Sure enough, by noon, the troops of the 2nd and 3rd detachments attacking head-on were replaced by the 52nd and 62nd Divisions, and the battle became fierce again. On the front of the independent regiment, the mountain artillery used to cover the attack was also moved into place, and the 108th Division, under the cover of the mountain artillery, sent two more regiments of infantry to attack in turn. Smoke and flames billowed from the entire position, and the battle was extremely fierce.

The progress of the national army made Shangguan Yunxiang very dissatisfied, under the siege of tens of thousands of troops, he failed to attack Wusha Town for more than a day, and the longer the time dragged on, the more variables there were. Therefore, Shangguan Yunxiang was ready to let his divisions carry out non-stop attacks in turns, that is, to use the advantage of the number of soldiers to fight with the opponent.

Several commanders of the main division under Shangguan Yunxiang were reprimanded by him, and at this time, no one dared to preserve their strength anymore, and as soon as one attack was repulsed, another attack began again. Such an offensive was felt under great pressure not only by the second and third detachments, but even by the separate regiments. The national army attacked in batches one by one, but the defenders on the position had to be thrown into the blocking battle every time because of the lack of numbers.

The high-intensity battle was extremely exhausting of the soldiers' energy, and the battle lasted until the evening, although the three units withstood the onslaught of the national army with all their might, but their physical strength was overdrawn to the limit, because of the consumption of physical strength and energy, many veterans had tactical movements out of shape, which also increased the number of casualties. Wang Haitao saw it in his eyes and was anxious in his heart.

It was getting dark, perhaps after a day of strong attack, the national army was also a little overwhelmed, and the attack stopped. The defenders were also able to catch their breath. The casualties of the Independent Regiment had exceeded 500, and the casualties of the 2nd and 3rd detachments were close to half. In this case, Wang Haitao ordered the whole army to retreat and enter the third position.

The third line of positions is just outside the town of Wusha, and it is a circular position built on the basis of the wall of the town of Wusha. Because of time, there are not many fortifications to be built in Wusha Town, so this two-kilometer-long ring fortification is Wang Haitao's last reliance. Because of the heavy losses of the second and third detachments, Wang Haitao asked them to join forces to take charge of the defense line north of Wusha Town, and the Independent Regiment transferred a battalion and a security regiment to join forces to take charge of the defense line south of Wusha Town.

Among several troops, only the more than 1,000 people of the security regiment did not fight the enemy head-on, and Wang Haitao of the security regiment has always used them as reserves, although there are reasons why their combat effectiveness is not strong, mainly because they are not part of the 90th Army. Although the security team was also formed by Lin Yuxi, an old man under Wang Haitao, after Lin Yuxi left the security group, Zhou Kui took over as the head of the group, and Wang Haitao didn't know about this Zhou Kui.

During the battle, Zhou Kui also took the initiative to ask Wang Haitao for battle many times, but Wang Haitao refused, not because Wang Haitao didn't trust Zhou Kui and them, but because Wang Haitao felt that he must keep a force in his hand so that he could go up when he needed it most. Now that the battle has reached a critical moment, as long as the New Fourth Army has crossed the river, then its mission will be completed, and when the troops have suffered considerable casualties, it is time to use the security regiment.

The weapons and equipment of the security regiment are similar to those of the New Fourth Army, and the combat experience is far inferior to that of the New Fourth Army. After the troops had all entered the position, Wang Haitao took the last guard platoon and some of the fighters of the reconnaissance company to the wall of Wusha Town.

The defensive position is under the wall, how to make good use of the wall, Wang Haitao has also been prepared, and a number of fortifications have been built on the wall. Now Wang Haitao no longer retains his strength, and takes out twenty heavy machine guns from the storage ring on the wall again, and asks the soldiers around him to form twenty machine gun teams and enter the fortifications of the wall respectively.

With these 20 heavy machine guns in the fortifications of the wall, it is condescending and the firepower is enough to cover the area within 300 meters of the position, and with these 20 heavy machine guns, it is really not easy for the national army to attack the position. Not long after everything was arranged, the soldiers of the national army besieged them from three sides. The New Fourth Army on the riverside is also beginning to let troops cross the river.

Before the military headquarters of the New Fourth Army crossed the river, Commander Ye Ting and Deputy Commander Chen Yi both came to the wall to bid farewell to Wang Haitao, and Commander Ye Ting also brought a telegram of thanks from the Chinese communists in Yan'an to Wang Haitao and a telegram of thanks from Zhou Gong in his personal name. The first to cross the river were the wounded who had been evacuated from the two-day battle, including the wounded of the Independent Regiment, and the New Fourth Army also crossed the river with them.

Wang Haitao understands that this is the most appropriate way, otherwise when he breaks through tomorrow, he will definitely increase the difficulty of breaking through with so many wounded, and as for whether these wounded will stay in the CCP's troops after recovery, it depends on their own choice. As soon as the battle began, Wang Haitao threw all his energy into the battlefield again.

At this time, because the defenders took the initiative to retreat, the encirclement of the national army was also tighter, and the battle entered a white heat from the beginning. In the darkness, it was impossible to see how many enemy troops had attacked, and the soldiers only knew that the enemy had attacked again and again, and was repulsed again and again, and there was no pause in between. In the back, the fighters were also numb, but instinctively kept pulling the trigger.

The twenty heavy machine guns on the perimeter played an important role, especially on the security regiment's position. Although the fighting spirit of the security regiment was very high, it had too little experience in actual combat, and in the face of the tidal wave of attacks by elite troops like the 52nd Division of the National Army, it was quite difficult to defend it, and the battle did not last long, and nearly 100 casualties were inflicted.

The soldiers of the guard company of a battalion and two platoons of the independent regiment played a mainstay role at this time, especially the soldiers of the two platoon guard companies, whose extremely skilled tactical movements and incomparably accurate marksmanship all showed superb individual quality.

It was their outstanding performance, as well as the fire support of several heavy machine guns on the fence, that allowed the security regiment, which had experienced this kind of big battle for the first time, to hold on. The battle continued until eleven o'clock in the evening, and the second detachment was first ordered to withdraw from the battle, and only three detachments of more than 1,000 troops were still holding out on the northern position. As soon as the defenders' firepower weakened, the 62nd Division on the opposite side immediately felt it.

After two days of fierce fighting, the 62nd Division was also exhausted, and its six regiments participated in the attack, and the casualties were more than 1,000. After the division commander Tao Liu found that the firepower of the defenders on the opposite side was weakening from time to time, he immediately concentrated the strength of two regiments and launched a fierce attack. For a time, the situation of the three detachments was very critical. Zeng Zifeng, the leader of the three detachments, immediately reported the situation to Wang Haitao and asked Wang Haitao for help.

Wang Haitao was prepared after learning that the second detachment was ordered to withdraw from the battle, but he didn't expect the enemy to seize the flaw so quickly, and now there is no mobile force around him at all, so Wang Haitao can only transfer another battalion from the independent regiment to the third detachment. Now the independent regiment is the weakest side.

After the transfer of two battalions, only the first and second battalions remained on the position of the independent regiment, and the number of soldiers who were killed and wounded was less than 1,000. You must know that on this side of the independent regiment, there are three main divisions of the national army attacking in turn. Fortunately, at night, the mountain artillery of the national army was not put into attack, and it was difficult to see the number of people on the position, otherwise with this force of less than 1,000 people, it would be difficult to hold out for two hours.

The battle lasted until one o'clock in the evening, when the Nationalist troops finally stopped attacking on all fronts, and the battlefield gradually became quiet. The three detachments also took the opportunity to leave the battlefield and rushed to the river. The three detachments would be the last to cross the river, and they also took with them all the wounded who had lost their combat effectiveness. Wang Haitao only needs to wait until the three detachments cross the river, even if the covering task is successfully completed, he can find a way to break through.

At four o'clock in the morning, news came from the New Fourth Army that the last part of the personnel had boarded the ship. Wang Haitao breathed a sigh of relief at this time, and immediately ordered a small number of troops to be left on the position to monitor the enemy army, and the rest of the troops were all assembled in the town. At the same time, Huang Guizhong, Zhou Kui, Wei Changxing, and Feng Zisheng were all called together by Wang Haitao to discuss the breakout.

When everyone got together, first of all, they discussed which direction to break through, the east is where the main force of the national army is, and all the way are the jurisdiction of the national army, the most difficult to encircle the *, it is not optional, then the only thing left is to break through to the south or to the north, and ask the south is to break through in the direction of Anqing, although it can be highlighted, but it is not conducive to the independent regiment to return to the Jurong base.

According to Wang Haitao's idea, the independent regiment still has to return to the Jurong base, otherwise the Jurong base will lose the main defense force of the independent regiment, and Wang Haitao will regret it in case of loss. After repeated discussions, Wang Haitao decided that the troops would break through to the north, that is, in the direction of Tongling. As long as they rushed through the defense line of the national army in the Guichi area and entered the mountainous area between Guichi and Tongling, then the troops could flexibly move through the mountains and get rid of the encirclement of the national army.

However, to break through to the north, we must first break through the positions of the 62nd Division and the newly formed 7th Division, and we must also quickly break through the 148th Division stationed in Guichi to intercept them. Wang Haitao also fell into deep thought.

After thinking about it for a while, Wang Haitao still put his idea on the five armored vehicles and two light tanks in the storage ring, plus there were more than 20 trucks, ten of which were armored trucks. With these tanks opening the way, and then taking out all the 75-caliber field guns and using them, I believe that the gap can be quickly opened and the troops can rush out of the encirclement.

After having an idea, Wang Haitao asked Huang Guizhong and Zhou Kui to go to the whole team and prepare for a breakthrough. Then he and Wei Changxing and Feng Zisheng took the people of the guard company and the reconnaissance company to the compound of the former military headquarters of the New Fourth Army. The compound was empty and very quiet. In the open space, Wang Haitao took out ten 75-caliber field guns, 26 trucks, five heavy armored vehicles, and two light tanks in the storage ring.