Half an hour later, Feng Anbang, commander of the 42nd Army, personally led 500 death squads and launched a thunderous attack on Liujiaji on the northeast side of Fuyang.
Liujiaji was the northern barrier of Lixin County. The Japanese army stationed an infantry brigade here. Once Liujiaji was captured, Lixin County, just a short distance away, would immediately be opened.
Once Lixin County is occupied by the National Army, the Japanese besieged in Fuyang and Mengcheng will be cut in two. The 9th Division in Fuyang and the 13th Division in Mengcheng will no longer be able to be connected as one.
The situation faced by the Japanese army will deteriorate sharply, and the complete destruction of the entire army is a high probability event.
It was precisely because of seeing this that the 2nd Army concentrated its forces to attack Liujiaji.
It is precisely because of seeing this that Feng Anbang did not hesitate to take risks and personally acted as a death squad leader.
When the battle started, Feng Anbang rushed to the front holding a flower trap and wearing a helmet.
Seeing Army Commander Feng Anbang actually charging like a big-headed soldier with a machine gun, the five hundred death squads were immediately inspired. They all rushed towards the Japanese position like tigers descending from the mountain. Soon,
Several lines of defense outside Liujiaji were breached by death squads.
Stationed at Liujiaji is the 5th Battalion of the 7th Infantry Regiment of the 9th Division of the Japanese Army. The battalion commander Haruta Jusanro is a standard Japanese soldier and a fanatical militarist. After the fierce battles in the previous few days, the 5th Battalion
There were less than 500 remnant soldiers left in the brigade, but Haruta Shisanro did not ask for help from the division headquarters.
Because Haruta Shisanro knew very well that the division headquarters had no more reinforcements to send.
Seeing that the National Army had broken into the deep positions of the Japanese army, Haruta Shisanro immediately summoned all the non-combatants at the brigade headquarters, and then gave them the Type 38 rifles left by the fallen soldiers, temporarily organized a death squad, and then
Haruta Jushiro led this death squad to launch a fierce counterattack.
About five hundred meters away from the headquarters of the Springfield Brigade, the two suicide squads met head-on, and a fierce hand-to-hand battle was immediately staged. Feng Anbang's trap had already fired all six magazines, and he didn't know where to throw the gun.
But there is an extra sharp Northwest Army machete on top, which can be used to chop and chop everyone in sight.
General Feng killed six Japanese in succession and finally lost his strength.
When facing the seventh Japanese soldier, General Feng stumbled. As a result, the Japanese soldier on the opposite side seized the opportunity and stabbed with one step. The sharp bayonet pierced the general's chest in an instant. The general used his last remaining strength.
, chopped off the head of the Japanese soldier Cao with one knife, then staggered back two steps, and sat down slumped on the ground.
When the general's guards arrived, the general was already in a dying state.
On his deathbed, the general shouted uncontrollably: "Attack, attack, attack..."
After shouting three times to attack, General Feng Anbang finally breathed his last. This was another general who died in battle after Tong Linge, Zhao Dengyu, Rao Guohua, Wang Mingzhang, and Zhang Zizhong. What is shocking is that since the Sino-Japanese War broke out,
Among the six generals reported dead, four were from the Northwest Army and two were from the Sichuan Army.
The bravery and fierceness of the Northwest Army and the Sichuan Army can be seen from this!
(Dividing line)
Because of Xu Rui's radio speech, there was already a storm outside, but Xu Rui himself, who was at the center of the storm, was still unaware of it.
It was already late at night when Xu Rui finished his radio speech, and the whole city was dead silent.
Perhaps because too many artillery shells had been thrown during the day, the Japanese artillery seemed quieter than ever tonight, and they did not even fire a single shell into the city.
However, as a veteran, Xu Rui has smelled a strange smell from the dead silence.
The short night passed quickly. The next day was still dark, and the eastern sky had just revealed a trace of fish belly white. The Japanese artillery started bombarding again. The 5th Field Heavy Artillery Brigade and the 6th Field Artillery Regiment of the Kumamoto Division
, plus the 18th Field Artillery Regiment of the Kikuchi Brigade, nearly two hundred artillery pieces opened fire violently, dumping tons of ammunition into the urban area of Feicheng, which had already been bombed into ruins.
Half an hour after the bombardment, more than a hundred attack and reconnaissance aircraft from the Central China Front Army's flying regiment directly flew over Feicheng again, and immediately dropped hundreds of aerial bombs on Feicheng. In an instant, the entire Feicheng was destroyed.
The red light and gunpowder smoke produced by the explosion were completely shrouded. Looking down from the sky, the entire city was like a pot of boiling water, surging violently.
Kojima Shun, who flew one of the Type 97 carrier-based attack aircraft, wrote this in his memoirs fifty years later.
In less than two days, our 3rd Flying Regiment dispatched at least 700 attack aircraft and dropped at least 1,000 tons of aerial bombs on Feicheng. This was the highest bombing intensity since the Sino-Japanese War broke out.
, the bombing density not only far exceeded that of Nanjing, but even exceeded that of Shanghai. I am convinced that after enduring such a heavy bombing, even the ground rats, which are known for their tenacity, will not be able to survive.
Not even a mouse could survive such an intense bombing, but the Dameishan Independent Regiment persevered.
The Japanese aviation and artillery bombardment of Feicheng lasted until half past nine in the morning, and finally ended. After the bombing, the Kumamoto Division and Kikuchi Brigade immediately dispatched ground troops to attack from the east gate and south gate at the same time.
Feicheng launched a fierce attack. The Japanese attack today was obviously more fierce than the previous four days.
The fierce fighting continued until noon, when He Shuya's independent battalion was basically destroyed, and the eastern part of the city was also declared lost.
In such a high-intensity battle, the consumption of troops was completely beyond people's imagination.
At 2:30 in the afternoon, the control area of the independent regiment has been reduced to less than 300 meters around the former headquarters of the Feicheng garrison brigade. This was also the last position defined by Xu Rui.
As for the remaining areas, they have all fallen into the hands of the Japanese.
However, because the control area of the independent regiment was smaller, the defense intensity was strengthened. In the next few hours, the Japanese army organized troops many times to force a breakthrough, but all failed.
(Dividing line)
For the officers and soldiers of the Independent Regiment, today is an extremely long day.
For the commander of the Japanese Central China Front, Shunroku Hata, today is also an extremely long day. After getting up at 4:30 in the morning, Shunroku Hata began to sit motionless behind the big table, his eyes never leaving for a moment.
He didn't even take his eyes away from the map on the wall opposite, even while eating.
However, from the corner of Hata Shunroku's eyes, he was always paying attention to the telephone in the corner of the big table.
Yes, Shunroku Hata is waiting, waiting for good news to come from the Feicheng front line.
Shunroku Hata never left his office for a moment. Shozo Kawabe, the chief of staff of the Central China Front, became an errand boy, going back and forth between the war room and Shunroku Hata's office again and again, bringing the latest battle reports from the Feicheng front, even the smallest details.
Any breakthrough, even just occupying a crossroads, will be reported to Shunroku Hata in a timely manner.
Kawabe Shozo excitedly walked into Hata Shunroku's office again, and reported: "Your Excellency, General, part of the Kumamoto Division has occupied the ruins of the former Feicheng Water Company, and now the area under the control of the Daimeishan Independent Regiment has been occupied by the Imperial Army.
, compressed to a radius of less than two hundred meters, and destruction is already imminent."
A major staff officer who followed Hebian Zhengsan in, immediately walked to the big map, picked up a red pencil and painted a small area on the map in eye-catching red. As this small area was painted in red, the entire Feicheng exceeded
Three-quarters of the area has been painted red, and only a small area in the middle is left.
However, unlike Kawabe Shozo, Hata Shunroku didn't have a trace of excitement on his face.
Kawabe Shozo keenly felt that Hata Shunroku's mood was a little low, and then asked: "General, are you still worried about the battle of Feicheng?"
Shunroku Hata said: "Kawabe-san, haven't you noticed that at the beginning of the morning, the Kumamoto Division and the Kikuchi Brigade made rapid progress, and controlled most of Feicheng before noon, especially the 13th Infantry Regiment.
It only took two hours to capture the eastern part of the city that the Kagoshima Alliance had not captured for four days, but..."
After taking a breath, Shunroku Hata continued: "But since the imperial army occupied most of the city, that is, starting from two o'clock in the afternoon, they have only advanced less than fifty meters. The newly added control area is less than the previous one."
Don’t you think it’s a little insignificant compared to our results?”
Kawabe Shozo frowned and said, "What do you mean, General, is the Independent Regiment intending to shrink?"
"I don't know whether the Independent Regiment intends to shrink." Shunroku Hata waved his hand and added, "But I can see that after the control area is reduced, the independent Regiment's defense has been significantly strengthened. According to the current progress, before dark today
It is impossible to end the battle, and even tomorrow, it may not be possible to end the battle."
Kawabe Shozo said calmly: "Even if it doesn't end tomorrow, it will definitely end the day after tomorrow."
"The day after tomorrow?" Shunroku Hata shook his head and said, "I'm afraid we don't have that much time."
When Hebian Zhengzo heard this, his face changed slightly and he asked: "Your Majesty, General, what do you mean by this?"
Shunroku Hata did not answer, but just picked up a telegram from the big table and pushed it to Kawabe Shozo.
Hebian Zhengzo picked up the telegram from the table, and his expression suddenly changed when he saw it, and he said in a voiceless voice: "Nani? Liujiaji fell in the early hours of this morning, and Lixin County also fell at noon?"
Shunroku Hata sighed and said: "The China Army tore open Liujiaji's defense line in one fell swoop at the cost of sacrificing one general and hundreds of death squads. After Liujiaji fell, the main force of China's 2nd Army took advantage of the opportunity and moved in.
By capturing Lixin County in one fell swoop, my group heading north has been intercepted by the Chinese Army and is about to fall into a desperate situation of fighting independently."