result, the entire battlefield was heard to be sudden...... The heavy roar of the large-caliber machine gun and the powerful kinetic energy of the 12.7 mm bullet are definitely wounded next to each other, and dead to touch. The reinforcements of the 25th Division of the Japanese Army were all exposed to the open plains, and the crying father who was soon chased and killed called his mother only hated his grandmother for missing two legs. But no matter how fast he ran, he couldn't run as fast as a machine gun, and soon, the ground east of Shanhaiguan was covered with corpses......

One may ask, where did the 274th Regiment and the 12th Regiment of Eastern Hebei go? Hurry up and attack! Well, after the arrival of the Doolittle squadron, the 274th Regiment and the 12th Regiment of Jidong were reduced to soy sauce at once. I could only clean up the battlefield while laughing at the city and watching the US planes ravage the Japanese army. There's no way, everyone can't do this open-space collaboration! Rushing up rashly to add to the chaos is not to mention, and there is a possibility that he will be accidentally injured by the US plane. So I had to "sit on the wall and watch" for a while. Of course, this kind of scene is rare, and it really opened everyone's eyes.

Regiment Commander Zeng Kelin was dumbfounded, and said with a shocked face: "Why is the plane so powerful!" He said with some distress: "Oh, it's a pity for those cannons!" If we were to make a charge, we might be able to grab a few! ”

Commander Wang Huajiu said with a smile: "It's not a pity, when we recover the Northeast, we can have as many cannons as we want!" ”

Commander Zeng Kelin's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly said: "Go to the Northeast, do you count us as a part of the Twelfth Regiment?" ”

Head Wang Huajiu shook his head and said, "I can't say for sure, it depends on how the superiors arrange it." ”

Commander Zeng secretly thought, no, when he went back, he asked his superiors to fight, saying that he would have to go outside the customs for a while.

Doolittle Squadron did not return until it ran out of bullets. The remnants of the 25th Division were already frightened, and when they saw the plane leaving, they hurriedly fled to the northeast. As for Shanhaiguan, whoever likes to occupy it, they won't come anyway.

The chief of staff put down the binoculars and reported: "Regiment commander, the remnants of the little devil's defeated army have been withdrawn, should we send troops to chase and destroy the remnants of the enemy?" ”

Commander Zeng was overjoyed when he heard this, he liked this kind of work of beating the water dog with a stick the most, and said busily: "Commander Wang, you have been fighting with the devil for so long, and the soldiers must be very tired. Why don't we go to the 12th Regiment in Jidong! ”

Head Wang Huajiu thought for a while, nodded and said, "Okay, then there will be Head Lao Zeng!" However, try to hold off the devils and don't let them withdraw too quickly! ”

Captain Zeng was puzzled: "Why is this?" ”

Commander Wang Huajiu brought a secret telegram and explained: "Just now, the 35th Division of the 97th Army sent a telegram, saying that it had annihilated the Japanese army near a Shiguan and was preparing to ambush the Japanese 25th Division. But they're still on the march and want us to help buy some time. ”

"Okay!" Captain Zeng patted his chest and said happily: "This matter is on our twelfth regiment!" ”

The 35th Division was the mountain division that had previously defeated the Japanese army in Ping'an County. Best at maneuvering and fighting in the mountains. In this battle, they were ordered to march eastward along the Yanshan Mountain Range. to raid the flank of the Japanese army. After arriving at a stone pass, I happened to encounter the 1st Brigade of the 40th Wing of the Japanese Army and the 1st Battalion of the 274th Regiment holding here.

So after making contact with the 1st Battalion, the 1st Division of the 35th Division quietly made a detour to the northeast, and then launched a surprise attack on the Japanese army. A division fights a brigade. And it's also a first-class elite division fighting a broken brigade. Naturally, it is hand-to-hand. When the head of the regiment Wang Huajiu received the telegram. The 35th Division is already cleaning up the battlefield.

To the east of Shiguan, the smoke of gunpowder billowed out, and the thick smell of blood made people want to gag. The corpses of Japanese soldiers lay on the ground. The fighters were directing the captives to dig pits. August. It's still hot, and the corpses must be buried, or the plague will be bad.

"Report to the division commander, the battlefield has been counted, please take a look!"

"No need!" Division Commander Hu Yixuan waved his hand and asked, "Where have the remnants of the 25th Division of the Japanese Army fled now?" ”

"According to the report of the reconnaissance battalion, the enemy has passed through Mengjiang Town and is fleeing towards Wanjia Town! My 351st regiment is on its way to intercept. ”

A stone pass is not on the main road, and the last time the Japanese army went there to deliver supplies for secrecy. When the main force of the 25th Division went south, due to too much baggage, it did not go around a stone, but took the road parallel to the Bac Ninh Railway. Now the Japanese army is also taking this path to escape.

Master Hu thought for a moment and said, "Poor rats devour cats, order the 351st regiment not to be careless!" ”

"Yes!"

……

As expected by Division Commander Hu, the 25th Division of the Japanese Army was forced to a dead end, and it really broke out with extremely strong combat effectiveness. They attacked desperately all the way forward, and repeatedly used the tactic of gecko tail breaking, and finally got rid of the entanglement of the 12th regiment. If they had been so brave before, they might have reoccupied Shanhaiguan. However, history cannot assume that no matter how much the 25th Division returns, it will not be able to save the fate of their entire army.

"Your Excellency Chief of Staff, we have finally escaped the pursuit of the Shina people!" A Japanese officer excitedly reported, his face filled with the joy and excitement of the rest of his life.

At this time, the commander of the division, Lieutenant General Akashiba Yaeza, had already been killed in the air raid, and he was replaced by the chief of staff, Lieutenant General Reizo Kato.

"Yo Xi!" Lieutenant General Reizo Kato nodded with satisfaction, and then ordered, "Inform all troops to continue to advance in the northeast direction, it is not safe here, and it is very likely that the people of China will catch up again!" ”

"Hello!"

However, after the order was given, the Japanese soldiers did not buy it. These soldiers are no longer the group at the beginning of the invasion of China. Since their birth, Japan's national power has increased significantly, and the living environment is much better. Although the cultural quality is good, the ability to endure hardships and stand hard work is obviously not as good as that of the soldiers before them.

And just after being beaten on the head by the American plane, these Yamato samurai have long frightened the spirit of "bushido" to the country of Java. Coupled with the rush along the way, it was indeed very tiring. Many soldiers refused to get up when they lay on the ground, and the officers were so angry that they cursed, and as a result, the ranks were still in chaos after a long time.

Unbeknownst to the Japanese officers and soldiers, several pairs of eyes were staring at them in the nearby woods.

"Hmph, this virtue!" One of the scouts snorted coldly and said disdainfully: "Weasel rats, a litter is not as good as a litter!" ”

"Don't bother, report to your superiors immediately!"

After receiving a report from the reconnaissance battalion, the 351st Regiment decided to abandon the ambush plan and switch to a direct attack. Because the Japanese army has begun to disperse, the ranks are dragging and stretching, and the queue is long. In this case, it is difficult to achieve the effect of an ambush, and it is better to attack directly.

"Blow the trumpet of the charge, the whole regiment assaults!"

Doodoo Doodoo...... The loud trumpet of the charge suddenly resounded through the valley. "Kill!" The soldiers quickly rushed towards the enemy in a company as a unit, divided into more than ten routes.

"Enemy attack!"

"It's not good, the people are chasing after you again!"

……

As soon as the Japanese soldiers heard the trumpet, they were immediately frightened and rushed everywhere. When they ran away just now, they not only exhausted their strength, but also exhausted what little courage they had left. In the face of a sudden attack, they are not thinking about how to fight, but how to escape.

"Kill, don't let go of the little devil!"

"Don't let a devil go!"

"Blood for blood, life for life!"

……

It didn't take long for the Twelfth Regiment to catch up. Being escaped by the devil just now made the soldiers of the 12th Regiment feel hurt and annoyed. Coupled with the bloody battle between the captain of this unit and the Japanese army, the hatred between the two sides is even more innumerable and inexhaustible. So as soon as he rushed up, it was a good fight, and even the little devil who knelt on the ground and begged for mercy was a knife.

"Want to surrender now? It's late! ”

Click, another little devil was cut in half by the ghost head knife!

The remnants of the Japanese army were frightened and fled in the direction of the 351st Regiment.

"Hey, dare to treat us as soft persimmons? Machine gun ready! The soldiers of the 351st Regiment looked at each other coldly, but they didn't expect these Japanese soldiers to kneel and beg to surrender. The 351st Regiment has also fought a lot of battles with the Japanese army, and this is the first time that the Japanese army has surrendered on the battlefield! As the fighting spirit of the last Japanese troops collapsed, the battle finally ended.

The next day, the 33rd and 34th Divisions of the 97th main force also arrived at Shanhaiguan and continued to advance northeast. The prelude to the recovery of the Northeast has finally begun. (To be continued......)

PS: That's a chapter for today