Chapter 46: A Decisive Victory in the First Battle

  The commander of the vanguard troops, Xu Baozhen, immediately reported this serious situation to Ma Zanshan and Zhao Xiaofeng. Zhao Xiaofeng just sneered without speaking, but Ma Zanshan suddenly became furious: "The little devils are making progress inch by inch, as soon as the Japanese army crosses the river bridge, you will fight for me, fight fiercely."

  Xu Baozhen, who had long been itching to take action, received Ma Zhan's order and immediately made preparations for a counterattack. He now looked down on Zhao Xiaofeng, as he hadn't shown any military talent at all. And what about those fortifications? With so many enemies, how could you possibly hold them off?

  Xu Baozhen's troops at Gongjiang Bridge were arrayed in battle formation, waiting for the enemy.

  At the same time, the Japanese army held an emergency military meeting.

  Two contents: One is to demand the Army Central Department to agree to dispatch troops to North Manchuria again with a tough attitude, and Japan is now the best time to send troops, and use the repair of Jiang Bridge as an excuse. Quickly deploy troops on the south bank of Jiang Bridge, cross the bridge, and aim to capture Heilongjiang; Second, decide to assemble 10,000 troops today, 10 armored vehicles, 200 large-caliber artillery pieces, and bomb the Black Army's Daxingzhen position under the cover of 10 aircraft.

  They wanted to give Ma Zhanshan a strong shock at the beginning of the war.

  Due to Ma Zanshan's tough attitude, the Japanese military was extremely angry and decided to teach Ma Zanshan a lesson at Jiangqiao.

  They thought it was a good idea, after crossing the river bridge they could go straight to Qiqihar, and at that time the whole Heilongjiang would fall into their hands.

  At this time, they still had not received news that Zhao Xiaofeng had arrived at Jiangqiao.

  No wonder the Japanese army is so arrogant, now they have gathered 50,000 troops near Jiangqiao, and it is reported that the remaining 50,000 troops of the Kwantung Army swept across several hundred miles in just over a dozen days, defeating China's 200,000 Northeastern Army.

  They recklessly thought that within two months, the vast black land equivalent to their native territory would slowly melt under the sun flag, which is absolutely the most brilliant battle in modern warfare history!

  In the autumn of 1931, when the Japanese army brought fire to this remote black land away from Guannei, they ignored the Chinese army led by Ma Zanshan and Zhao Xiaofeng.

  The troops on the north bank of the river followed Zhao Xiaofeng's orders and entered first-level combat readiness. Now all preparations are in place, and an unusual light has appeared in Zhao Xiaofeng's eyes.

  He has ordered Xu Baozhen:

  Deploy the first battalion of the Guard Brigade, Zhang Hongxun's troops, to defend the main bridge and railway line, and have all 50 machine gunners of the Anti-Japanese Military Corps enter their pre-arranged fortifications.

  The Third Battalion of the Guard Regiment, Zhang Jingdu's battalion and the Second Battalion were all placed on the left wing heights, and fifty sharpshooters from the Anti-Japanese Military Police Regiment also entered the fortified bunker.

  Wu Songlin's cavalry regiment Zhang Dingxin's division, Wu Delin's infantry second battalion plus his own hundred shock troops were all deployed in the vicinity of Daxing Station, defending Daxing Station to the death.

  One hundred mortar men, one hundred guns of various calibers, and nearly two hundred anti-aircraft machine guns brought from Fengtian have all entered the strongest air defense fortifications. These artillery pieces are almost the entire wealth of Heilongjiang!

  The fortifications designed by Zhao Xiaofeng himself can both strike the air and fire forward, with an angle adjusted to 85 degrees to 15 degrees. On the ground, Zhao Xiaofeng also made a base for mortars. Once enemy planes conduct low-altitude bombing of Daxing Station, they will definitely be effective in one hit! Moreover, the dense machine gun firepower and the powerful terrain occupied will become the "doomsday killer" of Japanese aircraft!

  Zhao Xiaofeng was once an assassin, he had not studied the Art of War by Sun Tzu, but he knew the principle that to win all battles, one must know oneself and know the enemy. Not fighting a battle without being sure of winning is his military principle. Therefore, before the war, he set up his central position at Daxing Station in Jiangqiao North, with the northern end at Yibuge Village's northern 1418 high ground, and the southern end at Congzhong Gou, deploying troops along a six-li line of defense. The forward command post was set up at Daxing Station, with over 2,000 soldiers deployed in fortifications and zigzag trenches within the six-li area. And he hid an entire company's worth of soldiers in a patch of unharvested tobacco fields on the left bank of the river, ready to suddenly cut off the enemy's retreat in case of a Japanese sneak attack.

  As soon as war breaks out, Daxing Station will be used by both sides to deploy their main forces.

  The Japanese army also moved its troops to the south bank of the river on the 4th. At night, the Japanese army shone searchlights on the northern shore's garrison and fired cannons at the station position.

  The Battle of Jiangqiao began on the night of 4th.

  On the night of the 4th, the defenders at Jiangqiao Bridge vigilantly watched the movements of the Japanese troops on the opposite bank. At this time, a small group of Japanese troops evaded the eyes of the sentries and took advantage of the thick fog on the river to quietly cross over to the north bank, where they lay in ambush near Chenjiawopu, on the left flank of the Jiangqiao Bridge infantry outpost line.

  The thick fog had become their best shield.

  The three sentries of the Chen family's hut discovered it was too late, Japanese special action team soldiers aimed their bayonets at their hearts, then tied up the three sentries with ropes and dragged them onto a small boat to send them back to the south bank. Immediately afterwards, the main force of the Japanese army advanced towards the river bridge.

  Zhao Xiaofeng knew that the battle would unfold rapidly like a whirlwind. He immediately picked up the phone and issued combat orders to Xu Baozhen, commander of the Guard Regiment, and Wu Delin, commander of the 2nd Infantry Brigade: "You must remain calm, lure the enemy forward, wait until the enemy enters within 100 meters of effective shooting range, and then give me a good fight. I can tell you that not one of the incoming enemies will be allowed to return alive. If there is no order from me, anyone who retreats without authorization or loses an inch of land will be dealt with according to military law!"

  Xu Baozhen heard the severe voice on Zhao Xiaofeng's phone, and he immediately replied loudly: "I won't let the enemy pass in front of me unless they step over my corpse!"

  Wu De Lin also issued a battle book saying: "Don't worry, Commander Zhao, I will be on the battlefield, even if only one soldier is left."

  "The two of you immediately go to the front command post to direct and resist the enemy." Zhao Xiao Feng gave his final order before the battle.

  "Yes!" The two battalion commanders threw down their phones and rushed to the front line.

  As expected, the Japanese army took advantage of the thick fog over the river and organized more than 500 people to sneak towards the Jiang Bridge position. The commander of the sneak attack was the 6th Regimental Commander Hamamoto of the Tomen Division. The division commander ordered him to cross the river at all costs.

  "General, don't worry, just prepare your troops to clean up the battlefield!" Hamon said proudly.

  Duomen, after all, was a veteran of many battles. He glared at Binben and reminded him: "Ma Zhanshan is not Zhang Haipeng, Yu Zhishan or Xi Kui, and Heilongjiang is not just any other place. Your quick battle, quick decision!"

  "Hey!" Binben knew that he was no match for the ruthless and cunning Hometown, so he didn't dare to boast anymore. With a "slap", he stood up straight and ran out quickly.

  The Japanese army was discovered by the defending troops as soon as they crossed the river bridge, and the defending troops immediately reported to the frontline command post. Xu Baozhen ordered his troops to let the enemy enter the best shooting range, while commanding his troops to prepare for battle.

  The Japanese army crouched down, holding their guns and approaching the northern shore of the river bridge. The front-line soldiers could see the Japanese lifting their feet in big leather boots.

  The defenders heard a "bang" and immediately light and heavy machine guns, long and short rifles spewed out tongues of fire from the trenches and bushes.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!...

  "Bang bang bang!……"

  The Japanese army, seeing that the surprise attack was unsuccessful, immediately changed to a strong attack. The long-range artillery on the south bank roared, and shells were thrown into the defender's position, destroying some of the softer shelters, and the defenders suffered some casualties, but not many. At this time, the attacking troops also set up heavy machine guns on the river bridge and fired fiercely.

  "Bang!" A Japanese heavy machine gunner was shot dead by Zhao Xiaofeng's sniper, and the deputy machine gunner immediately pushed away his companion's body, wanting to fire, but another bullet took his life.

  At this time, the Japanese army began a fierce attack on Jiangbei with its superior artillery, and the entire north shore of the river was instantly engulfed in flames. The infantry advanced northward under the cover of heavy artillery fire. Although the defending troops were poorly armed, their morale was high, and an indescribable force of anger burst out among them; from time to time, some fell down, but not a single one retreated.

  Especially the machine gunners in the pillbox were reaping the enemy's lives like cutting rice!

  The fog was dispersed by cannon fire, revealing half of the sun's face.

  The bridge was packed with yellowish Japanese soldiers rushing northward, and the fallen Japanese soldiers were twisting and convulsing on the trembling bridge planks.

  "Brothers, take them down!" The battalion commander of the defending army shouted, and dozens of Chinese soldiers jumped out of the trenches. They shouted, "Charge! Kill!" Bullets and their bodies rushed towards the enemy together, and both sides engaged in hand-to-hand combat.

  A soldier who had fallen to the ground suddenly jumped up from a pool of blood, his eyes bulging out of his bloody face, and stabbed a Japanese officer in the thigh with his bayonet just as the officer was about to shoot him. The soldier then fell heavily onto the bridge floor.

  Japanese soldiers couldn't understand what Chinese soldiers were shouting, but besides bullets, they also charged towards them with eyes that spewed fire and terror. On the Chinese battlefield, these newly arrived Japanese had never encountered such brave warriors before.

  The battle was extremely fierce, and after a bloody two-hour fight, the bridge was littered with yellowish corpses, and the Japanese troops retreated in disarray to the south bank.

  Having suffered heavy losses, under the instruction of many doors, the Japanese Consul in Heilongjiang Province hastily rushed to the provincial capital, requesting a meeting with Ma Zhanshan to discuss ways for both armies to avoid conflict.

  The provincial capital guard had recognized the detestable Japanese man early on, and with a haughty wave of his hand towards Qing Shui, he said "Wait at the entrance." Then slowly walked in to report to General Ma Zhan Shan.

  The Chinese army won a big victory in the first battle, and Ma Zhan Shan was overjoyed. He immediately called Xu Baozhen and said: "The Japanese army's strength and weapons are stronger than ours, but arrogant soldiers will surely be defeated. He mistakenly regarded Zhao Xiaofeng and me, Ma Zhan Shan, as weak as Zhang Haiming, Zhang Haipeng, and Xi Kui!"

  Xu Baozhen excitedly said in the command post on the front line: "The little devils are not easy to beat, someone says that they have been working hard for decades, rectifying their army and calling themselves the Oriental Germany. When we chop them with our big knives, their heads will also fall off!"

  Ma Zhan Shan listened to Xu Baozhen and criticized him in a serious tone: "Don't be too happy yet, the Japanese army has lost for now, but there will soon be another fierce battle. Tell the troops to clean up the battlefield immediately and prepare for the new fight!"

  "Yes, General." Xu Baozhen replied cheerfully.

  This battle allowed Ma Zanshan to vent the anger and hatred that had been bottled up in his heart for several days. Before going into battle against the Japanese, this general who would later leave a brilliant record in China's War of Resistance against Japan deeply felt that his Heilongjiang Provincial troops were no match for the Japanese army, but he was a soldier, he had never knelt down before anyone, and at the same time, he would not smile to welcome his enemy.