Chapter 18 4. Linyi survived the crisis

The aforementioned Brigadier Zhu and Deputy Brigadier Commander Huang of the 115th Brigade of the 3rd Army led two regiments to reinforce Ju County, fought fiercely with the field brigade of the Banyuan Division in Ju County, then escaped from the enemy's tail and retreated along the banks of the Shu River Go to Xianggong Village in the east of Linyi for rest. The field brigade would not let it go, they burned the corpses of the Japanese soldiers, and then chased after them.All the way to Tangtou, the forward position of the 3rd Army. On March 3, the 232nd Regiment of the 116th Brigade, which was guarding the Tangtou position, began to catch fire.

As soon as the war started, it entered the white-hot stage directly, without the slightest transition in the middle.More than a dozen planes bombarded and strafed, and fired intensively. The artillery shells set off layers of sand on the defenders' positions, and more than a dozen tanks and armored combat vehicles rumbled over.The officers and soldiers of the 116th Brigade were not afraid. They stuck to their positions, bombed the tanks with grenades, shot at the infantry behind the tanks with machine guns, and fought with the Japanese mechanized troops with the most primitive weapons. They even held on to the Tangtou position for three or four days time.

The ordinary people in Linyi City mobilized all they could. They braved the Japanese artillery fire to transport ammunition, water and food to their troops, and rescue the wounded.Young students organized a battlefield rescue team to bandage the wounds of the wounded and donate blood voluntarily.The heroic actions of the Shandong people inspired the frontline soldiers.The spirit of the frontline soldiers who are not afraid of sacrifice also infected the people of Linyi.Together they formed an iron wall against the invaders and defended their homeland with their lives and blood. The 232nd Regiment of the 116th Brigade suffered heavy losses, with 2/3 casualties.The military ordered to abandon the soup and retreat to the rear to rest and stand by.Tangtou withdrew his defense, and the position of the White Tower behind was tight.The military department ordered the 231st Regiment of the 116th Brigade guarding there to hold on, and must firmly hold back and withstand the attack of the main force of the Field Brigade.Pang Bingxun ordered the supplementary regiment that came back from Duozhuang to copy the enemy's right back from the north of Gegou, and ordered the 229th Regiment of the 115th Brigade of Xianggongzhuang to copy the enemy's left back along the east bank of the Shu River. .

The officers and soldiers of the two regiments who plagiarized the back road, led by the leaders at all levels, rushed and fought like desperate Saburo, so that the ferocious Japanese army could not parry. The Chinese army surrounded them from left to right. The Japanese army had to abandon the occupied villages around Baita and retreat to Tangtou Town. go.The defenders regained the position south of Tangtou. The Field Brigade waited for reinforcements in Tangtou Town. The reinforcements were part of the Sakamoto Brigade, with about 5,000 troops, more than 30 cannons, and more than 20 tanks.The two brigades joined together, and on March 9, under the command of the head of the field brigade, they launched an attack on the Linyi defenders, attempting to forcibly pass through Linyi and march towards Taierzhuang.

It can be seen from the form of the Japanese attack that they didn't take the defenders on the opposite side seriously at all. There was no tactical or non-tactical, that is, the planes in the sky and the cannons and tanks on the ground.The two brigades were like a swarm of bumblebees, crushing them in groups. Pang Bingxun had predicted the tactics of the Japanese army in advance. The arrogant soldiers will inevitably show their posture. They will not be timid and cautious, but will rush at you in groups, crushing you mentally.Therefore, if the 3rd Army wants to stick to Linyi, it must fight tit for tat and reveal its family background to resist this scourge, otherwise it will be defeated.As long as this momentum can be resisted, the enemy can be contained.

At the headquarters, he ordered the 116th brigade to stick to the front, the 115th brigade to the right wing, and the rest of the troops to be the general reserve.All ministries must fight recklessly and hold their positions. Chief Li Zongren of Xuzhou also knew the situation in Linyi. He called and instructed that Linyi was a barrier for Xuzhou and must be resolutely defended against the enemy's advance.Zhang Zizhong's 59th Army has been ordered to go for reinforcements, and Xu Zuyi, chief of staff of the headquarters, has been sent to Linyi. The defense of Linyi was fought too fiercely.

On the frontal position of the 116th Brigade, entire rows, companies and even battalions of soldiers fell down.The defensive position was constantly broken by the Japanese army, and the hand-to-hand combat between the two sides in front of the position was very fierce, and there were many corpses.General Pang kept walking around on crutches in the headquarters, and the forward position was tight. He not only sent his guards to the front line, but also sent grooms, cooks, stretcher soldiers, and transport soldiers. All the living people with guns went to the battlefield. Pang Bingxun stepped out of the door and stood in the courtyard of the headquarters. The sound of guns and artillery was very harsh around him. Flocks of planes swooped down and fired, bombarding the defenders indiscriminately, and thick smoke was everywhere.In his yard, bullets fired by enemy planes flew from time to time, hitting the wall with a thumping sound.Pang Bingxun stood motionless, staring straight ahead.

Several personal guards used their bodies to block General Pang's body, and they asked the legion commander to take shelter in the air-raid shelter.Pang Bingxun pushed them away, what time is there, what is there to avoid?You all cross the river and fight for me.He pointed his walking stick forward and said, don't let anyone stay here. The four guards did not move, they were still protecting General Pang.Pang Bingxun knocked his walking stick on the ground, let's go!Are you afraid of death?I'll shoot whoever is the coward first!he snapped loudly.The guards were taken aback. General Pang was always nice to them, very kind, and loved soldiers like sons.what is it today?Of course, they also knew in their hearts that the general would not do this unless it was absolutely necessary. The four guards knelt down to Pang Bingxun as a farewell ceremony, and said in unison, the general, take care.

In decades of military career, it was the first time that Pang Bingxun encountered such a bad battle, and it was also the first time that he made such a cruel heart and determination.If it had been during the melee between the warlords, he would have moved with the team long ago.Can't do it now, where should I go?Foreign powers are attacking your door. As a soldier, can you leave your fathers and fellow villagers alone?No conscientious Chinese, no bloody soldier would do this. Pang Bingxun was the only one left in the headquarters. He took his saber out of its sheath and placed it on the desk. He looked at the sharp blade and laughed tragically.At this time, the phone on the desk rang. It was Ma Fawu, the commander in chief of the front line. He shouted loudly on the phone, the enemy's attack is too fierce, and the front can no longer withstand it. What do you think?

Mafa five!Pang Bingxun roared and said, I am the only one in the headquarters now.Well, can I come to you with a stick? I have no one here!Master Ma said in a weeping voice. Pang Bingxun was also extremely anxious, he couldn't control himself, and said rudely, if there is no one, you go on your own, if you lose your position, don't come back to see me!After yelling this sentence, he slammed the microphone on the phone stand. This time it's over, Pang Bingxun thought, the five infantry regiments will be wiped out this time, it seems really impossible if we don't hurry up and think of a way.He hesitated around the phone, really wanting to call Commander Li in Xuzhou Fifth War Zone and ask him to send rescue troops quickly.However, he picked up the phone, only shook the handset, and then put it down again.As a legion commander, he more or less knows the overall situation of the fifth theater.Right now, the direction of Teng County is also at a critical time, and the Jinpu and South fronts are fighting.He, Li Zongren, is also helpless, and it is impossible to draw reinforcements to rescue Linyi.

Pang Bingxun really gave up this time. He used the phone to issue death orders to the frontline headquarters, and he fought all the way until the last person.Swear to live and die with Linyi!After he issued the death order, he felt relieved.A person is only a death, Li Zongren is right, it is worth sacrificing for the country! The forward position cut off the thought of waiting for reinforcements, and they all went all out.The combat troops of the 3rd Army not only fought tenaciously, they were also very resourceful, instead of fighting recklessly, they also used a lot of brains.When the enemy's artillery bombarded and the planes strafed, they did not make unnecessary sacrifices, but went into bunkers, drilled air-raid shelters, and paid attention to protecting themselves.After the artillery stopped and the planes left, they returned to their positions one by one. Li Zhenqing's supplementary regiment stuck to the Gegou position and used flexible tactics to attack the attacking enemy.Like the 2nd company, the company commander died when he was attacked nine times by more than 300 Japanese troops. The 1st platoon leader died after serving as the company commander, and the 2nd platoon leader served as the company commander again.When they were not appointed by their superiors, they took the initiative to assume command tasks, causing the entire company and platoons to coordinate operations. Li Zongdai, the platoon leader, was promoted to the commander of the second company on the front line.Company Commander Wang died, and Li Yuting served as the company commander.Company commander Li Yuting died during the enemy's sixth attack.Li Zongdai stood up as the company commander, he roared, and the whole company obeyed my command.The enemy cavalry is coming, aim at the horse's head, hit!As soon as he gave an order, the machine guns and rifles spit out flames together and fired at the enemy cavalry intensively.The big ocean horse in front fell down and tripped the horse behind. The cavalry's position was disrupted by the 2nd company, and they were forced to flee in the rain of bullets. Li Zongdai seized this gap, organized a death squad of 50 or 60 people, took advantage of the terrain, detoured to the middle of the Japanese attacking troops in the hazy night, and unexpectedly made a surprise attack from the middle.They rushed in and threw grenades forward and backward, and captured a crooked machine gun and two boxes of bullets in the Japanese machine gun position.After the death squad finished shooting the grenade, he drew out the big knife on his back and slashed at the enemy's head.The enemy was caught off guard. They never expected that the Chinese army would be so heroic. They turned into a mess and fled backwards with their heads in their arms.Company Commander Li saw that the attack had achieved good results, and there were still many captured, so he immediately withdrew his position.By the time the enemy understood, the death squads of the 2nd company had already returned to their positions. The victory of the 2nd company of the supplementary regiment was later rewarded by the regiment commander Pang Bingxun.Company Commander Li Zongdai later proudly described this battle example in his recollection article.Of course, in the subsequent battles, there were only more than 20 soldiers left in his 2nd company.However, the position they held was not broken by the enemy. Just as Pang Bingxun's 3rd Army was fighting fiercely with the Japanese army on the outskirts of Linyi, and Linyi was facing a critical juncture, Li Zongren, commander of the Fifth War Zone, ordered Zhang Zizhong's 59th Army to quickly reinforce Linyi, and at the same time sent the news to Pang Bingxun. Pang Bingxun, who was determined to fight everything, was overjoyed when he received the telegram from Chief Li. He followed the lines on the map with his fingers to find the location of General Zhang Zizhong.Far is far away, but far away water can quench your thirst, the key is to see who will deliver the water for you.The reinforcements were the 59th Army, led by Zhang Zizhong.General Pang said to the staff around him, don't I understand Zhang Zizhong?If it were someone else, I wouldn't dare to say, it was him, my little brother, who gave me peace of mind. General Pang ordered to shrink the line of defense and readjust the deployment. The 115th brigade was placed on the line from Taoyuan to Jiangjiazhuang on the outskirts of the city, and the 116th brigade was transferred to defend the line from Jiangjiazhuang to Huangshan.Half of the 3rd Army had been lost. Although its strength was much smaller than before, after shrinking the defense line, the defensive front line was shortened, and the area was not too large.As long as all the soldiers of the 3rd Army carry forward the desperate spirit of the previous two days, there is no problem in defending the two days.Now that everyone knows that General Zhang Zizhong's 59th Army is heading here, they are more confident and more motivated to fight, because the soldiers see hope. In addition to monitoring the Japanese troops, the 3rd Army can be said to have used all its strength to build fortifications, dig bunkers and air-raid shelters.The common people in the city also organized, delivered ammunition and food to the positions, and tied stretchers. They went all out to prepare for the more intense battle the next day.