On the night before the war, both China and Japan were in full swing to prepare, and at the pre-war meeting of the 462nd Brigade, division commander Li Changwu was also present in person to listen to the brigade commander Tang Yu's action arrangements for tomorrow's battle. According to Tang Yu's arrangement, tomorrow's attack will be launched after the artillery fire extends deep into the Japanese position, and then the 877th Regiment and the 878th Regiment will each launch a surprise attack on the Japanese position in front of the Japanese position 2,000 meters wide, on the left and right.

The 879th Regiment and a mixed tank battalion will enter the battle after the 877th Regiment and the 878th Regiment tear open the gap in the Japanese position, and the 879th Regiment will penetrate directly into the depth of the Japanese position, plus the cooperation of the other two regiments, to defeat the Japanese troops on the position in one fell swoop. There is no problem with Tang Yu's arrangement, the key is that the three regiments can clarify their goals and resolutely carry out the tasks assigned by Tang Yu.

At the end of the pre-war meeting, Li Changwu still stood up and encouraged everyone. The officers present are also people who have fought in the south and north for many years and have rich battlefield experience, and they can understand Tang Yu's arrangement. At the end of the meeting, everyone discussed how to cooperate on the battlefield and how to deal with emergencies before ending the meeting.

Both China and Japan were waiting for the decisive battle after dawn, but it was the Jurong Independent Brigade that fired the first shot. After Huang Guizhong received Wang Haitao's telegram in the evening, he began to arrange the tasks of each regiment, and it turned out that Huang Guizhong was preparing to let the Third Independent Regiment cut off the road from Fengcheng to Zhangshu and capture the prisoner of war camp.

The 4th Independent Regiment was also sent to operate at the same time as the 3rd Independent Regiment, and their mission was to capture the prisoner of war camp, rescue hundreds of comrades in the camp, and hold back Japanese reinforcements in the direction of Fengcheng for more than 48 hours. The 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 2nd Independent Regiment will launch a feint attack on the Japanese troops outside the North Gate to contain the Japanese reinforcements in the direction of the South Gate and Fengcheng. The 3rd Battalion of the 2nd Independent Regiment was the general reserve.

The 1st Independent Regiment had the heaviest task, they would launch an attack on the Japanese troops outside the East Gate, not only to contain this part of the Japanese army, but also to strive to defeat this part of the Japanese army, so as to cut off the reinforcements of the Japanese troops outside the North Gate to the South Gate, and to prevent the Japanese army outside the South Gate from escaping after defeat. As for the rout of the Japanese army outside the South Gate, Huang Guizhong did not have the slightest doubt about it.

The shelter of the Independent Brigade was still some distance from the prisoner of war camp and the road from Fengcheng to Zhangshu, so as soon as Huang Guizhong's mission was assigned, the 3rd and 4th Independent Regiments immediately began to move. At eleven o'clock in the evening, the 3rd Independent Regiment came to a distance of two kilometers outside the town of Rongtang. After crossing Rongtang Town, and then advancing five kilometers to the northwest, is the town of Tugboat Port, which is also the place selected by the Independent Brigade to block the reinforcements of Fengcheng.

Liu Shanzhu, the commander of the 3rd Independent Regiment, left the first battalion outside Rongtang Town, and in his opinion, one battalion was enough to deal with the Japanese troops stationed in Rongtang Town. Just as the main force was about to bypass Rongtang Town and continue to advance towards Tugboat Port Town, it encountered a reconnaissance group of the Reconnaissance Brigade. This reconnaissance group also came for the prisoner of war camp.

After meeting the reconnaissance group, Liu Shanzhu learned that the Japanese army had come from Fengcheng in the evening and that the Japanese army in Rongtang Town now had two infantry brigades. The leader of the reconnaissance group had already sent a telegram to the regiment commander Yao Yuanbao for reinforcements, and now he saw a main force coming over, and he immediately became excited. However, after hearing Liu Shanzhu tell him that the main force had another task and could only leave one battalion to attack Rongtang Town, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

He Yongsheng, the commander of the first battalion of the 3rd Independent Regiment, used to be the platoon commander of the guard regiment of the old 90th Division, and was wounded in the defense of Nanjing and sent to the Jurong base to recuperate. He Yongsheng discussed with several company commanders under his command and decided to launch an attack on the Japanese troops in Rongtang Town at three o'clock in the morning.

At one o'clock in the morning, the three regiments and one battalion were lurking outside the south gate of Rongtang Town, and a company of the reconnaissance brigade also came to reinforce them. As soon as Chen Peng, the commander of the reconnaissance company, arrived, he met with He Yongsheng. If you want to take Rongtang Town, no matter how strong the combat effectiveness of the reconnaissance company is, it is difficult to complete it independently, so Chen Peng wisely chose to cooperate with the three regiments and one battalion. He Yongsheng also had no objection to the reconnaissance company's initiative to ask for cooperation with him.

With the strength of the three regiments and one battalion, he was not afraid of two brigades of Japanese troops, and it was not a big problem to capture Rongtang Town, but He Yongsheng was worried that the Japanese army would jump over the wall in a hurry and kill hundreds of comrades in the prisoner of war camp. After discussing for a while, Chen Peng and He Yongsheng clarified the division of labor, the reconnaissance company was responsible for infiltrating Rongtang Town, quickly taking the prisoner of war camp, and protecting the comrades in the prisoner of war camp, and the three regiments and one battalion were responsible for attacking Rongtang Town and dealing with the Japanese troops in the town.

As soon as the discussion was over, the reconnaissance company took advantage of the darkness to approach the wall of Rongtang Town. The walls of Rongtang Town are not high, but they have clearly been reinforced by the Japanese army, and there are searchlights and patrolling Japanese squads. These are all difficult to help the soldiers of the reconnaissance company with special skills. The reconnaissance company, in small groups, quickly crossed the wall and entered the town.

Liu Yongsheng and Chen Peng agreed to launch an attack at the same time at three o'clock in the morning, and at two o'clock the first battalion had completed all the preparations before the attack. Not only have the 20 mortars already been set up on the positions, but more than 20 heavy machine guns are also ready to open fire. As a company of sharp knives, it was also lurking only more than 200 meters away from the wall.

At 2:20 p.m., there was a sudden sound of gunfire in the city, first a few sporadic sounds, and soon the gunfire became dense, mixed with the explosion of grenades and bullets. The movement in the town alarmed He Yongsheng outside the town, and He Yongsheng understood that it was the operation of the reconnaissance company that was discovered by the Japanese army. Although the reconnaissance company was extremely combative, it was surrounded by a large number of Japanese troops, and the result was that it was completely annihilated. So He Yongsheng immediately ordered an attack on Rongtang Town.

As soon as He Yongsheng gave the order, twenty mortars immediately fired shells at the wall, and at the same time, the heavy machine guns roared angrily. The shells exploded one after another on the wall, and the sudden blow caused confusion among the Japanese troops on duty on the wall, and after the searchlights were extinguished in the artillery fire, the Japanese machine-gun fire points could only shoot blindly outside the town without any purpose.

Outside the town, the Sharp Knife Company was already approaching the wall, and the blind fire of the Japanese machine guns did not pose a great danger to the Sharp Knife Company, but the fire from the muzzle of the gun became the most conspicuous target in the dark night. The artillerymen immediately adjusted their muzzles and aimed at these machine-gun fire points, which, after continuous shelling, were eliminated one by one. Without the machine-gun firing points, the sporadic firing on the wall would have been even less dangerous against the knife company.

The knife company quickly approached the wall, and the mortars stopped firing for fear of accidentally injuring their own people, and only the heavy machine guns were still suppressing the fire of the Japanese troops on the wall with dense bullets. As soon as the sharp knife company approached the wall, the company commander sent a demolition team to rush into the door hole with a large number of explosives and medicine bags.

The commander of the Sharp Knife Company gave an order, and the whole company launched a charge against the city gate. As soon as he rushed into the city gate, the company commander immediately divided two platoons to attack the city wall, preparing to take the city wall in one fell swoop and receive the main force outside the city into the city. The remaining troops also defended in place after rushing out of the city gate not far away, waiting for the main force behind to enter the city. He Yongsheng saw that the Sharp Knife Company had broken into the door, and excitedly ordered the Second Company and the Third Company to charge at the same time, and after the Sharp Knife Company took the wall, he also led the mortar company and the heavy fire company into the city.

From the first battalion's attack on Rongtang Town to the sharp knife company breaking through the door, it only took a few dozen minutes, the second and third companies entered the city and the first company converged, and saw the Japanese reinforcements at the city gate appear in the field of vision, behind the city gate is a road that is not wide, and the Japanese army swarms from the far side of the road. There was no cover on the road, so the soldiers lay on the ground and used the buildings on both sides of the road as cover to block the Japanese troops who rushed towards them.

At this time, the Japanese also spotted the Chinese troops rushing into the city, and under the command of the officers, they opened up and launched an attack on the first battalion. In the dark of night, both sides did not have a high level of accuracy, and could only use machine guns to suppress each other, at which point the battalion, which had the advantage in weapons, completely took the initiative. The width of the road was limited, and a company of several light machine guns blocked the road by cross-strafing, coupled with a large number of rushing and frontal guns, the attacking Japanese troops were knocked to the ground one after another, and the Japanese troops behind were also suppressed in place and could not move forward.

The number of Japanese troops who came up with reinforcements was quite large, and in order to recapture the city gate, the officers under command were still trying their best to get their soldiers to attack, and the two sides held their hands at once. As soon as He Yongsheng and his team arrived at the city gate, they couldn't enter, and the road in front of them had been blocked by three times. Listening to the still dense gunfire in the city, He Yongsheng was also in a hurry to reinforce the reconnaissance company.

He Yongsheng hurriedly rushed to the front, and after examining the situation of both the enemy and us, he immediately ordered the third company to go up the city wall and attack on both sides along the city wall, aiming at the place where the gunshots came from in the city. The second company searched for paths on both sides of the road and infiltrated the city from the path, targeting the same place in the city where the gunshots were heard. The second and third companies each carried six mortars and several heavy machine guns.

The remaining troops stayed in place to block the Japanese attack, and they should strengthen their firepower and strive to attract more Japanese troops. As soon as the order was transmitted, the 2nd and 3rd companies went into separate operations, and two heavy machine guns from the heavy fire company also joined the front line to strengthen the blockade of the road front. Seeing that the second and third companies had launched actions, Liu Yongsheng was relieved.

After the reconnaissance company entered Rongtang Town, it divided into several combat groups and went to the place where the prisoners of war were being held. These hundreds of prisoners of war were held by the Japanese army in several large courtyards, each guarded by a small team of Japanese soldiers. The reconnaissance company has already grasped the specific situation, and now all they have to do is to touch the outside of several compounds, and when the time comes, they will launch an attack on several compounds at the same time.

Touching a few places outside the compound was not difficult for the reconnaissance company, and the combat teams reached the attack positions separately. While lurking and waiting, a little accident occurred, two wild dogs appeared in the lurking position of a warrior, and the wild dogs were alarmed by the lurking warrior and let out a burst of howls, which attracted a patrol of Japanese soldiers. When the lurking combat group was dealing with the patrolling Japanese troops, a Japanese soldier fired a shot first, and the gunfire alarmed more Japanese troops, and Chen Peng saw that the troops had been exposed, so he could only order to attack several compounds first.