The infantry squad that had previously been on a search mission was suddenly attacked outside Bac Ninh County, and it was likely that Chinese troops had captured Bac Ninh County. The situation was quickly reported from level to level. Soon Lieutenant General Maruyama Masao in the back got the news. Lieutenant General Maruyama Masao was taken aback at first, but then he figured out that this must be a small Chinese force that attacked the county town of Bac Ninh in order to prevent himself from reinforcing Bac Giang City.

Thinking of this, Lieutenant General Maruyama Masao sneered, and said to Major General Matsui Kiichiro beside him: "The people of Shina are really arrogant, thinking that with these small units they can stop the footsteps of my Second Division?"

After hearing the reports of his subordinates, Nasu Yuo Daisa also believed that a small force of Chinese was blocking his reinforcement of Beijiang Castle, and ordered the 1st Infantry Brigade to attack the position of the Shina people without waiting for the order of the division commander. As soon as the 1st Infantry Brigade set up four Type 92 infantry guns and more than 10 mortars and began shelling the opposite position, the artillery fire of the counterattack on the opposite position came back.

Although there are no strong fortifications such as bunkers, the trenches, sandbag bunkers, and individual anti-artillery holes are still very complete. The Japanese-style mountain artillery of the three regiments was used intensively, but the mortars of each regiment were still used by the regiments themselves. The 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 882nd Regiment, together with most of the heavy firepower battalions, also had 60 mortars of large and small calibers.

The 60 mortars were divided into three positions by Mu Shuanglin, the commander of the first battalion who was responsible for directing the battle outside the city, according to different calibers. As soon as the Japanese small artillery began to shell, the commander of the first battalion, Mu Shuanglin, was not to be outdone, and ordered the 60 mortar position to return fire. Thirty-two 60 mortars completely suppressed more than a dozen small guns of the Japanese army in terms of firepower, and the artillery fire of this counterattack made all the small guns of an artillery squadron of the Japanese army finish.

When the Second Division retreated back to Hanoi, it lost too many heavy weapons, supplies and ammunition, and did not receive much replenishment during the rest and recuperation in Hanoi. An artillery squadron was destroyed by the artillery fire of the Chinese army's counterattack, which made Nasu Yuo Osa no longer calm. Nasu Yukio Daisa asked the division commander, Lieutenant General Maruyama Masao, for artillery support from the Mountain Artillery Wing, while allowing the 1st Infantry Brigade to continue the attack.

The Second Division, as a veteran A division, and the Fourth Wing, is the wing that retains the most veterans, and its combat effectiveness is still very strong, which is by no means comparable to those third-rate guard units. The 1st Infantry Brigade opened up the stragglers and cautiously launched an attack without artillery cover, while several heavy machine guns in the back kept spitting tongues of fire to cover the attack.

Mu Shuanglin, the commander of the first battalion, saw that the Japanese troops were only 200 meters away from the position, and ordered the first battalion to start firing back, and more than ten heavy machine guns in the sandbag bunkers on the position opened fire first to suppress the Japanese heavy machine guns. A dozen light machine guns in the trenches were crossfired, blocking the path of the Japanese attack. Semi-automatic rifles and single-shot assault and front guns were destroying Japanese soldiers with precision fire.

After more than a dozen soldiers in the front of the Japanese army were shot and fell, the soldiers in the back bent their waists lower, the skirmish line was pulled wider, and the light machine gunners even lay directly on the ground, set up light machine guns, and fired vigorously at the defenders' positions, and the grenadiers in the team continued to throw grenades and bullets onto the light machine gun positions. At a distance of 200 meters, the Japanese army's marksmanship was not bad, and from time to time some of the soldiers of the first battalion were shot and fell down when they fired at each other.

In particular, the grenades and bullets thrown by the Japanese grenadiers were often thrown very accurately on the light machine gun positions, and two light machine gun positions were killed by grenades and bullets without much effort, and not only the light machine guns were damaged, but the machine gunners were also sacrificed on the positions. As soon as the casualties of the soldiers increased, the most anxious was Mu Shuanglin, this was only the first attack of the Japanese army, and there could not be too many casualties.

Mu Shuanglin immediately organized the sharpshooters in the battalion to fight the grenadiers and light machine gunners of the Japanese army. In the ranks of more than 1,000 Japanese troops, it was not easy to find the light machine gunners and grenadiers, especially the grenadiers, who were not only well concealed, but also not easy to detect. The sharpshooter did not play out. The two sides confronted each other at a distance of 150 to 200 meters.

The two sides exchanged fire for more than an hour, and although the Japanese army could not attack it, it was also difficult for the first battalion to repel the Japanese army. Compared with the two sides, the Japanese casualties were still larger. After more than an hour of firefighting, the Japanese troops, from Nasu Yuo Daisa to Lieutenant General Maruyama Masao, began to face up to the Chinese army in front of them. With the combat effectiveness of the Fourth Wing, an infantry brigade attacked for more than an hour, but failed to approach the defenders' positions, and judging from the exchange of fire, the defenders' firepower was fierce, their marksmanship was accurate, and there were a large number of mortars, which showed that the defenders on the positions were the elite troops of the Chinese army.

It was late, and his troops were tired after a day's march. Therefore, Lieutenant General Maruyama Masao ordered the front to stop the attack, and the whole army retreated five kilometers back and camped, preparing to engage the defenders again after mobilizing the mountain artillery wing tomorrow. When camping, Lieutenant General Maruyama Masao specially instructed his subordinates to pay attention to vigilance to prevent the Chinese army from sneaking up at night.

Wei Erxi: They really didn't plan to let the Japanese army rest quietly. After dinner, Wei Erxi called Ma Jiangsheng, commander of the reconnaissance battalion, to the command post. Wei Erxi's order to Ma Jiangsheng was very clear, that is, to let the reconnaissance battalion dispatch a reconnaissance team to attack and harass the Japanese army at night, so that the Japanese army could not rest peacefully. Ma Jiangsheng was happy as soon as he obeyed the order, and these things were the strength of the reconnaissance battalion. Ma Jiangsheng said to Wei Erxi: "Brigade, just look at it, I will definitely make Little Japan unable to live in peace overnight." ”

At night, on the positions inside and outside the city of Bac Ninh, except for the guards and sentries on duty, everyone else was asleep, and suddenly the explosion of shells sounded in the direction of the Japanese garrison in the distance, followed by the sound of gunfire, which lasted for more than an hour before gradually calming down. In the second half of the night, the explosion of shells sounded again, this time even more, and the gunfire of the Japanese garrison rang out for a long time, until it was almost dawn before it calmed down again.

The next morning, when the Japanese army assembled, more than half of the officers and soldiers stood in the line with panda eyes, listless, and gray faces. The division commander, Lieutenant General Maruyama Masao, was also in a similar shape, scolding the Chinese for their meanness and shamelessness at Major General Kiichiro Matsui at the division headquarters. It's a pity that no matter how much they scolded, the Chinese army still held their positions without any losses.

Before the Japanese offensive began today, 54 mountain guns of the Mountain Artillery Wing were used to bombard the defenders' positions. As soon as the Japanese artillery shells flew over, the observers of the independent artillery regiment that had already prepared to guard the city wall began to calculate the azimuth coordinates of the Japanese mountain artillery positions according to the flight trajectory of the Japanese artillery shells. Soon, the azimuth coordinates of the Japanese mountain artillery positions were calculated, and the observers reported to the commander of the independent artillery regiment Niu Jianjian at the first time.

On the position outside the city, the first line of defense was empty, Mu Shuanglin had expected that the Japanese army would launch an artillery bombardment before the attack this morning, and the hastily built position lacked fortifications and bunkers to avoid the shelling, so Mu Shuanglin let the first battalion withdraw to the second line of defense under the city wall. The Japanese shelling did not cause casualties among the defenders.

Ten minutes later, the Japanese artillery bombardment continued, and the 48 Japanese-style mountain guns of the two battalions of the Independent Artillery Regiment began to return fire. The sudden return fire caught the Japanese by surprise, and after the initial panic and losses, the Japanese also found the position of the independent artillery regiment, at which time the two sides began an artillery battle. The Japanese suffered a loss and were beaten by the independent artillery regiment first, and when they returned fire, only half of the artillery was left.

The artillery battle between the two sides lasted for nearly an hour before it ended, and the independent artillery regiment basically destroyed a Japanese mountain artillery wing at the cost of 12 mountain guns and more than 80 artillery casualties. The destruction of the mountain artillery wing was like a blow to the head, and Lieutenant General Maruyama Masao was dizzy. After a brief moment of consternation, Lieutenant General Maruyama Masao burst into flames at the makeshift command post. The captain of the mountain artillery wing, Harada Fuji Osa, who narrowly escaped with his life, was beaten and scolded by Lieutenant General Maruyama Masao, covering his red face, and did not dare to bite it.

When the fire was over, the anger was out, and Lieutenant General Maruyama began to worry about how to attack next. The Mountain Artillery Wing has always been his main attacking force, whether it is attacking the defending positions or helping to defend Bac Giang City, the Mountain Artillery Wing is indispensable. Now that the mountain artillery wing has been destroyed, Lieutenant General Maruyama Masao really doesn't know how to attack, especially when the defenders still have a lot of artillery.

After thinking about it for a long time, Lieutenant General Maruyama Masao could only ask the Fourth Wing to continue the attack, and at the same time send a telegram to Commander Jun Imamura, requesting Commander Jun Imamura to give support. Commander Jun Imamura received a telegram from Lieutenant General Maruyama Masao and threw himself on the map, which surprised Lieutenant General Imamura by the report of the main Chinese army appearing in the county town of Bac Ninh.

Bac Ninh County is only 50 kilometers away from Hanoi City, and a normal march can reach Hanoi from Bac Ninh County in less than a day. The 38th Division had just arrived in Hanoi, and the defense system had not done much at all, and if the 2nd Division could not repel the Chinese army, or hold the Chinese army, it would be extremely difficult to hold Hanoi.

Lieutenant General Imamura Jun immediately called for Lieutenant General Tadayoshi Sano and asked the 38th Division to complete the defense system of Hanoi Castle as soon as possible. At the same time, Lieutenant General Maruyama Masao must repel the Chinese army. Considering that the strength of the 2nd Division had seriously decreased after losing the mountain artillery wing, Lieutenant General Imamura had to send another telegram to the Southern Army Command requesting air support from naval aviation.

In the eyes of the Southern Army Command, the geographical location of French Indochina (Vietnam) is very important, and it is an important place to blockade China to obtain foreign aid. Therefore, the commander-in-chief of the Southern Army, General Terauchi Shouichi, also attached importance to Lieutenant General Imamura's telegram. However, with fierce fighting raging across Southeast Asia, General Terauchi was unable to deploy troops to support Vietnam's 16th Army.