readx;? By the time the two battalion commanders received the order, they had already repelled the second attack of the Japanese on their positions, and each time the Japanese attack was bombarded with artillery fire and then charged by the infantry. Although the www.biquge.info of the pen is unchanged, it is still difficult to resist with far more powerful firepower. A third of the defenders on the position were killed or wounded under Japanese fire.

This is still because there are anti-artillery holes and various fortifications to hide from the Japanese artillery fire, otherwise the casualties will be even heavier. In order to break through the defenders' positions, the Japanese army also used all their strength, not only launched an attack on the road, but also attacked the Japanese infantry in the rice fields on both sides of the road. Although these Japanese troops only had a few mortars to cover the infantry, there were only two trench fortifications on the front positions of these Japanese troops.

The main position on the road can still block the Japanese army, but the positions on both sides are getting tighter and tighter, and in desperation, the main position can only draw out a part of the troops to support both sides, which also makes the strength of the main position weak. In the afternoon, as long as the officers and men who could hold guns on the position, they were on the front line to block the Japanese army.

The regiment commander Wang Shuhuai saw that the front line was constantly in a hurry, so he could only send the last battalion up, which blocked the Japanese attack. When the 613th Regiment returned to Dantu Town, there were only more than 400 officers and soldiers in the whole regiment, that is, the last battalion to go up was better, and there were more than 200 people left.

Dai Zhiqi, deputy division commander, handed over the task of defending Dantu Town to Zhou Xiangkui's 615th Regiment, and asked the 615th Regiment to hold Dantu Town for three days, and only after three days could it retreat. After assigning the task, Dai Zhiqi returned to Zhenjiang City with the disabled 613 Regiment. In Zhenjiang City, the 618th Regiment, which is the best equipped and the most effective in combat, and a guard battalion are stationed, and they are all equipped with the weapons and equipment that the teaching corps has replaced.

The soldiers had all the same medium and formal rifles in their hands, one Czech light machine gun per squad and one Maxim heavy machine gun per platoon. And each squad leader had a white lattice submachine gun in his hand, and there was also an artillery company in the regiment with six mortars. This kind of weapon is second only to a few German armourers in the Central Army.

Relying on the city wall, Zhenjiang City built three fronts outside the city wall, and built a large number of fortifications, and the mortars of the whole division were also concentrated on the city wall. The 613th Regiment withdrew to Zhenjiang City with Dai Zhiqi, and after sending the lightly and seriously wounded to the hospital, they repaired it and used it as a reserve, ready to support at any time.

Zhou Xiangkui, the commander of the 615th Regiment, put a battalion of troops outside the city wall, and two heavy machine guns were placed in the fortifications as supporting fire. In order to complete the task of holding Dantu Town for three days, the 615th Regiment also made sufficient preparations.

Early the next morning, when the Japanese were attacking, they found that yesterday's position was empty, and when the division commander Lieutenant General Nakajima Imago learned of this, he ordered his troops to continue to attack and advance along the road in the direction of Zhenjiang. At nine o'clock, the vanguard of the Japanese army reached the front of the outlying positions of Dantu Town. Because the losses of the 20th Wing were not small in the attack on the previous two days, the commander of the 19th Brigade, Major General Tatsumi Kusaba, sent the 9th Wing to attack.

The Japanese continued to maintain the same tactics, first bombarding the defenders' positions for 20 minutes with dozens of guns from the 22nd Wing of Field Artillery, and then a squadron of infantry launched an attack formation under the cover of heavy machine guns and mortars. Unlike the previous position, this position was backed by the city wall, so the open space in front of it was much larger, which was more conducive to the formation of the Japanese army.

When the Japanese infantry approached the position, all the light and heavy weapons on the position opened fire, and the Japanese attack was easily repulsed. However, the first attack of the Japanese army is usually a tentative attack, the purpose is to find the main firepower points on the position, so that the artillery fire can eliminate these firepower points, and the next attack is the main attack.

Sure enough, after another targeted artillery bombardment, a brigade of infantry launched a second attack. This time, the Japanese army used not only heavy machine guns and mortars to cover the infantry attack, but also eight 92 infantry guns. The eight 92 infantry guns were pushed 600 meters in front of the position by the Japanese and began shelling the heavy machine-gun fortress.

Fortunately, these forts are quite strong, and the Japanese small-caliber artillery is helpless against it, with the support of heavy machine guns, the gunfire of the counterattack on the defenders' positions has not stopped, and when the two heavy machine guns on the city wall also joined the ranks of shooting, the Japanese attack was repulsed again.

For a whole day, the gunfire in Dantu Town did not stop, and the defenders on the position used a battalion to withstand the attack of a wing of the Japanese army. Such a continuous offensive and defensive battle in front of him made Lieutenant General Nakajima Imasago of the 16th Division of the Japanese Army very dissatisfied. However, the Chinese army was well prepared, the fortifications on the position were extremely strong, and there were a lot of artillery in their own troops, but it was difficult to destroy the fortifications on the defenders' positions, which also made Lieutenant General Nakajima very helpless.

The independent heavy artillery brigade cannot be used frequently, and if it is necessary to frequently ask the independent heavy artillery brigade for help in the attack on such a small town, then where will the face of the commander of the lieutenant general division be put away? It seems that the only way to increase the intensity of artillery fire and use infantry to attack hard can only be used. On the second and third days, it was not until the night of the third day that the remaining troops of less than a hundred men of a battalion withdrew to the town of Dantu on the position outside the city wall of Dantu Town, when the fortifications were basically destroyed.

At this time, the city wall of Dantu Town also collapsed under the bombardment of the Japanese army for several days. The next battle will focus on these collapsed walls. Zhou Xiangkui put all the machine guns that could still be used on these gaps, waiting for the Japanese attack. Naturally, the Japanese army would not give up these gaps, and light and heavy machine guns and 92 infantry guns all fired at several gaps.

Around the gap in the city wall, the two sides fought fiercely for three days, the losses of the 615th Regiment were greater than those of the 613th Regiment, and after the whole regiment lost two-thirds of its officers and soldiers, and sacrificed a battalion commander and three company commanders, the regiment commander Zhou Xiangkui ordered to retreat to Zhenjiang City. The six-day blockade resulted in the loss of a large number of troops in the Japanese Ninth Wing.

After the capture of Dantu Town, Lieutenant General Nakajima Reigo Asago joined Lieutenant General Ushijima Sadao with the 18th Division of Lieutenant General Ushijima Sadao at Dantu Town. After the 18th Division was wiped out in Songjiang County, Shanghai, the 23rd Brigade has not been replenished, and now the 18th Division has only one 35th Brigade and a 12th Field Artillery Wing, as well as an engineer wing, a baggage wing, a cavalry brigade, and other units.

It is so difficult to take the positions on the outskirts of Zhenjiang City, so it will inevitably be even more difficult to capture Zhenjiang City. Nakajima and Ushijima Sadao discussed using the two divisions to launch an attack on Zhenjiang City, and the street commander of the independent heavy artillery brigade also agreed to mobilize a 150 heavy cannon squadron to help the two divisions attack the city.

After a night's rest, the next day the two divisions marched together towards Zhenjiang City, while the Independent Heavy Artillery Brigade was stationed in Dantu Town. At ten o'clock in the morning, the Japanese army had already seen the city wall of Zhenjiang City, where the 150th Heavy Artillery Squadron set up an artillery position, and the 16th Division left a squadron of infantry to defend the heavy artillery position, while the rest of the Japanese army continued to advance.

When they were about to reach the position outside the city, the two division commanders discussed with each other and decided that the 16th Division would attack the front east gate where the main road was direct, and the 18th Division would attack the south gate on the flank. After the discussion, the two divisions each came to the position they were going to attack, and both set up artillery positions a few kilometers away from the city wall.

Wan Shijiong, the commander of the 618th Regiment, placed one battalion on each of the eastern and southern positions of the city, while the last battalion was on the east city wall and the guard battalion was on the south city wall. The 613th Regiment and the rest of the 615th Regiment were on standby in the city as reserves. After the Japanese were ready to attack, the two artillery positions opened fire at the same time, and only the heavy artillery positions remained still.

Dense shells rained down on the two positions outside the city, and Zhenjiang City was suddenly shrouded in gunsmoke and dust. The Japanese artillery fire was fierce, but the damage to the defenders was not great, and with a deep anti-artillery hole, the defenders were certainly not stupid enough to stay on the position as a target. After the Japanese stopped the shelling, the soldiers in the anti-artillery hole, under the urging of the officers, quickly entered the position along the communication trench.

Soon after the defenders entered the position, the Japanese infantry attacked, and the defenders with good equipment in hand would not be polite to the Japanese at all, and after the Japanese entered the firing range, they opened fire in full force, leaving the Japanese dead and wounded. Wan Shijiong observed the Japanese army on the city wall, and when he saw the fierce artillery fire of the Japanese army, he was bent on knocking out the Japanese artillery position. He called the commander of the artillery company and asked, "Have you seen the Japanese artillery position?"

The commander of the artillery company on the city wall reported to the regiment commander Wan Shijiong after taking a look: "Tuanzao, this is too far away from the Japanese artillery position, and the mortars can't reach it. After hearing this, Wan Shijiong thought for a while and said: "Since you can't reach it, you don't need to put all the mortars here, in case the little Japanese cannonballs come over, they will all be played." In this way, leave three guns on one side of the city wall and spread out the mortar and heavy machine gun positions in front of the position, and withdraw the rest first. ”

The commander of the artillery company replied, "Yes, regimental seat!" and went down to set up. Wan Shijiong held a telescope in the bunker of the city wall, observing the attack of the Japanese army, and said to himself: "His grandmother, little Japan really looks up to Lao Tzu, and uses two divisions to attack Zhenjiang City at the same time, you wait, sooner or later Lao Tzu wants you to look good." ”

After observing for a while, Wan Shijiong seemed to have thought of something, turned to the deputy of the regiment and said, "You are staring here, I'll go find the master's seat." After saying that, he turned around and left the bunker and went straight to the division headquarters.

In the division headquarters, Wang Shuhuai and Zhou Xiangkui were both there, Dai Zhiqi saw Wan Shijiong coming in and hurriedly asked: "Shijiong, how is the fight outside?" Wan Shijiong replied: "Deputy division commander, it is not so easy for small Japan to attack, but the artillery of small Japan is too fierce, can you talk to our heavy artillery brigade and give little Japan's artillery position a ruthless?"

Dai Zhiqi said: "If you want to use heavy artillery, but you have to nod your head from Commander Wang, this battle has just begun, so I ask to use heavy artillery, I'm afraid that Commander Wang may not agree." In this case, I will send a telegram to ask for instructions, I dare not guarantee that it will work. After finishing speaking, Dai Zhiqi called the adjutant and sent a telegram to Wang Haitao requesting the use of heavy artillery.