Chapter 5: Bloody Battle at Duzhitou Town 4
Under the leadership of Deputy General Xu, the 223rd Regiment defeated the Kuomintang's elite cavalry unit that was stuck in the muddy and rotten ground. The Kuomintang's three-way pincer attack suddenly became a single-sided attack on both wings, lacking coordination. In the eyes of Wu Zhengde, who quickly grasped the situation, this was a delicious dish! According to his intention, it meant devouring the two wings of 2,300-4,000 people and opening up two encircled units. Moreover, they might take advantage of the opportunity to launch a surprise attack and rapidly break through the enemy's defense line.
After the stability was displayed, the three main military officers in the army were bombarded with cannon fire, and the hot trajectory constantly rubbed against the cold and humid air. The shells exploded on the ground, and at the moment of explosion, a pile of splashing mud and that shocking momentum rose up. The continuous explosion of flames illuminated the battlefield from time to time. Even the extremely cold rain and snow could not cover the choking gunpowder in the air here.
It was at this time that several leaders of the 25th Army were still arguing in the temporary command center. Because Xu, the deputy commander who had already withdrawn the rear guard troops to come and support the front line, knew that with two pursuing wolves behind him and two blocking dogs in front of him, he still wanted to go and annihilate the enemy rather than letting the troops quickly withdraw. Even if they could eliminate a part of the enemy, it would cause the troops to suffer a severe blow from the enemy's pincer attack.
The blushful and ear-red quarrel made the army commander in between embarrassed, "after all, they are all comrades who are truly for the revolution, and what they say is very reasonable." As a result, with the arrival of reinforcements from the Red Army and the Nationalist Party, the battle line was held back, and the Nationalist Party troops, which had lost nearly one-quarter of their strength, became increasingly weak in their attacks. However, they still had the ability to attack and were not willing to lose face and the "merit" that was within reach, allowing Li Guang's head to intervene from behind.
Moreover, the loss of the cavalry regiment was not particularly severe. After gathering the scattered soldiers, Wu Ankou was delighted to find that he had lost more than 300 good men, over half of his horses, and some guns and ammunition. However, most importantly, his troops still had nearly 400 people left. If they could win this battle, no one would hold him responsible for his defeat.
Because of Xu Haidong, the commander-in-chief of the Central First Corps, and his familiarity with the Red 25th Army's battle in Duzhuan, Gao Quan naturally knew that this brutal battle, although the Red Army later broke out of the enemy's encirclement, had resulted in heavy casualties for the troops. At some point, Gao Quan, who possessed the bravery of his original body, relied on his instincts as a soldier to quickly advance through the muddy craters. As someone with a little experience in military history, he naturally knew that the possibility of another shell hitting the same spot where the previous one exploded was very small, so he boldly jumped between the craters. The bullets whizzing past his ears and the scorching air still made Gao Quan, who had borrowed "bravery", lower his head slightly, and even break out in a cold sweat on his forehead.
"Damn it, why do the heroes in books and movies always dodge bullets! Even if they get hit, it's just a few drops of blood!" Gaoduan jumped forward while carefully observing the corpses along the way, some from the Red Army, others from the Nationalist Party, with severed heads, limbs blown off by cannonballs, their faces twisted in agony, and blood dripping continuously into the muddy swamp, filling the earth with patches of bright red, it's hard to tell if it's human blood or the tears of China!
Although the Kuomintang had set up many strong fortifications in Dushu Town, despite the Kuomintang's powerful military strength, after dispersing to both wings for attack and defense, except for logistics personnel, the Kuomintang, which has a tradition of eating empty salaries, had more than 400 combat troops in Dushu Town, including more than 100 security guards.
Although the Kuomintang's dense machine gun fire and artillery fire suppressed the 225th Regiment of the Red Twenty-Fifth Army near the river ditch, the enemy did not take advantage of the situation to launch a counterattack and wipe out the 225th Regiment in one fell swoop. Instead, they only dispatched troops to encircle them from both flanks. As Gao Quan watched the enemy's heavy machine guns spew out tongues of flame, accompanied by countless high-energy bullets, a large pile of muddy curtains rose up near the river ditch. However, Gao Quan found it very strange: "Is the Kuomintang's ammunition so abundant that they can afford to waste it? Even if this is the Kuomintang's golden decade, they shouldn't be able to afford such extravagance with their bullets! Is there a Kuomintang command center nearby and are their troops weak?"
The keen judgment of Gao Quan made the company commander of the guard company, who had already been transferred to the front line, reveal an unusual look in his eyes! He still didn't quite believe that a little kid like Gao Quan could discover something so crucial. After careful investigation, he found that although the Nationalist Party's firepower was strong, it couldn't cover all aspects, and the weak forces could only be the Nationalist Party troops stationed in Dushu Town for defense.
"Good boy! You've been with the political commissar for only a few days and your skills have improved so much!" The delighted company commander decided to take the two fully-staffed platoons of over 80 men to "test the enemy's situation". After having his personal communication officer send a message to the regimental commander and the political commissar, the company commander led his troops in a flanking maneuver towards Dutou Town. Everyone proceeded with caution, although they were all just 16 or 17 years old, their vigilance was unusually high! The scouts sent out in all directions effectively provided a safe buffer zone for the advancing company.
Gao Quan's heart was filled with regret! "If I hadn't spoken up, the battle would have proceeded according to historical precedent and nothing major would have happened. But now, just because of my own words, over 80 people are going to charge into the enemy's belly! Are they made of tofu? Judging from the enemy's dense firepower, this Nationalist army is not a benevolent force - otherwise, they wouldn't have clashed head-on with the Red 25th Army for so long! The Nationalist command center! But don't forget about the Nationalist guard troops!" If he wasn't afraid of revealing his identity, Gao Quan would have given himself a good slap on the face!
The Nationalist Party's signal troops were in an attacking state on both the left and right wings, so apart from a multi-layered force at the junction of the two troops, other parts only symbolically placed a squad on individual small hills. This was not only the Nationalist Party's negligence but also their confidence in their own troops. Anyway, they let the troops quickly sneak into the west gate of Dushu Town.
As one of the main roads to Kaifeng, Luoyang and Zhengzhou, the prosperous Dushu Town even built a stone wall, although it was only over three meters high. However, this thing that used to prevent bandits and robbers was also a trouble for the Red Army which lacked heavy firepower. Moreover, under the indication of the flares that lit up the night sky from time to time, the several gun holes on the gate of the stockade were very eye-catching. In addition, more than ten people were arranged at the closed gate of the stockade to form a checking array, and the west gate of the stockade was even formed into an almost no-dead-angle death zone by four or five machine guns!
But the guard platoon without a ladder decided to use the leg wraps from their feet and human ladders to quickly climb over the small wall. Perhaps the intense battle on the front line had attracted most of the enemy's firepower and attention, after observing the pattern of activity of the few sentries on the wall. The company commander led a dozen robust soldiers in a crouched run to the bottom of the wall. Perhaps due to the rain and snow and the darkness obscuring the enemy's vision, when the company commander climbed over the wall using human ladders and knocked down the sleeping soldier with one knife, he didn't react at all.
It was still the same soldier of about the same height, it was still that bayonet that shone with a cold light under the dim torches. Nobody would know if there's anything unusual here, but if someone walked over, they would be shocked to find that dozens of black shadows were constantly climbing in from below, either by tying their legs or using ladders, just like a bunch of mice crawling into a grain jar, with everyone's face overflowing with suppressed smiles. But they didn't know that they had also entered a cage, and if they didn't eliminate the enemy, they would be trapped inside!
A small detachment was divided into two, one team stayed to clean up the other sentries on the west wall of the camp and immediately opened the gate of the camp, even blowing it up if necessary, leaving a path for the follow-up troops. The others went with him to launch a surprise attack on the enemy's brigade! More than 20 white dog child clothes were indeed enough for them to use. Everyone had more than a dozen grenades tied around their waists, and young and extremely dedicated youths were asked to die together with the enemy in case of capture!
Each and every one of the young men who had a deep-seated grudge against the Nationalist Party were solemn-faced, without a hint of cowardice. Even Gaoquan could sense the original owner's fervent passion in this body at this moment, despite his own legs trembling with shame. Because of his quick wit, he was ordered by Lianzhang to follow the stealth attack team and destroy the enemy's headquarters!
