At the same time that Du Sanli showed his fangs to the temple Zhengyi, the battle of Gaomi also entered a climax. The protagonist of this battle was not Sun Wushi, who followed the 29th Brigade to attack, but the 18th Division commanded by Chai Shouye.

In the binoculars, Chai Shouye once again saw a familiar scene, and the troops that attacked like a tide were knocked down like a low tide.

It was the third attack of the afternoon and the seventh of the day, both of which were lost.

"It's always like this, as soon as you go into battle, you forget the essentials of training! Huddle together like a flock of sheep! How are your soldiers trained? It's a shame! Major General Chai Shouye, who has always been good-tempered, had already darkened his face, and once again reprimanded Colonel Fan Chao, the commander of the 52nd Brigade, and then "stop the attack and convene a meeting of officers above the battalion commander!" ”

The 53rd Brigade, which attacked due south of Gaomi, was also uneasy, and the Japanese troops who retreated into the city built a perfect defensive system in the shortest possible time, and the 18th Division, which wanted to swallow the 3rd Division in one bite, touched the nail, and the attacks that began in the morning failed continuously, and the four regiments that launched the attack in the east and south directions all suffered heavy casualties. Now, Division Commander Chai has decided to ignore the iron order of the military region, stop the attack, and fight again after summing up experience.

Of course, it is necessary to report to the military region to state the reason, and the commander is strict in governing the army, and in the middle of the war, no one can afford to wear a big hat that disobeys military orders.

A quarter of an hour later, a reply from the military region arrived, "The Japanese army is good at defending, and should make full use of the terrain and firepower, carry forward the advantages of our army's earthwork, and patiently annihilate the enemy." ”

The inscription is a pillar of the country.

Since patience is required to annihilate the enemy, it is permissible to stop the offensive and sum up experience. There were at least 17,800 Japanese devils entrenched in Gaomi City and the northern suburbs, and there was little hope of annihilation in one go.

The military meeting of the 18 Division lasted two and a half hours. The brigade commanders handed over their troops to the chief of staff, and when they came to the division headquarters, they carefully analyzed the reasons for the failure of the all-day attack and found out a bunch of common problems, such as poor coordination of infantry and artillery, failure to concentrate the use of artillery, improper selection of breakthroughs, and excessive concentration of attack formations that did not reflect the results of training...... The brigade commanders did not accuse the division of unreasonable orders, but based themselves on finding the reasons. In the end, it was unanimously agreed that it could not be fought today, and that the deployment needed to be adjusted. Overnight reconnaissance. Re-select the direction of the breakthrough and concentrate artillery on a new breakthrough.

Chai Shouye agreed. In front of more than a dozen subordinates, Major General Chai made self-criticism, "What everyone said just now is very good. The main reason for the failure of the attack was that the enemy was lightly attacked, and the root was in the division headquarters. In my division, the commander! Always thinking of rushing in quickly to take out the enemy. This is the root of the problem. For this. I take full responsibility. Commander Feng has given clear instructions to sum up the lessons and take advantage of our army's advantages in civil work to launch an attack. It's kind of a prescription for us. Tonight, each of them will go back to adjust and report a new attack plan for my approval. In addition, to prevent the devils from counterattacking, everyone already knows that the 1st Division has already started in the direction of Jiaoxian, and it is very likely that the devils will break through to the east, the construction of the blocking line must be strengthened, and the offensive must not forget to defend. Tomorrow, the division headquarters will send people to inspect the construction of each department. Pay attention to boosting morale, and promptly count those officers and soldiers who are excellent and report them to the division and political department. ”

After the brigade commanders left, Chai Shouye thought about the map for a while, and ordered the communications director to send a report to the 14th Division, "Please ask General Sun Wu to come here to discuss the military situation." ”

He felt that he needed to further coordinate his pace with the 14th Division.

The 18th Division is a new division formed after the founding of the People's Republic of China and was established in Nanchang, Jiangxi. Most of the soldiers are Jiangxi children. Officers above the regimental commander level were transferred from the old units, for example, division commander Chai Shouye was transferred from the commander of the 5th Brigade of the 2nd Division to the commander of the 18th Division. However, most of the officers below the battalion commander level graduated from military academies in Jinan, Baoding, and Huangpu, and most of them did not participate in the anti-Qing war.

Undertaking such a heavy task was a test for the 18th Division, and it also tested the determination of the school to seal the national pillar. Out of trust in Chai Shouye, Feng Guozhu handed over the heavy task of attacking the 3rd Division of Gaomi Hewei to the new division of the 18th Division.

Chai Shouye, like Han Ziying, the commander of the 2nd Division, defected to the Mengshan Army in the Battle of Xigu. The Battle of Xigu was an extremely important battle in the history of the Mengshan Army, because of this resume, Han Ziying and Chai Shouye were reused by Long Qian, and also won the recognition of veterans of the Mengshan Army such as Wang Mingyuan, Lu Shan, Feng Guozhu, Ye Yanbing, etc. Chai Shouye has served under Feng Guozhu for a long time, and Feng Guozhu has a high opinion of Chai Shouye's character and ability.

The 18th Division began to assemble in July, replenish its troops, and advertise to the outside world that it was to participate in the exercise, but the senior generals above the brigade commander knew that they were going to the north to start a war with Japan!

The troops went north to Jinan along the Jinpu Road, where they replenished artillery and guns, especially light machine guns, which had just been produced from the production line. On the one hand, they were running in, and on the other hand, they secretly assembled in the Anqiu area in mid-September for training in accordance with the order of the Central Military Region to advance. Li Liejun, a member of the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly, once came to Anqiu to inspect and express his condolences to the troops of the 18th Division, and encouraged this Jiangxi soldier to learn from the 6th Division and other veteran units, bravely kill the enemy, and win glory for the Jiangxi fathers and elders. Many officers doubted whether Japan would dare to invade Qingdao, but the facts confirmed the judgment of the headquarters, and the battle began.

The 18th Division has been on standby. Until the counterattack order was issued, the 18th Division interspersed and cut the road for the 3rd Division to retreat to Jiaoxian, forming half of the encirclement of the 3rd Division from the south and east, and the other half was completed by the 14th Division.

The mission of annihilating the 3rd Division fell on these two B Divisions. In terms of military strength, the Chinese side has an absolute advantage. The 3rd Division has only three field wings (the 6th Wing was transferred), and after more than ten days of combat attrition, there are only 20,000 horses (in fact, it is certainly not enough), while the Chinese army, only the 18th Division has 26,000 people, and there is also a supplemented 14th Division. However, the advantage of equipment is not very great, because it is a type B division, and the new rifle has not yet been equipped, and the new heavy machine gun is even more incompatible. The number of large-caliber (over 75 mm) artillery was even inferior to that of the 3rd Division, and only light machine guns and mortars, two sharp weapons that supported Wehrmacht's infantry tactics, were considered an advantage.

Another disadvantage was that the 18 divisions, including the 14 divisions, were too high in terms of recruits.

The 14th Division did not reach the division of the 3rd Division, and Major General Sun Wu wanted to separate the 29th Brigade from the division headquarters. Partition is a prerequisite for annihilation. It is also the most advantageous premise. The 41st Brigade failed in the interspersed operation, and the 29th Brigade quickly withdrew south to meet with the division headquarters, the 5th Brigade headquarters and the 18th Wing in Gaomi, and the division headquarters retreated into Gaomi County, and the 29th Brigade was stationed in the north of the city, and quickly completed the construction of the defense system under the command of Lieutenant General Senba Taro, blocking the expected onslaught of the Chinese army.

General Feng Guozhu, who was overjoyed because the 18th Division successfully surrounded the 3rd Division, immediately called to commend the 18th Division, and ordered Chai Shouye to command the 18th and 14th Divisions in a unified manner, and annihilated the 3rd Division with a swift attack!

But the hastily launched attack failed. The 52nd Brigade suffered more than 800 casualties in a single day of attack. The attack of the 14th Division on the 29th Brigade also did not go well, thus. Chai Shouye invited Sun Wu to his command post. Study the plan of annihilation against the enemy of high density in person.

At ten o'clock in the evening, Sun Wu came to Chai Shouye's division headquarters.

"I'm sorry to let you get drenched in the rain." Chai Shouye received the report and was discharged from the hospital. Shook Sun Wu's hand.

"Master Chai." Sun Wu looked at Chai Shouye. He hadn't seen this person before, "You are the former enemy commander designated by Commander Feng, and you gave the order." How dare I slack off? ”

"You're welcome, please sit in the room!" Chai Shouye pulled Sun Wu into the house and said to his guards, "Quickly find a clean military uniform for General Sun." ”

"No, no, no." In the dark night, Chai Shouye couldn't see Sun Wu's expression clearly. In terms of qualifications in the National Defense Army, Chai Shouye is not as good as Sun Wu, but if it is about the qualifications of the Mengshan Army, Sun Wu is by no means as good as Chai Shouye.

It seems that Sun Wu has some opinions about being commanded by Commander Chai...... The chief of staff of the 18th Division, who was following behind, thought.

It started to rain at dusk, and now it's even heavier.

"After a day of fighting, thousands of people were lost in vain, and even a key position was not gnawed, it was really a nest, it was really stupid. If Commander Long is here, I will definitely be scolded for the blood spray. Chai Shouye pointed to the map, "This doesn't work, you have to change the way." So please come and talk about it. Commander Feng called every three hours to inquire about the battle situation, and I really couldn't leave it. Ignoring the greetings, Chai Shouye went straight to the point.

When it came to the battle situation, Sun Wu looked solemn, "The situation on my side is similar, this Japanese army is very tenacious, if it is gnawed hard, the loss will not be small." I think it's okay for us to adopt siege tactics if we can. ”

"Well, well, but the order from above wants us to eat this enemy as much as possible."

"This enemy?" Sun Wu's eyebrows raised, "This enemy is a division and regimental headquarters, two brigade and regimental headquarters, three infantry wings, and a complete artillery, engineer, and baggage troops, and the total strength will not be less than 16,000 people!" But they have a fatal heel, and that is the difficulty of supply! This has been confirmed by many parties. So, siege is the best way to go. ”

"Well, if they break through, the situation will be very different......" Chai Shouye raised his head, "Senior Master Sun, do you think the Japanese will break through?" ”

"Yes! Absolutely. Therefore, the most important thing now is not to attack, but to defend. The 3rd Division must not be allowed to slip out of the palm of your hand. ”

This is also what Chai Shouye is deeply worried about, so he left a main regiment in each brigade and has not been used, "Which direction is more likely?" ”

"It's more likely on your side. You must know that the 1st Division is already approaching Jiaoxian, where is the headquarters of the temple! ”

"To build a siege for Commander Feng, you and I will jointly build a siege and smash the Japanese army's breakthrough."

"Yes, I've already called the military district, but there is no reply."

Chai Shouye was a little unhappy, but he didn't come out, turned his face to the chief of staff and said, "According to the opinion of Division Commander Sun, immediately draft a report to the headquarters." After that, he said to Sun Wu, "You haven't eaten yet, have you?" Look at my carelessness. ”

"I nibbled on some dry food on the way, and if there was hot soup, I would have a little."

"Hurry up and make arrangements." Chai Shouye instructed a staff officer, and then made a gesture to Sun Wu to sit, "Senior Commander Sun, how long do you think this battle will last?" ”

"Winning is winning, but it's going to take a while. The Japanese are surrounded by us in three unrelated circles, and with the tenacity of the Japanese, even if they run out of food, aren't there still war horses and pack horses? It's not going to collapse right away. Besides, Japan will definitely find a way to rescue it. ”

"Come on, then, if they don't give up." Chai Shouye's originally relaxed mood became nervous again, "I heard that you have been to Japan, do you think they will send a few more divisions?" Would that lead to a full-scale war with Japan? For example, their navy attacked Shanghai or Nanjing? ”

"Possibly. But it's nothing. As for how many reinforcements the Japanese sent, I'm not their chief of staff," Sun Wu smiled, "Commander Chai, you are the president's old subordinate, don't you think the president's grasp of the general trend is simply amazing?" There is the president on it, and those of us with guns can just shoot according to the order. Even if the Japanese mobilize two or three more divisions, it will not help, won't we mobilize? Sun Wu said solemnly, "Winning this battle will give us decades of peace." Since the rise of Japan. We're starting to get out of luck. Now I'm finally out of breath! It's a pity that Jiaodong was also broken. ”

"Fortunately, the core of Shandong has not been damaged."

"That's a pity, it's a pity just to resettle the people in the war zone to return to their homes, and north of Gaomi, there is hardly a single intact village to be seen."

"Dog thing!" Chai Shouye remembered the reports collected by the Ministry of Political Affairs about the scourge of the Japanese army to the common people. I couldn't help but curse.

The chief of staff of the 18th Division prepared a telegram requesting instructions to the military region. Chai Shouye signaled to show Sun Wu first. Then I carefully reviewed it myself and signed it. Sun Wu also signed his name under Chai Shouye's signature.

The cooks brought hot soup and food.

"Okay, let's eat while waiting." Chai Shouye stood up. "Send a telegram to the two brigade commanders, asking them to be on strict guard against a possible breakthrough of the Japanese army."

"I'm not waiting, am I? There are several battlefields that the headquarters has to take into account. There are instructions for you to forward that is. ”

Sun Wu returned to his troops after dinner, Chai Shouye did not sleep, but went to the 156th regiment to inspect the fortifications, in the drizzling autumn rain, the sappers were feeling the darkness to strengthen the second line of the regiment's position. It is necessary to defend and think about offense, and there is really a problem with the configuration of troops.

At 1 o'clock in the morning, the chief of staff found him with a telegram signed by Chief of Staff Xue Xiaocai.

"Judging from the comprehensive situation, the Japanese army has the intention of breaking through in the direction of Jiaoxian, sticking to the defensive line, and will never let go of an enemy."

Telegram is simple. confirmed Sun Wu's view.

Chai Shouye didn't know that the president and General Situ had arrived in Jinan again, and after studying the battle situation, they decided to eat the encircled troops of the 18th Division first, and the rest of the encirclement was postponed.

At present, the focus is not in the direction of Gaomi, but in Jiaoxian and Jiaonan, and the eyes of the president and the head of the headquarters are on that side.

The next day, the Japanese army really launched a counterattack on the position of the 52nd Brigade, and after two tentative attacks, the 3rd Division aimed the direction of the breakthrough at the position of the 155th Regiment of the 52nd Brigade. The artillery of the 3rd Division was used in this direction, and the position of the 52nd Brigade was lone like rain, and even the brigade headquarters was hit by a heavy shell, but fortunately, the brigade commander and the brigade chief of staff both went down to the regimental level to supervise the battle, and no heavy losses were caused. Chai Shouye personally controlled the 52nd Regiment of the 154th Brigade, the general reserve, and was not allowed to use a single soldier of the regiment without his order. The artillery of the 18th Division was also transferred to this direction, desperately blocking the increasingly frantic attack of the Japanese army.

At noon, the position of the 2nd Battalion of the 155th Regiment of the 52nd Brigade was broken through, and about a large group of Japanese troops poured into the breach. The positions on both flanks of the breakthrough began to waver, and more and more deserters appeared. Brigadier General Fan Chao was furious when he heard the report, and immediately sent a team of overseers to shoot deserters on the spot to deter the recruits who had seen blood for the first time. After all, the 18th Division was a new unit that had just been formed, and it lacked the perseverance of the old troops. Brigade Commander Fan's supervision did not save the front of the 155th Regiment, and more Japanese troops pressed on the 155th Regiment, leading the regiment to show a collapse. After calmly examining the situation, Major General Chai Shouye sent the 1st Battalion of the 154th Regiment to meet the 155th Regiment and retreat to the second line of defense, and the 154th Regiment replaced the 155th Regiment. Due to the loss of the positions of the 155th Regiment, the 156th Regiment also had to retreat to the second line of defense.

After receiving the battle report of the 18th Division, Admiral Feng Guozhu severely reprimanded the 52nd Brigade, ordered Chai Shouye to put reserves in the direction of the 52nd Brigade, and ordered the 14th Division to pin down the Japanese army with a powerful attack to reduce the pressure on the 18th Division.

After receiving the call, Chai Shouye ordered to shoot the commander of the 155th Battalion of the 2nd Regiment, who had lost his position, on the spot. Coming to the 154th Regiment in person, the 154th Regiment stubbornly repelled the repeated Japanese charges on the second line of positions in the ensuing battle. Chai Shouye held the division guard battalion in his hands, ready to counterattack the crisis that arose, and fought until dark, and the Japanese attack was finally stopped. (To be continued......)