The Kumamoto Division is indeed known as the most capable of the seventeen permanent divisions of the Japanese army.
In particular, the 45th Infantry Regiment was formed in Kagoshima. The folk customs of Kagoshima were more vigorous than those of Kumamoto. Most of the Shin Japanese that invaded the coast of China in the late Ming Dynasty were ronin or bankrupt fishermen from Kagoshima. Therefore, the combat effectiveness of the 45th Infantry Regiment is second to none in the entire Kumamoto Division.
Even though the Japanese army had just experienced a long-distance march and were as tired as dogs, and even though the overflowing river water seriously affected the Japanese army's movements, forcing the Japanese officers and soldiers to step in knee-deep water to attack the National Army positions, However, the Kuomintang Army's Wanchong Advance Brigade was still quickly defeated by the fierce Japanese attack.
The defensive strategy Xu Rui designed for the 1st Regiment of the Wanzhong Advance Brigade is not bad, but no matter how good or perfect the strategy is, it still requires people to execute it. Regardless of national sentiments, in terms of actual combat effectiveness, the Wanzhong Advance Brigade The 1st Regiment is indeed not on the same level as the Kagoshima Regiment of the Kumamoto Division.
Before noon, the Hedong position guarded by the 3rd Battalion of the 1st Regiment of the Central Anhui Advance Brigade, that is, the dozen or so hills, were all lost. However, it needs to be noted that the 3rd Battalion also showed Chinese tenacity. The entire battalion was six More than a hundred officers and soldiers, from the battalion commander to the new recruits, all died in the battle, and no one retreated!
However, the 1st Regiment of the Wanzhong Advance Brigade really couldn't defeat the Japs. The training level and physical fitness of the supplementary soldiers transferred from the rear by Gu Shutong were hugely different from the Japs soldiers of the Kumamoto Division. Especially in terms of stabbing ability, six recruits can't beat a Japanese soldier.
Although there are also backbone veterans from the 88th Division in the Anhui Advance Brigade, the stabbing skills of these backbone veterans are only better than those of the Japs. One veteran can defeat three Japs. However, after all, there are too few such backbone veterans. He was soon overwhelmed by the swarm of little devils.
Before noon, all the positions east of Feihe River were lost. The blood shed from the officers and soldiers of the 3rd Battalion almost dyed the entire flooded water red.
Fortunately, the 1st Regiment held the stone bridge across the river.
Speaking of this, I have to thank the little devil.
When the Feicheng garrison was stationed in Feicheng before, it had a stronghold in Feidong, and the stone bridge across the Fei River was also within the scope of the stronghold, so the Japanese built a blockhouse at each end of the stone bridge.
It was precisely with these two bunker fortifications that Ding Li's 1st regiment barely blocked the Japanese.
Because the Japanese's heavy equipment was still stuck in the mud behind and could not get up in a short time, they could only rely on infantry to launch a strong attack on the bridgehead bunker, but they were all repelled by the National Army.
Ding Li's 1st Regiment destroyed more than a dozen crooked weapons and finally managed to withstand the fierce attack of the Suzuki Regiment. When the Suzuki Regiment stopped attacking, the garrison officers and soldiers guarding the bunker discovered that fifty soldiers were standing in front of the bunker. Within the area of 1 to 500 meters, there were layers of corpses of Japanese soldiers, at least four to five hundred. It seemed that the little Japanese soldiers were really anxious.
Indeed, the two old devils, Inaba Shiro and Ushijima Mitsuru, were really anxious and couldn't wait any longer.
Near evening, Shiro Inaba gave a fatal order to Kameda, the commander of the artillery regiment, asking him to bring the eight 37mm caliber combat artillery of the combat artillery squadron to the front line before dark, otherwise He was prepared to commit seppuku to express his gratitude to the emperor.
When Kameda heard this, he immediately became anxious. He took off his military uniform, went shirtless, and led hundreds of strong artillerymen to directly lift the eight combat artillery pieces of the combat artillery squadron, a half-ton combat artillery piece. , and the Japanese artillerymen were stunned to be carried to the front line.
As they were carrying the cannon forward, one of them rolled over, killing one Japanese soldier and seriously injuring four others.
But before dark, the eight 37mm-caliber combat artillery of the combat artillery squadron appeared in front of the National Army's position on time.
There is no longer any suspense about the next situation.
The Japs only had one round of shelling, and the bunker on the east side of the bridge was blown to the sky. The dozen or so Nationalist officers and soldiers guarding the bunker all died heroically. Then the Japs launched a second round of shelling, blowing up the bunker on the west of the bridge as well. .
Because the situation reversed so suddenly, the advancing brigade in Central Anhui had no time to blow up the stone bridge. As a result, the little devils took control of the stone bridge with a single charge, and took advantage of the victory to pursue them and chased them all the way to the east gate of Feicheng!
Ding Li's 1st regiment was almost completely destroyed, with only more than a hundred people left fleeing into Feicheng.
Not only did Xu Rui not expect such a result, Luo Feng was so angry that he almost jumped.
Luo Feng pointed at Ding Li's nose and yelled: "Ding Li, what the hell do you do for a living? A regiment of troops with more than 2,000 guns, only defended the position for less than a day, and actually lost the position, and even the bridge was lost. If it didn’t blow up, what the hell did you do for food? What on earth did you do for food?”
Ding Li stood in front of Luo Feng dejectedly, without a word of excuse.
What else is there to defend? He really had nothing to say about such a result.
Luo Feng grabbed the collar of Ding Li's clothes, shook him hard, and continued to curse: "Ding Li, the position is lost, and you still have the nerve to come back alive. Why don't you die? Why don't you die?"
Ding Li knelt down in front of Luo Feng and said miserably: "Prince, please kill me."
"Shoot you?" Luo Feng lowered his head and spat in Ding Li's face, "Shoot you, I still think it's a waste of bullets, I still think it's a waste of bullets!"
Ding Li stood up with a dark face, turned around and walked out.
Luo Feng's heart skipped a beat and he said angrily: "What are you doing?"
Ding Li gritted his teeth and said: "I will take the remaining brothers of the 1st regiment to take Feidong back!"
After hearing this, Xu Rui shook his head. Ding Li was acting on his own initiative, which is a taboo for military strategists.
When leading troops to fight, the most taboo thing is to act on impulse. As the saying goes, soldiers are treacherous. War has always been the most dangerous thing. No matter what the situation is at any time, you must remain calm.
When you lose your cool, it means that your demise is not far away.
Seeing Ding Li turning around and going out again, Xu Rui quickly winked at Lei Xiang, who immediately stepped forward and blocked Ding Li's way.
Ding Li raised his head and glanced at the thunder above him, but there was no fear on his face: "Get out of the way!"
Lei Xiang stared at Ding Li condescendingly. Instead of getting out of the way, he crossed his arms and looked like he was deliberately looking for trouble. Lei Xiang only recognized Xu Rui.
Others, even the brigade commander Luo Feng, were nothing in his eyes.
Ding Li was so angry that he punched Lei Xiang in the chest.
Ding Li thought angrily, if this person is unlucky, even a fart can hit his heel. How dare you, a little guard, dare to play tricks on me!
But Ding Li's hands were quick, and Lei Xiang's shots were even faster.
Lei Xiang suddenly reached out and grabbed Ding Li's fist, then with a sudden force, he completely twisted Ding Li's wrist. In pain, Ding Li couldn't help but bend his knees and waist, and was about to fall to his knees.
Xu Rui stopped him at the right time: "Lei Zi, don't be rude to Commander Ding."
Lei Xiang groaned and let go of his hand. Ding Li quickly took a step back, but did not dare to make another move.
Because Ding Li knew that his skills were far inferior to the big black man in front of him, and if he took action, he would only be humiliating himself. However, Ding Li felt even more aggrieved. Madam, I really can't live this day.
Ding Li turned back to Xu Rui and said, "Captain Xu, what do you mean?"
"Captain Ding, don't be anxious." Xu Rui said, "If you lose the Feidong position, just lose it. It's not a big deal. But if you lead your brothers to fight back at this time, there will be no other result except death, so , why not keep these surviving brothers, if you want to take revenge, are you afraid that you won’t have a chance?”
Xu Rui really cared about the more than 100 remnant soldiers under Ding Li.
Needless to say, these more than a hundred remnants were able to escape from the battlefield and return to Feicheng alive, which shows that they are all capable. Most of them are remnants of the 88th Division who have survived hundreds of battles. These are elites, and it would be a pity to lose them.
At this time, Luo Feng had also calmed down and said: "Ali, I was angry just now. Don't take it to heart. If the position is lost, just lose it. As long as you can come back alive, we'll talk about the counterattack later. You My brothers and I must be exhausted, let’s go down and take a hot bath first, and then have a good sleep.”
After hearing what Luo Feng said, Ding Li squatted down with his head in his hands and burst into tears.
A big man, but he cried like a child and communicated through tears. Nothing else. Ding Li was really sad to the extreme. He felt wronged and guilty at the same time. He felt wronged because he had tried his best, but in the end, he got it back. As a result, I felt sorry for the brothers who died in the battle.
Luo Feng waved his hand, and two veterans stepped forward and helped Ding Li away.
After Ding Li walked away, Luo Feng turned to Xu Rui and said, "Captain Xu, I made you laugh."
Xu Rui shook his head and said: "Winning or losing is a common thing for military strategists. What's more, we haven't lost this battle yet. Besides, the Central Anhui Advancing Brigade is still a force that has just been formed for less than a week. To be honest, the 1st Regiment can defeat all the troops in the army." It is remarkable enough to hold out for one day in front of the guilty Kumamoto Division."
"Captain Xu, please don't put gold in my face." Luo Feng shook his head and smiled bitterly, and then said, "Now that Feidong has been lost, the main force of the Kumamoto Division has arrived at the city. From now on, I have to rely on you." Meishan is an independent group, and when I talk about this, I feel really bad about it."
Xu Rui said: "Commander Luo, there is no need to talk about this between you and me."
"No, I have to say something." Luo Feng waved his hand and said solemnly, "Captain Xu, I know that you are different from those senior officials in the War Zone Commander's Department. Those senior officials only regard us as bargaining chips and as a means of promotion and promotion. They can sacrifice us at any time, but Captain Xu is a man who truly knows and loves soldiers, so when this battle is over, I will definitely let all the officers and soldiers of the brigade join your independent regiment!" (To be continued.)