Yang Ling and the others got a brief rest, but the entire Lanfeng battlefield was still in full swing.
The main force of the Japanese 14th Division has been fully retreated in the front line of Sanyi Village and Luowang Village. With the fall of Maogu Village, the Japanese army's living space has been further compressed, and it is about to be wiped out.
"We must destroy the enemies surrounded by Sanyi Village within one day!"
Seeing that the Japanese reinforcements from all directions were rushing towards the Lanfeng area, the Supreme Military Commission in Wuhan sternly requested the commander, General Xue Yue, to increase the intensity of the attack and annihilate the Japanese invaders in a short time.
General Xue Yue, who was responsible for commanding the encirclement and annihilation operations, also understood that if the remnants of the Japanese 14th Division could not be eliminated in a short time, then Japanese reinforcements would arrive and they would be the ones surrounded.
"Instruct all armies to attack with all their strength at all costs. The battle must be ended before dark and the battlefield must be evacuated!"
General Xue Yue also transferred the pressure to the commanders of his subordinate armies and issued a death order.
The 64th Army, the 71st Army, the 74th Army and other Central Army besieging troops did not hesitate at all, and immediately launched a fierce attack from all sides. All kinds of weapons were mobilized to the front line, and the fight was dark for a while.
The Japanese 14th Division also knew that they could only fight to the death, otherwise they would be destroyed. Whether it was for honor or survival, they had to go all out.
Japanese officers at all levels also went crazy. Facing the fierce attack of the Chinese army, they defended their positions to the last man. Often, the two sides repeatedly fought for the same position several times.
Corpses filled the trenches, blood stained the ground red, and broken guns were everywhere. Both sides fought repeatedly in bloody battles on the piles of corpses, with no one willing to admit defeat.
The leader of the 302nd Regiment, Ji Hongru, led a personal assault and used explosives to seize seven Japanese positions in a row until they reached 300 meters outside Sanyi Village.
Here they encountered a tenacious resistance from the Japanese army, with all kinds of weapons firing at them desperately. Japanese tanks carrying machine guns ran rampant, pouring ammunition at them crazily.
The Japanese cavalry took the opportunity to counterattack. The exhausted Chinese soldiers fought fiercely with the Japanese cavalry, but were eventually forced to withdraw due to lack of physical strength.
"Attack again! Don't stop! Don't worry about casualties!"
Division Commander Wang Yaowu personally came to the front line, stood within the coverage of Japanese artillery fire, and personally raised his gun to supervise the battle.
News has been sent to the peripheral blocking forces that the closest Japanese 16th Division and 2nd Army Brigade have pounced on them. If they can't defeat them, they will have no chance in the future.
Seeing the division commander Wang Yaowu personally supervising the battle at the front line, the regiment commander Ji Hongru, who had just withdrawn, gritted his teeth and regrouped the troops with heavy casualties, formed the Fengyong Team, and cooperated with the 305th Regiment to launch another strong attack.
Under the successive attacks of Chinese soldiers, they successfully opened the gap in the Japanese defense line and once invaded Sanyi Village, but were swept out by the opponent's tanks, and the two sides fell into a bitter battle.
The intensity of firepower in the entire Sanyi Village battlefield was beyond imagination. On this small battlefield, both sides fought hard and blood flowed like rivers.
Yang Ling and his 301st regiment were exhausted from the continuous fighting, so they stayed behind to rest and recuperate. However, hearing the constant exchange of fire at the front, they could sit there.
The regiment leader Zhang Handuo called for battle several times to go up, but was suppressed by the brigade commander Zhou Zhidao. Because the troops currently on the battlefield were all fighting fiercely, he only had this reserve team left in his hand, and planned to save it for final use.
.
Seeing the wounded being carried off in large numbers and the brothers rushing to the battlefield in batches, Yang Ling and the others were anxious, but there was nothing they could do.
The trapped Japanese 14th Division Commander Dohi Madoka Kenji did not expect that the Chinese army was so determined to eliminate him, and now he could no longer sit still.
The casualties of the brigades and regiments under his command have increased sharply, and many troops have been killed. He has never encountered such a dangerous situation.
Although he kept asking for help from friendly forces, they were blocked by Chinese blocking forces and he no longer had the confidence to hold out until the friendly forces came over.
"Pass our military order, the 50th Regiment and the 18th Regiment, with tanks and armored vehicles as the forerunners, take the initiative to attack in the direction of Yang Guji to cover the main force's breakout!" In the end, the commander of the Dofeiyuan Division decided to rescue himself and break through in a bloody battle.
The 14th Division can be regarded as a mechanized division. The entire division not only has more than 500 tanks and armored vehicles, but also a large number of cavalry units. After receiving Madoka Doi's order, these mechanized units quickly switched from defense to offense, trying to
Breakout.
"Sir, sir! The Japanese are coming. They are all tanks. Brothers, we can't stop them!"
The Japanese mechanized troops had powerful firepower, and the wheels and chains rolled up dust as they rushed across the battlefield. The Chinese army, which lacked anti-tank weapons, was immediately overwhelmed.
The person responsible for defending this direction was Gui Yongqing's 27th Army. He had previously abandoned the defense of Lanfeng City, causing the Japanese army to almost break through and escape, and was severely reprimanded by the chairman of the committee.
This time he saw the Japanese army choosing his direction to break out again. While cursing, he ordered: "Quickly move to the Hongmiao area to avoid the Japanese army's sharp edge——"
The 27th Army once again evacuated without authorization under Gui Yongqing's order. The troops were in chaos, and countless materials and weapons were discarded along the way.
When the news reached General Xue Yue's headquarters, even though General Xue Yue had a good temper, he couldn't help but get furious. If Gui Yongqing was in front of him, he would definitely shoot him!
"Chief Xue, Dangshan has been captured by the Japanese 16th Division. Commander Huang Jie sent a telegram saying that the 8th Army cannot stop it and has moved north."
The so-called house leak happened to rain all night. Just when General Xue Yue was thinking about how to quickly block the gap opened by the 27th Army, the words of the communications staff suddenly made his heart sink to the bottom. Huang Jie's blocking force also ran away without permission. This battle
How else to fight?
The situation on the battlefield took a turn for the worse. The wolf-like Japanese 16th Division was breaking through the defense line of the Chinese blocking troops and pounced towards Sanyi Village.
The Henan East Corps, which had been unable to defeat the Japanese 14th Division nine times, was threatened from the rear. If the attack continued, they would be in danger of being surrounded.
"Send a message to the Wuhan Military Commission. The situation on the battlefield is extremely unfavorable to me. Please request an end to the battle and the troops to leave the battlefield quickly." The unwilling General Xue Yue ordered in a low voice.
"Commander Xue, this is letting the tiger return to the mountain. If we hold on for one more day, we can eliminate the 14th Division!" the chief of staff said reluctantly.
"Even if the 14th Division is annihilated, then the 100,000 soldiers of our Eastern Henan Corps will be finished... Let's withdraw."
Yang Ling and the others rested on the spot and acted as a reserve team. They were sharpening their swords and preparing to go up and kill the Japanese, but they waited for the order to retreat.
"Why retreat? We haven't lost the battle." When the order to retreat came, the brothers who were very enthusiastic about fighting were full of doubts.
"That bastard Gui Yongqing ran away again, and you're still waiting to be made dumplings by the Japanese!? Pack your things and retreat quickly!" Brigadier Zhou Zhidao also rarely cursed recklessly.
The brothers who retreated from the front line were covered in blood. They looked back reluctantly at the smoke-filled battlefield and retreated from the battlefield three times at a time.
It has to be said that General Xue Yue's decision was wise and decisive. Only a few hours after the retreat order was issued, the three elite divisions of the Japanese army had already pressed forward across the entire line.