A tough battle has now become a hand-to-hand battle, the Japanese army has a long and excellent training in fighting stabs, and the average Chinese army is basically no match for the Japanese army when the difference in numbers is not large. There are reasons for this, the length of the Type 38 rifle used by the Japanese army is much longer than the rifle used by the Chinese side, and the so-called "one inch long and one inch strong", plus the difference in physical fitness is also an important reason.

Therefore, the Japanese army has a very psychological advantage in hand-to-hand combat, especially the third division, which is a veteran division of the first class. Haruo Ozawa led an infantry brigade to rush to the trench battlefield, and at the same time was full of confidence and prepared to crush the Chinese army in one fell swoop, but unfortunately he encountered Wang Haitao's 90th Division, the most capable force of the tough battle.

Among these divisions under Wang Haitao, the 90th Division has always been an elite unit, and it is the unit that Wang Haitao started with, and more than half of the officers of the 90th Division have followed Wang Haitao since Wang Haitao established the Longzhou Security Regiment. The 90th Division not only has the best weapons and equipment in the whole army, but also has the strongest individual quality and combat experience among the soldiers in the whole army.

The 272nd Brigade was slightly inferior to the 271st Brigade, but the strength of the two regiments was no problem at all against most of the Japanese army. The officers and men of the two regiments took the initiative to divide into battle groups in the face of the Japanese troops who rushed up to fight for the stabs, and first launched a fire attack on the Japanese troops, and the soldiers armed with semi-automatic rifles killed the Japanese soldiers who rushed up with the * knives on the head of the guns after shooting the bullets in the chamber.

The situation of the assault and gunners was similar, and the machine gunners, after finishing the bullets, pulled out the shell gun in their waist and continued to kill and injure the Japanese soldiers who rushed up. Some of the soldiers were also proficient in the eight swords, and at this time, they also drew their broadswords from their backs and killed the Japanese soldiers who rushed up. From the very beginning of this hand-to-hand combat, the Chinese side had a great advantage in weapons, but the Japanese army was extremely unaccustomed to the Chinese side's practice of shooting before stabbing.

Therefore, as soon as Haruo Ozawa led the infantry brigade to the battlefield, he was shocked by the scene in front of him, who originally thought that he would have the advantage, but suffered heavy casualties under the attack of the Chinese army, and retreated one after another. Even so, Haruo Ozawa did not intend to give up, but brandished his command knife and shouted, "Kill it!" and the command men rushed forward.

Haruo Ozawa led an infantry brigade to rush up, stabilizing the retreating Japanese line, but as time passed, the advantage of the Chinese side gradually became apparent. At this time, the captain of the guard beside Haruo Ozawa saw that the situation was not good, ran to Haruo Ozawa's side, and said anxiously: "Your Excellency, the strength of the Chinese army is too strong, please give the order to retreat, otherwise our wing will be all broken here." ”

Listening to the words of the captain of the guard beside him, Haruo Ozawa forced himself to calm down, and when he looked at the battlefield again, although there were still many soldiers still fighting with the Chinese army, compared to the Chinese soldiers everywhere, the number was very small. In this case, even if he is extremely reluctant, he can only retreat first, otherwise if he continues to fight, it will really be as the captain of the guard said, and the whole team will be shattered here.

After Ozawa Haruo Osaku gave the order to retreat, he was first escorted by the guards and retreated, and the Japanese troops, who were still fighting with the Chinese soldiers on the battlefield, also received the order to retreat, but the two sides were fighting together, so how could it be so easy to withdraw after thinking about it? The Japanese army, which had no fighting spirit, retreated in the direction of the city wall while fighting, and the rise of the 546th and 547th regiments also followed the Japanese army.

The two sides fought all the way until they reached the base of the city wall, and the Japanese troops on the city wall began to fire to block the Chinese army, and the two regiments stopped the pursuit, so that the number of the 64th Wing who could retreat to the third line of defense under the city wall was less than 500 men. The officers and men of the 546th Regiment and the 547th Regiment were also exhausted from the fighting, and after hastily cleaning up the battlefield, they retreated to the second line of defense that they had just captured.

Zhang Lingfu watched his subordinates successfully occupy the Japanese position, and chased all the way to the root of the city wall before stopping because of the Japanese resistance on the city wall, naturally he was full of joy, when he came to the division headquarters in a hurry, ready to personally report the battle situation to the division commander Tang Yikuan and commander Wang Haitao, but saw Wang Haitao and Tang Yikuan discussing something with solemn faces.

When Wang Haitao saw Zhang Lingfu come in, a smile fell on his face. Zhang Lingfu first saluted and greeted him, and then reported the battle situation on the front line to the two commanders. After listening to Zhang Lingfu's report, Wang Haitao said: "Zhong Lin, your 272nd Brigade fought very well today! I have written this down for you. You go back first and order the troops to rest and stand by, and there are still tough battles to be fought later. ”

After Zhang Lingfu excitedly left the division headquarters, Wang Haitao continued the original topic and asked Tang Yikuan: "Yikuan, do you think that if we launch an attack on Hengyang City overnight, will the troops be able to bear it?" Tang Yikuan thought for a while and replied: "Commander, I think it's okay! Today, the 271st Brigade of our division has not moved, and the soldiers are a little unable to hold their breath. ”

Wang Haitao thought for a while and asked: "It's not difficult to attack the city wall of Hengyang City, but in the next street battle, if you only use your division and guard brigade, can you take Hengyang City?" Tang Yikuan's heart moved, and asked: "Commander doesn't want the 211th Division to reinforce the 210th Division?" Wang Haitao pointed to the telegram on the table and said: "Yes, the 210th Division will attack with one division of the anti-Japanese army and two elite divisions supported by field heavy artillery, I am worried that the pressure is too great, and they will not be able to bear it!"

Tang Yikuan replied after standing up: "Commander, you have a heart, with our 90th Division and a guard brigade, I promise to take Hengyang City!" Wang Haitao nodded and said, "Okay! With your words, I can rest assured!" After speaking, Wang Haitao crawled in front of the map on the table and began to think about how to allocate the troops in his hands to be appropriate, while Tang Yikuan asked the signal soldiers to call Tang Yiqun.

Wang Haitao was so nervous because he received a telegram from Tang Hongming, commander of the 210th Division, an hour ago. In the telegram, Tang Hongming reported to Wang Haitao that at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the 110th Infantry Wing of the 110th Division of the Japanese Army had arrived at Liantangao Town, 10 kilometers north of Youxian County, and engaged in a fierce battle with the 874th Regiment of the 461st Brigade stationed in Liantangao Town.

Wang Haitao knew that it would be very difficult to use a 210th division to block the more than 50,000 Japanese troops who had come over for reinforcements, but Wang Haitao had so many troops at hand, and he didn't know what the combat effectiveness of the Japanese army in Hengyang City was at first, so he could only arrange it like this. Now that the two-day siege battle has been fought, Wang Haitao feels that the Japanese army in Hengyang City is like this, after the peripheral positions are captured, once the street fighting begins, it is the strength of his own troops, and on the premise of not seeking to completely annihilate the defenders of Hengyang, it should be enough to take Hengyang City with only the strongest 90th division and guard brigade.

In this way, the 211th Division could be withdrawn to reinforce Youxian and reduce the pressure on the 210th Division. However, Wang Haitao didn't want to stop the more than 50,000 Japanese troops who came to help, Wang Haitao thought about whether he could stop the more than 50,000 Japanese troops and inflict heavy losses on them. Once the more than 50,000 Japanese troops were severely damaged, the Japanese army's strength in Hunan would be greatly weakened, and it would also lay a solid foundation for himself and General Xue Yue to cooperate to drive the Japanese army out of Hunan.

The area of Youxian County is too small, the 210th Division must have arranged the troops, and now the 211th Division rushing over may disrupt the layout of the 20th Division, and it will be difficult to hit the Japanese army hard. The trails that can be marked on the map may not be accessible to heavy vehicles, but there should be no problem for people to walk.

After reading the map, Wang Haitao raised his head and found that Tang Yiqun had come to the division headquarters at some point, and Tang Yikuan was explaining to him the task of attacking Hengyang City at night. For a unit like the 90th Division, which has extremely rich combat experience, there is no need to give much explanation, as long as the order is given accurately, and they all know how to complete the task.

After a while, Tang Yiqun left the division headquarters excitedly, and Wang Haitao used the phone to inform Tang Longzai, Li Changwu and Tangshan Leopard to rush to the headquarters for a meeting. Wang Haitao, who returned to the headquarters, first showed the telegram sent by Tang Hongming to Chief of Staff Su Zuxin, and then told Su Zuxin his thoughts again.

After listening to Wang Haitao's thoughts, Su Zuxin said: "Commander, I have no objection to your ideas, but I want to put forward two ideas. First, the north gate and south gate of Hengyang City should still leave some troops to feint against it, so that the Japanese army could not draw troops from the two places to reinforce the west gate and reduce the pressure on the 90th Division. The second is whether the 211th Division can be divided into two routes, one can rush to the north of Youxian with light equipment from the small road, and the other can reinforce the 210th Division from the front of the main road. ”

Wang Haitao repeatedly thought about the two points put forward by Su Zuxin on the map, and only said to Su Zuxin after half a day: "Old Su, you can leave some troops at the north gate, I think it is enough to leave an infantry regiment and a heavy artillery battalion at the south gate, and there is no need to keep troops at the south gate.

Wang Haitao's words were agreed by Su Zuxin, and when the two were discussing the street battle in Hengyang City, Tang Longzai, Li Changwu and Tangshan Leopard came to the headquarters one after another. When the people arrived at Qi Wang Haitao and asked everyone to sit down at the conference table, he spread the military map on the table, and then said: "Call a few of you over, I have an idea to discuss with you, before discussing, you should each report the battle situation." ”

Li Changwu stood up first after Wang Haitao's words and said: "Report to the commander, our division has conquered the Japanese position outside the north gate at 14 o'clock, and then launched three attacks on the north gate wall of Hengyang City. ＂