The heavens start from Changjin Lake

Without the machine gun position, the defeat of the [-]th Battalion was a foregone conclusion. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Zhang Guangqi ordered the surviving men to retreat towards the [-]st Battalion.

The rumbling artillery fire continued without stopping. The Japanese army rushed to the national army position and started hand-to-hand and street fighting with the national army on the position.

Xia Yuan covered Zheng Dayong's retreat, pulled the bolt and fired. The bullets flew across the alley, shattering the dream of pursuing the Japanese army. Seeing that Xia Yuan's personal combat effectiveness was so strong, the Japanese pursued him all the way, killing four or five Japanese. soldiers.

"Chinese sharpshooter!"

The Japanese soldiers in the second squadron basically knew that there was a Chinese man in the national army position who was very good at marksmanship. He was called a sharpshooter by their commanders and his combat effectiveness was quite strong. The remaining Japanese soldiers did not dare to continue the pursuit and stopped to chase. other people.

Xia Yuan still didn't know what happened. Seeing that the Japanese had stopped pursuing him, he didn't even think about pursuing them and destroying them. After joining Zheng Dayong and the others, he quickly retreated to the position of the [-]st Battalion.

When they retreated to the position of the [-]st Battalion, the sun was hanging overhead. It was already past noon, and the battle was still not over. As they fled all the way, the Japanese artillery fire roared, the gunshots crackled, and the bullets bounced loudly. The fighting never stopped for a moment, and the fighting on all fronts was extremely fierce.

The defense line of the [-]st Battalion had also collapsed. When they arrived at the defense line of the [-]st Battalion, there were fleeing soldiers everywhere.

Zheng Dayong was carrying a Type [-] rifle on his back and holding a Czech in his arms. He pulled a soldier who was escaping and asked about the situation: "Brother, what's the situation here? How is your defense line?"

This soldier was covered in blood and dirty. When he saw the Czech in Zheng Dayong's arms, his eyes brightened: "Brother, which army are you from?"

"From the [-]th Battalion." I heard Xia Yuan's unit number. Zheng Dayong reported his number and said: "Three companies, three platoons, and one squadron of machine gunners."

When he heard that it was a regular army, the soldier said: "Brother, run away quickly. The defense line has collapsed, the commander is dead, and the Japanese have come, and they are all running to the west."

"What, the Japs are coming!" When Zheng Dayong heard that the defense line had collapsed and the Japs were coming, his heart suddenly tightened. He thanked him and ran back with his gun in his arms.

There were many broken soldiers retreating along the way, all running to the west. It was completely impossible to tell whether these soldiers were from the [-]th Battalion or the [-]st Battalion. They were obviously in chaos.

He saw Xia Yuan among the retreating troops, carrying an injured scholar who had fallen into a coma due to excessive blood loss.

"Brother Yuan, the defense line here has also been captured by the Japanese. These soldiers are running to the west." Zheng Dayong said hurriedly, a little urgently: "Let's follow them and run."

Xia Yuan raised his head slightly. As the battle continued, gunpowder smoke rose into the sky. The entire Sitang River defense line was covered in gray. The air was filled with the smell of gunpowder smoke. Artillery shells streaked across the dim sky like meteors. The same thing hit the ground hard. In an instant, the ground shook, the houses collapsed, and the world was in chaos.

"go!"

Without thinking, he led the two men and followed the broken troops to retreat to the west.

Under the fierce attack of the Japanese, the [-]th Brigade was basically in chaos. The troops were retreating to the rear. The Japanese army had basically occupied the defense line of the [-]th Brigade of the National Army along the Sitang River.

Naturally, Xia Yuan would not lead them to continue to retreat to the [-]st Battalion's defense line. It is estimated that the [-]th Battalion did not continue to retreat to the [-]st Battalion's position and began to retreat to the rear.

There were many broken troops on the road. The soldiers of the [-]st Battalion and the soldiers of the [-]th Battalion were mixed together, making it impossible to distinguish them.

"Brother Yuan!"

Suddenly, a voice of surprise came from the crowd of defeated soldiers.

Zheng Dayong spotted the other party first and said, "It's Xiaoliu."

"Brother Yuan, Dayong, I didn't expect to meet you here." Xiaoliu ran over with a disgraced face carrying a rifle. He saw the scholar behind Xia Yuan and asked: "What's wrong with the scholar? He was so seriously injured. .”

"I was bitten by a Japanese artillery shell." Xia Yuan's eyes moved slightly and he glanced around. When Lao Lei was nowhere to be seen, he asked, "Where is Lao Lei? Didn't he withdraw with you?"

Talking about Lao Lei, there was a hint of sadness in Xiaoliu's eyes: "Uncle Lei is dead, he was beaten to death by the Japanese, and Company Commander Lu is also dead."

Hearing the news, Xia Yuan frowned slightly and asked, "What happened? Why are they all dead?"

"A Japanese squadron attacked the Third Company's position and fired artillery fire. The Third Company could not stop the Japanese attack. Too many people died in the whole morning's battle. Company Commander Lu personally went to the first line of defense to stop the attack. The Japanese army and Japanese artillery shells came over, and the positions were all hit by the Japanese artillery shells. There were not many people left alive, and the Japanese came over."

There was a trace of fear on Xiaoliu's face. The Eighteenth Brigade fought against the Japanese for a short time and supported the front line. The only battle they participated in was the Battle of Luodian. Fortunately, they followed the reinforcement company, although they were attacked by the Japanese army. , but the Japanese army did not have many troops. They only had grenade launchers to assist in the attack, and the two sides also fought back and forth.

But a company, or a company of seven or eighty men, with basically no heavy firepower, was attacked by a squadron of the Japanese army. It was first shelled and then brutally charged by the Japanese army. This was the first time Xiaoliu had experienced such a battle. I was also deeply shocked by the brutality of the Japanese army.

"They rushed over and fought us with bayonets. Uncle Lei fought to death two of them, but he was defeated by the Japanese. Company Commander Lu stayed at the forward position. When the Japanese attacked the second line of defense, Company Commander Lu did not come back."

Xia Yuan sighed and said: "The Japanese offensive this time was extremely violent. They were bound to pull back the defense line along the Sitang River. The firm orders made them basically crazy. The main position was also attacked by two squadrons of the Japanese army in turn. , even I might not be able to survive if I don’t retreat.”

The Japanese soldiers were very powerful, especially in the early days of the Anti-Japanese War. Many Japanese soldiers had undergone several years of training. Their fighting and shooting skills were very strong, far above those of ordinary soldiers in the national army.

It is not easy for the third company to withstand the attack of a Japanese squadron for half a day. "The third company was exhausted and everyone was dead. When I escaped, not many people followed me. There were still many wounded who stayed on the position and couldn't escape at all." Xiaoliu's heart was full of hatred for the national army. The soldiers' sorrow caused a deep fear of the Japanese army.

When following Xia Yuan, Xia Yuan was bearing all the pressure. They only needed to make flanking detours or cover. Even if the detour process was discovered by the Japanese army, Xia Yuan would always be able to provide the strongest reinforcements as soon as possible.

At this moment, he realized that only after leaving Xia Yuan did he feel the terror of the Japanese army.

But there is no regret medicine in the world, Lao Lei died, and although Xiao Liu escaped, he was alone.

Ever since, there was one more person in the team.

After walking three kilometers with the defeated troops, they stopped to rest in a thatched cottage that had not yet collapsed. The scholar's face was pale and he was unconscious due to excessive blood loss. Xia Yuan took out the compressed biscuits from his arms and found the pottery that had not yet been smashed under the stove. Bowl, crumbled the compressed biscuits, poured some water, and said to Zheng Dayong: "Feed it to the scholar first. He has lost so much blood, and his body is in urgent need of nutrients."

"Hey."

Zheng Dayong squatted on the ground and fed the scholar one bite at a time from a small bowl, while Xiao Liu was on guard outside.

Xia Yuan groped in his pocket, trying to find a cigarette to take a few puffs, but he couldn't find it after searching for a long time.

"I didn't have any craving for cigarettes before. How come I started to think about smoking after traveling through time several times?"

He shook his head and put away the messy thoughts.

The battle was fierce. The [-]th Brigade retreated two kilometers to reorganize its defense line and continue to resist the Japanese army. The defense line retreated again and again. By the afternoon, the Sitang River defense line occupied by the Japanese army had been completely stabilized.
The Japanese army seemed to be just trying to drive the [-]th Brigade out of the Sitang River defense line. When the Sitang River defense line was completely free of Chinese troops, they stopped attacking, built fortifications, and dug trenches.

The Chinese army also rebuilt strong defenses in the rear and fell into a confrontation with the Japanese army. But at this moment, everyone knew that the [-]th Brigade was no longer a match for the Japanese army. It could be seen from previous battles.

It may be that the Japanese army's ammunition consumption is too large and cannot support the continued attack, or it may be that the casualties are too heavy and a temporary rest is needed.

While Xia Yuan and the others were taking a break, the name of the [-]th Brigade's marksman began to spread among the army at noon. Zhang Guangqi collected Xia Yuan's information and submitted it to the regiment commander, who in turn submitted it to the division commander. It was submitted until it reached the hands of the group army commander. Those who read Xia Yuan's information were astonished.

Many of these people came from Whampoa Military Academy. They have been in the army for more than ten years or even decades. They have seen countless excellent soldiers. They have powerful machine guns, good marksmanship, accurate grenade throwing, dare to charge, and fight fiercely. , I have never seen anything like this, but when targeted by the enemy, they are the first to die.

Especially when facing the Japanese army, the mortality rate of such soldiers is very high. The Japanese have flat-fire cannons to deal with machine gunners, mortars and grenade launchers that are good at dealing with marksmanship and accurate bomb delivery. Those who dare to charge will all die. Under the bayonets and machine guns of the Japanese, who fought fiercely, many more died when faced with the Japanese artillery and machine guns.

All kinds of powerful soldiers are useless when facing the Japanese. The Japanese focus on the quality of individual soldiers and the accuracy and power of guns. No matter what, they can't compare with the Japanese.On the Songhu battlefield, some people used Japanese artillery shelling to hide. The Japanese charged without firing, but approached the position. After a round of rapid fire, they then fought with the Japanese with bayonets.

Under such circumstances, the Battle of Songhu still resulted in a battle loss ratio of 7:1, and such a battle loss ratio was already the smallest battle loss ratio for the national army.

In the eyes of senior officers of the national army, the Japanese army is undoubtedly synonymous with strength and advancedness. The individual qualities of their soldiers are very strong. But now, a soldier appears and eliminates hundreds of Japanese devils without any damage to himself. This matter immediately It attracted the attention of the top brass of the national army.

Chen Cheng, the commander-in-chief of the left-wing army, received the document handed over from below. After reading it, he had an expression of disbelief on his face.

"How authentic is this document?"

"The authenticity is very high. The 53th Brigade is in the direction of Wusong. Judging from the information currently transmitted, the attacking Japanese troops suffered high casualties. Li Youcai, deputy commander of the 53th Battalion of the [-]th Brigade, began to follow this during the battle. Soldier, according to what he said, he saw with his own eyes, [-] bullets were fired, killing [-] enemies, and not a single shot was empty."

"Oh?" After hearing this, Chen Cheng put down the document and said, "Such a soldier is really rare. A few years ago, I saw a soldier with excellent marksmanship. The chairman of the committee told me that he killed 23 enemies with 21 bullets. His marksmanship was very good, but it was a pity that this soldier did not live long. During a battle, the enemy's artillery observer discovered his position and killed him with a cannon."

His meaning is obvious. No matter how good his marksmanship is, he will die in the face of Japanese artillery shells. However, soldiers with such accurate marksmanship are a rare piece of material. Their marksmanship is accurate and they are most suitable for assassinations.

"Now the battle situation on the Wusong side is becoming more and more serious. In the morning, four Japanese regiments attacked the defenders on the Wusong side. At noon, the Sitang River defense line was lost and the Japanese army occupied the Sitang River. In the afternoon, the Japanese army captured Baoshan West Street and the Sitang River. Bridge, surrounded Baoshan City from the west, the purpose of the Japanese attack is obvious, if Baoshan City is captured, Wusong will be completely controlled by the Japanese."

Chen Cheng put down the document in his hand, raised his head and looked at the adjutant who had been with him for several years, and continued: "The Japanese army in the direction of Luodian has temporarily stopped attacking, but we can't be idle. The Japanese No. 11 Division is trying to attack the Japanese Third Division. Convergence, once the two Japanese armies merge, this force will be infinitely stronger."

After saying that, his brows frowned, as if covered with a dark cloud.

The offensive posture of the Japanese army is now very obvious. The fighting in Luodian has not stopped. If the Japanese army does not withdraw from Luodian for one day, their fighting will not stop.The battle in Luodian is not over yet, and Baoshan City is in crisis.

"The person holding Baoshan City is Yao Ziqing, the Third Battalion of the [-]th Regiment. Do we want to withdraw Yao Ziqing?"

"No, they can't move. Troops from all over the country are gathering in Shanghai. We have to withstand the Japanese attack and try to delay it." Chen Cheng seemed to have made up his mind, "This soldier is a good soldier. Let the [-]th Brigade send him When we get to Baoshan City, if we can hold Baoshan City until the reinforcements arrive and he is still alive after the war, I will ask the Chairman for instructions and make him a battalion commander."

"Yes, as for the Eighteenth Brigade."

"The position of the Eighteenth Brigade is neither light nor important. The focus of the Japanese attack is Baoshan. If we hold Baoshan, our war in the direction of Wusongkou will not fail." Chen Cheng's eyes moved slightly, "I hope the Japanese can fight outside. This way, their forces will be spread out.”

It's a pity that he couldn't let the [-]th Brigade withdraw from the battle without firing a shot. If it was the beginning of the war and he knew the purpose of the Japanese army, he might do this, let the Japanese troops disperse, and then concentrate their forces to break through a little.