The Flames of Resistance Against Japan in Jiangnan

The chief of staff gave a very disappointed answer!

"Where would those poor Red Army soldiers get any money?"

As the two were grumbling, a group of Zhejiang soldiers suddenly rushed out of the mountain pass and ran wildly in their direction, with a dense swarm of Red Army soldiers chasing after them.

The chief of staff took a closer look and was taken aback. He turned to his superior and shouted:

"Commander, it seems the First Regiment has been ambushed and suffered considerable losses!"

"Liu Xianren, now you're getting your comeuppance for eating all that food by yourself!"

Chen Tiexia, the commander of the Second Regiment, began to gloat and make sarcastic remarks, but then suddenly realized:

"Order the troops to deploy on the spot and prepare for battle!"

Overall, the Zhejiang Army's combat quality was quite strong. After the order was given, the soldiers, under the command of their officers, quickly occupied advantageous terrain nearby, eyeing their unfortunate comrades who were running towards them with predatory intent. Some seasoned soldiers even joked:

"Brothers, are we training for a long-distance run?"

"Damn it, didn't you see the Red Army chasing us?"

One of the defeated soldiers ran and cursed:

"Only grandsons train for long-distance running."

Just as the commander of the enemy's 2nd Regiment was about to order his troops to clear a path for the defeated soldiers, the chief of staff leaned over and whispered in his ear:

"The Red Army is chasing us too closely; I'm afraid they'll follow us and storm our position!"

"Order them to go from both sides and assemble behind the position!"

The commander of the enemy's second regiment thought this made sense and quickly ordered his men to prepare to shout a message.

The adjutant hurriedly summoned several loud-voiced soldiers to the front of the position and shouted at the top of his lungs to the Zhejiang soldiers who had already run up to him:

"Brothers of the Second Regiment, Commander Chen has ordered you to retreat from both sides to the rear of the position and assemble!"

Surprisingly, these defeated soldiers were quite obedient, obediently splitting up and retreating to both sides. The adjutant, standing on the position, watched them gleefully as they made their way around, completely unaware that the soldiers had subtly dispersed and were heading towards various firing positions; he was only concerned with taunting them:

"Serves you right for stealing the credit; now you know fear!"

The pursuing Red Army troops paused briefly, nimbly assuming an attack stance, but hesitated to launch an attack. Chen Tiexia smiled coldly and instructed his adjutant:

"Order the artillery company to set up their positions and open fire immediately. Blast these poor bastards apart! The Second Battalion will then launch an attack. Today I'm going to leave them all here; not a single one of them will escape!"

"Yes, Commander."

After agreeing, the adjutant turned and rushed towards the mortar company behind the position. The Zhejiang army's fighting strength was now comparable to that of the Central Army. Now, fighting on their own small territory, this tiger was even more determined to wreak havoc.

Whenever the battle situation was critical and on the verge of despair, the battalion commander and regimental commander would go into battle shirtless, leading the suicide squad to supervise the battle and charge. This was often the Zhejiang Army's secret weapon to defeat the enemy and turn the tide of the battle. After receiving the order, Zhen Zhengtang, the battalion commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 2nd Regiment, hurriedly organized the charge formation and waited for the sound of artillery fire to lead the team to attack.

Strangely, half an hour passed without the artillery firing. The impatient enemy regimental commander paced back and forth on the position, about to send someone back to scout, when suddenly he heard the booming sound of artillery shells. He snapped to attention, raised his pistol, and shouted:

"Brothers, charge as soon as the gunfire stops! Anyone who dares to back down, my bullets won't discriminate!"

"Commander, just you wait and see, we'll definitely capture a Red Army woman and send her to you!"

Unfortunately, fate was unkind. The first to suffer a devastating blow were the confident Zhejiang Army, not the Red Army, whom they had assumed would be attacked. No sooner had his men finished expressing their resolve than a shell screamed and exploded near Zhen Zhengtang, sending over a dozen White Army soldiers flying. He too was thrown about, staggering and falling to the ground. Before he could even get up, he burst into a tirade of curses:

"You sons of gunners, you want to put a memorial tablet for your grandpa?"

"Commander, something's wrong! That's artillery fire from the Red Army's direction!"

His subordinates reminded him:

"Quickly scatter and take cover!"

Before he could react, shells of all sizes rained down on the newly assembled attack force of the 2nd Battalion of the 2nd Regiment. The flashes of the bombs as they landed turned the gloomy sky crimson. The continuous explosions blasted the Zhejiang Army's position to smithereens. Amidst the flashing flames, sand, dirt, and snow flew everywhere, and torn clothes, shoes, and hats danced in the air. The enemy regimental commander watched helplessly as his chief of staff, not far from him, was torn apart by the exploding shells. Tiny pieces of flesh slammed powerfully against his helmet with a crackling sound. The deputy battalion commander's legs rolled silently to the bottom of the crater like two black tree stumps. The rest of his body, shattered by the explosions, splattered a large area of ​​radiating red spots on the snow. Zhen Zhengtang was filled with grief at the tragic death of his comrade. He ordered his guards and himself to collect the chief of staff's body. The enemy battalion commander had just stood up from behind the mound when a burst of sharp machine gun fire turned his exposed upper body into a spray of blood!

As the white fog and thick smoke dissipated, Chen Tiexia, the commander of the 2nd Regiment of the White Army, stationed in the middle of the position, was ashen-faced with anxiety. Through his binoculars, he saw scattered fragments of corpses blown to pieces and wisps of clothing smoking on the wide expanse of snow ahead. Looking around, he saw black dots billowing smoke and clusters of flames enveloping the snowfield. A sense of desolation filled his heart.

The deafening bugle call roused Chen Tiexia from his grief. He saw a large number of Red Army soldiers charging across the vast wreckage under the cover of light and heavy machine guns and mortars, passing through clouds of snow and mist stirred up by the explosions, and suddenly appearing at the front line. Only then did the remaining Zhejiang soldiers hastily raise their guns and begin to return fire in twos and threes. Leading the charge was the new recruit battalion of the 59th Regiment of the 19th Division of the Red Army. Upon seeing this, they quickly lay down and crawled forward to a point twenty or thirty meters away from the position. The battalion commander stood up and threw a grenade at the enemy, shouting, "Throw grenades!" The soldiers then threw grenades one after another. In an instant, the sound of explosions, shouts, and smoke mingled together, shattering the silence of the snowy day.

Suddenly, the Zhejiang army's machine guns roared from a nearby mound, and several soldiers were unfortunately hit. Battalion Commander Ma Zhanyun glared at the enemy's firing point with bloodshot eyes and shouted the order:

"Company Commander, lead your men to outflank the enemy from behind. Take them out!"

Before the 3rd Company Commander could lead his men into action, gunfire erupted from behind the enemy lines, growing increasingly intense. The enemy forces attacking from the front panicked. Seizing the opportunity, Ma Zhanyun took the lead, brandishing his broadsword, leaping to his feet, and shouting the order:

"Fix bayonets and charge forward!"

Amidst the smoke of exploding grenades, a fierce hand-to-hand combat ensued, with the battalion commander killing several enemies in succession. Exhausted and panting heavily, he was suddenly attacked by a bandit soldier who lunged at him with a gun. Luckily, he reacted quickly and dodged to the side, but felt a tingling sensation in his nose. Touching it, he found his face covered in blood, but thankfully, his nose was still intact.