Chapter 37 Chapter 37 The Battle on the Western Front

At 3 o'clock in the morning on July 2, the command post of the 29th Regiment. Colonel Zhu Guangji, head of the 29th Regiment: "2nd Battalion? I'm Zhu Guangji, looking for Battalion Commander Li!" "Reporting head, I am Li Zhenwu, please give instructions!" "Commander Li, the position of the 1st Battalion of the Tiger-shaped Nest is very critical now. I order you to bring the 2nd Battalion of the headquarters to rescue as soon as possible! If you are slow, the position may be lost!" Commander Zhu said anxiously. "Understood! Our department hurried to help the 1st Battalion!" Li Zhenwu replied boldly.After finishing talking, lead the team to run to reinforce the 1st Battalion.

As the 2nd Battalion arrived in time, the two battalions joined forces to press from northeast to southwest. After two hours of fierce fighting, all the invading enemies were finally wiped out. "Tiger Nest? Please ask the 1st Battalion Commander Labor and the 2nd Battalion Commander Li to listen to the phone!" "Two battalion commanders, the commander's phone number!" The communication squad leader handed the phone to the nearest labor battalion commander. "Leader, it's me, Lao Yaomin, following your instructions!" "How's it going?"

"Reporting to the head of the regiment, all positions have been restored, and the battlefield is now being cleaned. About 1,000 Japanese soldiers were killed." Lao Yaomin said in a low voice, "Our army has also lost a lot. The 1st Battalion currently has less than 100 combat soldiers; the 2nd Battalion This counterattack also caused more than 40 casualties, Deputy Battalion Commander Li Wenxiu was injured in his left arm and has been evacuated to the hospital!" "Captain Labor, in view of the current situation, you should immediately switch defenses with Battalion Commander Li. Your battalion retreats to the second-line position Zhang Feishan. The tiger-shaped nest is guarded by the 2nd Battalion."

"Yes, Commander." After Lao Yaomin finished speaking, he handed the phone to Commander Li of the 2nd Battalion. "Leader, I'm Li Zhenwu." "Zhenwu, you are now fully responsible for the defense of the Tiger Nest position. Let the 1st Battalion withdraw first. Attention, we must quickly organize the battlefield, strengthen the fortifications, replenish ammunition, and maintain smooth communication with the regiment headquarters!" "Yes! I will follow your orders immediately!" At the same time, the 3rd Battalion of the 29th Regiment defended the Fanjiazhuang highland close to the tiger-shaped nest with a reinforced company.The main force of the battalion occupied the second-line position of Xichan Temple.

Because the west side of Fanjiazhuang is an endless paddy field, not to mention people, even a dog can't escape, and it becomes a living target for the defenders on the high ground.Devils dare not attack from here.So they came out from the West Bus Station and turned to the north along both sides of the road to attack Fanjiazhuang Heights. But to the right behind Fanjiazhuang is the Xichan Temple, the main position of the 3rd Battalion.The fiery firepower of the main battalion inflicted great damage on the Japanese army.From this point of view, the defender Fanjiazhuang's position is as solid as gold.It made the Japanese army daunting.

Helpless, the Japanese army had no choice but to bombard with intensive artillery fire first, in order to destroy the obstacles in front of our formation and the fortifications on the position, and kill and injure a large number of officers and soldiers guarding the national army.Then during the day, the charging infantry units changed their habitual dense formation, and spread out over a large area, slowly approaching the national army positions. But the national army is still tit for tat. If you fire artillery, I will enter the shelter; if you charge, I will come out to block.Those who are far away are shot with rifles, those who are close are shot with machine guns, and those who are closer are fed with grenades.Most of the Japanese soldiers were killed near the obstacles, and it was difficult to get past the thunder pool.

It was not possible during the day, and the Japanese army switched to attacking at night, trying to take advantage of the cover of night to occupy the defenders' positions.However, this trick still doesn't work.Because the national army has already fortified its barriers, it is even more united and ready to fight.Although the Japanese army destroyed the barrier several times, penetrated through the gap, and even sneaked under the cut wall.But he couldn't escape the grenade barrage of the national army.The Japanese army's onslaught for five consecutive days and nights finally failed.

The west line of Hengyang City Defense starts from the West Bus Station to the position of the 10th Division, along Waziping to Yilaimiaoqian Street, with a total length of more than 1,200 meters.The terrain in front of the position is flat and open, most of which are paddy fields and fish ponds. The 7th Regiment of the 3rd Division of the National Army is stationed on this line.Before the war, the defenders built a large number of fortifications such as bunkers and traffic trenches, laid multi-layered obstacles, and partially demolished townhouses to prevent the Japanese army from being easily accessible.This is a place that is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and the formation of winning more with less.

Despite this, the arrogant Japanese army launched round after round of rampant attacks regardless of attrition. The Japanese army actually advanced the flat-firing artillery to the front of the national army's position, aiming directly at the defender's bunker.Blowing up most of the Volunteer Fortress of the defenders, the troops lost a lot.But the officers and soldiers of the national army fought tenaciously, inflicting the greatest damage on the enemy. Seeing that the national army's position was low-lying and had an opportunity to take advantage of, the Japanese army, who became angry from embarrassment, frequently released poison gas.I saw the curling yellow smoke coming with the wind covering the sky, like the sandstorm in the north today, filling the entire position, causing great harm.

The officers and soldiers of the national army fought against the virus while fighting hard. The six anti-aircraft guns of the attached 48th Division's anti-aircraft artillery company continuously carried out surprise suppressive fire against the Japanese flat-fire guns.But intermittently, because there are too few shells, the artillery positions must be moved from time to time to avoid enemy plane attacks, and they dare not be too ostentatious, and the officers and soldiers can't get enough of it! For five days, Japanese planes flew over the area every day and bombarded them violently, causing many casualties to the defenders.

In the early morning of June 29, a commando force of more than 70 Japanese troops broke through the defenders' positions and invaded Miaoqian Street in Yilai. Major Xu Xueqi, the battalion commander of the 1st Battalion of the 7th Regiment, immediately led the reserve company to carry out a counter-charge and started house-to-house and street battles with the enemy.The fierce battle lasted until noon before the enemy advanced and retreated.However, Battalion Commander Xu was unfortunately killed.Commander Zhou immediately ordered Mu Hongcai, deputy battalion commander, to take over as battalion commander. On the night of July 1st, more than 200 Japanese soldiers broke through the position of the 3rd Battalion of Waziping. Fang Renjie, head of the 7th Regiment, commanded Major Xie Ying, commander of the 2nd Battalion, to lead the 2nd Battalion to counterattack.But after repeated attacks and defeats, they had no choice but to retreat to the second-line reserve position. "Reporting to the division commander, the Waziping position of the 3rd Battalion of our regiment was broken by the enemy. I immediately sent the 2nd Battalion to carry out a counterattack, but several attacks were unsuccessful, and we have now retreated to the second-line position." "What? The big war just started, and someone in my 3rd Division dares to lose their position? It's unreasonable to damage our army's prestige and disturb our army's morale!" Zhou Qingxiang, the commander of the 3rd Division, was furious when he heard the news: "Come on! Give me an order: one 1. Fang Renjie, the head of the 7th Regiment, was dismissed for investigation, and the post of head of the 7th Regiment was promoted by Ju Jinghuan, the deputy head of the regiment; 2. Li Guilu, the commander of the 3rd Battalion, was immediately executed on the spot to embarrass you; 3. The 2nd Battalion of the 7th Regiment took over The defensive position of the 3rd Battalion; more than 130 remaining officers and soldiers of the 3rd Battalion assembled into a regiment reserve team, and appointed regiment deputy Wang Jinding as the battalion commander of the 3rd Battalion. The above items were notified to the whole army as a warning!" When the news spread, all officers and soldiers in the army sighed! Fang Renjie is Fang Xianjue's man.Fang Xianjue knew that this was Zhou Qingxiang's move to fight back against him, but it was reasonable and legal.Come on, let him go.The enemy is now, internal unity and the interests of the country and the nation are the most important!What are personal grievances and grievances? Fang Xianjue couldn't help but push open the window, as if pushing away his melancholy.Looking at the Yanfeng Temple not far from Chengnanguan, I silently recited the poem "Returning Wild Goose to Yulou Spring" by Wang Fuzhi, a righteous man who resisted the Qing Dynasty in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasty, a scholar of great learning, and a native of Hengyang: Qin Tian Chu Shui Tianya road, only Gui Hong knows where to live.Liaohuazhou has changed over time, but Fangcaodu is still unforgettable. Looking back at the dark sky in the southern sky, it was also wrong to send a message to the mysterious bird to return.Thousands of weeping poplars and crows crowing in disorder, who will listen to the whispers of the day.