The first battalion was all killed, the first battalion commander died, and Zeng Zesheng was grief-stricken. This was a heavy blow to him and the entire 1085 regiment. They are all veterans, the backbone of the 184th Division, the essence of 1085.

In the afternoon of the same day, the Japanese launched a fierce attack on the stone ladder of the main position of the 1085th Regiment, and several rounds of attacks were repulsed by 1085 one by one.

"I can't stay here anymore, move the headquarters to the stone ladder, I have to be with the soldiers."

Zeng Zesheng made up his mind that he wanted to be with the fighters and live and die with the position.

The chief of staff on the side said, "Regiment commander, think twice." You are the commander-in-chief, if there is a case, what will happen to the 1985 regiment? ”

Zeng Zesheng waved his hand and said, "No need to persuade you, the troops are gone, what do you want the regiment commander to do." Reserves were ordered to be ready to replenish positions at any time. ”

Zeng Zesheng had made up his mind, and moved the regiment headquarters to the stone ladder position overnight, and he wanted to personally command it.

The arrival of the regiment commander lifted the soldiers, and their morale was greatly boosted for a while.

Zeng Zesheng came to the position to visit the soldiers. I saw that the soldiers' faces were covered with dust, and their expressions were tired. Some of the lightly wounded were casually bandaged and volunteered to stay in their positions and continue the fight. Their gauze had been dyed black by the smoke of gunpowder, but their eyes were very determined.

These wounded soldiers gave up hope of life and volunteered to stay, which made Zeng Zesheng very moved. Looking at the other soldiers, they still had expressions of endless fighting.

Zeng Zesheng stood on the high ground of the position and shouted to the soldiers on the position: "You are all good!" He is the best soldier of the 184th Division and the pride of the Yunnan Army! In fact, there is nothing to be afraid of devils, aircraft artillery, we have strong positions; chemical weapons, we have anti-chemical equipment; Armament we don't bird them either! Fighting is courage, fighting is the blood of soldiers! The brave will win, and with the courage not to be afraid of death, the bullets will go around! ”

Suddenly, someone shouted: "Regiment leader, we are not afraid of death!" ”

Zeng Zesheng shouted again: "Good job! I'm not afraid of death, tomorrow I'm going to fight side by side with you and kill the little devils together! ”

"Kill! Kill! Kill! "Kill! Kill! Kill! ”“……”

All the officers and men on the battlefield raised their guns and shouted loudly. With the loudest roar, they will tell the enemy under the mountain that they are determined to defend their homeland!

At dawn on September 30, the Japanese could not wait to launch an attack.

More than a dozen planes roared and bombed the subordinate positions indiscriminately. Patches of black mushroom clouds rose into the air, covering the newly blue sky with a thick gray veil again.

The dozen or so planes seemed to have some nostalgia for this position, and after the bombing, they were unwilling to leave, and continued to hover in the air.

Immediately, the Japanese ground launched a fierce artillery bombardment, and the entire position was shrouded in gray smoke.

"Kill~" "Kill~""......"

The devil soldiers under the mountain screamed and screamed to charge. This tactic is air cover, infantry and artillery joint operations. Thousands of devils gathered at the foot of the mountain, remembering to drum up and take the main position of the 1085th regiment on the 30th.

The soldiers on the battlefield couldn't raise their heads when they were bombed, and Zeng Zesheng said angrily: "Damn, they want artillery, don't Lao Tzu have no cannons!?" Order the mortar company to bomb me! ”

A regiment of the Yunnan army has a company of broken guns, 81 mortars and 4 guns, and 2 guns of 60 guns. After receiving the order of the regiment commander, a fierce artillery bombardment of the Japanese troops in the forward positions was launched.

Whether it was the position or the front of the position, the sound of artillery resounded. The entire stone staircase is completely covered with a black veil, covering the sky and the sun.

It didn't take long for gunfire to erupt from the position. The soldiers of the Dian army in the trenches braved the artillery fire to fight back.

The attacking devils are once again like cutting rice, row by row. The most lethal to the devils is the Hatch Kaise 13.2 mm caliber heavy machine gun, which is known as the "French kiss of death".

Two heavy machine guns were erected on both flanks of the position, forming crossfire, with a range of 3,000 meters. The close-range bullet was extremely penetrating, passing directly through the body of the devil, killing two birds with one stone from time to time, causing great casualties to the Japanese army.

The planes in the air continued to hover "buzzing", and then found the right angle to shoot directly at the trenches. The wings of the plane were flared with flames, making a "spit-spit" death sound. Dirt and flowers flew in the trenches, causing heavy casualties to the soldiers who were fighting.

The battle was extremely fierce, and the soldiers on both sides engaged in a bloody battle to the death. Half an hour later, the fighting stopped. Whether it is the position or the front line, it is a tragic scene of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

After the battle, Zeng Zesheng ordered: "Withdraw the soldiers of the first line of defense to the third line of defense, and the second line of defense." Carry the wounded to the rear and order the reserves to reinforce the third line of defense! ”

This is Zeng Zesheng's wheel tactic, the purpose is to make the position more resilient, and the holding time will be longer. The reserve is mainly composed of new recruits, mixed with the ranks of veterans. Let them, led by veterans, learn to fight while fighting.

The reason why the Yunnan army fought hard and sacrificed was for that persistence and for the evacuation of Wuhan. In the Battle of Xuzhou, the 184th Division held out in Yuwang Mountain for 27 days, successfully covering the safe evacuation of 600,000 national troops and preserving the vitality of the Chinese army; And this time, they will insist on letting the large amount of industrial materials hoarded in Wuhan be safely evacuated from the rear and protect the country's economic lifeline.

In the afternoon, the Japanese continued their onslaught, and both sides launched wheel tactics. The Japanese army attacked in a wave, but was greatly retreated, and then another wave of preparations came up again; And the same is true of the stone ladder position, the one, two, and three lines of defense rotate back and forth, and the soldiers are gone, and the reserves are immediately replenished.

Zeng Zesheng used this way of fighting and held on for another day.

At the rear division headquarters, Zhang Chong was concentrating on the battle ahead, when suddenly the signal soldier shouted: "Report, the special combat team is calling." The 7th Wing of the Japanese 6th Brigade is rushing to Paishi for reinforcements. ”

After hearing this, Zhang Chong's face sank suddenly. The 1085th Regiment was fighting a bloody battle on the stone ladder, and it was in a stalemate from the perspective of the battle situation, but Zhang Chong knew that the 1085th Regiment was at the end of the strong crossbow, and as soon as the reinforcements arrived, the balance would soon be broken.

The chief of staff on the side suggested, "Why don't you tell 1085 to withdraw first?" Once the Lord is breached, facing an enemy ten times his size, he is likely to be outflanked, and it will be difficult to retreat at that time. ”

After only three days of fighting, he withdrew one of his main forces so quickly, and this result was not what Zhang Chong wanted.

The 184th Division is now the Dian Army, the absolute main force. The 184th Division was over, and it was difficult for other units to block the Japanese attack. Zhang Chong really has no confidence in the recruits of the 58th Army, and he can't figure out if his 184th Division will still be able to go.

Zhang Chong replied: "It's too early, we have to persevere." One more day, and more supplies from Wuhan will be shipped out. I believe in the 1085 regiment, and I also believe in Zeng Zesheng's ability. ”

However, the chief of staff's concerns were not unreasonable, and the Japanese army was far superior to his own. It is fully capable of attacking on multiple fronts and encircling the 1085th Regiment.

Immediately, Zhang Chong ordered: "Telegraph orders Shao Fei's independent regiment to move forward, occupy the main hills, junctions, and villages, and be ready to cover the retreat of the 1085th regiment at any time." ”

In the battle on the 30th, no matter how the Japanese army used various tricks, the position still held the hands of the Dian army. Then the 1085 regiment suffered the same heavy losses, and their danger came from the planes in the air, as well as poison gas bombs.

The 1085th Regiment was in other positions, and after this round of combat there was a serious shortage of troops. Zeng Zesheng didn't want to stage the tragedy of the first battalion, so he ordered all the remnants of the troops of Shijing Ming, Ma'anshan, and Huangliandong to gather in the main position of Shiti and concentrate the strength of the whole regiment to fight the Japanese army in the final decisive battle.

(End of chapter)