Although it was early in the morning, the sultry weather and the atmosphere of dense war clouds made everyone breathless.
Commander Lu, who was wearing a general's uniform, inspected various positions along the city wall. The wounded who could move a little were assigned to the positions, each with six grenades.
Not long after dawn, more than two thousand Japanese and puppet troops appeared in the sight of the county defenders along Hengyuan Avenue. A small group of cavalry first rushed to the city to conduct reconnaissance.
The Japanese officer in charge of commanding the battle looked at the defensive posture of the Chinese army and was quite puzzled: "The Chinese soldiers are really a strange existence. Some people can surrender without firing a shot, while some people have the intention of retreating."
I chose to stick to the opportunity!"
"This may be our army's last battle. To capture Yuanqu County, complete the final strategic deployment of the imperial army, and order the artillery troops to concentrate all artillery fire on the north gate of Yuanqu County!"
This time the Japanese army went deep into the battle alone. The supply areas were as far away as Hejin, Jishan, and Jiangxian. Because the front line was too long and the front troops advanced too fast, the ammunition supply could not keep up. Many Japanese and puppet troops had already used it.
seized weapons and ammunition.
Not long after, the Japanese army concentrated 12 mountain artillery pieces in the north of the city, and used the few remaining shells to start bombarding Yuanqu County.
For a time, artillery fire roared in Yuanqu County, houses in the city collapsed, and gunpowder smoke filled the air. After the first round of shelling, the Japanese army adjusted the firing parameters and began shelling the city wall fortifications.
After half an hour of shelling, almost all the bunkers on the city were destroyed. The Japanese army used the north gate as the main attack point and attacked from the east, west and north.
The officers and soldiers defending the city began to fight back with full fury. The battle became extremely fierce as soon as it started. Wherever the fighting was tense, Commander Lu's figure appeared.
The city wall in the north of the city collapsed in many places to varying degrees. The Japanese offensive troops swarmed toward the gap. Two light machine guns were deployed on both sides of the gap, but they were hit by Japanese grenade launchers one after another.
"Brothers, it's our turn to play. Let me set an example for the brothers first!" After Xu Defa finished speaking, he jumped off the city wall with one leg. As an explosion sounded, more than ten little devils followed him.
Dead.
"Sacrificing one's life to go to the country's disaster, seeing death as a sudden return home!"
Under the leadership of Wang Defa, one of the wounded, with a spirit of fearlessness and fear of death, fired the grenade in his arms and fell towards the densely populated area of the Japanese attacking troops.
The officers and soldiers who defended the city gave the Japanese army a great shock with their flesh and blood, and stubbornly repelled the Japanese army's first attack.
"What are the Chinese troops in the city shouting?" asked the Japanese officer in charge.
"Sir, they are shouting that the 12th Division will live and die with Yuanqu!" the adjutant replied.
"This is a group of admirable opponents. They are real soldiers!" The Japanese officer showed admiration and said immediately: "The enemy's main force is in the city. Send a report to General Tanabe immediately, requesting reinforcements!"
In the offensive and defensive battle just now, the defending officers and soldiers used the tactics of killing each other, killing more than 500 Japanese troops, forcing the Japanese troops to ask for reinforcements from the main force.
At about 8 o'clock in the morning, Tanabe Moritake personally led the main force of more than 8,000 Japanese troops to Yuanqu County. Immediately, the Japanese troops continued to shell the city wall fortifications under the cover of smoke bombs.
The Japanese armored vehicles transported sandbags in an attempt to fill the trenches, and the infantry followed them and continued to attack several gaps.
Lu Xianggui, commander of the supply company, died in Japanese shelling.
Platoon leader Wang Wenjie was shot several times, fired a grenade and died with the enemy.
The captain's adjutant, Lu Wenying, was seriously injured, and his dirty military uniform was stained red with blood. At this point, more than 200 officers and soldiers who were guarding the north of the city were all killed on the city wall.
As the battle situation in various places continued to spread, Commander Lu understood that Yuanqu could no longer be defended, but it had achieved its goal by attracting the main force of the Japanese army here.
The sound of gunfire in the city gradually became sparse. Seeing the Japanese troops approaching from all directions in the streets, Commander Lu and two guards occupied a collapsed house and used the short guns in their hands to continuously fire at the surrounding Japanese soldiers.
Listening to the gunfire from the front, the Japanese army knew that the people surrounded must be senior officials of the national army, so they began to think of persuading them to surrender. However, they were greeted by more violent bullets. The little Japanese became angry and fired several grenades in succession.
As the explosion sounded, there was no movement inside.
Master Lu's leg was cut by shrapnel. A guard lay on top of him to protect him, but his back was blown to pieces.
The little Japs rushed up quickly. The leading officer jabbered, and the puppet soldiers on the side stepped forward and shouted: "The imperial army asked you what your identity is?"
"You traitor, tell the little devil that I am Lu Jizhou, deputy commander of the 12th Division of the 3rd Army. Don't try to catch me alive!"
After hearing the words translated by the puppet army, the Japanese officer directly asked: "Nani, is he not in the city?"
"Did you hear that Taijun asked where your teacher went?"
"Hehe!" Master Lu smiled disdainfully, lit the cigarette in his hand near a fire, and took a few deep breaths: "You have been fooled. Our teacher's seat has been safely moved long ago. We should have arrived at the south bank of the Yellow River by now!"
In order to boost morale before the war, Tanabe Moritake offered high rewards to national army officers. Group Army Commander-in-Chief Zeng Wanzhong, Army Commander Tang Huaiyuan, and Division Commander Cun Xingqi were all among them.
The puppet soldier in charge of the translation was immediately furious. If he could catch Commander Cun, he would get a lot of credit: "Hey, his grandma's..."
Before he finished speaking, he was kicked to the ground by a Japanese officer: "Baga!"
"Taijun, Taijun!" the puppet army translator was so frightened that he rolled over and hid in the corner.
"You are a hero, but you Chinese people have a saying that those who understand current affairs are heroes, so it is better to cooperate with the Imperial Japanese Army. The Chief of Staff of the North China Expedition Army, Your Excellency Mr. Moritake Tanabe, is outside the city. He will be very welcome to see you.
To you!"
Commander Lu smiled contemptuously when he heard this: "We Chinese soldiers only have generals who died in battle, but no generals who surrendered!"
After saying that, Commander Lu fired the grenade in his arms and quickly rushed into the Japanese army. With the sound of an explosion, everything settled.
The words were divided into two parts. After Commander Cun led his troops to move, he did not rush to break out. Instead, he found a ravine to hide. After dawn, he discovered that the main force of the Japanese army was rapidly moving south. He knew that Commander Lu, who was in Yuanqu County, had successfully attracted the attention of the Japanese army.
So he led his troops to attack north quickly. On the way, a small group of Japanese troops were conducting a rigorous search. Commander Cun ordered the vanguard company composed of more than a dozen light machine guns to clear the way ahead.
I happened to meet a fellow villager and learned that the Japanese army's field hospital was in the nearby Xiwang Valley. Commander Cun immediately ordered the troops to launch an attack. In one battle, more than 100 Japanese and puppet garrison troops were wiped out, and more than 700 people were injured.
