Standing on the top of the mountain, Lei Jian commanded the cavalry battalion to abandon the war horse and attack the Japanese 372nd Wing on foot, and cooperated with the 1st and 2nd battalions to suppress the enemy's retreat with the greatest firepower, and strive to start a close combat with the enemy in the barracks.

Li Gang led the soldiers of three companies of the cavalry battalion to hide the war horses in the cliffs that were dug out on both sides, and the narrow Zhengtai railway line in the middle, and quickly rushed to the devil's barracks, pressing the devils to retreat to a corner of the barracks with the greatest firepower.

The cunning 372nd Wing Captain Fujita Daisa ordered the captain of the 639th Brigade: "Kuno-kun, order all units in the barracks to stick to their posts, and those who evacuate without authorization and are broken through by the Eighth Road will be killed. ”

The little devils in the barracks, after receiving the death order of Fujita Daisa to hold their positions, increased their courage one by one, and counterattacked the attacking units of the Eighth Route Army with the greatest firepower, causing great casualties to the attacking Eighth Route Army for a while.

Lei Jian condescendingly observed this dangerous battle situation, and immediately changed his original tactics, ordering the 1st and 2nd battalions and the cavalry battalion not to rush to attack and block the Japanese firepower in the barracks, but to constantly take feints to confuse the enemy and cover the 3rd battalion and the assault company to blow up the Tiger Leaping Gorge Bridge occupied by the devils.

The third battalion and the assault company, with the support of artillery fire from the top of the mountain, quickly occupied the southern end of the Tiger Leaping Gorge Bridge, and the commander of the third battalion, Huang Yong, ordered the soldiers to immediately build a bridgehead position, organize weapons and equipment, and be ready to fire at any time to block the Japanese troops reinforcing the bridgehead, and cover the assault company to blow up the Tiger Leaping Gorge Bridge.

The assault company, under the leadership of the company commander Fang Liqiang, quickly passed through the bridgehead position and pounced on the Japanese bridge guard post in the middle of the bridge at the fastest speed.

Just when the 'only regiment' of the Eighth Route Army launched a general attack on the Japanese barracks, mountaintop turrets and half-cliff bunkers at the southern end of Tiger Leaping Gorge, the devils guarding the outpost in the middle of the bridge were ready to strike at the troops of the Eighth Route Army who broke through the Japanese positions at the southern end and pounced on the bridge.

When Cao Chang, the Japanese outpost, found a group of nearly 100 soldiers of the Eighth Route Army, holding guns to cover the soldiers holding explosive bags and rushing to the middle of the bridge, the devil Cao Chang immediately ordered all the troops guarding the bridge to quickly enter the bridge bunker and block the attacking Eighth Route Army with the most fierce firepower.

Fang Liqiang, the commander of the assault company, led the assault platoon to rush to the front, and was suddenly hit by the fire of the devil's bridge guarding troops, and the soldiers who rushed to the front were shot and fell in a pool of blood.

Standing on the top of the mountain, Lei Jian, holding a telescope, watched the battle situation of the various attacking troops advancing, when he found that the assault company carrying out the task of blowing up the bridge was blocked by the fire of the devils in the middle of the bridge, the advance was blocked, and the casualties were very large, he immediately ordered the artillery squad of the first battalion on the top of the mountain: "With the most powerful artillery fire, destroy the devil post in the middle of the bridge, and cover the assault company to blow up the bridge." ”

The leader of the artillery squad visually measured the distance between the top of the mountain and the bridge, and made a quick report: "Report to Regiment Commander Lei, the mortar is close to five hundred meters away from the bridge, and the soldiers who operate the artillery have no combat experience, once the shell explodes in the position of our assault company, it will cause greater casualties." ”

Lei Jian frowned, quickly rushed to a mortar, stretched out his thumb and repeatedly compared the barrel and the target, he was not sure, he could accurately land the mortar shell on the location of the devil post in the middle of the bridge.

He ordered Li Gang under the mountain: "Send a company of soldiers to reinforce the assault company, and we must ensure that the assault company destroys the Tiger Leaping Gorge Bridge in the shortest possible time." ”

Cao Chang, the devil outpost who was sticking to the middle of the Tiger Leaping Gorge Bridge, found that there was another 100-man force of the Eighth Route Army to reinforce the bridge, and he already felt that the dozen or so imperial soldiers at the outpost alone could not stop the attacking Eighth Route Army's firepower. ”

Captain Kuno took the phone from a devil, only to hear the gunshots and shouts of killing inside, he asked in a panic, "Where are you?" Why are the gunshots and shouts ....... ”

"Report to Captain Kuno, two companies of Tubalu pounced on the south end of the Tiger Leaping Gorge Bridge, the fire is fierce, my two outposts can't stop the fire, I ask to send troops to reinforce quickly, once delayed, the Tiger Leaping Gorge Bridge will be destroyed by the Eighth Route Army, please send troops to reinforce immediately."

Captain Kuno immediately reported to the 372nd Wing Captain Fujita Daisa, and when Captain Fujita heard that the Eighth Route Army had attacked the bridge at the Tiger Leaping Gorge Bridge, he was scared into a cold sweat at that time, once the Tiger Leaping Gorge Bridge was bombed, the north and south of the Zhengtai Railway would be interrupted, and a large number of troops and resources would be stranded at both ends of the Tiger Leaping Gorge Bridge.

Fujita Daisa picked up the phone and shouted: "Quickly connect me to the squadron leader of the bridge guarding force at the southern end of the Tiger Leaping Gap Bridge, bastard, quickly connect to me." ”

A hurried reply came from the phone: "Report to Your Excellency Dazuo, the southern end of the Tiger Leaping Gap Bridge is not open and cannot be contacted." ”

Fujita Daisa, who was frightened and had a brain problem, only then did he react that since the troops of the Eighth Route Army had rushed to the bridge and were engaged with the Japanese army at the outpost in the middle of the bridge, the Japanese position at the southern end of the bridge should have been broken through by the Eighth Route Army.

He came to his senses and shouted again: "Quickly connect the phone of the bridge guard unit at the north end of the Tiger Leaping Gorge Bridge, the 638th Brigade Leader." ”

The captain of the 638th Brigade of the 372nd Wing of the Japanese Army shouted into the microphone: "Your Excellency Fujita Daisa, I have found that at the southern end of the Tiger Leaping Gorge Bridge, there is a constant sound of gunfire, it must be a sneak attack by a large army of Tubalu, please ...... Your Excellency Dazuo." ”

Fujita Osa did not wait for the bridge guard troops at the northern end of the bridge, the captain of the 638th Brigade to continue to ramble, and ordered with a roar: "My order is that you lead two squadrons to quickly pass the bridge and reinforce the southern end of the bridge, and you must destroy all the dirt roads that rush to the bridge." ”

This old devil, he didn't expect that the commander of the Eighth Route Army he met this time was the Lei Jian troops who set out from Guangxing and marched westward, on both sides of the Yellow River, on the No. 1 and No. 2 heights, and in the Deshi Road raid and stalemate.

At this time, Lei Jian stood on the top of the mountain, holding a telescope, looking at the entire battlefield of the battle to break the Tiger Leaping Gorge Bridge, when he found that from the north end of the bridge, nearly two squadrons of little devils pounced up, he immediately realized that the assault company that had been fighting fiercely with the little devils at the outpost on the bridge was about to engage the two squadrons of the Japanese army that rushed up, which would add great difficulties to the task of blasting the Tiger Leaping Gorge Bridge, and even sacrifice more soldiers.

At this moment, Zhang Ping, director of the Electrical Investigation Department, rushed up to the top of the mountain from the bottom of the slope and reported nervously: "Report to Regiment Commander Lei, Battalion Commander Song Chun of the Fourth Battalion is in an emergency." ”

Lei Jian grabbed the message, the message was only a few words, just these few words, Lei Jian's head was bigger, he read the message again, and the content that stimulated the eyeballs was as follows; Regiment Commander Lei, 10 kilometers south of the Tiger Leaping Gorge Bridge, our 4th Battalion is holding its position, and has engaged in a fierce battle with the 637th Brigade of the 372nd Wing of the Japanese Army returning to the Tiger Leaping Gorge Bridge.

Zhang Ping, director of the Electrical Investigation Department, looked at Lei Jian's face was ugly, not only beads of sweat were flowing from his head, this was the first time Zhang Ping saw Lei Jian so nervous, so that he didn't say a word for a long time.

Once the Japanese 637th Brigade quickly returned to help, plus the 638th Brigade that came from the north end of the bridge, as well as the 639th Brigade in the barracks, and the three Japanese brigades, they would form an encirclement at the southern end of the bridge against the Eighth Route Army, which had entered the bridgehead of the bridge and was fighting fiercely with the 372nd Wing, forming an encirclement, compressing the Eighth Route Army to the cliffs dug on both sides of the railway, and only passing through a narrow area of one train in the middle. The only group will form a situation of passive beating.

This kind of breakthrough is hopeless, reinforcements cannot enter, can only rely on firepower to fight, at the cost of the lives of the soldiers, fight with the enemy, in the end, can break out alive The 'only group', I don't know how many people can be left.

The more Lei Jian thought about it, the more scared he became, this was his crossing to the anti-Japanese battlefield, and he had fought countless battles with the enemy, and this raid on the Battle of the Tiger Leaping Gorge Bridge was the most dangerous and helpless battle he encountered at this time.

Blowing up the bridge is important, but all the soldiers of Lei Jian's regiment can be buried here, Lei Jian does not do it, he wants not only to blow up the bridge and complete the task assigned to him by Commander Nie of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, but also to lead the 'only regiment' at the lowest controllable cost to break out of the enemy's encirclement that is about to form a difficult breakthrough.

He resolutely ordered Zhang Ping: "Director Zhang, please remember the order I gave carefully, the situation is urgent, I can only say it once."

The assault company and the cavalry battalion led by Deputy Regiment Commander Li Gang were ordered to quickly retreat to the southern end of the bridge, and the assault company held the bridgehead position, covering the cavalry battalion to quickly rush out of the battlefield where the fierce battle was being fought, and quickly retreated south along the Zhengtai railway line with cliffs on both sides, striving to rush to the slower hillside five kilometers away before the 637th Brigade of the Japanese Army that was returning to the reinforcements encountered, occupy favorable terrain, and carry out the most fierce fire strikes on the 637th Brigade of the Japanese Army that was reinforcing them, so as to win time for the 'only regiment' that broke through the bridge position. ”

(End of chapter)