While fierce battles were raging in Xikou, Guchongkou and other places, Japanese attacks were taking place simultaneously on various mountain trails leading to Maoliangwu from Changshan to Quzhou to Longyou and Jiande. However, compared to the road connecting the two places, the mountain roads in other places are rugged and bumpy. Most of them are the kind of sheep intestines that are stepped one step at a time or even filled with mud and can only be walked by one person. The heavy firepower equipment of the Japanese army cannot be transported up at all. Even the infantry artillery can only be dismantled and carried on the backs of the artillerymen, and the artillery shells can only be carried one by each baggage soldier. The logistical pressure can be imagined. Faced with the layer-by-layer blocking of the Second and Third Divisions of the New Second Army, there are also those unscrupulous artillery that have long been trying to find ways to move to various fortifications, as well as 105 mm, 120 mm and even 150 mm mortars specially cast for defense. With the coverage of artillery strikes, the Japanese army would be in tragedy without their firepower advantage. The defenders occupied a high position and had an unobstructed view within a few hundred meters of the surrounding area. A single artillery shell could kill a dozen Japanese soldiers. Often, the Japanese infantry artillery would be hit by artillery shells fired from a high position just after it was assembled and before firing. They were all blown to pieces together. Not to mention that a single machine gun in these places can block the crossing, even if the Japanese army has more troops. In this kind of place where one man is in control and ten thousand others are blocked, although the Japanese army is very active, they are basically unable to make any progress, and the lives of countless Japanese soldiers are wasted. In just one week, the total number of deaths from various ministries that Okamura Neiji received has exceeded the five thousand mark. For a moment, he was anxious and angry, and even his beloved tea set was broken. "General, send a tank regiment directly under the army! The tanks will be useless after entering the mountainous area anyway, so we will use them to deal with the New Second Army at Xikou and Guchongkou A week has passed now, and each The divisions have not made any progress. Both our Eleventh Army and the front army are under tremendous pressure. We must make a breakthrough today and tomorrow!" In the Eleventh Army headquarters, Major General Aoki Shigemako, chief of staff, stood. Behind him, Neji Okamura put forward his suggestion with a stern expression. Okamura Neiji looked up at the map and did not respond to Major General Aoki's suggestion. Instead, he asked: "Chief of Staff, how many lines of defense do you think the New Second Army can build from Xikou and Guchongkou?" Major General Aoki He was stunned for a moment and said with some uncertainty: "It must be indispensable! After all, Wu Ming has been operating here for many years, and judging from the response from various ministries, almost all the defenses of the New Second Army are made of reinforced concrete. Compared with those years ago, I don¡¯t know how much stronger the defense fortifications in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are!¡± ¡°I even suspect that as early as the war in Songhu broke out, Wu Ming might have anticipated that the war would spread to western Zhejiang, so he built these fortifications and bunkers in advance! " "You're right!" Okamura Neiji nodded and turned to Aoki Shigemai: "So dispatching a tank regiment is actually not the best choice After all, there are a large number of Chinese troops on both sides of the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Railway. They exist, they are like dark mice, they will drill out of holes at any time to make small moves. That is the most suitable stage for the chariot to perform. " "Compared to the hard battle that will follow, these difficulties are just an appetizer. In fact, I am more interested in it! I like the New Second Army to stick to Xikou and Guchongkou, so that they can consume more of their troops. In the end, they will kill all the people and they will have no troops to send. By then, victory will be a matter of course." Major General Aoki was so surprised that he couldn't open his mouth from ear to ear! : "General, what you mean is to use Xikou and Guchongkou as bait to force the New Second Army to continuously increase its troops and then consume them!" "Yo Xi!" Okamura Neiji waved his hand heavily: "I am now The only thing I'm worried about is whether Wu Ming will be fooled In order to strengthen the firepower of the front-line troops, I decided to transfer the 7th Independent Field Artillery Brigade that just arrived in Zhaoxian Town yesterday, and then pull the divisions up to fight in turns I I don¡¯t believe that the New Second Army, which has been cut off from foreign aid, can withstand the huge consumption!¡± ¡°Order the 16th Division to temporarily retreat to Zhaoxian Town, and the 6th Division will take over the offensive burden! After the 101st Division was in place, it retreated to the Tianma Village and Waigang Village south of Ruoling to rest and recuperate" ###### Halfway up the Shibabu Gang, more than 400 meters south of Fangcun Town, Xin Provisional headquarters of the Second Army. "The chief of staff called and the ammunition required for each defense line has been basically replenished!" "The intelligence department reported that the Japanese troops confronting our army at Xikou and Guchongkou are slowly retreating!" "The call came from the Ninth Brigade of the Dusan Division. "The Japanese troops on the front line of Dayuan Mountain north of Shiliang Town have stopped attacking and retreated to Paixitou!" "The reconnaissance force called, and the Japanese army once again strengthened the vigilance at Quzhou Airport. In the afternoon, more than 20 planes landed at the airport!" Chief of Staff! Dai Ziran looked at Wu Ming after reporting. "Well, I got it!" Wu Ming looked at the map and saidHe nodded. "Report!" A staff officer came over with two telegrams that had just been received. Dai Ziran took a look at the telegram and his expression changed: "It turns out that the retreat of the Japanese army was just a change of defense, and a large number of Japanese troops have already entered the position and started preparations for a new round of attack!" Wu Ming frowned and signaled Dai Ziran to continue. . "The Fourth Brigade of the Second Division and the Third Brigade of the Independent Division called respectively. The Japanese army brought a large number of heavy artillery this time, including even 150 mm caliber artillery, which poses a huge threat to our defense line!" Dai Ziran looked solemnly. Taking a breath of cold air, Wu Ming pondered for a moment and made a decisive decision: "We can no longer fight hard at Xikou and Guchongkou where the terrain is relatively flat After this week, although the Japanese army suffered heavy losses, at least two of our regiments were gone. , the air defense firepower loss is also huge! Order the air defense troops to evacuate in advance as planned and strengthen the third line of defense! The troops who have withdrawn from the first line will rest in Fangcun, and the defense below will be left to the friendly forces! " Dai Ziran recorded Wu Ming's order and turned to leave. Wu Ming looked up at the map and poked the peaks south of Fangcun with his finger: "Little devil, I'm just afraid you won't come! I don't believe it, your cannons can still unleash their power once you've entered the mountains I want to be here at Thousand Miles Hill. In the mountainous area, we will fight a tough battle like Shangganling! I will kill as many as I come!" ###### At three o'clock in the afternoon on August 25, Changshan Xikou. The Japanese Sixth Division, which had completed its defense change, had no intention of resting at all. It concentrated the Sixth and Sixteenth Field Artillery Regiments, as well as a regiment of sixteen 150 mm caliber heavy artillery from the Seventh Field Heavy Artillery Brigade. , shelling the Xikou defense line held by the defenders. The bombardment lasted for half an hour, and then the Japanese artillery fire began to extend. After a week of hard fighting, most of the front-line positions had collapsed. Emergency bells rang, and heavy machine guns were once again sent from the mountain to the shooting bunkers by elevators. The bullet chain gleamed coldly in the sunlight. After the artillery fire of the Sixth Division extended, the 45th Infantry Regiment quickly crossed the stream and moved towards the garrison position in a skirmish line. Colonel Junhisa Ikeda, the commander of the regiment who was personally on the front line to command the operation, put his command knife on his shoulder and continued to Wave forward and order the soldiers to capture the garrison position at all costs! Fully learning from the previous experience and lessons of the 16th Division, the Ikeda Regiment spread its skirmisher line widely. The three brigades of one regiment were divided into three attack waves. The strength of each wave covered the entire defense line. . The Japanese soldiers rushed over like locusts. At the front of the Japanese charge formation, hundreds of sergeants took off their shirts, held rifles with bayonets on them, and shouted to advance quickly. "Ta-ta-ta¡ª¡ª" The light and heavy machine guns on the defender's position began to spit out tongues of fire, blood spurted out wantonly, and the Japanese soldiers who were shot kept falling to the ground. However, the Japanese always kept a firm pace, faced the bullets fired by the officers and soldiers of the New Second Army with complete disregard for their lives, and successfully reached a hundred meters away from the defenders' position. At a distance of 100 meters, experienced officers and soldiers can hit the opponent with almost no need to aim. Therefore, the Japanese army launched several forced attacks and ended in failure. Not to be outdone, the Japanese army began to use the craters formed by continuous shelling for a week and the sand falling after the explosion of the artillery shells. The mound formed by the accumulation of small rocks into large piles, and the officers and soldiers of the New Second Army exchanged fire. Because the New Second Army was condescending and had a wider shooting angle, the Japanese had to pile up the corpses of their companions to serve as cover. The grenades fired by the Japanese grenades and the grenades fired by the defenders' grenades and mortars crossed in the air. , and then each pounced on their opponent and exploded in the crowd. Over the past week, the three regiments of the Fourth Brigade of the Second Division have basically rotated their positions twice. The officers and soldiers of the Second Regiment responsible for defense today were constantly being hit in the fierce exchanges with the Japanese army. The Japanese infantrymen set up on the river bank The guns and grenades caused a large number of casualties to the officers and soldiers of the Second Regiment. The battle lasted for two hours. The second regiment was basically crippled, and the third regiment was forced to enter the position early. In the end, the division's artillery regiment had to go all out to cover the Japanese army, and finally the brave sixth division was defeated. repel. At night, the bonfire set up in front of the position burned, which was lit to prevent the Japanese army from attacking at night. The Japanese artillery had repeatedly bombarded these eye-catching bonfires at night, but not long after the bombardment stopped, firewood soaked in gasoline was thrown out of the trenches, and soon the piles of firewood were covered with torches thrown from the trenches. It was ignited and the light was restored again. After twenty or thirty times in a row, the Japanese artillery never did such useless work again. In the trench more than 20 meters behind the bonfire, a scarecrow wearing the uniform of the New Second Army was erected. On the top of Qianwang Mountain more than 400 meters to the north, the three commanders of the Fourth Brigade had tears on their faces, although they knew The purpose of retreating is to better attack the enemy, but seeing the position that has been held for a week is goneThe army was lost and more than a thousand officers and soldiers died on the battlefield. Everyone felt bad. At six o'clock in the morning the next day, at dawn, the Japanese troops, who had had a night's rest, shelled the defenders' positions again. In order to show their determination to seize the position, the Japanese army bombarded the position for an hour at a stretch. They saw that all the bunkers on the entire mountain were torn down, and most of the machine gun bunkers exposed yesterday collapsed. Lieutenant General Inaba Shiro, commander of the 6th Division, had the effect of the bombardment. Very satisfied, he ordered the troops to attack decisively. As a result, the Japanese army gained only empty positions. Those bunkers and fortifications with mechanisms were detonated by landmines stepped on by the Japanese army. Hundreds of tons of explosives exploded, and the entire mountain trembled violently. By the time the explosion was over, the Japanese army had once again sacrificed two to three hundred lives. However, on the positions that were three hundred meters deep in front and back, there was not even a corpse of an officer or soldier of the New Second Army. This seemed to have been the result of tens of thousands of artillery shells hitting the little devils. Empty ones are best ridiculed. However, Lieutenant General Inaba, who has deep experience in serving as an official, naturally would not admit his failure. He leaned on his saber and stood on the top of the mountain more than 200 meters above sea level. He saw the mountains and green mountains in front of him and asked Chief of Staff Ishikawa. Colonel Kozaburo's oral report of the victory: "The first obstacle to entering the hinterland of Qianligang has been overcome by the heroic 6th Division of the Imperial Japanese Army. Our troops will continue to work hard and move forward, striving to be the first to enter Maoliangwu." , capture Wu Ming alive.