Shortly after the end of the pre-war meeting in Youxian County, Chu Zhengyang received a telegram from Li Changwu, in which Li Changwu told Chu Zhengyang that the whole army would launch a full-front counteroffensive against the Japanese troops outside Youxian at 1 p.m., and ordered Chu Zhengyang's troops to be ready to attack the Japanese heavy artillery positions before 1 p.m. and launch an attack on them at 1 p.m.

This telegram is undoubtedly a stimulant for Chu Zhengyang, and the 881st Regiment can now let go of its hands and feet to do a big job, without worrying about the counterattack of the main force of the Japanese army. Chu Zhengyang immediately conveyed the news. At this time, the reconnaissance company was covertly approaching two small dirt slopes, and the officers and men of the three battalions were also wearing camouflage uniforms covered with weeds, preparing to quietly approach the Japanese defense line.

Time passed minute by minute, and after the 878th Regiment outside the northern city of Youxian County reinforced the third battalion to the first line of defense, it withstood the continuous attacks of the Japanese army, and now the two sides are fighting bloodily for the gains and losses of the first line of defense. The armored troops at the eastern, northern, and western gates of Youxian County and the troops of the counteroffensive are rapidly assembling and waiting for the time for the counterattack to come.

In the headquarters of the 91st Army, Tang Longzai, Li Changwu, and Tang Hongming were standing at the conference table, all looking at their watches, and when the three hands finally coincided to one o'clock, Tang Longzai shouted: "The counterattack begins!" The officer guarding the telephone shouted to the phone at the same time: "Order, the counterattack begins!" The order was quickly conveyed by the first level, and soon the cannon of the counterattack sounded.

The 122 howitzer and artillery regiment did not fire a single cannon after arriving in Youxian, which was also for fear that the Japanese army would know about the existence of the artillery regiment and attract a heavy artillery attack, but it could not open fire to choke the officers and men of the whole regiment, and now they can finally counterattack, and the officers and men of the whole regiment invested great enthusiasm, and the 48 grenades and artillery guns divided into three positions opened fire at the same time, and one shell after another flew towards the Japanese camp.

At the same time as the 122 nd Howitzer and Artillery Regiment opened fire, the 210th Division belonged to the heavy artillery regiment, the 211th Division belonged to the self-propelled howitzer and artillery regiment, and the artillery units of each brigade also opened fire at the same time. For a while, both inside and outside the county were filled with the rumbling sound of cannons, and even the words had to be shouted loudly to be heard. The camp where the Japanese troops were located outside the city was covered by swarms of shells, and the firelight, gunsmoke, and explosions filled the entire Japanese camp.

The Chinese army suddenly threw in so much heavy artillery bombardment, which stunned the two division commanders of the Japanese army, and Lieutenant General Hayashi Fangtaro rushed out of his tent and looked at the bombed camp, only to know that he had been underestimating the Chinese army he was facing. Now he has to face not the question of whether to continue the attack, but whether to retreat immediately.

With so many heavy artillery, how strong the combat effectiveness of the Chinese army should be is no longer something that these two divisions can defeat. Just as Lieutenant General Yoshitaro Hayashi was hesitating whether to retreat, an officer stumbled over amid the artillery fire and shouted: "Your Excellency the commander of the reporting division, the field heavy artillery brigade has sent a telegram that a large number of Chinese troops are attacking them, and the heavy artillery brigade is requesting support. ”

At this time, Lieutenant General Yoshitaro Hayashi was anxious, the field heavy artillery brigade is a strategic force, and there must be no mistakes, otherwise what awaits him can only be dismissed and returned to China, or even go to a military court. Lieutenant General Yoshitaro Hayashi shouted eagerly: "You immediately convey my order to let the baggage camp reinforce the heavy artillery position at any cost, and the heavy artillery position must be kept no matter what." ”

Lieutenant General Yoshitaro Hayashi's 110th Division was at the rear and was not seriously shelled, while the 62nd Division, which was at the front, was under heavy attention from the artillery. Now Lieutenant General Yoshio Motoqing could not even convey the order, and the entire 62nd Division was completely chaotic under the bombardment of countless shells.

The soldiers were scurrying like ants on a hot pot, trying to escape from this hellish place as soon as possible, and the officers could not find their subordinates in the smoke of gunpowder, let alone give orders, and even they did not know when they would be knocked to the ground by a flying piece of shrapnel. The thirty minutes of bombing time had finally passed for the Japanese, but what followed was what they were even more reluctant to face.

As soon as the endless bombardment ended, and the Japanese soldiers who had survived the forced hiding in all corners had not yet recovered from the aftermath of the explosion, the three city gates of Youxian County suddenly opened, and then in the roar of the engines, steel giants drilled out of the city gates. The steel behemoths who had left the city gate formed a triangular attack formation in the open space outside the city, and resolutely advanced in the direction of the Japanese camp.

The Japanese soldiers, who had come to their senses a little longer, fell into fear and despair again in the face of the steel behemoths that kept coming towards them. Some Japanese officers who were somewhat sober shouted hoarsely and scolded the soldiers to resist, and in the midst of the shouting and scolding, some Japanese soldiers entered the position and raised their weapons, and there began to be intermittent gunfire in front of the Japanese camp.

In the face of all kinds of bullets fired by the Japanese army, the various types of chariots that charged directly ignored, especially the three light tanks that rushed to the front of the North Gate, and the bullets hit them, except for the clanging sound, there was no damage. On the contrary, the vehicle-mounted artillery on the tank returned fire, each shell took several lives, and those vehicle-mounted heavy machine guns, which completely suppressed the Japanese soldiers who resisted.

The 63rd Brigade of the 62nd Division was at the forefront, and the brigade commander, Major General Tokutaro Nakajima, and the two brigade commanders were all left with no bones in the shelling, and the 63rd Brigade, which had no commander, completely collapsed after the Chinese tanks broke into the position, and the officers and men who were still alive fled to the rear regardless of it, and at this time, the 871st Regiment of the 460th Brigade, which was following behind the tanks, quickly crossed the assault tanks and rushed down after the Japanese soldiers who had fled.

After the shelling stopped, Lieutenant General Yoshio Motoqing thought about reorganizing the troops before making plans, but before he could assemble the 64th Brigade, the 63rd Brigade in front of him was defeated. The commander of the 64th Brigade, Major General Arikawa Lordichi, was also persuading him to withdraw to a safe place one after another, and then reorganize his troops for a counterattack.

Under such circumstances, Lieutenant General Yoshio Motoqing could only order the entire retreat first, so Lieutenant General Yoshio Moto, Chief of Staff Ueno Sadanobu Osa, and Brigade Commander Major General Arikawa Lordichi hurriedly withdrew in the direction of the 110th Division under the protection of the guards. As soon as the commander withdrew, there was an order for all to retreat, and the retreat of the 62nd Division was irreversible.

The assault of the 460th Brigade basically did not encounter any strong resistance, in the camp where there were obstacles everywhere, the speed of the chariot breakthrough was not fast, at this time the eager 460th Brigade left one regiment to cover the chariot, while the other two regiments had overtaken the chariot and directly chased the Japanese to kill. The troops who went out of the city from the west and east gates did not even fire a single shot, and the Japanese escaped from the firing range.

The two regiment commanders who went out of the city at the east gate and the west gate saw that the 460th Brigade had not even fought any battles, and they were chasing after the 460th Brigade at this time, afraid that they would not even be able to eat soup, so the two regiment commanders unanimously ordered the troops to advance quickly, interspersed with the left and right sides of the Japanese camp, and strive to overtake the fleeing Japanese troops, and then attack the Japanese troops after going around to the Japanese side.

At this time, if you look down at the north of Youxian from above, you will see that the Japanese army is desperately fleeing to the north, and there is a large Japanese camp a few kilometers away. Behind the fleeing Japanese army, dust and smoke were billowing and the Chinese army was catching up. On each side, a team was struggling to make its way around the rear of the Japanese camp. A few kilometers behind the Japanese camp, two pairs of men and horses were also killed in one place, and it was the battle of the 881st Regiment to seize the Japanese heavy artillery position.

At the moment when the artillery bombardment in Youxian began, the attack of the 881st Regiment on the heavy artillery positions also began. The three battalions of the 881st Regiment had successfully sneaked to the front of the Japanese defensive position before one o'clock. The most successful battalion was located only a hundred meters from the Japanese defensive positions. As soon as the sound of artillery in Youxian County attracted the attention of the defending Japanese troops on the position, and the sound of artillery was the signal, the officers and men of the three battalions who had sneaked to the front of the Japanese defensive position jumped up at the same time and rushed towards the Japanese defensive position with all their might.

At a distance of 100 meters, the soldiers charged with all their strength that was a matter of more than ten or twenty seconds, and when the Japanese found out that the Chinese troops were charging in front of the position, the Japanese troops who were taken aback reacted, but when they just used their weapons to counterattack, countless grenades and bullets had fallen from the sky, and the Chinese soldiers who were charging in front of each had a charge and a sharp gun, and the dense firepower made the Japanese troops on the position continue to fall.

The combination of grenades, bullets and charges, and sharp spears exerted great power in close combat, and the Japanese troops on the position were caught off guard, and without much counterattack, they were rushed to the position by a battalion. Immediately afterwards, the 2nd and 3rd Battalions also rushed to the Japanese positions after paying a certain number of casualties. The Japanese position, which had only one infantry brigade, was broken through on three sides almost simultaneously, and more than a thousand men were quickly wiped out under the blows of more than twice the Chinese troops.

Breaking through the defensive position used for protection, Chu Zhengyang immediately ordered that three battalions be left on the position to clear the remnants of the enemy, and the first and second battalions immediately assaulted the heavy artillery position. The Japanese artillery was basically not equipped with heavy weapons, and there were a lot of artillery on the heavy artillery positions, including thousands of people, but there were only more than 100 rifles, not to mention machine guns.

Thousands of artillerymen counterattacked with rifles, some were ready to fight with their tools, and many more threw down their cannons and fled in the direction of the baggage camp. The weak resistance on the heavy artillery position could not stop the officers and men of the two battalions from charging with all their might, and some soldiers were shot and fell on the way of the charge, but more soldiers used their rushing and sharp guns to kill the Japanese soldiers who dared to resist under the muzzle.

The artillery bombardment in Youxian County stopped, and the heavy artillery site also successfully fell into the hands of the 881st Regiment. Chu Zhengyang didn't care about the joy of capturing these heavy artillery, and hurriedly ordered the first battalion to immediately reinforce the reconnaissance company, and the second and third battalions to repair the fortifications south of the heavy artillery position.