Xu Dalong and others were marching. When they heard gunshots and explosions in the distance, they immediately accelerated and marched forward. Seeing a small mound in front of them, Xu Dalong rode his horse onto the small mound.
Xu Dalong's eyesight was originally very good, and with the use of telescopes, he could see the battle taking place by the Shili River from a distance.
At this time, Zheng Xirong, Monk Wei and Wang Xiaohu also climbed onto the mound. Xu Dalong handed them the binoculars so that they could also understand the situation on the battlefield.
Later, Xu Dalong said: "There should be a new regiment of troops ahead, fighting the Japanese army. Let's go over and help. Xizi, you lead a group of horses to go around the side and rear of the Japanese and puppet troops, and use the cemetery to flank the enemy."
Zheng Xirong said: "I understand, platoon leader." After saying that, he saluted Xu Dalong and set off with the platoon.
Xu Dalong then said: "Monk, you take the second squad and follow me to attack the Japanese army on the left wing. Xiaohu, you take the horses and supplies and follow up later."
Monk Wei and Wang Xiaohu replied in unison: "I understand."
Xu Dalong said: "Start taking action." After saying that, he ran towards the battlefield ahead.
Xu Dalong and others used the high part of the Shili River embankment to block the sight of the Japanese and puppet troops. They advanced at a waist and quickly reached the top of the river embankment, just behind the Japanese left wing.
Xu Dalong lay on the ground, and Monk Wei also led the soldiers of the second squad to spread out on the river embankment, loaded with bullets, and prepared to attack the enemy.
Xu Dalong assigned each soldier a target to shoot at. He first aimed at the enemy's machine gunner and gently pulled the trigger.
The third company was in a very dangerous situation. A large number of Japanese and puppet troops had crossed the ice and were less than 40 meters away from the blocking position of the third company. The Japanese troops on the left and right flanks were also approaching step by step.
The third company commander was determined to repel the frontal enemy attack first, so he raised his sword and was about to give the order to charge.
At this moment, violent gunfire suddenly rang out from the left side of the third company's position. The third company commander quickly turned his head and looked over.
The Japanese troops on the left flank of the position used machine gun fire to suppress the Eighth Route Army soldiers who blocked them, and launched a charge in the form of a skirmish line.
A squad of Eighth Route Army soldiers responsible for blocking had already suffered more than half their casualties. They lacked ammunition and could not stop the Japanese charge. They also installed bayonets on their guns and prepared to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy.
There are only five of them left now, and there are at least 20 Japanese soldiers in front of them. They know they are outnumbered but have no fear.
The Japanese soldiers obviously understood the intentions of the Eighth Route Army soldiers. Except for the machine gunners and grenade launchers, the rest of the Japanese soldiers stopped shooting and rushed forward with their bayonets shining brightly.
Xu Dalong killed the Japanese machine gunner with one shot, and then killed the Japanese deputy shooter.
The soldiers of the second squad killed two Japanese grenadiers. Monk Wei held his machine gun and swiped at the backs of the charging Japanese troops.
The Japanese troops on the left wing were charging forward and were unprepared for the attack from behind. Twelve or thirteen were killed on the spot.
Captain Cao of the Japanese army looked back in horror and was shot between the eyebrows by Xu Dalong. The remaining Japanese soldiers panicked and were shot to death one by one by the soldiers of the second squad.
When the officers and soldiers of the Third Company saw the reinforcements coming, their morale was boosted.
The charging Japanese and puppet troops were panicked by the sudden situation. They stopped and hesitated, not knowing what to do.
Xu Dalong, Wei Monk and others had already turned their guns and fired fiercely at the Japanese and puppet troops.
The Japanese and puppet troops in front fell down one after another, and there was a chaos.
How could the third company commander let go of such a fighter plane? He suddenly jumped out of the trench and shouted: "Brothers, charge!"
After saying that, he took the lead and rushed forward with a big knife.
The officers and soldiers of the Third Company, who had already prepared to charge, jumped out of the trenches one after another, holding bright bayonets and rushed towards the Japanese and puppet troops.
The puppet soldiers had already been stunned and turned around and ran away in confusion.
The Japs behind were also a little confused by the sudden situation and didn't know what to do for a moment. The Japs squad leader hurriedly ordered the Japs to stop the puppet troops from retreating, but the puppet troops were so numerous that they ran over in a swarm.
The formation of the Japanese was also disrupted.
Xu Dalong said to Monk Wei: "Monk, lead some people to stop the Japs on the right wing." After saying that, he also rushed forward along with the officers and soldiers of the Third Company.
Xu Dalong ran so fast that he caught up with the third company in a short time.
At this time, the commander of the third company saw that the enemy had retreated. Due to the limited ammunition in their hands, not many enemies were eliminated. He was worried that if he continued to pursue them, the enemy would stabilize their position and his troops would be exposed on the river embankment and ice.
If the enemy counterattacks, there will be heavy casualties, so we are ready to stop the attack and retreat to the original defensive position.
At this moment, Xu Dalong ran over and shouted: "Third Company Commander, the enemy is in chaos, don't miss this opportunity, rush forward and defeat them."
The third company commander saw Xu Dalong coming and said in surprise: "Dalong, why are you here?"
Xu Dalong said: "Hurry up and chase me. I'll tell you later."
After saying that, he continued to rush forward.
The third company commander admired Xu Dalong very much. He didn't waste any words and followed Xu Dalong closely. The officers and soldiers of the third company shouted and rushed forward.
After the Japanese team leader was coerced by the defeated soldiers and retreated for a while, he knew that continuing like this was not an option, so he ordered the Japanese soldiers to lie down on the spot, preparing to block the pursuit of the third company, stabilize their position, and then gather the defeated soldiers.
puppet army.
At this moment, many gun muzzles suddenly came out of the cemetery behind them and fired violently at them.
The Japs squad leader was hit by several machine gun bullets in the back, vomiting blood and died immediately. More than a dozen Japs were also knocked to the ground.
The sudden attack by Zheng Xirong and others made the already chaotic enemy army even more panicked, collapsed, and completely lost the ability to resist.
As Xu Dalong ran, he shot and killed all the Japs he could see one by one. At the same time, he shouted loudly: "If you don't kill them if you surrender your guns, the Eighth Route Army will give preferential treatment to the prisoners."
The third company commander and the officers and soldiers of the third company also shouted together, asking the puppet troops to surrender.
At this time, most of the Japs had been killed. Seeing the enemies in front and behind, most of the puppet soldiers knelt on the ground and surrendered with guns raised in both hands.
At this time, the remaining Japs were exposed and were killed one by one by Xu Dalong and others.
At this time, on the right wing of the third company position, Wei Monk and others were fighting with the Japanese army.
Wang Xiaohu left a soldier to look after the horses, and he also led two soldiers to surround Monk Wei and participate in the battle.
At this time, there were still a dozen Japs left on the right wing. When they saw that the large group of Japanese and puppet troops on the riverside had been wiped out, they did not dare to fight, so they turned around and ran away.
Monk Wei and others chased the enemy with firepower and killed several Japanese soldiers.
The Japanese were running very fast. Monk Wei and others chased them for a while, but they could hardly catch up.
At this moment, Zheng Xirong led a group of soldiers on horseback to block the Japs' retreat. Monk Wei and others attacked from both sides and completely wiped out the Japs.
The third company was originally in a very passive situation. The third company commander and the soldiers had already made up their minds to sacrifice. Unexpectedly, due to the appearance of Xu Dalong and others, the battlefield situation turned out to be a counterattack, and the Japanese and puppet reinforcements were completely wiped out.
The officers and soldiers of the Third Company happily collected the weapons abandoned by the Japanese and puppet troops.
Xu Dalong asked: "Company commander, why are you here?"
The third company commander was just happy. When he heard Xu Dalong's question, he reacted and told Xu Dalong about the situation of the first battalion coming to attack the Zhaozhuang stronghold.
Xu Dalong said: "You leave one squad here to collect the weapons. The rest of the squad should quickly replenish their ammunition. Let's go to Zhaozhuang."
The third company commander hurriedly made arrangements, quickly gathered his troops, and headed for Zhaozhuang with Xu Dalong and others.
Wang Zhenlin, commander of the 1st Battalion, was very depressed. The officers and soldiers of the 1st Battalion had launched four attacks on the Zhaozhuang stronghold, but they were all repelled by the enemy, and many soldiers were killed or injured.
The correspondent sent by the third company commander reported another bad news to him, saying that the third company was blocking the enemy's reinforcements. The enemy had many troops and powerful firepower, and it might be difficult for the third company to block the Japanese and puppet reinforcements.
Wang Zhenlin felt very useless, so he ordered to launch a final attack on the Zhaozhuang stronghold. If the enemy could not be defeated again, he would temporarily lead his troops to retreat.
He asked the correspondent sent by the third company commander to go back and tell the third company commander that they should hold on for another 40 minutes and then retreat towards Zhaozhuang.
Then he ordered the first company and the second company to launch a charge towards the Japanese stronghold at the same time.
The Japanese and puppet troops in the stronghold have repelled four attacks by the Eighth Route Army. They are now rich in experience and full of confidence.
Seeing that the officers and soldiers of the new regiment launched another charge, they once again fired fiercely at the officers and soldiers of the Eighth Route Army.
The soldiers of the 1st and 2nd companies rushed to the trench again. This time they brought four ladders and set them up on the trench despite the enemy's bullet rain. Then they stepped on the ladders and rushed to the opposite side.
The puppet army concentrated fire to block the ladder, and the soldiers fell down one after another. The two Japanese soldiers kept throwing grenades at the ladder from the top of the gun tower. The soldiers fell down one after another, and even the ladder was blown up. This time the attack failed again.
Already.
When the first battalion commander saw this situation, his eyes almost started to bleed. He grabbed the hat on his head and threw it to the ground. He stood up and prepared to launch the charge himself.
The deputy battalion commander beside him saw that the battalion commander had lost his mind and said quickly: "Battalion Commander, this battle can't continue like this. Let's retreat temporarily and talk about it later."
After all, Wang Zhenlin was an experienced veteran. His reason finally defeated his impulse, and he reluctantly issued the order to retreat.
At this moment, smoke and dust billowed in the direction of Shili River, and soon a large group of people appeared.
Wang Zhenlin's heart skipped a beat, fearing that the Third Company had been defeated by the enemy. He immediately ordered the deputy battalion commander to lead a platoon of soldiers to relieve the Third Company.
The deputy battalion commander called a platoon of soldiers from the first company, ran forward a few dozen meters, and then set up an ambush in a ditch on the roadside, preparing to intercept the Japanese and puppet troops chasing the third company.
Wang Zhenlin led the officers and soldiers of the first and second companies to retreat.
The Japanese and puppet troops guarding the stronghold saw the billowing smoke and dust on the other side of the Shili River, and also saw that the new regiment of troops besieging them began to retreat. They breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but cheer.
Wang Zhenlin and the officers and soldiers of the new regiment were in a depressed mood, with their heads drooped, and marched silently.
The deputy battalion commander of the first battalion saw a person running in front of him, who was the correspondent of the third company. He rushed to meet him and asked nervously: "The enemy's reinforcements are catching up. How many are there?"
The correspondent's face was full of excitement. He took a few hard breaths and said: "Deputy battalion commander, "No," he said, and then gasped.
The deputy battalion commander didn't understand what he meant and asked, "What's missing?"
The correspondent took another breath and said: "Report to the deputy battalion commander that the Japanese reinforcements are gone and they have all been wiped out by us."
"What?" The deputy battalion commander was shocked. He knew that the Japanese and puppet troops who came for reinforcements totaled 200 or dozens of people, and there were so many machine guns and mortars. The third company only had 100 people.
The ammunition was really very little. He didn't believe that they had wiped out all the Japanese and puppet reinforcements and killed them.
The deputy battalion commander asked in confusion: "What is going on? If you dare to lie about military information, I will kill you."
The correspondent said excitedly: "It's true. It turned out that Xu Dalong from our regiment's cooking team came and helped us fight three times in a row. He really killed the Japanese and puppet troops and seized a lot of weapons and ammunition.
.”
Xu Dalong is a talented person in the new regiment. Everyone knows about it. The last time he went to Wanjia Town, the deputy battalion commander also went with him. When he heard that Xu Dalong helped fight this battle, he immediately believed it.
He said excitedly: "Hurry up and tell the battalion commander." After saying that, he walked towards the crowd in the distance.
Wang Zhenlin and others were marching when suddenly someone from behind shouted: "Batalion Commander, stop quickly!"
Wang Zhenlin stopped, turned around, and saw the correspondent from the Third Company running over.
This time, the correspondent of the Third Company was smarter. In order to avoid the battalion commander from asking for details like the deputy battalion commander, he shouted directly: "Batalion Commander, Xu Dalong is here. He helped our Third Company eliminate the Japanese reinforcements."
Wang Zhenlin was overjoyed. After asking the correspondent of the Third Company about the situation, he shouted: "Brothers, the Japanese reinforcements are gone. I will kill them all back."
The officers and soldiers of the first battalion had already heard the shouts of the correspondents of the third company. Their morale was high. They immediately changed from the rear team to the front team and surrounded the Zhaozhuang stronghold again.
At this time, the Japanese and puppet troops in the stronghold were no longer arrogant. They had clearly seen that the reinforcements coming from the distance were not their own reinforcements, but the Eighth Route Army. The Eighth Route Army that had just withdrawn had returned. They suddenly became nervous.
Got up.
When Wang Zhenlin saw Xu Dalong, he went up and punched him on the shoulder. Then he gave Xu Dalong a bear hug and said happily: "Brother Dalong, you did a great job. When this battle is over, we brothers will do well."
Drink a pot of water."
After the greetings, Xu Dalong asked: "How is the situation here?"
Wang Zhenlin said depressingly: "What the hell, the Japanese and puppet troops are guarding the artillery tower. We don't have artillery, so we can't attack it."
Xu Dalong observed for a while and found that the gun towers in the stronghold were built very scientifically. The two gun towers could form cross fire with each other and could not completely seal their shooting holes. No wonder the brave and capable officers and soldiers of the first battalion could not do anything to them.
Xu Dalong thought about it carefully and came up with an idea.
After Xu Dalong expressed his idea, Wang Zhenlin, the deputy battalion commander and other company cadres all thought it was feasible in the first half. However, in the second half of Xu Dalong's plan, everyone shook their heads and thought it was completely impossible.