Devil's Army

After transporting the first batch of officers and soldiers across the Huaihe River, the Huaihe River Navy quickly returned to the north bank to transport the second batch of officers and soldiers across the Huaihe River.

The heavy responsibility of suppressing the Japanese artillery fire fell on the artillery of the 5th and 15th Brigades.

The second group of officers and soldiers of the First Army who crossed the river carried more rocket launchers to suppress the Japanese firepower on the beachhead.

However, the Japanese army dug many trenches and barbed wire on the beachhead, and built bunkers on high ground, strafing the exposed beachhead from a high position.

The officers and soldiers of the 5th Brigade advanced very slowly.

The battle lasted for nearly an hour, and four groups of soldiers from the 5th Brigade who had crossed the Huai River were suppressed by the Japanese army in a narrow area on the south bank of the Huai River.

The artillery of the 5th Brigade concentrated its firepower and fiercely bombarded the Japanese fortifications and bunkers in Xiaobengbu.

The two gunboats also fiercely bombarded the Japanese army's barbed wire, stakes and other obstacles on the Xiaobengbu beach, blasting out a passage.

The soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 1st Regiment, 5th Brigade, who were suppressed in a narrow area on the south bank of the Huai River, jumped up and rushed towards the Japanese positions shouting.

The rocket soldiers who followed up continued to bombard the Japanese machine gun fire points.

The Japanese firepower was suppressed, and a battalion commander took the lead and led his soldiers to attack the Japanese positions.

At this moment, a stray bullet hit the battalion commander in the lower abdomen, and the battalion commander staggered and fell down.

A soldier wanted to help the battalion commander go back for treatment, but the battalion commander pushed him away and pointed ahead and said:

"rush!"

The battalion commander knew that only by suppressing the Japanese firepower and rushing forward would they be safe.

After a battalion of officers and soldiers fought bravely, they finally captured the Japanese beachhead position in Xiaobengbu.

The deputy battalion commander then led the soldiers to consolidate the beachhead position and continue to advance deeper.

As the saying goes, "South of the Yangtze River is made of paper, but southern Anhui is made of iron." The Japanese army built multiple defensive fortifications along the slopes and villages along the Xiaobengbu area, stubbornly blocking the attack of the first battalion.

A deputy battalion commander led his soldiers in a battle with the Japanese army for each fortification, and the battle progressed slowly.

The Japanese then launched a counterattack with concentrated artillery fire, attempting to drive the 1st Battalion back to Huaibei. However, the 1st Battalion had already established a firm foothold on the Huainan beachhead and stubbornly resisted the Japanese counterattack with various fortifications.

After the First Battalion used their flesh and blood to block the Japanese counterattack, the Second Battalion also successfully crossed the Huai River and rushed to reinforce.

The two battalions launched an attack on the Japanese fortifications from the front and flanks.

Xiaobengbu is an important transportation hub in the middle and lower reaches of the Huaihe River and an important transportation point on the Jinpu Railway.

The Japanese army built a gun tower 1000 meters southeast of Zhoutaizi Village, Caolaoji Town, Huaishang District, Bengbu City, right next to the west side of the Beijing-Shanghai Railway embankment.

The watchtower is a brick-concrete structure with three and a half stories and a basement. The third floor is a perimeter wall, and the protruding first floor is a square watchtower. Firing holes are evenly distributed on the walls surrounding the watchtower.

There is a moat nearly 200 meters away from the outer perimeter of the artillery tower.

The Japanese army built fortifications on the side of the moat and resisted the attacks of the first and second battalions.

The Japanese mortars on the artillery tower could bombard the attacking soldiers of the first and second battalions from a high position.

However, the rocket soldiers of the first and second battalions were unable to attack the Japanese artillery tower because they were out of range.

By this time, more than two hours had passed since the battle began, and the mist in the Huai River gradually dissipated.

The air force of the First Army's Dangshan Airport also took off and rushed to the front line to support the battles in various places.

At the request of the First Regiment, two bombers and one fighter from the First Army flew to Xiaobengbu to provide reinforcements.