Devil's Army

This time, the Japanese attack was more ferocious and their numbers far exceeded anything Captain Pei had experienced before, but they were still repelled.

Captain Pei began to doubt whether his idea was wrong.

After the First Army's planes returned, the Japanese troops began to gather near Wangchanggou at around 3:00 p.m.

The battalion commander didn't know whether the Japanese artillery unit was destroyed by their air force, or whether only one platoon was left to guard it while the rest of the troops retreated.

Sure enough, the caution of a battalion commander saved the lives of most of the soldiers in their battalion.

After the First Army's planes appeared, all Japanese artillery stopped firing and hid in the woods, so they were not destroyed by the First Army's Air Force.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, after the Japanese infantry had assembled, the artillery began to bombard Wangchanggou fiercely.

The Wangchanggou position was suddenly filled with flying sand, rocks and dust.

The soldiers of the first company of the first battalion had taken advantage of the time when the Japanese were repelled by their counterattack to consolidate their fortifications and dug anti-artillery holes on the reverse slope of the trench.

This allowed a row of soldiers to survive the fierce artillery attack by the Japanese army.

The Japanese artillery bombardment had not yet completely stopped, and the infantry began to attack.

The Japanese artillery bombardment stopped completely, and the infantry began to charge forward at an accelerated speed like mad bulls.

The battalion commander ordered the remaining soldiers of the company to enter the trenches, and at the same time ordered the battalion's mortars to fiercely bombard the attacking Japanese infantry.

Captain Pei also led a group of guerrillas into the trench to help block the Japanese attack.

Although some of the charging Japanese soldiers were constantly falling down due to mortar bombardment, the others who were not hit continued to attack the Wangchanggou position like crazy.

The soldiers in the first row resisted with great difficulty.

Fortunately, the first company and other soldiers entered the trench in time, and Captain Pei also led a part of the guerrillas into the trench.

The dense barrage of bullets and grenades suddenly stopped the Japanese attack.

However, the Japanese infantry who were contained did not retreat, but stayed where they were and continued to fire at the Wangchanggou position.

Immediately afterwards, the Japanese artillery began bombing again.

The company of soldiers in the trench and the Lubei guerrillas had to squeeze into the narrow anti-artillery holes to avoid the artillery fire.

The Japanese army's follow-up infantry also rushed up. The infantry that stayed in place and the follow-up infantry launched an attack on the Wangchanggou position, risking being accidentally hit by their own artillery fire.

The soldiers of the first company and the guerrillas of Lubei hiding in the riot shelter heard the report from the observation post and hurriedly climbed out under the fire to stop the Japanese army. But by then the Japanese army was already very close to the position.

Some Japanese soldiers began to rush up to the position, throwing grenades into the trenches and fighting at close range.

The company commander ordered everyone to charge and engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Japanese army.

The Lubei guerrillas, who lacked combat training, suffered a great disadvantage in the hand-to-hand combat, and many of them were stabbed and fell.

Two Japanese soldiers raised their guns and stabbed Captain Pei in the chest.

A soldier from the company knocked Captain Pei down, but the two Japanese bayonets also pierced his body.

Before falling, the soldier detonated a grenade and let two Japanese soldiers take the blame for him.

The commander of the first battalion ordered the mortar troops to continue bombarding the attacking Japanese infantry and sent the second company to provide support.

The mortars blocked the continued advance of Japanese infantry reinforcements.

This wave of Japanese attack was repelled by the hand-to-hand combat of the First Company, but only 38 people were left in the First Company and the Lubei Guerrilla Company, including the wounded.

The deputy company commander and three platoon leaders of the first company were killed in battle at the front line of the Wangchanggou position.

The captain of the third company looked at the few men left in the first company and said to the commander of the first battalion:

"Captain, we can't go on like this. We only have so many people left in one day."

"What's your idea?"

"Captain Pei has been fighting guerrilla warfare in this area for a long time, so he should be familiar with this place. I will lead my men to destroy his artillery position tonight."

"At least a battalion of Japanese soldiers came from the foot of the mountain. You only have one company. How difficult is it to destroy their artillery positions?"

"I'll act according to the situation. If I can take down his artillery position, I'll do it. If I can't, I'll just harass them."

"Battalion Commander, I am very familiar with this area. I will ensure that the third company commander and his men are brought back safely." Captain Pei lost so many of his team members in the afternoon, and he also wanted revenge.

At this point, the battalion commander had no choice but to tell them:

"Be careful. I will arrange artillery to attack them and divert their attention. You leave quickly. Search in the northwest direction. The Japanese artillery shells are coming from that direction."

"Yes!" The third company commander saluted the first battalion commander and went down with Captain Pei to make preparations.

An hour later, the mortar soldiers of the first battalion were ordered to move quietly to the vicinity of the Japanese camp, suddenly and violently bombed the Japanese camp, and then quickly retreated.