After the 34th Division of the 97th Army broke through the south gate of Beiping, the Japanese army in Beiping fell into chaos. The main force of the 97th Army took advantage of the situation to enter Beiping City, and the Japanese army was defeated and retreated. Anyway, the puppet army units and the lurking personnel of all sides kept attacking and harassing the rear of the Japanese army and inside and outside the defense line, making the little devils dizzy and unable to find the north, and the situation can be described as very good.

On the afternoon of March 3, the Beiping front. Chief of Staff Zhou, together with Li Liangrong, commander-in-chief of the siege force, and Cai Wenzhi, chief of staff of the siege troops, were supervising the attack positions, preparing to take advantage of the lack of Japanese troops and the chaotic defense line to break through the defense line of the inner city of the Japanese army in one fell swoop and expand the results of the battle. In Zheng Weiguo's words, if you don't seize such a good opportunity, you can't help yourself.

The route was littered with devastation, with huge craters left by artillery fire and Japanese corpses that had not yet had time to be cleaned up. Looking at the blackened bloodstains, Chief of Staff Zhou said with emotion: "Since the 26th year of the Republic of China, your 97th Army is still the first Chinese army to enter Beiping City. Liang'an, you fought this battle well, you fought so well, it should be passed down through the ages! ”

Li Liangrong said with a smile: "Participating in the award, it is just because of the success of others, but I don't dare to be greedy for heavenly merit for myself." If it weren't for the Yuan brothers, who revolted in front of the battle and seized the Great South Gate, my army would probably still be blocked outside the city gate by the little devils at this time! ”

Chief of Staff Zhou glanced at the Yuan brother with satisfaction, and said approvingly: "Well, Commander Yuan (Advance of the Line of Fire) is naturally indispensable, undercover for half a year, and succeeded in one fell swoop, which can be called a good story." ”

The Yuan brother laughed a few times, and said with a little excitement: "It's nothing that doesn't work." I am really happy to be able to fight devils happily, and to be able to return to my own team and be an upright person. ”

When Qi Xieyuan, commander-in-chief of the puppet North China Appeasement Army (later renamed the Public Security Army and the Imperial Cooperative Army), opened a military academy, Zheng Weiguo suggested sending a group of politically reliable young students to apply for the examination. Because these young people were excellent in character and learning, and studied very hard, they quickly stood out from the puppet Qinghe Army School.

Because the first batch of trainees is "fast-tracked", they have all graduated and have become the backbone of each regiment of the security army. This time, the main force of Jizhong counterattacked Beiping, and Tada Jun was due to insufficient troops. and brought a large number of puppet troops into the city. Misuse with the Japanese army. After Zheng Weiguo heard the news, he felt that the opportunity was rare, so he conveyed instructions to these undercover agents through the underground party. Ordered them to wait for an opportunity to sow chaos within the enemy army and meet the siege troops. But I didn't expect it to work wonders.

The 34th Division had just reached the South Gate. Regiment Commander Yuan (who was still a company commander at the time) immediately raised the matter. killed the hardcore traitors and Japanese advisers in the team, and then joined forces with the 34th Division to take the Great South Gate in one fell swoop. Subsequently, other regiments of the puppet security army also responded. The Japanese defense line in Beiping was stirred into a pot of porridge. Seeing that the general trend had gone, Tada Jun had no choice but to abandon the outer city and stick to the inner city with all his might.

Chief of Staff Zhou nodded with satisfaction, and said again: "Although the two of you have made great achievements, you can't be complacent. Now the defenders of Beiping are in a period of chaos, I hope you will seize the opportunity to do your best! ”

The generals suddenly promised: "Yes, take a seat!" ”

Chief of Staff Zhou waved his hand and was about to speak, when a confidential messenger suddenly hurried over and reported: "Counselor, the general seat orders all units to suspend the attack and immediately shrink their forces. And let you return to command right away. ”

Chief of Staff Zhou knew that something was wrong, and hurriedly asked, "What the hell is going on?" Say it! ”

The confidential correspondent whispered in his ear: "Baotou has fallen!" ”

"What?" Chief of Staff Zhou was taken aback, and his face suddenly turned pale. The reason why the Jicha Theater launched a counteroffensive recklessly was to contain the Japanese army and relieve the siege of Baotou. But now that Baotou has fallen, is there still a need to fight? Moreover, as soon as Baotou is over, Jizhong has become the number one target of the Japanese army, how should the army be mobilized? For a while, Chief of Staff Zhou was in turmoil. Fortunately, he was also considered to have been on the battlefield for a long time, and quickly forced himself to calm down.

Li Liangrong had already guessed a few reasons, and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong, Senza?" ”

Chief of Staff Zhou sighed and explained, "Baotou has fallen!" The Commander orders you to halt the attack for the time being, and to shrink your forces. ”

Li Liangrong said in surprise: "Didn't Chief Fu say that he could hold out for at least half a month a few days ago? It's only been a few days, why did it suddenly fall? ”

Chief of Staff Zhou smiled bitterly: "Alas, I don't know the specific situation. Liang'an, now that the situation has changed suddenly, you must master the troops. He said with regret: "I estimate that Beiping will not be able to fight, and the troops are likely to be transferred, so you must be prepared to avoid chaos when the time comes." ”

Li Liangrong nodded solemnly and said, "Please rest assured!" As he spoke, he sent another car to send Chief of Staff Zhou to the general headquarters in Yongqing. When cleaning the periphery of Beiping, the troops seized a lot, including many such high-end passenger cars. It's more comfortable to ride than a truck, and it's more off-road than a sedan, a bit like a jeep.

After running wildly for two hours, Chief of Staff Zhou and his entourage finally returned to the general headquarters in Yongqing. By this time, it was already dark, and the staff of the General Command were busy, as if they were shifting.

Chief of Staff Zhou hurriedly found Zheng Weiguo and asked directly: "General seat, how did Baotou fall?" Didn't Chief Fu still say yesterday that he could hold on? ”

Zheng Weiguo clenched his fists with some annoyance, and said in a deep voice: "Alas, Chief Fu, they have done their best!" The little devil used a lot of poison gas! As he spoke, he told Chief of Staff Zhou what he had just learned.

From the early morning of February 19 when the Japanese army attacked Baotou to the evening of March 3 when the Nationalist army withdrew, the Battle of Baotou lasted for a total of 13 days. Originally, according to Chief Fu Zuoyi's plan, he planned to hold out for a month, but unfortunately he had to withdraw after only half of the fight. The main reason is the inadequate response to poison gases.

At first, the Japanese army also used poison gas, but it was only less toxic diphenylcyanide arsine (sneeze) or tear gas canisters. After Zheng Weiguo received the supplies, he helped the officers and men of the 35th Army with gas masks and gas vests. In addition, Chief Fu Zuoyi had experience in drug prevention, so these poisonous gases did not play a role. At that time, the Japanese army still wanted to continue to use the fortifications in Baotou to garrison, so they did not use more toxic chemicals. Because highly toxic substances like mustard gas have an incubation period of 2 to 6 days. Moreover, it is difficult to eliminate, and it is also a major threat to the Japanese army itself.

However, after receiving the news of the attack on Beiping, the commander of the Mongolian army, Okabe Naosaburo, could no longer hold back and immediately ordered Baotou to be destroyed at all costs. At that time, Suiyuan's only long-range suppression firepower, the heavy cannon regiment's 18 German-made 1909 135mm cannons, had been exhausted. The Japanese artillery units could confidently and boldly carry out artillery bombardments on Baotou. The 3rd Army Aviation Flying Group also assembled four flying teams to bomb Baotou in turn, and most of the buildings in the city were destroyed by the heavy artillery of the Japanese army, causing heavy casualties to the defenders.

In particular, they used a lot of mustard gas mixed with Lewis gas to form poison gas. Due to the small size of Baotou City and the high city wall, a relatively closed space was formed. There was a lot of poison gas in the city, it was useless to wear any kind of gas mask, and a lot of drinking water and stored food were also contaminated.

It is in this case. The officers and men of the 35th still insisted on resisting at the head of the city. However, it was then subjected to heavy air raids by Japanese aircraft, and the troops suffered heavy casualties. After the battle reached the most difficult point, even Chief Fu Zuoyi was wounded, and Commander Dong Qiwu had no choice but to order the troops to break through to the south gate.

Chief of Staff Zhou hurriedly asked, "General seat." Did they stand out? ”

Zheng Weiguo nodded and said, "It's relatively successful." Most of the soldiers were outstanding. Maybe the Japanese didn't want to fight either. There was no all-out blockade. ”

The casualties of the Japanese army in this attack on Baotou were also very large, but they were silent. In addition, Naosaburo Okabe was busy rescuing Beiping, and he didn't have the heart to entangle with Fu Zuoyi anymore.

Chief of Staff Zhou breathed a sigh of relief. He said: "Well, this is a blessing in misfortune, only the troops are still there, and sooner or later they will be able to fight back." He said a little anxiously: "Alas, but as soon as they withdraw, Sir Fu, the Japanese army will have to deal with our army with all its might." Is the head seat planning to withdraw his troops? ”

Zheng Weiguo said in a deep voice: "Not bad! As soon as Baotou is concerned, the Japanese army can transfer one division, or even two divisions, to participate in the siege of our base area, and the situation is indeed not optimistic. I thought about it carefully and decided to withdraw to the base area in batches. At present, the baggage troops have been ordered to start the evacuation of the wounded and supplies, and the local government has been notified to evacuate the people. ”

Chief of Staff Zhou nodded approvingly, and then suggested: "General seat, I think the Third Division should also make similar preparations. The Japanese army has a very strong sense of revenge, and this time we attack Beiping, they will definitely attack our base area at all costs. ”

Zheng Weiguo nodded and said, "Well, I have already informed Lao Cheng and Professor Yang of them, and Senior Liu is also assisting in handling it." ”

After the main force went north, Zheng Weiguo divided the theater into two, with himself leading the front-line command and political commissar Cheng leading the rear command. Division Commander Liu was also arrested and acted as an adviser to the rear command.

It didn't take long for several more officers to arrive, both the commander of the unit and the staff officer. Zheng Weiguo glanced at it and said calmly: "It's all here, then start a meeting immediately!" "The theme of the meeting was how to evacuate.

The battle has reached this point, and it is not so easy to retreat if you want to. In particular, the 34th Division of the 97th Army, the 116th Division of the 53rd Army, and the 63rd Army were all entangled with the Japanese divisions, and the battle lines were staggered. Several units such as the 273rd Regiment were even encircled by the Japanese army, and if they made a mistake, they would suffer heavy losses or even be wiped out.

Tsz Yun Temple, the headquarters of the 91st Division. Wang Xishan, the commander of the 271st Regiment, hurriedly came and asked inexplicably: "Shizuo, I see that I am about to enter Chaoyangmen, why did I order the withdrawal of troops at this time?" ”

Senior Zhao Yi said angrily: "Do you think I want to? This is the emergency power of the main seat, let's see for yourself! ”

The head of the regiment, Wang Xishan, took the telegram with a tiger face, only read a few lines, and couldn't help but tighten his eyebrows.

Seeing his dejected appearance, Chief of Staff Zhang Chunxi hurriedly comforted: "Okay, Yue Gang, there will be opportunities in the future, and the most important thing now is to find a way to transfer the troops safely." ”

The 273rd Regiment of the 91st Division was still holding out in Yangcun, and there were only two main regiments and some troops directly under the division on the Chaoyang side. As he was talking, Zhao Wenzhen, the commander of the 272nd Regiment, also arrived. Division Commander Zhao Yi hurriedly ordered everyone to discuss the retreat. The 91st Division's retreat was also the most difficult because it was the furthest into enemy-occupied territory.

Originally, there was a shortcut, which was to go around the outer wall of Beiping City for half a circle, and then join the 97th Army. But the headquarters demanded that they must cover the withdrawal of the main forces, so they could not take this road. The intensity of the Japanese air raids in the past two days was relatively weak because most of the Japanese planes were sent to Suiyuan. Now Baotou has fallen again. The Japanese will definitely concentrate their aircraft on air strikes. It is obviously not good for large forces to be crowded together.

After discussion and reporting to the General Assembly for approval, the main force of the 91st Division then divided into two routes, one was led by Wang Xishan, the commander of the 271st Regiment, and went directly to the east, the purpose of which was to converge with the Eighth Route Army in eastern Hebei, destroy the Beining line, and block the transportation of materials inside and outside the Japanese customs. The main force of the 91st Division had to move south immediately to relieve the siege of the 63rd Army headquarters trapped in Langfang.

The troops then began to move overnight, and the commander of the 272nd Regiment, Zhao Wenzhen, led his troops to march 40 kilometers first. Arrived at Baigutun Township before dawn. This place is about 14 kilometers away from Langfang. It is about 20 kilometers away from Yang Village, and due to the temporary change of the itinerary of the troops, and the long journey, it is very tiring. Just stay in Baigutun Township to rest. Divisional units also arrived subsequently.

At the same time as the 91st Division was rapidly moving south. It was originally a main regiment of the 33rd Division stationed in Yongqing. and three reserve regiments also began to act, which was the reserve in the hands of Zheng Weiguo. After a midnight move, this unit also successfully lurked in Huanghuadian, about 12 kilometers away from Yang Village.

According to the unified deployment of the General Staff. An hour before dawn, at six o'clock in the morning, the 273rd Regiment suddenly launched a fierce counterattack against the 27th Division that surrounded them.

"Hit!" With the order of Regiment Commander Zhao Weibin, the battalions and companies of the 273rd Regiment, which had already been prepared, quickly rushed to the enemy position. Coincidentally, the 27th Division also wanted to take the 273rd Regiment by surprise before dawn, and the time happened to be set at 6 o'clock in the morning, so the two sides launched an attack at the same time, and the officers and men of the two armies quickly collided together.

Da Da Da ...... At the beginning, the 273rd regiment, armed with a large number of submachine guns, took advantage of a lot. The Japanese army's automatic firepower, which could charge with the troops, was only crooked, and it was quickly swept away by a dense rain of submachine gun bullets.

"Onboard!" However, such a blow brought out the ferocity of the Japanese army, and one by one they wrapped white cloths around their heads and frantically pounced on the 273rd Regiment.

"Get on the bayonet!" The 273rd Regiment had been besieged for a long time, and the ammunition had long been insufficient. Submachine guns consume bullets quickly, and bullets are quickly depleted. The Japanese took advantage of the situation and rushed up, looking at the situation to fight hand-to-hand with the 273rd Regiment. However, the soldiers were also undaunted, and they raised their bayonets to meet them.

Although Zheng Weiguo did not advocate the use of bayonets to meet the enemy, he was very strict with the stabbing skills and tactics of the soldiers. The Japanese army is very good at fighting bayonets, but they are not born. During the Russo-Japanese War, the Japanese army was severely taught a lesson by the tall old Maozi in hand-to-hand combat, and almost never won.

This incident attracted the attention of the Japanese military high-level, and then stepped up the stabbing training. By the time of the Zhang Gufeng Incident in 38, the Japanese army's bayonet fighting ability had improved significantly, while the Soviet army's hand-to-hand combat ability had declined due to insufficient training in peacetime. In the end, the ratio of white-knuckle combat between the two sides was 28:1 (the ratio of casualties, the Soviet Union was first).

In fact, there is no shortcut to fighting bayonets, the main thing is to practice. In addition to sparring, there are two hard standards, one is to stab the gun 8,000 times in a row. To be able to reach this level, it is almost what the elite units of the Japanese army look like. An ordinary person, as long as there is nothing wrong with the body, can generally achieve it after training. Therefore, many Japanese soldiers looked neither strong nor strong, but they were very powerful with bayonets.

Another criterion is to stab the gun more than 10,000 times in a row, which is more difficult. In addition to training, it also depends on physical condition. According to the recollection of a veteran of the national army, the few stabbing instructors invited by the army at that time were able to achieve it. How powerful is it? The instructor stood in the middle with a wooden gun, and more than 30 students surrounded him and stabbed him to death with real guns, only to be stabbed to the ground one after another. At such a level, any army can be regarded as an absolute master of white-knuckle warfare.

After more than half a year of rigorous training, the 273rd Regiment has emerged a large number of stabbing masters, half of whom can stab more than 8,000 times in a row, and dozens of people can reach more than 10,000 times. Moreover, the 273rd Regiment not only has good stabbing skills, but also tactics.

After engaging the enemy, the bayonet is in front, the pistol is in the back, and the grenade is in the back. In the front, he blocked the Japanese man's attack, and in the middle he fired heavily from pistols, and later threw grenades at the enemy's dense areas.

The Japanese also regarded the 273rd Regiment as an ordinary national army unit (most of the national army at that time were afraid of white-knuckle combat), and as a result, they rushed up recklessly and were severely beaten by the soldiers. When the Japanese army finally adjusted, the 273rd Regiment changed its formation again, changed to a group of three or five, and scattered to attack the Japanese army. Each of the groups had a pistol handgun, who was a Japanese soldier with a bayonet.

"Yaga! The despicable Shina people, the samurai's are not! The captain who led the team saw that his subordinates were stabbed and knocked down one after another, and he was so angry that he screamed. As a result, the movements of his hands were slow, and he was hit with a bayonet if he was not careful. Seeing the commander fall to the ground and the opponent like a wolf and a tiger, the Japanese finally panicked.

At this moment, the southeast, south, southwest, and west sounded the trumpet at the same time, and with the loud trumpet, the Japanese flags were beaten out one after another. The 333rd Regiment and other units quickly launched a fierce attack on the Japanese army in front of them, and the Japanese army did not expect that the reinforcements had already touched their noses, and the result was a big mess.

Zhao Weibin was overjoyed and hurriedly shouted: "Brothers, when the reinforcements arrive, they will all go with me!" ”

"Hooray!" The fighters cheered and immediately broke through to the south.

Han Shengtao, the commander of the third battalion, saw that Commander Zhao didn't plan to leave yet, so he hurriedly said: "Tuanzao, you should withdraw quickly!" ”

Regiment Commander Zhao pointed to the side and said, "No, there are still so many wounded, you carry the wounded away first, and I will take it for a while." ”

Battalion Commander Han still had to be persuaded again, and Regiment Commander Zhao glared at him and said angrily: "Didn't you hear it?" Hurry up! "Battalion Commander Han had no choice but to take the soldiers to transfer the wounded first. Due to the lack of stretchers, most of the wounded had to carry them out on their backs.

Opposite the position of the 273rd regiment, an officer was observing with a telescope. He is the commander of the 27th Division, Masaharu Honma. Seeing that the 273rd Regiment was about to be killed and encircled and reinforced, Honma Masaharu felt blood rush to his head, and couldn't help but reprimand angrily: "Yaga! Open the cannon, fire the cannon immediately, destroy them all, and not a single soldier is allowed to go! ”

Chief of Staff Harada Yoshiwa Osa hurriedly persuaded: "Your Excellency, Division Commander, now that the enemy and us are mixed, firing artillery will inevitably bring great casualties to our army. ”

Honma Masaharu looked at him viciously, waved his arms, and rebuked angrily: "What does it mean to let a mere regiment slip away from the encirclement of our army!" Do you understand? It's humiliation! Great humiliation to my 27th Division! Fire, right away! ”

"Hello!"

A full sixteen 150-mm heavy guns quickly adjusted their muzzles and aimed at the 273rd Regiment's breakthrough passage. After the head of the regiment Zhao Weibin led a company, he was directing the soldiers to fight bravely.

Wang Jinglie, the commander of the 333rd Regiment, put down the binoculars and said happily: "It's coming out soon!" This Zhao Weibin makes me worry in vain! ”

Boom Boom Boom ...... Before he could finish speaking, he was swallowed up by the sound of a huge cannon. The figures of Regiment Commander Zhao Weibin and the soldiers of the Ninth Company were quickly engulfed in the billowing gunsmoke, and all the loyal blood was sprinkled on the land of the motherland.

Captain Wang Jinglie's eyes were split, and he roared angrily: "Little devil on dog days! ”

When the battalion commander Han Shengtao heard the sound, he didn't have time to lie down, so he hurriedly looked back and couldn't help but exclaim: "Tuanza!" ”

……

At 7 o'clock in the morning on March 4, 1939, Zhao Weibin, the commander of the 273rd Regiment, was killed! (To be continued......)