The officers and men of the Gu family house, the 306th Regiment and the 19th Brigade were nervously digging anti-tank trenches, and after digging them, they quickly camouflaged them, and the engineer platoon was also nervously laying anti-tank mines.

From time to time, Qiu Weida would take out his pocket watch to check the time.

It was already ten o'clock in the morning, and the 1st Battalion could hold out for two hours at most, but the Gu family house was not ready, the anti-tank trenches had not been dug into pieces, and there were not enough modified anti-tank mines.

Qiu Weida has just gotten the exact news, Xu Shijiu's worries have finally become a fact, Matsui Shigen, the old dwarf, has indeed shifted the focus of operations to Luodian, with the adjustment of the Japanese army's combat focus, followed by large-caliber field howitzers and tank troops, Liu Zhenwu's battalion has already seen tanks.

However, the way things are, the more you are afraid of something, the more you will come.

Hu Hao, the commander of the 3rd battalion, rushed from the front with a bloody man on his back, screaming like a pig while running: "Tuanzuo, Wudoujing is lost, the 1st battalion is over, Deputy Liu Tuanzuo is also martyred, and the 1st battalion is finished......"

Qiu Weida's heart suddenly sank, and the officers and soldiers who were digging trenches and laying mines also raised their heads one after another.

"Work, keep working!" Qiu Weida kicked the stunned veteran standing beside him, and then hurried to meet Hu Hao who was rushing forward, when Hu Hao put down the bloody man on his back, the bloody man had only one breath left, and he only screamed miserably at Qiu Weida and swallowed his breath, but he didn't leave a last word.

Qiu Weida recognized that this bloody man was Liu Zhenwu's orderly.

Qiu Weida squatted down, gently closed the bloody man's round eyes, and then got up and said to Xu Shijiu: "Captain Xu, it seems that the little Japan on the other side is more difficult to deal with than we expected." ”

Qiu Weida originally thought that the 1st Battalion would be able to hold out until noon, but it was exhausted just after ten o'clock.

Xu Shijiu's brows were also twisted into pimples, and he said in a low voice: "The 1st Battalion has more than 600 veterans, but it didn't even last for three hours, this is not unusual, if I am not mistaken, most of the little Japan has already seen through our anti-artillery tactics, and then we can no longer defend against artillery like the original, we can only increase the depth of the position." ”

Hu Hao obviously had a different opinion, frowned and said: "Tuanzao, the current depth of defense is already very large, if the depth is increased, the interval between individual soldiers will be too large, the interval is large, the hole will be large, and the firepower density will inevitably be reduced, and as soon as the firepower density is reduced, the defense capability will inevitably be reduced......"

"That's better than letting the Japanese break through the position at once!" Qiu Weida snorted, and said, "What's more, you can also harass the troops and strengthen the firepower after the Japanese army has launched an attack with infantry!" On my order, the 2nd Battalion was immediately withdrawn, and the defensive positions of the regiment's direct companies, platoons, and 3rd Battalion were to be expanded in depth by two times on the original basis. ”

Hu Hao was helpless, turned around and went to convey the order, Qiu Weida said to Xu Shijiu again: "Captain Xu, increasing the depth of defense can certainly weaken the Japanese army's artillery bombardment effect well, but the defense of each line of defense will inevitably weaken, if it is just a blind passive defense, it will inevitably be broken through by the Japanese army in the end, so ......"

Xu Nineteen straightened his military uniform and said solemnly: "Rest assured, when it's time to counterattack, our Nineteenth Brigade will not be ambiguous!" ”

"Good, good." Qiu Weida patted Xu Shijiu's shoulder vigorously and said, "After this battle, if Gu Zhai has not been lost, if I, Qiu Weida, are still alive, I will definitely take credit for you." ”

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Ignoring the opposition of Kinoshita Hideyoshi and the guards, he waded barefoot through Wudoujing.

At this time, Liu Zhenwu's battalion guarding the south bank of Wudoujing has been wiped out, and it has to be said that he still has two brushes with the old devil Zhiyinger, who first made a carpet bombardment of the surrounding cotton fields, riversides and bamboo forests after seeing through the anti-artillery strategy of the national army, and then went against the routine to come to an intermittent shelling.

By the end of the intermittent artillery bombardment of the Japanese artillery, there were few of the more than 600 officers and soldiers left in Liu Zhenwu's battalion, and the Japanese army then invested tanks to guide the infantry to launch a charge, and as a result, Wudoujing was captured without much effort, and Liu Zhenwu's battalion was even more defeated.

After going ashore, he and Zhiying rolled up their trouser legs and walked into the cotton field filled with gunsmoke like an old farmer.

At this time, a group of Japanese soldiers were cleaning the battlefield back and forth with bayonets, and when they encountered the national officers and soldiers who still had half a breath left, they would make up for it in their hearts, and occasionally the dying wounded of the national army pulled grenades, trying to die with the Japanese soldiers, but there were almost no who could get their wish, and little Japan was not so easy to kill.

Kinoshita Hideyoshi caught up with his bare feet, looking at the cotton field in front of him and looking at it with a somewhat complicated expression.

Kazuchi Taka hit the ground with a saber and asked Kinoshita Hideyoshi, "Kinoshita-san, does this cotton field in front of you remind you of the farmland in your hometown of Shizuoka Prefecture?" ”

"Hello." Kinoshita Hideyoshi bowed his head heavily, he did think of his hometown, to be precise, he missed his parents and wife at home, and he missed his children who were still in elementary school, if he had a choice, Kinoshita Hideyoshi really wanted to return to the countryside of Shizuoka Prefecture desperately and stay with his relatives.

Little Japan was not inhumane from the beginning, their humanity was lost little by little in the process of invading China, and after the capture of Nanjing, they completely became beasts.

He Zhiyingji raised his head and took a deep breath, the air was filled with a strong smell of gunsmoke, but there was also the fragrance of earth and grass, which also reminded him of the fields in his hometown of Gifu Prefecture, the patches of rice fields, the bursts of rice fragrance, and the waves of rice waves when the breeze blew, it was so charming.

"Kinoshita-kun, you don't have to worry, this is just a test in the process of the rise of the empire, the people of China are not even our opponents, they are too weak." He Chi Ying II breathed a long sigh of relief and said, "At most, it will be three months at most, and the Shina government should surrender, and then we will be able to go back to Nagoya to reunite with our relatives." ”

After a brief pause, He Zhiying's eyes turned to the direction of Gu Mansion and continued: "But for now, let's capture Gu Family's Mansion first." ”

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At 10:05 a.m., the Japanese army began to carry out cluster artillery bombardment on Gu Zhai, 36 75mm caliber mountain guns, 36 120mm caliber field howitzers and 12 150mm caliber heavy howitzers opened fire at the same time, and the defensive position of the 306th Regiment in Gu Zhai was blazing and the ground was shaking.

For the 306th regiment, however, greater difficulties were yet to come.

Half an hour after the shelling, the heavy cruisers Myoko and Ashigara, which belonged to the 3rd Fleet of the Japanese Navy, also joined in the shelling of Gu Zhai, and the displacement of these two heavy cruisers all exceeded 10,000 tons, and the ten twin-mounted 203mm caliber main guns on the ship were even more ferocious.

In the face of the large-caliber naval guns of Little Japan, not to mention the hastily built field fortifications, even the permanent fortifications of reinforced concrete structures could not be resisted.

The only thing to be thankful for is that because Qiu Weida temporarily increased the depth of defense and scattered more than 1,000 officers and soldiers within a radius of two kilometers, which greatly diluted the density of Japanese artillery fire and greatly reduced the casualty figure of the 306th Regiment.

Therefore, there were not many officers and men who were directly killed by the shells, but many officers and men were shocked to death by the sound waves or shock waves generated by the explosion of the shells, and after the Japanese shelling ended, the officers and men of the 306th Regiment who were still able to struggle to get up from the collapsed trenches were less than two-thirds of the original, almost 700 people.

In addition, the 2nd Battalion, which had retreated from the Western Front Bridge, was also blockaded by Japanese artillery fire, suffering heavy casualties, and less than 300 of the more than 500 officers and men of the battalion were finally evacuated alive.

##########

And Zhiying II once again went to the forefront of the position.

At this time, the Japanese artillery bombardment had ended, but the gunpowder smoke shrouded in the sky over the Gu Zhai position had not yet dispersed, so it was not clear to see the casualties of the Chinese army, but the old devil of Kazuchi Eagle II still guessed the result with his rich experience in battle formations, and turned his head to Kinoshita Hideyoshi behind him and said: "Kinoshita-san, can you guess the casualty figures of the Chinese army?" ”

Kinoshita Hideyoshi honestly shook his head, he really couldn't guess this.

He Zhiyinger pulled the white means in his hand and said with a smile: "I guess at most a third." ”

Seeing Kinoshita Hideyoshi's confused face, he said again: "According to the caliber, quantity, rate of fire and artillery preparation time of our artillery, combined with the strength of the Chinese army and the depth of defense, we can judge the casualties of the Chinese army, and as for the field fortifications of the Chinese army, they can basically be ignored." ”

Kinoshita Hideyoshi said: "So, the effect of the shelling seems to be not ideal? ”

The Japanese army and navy poured more than 10,000 rounds of large-caliber artillery shells into Gu's house, but only killed three or four hundred people.

"The shelling effect will certainly not be ideal." He Zhiying Er said abruptly, "Using large-caliber heavy artillery and naval guns to attack the field fortifications of the Chinese army, although the power of a single shot is large, the coverage density of artillery fire is very low, once the Chinese army expands the depth of defense, it will be difficult to guarantee the killing effect, and the empire should innovate its tactics." ”

Kinoshita Hideyoshi said, "What does the Wing Leader think should be reformed?" ”

He Zhiying said: "In view of the plain terrain on the outskirts of Shanghai and the fragile field fortifications of the Chinese army, the empire should allocate more small-caliber artillery shells in Xiangshanghai, and the aviation force should also abandon high-power heavy aerial bombs and carry more and lighter aerial bombs, which can not only save valuable strategic resources, but also increase the density of firepower." ”

Kinoshita Hideyoshi said with admiration: "Wing Commander, I really should let the senior officials of the War Department listen to your words. ”

He Zhiying said: "Kinoshita-san, in fact, I have already reported to the War Department, if nothing else, at this time, the senior officials of the War Department should have seen my written report." ”

Kinoshita Hideyoshi said, "I hope these bureaucrats will listen to the right opinions." ”

"They will." He Zhiying Er smiled slightly, and said very firmly, "The empire's resources are extremely scarce, and doing so can save strategic resources, so what reason do they have to refuse?" ”