Don't look at the earth-shattering artillery fire of the Japanese fleet, in fact, both the commander of the Second Fleet, Yasuchi Kato, and the commander of the 18th Division, Mitsutomi Kamio, have no bottom in their hearts, because it is only three o'clock in the afternoon, and there are still three or four hours before dark, and no one knows when the bombing opportunity of the Chinese Air Force will come.

According to the remnants of the Outer Mongolian Army and the Ji Army, which experienced the bombing of the Chinese Air Force, the bomb was very ferocious, and it was even more powerful than the shells of the 203mm main gun of the cruiser Tokiwa. If it is according to the boasting in the Chinese newspapers, it is simply a hole in the sky and an abyss. Although Yasuchi Kato and Mitsutomi Kamio both scoffed at the Chinese newspaper's statement, believing that it was simply "a dog barking in the shape of a hundred dogs" and spreading falsehoods, public opinion was turbulent, and they couldn't help but be suspicious in their hearts.

People are always a little afraid of the unknown and powerful, right?

In Mitsutomi Kamio's view, the best choice for landing should be in the evening, when there is no interference from aircraft in the sky, and the Japanese navy and army are all dominating the Far East, so it is completely possible to easily break through the beachhead and develop in depth. Explanation Kato Anyoshi sneered at Mitsutomi Kamio's thoughts: Landing in the evening? Do you think it's very easy for a Navy ship to sail in shallow waters? Do you think it would be easy for the officers and men of the army to swim in the dark? Do you think that a division's personnel, horses, guns, ammunition, and all kinds of supplies can be completely transported overnight? …… The army is indeed a red deer!

After weighing it for a long time, they finally chose to land in the afternoon. Because at this time, the landing still has to experience at least one round of bomber attacks. However, the invincible Imperial Japanese Army should not collapse here, and it is also possible to take this opportunity to see the power of the bombing, so that Emperor Zhang will not be caught off guard in the future. Wait until night. The army can also take advantage of the darkness to go ashore to attack the city, and by the way, restore its morale and deal with the next day's battle.

But what exactly does a bombing look like? Anyoshi Kato and Mitsumi Kamio were afraid and at the same time, there was a trace of anticipation.

Ordinary Japanese officers and men naturally did not know what their commanders were thinking, and when they jumped into the sea from their cabins and trudged toward the Chinese positions on the opposite side with great difficulty, braving sparse artillery fire, the most important thing in their minds was how to capture the opposite position as soon as possible, and then how to vent the evil fire that had been held on the ship for the past few days.

Wait until they are less than three hundred meters close to the shore. The firepower suddenly became fierce, and the dozen or so military caopers, who were still domineering and walking in front of them with military flags just now, first stiffened, and then twisted their bodies and fell into the water. The blood quickly stained the surrounding water. The soldiers in the back tried their best to dodge, but the front and back were densely packed with friendly troops, and many tactical actions could not be completed in the water that reached the waist, and even if they were completed, they were almost deformed. You can only watch others or yourself get shot. Then it fell.

Seeing that his own soldiers were constantly dying, the Japanese officer was also a little red-eyed, drew his saber and pointed straight ahead, and hissed and ordered: "Speed up the charge!" Hit the beach as soon as possible! Quick, Imperial warriors, for His Majesty the Emperor, rush! As soon as he finished speaking, a bullet hit him in the head. Suddenly overturned in the sea and made its own contribution to dyeing the sea red.

Sun Liangcheng put down his rifle in satisfaction. Turning around, he asked the first battalion commander Chen Tiaoyuan: "How is it, Xue Xuan, how are the casualties of the troops?" ”

After Chen Tiaoyuan finished firing the magazines in the gun, he replied: "Back to the regiment commander, after the round of shelling just now, our battalion has lost a total of 23 people, 38 lightly and seriously wounded, and damaged 2 heavy machine guns and 1 60mm light mortar. ”

Sun Liangcheng sighed: "In just over ten minutes of shelling, we have lost nearly half of the company!" Inform Deputy Regiment Commander Zhu of the second line of defense that once the shelling stops, one or two companies will be sent to support immediately, and we must do everything possible to compress the Japanese troops on the beach as much as possible, and try not to let them transport heavy weapons ashore, otherwise our pressure will be even greater! In addition, inform all companies and platoons that soldiers and heavy weapons must change positions in time, and the Japanese fleet will definitely take special care of our part later, so don't be targeted! ”

Chen Tiaoyuan nodded, and then ordered the deputy battalion commander and the guards to go separately.

Sure enough, as Sun Liangcheng expected, the firepower of the Japanese fleet quickly turned around and opened fire on the first line of defense. Under the intensive care of artillery of various calibers, the whole battalion suffered heavy casualties, heavy firepower was completely destroyed, and deserters even appeared in several sections of the position. Coupled with the flood of Japanese landing soldiers, the situation of the first line of defense immediately became precarious.

At this time, Chen Tiaoyuan also had flowers hanging on his arms, and the fierce battlefield battle made him a little tired, and asked in a hissed voice: "Regiment leader, we can't stand it anymore!" Why don't you retreat to the second line of defense and then make a decision? ”

Sun Liangcheng raised his wrist and looked at the new watch that had just been issued recently, and found that 25 minutes had passed since the start of the war, but he still slowly shook his head: "No, we have to hold on for another ten minutes!" The first line of defense has the most favorable terrain and the most important location, and if it doesn't last more than half an hour, then the second and third lines of defense will definitely not last long. You are injured and have difficulty moving, why don't you evacuate with the wounded first? ”

Chen Tiaoyuan shook his arm: "It's just a minor injury, it's not in the way!" Commander, you better withdraw first, we can let go of our hands and feet to do a big job when you leave! ”

"!" Sun Liangcheng scolded, "I'm here to hinder your command?" What to do, what to do! I stayed here to stabilize the morale of the army, and if I left first, the brothers would definitely scold me in their stomachs: Sun Liangcheng ran away first as the regiment commander, what are we still doing here? I can reassure the brothers by standing here, showing that Sun will never abandon the brothers and go first! ”

After all, Chen Tiaoyuan was a battalion commander, not a brigade commander, and Sun Liangcheng had no choice but to calm down and concentrate on arranging the defense line, using the few remaining soldiers in his hands to try his best to fill the gaps, and strive to prevent the defense line from collapsing within ten minutes. But there were too many enemy troops in front of him, and if he closed his eyes and hugged the outside, it was estimated that he could hit several. Of course, the Japanese army is not a vegetarian, so the moment you show your head, at least three or four bullets will come at your head!

I finally got through it for a while. completely squeezed out the only hole cards in Chen Tiaoyuan's hand, and even when the battle was fierce, Chen Tiaoyuan had to take the deputy battalion commander, combat staff officer, and guards to fill in the gap, and added a few minor injuries to his body. Sun Liangcheng's luck is excellent. Since the start of the war, even the layer of oily skin has not been broken, and only then did he say to Chen Tiaoyuan with satisfaction: "It's been 35 minutes, we can finally make a difference, retreat!" Xue Xuan, you open the way ahead, and I'll cover behind! ”

"Commander, I'm coming to the palace!" Chen Tiaoyuan volunteered.

"! You're all over. What else can you do? Do you want to drag down the whole army? Sun Liangcheng was not polite at all, "Don't fight anymore, let's delay every second now." The whole battalion of soldiers is one point more dangerous! Go and tell the evacuation! ”

"Yes!" Chen Tiaoyuan had no choice but to obey.

He had only walked more than 10 meters away when he heard a cannonball whizzing towards him, exploding not far behind him, and the blast wave shook him up. Almost didn't fall to the ground. He quickly turned around. But the scene in front of him made him feel distracted: he saw the regiment commander Sun Liangcheng lying in the trench covered in blood, dead and alive.

————

By the time Sun Liangcheng regained consciousness, it was already the beginning of the new month, but he found that he was already lying in the bed of the army's temporary hospital, while Chen Tiaoyuan sat next to him and couldn't help but ask dryly: "Xue Xuan, how is the battle situation now?" Where did the Japanese attack? Did the reinforcements come up? ”

Chen Tiaoyuan was overjoyed when he saw Sun Liangcheng wake up, and hurriedly walked closer: "Commander, you're awake!" That's great! You don't know that the brigade commander scolded me badly today. Almost didn't peel off my skin! ”

Sun Liangcheng looked overjoyed: "Brigade Commander Jiang is also here?" When did he come? ”

"It's about four o'clock this afternoon, right?" Chen Tiaoyuan scratched his head and replied, "At that time, we just retreated to the third line of defense. Brigade Commander Chiang rushed over with the second regiment of our brigade, which not only helped stabilize the defensive line, but also made a counterattack by surprise and recaptured part of the second defensive line position. Later, dozens of bombers from Rongcheng and Qingdao also rushed over and bombed around the Japanese ships and the landing 18th Division.

"And the bombs dropped by our plane are very large, each weighing hundreds of pounds. In addition to ordinary bombs, there are also incendiary bombs that cause fires, and submunitions that lay mines...... It's going to blow up little Japan! Several ships were sunk by the bombing! If it hadn't been dark early, and our planes had finished dropping bombs, we would have been able to sink them all to the bottom of the sea. But let's look really relieved, this time we finally avenged the brothers who died in the shelling of the ship! ”

Sun Liangcheng frowned and said, "Why, the Second Tank Regiment of the 47th Mixed Brigade stationed in Laizhou didn't rush over?" ”

"It's coming, but it's not going into battle today!" Chen Tiaoyuan replied. Seeing that Sun Liangcheng's brows were furrowing deeper and deeper, he hurriedly explained, "When the tank regiment of the 47th Mixed Brigade arrived, it happened that the bombers had also arrived, so I didn't go up to join in the fun." I heard that they are waiting for the rest of their brigade to come over, and they are ready to join forces with our brigade and the air force tomorrow to annihilate little Japan in one fell swoop! ”

"The Japanese haven't retreated yet? What are they doing now? Sun Liangcheng asked.

Chen Tiaoyuan sneered: "There is no retreat!" They are now digging trenches and anti-artillery holes at night while unloading things from the ship, presumably preparing for a decisive battle with our troops. I really don't know whether to live or die! ”

Sun Liangcheng asked cautiously at this time, "Xue Xuan, what are the casualties of our regiment?" ”

Chen Tiaoyuan's face immediately turned ugly: "This-regiment leader, you better have a good rest, it's important to recuperate!" ”

Sun Liangcheng said angrily: "Am I still the head of the regiment? Can even the casualties of the troops be known? ”

Under Sun Liangcheng's pressure, Chen Tiaoyuan had no choice but to say: "According to statistics, the whole regiment lost a total of 467 people, 172 were seriously injured, and the rest of the personnel were basically slightly injured...... The brigade commander praised our regiment for creating the preconditions for the total annihilation of the 18th Division of the Japanese Army, and demanded that our regiment begin to withdraw from the theater of operations for replenishment and recuperation starting tomorrow. ”

Sun Liangcheng grabbed the sheets tightly with both hands, and only let go after a while: "Xue Xuan, help me to see the brigade commander, tomorrow our regiment must participate in the battle no matter what!" If I can form a battalion, I will be the battalion commander; If I can form a company, I will be the company commander. I want to avenge my fallen brethren! (To be continued......)