Seeing that the Third Infantry Brigade, which had finally made it to the top of the mountain, was driven down again, Nishi Otiao's fat face turned green, because the division commander Xiaozhu Yoshio had given a kill order. If the 40th Infantry Regiment If he could not capture Houtou Ridge before dawn, then as the commander of the regiment, Nishi Ojo Fatty would have to commit seppuku to express his gratitude to the Emperor.
The defeated troops of the Third Infantry Brigade retreated like a tide.
Captain Keizo Watanabe came to Nishi Ojopang with a worried expression and paused to report: "Captain, the Chinese army on the top of the mountain is too tenacious, and the counterattack is even more fierce. Even if we attack, we can't stand at all." Stop, captain, we can't fight like this anymore, the imperial army's casualties are too high..."
"Baga!" Fatty Nishida interrupted Keizo Watanabe fiercely and shouted, "Keizo Watanabe, don't make any excuses for your incompetence. As a samurai and an emperor, You are not allowed to make excuses for failure at any time, failure is failure, incompetence is incompetence, do you understand?"
"Hai." Watanabe Keizo paused and closed his mouth.
Nishidajo turned his eyes behind Watanabe Keizo again, and saw that the four squadrons that had just been replenished before the attack had less than 200 people left, and among the less than 200 people left, almost everyone They were all injured, and no one was disgraced. Captain Keizo Watanabe also had a bloody groove on his cheek.
Looking at the anxious-looking officers and soldiers of the Third Brigade, Xi Da Tiao Pang's heart was bleeding.
Unlike other old devils, although Xi Da Tiao Pang is also a fanatical militarist, he is still considerate of his subordinates.
However, the military orders came crashing down. No matter how considerate of his subordinates, Xi Da Tiao Pang had to carry out the orders of Xiaozhu Yinan.
Gritting his teeth, Nishi Ojo said in a deep voice: "Watanabe-san, I will replenish your brigade with all the reinforcements from the last two squadrons of the regiment headquarters. This is also the last chance I give you. If this time, Your brigade still can't take Houtou Ridge, so prepare to commit seppuku to express your guilt to His Majesty the Emperor."
"Hai." Keizo Watanabe nodded heavily, looking miserable.
But soon, Keizo Watanabe's expression changed from miserable to ferocious. Obviously, under the pressure of the death order, Keizo Watanabe had the desire to fight as a cornered beast. If he goes forward, he will die, if he retreats, he will die. Both the left and right will die, so what's the point? It is better to simply die on the battlefield, so that at least it can bring honor to the Watanabe family!
Replenishment troops from the two squadrons were quickly added to the Third Infantry Group.
The Third Infantry Brigade, which seemed to be depleted just now, once again had more than 700 people. Although it could not compare with when it was fully organized, it was at least capable of fighting a battle.
Watanabe Keizo took a deep breath of the hot air and took off his military uniform.
Then, Watanabe Keizo took off the military cap on his head and the pants on his lower body, leaving only a pair of white crotch pants on his body. He retrieved the saber from the unarmed belt and pulled out the saber. , and then took a sweat towel and wiped the blade carefully, so carefully, and so slowly.
Nishi Otiao looked at him coldly, but did not urge Watanabe.
Because Nishi Ojo knew that this was probably Watanabe's last time in the world, so he really couldn't bear to rush it.
More than 700 officers and soldiers lined up were quietly standing there, with miserable expressions on their faces. From the captain's actions, they could roughly imagine what would happen next.
After more than five minutes, Watanabe finally finished wiping the knife, and then suddenly raised his head.
"Warriors of the Third Infantry Brigade." Watanabe's ferocious gaze swept over the faces of the more than 700 officers and soldiers in the queue one by one, and then he roared at the top of his lungs, "Tōji Kai..."
(Dividing line)
At the same time, Huang Shouxin also gathered the remaining officers and soldiers of the Ninth Company and the Guard Platoon.
At the beginning of the war, Wang Husheng and Leng Tiefeng planned to use the Houtou Ridge position as a training ground and use the Japs from the 10th Division as free training partners to accelerate the growth of the nine reserve battalions through rounds of battles. However, the cruel reality The wishful thinking of Wang Husheng and Leng Tiefeng was shattered. Because the Japanese offensive was too fierce, the preparations could not withstand it at all.
Just the day before yesterday, when Huang Shouxin's third battalion withdrew from Houtou Ridge as planned, and when Zhu Chen's reserve second battalion entered the position to take over the defense, the Japanese attacked and broke through three lines of defense on the ridge. If not for Leng Tiefeng's reaction, Quickly, the second battalion, which was thrown into Wanzhong Mountain in time, launched a desperate counterattack, and the Houtou Ridge position was already lost.
Once Houtou Ridge is lost, there will be no danger from here to Meizhen.
What's even worse is that once the 10th Division breaks through Houtou Ridge, the water shortage dilemma it faces will be easily solved.
By that time, facing the powerful crushing force of the 10th Division, the Independent Regiment had no other choice but to abandon Meizhen and retreat into the mountains to fight guerrillas.
Fortunately, the Second Battalion of Wanzhongshan blocked the gap in time.
But after this scare, Wang Husheng no longer dared to engage in round battles.
In terms of training, the ten reserve battalions may already be very similar, but once they are put into actual combat, the gap between these ten recruit battalions that have never experienced actual combat and the veteran camp becomes apparent. New recruits are recruits. In normal times, No matter how well you train, once you get into actual combat, you will immediately forget all the things you usually train.
Some recruits even forget how to fire a gun when they get nervous.
There was really no choice, so Wang Husheng could only use the nine reserve battalions in his hand as supplementary battalions.
In other words, the Houtou Ridge position is guarded by the second battalion of Wanzhongshan and the third battalion of Huang Shouxin in turns. The remaining nine reserve battalions will be constantly replenished. In this way, the recruits of the nine reserve battalions will be accepted. Tempering in the flames of war, this method is of course not as effective as wheel battles in terms of troop training effect, but it is better in terms of safety.
The Japanese were about to start another round of attack, and Huang Shouxin summoned the officers and soldiers of the Ninth Company and the Guard Platoon.
Up to now, in just two days, the Ninth Company and the Guard Platoon have already carried out as many as three rounds of reinforcements. On the battlefield, the casualty rate of new soldiers is astonishing. After a wave of new recruits are added, they will soon be killed or injured. , then a new wave of new recruits, then another wave of new recruits after being injured or killed, and then another wave of new recruits.
After the previous counterattack, the Ninth Company and the Guard Platoon were left with less than a hundred people.
Just now, at least a hundred officers and soldiers sacrificed their lives on the Herutou Ridge position!
The sound of chaotic footsteps sounded from behind. When I looked back, I saw Wang Husheng hurried over with another company of recruits.
Huang Shouxin didn't need to say much, the recruits from this company spontaneously joined the ranks of the Ninth Company and the guard platoon.
After a simple count, the number of the Ninth Company stopped at 185 people, and the number of the Guard Platoon stopped at 46 people.
Looking at the solemn faces in front of him, Huang Shouxin felt very heavy. After a while, he would take them to accept another test of life and death. After this counterattack, at least half of the hundreds of people who had just joined in I will stay on the mountain forever and will never be able to return to my relatives again.
"I don't want to lie to you. The battle on Houtou Ridge was very cruel." Huang Shouxin's stern eyes swept over the faces of the officers and soldiers in the queue one by one, his tone was low and ruthless, "It's crueler than you can imagine. The Japanese realized that they We are facing the danger of annihilation of the entire army, so the attack on Houtou Ridge is very crazy."
"Facing the crazy Japanese attack, it is absolutely impossible for the Seventh Company to hold its position."
"So after a while, I have to lead you to launch a counterattack against the Japanese."
"This counterattack will be more brutal than the previous ones. You can still stand here alive now, but in ten minutes, you will probably have died on the ridge. From now on, your parents , your wives and children will only be able to cry silently in front of your memorial tablets."
After hearing Huang Shouxin's words, there was a gasp in the queue.
Faced with the choice of life and death, no one can truly remain calm.
Wang Husheng, who was standing nearby, immediately frowned. He felt that Huang Shouxin shouldn't say such scary words. Wasn't this destabilizing the morale of the army in the midst of a war? But Wang Husheng didn't say anything after all. No matter how much he didn't trust Huang Shouxin, could he still not trust Xu Rui? Xu Rui has his reasons for thinking so highly of Huang Shouxin.
"I don't want to talk to you about the principles of the country and the nation." Huang Shouxin's cold voice sounded again, "I just want to tell you a simple fact. If, I mean if, if Houtou Ridge cannot be defended, Mei The town is over, Meizhen is over, and none of your parents, wives, and children can survive!"
"As you all know, my home is in this town."
"My father is in the town. Although he doesn't like my son very much, he is my father after all."
"As a son, as a man, I will never watch my father being harmed by the Japanese."
"If the devil wants to enter the town and harm my father, there is only one way, and that is... to step over my body!" After a slight pause, Huang Shouxin suddenly increased his tone and shouted sternly, "As long as I am Huang As long as Shouzhi still has a breath of life, the little devil can't even think about passing through Houtou Ridge, don't even think about it!"
"Roar!" The officers and soldiers lined up immediately roared.
These new recruits have no culture. Talk to them about the country and nation, and they may have no idea. But talk to them about their parents, wives and children, and they will immediately understand. In a word, people may be afraid of death, but for their parents, wives and children, that is Even the weakest coward will become extremely strong and brave!
At this time, gunshots and explosions rang out again on Houtou Ridge.
Huang Shouxin turned his head and smiled coldly at Monkey Head Ridge. When he turned back, the expression on his face had become solemn, and then he yelled: "Brothers, I won't say anything more. For the sake of my parents, For the sake of our wives and children, and for the elders of Meizhen, let us die together and risk our lives with the Japanese!"
"Roar!" More than two hundred officers and soldiers responded loudly again. (To be continued.)