The Japanese launched a general attack on the position of the 'only regiment' of the Eighth Route Army, and under the cover of powerful artillery fire, like a pack of crazy wolves, pounced on the forward positions, such a strong attack, which was not found in the previous dozen attacks.

Lei Jian led three small troops, braving the enemy's artillery fire, stepping on the pontoon bridge, and quickly rushed to the position on the east bank, some soldiers were hit by artillery fire and dense bullets, fell and fell into the Tiechuan River, and were instantly swept away by the muddy river and lost their traces.

Of the nearly 200 fighters, only 200 rushed to the east bank alive for reinforcements, and this was the most tragic battle between the 'only regiment' and the enemy.

Under the cover of heavy fire, the large force of the devils quickly approached the forward position of the first battalion, and after nearly ten hours of fierce fighting, there were now less than two companies that could still pick up guns and fight back against the enemy.

Lei Jian rushed to the third line of defense, approaching the second line along the communication trench, he saw that the first battalion of the first line of defense was hit by the enemy's firepower, and the strength and firepower were greatly weakened, he shouted: "The second battalion reinforces the first line of defense, the third battalion receives the second line of defense, the fourth battalion crosses the Tiechuan River and sticks to the third line of defense. ”

The main force of the 'One Regiment' was all engaged in the offensive battle to counterattack the enemy, leaving no backup troops, and this was the first time in the battle commanded by Lei Jian that he fought with the enemy in a desperate attempt and left no way to retreat.

Wang Xiaoliang saw that the main force was all thrown into battle, and even Lei Jian led the assault company, reconnaissance platoon and guard squad to rush to the forward position without hesitation.

He grabbed Lei Jian's arm, dragged Lei Jian into the trench, and shouted angrily: "Commander Lei, don't you want to die?" Besides, if you put all the main forces of the 'One Regiment' into the battlefield, what if there are enemy reinforcements and there are no mobile troops? ”

"Let go of me, now the enemy is pouring all his strength and firepower to launch the most fierce attack on our position, trying to break through my position, quickly leave Lao Ye Mountain and march westward, reinforce Zhengtai Road, if my position is broken through by the enemy, I will concentrate my forces to encircle our army, and the consequence will be the annihilation of the whole army, do you know?"

"Captain Lei, how could such a tragic situation occur? We've never fought such a battle, so isn't there a good way to stop the enemy? ”

Lei Jian snatched a machine gun from a soldier next to him, held it in his arms and pulled the trigger, the machine gun spat tongues of fire, killing the group of devils who were about to attack the forward position.

While constantly pulling the trigger to hit the enemy, he shouted to Wang Xiaoliang: "The little devil pounced, organized the soldiers to concentrate firepower, shoot the attacking devil, and beat me hard." ”

The soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, the assault company, the reconnaissance platoon, and the guard squad who reinforced the first line of defense saw that the little devils were like a group of demons in the night, swarming and pressing to the forward position, and seeing that the commander of the Thunder Sword Regiment, who had always commanded and was calm in any dangerous situation, actually rushed to the front line.

At this time, he was shouting in a hoarse voice, 'Shoot the attacking little devil, give me a hard beating', and one by one the soldiers swore to fight to the death with the enemy's bloody spirit with the most ferocious fighting posture, and almost simultaneously shouted: "Shoot the attacking little devil, the people are in the position, kill——。 ”

The enemy and us launched a bloody battle to the death that they had never experienced before, and the soldiers of the first line of defense of the 'One Regiment' used their weapons to the extreme, and fought with the attacking devils.

In the first line of defense in the impact of the devil's soldiers, several positions with weak firepower were broken through by the enemy, and the devil commander shouted: "Consolidate the position, expand the results, break through to the two flanks, stand firm and advance in depth." ”

Lei Jian saw that several forward positions were occupied by the enemy, and he shouted to the soldiers of the assault company, reconnaissance platoon, and guard squad: "Rush with me, drive out the devils who break through into the position with maximum firepower, quickly occupy the position, and repel the attacking little devils." ”

It was getting darker and darker, and the enemy and the enemy could no longer see the blurred faces of the enemy on the other side, and under the flashing of explosive artillery fire and bullets, they could only see the silhouette of the other side in an instant, which was enough for the battle-hardened soldiers.

The commanders of both the enemy and us are fighting in the dark of night, and there are many disadvantages, and it is not easy to hit the target when shooting at night, so they can only blindly fight indiscriminately, the probability of killing and injuring the enemy is very small, and the bullets are wasted very much, but they gain very little.

The Japanese army was not good at night battles and was afraid of night battles, but the Eighth Route Army always adhered to the principle of engaging the enemy with superior forces, taking advantage of the darkness of the night to sneak attack the enemy, defeat the enemy unprepared, and win from it.

Lei Jian's 'only regiment' was a new peasant unit that had just been formed for a short time, and the field battle was very unsuitable for them, although when attacking the Jingcheng coal mine, it was a night battle, but it was a sneak attack, and it was an absolute advantage against a squadron scattered by devils.

This time it was different, with the help of superior forces and sufficient weapons and ammunition, the Japanese army, with the total strength of a wing, launched a desperate and powerful offensive posture against the 'only regiment' of Lei Jian, and in a battle that did not send a small force to attack and harass the enemy's rear, the current 'only regiment' has unpredictable odds of victory.

Once the enemy's powerful offensive breaks through the first line of defense and takes the opportunity to pounce on the second and third lines of defense, the 'only regiment' will really be forced by the enemy to fight on the east bank of the Tiechuan River, and the battlefield situation will deteriorate even more.

Lei Jian saw this, and he had to come up with a way to defeat the attacking devils and preserve the last line of defense in this treacherous battlefield battle, so that the enemy could retreat safely at six o'clock tomorrow morning.

He has no backup troops, and it is too late to urgently call for help, and now he can save the 'only group' out of danger, and the only way to save himself is to save himself.

Lei Jian decisively handed over the machine gun in his hand to a soldier beside him, and ordered the deputy squad leader of the guard squad: "You immediately cross the river and order the artillery company to fire all the shells into the enemy group." ”

He suddenly grabbed Wang Xiaoliang, who was holding the machine gun in his arms and pulling the trigger, and frantically shot the attacking little devil, and quickly ordered: "Xiaoliang, the Japanese army has gathered the strength of three brigades to launch an unprecedentedly powerful attack on our position. ”

Lei Jian rushed to the third line of defense, and before he could jump into the trench, he shouted: "Zhang Ping, where are you, Zhang Ping, come to me quickly." ”

Zhang Ping heard the hurried shout of the head of the Lei Jian, he responded loudly and rushed to the top of the thunder sword, and hurriedly shouted: "Report to the head of the Lei sword, Zhang Ping reports to you." ”

"You immediately convey my order, ordering Li Gang to lead the cavalry battalion to abandon the ambush in front of the Hengshi Road, rush here as fast as possible, and concentrate firepower to attack the rear of the attacking enemy, but do not fight hard, to achieve the effect of containment, once the enemy is defeated on the frontal battlefield, immediately return to the same place and continue to set up an ambush."

At the same time that Lei Jian led the 'One Regiment' to engage in a fierce battle with the enemy's 581 Wing, Commander Nie of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region Frontline Command summed up information on various battlefields, and it was reported that a large number of enemy reinforcements were sending reinforcements to Zhengtai Road and other railway trunk lines at the fastest speed, and that the various units that were in the midst of a general sabotage battle were in danger of being encircled and suppressed by the enemy.

Commander Nie asked Staff Officer Tang: "Lei Jian's newly formed independent regiment, how is the battle situation now?" ”

"Report to Commander Nie, three hours ago I contacted the Duyi Regiment, the Duyi Regiment is engaged in a tug-of-war with the Japanese 581st Wing, and Regiment Commander Lei sent back a telegram saying that the situation on the battlefield is rather grim, there are enemy planes bombing in the air, and the Japanese troops on the ground, with three brigades, under the cover of fighter planes, have launched a general attack on the position of the Duyi Regiment many times, and now I don't know what the situation is." Staff Officer Tang replied worriedly.

Commander Nie frowned, and he said to Staff Officer Tang: "Contact again immediately, order the only regiment must hold out until six o'clock tomorrow morning, and only by dragging this Japanese 581st Wing can the pressure of attacking the various units on Zhengtai Road carry out a sabotage battle." ”

"Yes, I'll give you your latest orders to the One Regiment right away."

"Come back." Commander Nie turned around and was about to go out, and shouted to Staff Officer Tang of the only regiment.

Commander Nie looked at Staff Officer Tang, as if he was saying to him and as if he was saying to himself: "You don't need a hammer to ring the drum, Lei Jian, this baby is a witty and brave, decisive and commanding young commander, cancel the order given to him, let's understand the situation first." ”

In less than ten minutes, Staff Officer Tang handed an urgent telegram to Commander Nie, who read it and asked with a frown: "The only regiment fought so hard this time, and the casualties were very large, Lei Jian, this kid has never heard of it, and the battlefield situation is so serious in the battle with the enemy, it seems that the situation of the only regiment is very critical."

Staff Officer Tang, what are the closest regimental units to Lao Ye Mountain? ”

"Report to Commander Nie, the closest unit to Lao Ye Mountain is our independent regiment in the East Column, that is, the old independent regiment of Lei Jian, which is one hundred and twenty miles away from Lao Ye Mountain."

(End of chapter)