Of course, these troops were the Eighth Route Army and the 69th Division led by Gao Jiu, Jiang Xiaomei and others. After they defeated the two search squadrons of the Japanese army, they launched an attack on the Japanese brigade without stopping.

The Japanese army did not expect that there would be so many enemy troops here, which would respond hastily and suffer heavy losses.

The commander of the 37th Division did not want to fight Gao Jiu desperately. When he saw the enemy troops coming, he immediately issued an order to retreat.

The chief of staff of the Sixth Army could not understand the enemy's reality. He did not stop the commander of the 37th Division and retreated with the troops.

The Japanese army ran for more than ten miles in one breath before stopping. The division commander asked, "Chief of Staff, there are a large number of enemy troops here, and there is also an enemy division and a brigade of the Eighth Route Army in front of them. The terrain here is critical, and the enemy has built a large number of fortifications. How can we get through it?"

The chief of staff of the Sixth Army also felt a headache, but the superior issued a death order to supervise the 37th Division and rescue the 42nd Division no matter what. When he saw it was too late, he said, "Let's camp here tonight. After dawn tomorrow, I will ask the commander for tactical guidance."

The Japanese army put the road as the center and issued a warning to the surroundings, and then the large army began to camp.

That night, Gao Jiu, Jiang Xiaomei and others launched another attack on the Japanese army. They used a large number of artillery to bomb the Japanese army violently, then bluffed and feinted, and then quickly left the battlefield.

The fierce artillery attack caused great casualties to the 37th Division. The commander of the 37th Division saw that Gao Jiu was really good and knew that if he insisted on reinforcement of the 42nd Division, it would definitely arouse Gao Jiu's anger. He made up his mind that regardless of whether the chief of staff of the Sixth Army agreed or not, he was ready to take the troops back directly.

The chief of staff of the Sixth Army almost died in the shelling just now. He was also scared and did not stop the 37th Division from retreating, but also retreated.

The commander of the 6th Japanese Army received telegrams from the Chief of Staff and the Deputy Chief of Staff from the 37th Division and the Fifth Air Force respectively. He knew that there was basically no hope of sending troops to rescue the 42nd Division, so he sent a telegram to the 42nd Division, telling them the actual situation of the reinforcements and let them break through on their own.

Toshita Tanaka didn't expect that he had a good fishing plan, but he did catch a big fish. Unfortunately, the fisherman ran away, leaving only him, the bait, surrounded by vicious big fish.

He decided to organize troops immediately to prepare for a breakthrough.

The coalition forces had already dug the trenches in front of the Japanese trenches, but after waiting for two days, Gao Jiu still did not issue an order to attack, but instead asked them to strengthen the fortifications and guard against the Japanese army's breakthrough.

The commanders didn't understand what Gao Jiu was going to do. They called Li Fengming at the command center and asked why?

Li Fengming replied, please do not worry, be sure to strengthen your vigilance, strictly guard against the Japanese army to prevent the Japanese army from forcibly breaking through.

Gao Jiu did this because he was waiting for a message. That day, he finally waited for the news. Jia Liu received a telegram from Taohua Mountain, which was sent by Du Shengxi. He said that the things were ready and had been loaded on the plane, and he would definitely be able to arrive in Lan County before noon tomorrow. He would bring the members of the Taohua Mountain Special Forces to come over and personally manipulate these new weapons.

Gao Jiu felt at ease, and he asked Li Fengming to inform all the troops to be on guard from now on and resolutely repel the Japanese army's breakthrough. Starting from 2 pm tomorrow, the entire army began to launch a general attack on the surrounded Japanese 42nd Division.

At 8 o'clock in the morning, Gao Jiu personally called Ma Xingbang, the commander of the 103rd Division, the commander of the Northeast Army and the Northwest Army, saying that the Japanese army was likely to break through tonight, and told them not to be careless.

Gao Jiu said: "According to common sense, the Japanese army should break out to the east so as to meet with the 37th Division. However, they guessed that our army would definitely strengthen the defense force in the east, so they were very likely to make a sound attack on the east and break out in an unexpected direction. If I were the commander of the Japanese army, I should first launch a feint attack eastward, and then use the main force to break westward or southward. Therefore, you must not be careless. The general attack will be launched at 2:00 tomorrow afternoon. Tonight, at least half of the troops must not sleep. Once the Japanese army finds out of the siege, don't care about ammunition, and fight them firmly back at all costs."

After being reminded, the three division commanders expressed their obedience to the commander-in-chief's orders, strictly guard against the Japanese army to prevent the Japanese army from breaking through.

Tonight is the key night to encircle and annihilate the 42nd Japanese Division. In order to prevent unexpected situations on the battlefield, Gao Jiu drew a regiment from Jiang Xiaomei's Independent Brigade and the guard battalion of the 187th Division, plus Zhang Quan's special forces, as the general reserve team, ready to strengthen the weak links on the battlefield at any time.

After dinner, Toshita Tanaka convened a meeting of officers above the brigade commander. He said: "Everyone, now I have to give you a clear idea. Now the enemy we are facing is well-equipped, strong firepower, and more than twice the number of troops of the division. Moreover, the enemy has the intention to completely annihilate our army. Now, our reinforcements will no longer be able to reach the short term. If the division continues to stay here, there will be a danger of annihilation of the entire army."

In fact, these days, the Japanese officers have already seen that the enemy is different from the troops they have encountered in the past, and everyone is also feeling dangerous. Hearing that there are no reinforcements, everyone can't help but panic and start talking.

Toshita Tanaka said: "The situation is critical now, and our army can only break through on its own. I am determined to break through the entire army tonight.

According to analysis and judgment, in order to prevent our army from breaking through, the enemy will definitely set up heavy troops between our army and the 37th Division. Therefore, the focus of our army's breakthrough should not be east. The south is the so-called rear of the enemy. The enemy will definitely judge that our army will not break through in this direction. Therefore, the defense in the south should be relatively weak.

I decided to use the tactic of "striking the east and attacking the west", first launching a feint attack with some of the troops eastward. When the enemy mobilizes its forces to move eastward and attempts to prevent our army from breaking through, concentrate the main force of the division to break south. After breaking out, continue to attack southward, and then turn eastward to catch the enemy off guard.

Everyone, tonight's breakthrough operation is related to the life and death of the 42nd Division. I hope you will work together, please!"

The officers also knew that the breakthrough was at risk of life and death tonight. They stood up together and shouted loudly: "Hayi."

The night is deep and the earth is quiet. Many unknown little insects sing softly, adding to the quiet atmosphere.

At 3 a.m., the rumbling cannon sounded suddenly, breaking the silence in the fields. A large number of shells fell on the positions of the Independent Brigade. Immediately afterwards, the Japanese army launched a fierce attack on the positions of the Independent Brigade with a strengthening force.

Jiang Xiaomei had already received a notice from Gao Jiu. In the first half of the night, she did not close her eyes. In the second half of the night, she leaned on the trenches and napped. After hearing the sound of cannons, she immediately ordered all troops to enter the position and resolutely repel the enemy's breakthrough. At the same time, she notified Gao Jiu with a phone.

Gao Jiu had already been awakened by the sound of cannons. After receiving Jiang Xiaomei's report, he did not rush to send troops, but quietly observed other directions.

The battle lasted for 40 minutes, and there was no movement in other directions except the east.

Toshita Tanaka was very smart. He was worried that he would not be able to deceive Gao Jiu, so he did not rush to break south, but instead sent an additional infantry brigade to strengthen the offensive to the east.

There are only two regiments left on the independent brigade's position, but their number still exceeds 3,000. Moreover, they are well-equipped and have a large number of automatic firearms such as machine guns, submachine guns, etc.

Although the Japanese attack was fierce, the soldiers of the Independent Brigade hid in the trenches and did not suffer much casualties. When the enemy's artillery fire extended and the infantry launched a charge, the soldiers of the Independent Brigade fired fiercely from the trenches toward the enemy.

The Japanese army suffered heavy casualties, but they were determined to die and still charged one after another. The soldiers of the Independent Brigade had been through the battle formation and mercilessly knocked the rushing enemy to the ground.

At this moment, an accident happened and the enemy suddenly launched another fierce shelling.

At this time, the distance between the enemy and us was very close. Under normal circumstances, in order to avoid accidentally injuring our own people, the Japanese army would not use artillery.

In order to mobilize the enemy, Tanaka Toshita not only asked the feint attacking troops to launch a real attack on the positions of the Independent Brigade, but also used artillery to bomb the positions of the Independent Brigade with artillery despite the lives and death of the Japanese officers and soldiers.

The soldiers of the Eighth Route Army guarding the frontier positions did not expect that the enemy would be so crazy. They fired fire despite the lives and death of their soldiers. They were caught off guard and suffered considerable casualties. The Japanese officers and soldiers took the opportunity to rush up.

The officers and soldiers of the Independent Brigade were forced to retreat to the second trench. While Jiang Xiaomei ordered the artillery to suppress the enemy's artillery fire, she reported to Gao Jiu again.

At this moment, Gao Jiu also became suspicious, believing that there might be something wrong with his judgment. However, he did not make a decision immediately, but listened carefully to the situation on the battlefield.

He heard that although the artillery fire on the battlefield was very lively, the amount of artillery fire invested by the Japanese army did not exceed the size of a registrar, which also shows that the main force of the Japanese army still did not start to take action.

Gao Jiu decided to wait and see, but in order to prevent the Japanese army from really breaking through the positions of the Independent Brigade, he still sent the 187th Division Guard Battalion in the reserve team to support Jiang Xiaomei.

Toshita Tanaka was really calm and fought to the east for an hour and ten minutes before he issued an order for the entire army to break south.

The Japanese army concentrated all the artillery fire and suddenly opened fire fiercely at the 103rd Division of the Guo Army defending the south. At the same time the artillery began, the Japanese army directly launched a fierce attack with the strength of a regiment as the vanguard.

The Japanese officers and soldiers jumped out of the trench and howled and rushed towards the position of the 103rd Division.

After Gao Jiu's reminder, the officers and soldiers of the Guo army had already prepared for defense. When they saw the enemy rushing over, they immediately poked their heads out of the trenches and opened fire fiercely at the enemy.

Seeing that his judgment was indeed correct, Gao Jiu immediately issued an order to the Guo army guarding the west and east, asking them to attack the Japanese positions and restrain the enemy's forces. At the same time, each unit sent a regiment of troops to support the 103rd Division.

After issuing the order, Gao Jiu personally led the reserve team of the Eighth Route Army regiment toward the position of the 103rd Division.

The Japanese army fought desperately, and they charged forward desperately regardless of casualties. Because the positions of both sides were close, although the Japanese army suffered a lot of casualties, they also rushed into the first trench of the Guo army and then launched an attack on the second trench.

Gao Jiu had already made arrangements for the Japanese army's breakthrough operation, and each unit that besieged the enemy army dug nine trenches. In order to avoid casualties, the defensive positions of the army adopted the principle of light force configuration first and heavy force configuration first and light firepower configuration, giving full play to the advantages of firepower, so that the Japanese army would pay a heavy price to attack every trench.

When the Japanese army captured the first trench, although they suffered heavy casualties, they had a large number of troops and quickly occupied the first trench. When they charged towards the second trench, they suffered heavy casualties. However, their troops were still very sufficient at this time. Soon after, they occupied the second trench, and then the Japanese army launched an attack on the third trench.

At the beginning, the Japanese army maintained a strong offensive, but with the large number of casualties of their personnel, when they attacked the fourth trench, the Japanese vanguard company had been disabled and could no longer organize an effective offensive.

Tanaka Toshita was prepared and immediately ordered the second wing to start the attack.

The Japanese army's troops were strengthened, and the number of troops in the several trenches behind the guo army also strengthened. The weapons and equipment withdrawn from the front strengthened the firepower in these trenches, causing greater casualties to the Japanese army that launched the charge.

Ma Xingbang, the commander of the 103rd Division, was also an experienced general. When he saw the Japanese army launching a fierce attack on his frontier positions, he ordered the artillery to open fire at the rear of the enemy and kill the enemy behind a large number of people behind to block their contact with the enemy in front.

After the breakout battle started, Toshita Tanaka was also very nervous. Although he received a report that the Japanese army had broken through several enemy trenches, he was still very nervous and even a little anxious, because he knew that the enemy commander must have determined the direction of the Japanese army's breakthrough at this time, and a large number of reinforcements must be rushing towards here.

He said to the Chief of Staff: "Don't wait any longer, abandon all artillery, let all the divisions launch a charge together, and break through the enemy's positions as soon as possible."

The Chief of Staff immediately issued an order, with nearly 20,000 Japanese officers and soldiers, you rushed towards the 103rd Division's position with bright bayonets.

The officers and soldiers of the guo army could not have imagined that the Japanese army would have risen up so many troops at once, and they became a little panicked, and some wanted to retreat. The officers knew the consequences of retreating, and they shouted loudly: "Brothers! No one is allowed to retreat. There is a supervision team behind them. It is a death to retreat. It is better to fight with the Japanese here."

Under the instigation of the officers, the vast majority of the soldiers persevered. They kept sucking the trigger towards the surging Japanese officers and soldiers.

The Japanese army's troops were still too strong. They broke through the fourth, fifth, and sixth trenches one after another, and then broke through the seventh and eighth trenches. Faced with the strong pressure of the Japanese army, many officers and soldiers of the national army could not bear it anymore, and they fled back in a hurry.

Behind them was the supervision team of the 228th Division of the Northwest Army. They usually couldn't stand the arrogant Central Army officers and soldiers. Seeing that the defeated soldiers retreated, they opened fire at them without hesitation.

The defeated soldiers of the 103rd Division were defeated by the firepower of the supervising team, and they were forced to retreat.

Seeing that the Japanese army had broken through the eighth trench and was about to break through the position of the 103rd Division, the commander of the 103rd Division, Ma Xingbang, also got anxious. He threw all the reserves of the remaining battalions into the trench. He also rushed into the trench, picked up a submachine gun, and shot at the Japanese army in person.

At this moment, a loud charge sounded. Ma Xingbang and the officers and soldiers of the 103rd Division all heard it. This was the sound of the Eighth Route Army's military horn, and reinforcements arrived.

The morale of the officers and soldiers was greatly boosted and they shot even more violently.

When Gao Jiu led a regiment from the Independent Brigade of the Eighth Route Army to the battlefield, Huang Shuigen, the chief of staff of the Independent Brigade, immediately led the entire regiment to launch a charge, and the officers and soldiers of the 103rd Division also followed behind them and launched a charge together. After a fierce battle, they regained the eighth trench and stabilized the defensive position of the 103rd Division.

Tanaka Toshita also heard the horns of the Eighth Route Army. He knew that the enemy's reinforcements had arrived and became more anxious. He immediately issued an order, telling all Japanese commanders to break through the encirclement before the enemy's brigade of reinforcements arrived.

The Japanese army also fought their best. They ignored the enemy's firepower and as long as they were still there, they shouted and charged forward.

The officers and soldiers of the Eighth Route Army fired fiercely at the enemy, but the number of enemies was too large and the distance between the two sides was very close. As a result, the Japanese army rushed into the eighth trench and both sides began to fight bayonets.

The enemy's follow-up troops rushed up continuously. The Eighth Route Army officers and soldiers were at a disadvantage in terms of number and the situation was very critical. However, the Eighth Route Army officers and soldiers fought to the death and dragged the Japanese army forward tightly.

At this moment, a regiment of the Northwest Army arrived. They entered the battlefield without hesitation. They wiped out a few Japanese soldiers who broke through, and then joined the ranks of the Eighth Route Army, which was fighting bayonets with the enemy.

Ma Xingbang, the commander of the 103rd Division, saw that the enemy and us were mixed together and could not exert firepower, so he also carried a bayonet rifle and led the officers and soldiers of the 103rd Division to join the battlefield.

The sound of killing on the battlefield was shocking, and the officers and soldiers of both sides of the enemy and us began a tragic hand-to-hand battle like ancient warriors.

Tanaka Toshita knew that the situation was critical, so he drew out his command knife and led the division guard squadron to rush forward.

At this time, a regiment of the Northeast Army also arrived, and they also got bayonets and joined the battle.

Soon after, the other two regiments of the Independent Brigade of the enemy who had repelled the eastward attacked, and then a regiment of the newly formed 187th Division also arrived.

The officers and soldiers of the 9th War Zone Guard Regiment and the five supplementary regiments of the Training Command were originally hiding behind the 103rd Division. At the beginning, Gao Jiu did not let them join the battle because he was worried that these recruits would cause collapse on the battlefield and disrupt the positions of the 103rd Division of the Guo Army.

At this moment, Gao Jiu ordered them to join the battle.

At this time, the guo army's troops had exceeded the number of Japanese troops. They blocked the Japanese offensive and began to advance.

Gao Jiu himself did not join the battle group. He calmly observed the situation on the battlefield and directed the artillery troops to bombard the enemy's rear, killing and injuring as many enemies as possible.

When Tanaka Toshita saw countless enemy troops in front of him, he knew that the breakthrough had failed. He began to hesitate and had the idea of ​​retreating and defending the enemy.

At this moment, news came from the troops behind the blocking army that the enemy was attacking fiercely on the east, west and north sides, and the troops that were attacking were almost unable to defend.

Although Tanaka Toshita was very irritated, he tried hard to remain calm. After analysis and judgment, he decided to lead the troops to retreat and return to the position with Lan County as the core, so that the troops would not collapse. At least they could hold on for a while and wait for reinforcements.
To be continued...