In the dark night, the officers and men of the 1st Brigade of the 1st Army quickly advanced in a northeasterly direction. At the end of June and the beginning of July, the rainy season begins in the Ulan-Ude region. That night, rain fell from the sky, and cold raindrops hit the faces and bodies of the officers and men. Their point of attack was Vedryro on the southeastern shore of Lake Baikal, and the 1st Brigade had to take the town not only but also stubbornly resist it.

According to the report of the Mongolian cavalry reconnaissance unit, a company of Russian soldiers was stationed in this town. The roads were muddy, and the soldiers trudged with difficulty. At midnight, the troops took a short rest, and the regiment commander Shao Bo called the commander of the Qianfeng Company and said: "There are still 20 kilometers away from Vedriero, your company is advancing lightly, and you must occupy Wedriro before dawn." According to the speed of the Russian army's advance, Russian reinforcements will be able to reach Vedryro tonight. "The commander of the forward company gave the order, and led the whole company to set off lightly.

At about 4 o'clock in the morning, Shao Bo received a report from the forward company that if Verdry was captured, most of the Russian troops of a company would be wiped out, and a small number of Russian troops would flee westward. When Shao Bo learned of this, he ordered to report to the brigade commander immediately, and at the same time ordered the whole regiment to speed up. At about 6 o'clock, the whole regiment arrived at Vedriruo, and Shao Bo simply listened to the report of the forward company commander and immediately ordered the whole regiment to build fortifications. There are only a dozen families in Vedryr, who basically depend on fishing on Lake Baikal for their livelihood.

When Shao Bo was deploying and constructing fortifications, the signal soldier of the brigade headquarters arrived on his horse, and the signal soldier did not dismount and reported directly on the horse: "Report to the regiment commander, the brigade commander ordered your regiment to defend Vedryro, the 2nd regiment is located on the southeast side of your regiment's defensive position, and the 3rd regiment is used as a reserve. The brigade headquarters was located in the 2 regiment. The brigade commander ordered your troops to speed up the construction of fortifications, and according to the report of the Mongol cavalry reconnaissance unit, the Russian reinforcements had been informed that Vedriro had been captured. The brigade commander judged that the reinforcements of the Russian army would speed up and estimated that they would arrive at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. ”

Shao Bo asked: "How many reinforcements are there in the Russian army?" "The Mongol cavalry reconnaissance unit reported about the strength of a division. The brigade commander asked me to convey that all the officers and men of the brigade must hold out all night, and that reinforcements will come up. After speaking, the brigade headquarters signal soldier patted his horse and left. After a morning of intense excavation, the defensive trench fortifications were basically completed. Shao Bo convened several battalion commanders to discuss how to defend the operation.

Shao Bo said: "The brigade commander informed that at least one division of Russian troops rushed over. We are asked to stay all night, and tomorrow morning reinforcements will come. Facing several times the enemy, a fierce battle is inevitable. Be ye mentally prepared. "Don't worry, Captain, when have we ever been a bad seed!" Several battalion commanders clamored. Shao Bo continued: "The 1st Battalion and the 2nd Battalion will enter the position, and the 3rd Battalion will serve as a reserve, so let's prepare separately!" ”

Around 3 p.m. Sure enough, a large group of enemy men and horses appeared ahead. The Russian army stopped advancing and soon launched an attack. The Russian army did not carry out artillery preparations, apparently the artillery units did not come up. Given the critical situation, it is impossible for the Russian commander to wait for the artillery to come up before attacking. With the muffled sound of the horn, the Russian army cautiously pounced on the stragglers. Entering the effective firing range, Shao Bo gave the order to open fire, and immediately heavy machine guns and mortars began to bombard.

The Russian army was a tentative attack and quickly retreated. After fire reconnaissance. The Russian army probably figured out the truth and the truth, or perhaps the Russian army command gave a death order. An hour later, the Russian army launched a tidal offensive. The battle was fierce in an instant, and the Russian army launched a group charge. An hour later, the 1st Brigade was forced to throw the Reserve 3rd Regiment into battle, and the battle was extremely fierce. The sound of gunfire on the battlefield, the explosion of grenades and the shouts of Russian soldiers are intertwined, and it is impossible to distinguish that the sound is the main theme.

"Damn, the Russian army is simply dying, give me a hard beating!" Shao Bo roared loudly at the regimental command post. At this time, the regimental chief of staff ran in covered in dirt and said: "Regiment commander, the enemy is storming the position of the 1st battalion, and it is necessary to increase the defense. Shao Bo said decisively: "Let the 3rd Battalion dispatch a company to support the 1st Battalion, tell them that they are in the position, and swear to live and die with the position." "The fighting soon came to a fever pitch, with the Russian army launching an onslaught almost at all costs.

This round of the Russian offensive lasted for 3 hours, and the forward positions were piled with the corpses of Russian soldiers. It was dark and the Russian army stopped attacking, and the soldiers finally took a breath. Frankly, if it weren't for the well-trained soldiers, it would have been difficult to withstand such a fierce attack. Shao Bo asked everyone to eat something and hurry up to repair the fortifications to meet the next round of attacks. "Regiment commander, the Russians are simply crazy, such an attack is almost unheard of, especially without the cover of artillery fire, which is to open the way with corpses." The chief of staff leaned into the trench and said with a tired expression.

Shao Bo took a bite of dry food and said: "This shows that our attacking troops are fighting well, and the Russian army is in a hurry." A war horse stopped in front of the regimental department, and the signal soldier shouted loudly: "Report to the regiment commander, the brigade commander told you to go to the brigade headquarters immediately, 100,000 urgent!" Hearing this, Shao Bo hurriedly stepped on his war horse and galloped away with the brigade headquarters signal corps. About half an hour to reach the defensive positions of the 2 regiment. When I walked into the brigade headquarters and saw that the commanders of the 2nd and 3rd regiments were there, everyone's expressions were solemn, and it seemed that something ominous had happened.

Shao Bo was surprised to see this scene and asked, "Brigade Commander, what happened?" The brigade commander said with a serious expression: "The Russian army dispatched 8 divisions of troops to reinforce in two ways. In front of us is a reinforced division, about 16,000 men. In addition, 7 divisions launched a fierce attack in the direction of Zell, with the aim of stealing our rear route. At present, the situation is very critical, and the defensive pressure of the whole army is unimaginable. The division commander gave an order to reinforce our unit with the original 2nd Jihua Brigade, which now had to be canceled. ”

"Brigade commander, it's hard for us to hold without reinforcements?" Shao Bo was blunt. The brigade commander said majestically: "According to the report of the division commander, 7 divisions of the Russian army launched a tidal offensive against the main position of our army, and the intention of the Russian army is to completely smash the offensive of our main forces. At present, the attacking forces are fighting hard, so we must hold off the Russian reinforcements and crush the enemy's plot. At present, the 4th Army is on the way, and the division headquarters has asked us to hold out here for two days and two nights, and the reinforcements of the 4th Army will arrive. ”

Seeing that the three regiment commanders were silent, the brigade commander shouted: "What's the matter?" Scared? Shao Bo straightened his chest and said loudly: "Brigade commander, please rest assured, you will resolutely complete the task." The brigade commander tapped him on the shoulder and said nothing more. The deputy brigade commander said: "Commander Shao, your defensive position is far away from the brigade headquarters, and it is impossible for the brigade headquarters to support immediately in case of crisis, your pressure is very high, so you must be mentally prepared to fight a vicious battle, I believe you will be able to hold your position!" ”

On the battlefield, Shao Bo said to several battalion commanders: "Is the situation clear? "Clear!" The faces of the three battalion commanders were grim, and their expressions seemed to reveal a kind of tragedy. "As long as we hold out until the morning after tomorrow, reinforcements will arrive." Shao Bo glanced at his pocket watch and said: "It's already late at night, the Russian army has not launched an offensive, and it is estimated that it is waiting for the artillery unit to come up." The battle after dawn is key. Let the soldiers hurry up and rest, I estimate that the Russian army will attack at dawn! ”

After the battalion commanders left, the chief of staff saw Shao Bo with a tired look and said with concern: "I'll go around the battalions, you can have a good rest!" Shao Bo nodded and leaned against the bunker. I don't know how long later, suddenly a dense group of shells fell from the sky, and the position was shrouded in artillery fire. Shao Bo was awakened, and an operational staff officer shouted: "Regiment commander, the Russian army is shelling." "Order all positions to be ready for battle!" After Shao Bo finished speaking, he raised the telescope and looked ahead. In the morning light, the front is gray, and the scenery is faintly visible.

After 20 minutes of shelling by the Russian army, the artillery fire extended. Then the shouts of Russian soldiers came from the front, and the Russian army launched a group charge, and a desperate battle was suddenly staged. Fierce battles continued until noon, and the offensive of the Russian army continued unabated. The two soldiers carried the chief of staff down and said, "Report to the regiment commander, the chief of staff is wounded." Shao Bo hurriedly checked, only to see that the chief of staff's chest was stained red with blood. Dude, you have to hold on! Immediately carry the chief of staff down! ”

The chief of staff stretched out his hand to stop and said: "Regiment commander, I can't die from a skin injury, and now is the most critical moment, I can't go down." At present, the position of the 1st battalion is dangerous, the commander of the 1st battalion is dead, and the commander of the 3rd battalion takes over the command, and all the reserves must be transferred up, otherwise it will not be able to hold it at all. Shao Bo gritted his teeth and said: "Pull up the 3rd battalion and 4th company!" Be sure to repel the enemy's attack. "Shao Bo has a company reserve in his hand, and he also goes into battle.

After the hygienist bandaged the wound of the chief of staff, the chief of staff said weakly: "Commander, the situation is very bad, the casualties of the 1st battalion have reached two-thirds, and it is necessary to organize the lightly wounded to re-enter the battle. Shao Bo nodded: "I will immediately ask the combat staff officer to organize the lightly wounded to enter the position!" ”

The artillery fire was continuous, and the Russian offensive was like a tide. On the position of the 1st battalion, the commander of the 3rd battalion shouted: "Brothers, the time has come to test us, if the Russian army wants to pass through the position, step over our corpses." Brethren! Follow me! "The commander of the 3rd battalion was the first to jump out of the trench and meet the Russian troops who rushed forward with a rifle. The soldiers jumped out of the trenches one after another and engaged in a white-knuckle battle with the Russian army. The soldiers attacked bravely, and the Russian army was taken by surprise. The bravery of the Chinese soldiers and the superb stabbing jishu made the Russian army fearful, and the Russian army retreated.

Time passed second by second, "Report, the commander of the 3rd battalion is seriously wounded!" "A second lieutenant with a bandage on his head comes in to report!" Shao Bo held the hand of the chief of staff and said: "Brother, the regimental command post has been handed over to you, I will go to the position of the 1st battalion!" Without waiting for the chief of staff to answer, Shao Bo jumped up and shouted: "The guard platoon will attack with me!" Shao Bo led the guard platoon into the smoke and rushed to the life-and-death position. (To be continued......)

PS: The will, the spirit, the death are staged here.