Chapter 1 The Battle by Liujia Lake

The battle by Liujia Lake showcased the spirit of the 31st Division.

It made the Japanese realize that the troops in Taierzhuang this time were another tough nut to crack.

And it made them pay even more attention.

What does "pay attention" mean?

Of course, continuing to reinforce their forces is what "pay attention" means.

Gu Lianchang didn't want the weapons from cleaning up the battlefield; he only replenished some ammunition.

Then, he continued to pursue the direction of the Japanese artillery retreat.

The Third Squad also hit a Japanese tank when the Japanese retreated.

Now squad leader Zhao Siyuan is leading his squad to recover those directional mines.

The officers and soldiers of the 93rd Brigade looked at this force of more than a hundred people.

"Why did they only send thirty-odd people into the battlefield just now?"

Even Brigade Commander Nie couldn't figure out this question.

These battles that took place on the outskirts of Taierzhuang did not stop the Japanese determination to attack Taierzhuang.

In the morning, they carried out continuous and fierce bombing of Taierzhuang.

Halfway through, the 93rd Brigade discovered an artillery position, and the two sides engaged in a regimental-level bayonet fight.

In the afternoon, the Japanese artillery changed positions and continued to bomb Taierzhuang.

This time, they finally succeeded: a gap of more than ten meters wide was blasted into the north gate of Taierzhuang and the surrounding stockade walls.

The Kitakaze Ren Company launched another attack today after suffering heavy casualties in yesterday's attack on Taierzhuang.

The commander of the Second Battalion, Doigai Yuma, saw that the Taierzhuang defenders were resisting fiercely.

He once again increased the strength of the Sato Ike also infantry company to strengthen the attack on Taierzhuang.

Also cooperating with their attack on Taierzhuang was the Japanese 12th Armored Vehicle Company.

Although this armored vehicle team had five tanks destroyed in the morning.

In the afternoon, they gathered more than a dozen tanks to cooperate with the infantry to launch a fierce attack on Taierzhuang.

The front of Taierzhuang was in critical condition, and the teams outside the village received orders:

Launch an attack on the Japanese to relieve the pressure on Taierzhuang.

At this time, Guan Linzheng, commander of the 52nd Army, who had withdrawn from Taierzhuang on the 23rd, had been near Zaozhuang for the past few days.

The 75th Brigade of the 25th Division of the 52nd Army encountered the vanguard of the Japanese Yizhou Detachment, and the two sides fought fiercely.

The Second Division of the 52nd Army also launched an attack on Zaozhuang: this attack was very smooth.

The Japanese at this time had already sent the troops originally stationed in Zaozhuang to Taierzhuang to support the battle.

Zaozhuang's military strength was empty, and the 52nd Army rushed into Zaozhuang all at once.

Soon, most of the urban area was occupied.

The main force of the Japanese 63rd Regiment, which remained in Yixian County, immediately provided support to Zaozhuang.

Even though they were facing the danger of being occupied in Zaozhuang, the Japanese did not transfer a single soldier back from Taierzhuang.

Defending the north gate of Taierzhuang was the 186th Regiment of the 31st Division.

The regimental commander and deputy regimental commander of this regiment had already been injured and sent to the rear yesterday.

Now Wang Kouwu, the staff officer of the 31st Division, is acting as the regimental commander.

In the morning, they had just launched an attack to support the battle of the 185th Regiment by Liujia Lake.

Now the north gate of Taierzhuang was being fiercely attacked by the Japanese again.

A platoon of officers and soldiers on the stockade wall fiercely fought back against the Japanese who came to charge.

The stockade wall of Taierzhuang is 7.5 meters high, although it cannot be called a high wall with deep trenches.

It is far inferior to the city wall of Tengxian.

However, the defenders on the stockade wall had a very good advantage in striking against the Japanese infantry who came to charge.

Especially the north side of Taierzhuang, which is completely open ground, where you can stand high and see far.

The Ito Ike also company, which was carrying out the attack, found it difficult to move forward.

The Japanese 12th Independent Armored Vehicle Company, with more than a dozen tanks, was 500 meters away from the north gate.

They lined up in a row and bombarded the north gate and the stockade wall fiercely.

A gap of more than ten meters wide was blown up in the stockade wall on the north side of Taierzhuang.

A platoon guarding the stockade wall did not have time to retreat and was buried in the rubble, the entire army was wiped out.

The Ito Ike also infantry company took the opportunity to rush forward.

Under the cover of tanks, they immediately rushed into Taierzhuang along the gap.

The extremely excited Ito Company immediately began to expand its results.

The Kitakaze Ren Company, which was following behind it, although only had half of its strength left, also rushed in at this time.

Nearly 300 Japanese rushed into Taierzhuang all at once.

As soon as they rushed into Taierzhuang, they were immediately intercepted by the 186th Regiment guarding Taierzhuang.

After receiving the news that the Japanese had broken into Taierzhuang.

Acting regimental commander Wang Kouyu immediately took the Third Battalion to reinforce.

The Third Battalion, in coordination with the officers and soldiers of the First Battalion who were originally guarding here, launched a fierce attack on the Japanese who had rushed into Taierzhuang in two ways.

One way of reinforcements attacked from both sides of the Taierzhuang stockade wall towards the middle, they wanted to block the gap.

Another way of reinforcements launched an attack on the Japanese who had already rushed into Taierzhuang.

They had to drive the Japanese out no matter what.

The soldiers of the Ito Ike also company were determined to leave their mark in Taierzhuang no matter what.

Although a large gap had collapsed in the north gate stockade wall, the Japanese tanks were still unable to rush in from the gap.

They could only continue to bombard Taierzhuang outside the north gate.

Wang Zhong, the commander of the 3rd Armored Vehicle Company, who had arrived in Taierzhuang, led the entire tank company to the battlefield.

They drove out of the east gate and circled around to the north.

They launched a surprise attack on the Japanese tanks, destroying two Japanese tanks.

Maruhama Wataru, the commander of the 12th Japanese Armored Vehicle Company, immediately led the remaining tanks to retreat.

The Japanese tanks outside the north gate of Taierzhuang retreated.

The Japanese who had rushed into the village, however, had no intention of retreating at all.

They relied on the stone houses in Taierzhuang to put up a stubborn resistance.

Every house has now become a fortress.

The Japanese hid in these fortresses and fired at the charging National Revolutionary Army soldiers.

The Japanese have strong individual combat capabilities and good marksmanship.

Relying on these natural fortresses, they constantly inflicted casualties on the officers and soldiers of the charging 186th Regiment.

The 186th Regiment had to pay the lives of several or even a dozen soldiers to capture each fortress.

In this way, they fought for each courtyard, one courtyard at a time, with their lives.

After paying more than 200 casualties, the Ito Ike also company finally couldn't hold on anymore.

They began to retreat.

Acting Regimental Commander Wang Kouwu ordered the soldiers to speed up their attack, and they must drive all the Japanese who rushed into Taierzhuang out before dark.

The 186th Regiment finally closed the north gate and the gap in the wall after suffering more than 400 casualties.

More than 200 Japanese were trapped in Taierzhuang.

The Japanese soldiers of the Ito Ike also company had suffered considerable casualties, and when they were retreating.

Some of the Japanese retreated into the Great Temple in Taierzhuang.

These Japanese put up a stubborn resistance in the temple, which was the Chenghuang Temple (City God Temple) in Taierzhuang.

It has a large area, high buildings and many houses, making it a place that is easy to defend but difficult to attack.

The courtyard was full of weeds, and the soldiers of the 186th Regiment came up with a strange idea:

Fire attack!

The 186th Regiment set fire to the weeds in the courtyard, burning all the dozen or so Japanese hiding inside to death.

Most of the remaining Japanese who rushed into Taierzhuang.

Are still holding on in the houses in Taierzhuang.

It was getting dark, and in such an environment, neither side could take further action.

The 1st Platoon of the 1st Company of the Special Operations Brigade, led by Company Commander Gu Xiuming, did not find the Japanese artillery position all day long.

According to Lin Fan's order, the entire platoon quietly sneaked back to Beiluo Village.

On March 24th, Bai Chongxi, Deputy Chief of Staff, Lin Wei, Vice Minister of Military Administration, Liu Fei, Director of the First Department of the Military Affairs Department, and Senior Staff Officer Wang Hongzhao, who were left in Xuzhou by Chiang Kai-shek to assist in directing the battle.

They received a report from the 31st Division that the Japanese had broken into Taierzhuang and had also taken root there.

On the afternoon of the 25th, the 186th Regiment was already fighting the Japanese house by house.

In such a battle, the casualties of soldiers were very high.

After learning about the situation in Taierzhuang, Bai Chongxi immediately ordered: to transfer reconnaissance companies from the neighboring First War Zone to Taierzhuang.

Use the reconnaissance company to fight the Japanese for every house and fight in street battles.

At the same time, in response to the rampant Japanese artillery, the 7th Artillery Regiment and the 4th Artillery Regiment were transferred to Taierzhuang.

In order to deal with the Japanese tanks, a company of the 10th Artillery Regiment was specially transferred to assist.

This company of the 10th Regiment is an anti-tank artillery company, and the entire National Revolutionary Army is only equipped with two companies.

Each company is equipped with two 150mm howitzers, and can also replace the cannon barrel, with a maximum range of more than 20,000 meters.

Now these four cannons have all been ordered to depart from Kaifeng to reinforce.

Li Zongren suggested to Bai Chongxi: "For tough battles, a part of the Special Operations Brigade of the Fifth War Zone can be transferred over."

Bai Chongxi, as the Deputy Chief of Staff, was of course clear about the strength of Lin Fan's Special Operations Brigade.

Although it cannot be said in external publicity, he, the Deputy Chief of Staff, must be clear internally.

He asked with some surprise: "This team was created by you. You can transfer it directly."

His implication was: transferring the reconnaissance company of the First War Zone and anti-tank artillery and other troops.

It is not surprising that people outside the Fifth War Zone do not obey orders.

Isn't it easy to transfer your own subordinates?

Not to mention that the Special Operations Brigade was established by you, brother, after you personally asked Chiang Kai-shek for the establishment.

Strictly speaking: even if this team is not your hardcore team, it should be your confidant.

Li Zongren said with a wry smile: "Lin Fan, the commander of the Special Operations Brigade, took the initiative to apply to send more troops to the front line.

But they are far away in Jurong. This team has to travel thousands of miles. Normal marching,

The journey is more than thousands of miles, at least two thousand miles, and it takes ten days or so.

And during the long march, I don't know what kind of situation will happen.

Their company used five transport planes to come here last time."

Bai Chongxi understood: "Five transport planes to transport a company over?

Is it useful?"

The Special Operations Brigade's battle line in the Tengxian battlefield was overwhelmed by the heroic deeds of Wang Mingzhang and his 122nd Division.

Bai Chongzhen didn't know it and didn't think it was strange.

However, he knew about Lin Fan's forceful killing of people in the military command station.

"Good things don't go out, bad things travel thousands of miles!"

Not only did he know, Chiang Kai-shek and Dai Li also knew.

Although the battle in Taierzhuang is tense now, it is obviously too little to send only one company with five transport planes.

Li Zongren said: "The combat power of their company is no worse than that of a regiment.

This team defended Tengxian last time and held on until the last moment.

From breaking through from Tengxian to Taierzhuang, not only did the entire company not lose any personnel.

It also expanded half of its personnel along the way.

And the equipment they airlifted over themselves was not lost a single piece.

On the contrary, they brought back more than 4,000 rifles and more than a dozen infantry guns."

After hearing this!

Bai Chongxi decided: "I will coordinate with the whole country to see how many transport planes there are.

If this team of his has such strong combat power, should we transfer the entire brigade over?"

"Their brigade is holding down a large number of Japanese on the Jurong and Deqing line.

After they are transferred away, no National Revolutionary Army can hold it.

Besides, they can't be transferred now."

Li Zongren said with some emotion.

Bai Chongxi certainly knew the importance of the Special Operations Brigade's defense line.

He didn't ask any more questions and started looking for transport planes all over the country.

Soon Lin Fan received a notice from the Fifth War Zone: "Commander Bai has prepared seven transport planes.

The Special Operations Brigade is required to send a team to Taierzhuang."

Lin Fan was thinking: How much equipment and people should be brought over with seven transport planes.

This time, he decided to transfer the Second, Third, and Fourth Companies of the First Regiment again,

And transfer an anti-aircraft artillery platoon from the Eighth Regiment.

The equipment carried included one anti-aircraft gun, heavy machine guns for three companies, and a "dirt tank" for each squad.

Supplement four "dirt tanks" for the First Company.

This is a plain, and the "dirt tanks" are too useful when charging. They are both heavy firepower and shields.

Lin Fan made a plan and immediately telegraphed Chen Sichuan and Li Xian to get ready.

At the same time, he reported this plan to the headquarters of the Fifth War Zone.

Bai Chongxi looked at the plan reported by Lin Fan: seven transport planes sending three infantry companies and one artillery platoon from thousands of miles away.

He smiled at Li Zongren and said: "This is really sending troops from thousands of miles away.

I hope they don't disappoint us."

In addition to the three companies of the Special Operations Brigade, which needed to take action on the evening of the 26th, the transfer order on the evening of the 25th.

The remaining troops were all acting nervously.

The battles in Taierzhuang and its vicinity on the 25th surprised Division Commander Kōsōgai Kōsōgai:

After Tengxian, he did not expect to encounter such a strong counterattack.

He believed that the battle of Tengxian had wiped out the courage of the National Revolutionary Army.

Because after Tengxian, the Japanese offensives in Lincheng, Yixian, Hanzhuang, and Zaozhuang were all very smooth.

Only sporadic resistance from the National Revolutionary Army was encountered.

As a result, in Taierzhuang, they encountered unprecedented resistance.

This made Division Commander Kōsōgai Kōsōgai very angry.

He immediately sent all the Japanese of the entire 60th Regiment, and at the same time ordered the puppet army to concentrate on Taierzhuang.

Liu Guitang, the commander of the 17th Army of the puppet Manchukuo and the commander-in-chief of the forward, led three divisions, a total of twelve regiments, and was stationed in Lincheng, Tengxian, and Jining.

Each regiment has three infantry battalions plus a mortar company, a communications platoon, and a special service platoon.

Each battalion has three infantry companies, each company has twelve squads, and each squad has twelve people equipped with one light machine gun.

Each battalion is also equipped with a machine gun company with four machine guns.

The mortar company is equipped with six mortars.

Liu Guijun, the commander of the 2nd Division of the 17th Army of the puppet Manchukuo, was ordered to garrison Tengxian.

Now they received the order from Division Commander Kōsōgai Kōsōgai and were advancing towards Taierzhuang.

The Japanese originally planned to occupy Taierzhuang with only one battalion, but now they have increased their forces to the regimental level.

And they also strengthened the machine gun company and the tank company, and the artillery battalion entered.

Tens of thousands of Japanese have gathered around Taierzhuang.

On the other side, on the banks of the Yi River, the Japanese 5th Division, which had been severely damaged a few days ago, was also fiercely attacking in coordination.

As soon as the Japanese 5th Division launched an attack, they made Pang Bingxun's 3rd Army call out in pain.

In the last Battle of Linyi, his army had already suffered more than half of its casualties.

Two of his own guards were sacrificed, and one was disabled.

Li Zongren originally thought that the Japanese would not launch an attack on this defense line for the time being.

Unexpectedly: the Japanese were not afraid of the heavy damage they had just suffered and launched another attack.

The Fifth War Zone could only transfer Zhang Zizhong's 59th Army, which had just been transferred from here, back.

This time, Chiang Kai-shek really guessed correctly.

Fortunately, he strictly ordered Zhang Zizhong's 59th Army not to go to the Taierzhuang line.

At this time, the 59th Army was temporarily stationed in Feixian, west of Linyi.

When they received the order from the Fifth War Zone to urgently return to Linyi to defend,

The officers and soldiers of the 59th Army were all complaining.

During this period, they had been running back and forth and were already exhausted.

This time they were transferred out of Linyi and then transferred back again.

They were purely taking a detour.

Zhang Zizhong had always regarded himself as a person who had committed a crime and wanted to redeem himself.

He had no complaints about the Fifth War Zone's improper command.

After receiving the order, he immediately mobilized his officers and soldiers: If you are not afraid of death, are you still afraid of walking?

After being mobilized, the 59th Army marched forcibly overnight and rushed back to Linyi again.

When Pang Bingxun saw Zhang Zizhong again, tears and snot flowed together:

"Brother! If you don't come back, Linyi will definitely not be able to be defended.

I can only coexist with Linyi with my old life.

Wang Mingzhang in front, Pang Bingxun in the back, I have already told my family and my subordinates."

If Pang Bingxun had not been so determined to proclaim that he would coexist with Linyi in the past two days,

His team would have really been unable to hold on.

However, even if Pang Bingxun's 3rd Army tried its best to resist,

The situation on the entire defense line has undergone fundamental changes:

Most of the entire defense position was lost, and Itagaki Seishiro's division crossed the west bank of the Yi River again.

Seeing the situation clearly, Zhang Zizhong felt very heavy.

However, Pang Bingxun was full of confidence in him: In Pang Bingxun's heart, Zhang Zizhong is now like a god of war.

Being able to repel Itagaki Seishiro's division in Linyi once,

He will be able to replicate the previous success here again.

Zhang Zizhong said to Pang Bingxun with a bitter face:

"The opportunity is gone now! And the 59th Army suffered heavy casualties in the last Battle of Linyi.

The army has been running around for days, and the soldiers are already exhausted.

It is impossible to take the initiative to attack again like last time.

This time, the 59th Army can only go to the side to establish a position.

Attract the main force of the Japanese.

The pressure on you, old brother, will naturally be less."

Pang Bingxun heard this, and it was like a bucket of ice water being poured from his head to his feet:

"But! I really don't have the strength to continue defending Linyi!"

His 3rd Army had long been scarred, and he could not support it several times during the first Battle of Linyi.

If he hadn't put his life on the line, the Linyi defense line would have collapsed long ago.

Now, hearing that Zhang Zizhong still wanted him to defend to the death, wasn't this going to kill him?

All the soldiers of the Third Army, including the student soldiers, were concentrated on the city wall, and there were only more than two thousand people.

The Itagaki Division attacking Linyi had only one regiment of frontal infantry, not including the tank team and artillery team.

Pang Bingxun's legion chief was crying and begging Zhang Zizhong to take the offensive.

Pang Bingxun and Zhang Zizhong are now on the same level, and each has his own opinion.

At this time, Xu Zuyi, who was sent by the Fifth War Zone to coordinate and command, needed to come out to mediate.

Zhang Zizhong's 59th Army left for four days, and Xu Zuyi had been in Pang Bingxun's 3rd Army all the time.

He knew very well that Pang Bingxun's army was really out of strength now.

How could he defend with only more than two thousand people in the entire army?

Although the plan proposed by Zhang Zizhong was stable, it took time.

It needs time for the Japanese to adjust their strategic response.

If the Japanese do not react in time and continue to attack Linyi stubbornly.

Perhaps they will attack the city in the next hour.

In that case, the entire Linyi defense line has been breached, and even if the rest of the area is defended, it is meaningless, and there is a risk of being surrounded by the Japanese.

Xu Zuyi also knew about the situation of the 59th Army: In the previous victory in Linyi, the 59th Army suffered more than 2,000 casualties, which was already a serious injury.

He was clear about the situation, but he could not make a decision either.

Because Xu Zuyi knew better: In terms of position, he was higher.

In terms of fighting: Zhang Zizhong was much more brilliant than him.

Li Chief sent him here just to prevent these two brothers from falling out.

However, what everyone did not expect was that these two people did not care about the previous backstabbing.

This was mainly because Zhang Zizhong's character had changed greatly after the Beijing Incident.

In his heart, there was no other idea besides resisting Japan.

Therefore, the command and decision-making power of the second Battle of Linyi still returned to Zhang Zizhong.

After thinking about it, Zhang Zizhong learned that Pang Bingxun's Third Army really had only more than 2,000 people left.

Finally, he made up his mind: Attack!

In the current situation: his original plan to let Pang Bingxun's army delay the Japanese a little longer was completely unfeasible.

However, his decision to take the initiative to attack: was another difficult task for the officers and soldiers of the 59th Army.

Huang Weigang, the commander of the 38th Division, who was in charge of the main attack, immediately led his troops to attack.

They first launched an attack on the Japanese on the west bank of the Yi River.

On the evening of the 25th, after a night of fierce fighting, they took back all the positions occupied by the Japanese on the west bank of the Yi River.

All of a sudden, the Itagaki Seishiro Division lost its foothold on the west bank of the Yi River.

On the morning of the 26th, Itagaki Seishiro, the commander of the division, and Kōsōgai Kōsōgai, the commander of the 10th Division, made the same decision:

Reinforcements!

The Japanese on the two defense lines in the northwest and northeast directions of Xuzhou increased their forces.

A new round of fierce offensive began.

On the 26th, as soon as it dawned, on the Yi River defense line,

The 3rd Battalion of the 21st Regiment of the 21st Brigade of the Japanese 5th Division was sent to seize the west bank position.

Battalion Commander Kondo Yukichika commanded the Japanese of the entire battalion and launched a full-scale attack on Zhang Zizhong's 38th Division position.

It had to be angry during this period:

The entire 5th Division set off from Qingdao and fought all the way.

They had never encountered decent resistance.

Han Fuqu, the chairman of Shandong Province and the deputy commander-in-chief of the Fifth War Zone, had not resisted at all.

The Third Battalion also advanced triumphantly all the way.

As a result, in Linyi, they encountered Pang Bingxun's strong resistance.

After paying a huge price, the 5th Division finally broke Pang Bingxun's bones and tendons.

Just as they were about to achieve their goal and occupy Linyi,

It was this team that suddenly came out and destroyed the 5th Division's good situation.

Not only did they relieve Pang Bingxun's siege, but they also annihilated more than 2,000 Japanese soldiers of the 5th Division.

After the first round of the battle, the 5th Division was completely defeated.

The second round of the Battle of Linyi began on the 23rd.

This time, it was almost the same as last time. They put a lot of effort into defeating Pang Bingxun's army.

As a result, yesterday, they accidentally had all the positions on the west bank taken back by the 38th Division that suddenly emerged.

All the battles of the previous three days were in vain.

The blood of thousands of imperial warriors flowed in vain again.

The current Battalion Commander Kondo Yukichika wished he could eat the heart of the National Revolutionary Army team on the opposite side raw.

Unfortunately, no matter how fierce the Third Battalion's attack was, the National Revolutionary Army on the opposite side would not retreat a single step.

This made Battalion Commander Kondo Yukichika very uncomfortable:

Itagaki Seishiro's Fifth Division has always enjoyed the reputation of the "Steel Army" in the Japanese army.

They are the most capable team among the Japanese infantry.

They were blocked by the same team twice in a row in the same place.

This is equivalent to the same person kneeling in the same pit twice.

How can this be tolerated?

Which can be tolerated! Which cannot be tolerated!

The commander of the 21st Regiment of the Japanese infantry, Katano Sadami, also had the same idea.

In the first Battle of Linyi, the 5th Division specially conducted a review of the battle situation afterwards.

They believed that the west bank of the Yi River was crucial to the occupation of Linyi.

Therefore, they would seize the positions on the west bank of the Yi River at all costs.

Therefore, Katano Sadami, the commander of the 21st Regiment, also strengthened the Second Battalion's attack on the west bank of the Yi River.

Yoshino Akito, the commander of the 2nd Battalion of the Japanese Infantry, received the order and immediately led his troops into the battlefield.

This made Huang Weigang's 38th Division even more difficult to fight.

At the same time, the 5th Division also sent up the reserve team to strengthen the defense of the main position of Pang Bingxun on the east bank of the Yi River.

This time, the Japanese artillery bombarded wildly, and the infantry charged fiercely.

All of a sudden, the position of Pang Bingxun's army, which was already exhausted, was broken through.

The east bank was in danger!

Zhang Zizhong immediately transferred three regiments from the 38th Division to cross the river to seize the position.

He personally led three infantry regiments across the Yi River.

In March, the Yi River was nearly 100 meters wide, the water was knee-deep, and it was icy cold.

The three regiments of the 38th Division crossed the Yi River and launched a fierce attack on the Japanese who had just occupied the main position.

Pang Bingxun's army was able to persist for so long with its tired troops.

This was because his army was good at defense, and even more because their fortifications and trenches were well built.

Now these benefits were all used by the Japanese.

From the beginning, the battle was a close-quarters fight.

Huang Weigang's 38th Division was already having some difficulty facing the attack of the Kondo Yukichika Battalion.

Now, three infantry regiments were taken away again.

And the attacking Japanese added another infantry battalion.

With the ebb and flow of the tide, the Yi River west bank position defended by the 38th Division immediately became precarious.

At this time, Division Commander Itagaki Seishiro had only one idea: the 5th Division attacked in two ways,

The National Revolutionary Army on the opposite side must either give up the west bank of the Yi River or give up the east bank of the Yi River.

Anyway, the Fifth Division is now attacking on both sides, let Zhang Zizhong's commander make a choice himself:

Which side of the position do you want.

Zhang Zizhong confidently made a choice as a man:

He wanted all of them.

When Division Commander Huang Weigang sent all the reserves of the 38th Division to the front line,

The battlefield situation still did not change.

He had to ask Commander Zhang Zizhong for help.

When Huang Weigang's division commander asked for help, Commander Zhang Zizhong still said the five-minute theory:

Under the current situation, our army is difficult, and the Japanese are not doing well either.

As long as your division persists for another five minutes, reinforcements will arrive.

Huang Weigang, who was familiar with the old leader's style, asked one more question: "Which team is coming to reinforce?"

Zhang Zizhong said: "I am sending a regiment to attack the Japanese flanks.

You have to hold on, and when the Japanese flanks are attacked,

The situation on your side will improve."

Division Commander Huang Weigang was anxious: "Commander! What our army needs now is direct reinforcement!

Do I really not have anyone in my hand?"

"No one? Who is talking to me?" Zhang Zizhong roared loudly!

Huang Weigang was speechless all of a sudden.

The meaning of the commander could not be clearer.

He threw down the phone and immediately rushed to the front line to supervise the battle.

Zhang Zizhong, who was just angry, realized the urgency of the situation after saying these words.

He gathered all the logistics soldiers and cooks of the 59th Army.

He joined the last reserve company.

He personally led this assembled team to support Huang Weigang on the west bank of the Yi River.

After rushing to the battlefield, he realized the situation on the position.

It was worse than what Huang Weigang reported.

Every position was being suppressed by the Japanese.

On the Yi River defense line, the Fifth Division of Itagaki Seishiro had the advantage in all aspects.

Strength: The 59th Army had suffered more than 10,000 casualties in the two Battles of Linyi.

Pang Bingxun's army had only more than 1,000 people left.

And the more than 1,000 people under his command could not see the hope of defending and their morale was declining.

The officers and soldiers of the 38th Division were also like this.

At this time, Zhang Zizhong led a team of 500 people to the third category.

These 500 people were not a great force in the face of the attack of two Japanese infantry battalions.

However, the officers and soldiers of the 38th Division were excited to see Commander Zhang Zizhong personally come to the front line of the battle.

Bullets flew past the commander, and shells exploded not far from the commander.

The officers and soldiers of the 38th Division on the west bank of the Yi River were all excited.

Everyone fought bravely to kill the enemy.

They actually repelled the attack of the two Japanese battalions.

Zhang Zizhong did not leave this 500-man reserve team to Division Commander Huang Weigang.

When the situation on the west bank improved slightly, Commander Zhang Zizhong led the 500 people across the Yi River again to support the three infantry regiments fighting for positions with the Japanese on the east bank of the Yi River.

Army Commander Pang Bingxun also personally stood in the middle of the Yi River to supervise the battle, and his more than 1,000 soldiers.

Personally saw Commander Zhang Zizhong leading his men across the Yi River for the third time.

Everyone was encouraged again, shouting and rushing towards the main position on the east bank of the Yi River.

This time, with the joint efforts of the two armies, they finally took back the positions on the east bank of the Yi River.

Xu Zuyi urgently requested rescue from the Fifth War Zone.

On the 26th, the battle for the Yi River finally barely survived for a day at the cost of more than 2,000 casualties in the 59th Army.

According to the plan of the Japanese base camp: the 5th Division and the 10th Division were to jointly attack Taierzhuang.

Now the 5th Division was blocked by Pang Bingxun's Second Army and Zhang Zizhong's 50th Army in Linyi.

It was of no help to the 10th Division's attack on Taierzhuang.

However, Division Commander Kōsōgai Kōsōgai of the Japanese 10th Division never thought that he needed the help of the 5th Division.

Now it has continued to increase its forces in the direction of Taierzhuang.

On March 26, 1938, Taierzhuang continued to be in chaos.

The officers and soldiers of the 186th Regiment were still fighting the Japanese who were entrenched in Taierzhuang house by house.

The road for these Japanese to retreat back had been blocked: the north gate and the gap in the stockade wall had been blocked.

These Japanese were surrounded in Taierzhuang.

However, these Japanese were like roundworms in their stomachs, constantly struggling.

They gathered together, not only did they not retreat back, but they continued to attack the middle of Taierzhuang.

The north side of Taierzhuang was like a rising and falling tide.

The Japanese rushed over for a while, and the 186th Regiment rushed over for a while.

Wang Weixin was a veteran of the 186th Regiment.

Just now, when the Japanese rushed over, he was too focused on shooting.

He was separated from the team.

Seeing the Japanese rushing over.

Wang Weixin had to hide in a dark room next to him.

He watched dozens of Japanese rush into the house in front.

Wang Weixin could only hide in the dark room, patiently waiting without moving.

Twenty minutes later, he saw dozens of Japanese retreat again in a hurry.

This was because his team had increased its strength here and pushed the Japanese back.

Wang Weixin was still waiting: he had to wait for his team to appear at the door before he could go out.

Maybe there were Japanese hiding in the dark and shooting black guns!

Before he waited for the officers and soldiers of the 186th Regiment to attack,

But he saw a lagging Japanese