At dawn, some black shadows appeared in the fields south of Zhiyuan County.

The sentinel of the 3rd Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 23rd Regiment guarding the trenches pulled the bolt and shouted loudly: "Which one? Password."

The black shadows did not answer, but shot them. The sentry was shot on his left shoulder. He covered the wound with blood flowing on his left shoulder and shouted desperately: "The Japanese are here, the Japanese are here!"

The black shadows on the opposite side shot again, and the sentry was shot again in the back and fell to the ground and lost consciousness.

The soldiers of the Kuomintang, lying in the trenches, fought at the black shadows in front of them.

The first to arrive in Zhiyuan Prefecture was the Kondo Squadron of Sato's 150th Regiment. After the battle started, the captain of Kondo Squadron ordered his troops to quickly launch a feint attack on the opposite national army position. They wanted to use this short darkness to investigate the troops and firepower configuration on the opposite national army position.

Most of the national soldiers guarding the front trenches were recruits, and the officers basically did not fight with the Japanese army. They were very panicked and were just worried that the enemy would attack, so they immediately opened fire.

Captain Kondo lay behind the ridge of the field and recorded the location of the enemy's firepower points on his notebook, gradually forming a simple picture.

As the Japanese troops rushed up one after another, gunfire sounded everywhere in the south of the city.

At 7:20 in the morning, the faint mist in the fields gradually dissipated, and Zhiyuan County gradually appeared in front of the Japanese army.

At about 2,500 meters away from the city wall supporting the county town, the Japanese army quickly built more than a dozen tents, and the temporary command post of the 128th Brigade of the Japanese army was established.

In a tent in the middle, the short and fat brigade commander Obaofu sat on a marching chair and was listening to the situation report.

So far, the Japanese army has occupied the Daqinghe Bridge, and the Nakadao advancing team is rushing to the Hanhuadu Ferry, cutting off the reinforcement channel of the National Army to the newly formed 128th Division.

North of the Daqing River, the troops of the newly formed 187th Division of the National Army were stationed in Lanxi County, Linchuan Town, Zhiyuan County, and Qinglong Town, south of Zhiyuan County.

At present, the Japanese army has surrounded Lanxi County and Qinglong Town, approaching Zhiyuan County from the southeast. The main force of the 115th Regiment has approached Linchuan Town, forming a battle encirclement situation for the entire newly formed 187th Division.

Brigade commander Obaofu was very satisfied with this successful raid.

The captain of the 150th Regiment, Yamamoto Shigeo Nakasa, reported on the basic situation of the national army's defense fortifications in Zhiyuan Prefecture.

Wang Jindong's 792nd Regiment was stationed in Zhiyuan County before the outbreak of the war. It has been almost two years since then, and a large number of defensive fortifications were built around Zhiyuan County.

With the city wall as the center, a radius of one thousand meters, and two natural villages as the main support points, a large number of trenches were dug in other places to form three defense lines. The troops stationed in the fortifications were three battalions of the 792nd Regiment, one battalion of the 23rd Regiment, and two battalions of the 24th Regiment. The troops stationed in the county were the direct team of the division headquarters and the artillery battalion, with a force of about 7,200.

The commander of the brigade, Obofu, ordered Yamamoto, the captain of the 150th Regiment, to launch a small-scale attack on Zhiyuan County for the time being, to restrain the main force of the newly formed 187th Division. After taking over Linchuan Town, Qinglong Town and Lanxi County, he would attack Zhiyuan County in a full-scale attack.

After the deployment was completed, Aobaofu was proud to report the progress of the battle to the division commander.

He was drafting a telegram, and Chiba Kotaro, the captain of the 115th Regiment, sent a telegram. The good news was that they had taken down Linchuan Town and were moving closer to the direction of Zhiyuan County.

There is also bad news: the Yamaguchi Brigade, which stayed in Pingyue County, has lost contact. After analysis and judgment, they believe that the Yamaguchi Brigade has improved its defense system and there should be no problem in sticking to self-protection. It may be that the radio station has malfunctioned and cannot be contacted for the time being.

After reading the telegram from the 115th United, the beautiful mood of the commander of the Obofu Brigade was immediately covered with a shadow.

Since entering Shandong, the unlucky 115th Regiment has lost the 18th Cavalry Brigade and a reinforcement brigade that he was assigned to them. Even the corps captain Yazaki Shizumi died in the death of the underworld.

At first, these two troops lost contact, but later, bad news came about that the entire army was wiped out. This time, Yamaguchi brigade lost contact again, and it is probably a lot of danger.

Obaofu was very angry. He didn't understand why these guys could not send a telegram to report the situation before something happened.

It’s really no wonder Yamaguchi and others have no way to report their situation before something happens. For example, Yamaguchi Brigade, he can’t say that I can’t hold the position now and start running to the county town without receiving the order, right?

By the time they wanted to report, it was too late.

Obofu couldn't figure out the real situation of Yamaguchi's brigade, so he had to not mention the matter for the time being. He personally drafted a telegram and sent it to Lieutenant General Shigeji Momoji, the commander of the 114th Division.

Jinan.

After receiving a report from Shigeru Mo Matsu, the 114th Division Command, was very happy that the 12th Army Command destroyed the newly formed 187th Division of the National Army. There were no large number of national troops stationed in southwestern Shandong. It can be said that the entire Shandong region was controlled by the Japanese army.

After receiving the notice from the 114th Division, General Matsuda from the Gendarmerie Command was also very happy and specially called Sakai Hiroichiro and Hamada Yoshiji to commend them for their outstanding contributions to this successful campaign.

Sakai Hiroichiro and Hamada Yoshiji were very happy and went out to celebrate at noon. While drinking, they were enjoying the performance of geisha. When they were excited, Sakai Hiroichiro simply jumped up with the geisha.

The happiest thing was Hamada Yoshihiro. Through the successful planning of this battle, he completely gained a foothold in the Jinan Military Police Command.

He clapped his hands and sang Hokkaido fishing songs with the geishas. It doesn't matter if the sound is not nice, just be happy.

The Japanese were happy, and the anti-Japanese military and civilians were covered with a dark cloud.

The Jinan Station of the Military Commission received a telegram from Gao Jiu, saying that the information they provided was very valuable. In the future, as long as it is related to southwestern Shandong, they are asked to inform him as much as possible, no matter how big or small it is.

Xu Zhongming said with emotion: "Old Zhou, your opinion is right. Brother Gao is a god. He suddenly thought of the actions of the 128th Brigade of the Japanese Army, which was aimed at the newly formed 187th Division. It would be better to notify him earlier."

Zhou Mingshan said with a sad face: "The 187th Division is in a very dangerous situation. I wonder if Wang Jindong and the others can survive?"

Xu Zhongming was a little optimistic this time. He said: "Brother Gao said that he had already gone to reinforce? With Brother Gao here, I believe there will be a solution."

Zhou Mingshan also had confidence in Gao Jiu. He smiled and said, "Webmaster, you are right. Brother Gao and the others killed another brigade of the Japanese. I wonder if they can rescue the 187th Division this time and create another miracle."

The underground party in Jinan received a telegram from John Chen, and Gao Jiu expressed his gratitude to them, saying that after the crisis in southwestern Shandong was resolved this time, he would come to Jinan to rescue Gao Hong, the captain of the arrested anti-traitor team.

The underground party in Jinan has been repeatedly hit by Japanese special high schools. If he wants to rescue Gao Hong, he is currently willing but not capable. Now with Gao Jiu’s promise, they have made up their minds and send a message to Gao Hong with their relationship, so that he can try to save his life and persevere until Gao Jiu comes to rescue him.

Wuhan.

The Fifth War Zone Command was also very worried about the situation in southwestern Shandong. Seeing that the battle between Wuhan was approaching, if Wang Jindong's new 187th Division was eaten by the Japanese army, the Kuomintang army would lose its last strategic fulcrum in Shandong. The flanks of the Fifth War Zone were exposed to the Japanese army. The Japanese army could cross the Daqing River, cross the Fushan District at any time, and strengthen their troops to attack from the Dabie Mountains.

Gao Jiu provided the Japanese army's deployment of troops in Wuhan, and the Fifth War Zone had formulated corresponding battle plans. Such an incident occurred in southwestern Shandong, which would bring new variables to the Wuhan Battle. The Fifth War Zone Command issued orders to the 41st Army, allowing them to do their best to rescue the newly compiled 187th Division.

Director Feng of the Military Intelligence Department was feeling like he was riding a roller coaster. Just yesterday, the Military Control Commission transferred the news that the Japanese 114th Division was about to go south to join Wuhan to fight. Director Feng felt a little embarrassed because the information provided by Gao Jiu did not include the content of the Japanese 114th Division. The sudden change shows that the information provided by Gao Jiu was at least not perfect, or that the Japanese military deployment had changed. Now, in order to find out whether the Japanese army had completely changed the original military deployment, Director Feng was under great pressure.

Just last night, he sent someone to wake up Lin Yanni and asked her to send a telegram to Gao Jiu to verify the specific situation of the 114th Division, but Lin Yanni could not contact Gao Jiu.

While she was anxious, the theater command transferred a message from the 41st Army, saying that the Japanese 114th Division had not left Shandong, but passed the 128th Brigade that was heading south on Tai'an, and had turned to Zhiyuan County in the northwest direction.

This shows that the information provided by Gao Jiu is completely correct.

Director Feng felt at ease. Lin Yanni received the news, but began to worry about Gao Jiu.

She knew the relationship between Gao Jiu and Wang Jindong, and believed that he would lead the troops to rescue Wang Jindong. Although Gao Jiu had not specifically told her how many guerrillas in Taohua Mountain were, she also knew that Gao Jiu's combat troops would not exceed 200, and the 128th Brigade of the Japanese army had a total of 7,000 people. Gao Jiu would face a tragic battle.

No matter how worried Lin Yanni was, she couldn't help at all and could only pray for him silently.

Commander Song of the 69th Division of the National Army learned that the Japanese army appeared on the Daqinghe Bridge and immediately realized the seriousness of the problem. He immediately ordered a nearby battalion of the National Army to regain the bridgehead on the north side of the bridge. At the same time, he sent a regiment of reinforcements to the Daqinghe Bridge. Once all the bridge was controlled, he immediately crossed the river to reinforce Zhiyuan County. At the same time, he personally led the main force of the 69th Division and followed up.

At about 9:00 a.m., an infantry battalion of the National Army arrived at the Daqinghe Bridge and immediately launched an attack on the north side of the bridge.

The width of the Daqinghe Bridge Deck is only 8.4 meters, and the large troops cannot operate on the bridge Deck. The National Army can only deploy one squad of infantry in the front, and the others follow behind and cannot exert firepower.

The Japanese army had already piled up defensive positions with sandbags in the center of the bridge and blocked the bridge deck with machine guns and rifles. The soldiers of the Kuomintang launched a charge forward on the bare bridge deck and were immediately hit hard. After only a few minutes of the first attack, the Kuomintang lost more than 20 officers and soldiers and was forced to retreat.

The company commander of the first company who organized the attack saw that his subordinates suffered heavy casualties and that under such terrain, he hesitated for a moment.

The battalion commander received a dead order, and he must regain the bridgehead to the north. He ordered the company commander of the first company to launch another attack.

This bridge is a steel cable bridge with many wire cables and steel frames on both sides. The use of mortars and machine guns from both sides and above the bridge is restricted and can only shoot against the enemy on the narrow bridge deck.

The soldiers of the Kuomintang set up machine guns on the bridge and shot at the Japanese army in the middle of the bridge. The Japanese army hid behind a bunker built with sandbags. Although their firepower was suppressed, it posed no threat to them.

When the Kuomintang soldiers launched a charge, the soldiers' bodies blocked the muzzle of their machine guns. The Japanese soldiers took the opportunity to expose their heads from behind the bunker and fired at the Kuomintang soldiers on the bridge!

Seeing the soldiers falling down in rows, the company commander punched the ammunition box beside him, and blood oozed out of his fists, the grief in his heart had already made him unable to feel the pain in his hands.

Seeing that this was not a solution, the battalion commander ordered the troops to temporarily stop the attack. He was a veteran who had been in the army for 11 years and had rich experience. He soon came up with a solution.

Not long after, the soldiers of the National Army also carried many sandbags. They hid behind the bunker made of sandbags and moved the sandbags forward little by little. The soldiers hid behind the sandbags and gradually pushed the bunker forward, approaching the center of the bridge bit by little, and the officers and soldiers basically had no casualties.

When the officers and soldiers of the National Army saw that this method worked, they couldn't help but cheer.

However, they soon couldn't be happy. The environment on the bridge hindered the use of mortars, but could not stop the Japanese grenade launcher. Grenade launcher is a grenade launcher that is easy to operate and can be launched at a very small angle. Grenades were fired one by one, and they kept exploding in the bunkers of the Kuomintang and around them. The soldiers of the Kuomintang suffered heavy casualties. They abandoned the bunker made of sandbags and retreated again.

The battalion commander was anxious and ordered all the companies to press up. Each platoon formed multiple bunkers according to the previous method and advanced forward at the same time, hoping to get close to the Japanese bunker, throw grenades at the enemy, and destroy the Japanese army's fortifications on the bridge.

Due to the slow speed of moving sandbags, the National Army soldiers suffered heavy casualties under the attack of the Japanese grenade launcher, and the casualties of the soldiers in the first company had exceeded half.

The battalion commander was already red from his eyes and could not care about so much. Seeing some soldiers in the company retreating, he raised his pistol and shot several deserters in succession, forcing the soldiers of the company to continue attacking.

Seeing that the soldiers of the first company were about to be exhausted, he sent the soldiers of the second company to replace the first company and continue to move forward.

After paying a heavy price, the vanguard of the Kuomintang finally approached the Japanese bunker. The soldiers from both sides began to throw grenades and grenades at each other, and the bridge deck exploded violently.

The Kuomintang soldiers killed a group of soldiers and went up again and again, and the same was true for the Japanese soldiers. The bridge deck was full of broken limbs and broken arms. Both sides were red-eyed and they fought bloody and will on the bridge deck. The Japanese soldiers fought to the death, and the Kuomintang soldiers also fired bloody. The soldiers on both sides rushed forward at the same time. The two sides finally got together and started hand-to-hand combat.

Japanese soldiers were good at hand-to-hand combat, and Type 38 rifles gained an advantage in length. After a fierce battle, Japanese soldiers gradually gained the upper hand. The soldiers of the Kuomintang suffered heavy casualties and finally retreated.

The Japanese soldiers had limited troops and did not pursue them. They re-strengthened the bunker and continued to guard the bridge.

The soldiers of the Kuomintang retreated for a while and, under the pressure of the supervising team led by the battalion commander, organized an attack on the Japanese army again. Then the two sides threw grenades at each other again and fought hand in hand again. In this way, the soldiers of both sides fought desperately on the bridgehead.

At the Han ferry ferry, the 41st Army Army's headquarters contingent recruited two ferries on the ferry and sailed to the opposite shore by boat.

When the ferry sailed to the center of the river, the Japanese Nakajima advancing team had already arrived near the river. They saw the ships of the Kuomintang passing by in the center of the river and rushed towards the river desperately.

At this time, the Japanese army had passed the long-distance marching and were exhausted. But at this critical moment of life and death, these guys burst out with tenacious combat power like beasts with chicken blood. They rushed to the river bank like crazy.

The soldiers of the National Army on the ferry saw the Japanese army on the bank of the other side of the river in the distance. They also rowed their oars like crazy, hoping to rush to the beach before the Japanese army arrived.

The Kuomintang army on the other side of the river saw the Japanese army on the other side and hurriedly set up mortars to bomb the Japanese army.

The Japanese officers and soldiers kept falling down in the artillery fire, but they ran to the river bank desperately regardless of the casualties.

The soldiers of the National Army finally rowed to the shore. Without waiting for the ferry to stop, they jumped into the water and ran towards the shore.

At this time, the Japanese army also appeared on the river bank. They were condescending, shooting and rushed directly.

At this time, the soldiers of the National Army had no way out. They charged forward desperately, and the two sides kept falling down in the rain of bullets. Then, they fought together and began hand-to-hand combat.

There were only more than 40 soldiers from the National Army who crossed the river. The Japanese Nakajima Advance Team was a reinforcement squadron. After the battle was consumed, more than 150 people arrived here.

After a fierce battle, the soldiers of the National Army were all injured and killed. The Japanese army finally controlled the north shore of the ferry.

Jiro Nakajima proudly sent a telegram to his uncle, the brigade commander Oboo: The Nakajima advancing team has controlled the Hanbodo Ferry, please send reinforcements to strengthen the defense as soon as possible.

The National Commando was composed of soldiers from the 41st Army Guard Battalion. When the battalion commando saw the enemy occupying the ferry, he had no choice but to send a telegram to the military headquarters.

Commander Huang from the 41st Army received this news and knew that he could not do anything to get Ouyang Xue across the river. He hurriedly sent a telegram to Wang Jindong, asking them not to escort Ouyang Xue to Hanhua Ferry, and quickly return to Zhiyuan County to protect her.

Soon, Wang Jindong's telegram replied.
Chapter completed!