The wreckage of the Japanese trucks not only hindered the retreat of the Japanese troops, but also hindered the passage of the garrison tanks as the battle deepened. When Wu Keren arrived at the front line, he saw the tanks of the two regiments slipping away, among which the front one was doing the work of scavengers, pushing those trucks into the ditch, and the back one directly served as a battery.

The officers and men of the 103rd Division and the 117th Division, because of the heavy fire support of tank guns and Wu Keren's order to storm again, attacked extremely fiercely. Many soldiers lay on their stomachs in the green rice paddies, ignoring the muddy water and mosquito nuisances, and fired at their guns.

The resistance of the Japanese army was very fierce, relying on the road tree and the corpses of the dead devils or the board cars of the baggage team, relying on the reliable performance of the 38 big covers, the little devils resisted stubbornly.

It was the first time that the officers and men of the 103rd Division had participated in such a tragic battle, and after panic and confusion at first, they had now adapted to the atmosphere on the battlefield. One division and six regiments, two of which were responsible for guarding the artillery, and four regiments, one regiment firmly controlled the Japanese army's northward retreat, and the other three regiments, together with the 117th Division and tank troops, launched an oppressive attack on the Japanese army from three directions through the rice fields.

With the two sides entangled on multiple fronts, the role that artillery can play is minimal, except for the recent call of Lin Baiyin, which once cut the Japanese army into two sections, and now there is rarely a time to exert power. Fu Kaixing was worried that he would encounter retaliation from the Japanese air force after dawn, and just now, he had ordered the artillery to withdraw to Yutai in the southwest, where there was a forest, enough to hide the artillery of two regiments, and at the same time, it was not very far from the battlefield, and it could still provide fire support at a critical time.

Wu Keren walked up to Fu Kaixing with a company of guard soldiers and asked him, "Commander Fu, how is the situation now?" ”

"It's more difficult, our tanks can't disperse, the little devil has stabilized after the initial panic, and my fifth regiment has been defeated."

"Don't be afraid of casualties, the key is to resolve the battle as soon as possible, as soon as the Japanese air force joins the fight, we will be passive. I'll immediately take a group to break through and see if I can cut the devil in front of me into two pieces - we must annihilate the devil behind the hall as soon as possible, otherwise Senior Commander Lin may not be able to resist it. ”

Ushijima Sadao only left one brigade behind the devil hall at first, and after being defeated by two brigades in a row, he gritted his teeth and let the two brigades behind the palace, mobilize the main force at the same time, and together with the devils who stayed in Bailinpu, rushed to the defense line of the 60th Division.

As the battle line progressed, the Japanese army obtained some ready-made fortification materials, and the tank troops were blocked by the wreckage of trucks, and the attacking side suddenly became passive.

Wu Keren and his men were gradually entering the section of the road where the battle was more intense, when suddenly the communications staff officer of the army stopped him and said: "Military seat, Division Commander Lin called for help, but the phone was disconnected before it could be finished, and I guess their walkie-talkie was damaged." He said that if he couldn't stand it, he would retreat to the northeast of Bailinpu. ”

The northeast direction of Bailinpu is the direction from which the 18th Division came, and Lin Baiyin retreated there to carry out a second interception, but once the Japanese army entered Bailinpu, it would be more difficult to fight, and even, the opportunity to be annihilated was lost, so this was the next policy. Wu Keren said: "If you send a telegram to Master Lin, you must ask them to support you, no matter how big the sacrifice is." Tell him that I will use my personality to promise that I will find a way to help him replenish the army after the war, only no more. ”

In the era of the Nationalist Government, as long as the officer reached a certain level, the soldiers in his hands actually became his right to speak, and it was also his only reliance. Wu Keren is well versed in this, so he said so.

The communications staff officer went down to send a telegram, but only a few minutes later, he ran back and reported loudly: "Military seat, the escort unit of the 103rd Division has called, and a small Japanese unit has been found in the southeast. According to the information obtained earlier, it is very likely that the Taiwanese infantry brigade escaped from Pukou Station, and they asked for instructions to move towards our headquarters. ”

Wu Keren's brows furrowed deeply, and he said: "The commander came to call not long ago, saying that the Jiangsu Security Division 1st and 114th Divisions had repelled the Taiwan infantry brigade and were pursuing towards Chuxian, how could this Taiwan infantry brigade come to us?" You immediately send a telegram and let them find out the exact strength of the Japanese army. After speaking, he looked at his watch, saw that the time was already six o'clock in the morning, and said with some concern: "If it is really a Taiwan infantry brigade, then we can only give up encircling and annihilating the 18th Division." But until we get verified, we have to work hard! ”

The reeds were sniper positions, and the 60th Division was under unprecedented pressure. After defeating the 22nd Cavalry Brigade and killing Captain Koike Shoji, the 60th Division successfully occupied the section of the road, thus intercepting the Japanese army. The ambush battle turned into a sniper war, and as Ushijima Sadao invested heavy troops and ordered the Japanese troops left behind in Bailinpu to enter the flanking attack, the pressure of the 60th Division increased sharply, and in just one hour, the strength of the four regiments was consumed one and a half, and the sniper position, which was originally about 3,000 meters long, was gradually compressed into a piece of about 300 meters.

As the commander of the 60th Division, Lin Baiyin also walked out of the temporary command headquarters, took the guard battalion directly under the division, and began to play the role of a firefighter.

"Wang Changyong, take your people to the east, Qi Tai is a little unbearable."

"Xiao Wang, has Commander Wu Keren replied, what? If you continue to send me telegrams, our army will hold out for a maximum of an hour, and after an hour, we will retreat according to the plan we have just made. ”

"Brothers! Resist, hold on is victory! Our army has already slaughtered it! ”

…… He roared loudly, brandishing a pistol in his left hand. He had been wounded in the right arm in the battle and was suspended from his chest after a brief treatment.

The late arrival of the 18th Division was an accident, which directly led to the ambush warfare turning into a sniper war or even a storm. The 60th Division, as the only unit in the mixed army of the Cadet Corps that maintained its original establishment and equipment, was not very strong in combat effectiveness, and after nearly two hours of fighting, at this moment, Lin Baiyin had already felt a deep pressure.

A quarter of an hour later, Wu Keren received accurate information that the Japanese army, which was approaching the battlefield, was close to a brigade in size, and if nothing else, it was the Taiwanese infantry brigade that had been driven away from Pukou.

Up to now, there is no skill to speak of, and what is compared is the quality of the soldiers and the superiority and inferiority of the weapons. Because of the advantages of artillery and tanks in the second sequence of the garrison, although it achieved a great advantage at the beginning, and because of the surprise of the opponent, it annihilated the 18th Division in one fell swoop. By the time the battle had progressed, the three divisions of the second sequence had lost nearly four regiments of troops, and this was the casualties caused by the beginning of a pure infantry duel with the Japanese. The 18th Division suffered a heavy loss at the beginning, more than two brigades were killed by shells, and the 12th Wing of Field Artillery, the only artillery unit, was also annihilated in the shelling that lasted more than 20 minutes. Later, when the Japanese army began to break through, the 22nd Cavalry Brigade and the 12th Wing of the Baggage Corps were almost completely annihilated by the 60th Division, and the 18th Division lost nearly six brigades, and its battle loss ratio reached an astonishing 35%. Now, with the approach of Taiwan's infantry brigades, the Japanese army is equivalent to having 10 more brigades at once, and they are still killing from behind the 103rd Division and the 117th Division, and Wu Keren is very worried that this time the plan to encircle and annihilate the 18th Division is very likely to evolve into a second sequence, but it will be surrounded or even eaten by the Japanese army. After all, Wujiang is such a small distance from Nanjing, and it is already daylight, once the Japanese air force is put into the battlefield, there will be no secret about the deployment and scale of the troops, and at that time, Ushijima Sadao will definitely fight back.

The sound of gunfire on the front line did not mean to stop from beginning to end, and in the sound of gunfire, Wu Keren frowned, seriously weighing the gains and losses.

Suddenly, the communications staff officer shouted loudly: "Military seat, Commander Ouyang is calling." ”

"Read?"

“…… Our unit has evacuated Pukou, and on the way to Wujiang, it encountered a large Japanese army near Guqiao Town, and after investigation, it was the 6th and 9th divisions of the Japanese army. The Japanese army is moving towards you, so please make appropriate responses according to the battlefield situation. In addition, our division is currently keeping a certain distance from the Japanese army in this unit, and is waiting for the 1st Jiangsu Security Division and the 114th Division to come to converge, and after the convergence, we will make corresponding contingencies according to the battlefield situation......"

"It's really a house leak that happened to rain overnight!" Wu Keren loosened his brows, smiled bitterly and sighed softly after glancing at the battlefield not far away where the fierce battle was raging.

"Commander, please hurry up and come up with a countermeasure, Taiwan's infantry brigade may be killed at any time, and our artillery regiment also needs to move its position immediately."

Wu Keren closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and said, "Xu Shou, you immediately send two clever brothers to send a letter to Senior Commander Lin, and ask them to evacuate immediately, direction, and county." Then call the artillery regiment and the escort troops, and ask them to transfer to Da Annan and prepare for battle. Xiao Li, you go and inform Master Fu and ask him to withdraw to Da Annan immediately. Hu Jianbing, go and invite Brigade Commander Lin over. ”

The 117th Division had two brigades, of which the Gu Weiqing Brigade was launching a fierce attack on the Japanese army, while the Lin Shanqing Brigade was responsible for the security of its flanks. The troops turned from offensive to defensive, and they must be left behind to prevent the Japanese from taking advantage of the opportunity to launch a counteroffensive. Withdrawing the front-line troops first and leaving the troops in a defensive position to the rear will prevent the troops from rioting during the retreat to the greatest extent. Of course, if the 18th Division had already reached a tacit understanding with the 6th and 9th Divisions, then Sadao Ushijima would not only take the opportunity to launch a counteroffensive, but also press the whole army. Then, ensuring sufficient troops will ensure the safe evacuation of the large army as much as possible. Wu Keren was named the commander-in-chief of the second sequence, but the troops directly under him were only the 117th Division. If he wanted to serve the people, he could only select a unit from the 117th Division to stay behind. In the previous battle, the Lin Shanqing Brigade as the first attacking force, the losses were relatively large, and now there is only one and a half regiments of troops, Wu Keren let the department be the queen, but also to minimize the losses of the lineage.