On the morning of August 10, the 11th Standard 1st Company of the 3rd Town of Beiyang launched three strong attacks on the 46th Regiment of the Shandong Army, but only occupied a beachhead on the opposite bank, and did not break through the main position of the Shandong Army. In order to drive the Beiyang Army across the canal, the Shandong Army launched two counterattacks in a row, hoping to clear the position wedged into the riverbank, but they were repelled by the blazing fire of the Eleventh Standard. By noon, both sides were tired of fighting, and invariably rested, except for the occasional cold gun, and the position fell silent.

Wu Peifu was very dissatisfied with the results. There were nearly 200 casualties, and he only grabbed a large piece of slap land, and he couldn't explain himself anyway, let alone Cao Kun.

At noon, Cao Kun came to the 11th standard command post, Wu Peifu was convening a meeting of his three battalion commanders (called the pipe band in the Beiyang Army, all according to the customary name for the convenience of reading), Wu Peifu slapped the table on the mountain and was losing his temper.

"Ziyu," Cao Kun shouted.

Seeing that it was Cao Kun, Wu Peifu stood upright, "I'm sorry, the eleventh mark is not good, and I have embarrassed you." ”

"Don't say that. I said several times that Shandong soldiers are not easy to fight, but now I believe it, right? Cao Kun sat down on the only chair in the command post, "The opponent has figured it out?" What are you going to do? ”

Wu Peifu pulled through the map, "My lord, the enemy is the 46th Regiment of the 16th Brigade. It has been confirmed from the mouths of wounded soldiers. The enemy artillery fire was fierce, there were many machine guns, and there were mortars that fired from no dead ends, and there was no concealment on the river bank, so the casualties were too great. However, I have already figured out the enemy's firepower and prepared for a night attack tonight, so I can concentrate my forces on one point and tear a hole in it. But in the afternoon the artillery had to harass the opposite shore without stopping. Don't let them rest. ”

"Who's occupying that position on the other side?"

"A battalion, now only the front team is nailed there. That position is very important, without it, tonight's plan would not have been carried out. Wu Peifu followed Cao Kun out of the command post, the noon sun shone hotly, and Wu Peifu subconsciously wiped the sweat on his neck.

"The old man was angry. The ten standards were not good, they broke through, but they were reversed by the opponent again, and a battalion commander was killed, and the casualties were greater than yours. It didn't even occupy an inch of space on the other side. Ziyu. We are facing Ye Yanbing's 16th Brigade, the number one main force of the Shandong Army, and if we defeat him, it will be easy to do it later. Tomorrow. The day after tomorrow at the latest. Li Xiushan will launch an attack west of the old city. We're less stressed. Cao Kun said, looking at the other side with a telescope, "It's a foolish layout for them to concentrate their main forces on this rope sleeve." When Feng Huafu and Li Xiushan unfolded, they could definitely fight a war of annihilation and eliminate the Sixth Division, and Shandong would have no energy to jump. ”

"Yes, they're stupid. But dare to fight, enough for a man. By the way, what's the news from the South? "Wu Peifu is concerned about the situation in the south.

"I heard the old man say that Long Qian has already arrived in Hengyang City, although Hengyang is important, but it can't be defended, there are not many soldiers in Hunan. No wonder the old man is in a hurry, if it doesn't end here, the elite of our old Beiyang can't be transferred, relying on Zhang Biao? Don't think about it, ten Zhang Biao is not Long Qian's opponent! The old five towns are in his hands. You see, the few remnants of the soldiers they left behind can fight like this! The Eighth Town to deal with people? Hum! ”

"My lord, there is a sentence that I don't know whether to say or not."

"You say." Cao Kun's ability is average, but he is generous to his subordinates, but he is supported by officers.

"If we attack like this, even if we kill Ye Yanbing's Sixth Division, we will be crippled. How else to get to the south? I think it's better to think differently, anyway, we have the initiative, and there are many attack points, so why focus on Texas? Why don't you fight from Cangzhou, and the three towns attack from three ways, how can they defend it? I think Master Yuan wants to be crooked. ”

"You're still a little tender. Think from the old man's point of view. He is most afraid that the Shandong army will not fight hard, and if the Shandong army will contain us here, everything will be over. The Shandong army hedgehog gathered in Dezhou and gave the old man a good opportunity to solve the Shandong problem in World War I, and it was too late for him to be happy. ”

Senior generals do not feel the pain of casualties among junior officers. Wu Peifu is thirty-five years old this Chinese New Year's Eve, and he has risen step by step from the grassroots level as a Xiucai background, and he has a very deep relationship with his 11th standard officers and men, which is a unique relationship between men and men who have been scolding their mothers for gambling and even fighting. After a morning of fierce fighting, more than 200 brothers were lost, although half of them were sent down to heal, but who knows how many more Lu Dao will be able to return to this group? Wu Peifu was not unexpected, but when he thought of the tenacious ferocity of the defenders on the other side and the machine gun bullets and mortar shells that rained down like the wind, Wu Peifu couldn't help but tremble in his heart.

"What, you're scared?"

"Fuck, fuck it! The forty-sixth regiment is an iron walnut, and Lao Tzu's eleventh mark is a steel hammer! If you smash him with a hammer, the battle will be easy to fight in the future. Wu Peifu said viciously.

"Okay, waiting for your good news. Artillery is not a problem, the old man has brought up the artillery team. ”

On the afternoon of the 10th, the Beiyang Army did not attack the positions of the 46th Regiment, but the artillery continued to disturb the cold artillery attacks, interfering with the repair of the fortifications of the troops. Regiment Commander Qu Zhiyong encountered a cold artillery threat when he inspected the first battalion, and Regiment Commander Qu was knocked down by the dutiful guards and was unharmed, but the guard thigh artery was cut by shrapnel, and he died in the arms of Regiment Commander Qu before he could stop the bleeding.

In the morning battle, Chen Hao's third company lost a platoon commander and seven soldiers, and wounded nine. It was mainly due to the assistance of the 2nd Company in counterattacking the beachhead occupied by the enemy. Regiment Commander Qu Zhiyong listened to Commander Fan Yimin's request to launch a counterattack again, and stopped the request of the two companies to join forces to attack and recapture the beachhead occupied by the Beiyang Army.

"No need to attack, leave it to the artillery tomorrow." Qu Zhiyong observed the enemy formation with a telescope, "This battle is long, we must save troops." "As the regiment commander, he knows the difficulties in the division, and the sixth division is fully deployed, and there are very few reserves.

"The main thing is that the enemy's artillery is nasty. Eighty percent of the casualties were caused by shelling. Regiment commander, can you get the artillery to knock out the enemy's artillery? ”

"It's easier said than done." Qu Zhiyong, who had been ordered to go to Dunhuang, sighed.

The officers and men on the front line hated the Beiyang artillery and hoped that their artillery team would suppress it. But the artillery group of the 6th Division remained silent.

After dark, the battalion commander Fan Yimin inspected the companies again and brought four sappers and two large baskets of mines to the third company. The artillery of Beiyang has not rested, and the shelling is still intermittent. Fan Yimin said to Chen Hao, it is estimated that this day is over, but don't be careless. The brigade commander reminded the opponent that he was the main force of the third town, and that he should be careful of the dog's night sneak attack, and let the sappers go to the front to lay mines later, and it would be good to have an early warning.

"They all said that they were going to lay out barbed wire, how did they do it. The battle has been fought like this. If it can't be transported, the people in logistics should be shot! Fan Yimin said hatefully.

Battalion Commander Fan left after having dinner in the third company. After another hour and a half, it is estimated that the Beiyang soldiers have rested, and the four sappers under the leadership of the second platoon commander dragged the basket loaded with mines to climb out of the trench to lay mines. The position was close to the river bank. Machine guns on the beachhead occupied by the opponent could strafe the front line without obstacles. It must not make any noise.

These mine-laying sappers gave the battalion a little time to warn. Hearing the shouts of the second platoon commander and the explosion that followed, Chen Hao, who was squatting at the entrance of the anti-artillery cave and writing a letter to his mother in the dark, jumped up and shouted that the enemy had come up, and the battle began in an all-round way. The heavy machine guns of the second company on the right flank were the first to roar. Two heavy machine guns and three light machine guns of the third company immediately rained bullets on the riverbank, but the 11th standard troops who had crossed the river had already pounced, and the short distance of 200 meters only took less than a minute to run.

"Grenades!" Chen Hao shouted and threw out a grenade, and now he couldn't care about the five comrades who were exposed in the wilderness.

Wu Peifu's night attack on the 11th Battalion was effective, and after paying heavy casualties, the 11th Battalion broke through the position of the 11th Battalion, and the short and fierce hand-to-hand combat was in full swing in several sections of the trenches of the 1st Battalion. After breaking through the position of the first battalion, they did not stop to clear the defenders, but continued to attack in depth, hoping to penetrate the 46th position in one fell swoop, and then defeat the 16th brigade.

The time has come to test this new force. The Shandong Army and even the Mengshan Army as a whole have a fatal shortcoming, that is, there are too many new recruits. Even the recalled reservists are not comparable to the active soldiers. The Shandong Army rapidly expanded from four active infantry regiments to two divisions and five brigades, and most of the troops supporting the expansion were reservists and new recruits. This is true of the 46th Regiment, the 1st Battalion, and the 3rd Company of Chen Hao. The Beiyang Army's brave assault without fear of death rushed through the fire net of the machine guns and broke into the opponent's trenches in one fell swoop, immediately bringing great chaos to the first battalion! Some of the recruits dropped their guns and crawled out of the trenches and ran back, while others raised their hands in surrender, begging for their lives. The screams of various accents in the darkness, the snorting of bayonets piercing people, the screams of dying, and the explosions of grenades at close range mingled to form a chorus of hell.

Chen Hao only felt that his heart was about to jump out. He knocked down a Beiyang soldier who jumped into the trench with a pistol, and was immediately hugged by another enemy from behind and thrown hard, Chen Hao was thrown to the inner wall of the trench, his head hit the earthen wall, and the dizzy Chen Hao subconsciously dodged, dodged the opponent's fatal stab, and the bayonet pierced into the earthen wall. Chen Hao raised his gun to shoot, but the Shandong-made pistol was jammed, he smashed the pistol towards the black shadow, and heard a scream from the black shadow, and the pistol accurately smashed into the opponent's face. Chen Hao pulled out the only grenade in the pouch behind his back, rushed over and smashed it at the opponent who was covering his face, and after a dull sound, the opponent fell limply at his feet. Chen Hao quickly pulled off the rope and threw it to the front of the position. Then draw your opponent's rifle stuck in the wall and lunge at the nearest enemy. The enemy's gray uniforms were easily recognizable in the moonlight, but he did not worry about accidentally injuring his own people. The bayonet pierced his opponent's waist from behind, and the soft feeling of the piercing made Chen Hao's heart tremble. He had killed pigs, and he felt something similar to the feeling of killing pigs. Chen Hao pulled out his bayonet vigorously and shouted, I am the company commander, protect the machine gun, kill!

He shouted out the protective machine gun because he heard the heavy machine gun still firing a few paces away.

Qu Zhiyong realized that the first battalion had been broken through! It had only been a quarter of an hour since Fan Yimin's report came up, and he felt that most of his life had passed. Although the order was given to the guard company to immediately reinforce the 1st Battalion with all its company, and the 2nd Battalion was ordered to transfer troops to the 1st Battalion to block the breach, the effect did not seem to have been effective. Regardless of the danger, Regiment Commander Qu climbed the trench and looked in the southeast direction, the flames of explosions continued to rise on the position of the first battalion, and he resolutely ordered, "Notify the artillery group and fire at the position of the first battalion!" ”

This is a very cruel order. "Regiment commander, the first battalion is still fighting!" The staff officer reminded.

This is against the regulations, and the staff officer has no right to question the orders of the chief at this time.

"Quick, I'll kill you by mistake!"

The staff officer turned around and ran towards the shelter, when Qu Zhiyong clearly saw two red signal flares rising over the first battalion. The staff officer was taken aback, this was the agreed signal of the 1st Battalion asking for artillery coverage, indicating that the 1st Battalion believed that it was no longer capable of recovering its position.

A few minutes later, the artillery group of the 6th Division began shelling the breach. Qu Zhiyong, who was standing on the traffic trench, wiped away the tears that welled up, his first battalion was over!

"The regiment commander, the regiment commander, the brigade commander ordered our regiment to withdraw to the second-line positions."

"What? Wrong command to kill your head! ”

"No, Brigade Commander Xue said it very clearly on the phone."

"Signal. I went to the three battalion positions. Qu Zhiyong jumped out of the traffic trench and led the guards to the relatively calm position of the third battalion in the dark.

After daybreak, the eleventh blitzkrieg ended. Wu Peifu's all-standard night attack had the desired effect, the position of the 46th Regiment was broken through, and the remnants of the opponent's forces withdrew from the riverbank positions and withdrew to the rear along the spider's web-like communication trenches. However, the 11th Beiyang Standard, which occupied the front-line position of the 46th Regiment, was no longer able to continue to carry out in-depth assaults. The troops that crossed the positions of the 46th Regiment to develop an offensive suffered heavy casualties, the unfamiliar terrain, and the stubborn resistance of the opponents, especially the 6th Division, despite its own artillery coverage, caused the attacking troops to retreat and turn to clear the resistance of the front-line positions.

The success of the field battle of the 11th Bid opened up a relatively safe crossing point for the whole army of the Third Town. For this reason, Wu Peifu received a commendation from Shangfeng and praised him for playing beautifully.

But Wu Peifu, who was inspecting the position, was not happy. The tragic situation of flesh and blood on the front-line battlefield knocked on his heart, and the heavy casualties of his own troops made him even more painful. According to preliminary statistics, the night attack on the 11th standard cost more than 600 casualties, and together with the losses of yesterday morning, one-third of his troops had been knocked out. The eleventh mark can no longer be played.

"They should be treated with respect for their wounded soldiers." Wu Peifu said to the adjutant, "What a strong opponent, what a Shandong army!" A large number of scenes of the same death won Wu Peifu's respect, and the enemy's ruthless tactics showed his unyielding and strong fighting will. Soldiers hate tough opponents, but they also admire tough opponents. (To be continued......)