The 27th Army of the 17th Army fought fiercely in Changfeng for a week. The 8th Reserve Division to which it belonged was almost crippled, and the 45th Division also suffered nearly half of its casualties. However, Kawaguchi Heiji's defensive position remained unchanged. Gui Yongqing, who was transferred from captain to commander of the 27th Army, went to Hu Zongnan to complain and did not want to fight.
Seeing that the war was not progressing smoothly, Hu Zongnan was somewhat hesitant.
Although the 27th Army has just been reorganized, most of its troops are veterans of the 37th Army and the 39th Army. These veterans have all participated in the Battle of Songhu. They can be said to be elite soldiers who have crawled out from the dead. Especially Yes, the 27th Army is the first batch of troops to be equipped with Soviet-style ordnance, and its equipment is no worse than that of the Japanese!
But it was such a force that fell into a bitter battle in Changfeng.
So Hu Zongnan chickened out a little and sent a telegram to Chairman Chiang, saying that he was not in good health and wanted to go back to Guanzhong to recuperate for a while. Chairman Chiang knew the temper of his student Xi very well, so he hurriedly flew to Xuzhou and Summoned Hu Zongnan to Xuzhou and gave him heartfelt words of comfort.
Hu Zongnan finally plucked up the courage and prepared to join the 1st Army, his starting force, in a decisive battle with the Kawaguchi Regiment.
However, it is a pity that the most precious half month has passed at this time. Basically consistent with Xu Rui's estimate, the Japanese government indeed raised a large amount of supplies again within half a month and urgently transported them to the Chinese battlefield. This time the Japanese finally learned the lesson Instead of transporting it northward from Pukou via the Jinpu Railway, it will first go to Wuhu and then transport it northward via Feicheng.
Also heading north with this batch of supplies was the Nomura detachment, which was composed of the 29th Infantry Brigade.
The Nomura detachment had been reorganizing in the Songhu area for almost half a year, and its morale was at its peak. As soon as it arrived on the battlefield in southern Anhui, it showed its strength. Hu Zongnan's 1st Army was defeated in just two days, so a large amount of supplies continued to flow along the battlefield. Beng Highway was transported to Huainan. The 9th and 13th Divisions, which had been relying on airdrops of supplies before, finally recovered.
Because along with the large amount of military supplies, there were also a large number of reservists and reservists. In fact, these reservists and reservists had already been transported to Nanjing, but because the Jinpu Railway was cut off and the transportation tools were extremely It was scarce, so it could not be shipped north in time.
With the arrival of a large amount of supplies and supplementary troops, the 9th and 13th Divisions quickly regained their combat effectiveness and immediately launched a large-scale counterattack towards the battlefield on the Huaihe River battlefield. Previously, the battlefield on the Huaihe River battlefield had basically been overcome. After crossing the Huaihe River, it was too late to cross the river again and retreat north.
Seeing the rapid decline of the situation on the Huaihe battlefield, Chairman Chiang finally woke up and urgently ordered Hu Zongnan's 17th Army, Li Pinxian's 11th Army, Liao Lei's 21st Army, and Yu Xuezhong's 51st Army to retreat. Zhang Zizhong's 59th Army was trapped in the deep Trapped in the battlefield, it was too late to withdraw from the battlefield at this time, so he voluntarily stayed behind.
The 59th Army relied on the existing fortifications between Fengyang Town and Linhuaiguan to launch a desperate battle with the Japanese invaders.
After three days and nights of bloody fighting, all units on the Huainan battlefield had basically broken away from the Japs, and the 59th Army's post-breakout mission was completed. Zhang Zizhong immediately ordered Deputy Commander Li Wentian to lead the relatively complete 38th Division and the 13th Cavalry Brigade to break out, while he personally The 180th Division, which led more than half of its casualties, cut off the rear.
The Japs did not expect that the 59th Army would suddenly turn around and head east, and were caught off guard. By the time the Japs reacted and adjusted their deployment, the main force of the 59th Army had already opened an opening from Banqiao Town and successfully broke through. However, the enemy was left behind. However, the 18th Division was surrounded by the Japanese and had no chance to break through.
After two days and nights of fierce fighting, the remnants of the 180th Division were finally surrounded in Banqiao Town.
At dawn, the remnants of the 180th Division once again repelled the Japanese attack. However, there were less than a hundred soldiers left on the position who could still crawl.
Zhang Zizhong dug into his pocket and found that there were no bullets, so he threw the pistol into the rubble. Although this Browning pistol had been with him for twelve years, Zhang Zizhong did not miss it at all, because there was no bullet, no matter how fine the workmanship was. The guns are no better than burning sticks.
Zhang Zizhong threw away his pistol and picked up a rifle from the rubble.
Opening the bolt of the gun, he found that the barrel was empty. Zhang Zizhong went to look for bullets on the remains of the soldiers who had died in the battle. To his great disappointment, he couldn't find even a bullet after searching for a long time. In the end, he turned to Tianhu for a bullet. He walked over and handed two yellow bullets to Zhang Zizhong.
Zhang Zizhong glanced at Xiang Tianhu, took a bullet and pressed it into the chamber of the gun.
Xiang Tianhu then pressed the remaining bullet into the chamber of his gun.
Zhang Zizhong sat down in the trench with his rifle in his arms and asked Xiang Tianhu with his back on his back: "Huzi, how many years have you been with me?"
Xiang Tianhu said: "Military seat, it's been sixteen years and three months."
"It's so fast, it's been sixteen years in the blink of an eye." Zhang Zizhong said with emotion, "I remember when you first joined the army, I taught you to sing the recruit song, but you always couldn't learn it."
"What are you talking about?" Xiang Tianhu said, "Every time I sing wrongly, I will be whipped by you."
"It's not easy for our Northwest Army. Everyone has come here like this." Zhang Zizhong said with a sigh, "Tell me honestly, do you blame me in your heart? Blame me for not leaving a seed for the 18o Division?"
Xiang Tianhu flattened his lips and said, "I'm not complaining, but I'm not complaining either."
"You're also complaining, but you're not complaining either?" Zhang Zizhong asked, "How do you say this?"
Xiang Tianhu said: "Military, you are biased. In this battle of Huaihe River, our 180th Division has been crippled, but the 38th Division and the cavalry brigade are still intact. It is like this every time. There is always something good. It’s not our 18o Division’s turn, but every time there’s a tough nut to crack, it’s our 18o Division’s turn.”
After finishing speaking, Xiang Tianhu turned to look at the battlefield where the smoke had not cleared, and a few heroic tears fell from his eyes.
The battlefield was littered with corpses of officers and soldiers of the 18o Division. Less than ten steps away from Xiang Tianhu, his chief of staff Yan Yuhui lay quietly. At that time, a grenade thrown by the Japanese suddenly fell, and his The chief of staff threw him to the ground in time and he was saved. However, the chief of staff who had been with him day and night for more than ten years left forever.
"Huzi, you have to understand me." Zhang Fengzhong sighed and said sadly, "The 38th Division is the old foundation of our Northwest Army. I, Zhang Zizhong, can die, but I have to leave some seeds for the Northwest Army."
Xiang Tianhu said with relief: "So I don't blame you. If I were the commander, I would do the same."
"Huzi, thank you for your understanding." Zhang Zizhong patted Xiang Tianhu on the shoulder and said, "It is a great blessing to be able to go on the road with you at the last moment."
While talking, the Japanese attacked again.
After more than ten minutes of fierce fighting, the Japanese attack was repelled again.
However, this time only Xiang Tianhu and Zhang Zizhong were able to move, and Zhang Zizhong was also injured. He was shot in the left thigh, and the entire left half of his body almost lost consciousness. Xiang Tianhu also Not much better. At the last moment, he fought with the Japanese with bayonets and was hit by more than a dozen knives. Although his vital parts were not hurt, the blood loss alone was enough for him to suffer.
A moment later, the Japanese launched another attack. About a small group of Japanese soldiers, holding bright bayonets, opened a skirmish line that was more than a hundred meters wide and swooped forward menacingly.
Xiang Tianhu leaned against a half-exploded stone wall and sighed: "I wish I had a few bullets. I can kill at least a dozen little devils."
"Okay." Zhang Zizhong chuckled, "You've already killed a lot of people, you've already reached your level."
Xiang Tianhu smiled, rubbed Xue Liang's bayonet, and hissed: "I should be able to do two more."
Zhang Zizhong shook his head and said, "It will take a while before the Japanese come up. Do you have any cigarettes? I have to smoke one."
"I'll look for it for you." Xiang Tianhu ran out of cigarettes, so he went to the trench to look for the corpses of the Japanese, and he found a box of cigarettes. It was a coincidence that there were two cigarettes left in it. Xiang Tianhu The tiger returned excitedly and handed one to Zhang Zizhong, then took the other one into his mouth, picked up a burning rafter from the side and lit it on fire.
When a team of ghosts came forward with bayonets in hand and bent down, they saw a scene that stunned them. They saw two senior generals leaning against each other and smoking cigarettes. They didn't notice their arrival. Li, there was a Japanese who wanted to shoot, but was stopped by the Japanese leader.
The Japs squad leader had already seen from their collar badges that they were two high-ranking generals who wanted to capture them alive.
After finishing smoking a cigarette, Zhang Zizhong stood up tremblingly and said to Xiang Tianhu: "Huzi, the time has come. It's time for us brothers to hit the road."
Xiang Tianhu smiled and said, "Yes, it's time to hit the road."
Zhang Zizhong turned around, Leng Jun's eyes fell on the Jaap team leader, and shouted: "Little Jaap, come on."
The Japanese team leader judged from Zhang Zizhong's contemptuous eyes and disdainful tone that these two senior generals of the Communist Party of China would never surrender. He immediately nodded and signaled to his soldiers to kill the two men.
The Japanese Army Commander who was standing behind Zhang Zizhong straightened his sword and stabbed him. Unexpectedly, Zhang Zizhong had been watching behind him and dodged immediately. Then he cut the Japanese Army Commander's throat with a backhand knife. The Japanese Army Commander threw the knife. He dropped his saber and fell to the ground with his hands covering his open throat.
The Japs squad leader frowned, then waved his hand, and six or seven Japs pounced on him at the same time.
This time, Zhang Zizhong finally failed to dodge. Six or seven shining bayonets pierced his chest almost at the same time. The sharp blades entered his body. Zhang Zizhong's tall and burly body was shaken violently. Then, his originally sharp and bright eyes became dim. , when he was dying, Zhang Zizhong faintly heard Xiang Tianhu laughing there.
"Little Jaap, I call you your ancestor!" Xiang Tianhu finally wiped the throats of two more Japs, and then the Jaap team leader opened his arms to Tianhu, letting the intestines and internal organs gush out from his abdominal cavity. The flow came out, but there was no expression on his face, and he burst out laughing, "Little devil, I call you your eighteenth generation ancestor!" (To be continued.)