Facing everyone's eager eyes, Deputy Chief of Staff Zhang was full of shame. He handed the telegram to Zheng Huzi, sighed, and said, "Zhang is really ashamed, and he has been entrusted by the defense of the country!" ”

In the telegram, Commander Cheng Qian replied that all units of the Nationalist Army were now in the stage of difficult attack and could not draw up extra troops, and asked the 97th Army to independently solve the enemy in front of it with a fearless spirit of sacrifice. It is also hoped that the 97th Army will move south as soon as possible after completing its mission, so that it can attack Quxingji, an important stronghold of the Japanese army on three sides.

Deputy Army Commander Wang Qifeng had a deep prejudice against the chairman of the NPC National Committee because of the incident of Zhang Shaomari, believing that this was a plan to kill with a knife in the war zone. He took the telegram from Zheng Weiguo's hand in a huff, but before he could see two lines, he became angry and kicked the table to the ground.

Deputy Chief of Staff Zhang was not embarrassed and was busy persuading. According to him, the various units of the Nationalist Army are indeed in difficulty now, Quxingji and a large number of places west of it are under the control of the 50th Wing of the Japanese Army, and it is impossible to rush in for reinforcements without clearing the perimeter. Moreover, the Japanese army was extremely good at defense, and with the strength of the national army, it would take at least two days to open the passage to the ferry.

Historically, the First War Zone gathered the combined efforts of the two armies of Hu Zongnan (First Army) and Yu Jishi (74th Army) to take the ferry, and it was two days after the start of the general offensive, that is, on May 27. It is only May 25 now, and it is really difficult for them to let the national army immediately reinforce them.

Some people may want to say, why do you want to gnaw at the strongholds of the Japanese army one by one? Wouldn't it be better to directly intersperse the division and encirclement! Well, I'm sorry, interspersed and divided is a high-level tactic, and at the level of the national army, it is not possible to play this kind of technical work, even the 74th Army, which claims to be the strongest in combat power, is no exception.

The phone on the desk rang suddenly. Chief of Staff Zhou picked it up, and after saying a few words, his face suddenly became solemn. He put down the phone and said worriedly: "It was Brigade Commander Zhao who called, saying that the Japanese army had increased its troops again, at least 6,000 people, and a lot of heavy artillery was dispatched!" ”

Everyone was taken aback when they heard it, they didn't expect the Japanese army to be able to reinforce at this time.

Duan Shuanghu hurriedly asked, "Senzai, are there any casualties among the troops?" ”

Chief of Staff Zhou nodded sadly and said, "The casualties are very large. Brigade Commander Zhao said that many platoons have been wiped out! ”

In the case of incomplete fortifications. In the face of the Japanese army's field heavy artillery, it was natural to pay a great price. This gap in skill cannot be bridged by bravery and wisdom. If you want to win, you have to shed blood, but bloodshed and sacrifice may not be exchanged for victory. What's more, the Japanese army was not afraid of bloodshed. Their will to fight is equally strong.

Duan Shuanghu's face suddenly became ugly. Behind the 33 Brigade was the 331 Regiment. Further on was the 1st Battalion of the Security Regiment. Most of the backbones and veterans were pulled by him. Only a few battles have been fought now, and the casualties are so great that several battalion and company officers have been lost. It's really heartbreaking.

Deputy Division Commander Zhang Dongkai suddenly interjected and said: "Military seats, commanders, or send the 36th Brigade to cross the river and attack on the flank according to the previous plan!" Let's get started now, and we can fight back before it gets dark! ”

Duan Shuanghu's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly said, "Yes, just do it!" Junza, I don't have anything to do at hand, just let me lead the team myself! ”

Zheng Weiguo shook his head and said, "Now that the enemy situation has changed, the plan formulated before is outdated. "If the Japanese army has only one wing, the 33rd Brigade holds on, the 36th Brigade and the 14th Cavalry Brigade flank, plus the 34th Brigade as a reserve, it is still very sure that it will be eaten.

It's a pity that the Japanese army has now reinforced, and the 33rd Brigade alone found no less than 6,000 people in the frontline reconnaissance, and the actual strength is only afraid of more. Such a large group of Japanese hedgehogs gathered together, let alone eaten, it would be good if they were not eaten. Today's plan can only rely on the 33rd Brigade to hold on and drag it out until the Japanese army can no longer hold on.

Deputy Division Commander Zhang said with some regret: "I have raised enough boats to build another pontoon bridge at Lanfengkou. ”

Zheng Weiguo said: "Let's prepare first!" I don't think Tu Feiyuan will last long, and in the current situation, it is impossible for him to leave the large army out for a long time. ”

Chief of Staff Zhou nodded and said, "The analysis of the military seat makes sense!" As long as the friendly units can exert pressure on the Japanese troops in front of them, Tohihara will definitely withdraw its troops and return to defense. However, I am afraid that the 33rd Brigade will not be able to hold on first, then this Japanese army will be vacant and can launch a counterattack on other sides at any time! ”

Zheng Weiguo sighed and said, "Yes! That's what I'm most worried about, so I'm asking for immediate reinforcements from the war zone. If this Japanese army can be severely damaged or even annihilated in the field, Tu Feiyuan will soon fall into a situation where there are no soldiers available, and this battle will be much easier to fight at that time! ”

Deputy Chief of Staff Zhang suddenly remembered something and said, "Chief Zheng, when you say this, I think of a troop with a lot of troops, maybe it can help!" ”

Zheng Weiguo said strangely: "Is it a reserve in the war zone?" ”

Deputy Chief of Staff Zhang said: "It's okay! It is a security force formed by each region itself, and there are two on the north bank of the Yellow River! I don't know exactly how many people there are, but I don't think it will be less than one regiment. ”

Although the Japanese occupied the part of Henan Province north of the Yellow River, they could not yet fully control it due to their limited forces. This gave some local troops room to survive.

Local forces can be broadly divided into security forces and militia groups. The security forces are generally formed by the local government, while the militia groups are formed by large landlords and local tyrants. Generally speaking, the fighting strength and cohesion of the militia are stronger than those of the security forces, because they are united by marriage, blood relations, and family relations, and belong to a community of interests.

The security forces are completely set up by local governments, and the sources of troops and equipment are all selected by the regular army, so naturally they cannot be much better. If the local warlords of Henan Province (such as Shang Zhen) are the third-rate troops in the national army, then the security forces are the third-rate troops in the third-rate, which can be called the lower ninth-rate troops.

When the officers heard that it was such a unit, they immediately wilted. Although the 97th Army also started with the Ping'an County Security Regiment, most of their officers and soldiers were from the Northeast Army, the Northwest Army, the Jinsui Army and the Central Army. Before joining the 97th Army, he had already mastered a lot of techniques and tactics, how could ordinary security forces have this level? Not to mention a regiment, how much of a role can a security brigade play?

Zheng Weiguo was also disappointed. However, taking into account Deputy Chief of Staff Zhang's face, he still pretended to be very happy and said: "Then there is Chief Lao Zhang, no matter how many regiments there are, as long as we can come, we will have more strength." ”

Deputy Chief of Staff Zhang said happily: "Sir Zheng, please rest assured, this matter is on Brother Yu." ”

It was getting late, and the fighting on the south bank continued. The deputy battalion commander of the third battalion was covered in blood, stumbled over, and shouted with a crying voice: "Brigade seat, our third battalion is almost finished." Send reinforcements now! ”

Zhao Yunxiang had a bandage on his head. Apparently wounded as well. When he saw the deputy battalion commander, he was furious and scolded: "You don't hold the position, what are you doing here?!" ”

The deputy battalion commander cried: "The radio station was blown up. The telephone line was also blown up. I sent three messengers in a row and failed to rush over! The battalion commander really had no choice. That's why I came over for help. ”

Zhao Yunxiang slammed his fist on the ground in annoyance and shouted, "Communicator, can you still contact the artillery headquarters on the north bank?" ”

The correspondent hurriedly said: "I can get in touch!" ”

Zhao Yunxiang said: "Okay! The three battalions were immediately notified of the retreat. ”

The deputy battalion commander was in a hurry. Hurriedly said: "Brigade, you can't withdraw!" This is what the brothers bought for their lives! ”

Zhao Yunxiang patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, the position will not be lost!" ”

There was another burst of urgent contact, and the order finally reached the position of the third battalion. When the third battalion commander heard this, he jumped up and shouted, "What are you talking about? Fall back? ”

The communicator hurriedly said: "Third battalion commander, this is an order personally issued by the brigade seat, you must carry it out!" ”

The third battalion commander waved his hand and said categorically: "I can't withdraw now!" As he spoke, he pulled the correspondent to the middle of the position, pointed to a large group of wounded soldiers, and said: "They are all fighters with wounded legs and feet, and they have difficulty moving. We withdrew, what will they do? ”

At first, as soon as there were wounded, they were carried away by the stretcher team, but as the Japanese army strengthened the artillery blockade, the stretcher team could not rush to the position at all, and could only increase casualties. There was no way to transfer the wounded on the positions of the battalions, so they could only be simply bandaged with first-aid kits.

Looking at the wounded all over the ground, the correspondent was stunned for a moment, and said in a snort: "Third battalion commander, the lowly position is only responsible for conveying orders. ”

The commander of the third battalion sighed and said, "Ten years in the army, it's time to be loyal to the country!" Nine Company Commanders, Nine Company Commanders! ”

Hearing this, the commander of the ninth company hurriedly rushed over, sweating profusely and said, "Yingzuo, are you going to fight back?" ”

The commander of the third battalion said: "There is an order from the brigade seat, let us give up our position, and you will immediately withdraw with the brothers who can move!" ”

The Ninth Company Elder was taken aback and said, "What! Fall back? I will not withdraw! What if we withdraw the rest of the brothers? ”

The third battalion commander comforted: "Don't worry! You withdraw first, so as to attract the attention of the Japanese army, I will hold on with the rest of the troops and wait for reinforcements, and now it will be almost dark, and it will not be long before the Japanese army will withdraw. ”

The commander of the ninth company was confused and said, "Then why do you want us to withdraw?" ”

The commander of the third battalion said impatiently: "Maybe reinforcements are needed elsewhere?" Besides, there is an order from the top, we should obey it, how can there be so much bargaining? Obey orders! ”

The commander of the ninth company had no choice but to say, "Yes, camp!" ”

More than 300 fighters who were still able to move on the position quickly gathered and broke through in the direction of the main position. The Japanese were defenseless for a while, and the blockade was quickly broken through a gap. The ninth company was overjoyed and commanded the troops to take advantage of the situation to kill Izuku.

The Japanese front-line commander was not angry but rejoiced, and howled: "The people of China have escaped, give a few presses!" ”

"Onboard!" The soldiers shouted excitedly when they heard this. After fighting for such a long time, the third battalion certainly suffered heavy casualties, and the Japanese troops in charge of the attack were also very sad. The casualty ratio of the two sides is probably close to one to three, which means that for every three soldiers sacrificed by the three battalions, one devil can be killed.

"Camp, camp, the devil is here!" After the commander of the ninth company led the main force away, the remaining wounded soldiers really couldn't stop the murderous Japanese army, and they were soon rushed into the position.

The commander of the third battalion shouted loudly while firing his gun: "Good come!" Grandpa is missing a backpad! ”

"Onboard!" Another group of Japanese troops rushed up and soon approached the trenches of the 3rd battalion. Although the commander of the third battalion tried his best to resist, they were still surrounded by the Japanese army.

Boom, boom, boom, looking at the bright bayonets around them, the wounded desperately pulled the last grenade on their bodies......

On the main position of the 33rd Brigade, Brigade Commander Zhao Yunxiang was shocked and angry, and shouted: "Why are there so many brothers left, the third battalion commander?" Call him over, and I'll ask him how he commanded!" ”

The commander of the ninth company cried: "The camp refuses to leave, and remains on the position!" ”

Zhao Yunxiang said angrily: "Nonsense, confused!" As he spoke, he picked up the binoculars and looked at the position of the three battalions, only to see that the smoke of gunpowder had cleared, and a plaster flag was fluttering in the wind with teeth and claws.

Deputy Brigade Commander Huang said bitterly: "Brigade seat, the third battalion is finished, quickly inform the artillery to open fire, we can't let the third battalion commander sacrifice them in vain!" ”

Boom Boom Boom ...... The order was quickly conveyed to the artillery headquarters, and the mountain artillery, which had long been marked as the target for shooting, suddenly opened fire, and the heavy artillery fire quickly flooded the positions of the three battalions...... (To be continued......)