When Li Changwu saw the battle report sent to him, he couldn't help but be taken aback by the casualty figures reported, and if this casualty figure was reported to Commander Wang Haitao again, it would be certain that Commander Wang Haitao would be angry, so Li Changwu decided not to send the report to the higher authorities for the time being, and would report it again after the battle was over.

The second line of Japanese positions had been captured, and an infantry wing had been completely annihilated, but the 871st Regiment and the 877th Regiment also suffered heavy casualties, and the battlefield was full of soldiers rescuing the wounded, and the attack could only be stopped first. Wei Shaofeng and Wu Zhijun also patrolled the battlefield, and both of them were shocked by the fierceness of the battle. The battlefield was littered with the corpses of dead soldiers on both sides of the battlefield, and blood was already pouring in the low recesses.

In the division headquarters of the 116th Division of the Japanese Army, Lieutenant General Shunjiro Takeuchi was discussing the battle with Chief of Staff Yamada Takuro with a grim face. The report of the annihilation of the 13rd and 3rd Wings on the second line of positions was really unacceptable to the two. The 212th Wing is the elite wing of the division, and after the annihilation of all their troops, plus the loss of troops in the position outside the east gate and the first line of positions, the elite of their own division has lost more than half, and now only the last infantry wing is guarding the third position, and behind the third position is where the division headquarters and the baggage wing are located.

The third line of defense can be said to be the last line of defense, and if it is lost again, the entire 116th Division is in danger of being wiped out like the 32nd Division. After discussing for a while, Yamada Zhuoer said to Lieutenant General Shunjiro Takeuchi: "Your Excellency Division Commander, there are only two choices for the division now, one is to withdraw the whole army and join the 37th Division, as long as the 37th Division is converged, it will be completely safe.

The second is to continue to hold on and wait for the arrival of the 37th Division, and if it wants to hold on, it is necessary to draw from the baggage wing capable troops to replenish the losses of the infantry wing. How to act depends on the choice of Your Excellency the Division, but Your Excellency the Division Commander also asks to choose as soon as possible, now the losses of the people of the branch are not small, so the attack has been stopped, in case reinforcements arrive of the first branch, whether the third line of positions can be held until the 37th Division arrives, and the subordinates are not sure. ”

Lieutenant General Shunjiro Takeuchi thought for a moment and said angrily: "It's only a few dozen kilometers from Fengcheng to here, and the 37th Division of Ye Kujun set off from Fengcheng in the afternoon, but it hasn't been able to arrive until now, and the action is too slow. As he spoke, the guards at the gate reported that Lieutenant General Iide Tetsuzo had come. Lieutenant General Iide Tetsuzo also hurried over with Chief of Staff Yoshida Eijiro Osaku after learning the news that the Second Path position had been lost and the 13rd and 3rd Wings had been wiped out.

In the evening, Lieutenant General Iide Tetsuzo received a telegram from Lieutenant General Nokuchiro claiming that his troops had encountered a blockade from the main Shina force in the tugboat town, and that the Ozaki Brigade was now engaged in a fierce battle with the blocking Shina army. Lieutenant General Iide Tetsuzo was afraid of shaking the morale of the troops; second, he did not take the Chinese troops who blocked the attack seriously, because the 37th Division had nearly 30,000 troops and chariots to assist them.

Therefore, Lieutenant General Iide Tetsuzo only gave Lieutenant General Nokuchiro a telegram to Eijiro Yoshida for a moment, and did not inform Shunjiro Takeuchi of them. However, the total annihilation of the 133rd Wing allowed him to once again understand the extremely terrible combat effectiveness of the Chinese army, and in such a short period of time, he lost two positions in a row, and could the last position still hold on until reinforcements arrived?

Lieutenant General Iide Tetsuzo and Yoshida Eijiro Osa discussed it, and both had the idea of retreating to Fengcheng and joining the 37th Division, so the two hurried to the division headquarters of the 116th Division. Lieutenant General Shunjiro Takeuchi saw Lieutenant General Iide Tetsuzo and Yoshida Eijiro Osa hurriedly come in, and couldn't help but be stunned, and a bad feeling arose in his heart.

He heard that Lieutenant General Ide Tetsuzo had told him that the 37th Division had encountered a blockade from the Chinese army at the tugboat port in the evening, and that it had not yet made any progress, and suggested that the 116th Division and the rest of the 32nd Division immediately retreat and move closer to the 37th Division. As soon as these words were finished, Lieutenant General Shunjiro Takeuchi and Yamada Takuro Daisa both had an urge to point at Lieutenant General Iide Tetsuzo's nose and scold their mothers!

If this news had been learned in the evening and the decision to retreat had been made, as long as the two infantry brigades on the first line of positions had been left behind, the rest of the main forces would have been able to calmly withdraw from the battlefield, and the 133rd Wing would not have been wiped out at all, and perhaps the troops would have joined the 37th Wing by now. But now if we retreat, in addition to leaving the troops behind, the time is not so calm, and many military supplies are too late to be taken away.

In order not to expose the intention of retreating in advance, it was not even possible to destroy it, and it could only be left to the Chinese in vain. Thinking of this, Lieutenant General Takeuchi Shunjiro's face became even more ugly, and he couldn't help but question Lieutenant General Iide Tetsuzo: "Ide-kun, why didn't you inform us earlier of such an important situation? Do you know how much loss my division will have now that it hastily withdraws from the battlefield?"

Lieutenant General Iide Tetsuzo knew that he had done something wrong, but when he saw that Shunjiro Takeuchi, who was usually very respectful to him, dared to openly question himself, he couldn't help but feel angry. But his own division was completely lost, and if he wanted to break through the blockade of the Chinese army in Tugboat Town, he had to rely on the 116th Division. So Lieutenant General Iide Tetsuzo forcibly held back the anger in his heart.

Lieutenant General Iide Tetsuzo bowed his head and said to Lieutenant General Shunjiro Takeuchi: "I'm sorry Takeuchi-kun, but I didn't inform you of the matter because I was afraid that it would shake the morale of the army, please rest assured that the losses of your division and regiment, after I see Commander Isamu Yokoyama, I will definitely try to ask Commander Isamu Yokoyama to make up for you." Seeing that Lieutenant General Iide Tetsuzo, who had always been on the top, actually surrendered and apologized, Lieutenant General Shunjiro Takeuchi's face also looked much better.

After the atmosphere in the division headquarters eased up, the four of them began to discuss the withdrawal of the whole army from the battlefield. Knowing that there might be a tough battle to be fought in the tugboat port town, in order to ensure the combat effectiveness of the troops, Lieutenant General Shunjiro Takeuchi still retained the last infantry wing of the division, the 138th Infantry Wing, and stayed in the third position.

After the order to retreat was conveyed, the entire 116th Division was in chaos, and on the third position, the newly formed mixed infantry brigade was changing guards and the 138th Wing was changing guards, and in the warehouse where military supplies were stacked, not only the baggage soldiers of the 116th Division were busy carrying materials, but even the remaining baggage soldiers of the 32nd Division were also sent to carry materials.

In this way, all important military materials, weapons and ammunition can only be removed, and a large number of unimportant military materials can only be abandoned. In this way, the Japanese army made such a big move, and the situation was quickly sent to the rear of the Japanese position, and the reconnaissance team looking for the Japanese artillery position discovered it, and two reconnaissance groups also found the Japanese field artillery wing that had hurriedly retreated from a very hidden place.

The news that the Japanese troops were preparing to retreat was reported by the reconnaissance group to Xu Qun, the commander of the reconnaissance regiment, on a small radio, and Xu Qun immediately made a report to Wang Haitao and Tang Longzai. After listening to Xu Qun's report, Wang Haitao snorted coldly and said: "Little Japan still wants to run?" Order, the 460th Brigade and the 462nd Brigade immediately launched an attack on the Japanese position, and the field artillery wing of Little Japan has retreated, and the tank troops do not need to hide, and assist the infantry to take the last line of Japanese positions as soon as possible. ”

After telling the order, Wang Haitao said to Tang Longzai: "Longzai, you personally ordered Li Changwu to capture the third line of Japanese positions, find that the Japanese army is successful and then retreat, and immediately lead all the troops to pursue the tugboat port town, if there is any situation, he can make his own decisions, and there is no need to report to us." After Tang Longzai answered, he walked to the desk and grabbed the telephone.

Li Changwu was also taken aback when he received the order, he did not expect that the Japanese army would retreat. He knew a few words about the independent brigade blocking the Japanese reinforcements in Tugboat Port Town, but as soon as the 116th Division arrived in Tugboat Port Town, could the Jurong Independent Brigade still hold its position under the front and rear attacks of the Japanese army, and even if it held its position, what price would it pay?

Thinking of this, Li Changwu also lost his usual calmness, and he immediately called Wei Bin and Tang Yu over. As soon as the two arrived at Li Changwu, they said: "Little Japan wants to withdraw from the battlefield and retreat to the tugboat town to join the reinforcements, the commander has ordered the troops to immediately launch an attack on the third line of Japanese positions, this time the armored troops will still cooperate with your infantry to attack together, and the division's self-propelled grenade and artillery regiments will provide fire support for the attack." After capturing the Japanese position, if it is found that the main Japanese force has retreated, immediately launch a pursuit of the tugboat town. ”

Wei Bin and Tang Yu knew that as soon as the Japanese army withdrew, it meant that the siege of Zhangshu City had been broken, and the troops had officially switched from defense to attack again. However, if the Japanese army withdraws to the tugboat port town, it will launch the most ferocious attack on the Jurong Independent Brigade in order to open the way, and the Jurong Independent Brigade will be able to defend it under the attack of the Japanese army on both sides.

Therefore, the two did not dare to slack off, and after accepting the order, they left in a hurry. Soon, the division's self-propelled howitzer and artillery regiments also opened fire again, and the target was naturally the third line of Japanese positions. The rumbling sound of artillery and the explosion on the position made the faces of Lieutenant General Shunjiro Takeuchi and Yamada Takuro Dasa, who had not yet left, change color. Lieutenant General Shunjiro Takeuchi looked at the many military supplies that could not be taken away, sighed and said, "I didn't expect the Shina people to attack so quickly, and these supplies can only be cheap and hateful Shina people." ”

As soon as he finished speaking, the captain of the guard beside him stepped forward and said: "Your Excellency the division commander, the people of China have already started to attack, and the brigade on the position will not be able to stop the people for long, Your Excellency the division commander should leave here quickly!" ”