One day in July 1942, the 14th Regiment of the 5th Brigade of the 2nd Division of the New Fourth Army, led by Li Shi'an, regimental commander and political commissar, was pursued by the Japanese puppet army on the way to the southern part of Jiangsu.
At that time, the Japanese sent a company (about 3200 people) and more than 1200 puppet troops, led by commander Fuzama Daisa.
The New Fourth Army, on the other hand, had only one regiment (about 1,500 men), and the ratio of strength between the enemy and us was about 3:1.
At the same time, the Japanese army transported troops by car and advanced extremely fast, while the New Fourth Army relied entirely on foot, and the situation was extremely unfavorable.
When the Fourteenth Regiment reached Huangyanggang, according to the information provided by the scouts, the enemy was ready to intercept the Fourteenth Regiment near the town of Xinsi, the only way for the New Fourth Army. By this time the enemy had reached less than 60 miles from the town of Xinsi, and the Fourteenth Regiment was still more than 90 miles away from the town of Xinsi.
At this critical juncture, Chen Weifang, the instructor of the Sixth Company of the Second Battalion, was ordered to lead the whole company (company commander Wang Juntian was being treated for his injuries) in several trucks captured from the Japanese army, and rushed to the vicinity of the ferry port in Xinsi Town, where he blocked the enemy and covered the transfer of the whole regiment.
Under the leadership of Chen Weifang, the commanders and fighters of the Sixth Company rode in trucks and sped toward Xinsi Town.
Fortunately, with the help of trucks, they finally rushed to the town of Xinsi ahead of the enemy. After getting off the bus, they did not rush to repair the fortifications near the ferry port and were fully prepared for battle.
When the Japanese puppet army arrived at the ferry port, it did not expect the New Fourth Army to move so quickly, and even preemptively occupied the ferry port of Xinsi Town.
When they reached the river and entered the firing range, Chen Weifang commanded the whole company to suddenly open fire across the river, catching the enemy by surprise and killing and wounding a large area.
However, this Japanese army was not a ragtag group, and when they returned to their senses, they immediately organized a counterattack.
At first, commander Daisa, Kazama, had the puppet army take the lead in the front to attract fire, and the Japanese followed behind. However, the officers of the New Fourth Army made full use of the terrain and features and repelled many enemy attacks.
Seeing the unsuccessful attack, Kazema Daisa ordered more than a dozen guns to be unloaded from the car and fired a fierce bombardment at the positions of the six companies on the other side of the river. Suddenly, the position was filled with flames and smoke, and a large number of fortifications were destroyed, causing considerable casualties to the commanders and fighters of the Sixth Company.
After the shelling stopped, Kazema Daisa, brandishing his command knife, urged the Japanese puppet army to press on.
Chen Weifang saw the situation and led the soldiers to jump out of the fortifications, stand on the river embankment, and shoot at the enemy.
He Zhiyuan and Lin Jianyi, two sharpshooters, shot without false hair, and killed more than a dozen Japanese puppet troops in a row, so that they no longer dared to show their heads.
The wind jumped like thunder, ordering the puppet army to charge forward again, and the retreaters were all shot by him, and the rest of the puppet army had no choice but to rush forward desperately.
However, the puppet army alone could not withstand the New Fourth Army, and Kazema Daisa ordered all the light and heavy machine guns to be concentrated and fired fiercely at the positions of the sixth company.
The enemy's machine guns were numerous and fierce, and a series of bullets swept over like raindrops, forming a powerful fire suppression, so that the officers and men of the New Fourth Army were lying in the trenches and could not look up at all.
Kazema Daisa's calculation was to sweep with a machine gun for a while, and then command the Japanese puppet army to wade across the river and take the position of the New Fourth Army in one fell swoop.
The situation is extremely critical, and if measures are not taken in a timely manner, the consequences are unimaginable.
In the face of this dangerous situation, commander Chen Weifang frowned and was anxious. He inadvertently saw the crooked hat on the head of the guard Xu Zhongliang, and his eyes lit up and he had an idea in his heart.
He suddenly gave a strange order to the soldiers on both sides: "Comrades, take off your military hats!" ”
"Military hat?" The crowd was puzzled and did not know what medicine the instructor was selling in the gourd.
"Yes! Cone! Just do it as I do—"
Chen Weifang took off his military hat, put it on the edge of the trench with the barrel of his gun, and then said: "Use the military hat to attract enemy fire, move to both sides and prepare for counterattack!" ”
When the crowd saw it, they suddenly realized that they had done so in a hurry. So a row of military hats appeared on the side of the broken trench of the Sixth Company, but the men scattered on both sides.
When the Japanese machine gunners saw it, the New Fourth Army actually dared to show its head and fought harder.
The commanders and fighters of the sixth company shifted from the frontal position, completely avoiding enemy fire. Immediately after that, Chen Weifang made a gesture and launched a counterattack from both flanks at the same time, using grenades to the Japanese machine gun positions!
The enemy did not expect that the New Fourth Army would make this move, and was beaten by this sudden blow. Their machine gunners hesitated slightly, and were killed by He Zhiyuan and Lin Jianyi one after another.
As soon as the Japanese machine gun positions were muted, it was equivalent to giving the enemy a blow in the head, and they could only temporarily abandon the plan to cross the river.
When Kazama Daisa continued to use cannons to attack hard, the commanders and fighters of the sixth company relied on their flexible positions to fight the guerrillas across the river from the enemy, so that the enemy's cannons could not fully exert their power.
At this time, Chen Weifang received an order from the regimental headquarters communicator: The whole regiment had been smoothly transferred to the nearby downstream ferry port, and the sixth company should immediately evacuate the town of Xinsi and meet the whole regiment as soon as possible.
At this time, there were only more than 70 people left in the sixth company, but they annihilated more than 200 enemies and successfully completed the task of blocking the attack.
After Chen Weifang led the soldiers to catch up with the large troops, he reported his combat experience to his superiors, and was highly praised by the regimental commander Li Shi'an: "You have fought well!" Well played! As a commander, you actually came up with a good way to attract enemy fire with your military hat when the battle situation was critical, and this counterattack was really beautiful! ”