The brothers have been chasing and chasing the repulsed Japanese army these days, and have hardly slept at all. Now that they are under the lower part of Huangcheng, there is no combat mission for the time being, so they can relax.
After each of them drank several large bowls of vegetable paste to fill their stomachs, they fell down in the trench and went to sleep. Soon, they snored loudly.
The troops of the 71st Army brought in artillery of various calibers and bombarded Neihuang City indiscriminately. The deafening sound of the artillery made their ears buzz, but the brothers slept soundly.
Yang Ling crossed the bodies of his brothers sleeping in the trenches and walked towards the front, wanting to personally observe the Japanese army's defense situation.
Seeing the brothers snoring like thunder, his heart relaxed. These brothers were still recruits a few days ago, but now they have finally become like veterans.
On this cruel battlefield, the fights often lasted for days and nights. The recruits were unable to sleep even if they were disturbed. As a result, they were exhausted, lost concentration during the fight, were often killed by bullets, and were weak and weak in their attempts to stab.
.
But those veterans who have experienced hundreds of battles are different. No matter how long they fight, they can always maintain concentrated attention and strong energy, because they can seize every moment to rest and replenish their physical strength, and can sleep amidst the sound of gunfire.
Since the Dangshan Blockade, these new brothers who have been added to the army have begun to become veterans, becoming calm and fierce, which is a good thing for this army.
Those who have experienced the test of blood and fire, and those who ultimately survive on this battlefield, will become powerful veterans, and they will be the nightmare of the Japanese army.
Yang Lingjin lowered himself to the front trench and carefully set up a telescope to observe the Japanese defense line in Inner Huangcheng. In his field of vision, the city wall built of bricks and earth had been riddled with holes. This should have been done by the friendly 71st Army.
In front of the city wall, a large area of ruined private houses was covered with wooden piles and barbed wire. Behind it, many fortresses were built, which should be the focus of machine gun fire. Those shirtless Japanese soldiers were sticking their butts out in the trenches, working hard.
How about building a stronger line of defense?
The Japanese army's field fortifications were no weaker than those of Yang Ling and others who had undergone training. The deep trenches, staggered firepower nets, and deep positions with dense firepower points were enough to give any attacker a headache.
Seeing the tight positions set up by the Japanese army, Yang Ling looked solemn. He changed several observation points and found that they were all the same. The Japanese army's defense line was well laid out, making it even more difficult to infiltrate alone.
He originally wanted to lead an elite team to infiltrate the Neihuang City alone to open a gap for the attack, but after seeing the Japanese army's tight defense line, he had to give up this unrealistic idea.
"Report!" A communications soldier hurriedly ran through the trench and found Yang Ling, who was observing the direction of the Japanese army and looking for loopholes.
"Tell me." Yang Ling put down the telescope, looked back at the young communications soldier and said.
"Deputy Commander Yang, the brigade wants all regiment-level commanders to attend the pre-war meeting."
"I see."
Yang Ling quickly arrived at the temporary command post of the 151st Brigade. The command post was located in a hidden woods, and the tent was surrounded by guards with loaded weapons.
When Yang Ling opened the curtain and walked in, the long wooden benches in the tent were already filled with commanders from each regiment. They were smoking and talking and laughing in low voices. The dark tent was full of smoke.
"Brother Yang, this way." The group leader, Zhang Handuo, was sitting first on the left. He saw Yang Ling coming in and waved to him.
Yang Ling sat down on the bench next to Zhang Handuo, and then carefully looked at the officers in the tent. Most of them were school-level commanding officers, including the familiar Zhang Lingfu and Ji Hongru, as well as some unfamiliar faces that he had never seen before.
"The hotel is here!" Yang Ling didn't wait long before the guards shouted from outside the tent.
The officers who were whispering to each other all silenced themselves, put out the cigarette butts in their hands, and stood up solemnly to greet the brigade commander Zhou Zhidao.
Brigadier Zhou Zhidao was wearing a dirty general's uniform and a German-style steel helmet on his head. His unshaven beard was completely different from the previous glamorous one. The battlefield changed everyone's appearance, but he
The pace is still steady and powerful.
The officers saluted, Zhou Zhidao also raised his hand to return the salute, and then asked everyone to sit down.
Brigadier Zhou Zhidao didn't have any unnecessary nonsense and still practiced the vigorous and resolute style of a soldier.
"Everyone, all the regiments fought well in the past few days. We and the 71st Army defeated the Japanese 28th Brigade and retreated all the way. Although they were not wiped out, they also suffered heavy losses. I will remember your achievements here.
, after this battle is over, we will discuss merit and reward! But now we need you to continue your efforts, let’s eat this piece of fat in our mouths in one go!”
Brigadier Zhou Zhidao walked to the hanging map, pointed at it with his baton and said: "Now the Japanese 14th Division has become a turtle in the urn. General Gui's 27th Army has blocked Lan Feng City in the west. General Huang Jie
The 8th Army and General Li's 64th Army are blocking the Longhai line. Our north is blocked by the Second Army. Therefore, our 74th Army and 71st Army must work together to break through Neihuang and further reduce the Japanese army's living space.
, laying the foundation for final victory!”
As soon as brigade commander Zhou Zhidao finished speaking, there was an excited buzz in the tent. Now the Japanese 14th Division was surrounded by them like an iron barrel. This victory was just around the corner. How could we not be excited?
There are now a dozen reorganized divisions surrounding the Japanese army. They are all elites of the Central Army. After several months of training in the winter, they have added sophisticated equipment. However, the Japanese army only has more than 20,000 people, so this is a useless battle.
A victory without any doubts.
"Everyone, I want to remind you that there is not much time left for us. The Japanese 16th Division and 10th Division in the north have already gone south to rescue under starry night, while the Japanese 9th, 13th, and 101st Divisions are
Sweeping in from the south, if we cannot fight quickly, we will fall into the counter-encirclement of the Japanese army. Then we will be in a hard fight. Our previous efforts will be in vain. Therefore, as long as this attack is successful,
No failure allowed!”
"Are you confident?!" Brigadier Zhou Zhidao raised his voice.
"We will win!" the officers replied with loud voices that made people's eardrums hurt.
Brigadier Zhou Zhidao saw the officers with high morale, nodded with satisfaction, waved to the staff officer and said: "Now I ask the chief of staff to read out the combat order."
The chief of staff opened the folder, cleared his throat with a cough, and read out: "This time our 151st Brigade will attack Neihuang City side by side with the 71st Army. The main combat range of our brigade is the south and east of Neihuang. Among them, the 151st Brigade...
…”
The chief of staff quickly read out the specific combat missions of each regiment, and the brigade commander Zhou Zhidao said: "Are there any objections? If there are no objections, this will be implemented."
"Report, I have something to say." Yang Ling stood up.