Devil's Army

At this time, the Japanese Hata Detachment and Marine Corps that had already landed were like rats in a bellows.

The attack continued in depth towards Gutang, but was effectively blocked by the reserve troops of the 11th Division and was also subjected to continuous bombardment by a group of heavy artillery.

It was still early in the morning, and their planes and warships had no way to provide artillery support. They could only rely on the Japanese artillery on Xiaogushan to provide artillery support.

Retreat, with the surging Poyang Lake behind them. They have not yet learned to behave like turtles with their tails between their legs.

Without the threat from the Japanese air, Deputy Battalion Commander He returned as many of the captured Japanese 105mm cannon shells as possible to the Japanese.

The Japanese Tada Detachment and Marines that had already landed suffered heavy casualties and were suffering terribly.

In order to preserve strength, Major General Shigekazu Hata had to order the landing ships to take the already landed Hata Detachment and Marines back to the other side of Poyang Lake under a barrage of artillery fire.

The government forces successfully blocked the sneak attack by the Japanese Hata Detachment.

The officers and soldiers of the 11th Reserve Division cheered on the battlefield, as they had stopped the Japanese attack. But the cheers did not last long.

After daybreak, more than 11 Japanese Air Force planes took advantage of the fact that the Chinese defenders had no anti-aircraft weapons and strafed and bombed the positions of the th Reserve Division at low altitude.

On the river, the Japanese army's large-caliber naval guns continued to bombard the positions of the Gutang 11th Division.

The Japanese artillery positions on Xiaogushan also continued to bombard the positions of the 11th Division in Gutang.

The Hata Detachment on the opposite side of Poyang Lake gathered a new group of landing craft, gunboats and small motorboats and carried out another forced landing on Gutang.

The officers and soldiers of the 11th Division desperately resisted the Japanese landing, and suffered heavy casualties under the bombing of the Japanese army on land, sea and air. They kept asking Zhang Fakui for help.

Zhang Fakui urged the 15th Division and the 118th Division to move closer to the Gutang position of the 11th Reserve Division.

However, the 15th and 118th Divisions of the government army were blocked on the way to the rescue by Japanese warships and artillery fire from Xiaogushan, and were unable to move closer to the Gutang position.

At this time, Deputy Battalion Commander He of the 11st Artillery Regiment was in a dilemma. Firing could severely damage the Japanese landing troops and give the th Division a chance to catch its breath. It could also buy time for the surrounding reinforcements. But at the same time, it would expose their position and be devastated by the Japanese bombers.

At this time, Commander Okamura Neiji, a China expert and commander of the 11th Army of the Central China Expeditionary Army, sent the Japanese th Division to successfully land at Gutang.

Zhang Fakui urgently ordered the 4th, 10th, 12th and 25th Divisions of the surrounding 60th Army to block the Japanese army's attack on Gutang. However, they were fiercely bombarded by Japanese aircraft, naval guns and Xiaogushan heavy artillery, resulting in heavy casualties.

The 11th Reserve Division was in danger of being surrounded and annihilated by the Japanese Hata Detachment and the th Division.

At the critical moment of the 11th Division's life and death, Deputy Battalion Commander He of the st Artillery Regiment sent a final telegram to Battalion Commander Wang of the Artillery Regiment:

"The Japanese Army's Hata Detachment and the Sixth Division are besieging the 11th Division. The 11th Division is in danger of being completely destroyed. My troops are willing to take the risk to save it. From now on, I can't be with you, brother. I hope you can help me drive out the Japanese pirates and return my country to me!"

Deputy Battalion Commander He ordered the artillerymen operating the 150mm howitzers to retreat immediately and report to Battalion Commander Wang in Dehua County. He also asked the artillery observers to report the Japanese bombing targets.

Because at this time the 150mm howitzer regiment had no more shells, and they would only be buried with the dead if they stayed here.

The fourteen artillerymen bid farewell to Deputy Battalion Commander He and his men in tears and rushed to Dehua County.

The artillery observer of the 1st Regiment knew the consequences of firing under the bombing of dozens of Japanese planes, but he still followed the orders of Deputy Battalion Commander He without hesitation.

The Japanese Hata Detachment, which was about to advance into the position of the 11th Reserve Division, was suddenly attacked by three 105mm cannon shells. The formation was disrupted and a large number of soldiers fell down.

Then came another wave of bombing, and the attack of the Hata Detachment was forcibly suppressed.

At this time, the Japanese 6th Division pressed forward from both sides, and it seemed that it would replace the Hata Detachment as the main attacking force.

At this time, a Japanese plane had discovered the artillery position of the regiment. They gave up bombing the government troops who were resisting and flew towards the artillery position of the regiment instead.

A wave of 105mm cannon shells hit the Japanese 11th Division which was attacking vigorously on the left side of the th Reserve Division.

The attacking Japanese 105th Division was stunned by the explosion. From the sound of explosions and the whistling of shells, it sounded like their Type mm cannon. Did their artillery bomb by mistake?

Another wave of bombing followed, and the successive explosions of cannon shells killed and injured many Japanese soldiers, weakening the offensive momentum of the Japanese Sixth Division.

At this time, a Japanese plane also flew over the artillery position of a regiment, lowered its flying altitude, and began to drop bombs and fire.

Aerial bombs began to fall on the artillery positions of a regiment, and the artillerymen of the regiment operating the artillery began to suffer casualties.

At this time, the 11th Reserve Division was still entangled by the reinforcements on the right side of the Japanese th Division and had no way to retreat from the battlefield.

Deputy Battalion Commander He quickly adjusted the muzzle of the gun under the bombing of Japanese planes, preparing to bomb the Japanese 11th Division on the right side of the th Division. However, as more and more artillerymen fell, the manpower was obviously insufficient, and it became increasingly difficult to operate the artillery.

Suddenly, a scene that made Deputy Battalion Commander He burst into tears appeared.