Volume 1: Red Star Over China Chapter 63: The Battle of Yangping Town (Part 2)

  The one who opened fire was naturally the Third Guard Regiment of the Central Guard Division of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army.

  Chen Dayong saw that the enemy had already arrived under his nose, and if he didn't fight now, when would he? He raised his pistol and fired at a mounted officer in the enemy army, but unexpectedly, the man was just about to dismount and dodged the bullet by bending down. Chen Dayong felt extremely regretful, never thinking that he too could miss a shot, it seemed he still needed more practice with his marksmanship!

  As the guns went off, the warriors who had been waiting for a long time on the three-team battlefield fired their triggers at the first moment. Heavy machine guns, light machine guns, submachine guns, and rifles were all firing bullets. The mortar also started firing, with a series of "hums" and "booms", hitting the 90th division's already chaotic marching troops.

  Ding Zhuo Dong's warriors have begun to show their might. With the experience of the Qingxi Town battle, they are now more skilled in operation.

  When the third company fired, the warriors had already pushed open the shelter, and Ding Zhuodong waved a small flag in his hand. The cannons were loaded. The small flag was waved again, and the fuse for igniting the gunpowder was ignited. Soon, more than a dozen explosive packs were launched, drawing beautiful arcs in the air and exploding into the enemy crowd.

  One explosion after another, more than a dozen explosive packs went off, and within tens of meters, there were very few people who could still stand.

  It should be said that among the central army leaders, the 90th division commander Ou Zhen is relatively familiar with the Red Army. He was originally a battalion commander of the 34th regiment of the 12th division of the National Revolutionary Army's 4th military, which is also known as Ye Ting's independent regiment. Later, Ou Zhen was promoted to commander of the 71st regiment and participated in the Nanchang Uprising, but during the uprising army's march south to Guangzhou, Ou Zhen led his troops to defect, causing significant losses to the uprising forces. Therefore, Ou Zhen not only understood the bravery and fearlessness of the Communist Party members and the Red Army, but also knew that if he fell into the hands of the Red Army, what would happen to him, and his comrades would not forget his name.

  When the gunfire sounded, Ou Zhen immediately fell on his war horse, his mind racing quickly. Was this a blocking strike or an ambush? Did they want to block their advance or devour them? Soon, the sound of artillery shells shocked him awake. This was definitely the main force of the Red Bandits, with so many heavy machine guns and artillery shells. They must be the same Red Bandit forces that had ambushed the 59th and 93rd Divisions in Qingxi Town, using their old tricks again, treating his own 90th Division as another delicious dish!

  Sneaking a peek, in just a short while, his vanguard team had already been decimated. Looking back again, oh my, the Red Bandits were using some kind of unknown weapon, blowing up a large area at once. Now Ou Zhen finally understood how the three regiments and the 59th and 93rd regiments of the Xiang Army had been annihilated. Under such intense firepower, it was a miracle to be able to escape alive; if they chose to resist or attack on the spot, the enemy's follow-up blow would surely come out, and in the end, there would only be one outcome - annihilation.

  Ou Zhen ordered the vanguard troops to organize resistance and the rear troops to become the vanguard, with the entire division quickly withdrawing in the direction of Yushan.

  When he was about to give orders, Ou Zhen suddenly realized that no one was receiving the orders. His officers had died very quickly, all with a bullet hole in their forehead, with fresh blood mixed with brain matter, making him feel extremely nauseous and cruel. He had just ordered his deputy officer to pass on the order when the deputy officer fell dead. There was no way out, so he could only retreat first! He hoped that the soldiers would see the regimental commander retreating and follow suit.

  Ou Zhenyi pulled out his horse's head. A man hid in the stirrup. He turned around and ran to the back. While running, he shouted: "Withdraw quickly! Withdraw quickly! Retreat to the back!"

  This passage is quite long when written in a book. In fact, the time was very short. Ou Zhen basically ran back while the first wave of shooting from the Third Guard Regiment was still ongoing. It made Chen Dayong, who was on the battlefield, extremely disappointed and scolded the Central Army for being more slippery than a loach.

  Don't mention it. When the Central Army retreated, they really had a set of skills. The soldiers ran with their waists bent and heads bowed, completely ignoring the bullets flying behind them. Before long, the 90th Division managed to retreat from the hail of bullets.

  The troops retreated 500 meters, leaving the Red Army's rifle range. Ou Zhen stopped his horse and looked at the troops, his heart aching to the point of tears. In just this short period of time, his own 90th Division had lost one-third of its men. The soldiers were like eggplants that had been hit by frost, three or five in a pile, crawling on the highway, hillsides and icy snow-covered ground.

  The current location of the 90th Division is where the Third Company of Engineers buried explosives. He Mingliang was in a hurry and couldn't move forward. Several requests to detonate were stopped by Liu Yimin.

  Chen Dayong saw that the Central Army had withdrawn. The division commander led the first and second regiments to retreat without launching a counterattack, ordering them to leave behind an observation post. The troops quietly withdrew to the forest on the back of the mountain to hide and wait for orders, waiting for the Central Army to launch an attack.

  The troops were like this, learning war in the war. According to the Red Army's past combat habits, when the 90th Division retreated, it was time for the soldiers to jump out of the trenches and pursue. But since Liu Yimin arrived, from the 34th Division's spearhead company to the Red 18th Regiment, and now to the Central Guard Division, cadres have learned many new combat methods and command skills from Liu Yimin. In the last Xigou battle, after Hu Lao Tiger's first wave of blocking, he decisively ordered to stop shooting, and the troops moved to the back of the mountain, letting the Hunan Army Tao Guang 62nd Division suffer a great loss, and Hu Lao Tiger was awarded special merits. Chen Dayong is the main force commander, with extremely rich combat experience, and can see at a glance why the division commander awarded Hu Lao Tiger special merits. Therefore, he did not order the troops to pursue, avoiding exposing the soldiers to enemy fire, but instead followed suit and ordered the troops to withdraw.

  According to Yu Zhen's original intention, the troops were to be withdrawn thoroughly and leave the dangerous area. However, his wish was in vain, as Wu Qiwu led Liang Hua-sheng's 92nd Division and the first branch of Huiji, followed by Xie Fu's Fifth Division and Zhou Yanbin's Tax Police Battalion Mortar Regiment.

  Wu Qiwu saw that the soldiers of the 90th Division were all stuck in the snow, motionless, and even with a good temper, he became angry and asked Ou Zhen why they didn't attack and advance.

  "Marshal, our troops have been ambushed by the Red Bandits and suffered heavy casualties. The enemy's firepower is too strong, we can't break through."

  Wu Qiwu laughed loudly and said: "Master Ou, open your eyes and take a look, where are the red bandits?"

  Ou Zhen only then realized that the Red Bandits had stopped firing, not only was the mountain slope quiet, but also the highway was very quiet. Had the Red Bandits fought for a while and then retreated? It's impossible, just now their firepower was so fierce, they seemed to be about to swallow themselves whole, how could they disappear so quickly?

  He picked up the telescope and Ou Zhen carefully observed the mountain slope. Indeed, there were no red bandits, nor did they see any signs of building a stronghold. This group of damn red bandits was always like this, fighting when they could win, running away when they couldn't, and tucking their tails between their legs as soon as their main force arrived.

  "General, the Red Bandits' attack was too fierce just now. My division suffered one-third casualties and several regimental commanders were killed in action. I'm worried that they'll surround my division like they did at Qingxi Town, so I ordered a retreat."

  Wu Qiwu shook his head and said, "When did my Fourth Army become a turtle that shrinks its head? The enemy just blocked us, and we hurriedly retreated. Fortunately, the other side didn't pursue us closely, otherwise, I'm afraid your 90th Division would have ceased to exist!"

  This remark was too severe, and Ou Zhen only felt that his face suddenly burst into flames. He shouted loudly: "Please don't worry, General! The 90th Division is not a cowardly division, we will take the lead!" Turning around, he urgently organized the troops into two regiments, appointed acting regimental commanders, determined to use one regiment as the vanguard to occupy the mountain head with all their might, and the other regiment as the second echelon, resolutely taking down the mountain head.

  Watching Ou Zhen's deployment of the medium-sized square, Wu Qiwu ordered his artillery and the artillery battalion of the Taxation Police Regiment to establish a position, providing firepower cover for the 90th Division.

  Zhou Yanbin commanded his artillery battalion to open fire first. As a well-trained professional artilleryman, the shells landed accurately, causing trees and bamboo on the hillside to fly wildly in all directions. Seeing no movement on the hillside, Ou Zhen led two battalions to attack the hillside.

  The hills on one side of the highway were not very high, and they were lined up neatly. It didn't take long for the soldiers of the 90th Division to climb up quickly. Wu Qiwu led Ou Zhen, Liang Huasheng, Xie Fu, and Hui Ji several division commanders hiding behind rocks on the side of the highway, holding binoculars to observe the battle. Seeing that the soldiers were about to reach the top of the mountain, several people were overjoyed in their hearts, it seemed that the Red Bandits had indeed withdrawn.

  The sudden burst of gunfire on the mountain top completely shattered several people's dreams. Watching the 90th Division attack the mountain top, that team was killed and wounded, the survivors were chased by bullets and rolled down the mountain, Wu Qiwu was furious, ordering the artillery to cover the mountain top, ordering the 90th Division to press up the whole line, ordering the 92nd Division to charge along the highway immediately, bypassing this hillside.

  The troops were in an uproar again, with Ou Zhen leading the charge this time, bare-chested and directing the battle personally. The 92nd Division moved forward, preparing to cross the mountain slope when the 90th Division launched its assault, aiming straight for Yangping Town and pinning down the Red Army forces defending the mountain peak from both sides.

  At the same time when the 90th Division and the 92nd Division were acting together, Liu Jianping made his move.

  Just now, the 90th Division was blocked by the 3rd Regiment. Liu Jianli was about to take action, but through binoculars, he saw a large army behind the 90th Division. He remembered the commander's style of operation and restrained himself. The enemy's main force merged with the 90th Division, which launched an attack but was repelled. Then, the troops of the 92nd Division began to move forward. At this time, it was easiest to heavily damage the enemy and cause them to collapse. Liu Jianli gave a single order, and the artillery battalion on the opposite bank of the river fired.

  The first to open fire was the mountain artillery company of the artillery regiment. After six mountain guns fired a shot, they quickly corrected and then six shells accurately fell on the enemy artillery position. The artillery position was immediately shrouded in smoke. Before the enemy artillery could react, the shells came down one after another. Retreat! Zhou Yanbin reluctantly gave the order to abandon the position, and the lucky surviving artillerymen carried their guns, backpacks with shells, and hastily retreated.

  This is just the beginning, and the nightmare continues. The artillery battalion's mortar company starts firing, with 24 shells hitting the highway at once, heavily pounding the enemy on the road. The highway immediately falls into chaos, with the officers' shouts and soldiers' cries intertwining together.

  If the shells brought chaos and flying limbs, then the subsequent heavy machine gun fire was a real life reaper. On the mountain waist on the other side of the river, dozens of heavy machine guns spewed out tongues of fire, turning the highway into a living hell.

  The top was a cluster of shells like meteors, the waist was a rain of bullets like cold wind, the 92nd Division, the first brigade, including the later arriving 5th, tens of thousands of officers and soldiers were being rubbed on the human flesh millstone made up of shells and heavy machine gun bullets, rubbed long, thin, bunched together, let go, just like a dough under the chef's hands.

  Several senior generals crawled to the front of Wu Qiwu, and Liang Huasheng said with a big heart: "Military seat, our army is being suppressed on the highway and cannot move. If this continues, everyone will be killed or captured."

  Ou Zhen's courage has grown, such a strong firepower indicates that they have indeed encountered the main force of the Red Bandits. His previous withdrawal now seems correct, if he had withdrawn earlier, there wouldn't be such a great loss. Seeing Liang Hua Sheng open his mouth to suggest, Ou Zhen continued: "Commander, the Red Bandits' firepower is too fierce, if we don't withdraw again, we'll be done for!"

  Wu Qiwu didn't hesitate at all, gritted his teeth and said hatefully: "Withdraw!"

  Then, after some thought, he continued to order: "The 90th Division leaves one regiment to continue attacking and entangling the Red Bandits. The 5th Division is in front, the 92nd Division and a branch team are in the middle, and the 90th Division is at the back. The whole army quickly retreats. Report to Commander Xue, ask him to dispatch troops to respond to us, and order the air force to take off and block the Red Bandits' possible pursuit."

  Several senior officials took their orders and left, but Ou Zhen did not leave.

  Wu Qiwu patted Ou Zhen's shoulder: "Younger brother, cheer up. As long as the troops withdraw, I'll be responsible for replenishing you with more soldiers."

  Ou Zhen finally left with a sullen expression.

  Wu Qiwu waved his hand and the guards rushed up to protect him as he retreated first.

  Wu Qiwu did not expect that Ou Zhen would not return to the unit, but instead ordered the 90th Division's special operations battalion, who were hiding on the highway to avoid the hail of bullets, to protect him as he rushed out.

  Just as the Central Army was withdrawing one after another, Liu Yimin's hand waved downwards.

  He Mingliang had been waiting impatiently for a long time, and as soon as he saw the order from his superior, he immediately ordered the explosion. Suddenly, a series of intense explosions rang out on the highway. The soldiers who were hit by the blast were thrown high into the air, their arms and legs broken, falling into the Wuyang River, creating several ripples, and then drifting away with the current.

  Wu Qiwai, who had already escaped from the highway, heard the explosion and turned back to take a look. His eyes were filled with fear as he thought that if he hadn't been escorted by the guards and left first, he would probably be dead or at least lose an arm or leg. The red bandits' sinister plots were endless, and who knows what else was waiting for him? He quickly retreated and left this unlucky place.

  It really made him right, just as the Central Army was withdrawing under a hail of bullets, Liu Yimin led the First Guard Regiment and Second Guard Regiment out of the mountain forest, fiercely charging into the Central Army's formation.

  Liu Yimin held a submachine gun and charged forward, with the First Battalion of the First Regiment and the Fourth Battalion of the Second Regiment following closely behind. The Second, Third, Fifth, and Sixth Battalions followed in succession. In front of the troops, rows of light machine guns and submachine guns fired in a fan-shaped sweep at the Central Army.

  Liu Jianyi saw that the first and second battalions were charging out, and immediately ordered firepower.

  Focus on attacking the vanguard of the enemy's retreating troops, trying to leave none behind.

  Chen Dayong, who was guarding the mountain top, saw his superiors rush out and knew it was time. He ordered all the buglers to blow the charge signal and led the three regiments down the mountain to attack the 90th Division that had been cut off.

  The enemy was completely routed, thinking that the main force of the Red Army had come out to annihilate them. The arrogance they showed when attacking the Soviet area was gone, and the pride they had while pursuing the Red Army was also gone. The dignity of the Central Army was lost, and military discipline was not mentioned. They threw away their cannons because they were in the way, threw away their guns because they were in the way, took off their hand grenades because they were in the way, and removed their cotton-padded jackets because they were in the way. Those who had horses were in front, those who didn't have horses were behind, crying to heaven and cursing their fathers and mothers. They fled in disarray, like a dog that has lost its home, braving the rain of bullets and trampling on the bodies of their comrades, fleeing back to where they came from.

  Look at the enemy's main force has rushed out of the effective range of fire, Liu Jianli immediately ordered the artillery to shift again, aiming at the 90th Division that was cut off behind and opening fire.

  When the artillery battalion and heavy machine gun battalion of the 9th Division were covering the highway with firepower, the remaining troops of the 90th Division were attacking the mountain head, avoiding being hit by firepower. When Chen Dayong led the 3rd Regiment down the mountain, they coincidentally collided with the 90th Division, and now the elite of the Central Army and the Red Army directly confronted each other.

  The officers and men of the 90th Division on the hillside saw the Red Bandits rushing out, and immediately machine guns and submachine guns were called up, causing the Red Army's vanguard to suddenly halt.

  The commander of the artillery support company saw that the main force's charge was blocked, and immediately ordered the mortars and heavy machine guns on the position to concentrate their firepower and open up a path for the main force. The shells and bullets from the heavy machine guns rolled down the slope, making it impossible for the soldiers of the 90th Division to lift their heads.

  Chen Dayong saw that the 90th Division was fighting to the death and refused to retreat, knowing that they had encountered a tough opponent. With a single order, the soldiers fiercely threw hand grenades downwards.

  The vanguard regiment of the 90th Division attacking Shantou finally couldn't hold on and started withdrawing.

  On the mountain waist, another regiment of the 90th Division saw that the main force had withdrawn and the Red Army was pursuing, knowing that they had become isolated. The temporary team leader appointed by Ou Zhen was also tough, using terrain to cover up, leading his troops to desperately shoot and cover the vanguard regiment's withdrawal.

  Chen Dayong was anxious, he knew that if they couldn't eliminate the remnants of the 90th Division and let them retreat, it would pose a threat to the two regiments led by the division commander. Once the enemy's main force realized that the division commander's troops were not the main force of the Red Army, they might counterattack against the two regiments, and the consequences would be severe. Of course, even if Chen Dayong was killed, he wouldn't believe that the Central Army could defeat his division commander, who was a clever and brave man, and estimated that no one born yet could beat him.

  Longing to return, but the hands did not stop for a moment. Chen Dayong ordered the 7th Regiment, also known as his old Third Regiment, to immediately organize firepower and charge down fiercely. The 8th Regiment led the cavalry regiment to charge towards the left wing, and the 9th Regiment led the logistics regiment to charge towards the right wing. The entire division opened the way with machine guns and hand grenades, killing towards the remnants of the 90th Division.

  It seems that the Red Army is about to launch a thunderbolt strike. After the two regiments of the 90th Division merged, they began to fight and retreat along the mountain slope.

  There are two regiments, which have already suffered heavy casualties. After the first ambush and continuous attacks on the mountain, the remaining 90th Division now has about 3,000 people. The problem is that these two temporarily appointed regimental commanders are quite capable, both of whom graduated from Huangpu and rose from platoon leaders in the 90th Division, having a certain prestige among the soldiers, and at critical moments, their rallying power emerges.

  The mountain slope was covered with forests and bamboo, the terrain was complex. The 90th Division fought along the mountain slope, retreating while fighting. Chen Dajun and the Third Regiment were really unable to cope with them. The Red Army pursued and attacked along the mountain ridge, while the Nationalist Army retreated and counterattacked on the mountain slope. Both sides were entangled in a fierce battle like hide-and-seek, with increasing casualties.

  At this time, Liu's firepower arrived, and the brothers of the 90th Division immediately knew what it meant to be covered by firepower. The shells hit the trees, causing branches to fly everywhere, and if one was not careful, the flying branches could kill people. The officers and soldiers of the 90th Division could no longer afford to entangle with the Red Army and began to flee desperately along the mountain slope. As they ran, they left behind corpses and wounded, pre-empting a jungle victory in a great escape.

  Chen Dayong led three regiments in pursuit along the mountain head, and when they couldn't catch up, the division commander led one regiment and two regiments to start withdrawing, only then did they stop pursuing.

  Liu Yimin led the first and second battalions along the highway, closely pursuing the enemy, not even wanting to take prisoners who had surrendered, but instead focusing on fiercely attacking the enemy's main force. They chased them for five or six miles until they saw that the enemy's main force had turned around the mountain bend, at which point he ordered his troops to stop the pursuit and quickly return to clean up the battlefield.

  Xie Fu's Fifth Division, being at the rear, was the first to leave the battlefield, with relatively small losses and its formation still intact. Originally, Liu Yimin's First and Second Regiments had abandoned all heavy weapons in order to charge at the enemy's main force. If Xie Fu could quickly reorganize his troops and counterattack, he might have been able to inflict heavy casualties on the Red Army, which had left behind its heavy firepower cover. At the very least, he could have stopped the Red Army from continuing its pursuit and reduced the losses of the Central Army. But with the army defeated and morale broken, Xie Fu's men were intimidated by the enemy's firepower and only thought of one thing: escape, the faster and farther the better.

  They fled for 20 li and only when they no longer heard gunfire behind them did they think of reorganizing their troops and preparing to defend themselves.

  Executed several leading soldiers who continued to escape, restrained the momentum of the escape, and Xie Fu's Central Fifth Division finally stabilized the front line. By the time Wu Qizhen arrived, Xie Fu had already begun organizing soldiers to dig trenches.

  Wu Qiwu saw that the troops had stabilized, rested for a while, and listened to the distant gunfire had stopped, his spirit also recovered. He began to find several division commanders to organize and gather the troops. They were busy until sunset when the troops finally completed their gathering and concentration.

  Looking at the defeated and incomplete troops, Wu Qiwu couldn't help but wail loudly. He never thought that he would fail so badly, and be defeated by the Red Bandits. His column had four divisions and one division-level detachment. The 59th and 93rd Divisions were completely annihilated, not a single person returned. The 90th Division finally returned with over 2,000 men, losing three-quarters of its strength; the 92nd Division and the detached brigade also suffered heavy casualties. In just one day, his troops had lost so much, how could he explain this to Commander Xue and the delegate?

  Just as Wu Qiwu was wailing loudly, Xue Yue led the two divisions with Zhou Hunyuan as the rear guard to arrive.