This time, Yang Zhen didn't guess all right. He only saw Tao Jingfei's stable personality, who was once the director of the political department of the first main division of the Anti-Japanese Federation. but ignored Tao Jingfei, who is also a soldier, and the same competitive and unyielding bloodiness in his bones.

The reason why Tao Jingfei, as a member of the political committee, agreed to Du Kaishan's move to go south without an order was half of the reason why Du Kaishan instigated it, but there were also factors that he was really unwilling to. Thinking that the old guy Fujiji Yasui actually slipped out from under his nose twice, Tao Jingfei was very depressed.

To be honest, it doesn't feel good to let the same opponent slip under your hands twice. For the surface character is steady, but that's only a superficial phenomenon. In fact, Tao Jingfei, who is also competitive in his bones, even has a sense of shame in this matter.

It was this kind of competitiveness in his bones that made him obey Du Kaishan's agitation, and only reported to Yang Zhen after the southward movement had begun, or even after it started. However, although the two people acted without orders, it was precisely because of their appearance that they saved the independent brigade reorganized from the three independent regiments led by Chai Shirong from finally collapsing.

Although Chai Shirong was known for his bravery and good fighting in the former Second Route Army, he had never had the experience of independently commanding such a head-on battle. The three independent regiments, which had been used as reserves, had no experience in similar battles or even battles.

After Saburo Katayama Province broke his head and broke the blood flow in the position of a regiment in Fuguitun, and suffered two squadrons of casualties, he decisively shifted the target. After a tentative attack, his goal of achieving a breakthrough was to direct the position west of Xihetun, which was occupied by the three independent regiments originally assigned to the 1st Brigade under the command of Chai Shirong. He keenly sensed that this should be a soft persimmon.

At the urging of Fujiji Yasui, Major General Saburo Katayama Province, who was eager to advance north to rescue the main force of the division, launched a continuous wave of attacks as soon as he came up. Although Chai Shirong, who was in charge of the command, had made great efforts and lacked experience in frontal combat, he only knew that he had strictly followed his own deployment in the military region's crash course textbook, although he had adopted the large-depth, small-frontal, and trapezoidal defense methods that Yang Zhen's headquarters was accustomed to using when defending. But he was still beaten and lost sight of one or the other, and he was in a hurry.

And the rookies under his command who were new to the battlefield were no better than their acting brigade commander. Although under the pressure of the veterans, under the attack of Saburo in Katayama Province, the last line of defense was maintained, and it finally did not collapse. However, in just half a day, it was broken through three blocking positions in a row, not to mention, even the main position was once broken into by a squadron of the Japanese army.

If it weren't for Ma Chunsheng, who saw that the situation was not good, he gathered all the company-platoon-level officers, squad leaders, and veterans of the three independent regiments who had participated in the Battle of Qunce Mountain, and personally led the counter-assault. With bayonets, submachine guns, and grenades, the Japanese squadron was forced out.

He also personally shot more than a dozen soldiers and even two platoon commanders who fled on the spot, and held the already stormy position with one hand. I'm afraid that Chai Shirong's entire defense line will collapse.

After this battle, Yang Zhen decisively canceled the original idea of combining these three independent regiments plus several county brigades into a two-regiment independent brigade. They were all disbanded, and the troops were organized into three main brigades that were exhausted.

Facts have proved that a unit that lacks combat experience, even if its officers above the rank level are veterans of war, is still unable to compare with those veteran units that have really been in war for a long time.

Du Kaishan and Tao Jingfei arrived, not to mention Chai Shirong, at least let Ma Chunsheng, who had become a firefighter and was almost not paralyzed, breathed a sigh of relief. It can't be said that Chai Shirong didn't have the courage, and it can't be said that Chai Shirong didn't do his best. But he lacks experience in this kind of combat, but he really can't take care of his feet.

And these troops under his command who were also fighting this kind of big battle for the first time, and even the state of the troops who saw blood for the first time, also made Ma Chunsheng, who was used to staying in the main force, really uncomfortable. Although many of these people are not lacking in blood, they do not lack the training they deserve after completing the full training.

But when he was about to fight, he was unfamiliar and even panicked, and all the things he learned on the training ground were forgotten. Almost all tactical moves are deformed, not to mention, and even deserters appear. Let Ma Chunsheng once again realize that letting an officer with only one squad or above are veterans of the war, and the soldiers below are all new soldiers, and basically a unit without veterans on the battlefield is tantamount to sending them to death. It will even implicate the entire battle situation, in fact, Wang Guangyu placed the defense line of the three independent regiments on the west side of the entire battlefield, and behind it was the western front of the swamp, and he didn't even think about letting them go to the battlefield. Its intention is more to let these recruits who have not been on the battlefield watch the battle, and learn what the battlefield is. As a result, he didn't expect that after Saburo Katayama Province hit a wall on the front line of Fuguitun, he actually turned his head to the west and wanted to walk the swamp.

At this time, Wang Guangyu, who was stubbornly entangled in his feet by the troops left by the Japanese army with broken tails, and had to take into account the fact that Saburo Katayama could not make a breakthrough from other directions, although he was also extremely worried, he could not spare his hand to reinforce the Western Front.

If it weren't for Du Kaishan's timely arrival, Chai Shirong on the western front of the entire battlefield would have been able to hold out for an hour at most. Even Wang Guangyu, who had already written a telegram to Yang Zhen, was greatly relieved when he learned that Du Kaishan had arrived.

After Du Kaishan arrived, he immediately took over the command of Chai Shirong. Tao Jingfei and Ma Chunsheng, who were finally relieved, immediately reorganized the stragglers of the three independent regiments of the first three lines of defense that the Japanese army had rushed over, and seized the time to integrate them into the three brigade units that were currently lacking a lot. The rest of the people seized the time to reorganize.

It's just that after the next position, Du Kaishan did not put all the troops at hand into it. He placed only one battalion of troops on the main position and shrank the entire line according to the terrain. In addition to the main position, he could only leave a covering position that formed a horn with the main position. And some of the secondary positions in his eyes were all abandoned by him.

Looking at Du Kaishan's actions, although he was deprived of command, he was physically and mentally exhausted by the almost one-sided battle situation in just a few hours of fighting, and at this time, the burden was handed over, but there was a long breath in his heart Chai Shirong was obviously a little puzzled: "Old Du, according to our tactical tutorial, you can't distribute the forces evenly in a defensive battle, and only leave a blocking line." To form a multi-layered trapezoidal defensive line, it is necessary to have left and right cover, and to lead the area with points. ”

"But you only leave the main position and the covering position on the right flank, and abandon the rest of the positions. Isn't this a violation of the requirements of the textbook drawn up by the commander himself? Only one line of defense remains, and once the Japanese break through, our army will collapse on all fronts. The Japanese army's northbound roads will all be opened. And why don't you take back all the defenses you lost before and re-form a defense in depth? ”

Hearing Chai Shirong's question, Du Kaishan, who was holding a telescope to observe the enemy's situation, was quite a little crying and laughing. This guy is here to endorse that? Does he not know that this rule is dead, but man is alive? On the battlefield, we should pay attention to the development of the shape and be flexible and mobile, and we must not rigidly carry out the orders of our superiors. We can't just fight according to textbooks.

Like him, he is always a passive defense, and there is no one-line equal distribution of troops, but what is the difference between evenly divided into three lines of defense? There is not even a single reserve at hand, and there is no mobile force, so they can only hand over the initiative on the battlefield step by step. And losing the initiative, defeat in the battle means that it is not far off.

It's just that Chai Shirong's identity made Du Kaishan no longer reluctant, and he could only explain patiently: "Deputy Chief of Staff Chai, we have given up some unnecessary cover positions, judging from the terrain. Although the main defensive position you chose was a little flawed in construction, the location was well chosen. ”

"To the west is a large swamp, and to the east is a line of fortified Fuguitun. If the Japanese army doesn't want to go into the muddy pool, they can only break through from you. Because behind you is the only road in the swamps on both sides of the Arinda River. Therefore, as long as the main position is contained, it is equivalent to the only way to contain the Japanese army to the north. ”

"Unless they want to gnaw another ball of hard bones, they'll have to do everything they can to get through you. If the first side can make a breakthrough, they won't have to risk going into the muddy pool to choose the direction of the attack on you. ”

"However, it is true that this is the main point of defense on the entire Western Front, but without depth, we cannot deploy more troops here. Concentrate too many troops on one point, and can only send snacks to Japanese artillery shells. According to the area of the entire main position, leaving one battalion is already the maximum strength. As for why I didn't fight back to regain the lost line, it was because there was no need for it. ”

"I have only one regiment of troops, except for leaving a battalion to take over your defensive positions. The rest can't be consumed in needless tactical counterattacks, as they have to be left to use when counterattacking on all fronts. And from the point of view of the terrain, it is enough for us to hold this main position. I don't think one of my battalions has a lot of troops, but I still have the ability to hold this place overnight. ”

"Although the previous few independent regiments fought this, uh, this one was not very good, but it also consumed a certain amount of Japanese troops. I'm afraid the little devil won't be able to show his previous arrogance now. There may be that kind of pig-like attack, but it will definitely not be too strong.

"Although I had only one battalion of troops at the front, I almost concentrated a regiment of light and heavy machine guns and a ninety-millimeter mortar battery. Some charges against the little devils are enough. If you can use firepower to kill and injure your opponent, why use people to add it? Moreover, even if you can't concentrate your forces, you have to concentrate your firepower. ”

Speaking of this, Du Kaishan hesitated for a moment and said: "On the battlefield, we must use tactics flexibly and flexibly to kill and injure the opponent according to the changes in shape, rather than passively copying those things in the books." Books are dead, but people are alive. Especially in such a hard-fought battle, the flexible use of tactics is extremely important. If you fight hard, you can only fight yourself. There is too much difference between our soldiers and the little devils. ”

Although Du Kaishan's words were very tactful, they also made Chai Shirong's old face blush. He knew that this was someone who had already left a lot of face on himself. The previous battle was under his own command, not only was it not very good, it could be said to be extremely bad. The strength of three regiments, nearly 10,000 troops, relied on the inherent positions.

Under the charge of the Japanese army, it was rushed in just half a day, or even half a day, and three lines of defense were lost one after another. If it weren't for Ma Chunsheng, who accompanied him, who made a quick decision and transferred almost all the squad leaders and backbones, plus some company and platoon cadres to fight back desperately, even the main position where he is now may have been lost.

Looking at Chai Shirong, whose old face was flushed, Du Kaishan sighed. If you talk about guerrilla warfare, especially guerrilla warfare in the mountains and jungles, the former commander of the Anti-Japanese Federation in front of you is definitely everyone, even his own political commissar Tao Jingfei is probably far inferior. It is not unreasonable for the commander-in-chief to hand over to him the Fifth Army that he created after serving as the commander-in-chief of the Second Route Army.

But in this kind of battle with the Japanese army, where there are planes and heavy artillery, he is a complete rookie. He only joined the main force of the military region after the first battle of Guanmenzuishan, and soon he was transferred to the post of division commander, and he has never experienced the main battlefield. Chai Shirong, who had only studied in the crash course of the military region for a few days, had almost no experience in this kind of big war.

Compared with several brigade commanders and political commissars who had experienced a series of battles such as the two Gunce Mountains, as well as the subsequent Xingshan Fortress, the surprise attack on Jiamusi, the Guanmenzuizi Mountain, and the first stage of the battle, his experience in frontal combat was almost none.

With a rookie commander and a group of recruits who have never experienced the test of war, it is not unusual for the battle to be fought like this. Relying only on a few company platoon leaders, no matter how heroic they are, they will not be able to command the entire unit to fight in a unified manner.

The old army is the old army, and the role of the Dinghai Shenshen needle is reflected at this time. With the strength of only one battalion, it was possible to accomplish what a previous regiment had not done. Not only can they withstand the repeated onslaught of the Japanese army, but they can even launch some small-scale tactical counterattacks from time to time.

Du Kaishan took over the command of Chai Shirong, and replaced the rookies of the independent regiment with the overwhelming majority of his veterans, and the attack front, which was really not broad, made Major General Saburo of Katayama Province, who had already seen hope, hit his head again and broke his blood, and even broke half of his front teeth. The hope that once existed was quickly dashed again and again after hitting the wall again and again.

The dense machine-gun fire like a hedgehog and the raindrops of mortar shells that came out of the enemy's position made Major General Saburo Katayama Province, who was eager to break through, like a tiger biting a hedgehog, with nowhere to go. can only bite the bullet and launch a strong attack from the front again and again.

But as time slipped by, the intensity of the Japanese attack with increasing casualties decreased each time. When the dawn sun once again shrouded the battlefield, apart from a few diversionary attacks, the Japanese troops, who were not iron-clad, finally stopped their almost non-stop, almost seemingly useless attacks.

Another reason why Major General Saburo Katayama stopped the attack was that his boss, Lieutenant General Yasui Toji, had lost contact for half a day and a night. The loss of contact with the division headquarters made Major General Saburo Katayama Province have a strong sense of foreboding in his heart: "This time, the second division, which was once invincible, was defeated. The defeat was so complete that even the division commander was lost. ”