One day later, at the headquarters of the 19th Group Army, telegrams and phone calls continued. Xue Boling turned a deaf ear. All his thoughts were on the battlefield dozens of kilometers away. The 69th Army had been fighting with the Japanese for two days and two nights. , the reinforcements he was waiting for have not arrived yet.
Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Shi Boheng hurried into the command room. Lao Xue looked at him with expectant eyes. Shi Boheng just shook his head. The disappointment in Lao Xue's eyes flashed away, and then returned to normal;
As an excellent commander, he cannot sit, wait, or rely on his troops until reinforcements arrive. He must use his existing troops to achieve a passable result. Nine out of ten people will be unsatisfied on the battlefield, so he must have a good mentality.
"Chief of Staff, can the 69th Army survive another day?"
"General, Commander Ruan once again requested reinforcements from the headquarters. They were fighting hard. The Japanese Ninth Division attacked their positions like crazy. Three of his six infantry regiments were wiped out, and the other three were wiped out. It has also been disabled, and now all personnel from the division headquarters and military headquarters have been replenished to the front-line troops;
The officers suffered heavy casualties. Of the six regiment commanders, two were martyred and one was injured. The battalion and company commander even more——"
Lao Xue raised his hand to stop him from continuing and said directly:
"There is no point in saying this. If we fail to defend the main position, the entire 19th Army may be made dumplings by the devils. I am not a monkey, and I can't send troops to them. Now the entire 19th Army is at war. I A group army commander only has one division in reserve. The Japanese still have at least one division untouched. I have to guard against them.
Tell Commander Ruan that I will give them the last two security groups and they must guard them for two more days - no, three days! The 21st Army arrived at the battlefield in a hurry and needed to build fortifications. There was no need to worry about the Gui Army's combat effectiveness. As long as they waited until they arrived, the war on the northern front could stabilize and the retreat of our hundreds of thousands of Central Army troops would not be cut off.
It is to kill the 69th Army down to the last man. The field must be defended. This is a death order! "
When Chief of Staff Shi Boheng heard that there were two security groups, he was overjoyed. It was better than not. Now he could at least give an explanation to his old classmates. Commander Ruan, like him, both graduated from Baoding's first crash course and had a private relationship. Yes, the 69th Army is fighting hard, so we should help as much as we can.
Not long after Shi Boheng left, Xue Boling's good luck seemed to come. The head of the group army's communications department rushed in happily and reported excitedly:
"General, the Military Commission has called. The leading troops of the 21st Group Army will arrive at the designated position this evening, and the main six divisions will be deployed by tomorrow morning at the latest!"
"Okay! This time, Vice President Bai finally did something reliable. He called back to the Military Commission. Our 69th Army can still support it for two more days. Please Commander Liao to build fortifications as soon as possible. The Japanese heavy artillery brigade is not that easy to support. Come on, our 19th Group Army is buying time for them with the huge casualties of the 69th Army;
Our 69th Army will withdraw from its position before dawn the day after tomorrow, and the task of blocking the Japanese from going south will be left to them, the Gui Army! "
Lao Xue also wanted the 69th Army to stay for one day longer, but the 21st Army of the Guangxi Army maneuvered thousands of miles and rushed to the battlefield. Without more than a day of rest and construction of fortifications, the 21st Army still could not stop the wolf-like Japanese. The entire Songhu Battle will end in a disastrous defeat, and the 69th Army can only be sacrificed for the sake of the overall situation.
Thinking of this, Xue Boling's face showed a look of pain...
Another day passed, and when a red sun once again shone on the 69th Army position in Dachang, the entire position looked blood red from a distance, including the red army flag fluttering in the wind with the blue sky and white sun all over the ground;
The military flag is still there, and the 69th Army is still there!
After another day of bloody battles, the 69th Army's peripheral positions in Dachang fell into the hands of the Japanese, and the rest of the army shrank to the core position. After being supplemented by two security groups, the 69th Army's vitality recovered somewhat. But the situation is still not optimistic;
Almost all the six main regiments of the 69th Army were disabled. Even after adding two security regiments, the strength of each regiment was less than half. The logistics support personnel of the division and military headquarters have all been on the front-line battlefield, and more than half of them have been deployed on the front line. They were all lying on the ground;
The blood of the 69th Army was almost exhausted, and all the lightly wounded soldiers returned to the battlefield, including Colonel Zhang Keming who lost an arm.
The position of the 55th Division's regiment, just like his body that lost an arm, his regiment can no longer be called a regiment. After many additions, his regiment now only has more than 800 people, which is more than 800 people. A battalion is more.
The other regiments were not much better. The entire 69th Army was almost exhausted. They had just received the group army order and they still needed to hold their position for another day and night. This was indeed a difficult task for them to complete.... .
"Captain, this is too--"
Zhang Keming used his only remaining hand to stop the first battalion commander Liu Haibo's next words, and said with a cold face:
"It's not your turn to make irresponsible decisions. Military orders are like a mountain. Even if the last person is killed, we must guard them until dawn tomorrow. This is a military order and there is no room for bargaining."
"Captain, I'm not afraid, it's just——"
Liu Haibo saw the regimental commander's sleeve with an arm missing, and held back what he said. As the regimental commander said, military orders are like a mountain, and it is useless to talk more.
Ninth Division Headquarters
The division commander, Lieutenant General Yoshika Ryosuke, was summoning several regiment commanders to prepare for the battle. The commander of the 18th Brigade, Major General Isho Nobutoki, stood up and asked the battle: -
“Your Excellency, Division Commander, I have to admit that the Chinese 69th Army fought very tenaciously and is a respectable opponent;
After several fierce battles, the 6th Brigade has suffered more than half of its casualties, while our 18th Brigade has been watching from the sidelines. I asked for permission to leave today's battle to my 18th Brigade.
The 69th Army is already at the end of its strength, and our 18th Brigade is a fresh force that is fully recharged. It will surely be able to break through the defenders' defense lines in one go and completely annihilate the enemy 69th Army. "
Lieutenant General Yoshika Ryosuke said calmly:
"The bravery of the 18th Brigade is naturally unquestionable. According to the latest intelligence, the Chinese reinforcements 21st Group Army have arrived in Nanxiang. They are building a defense line in the south of Nanxiang in an attempt to block our Ninth Division from going south;
The 21st Army is a new force, with a total strength of 6 divisions and more than 60,000 people. When the time comes, the 18th Brigade will be needed to defeat them. The remaining soldiers of the 69th Army will continue to be handed over to the 6th Brigade. I believe they will be able to defeat them within one day. To eliminate the 69th Army, the 18th Brigade needs to maintain its vigor. "
When Major General Jing Shuxuanshi heard that there were more important tasks waiting for them, he shut his mouth. With the 21st Army as a big piece of fat, the 69th Army would become unpalatable once the remaining troops were gone. Just be a favor and let the Sixth Brigade enjoy it.
The face of Major General Akiyama Yoshiyun, the leader of the 6th Brigade, was not good-looking. The conversation between the division commander and Major General Ishu was a bit contemptuous of them. They have always been the main force of the division. With them, when will the 6th Brigade take its turn? I went to the 18th Brigade to pick the fat and the thin, and they always ate the leftovers.
It was different now. His two main regiments, the Seventh Regiment, were almost completely destroyed, and the 35th Regiment also suffered 30% casualties. Even if it was replenished, the Korean sticks in the baggage regiment could not be compared with the Imperial Warriors;
Therefore, before winning the big battle, the 6th Brigade did not have the confidence to compete with the 18th Brigade for the 21st Group Army. In the army, it has to rely on strength and record to make this bastard Jing Shu shut up. Mouth, thinking of this, he also stood up and said:
"Commander of the Division, Commander of the Pavilion, the Sixth Brigade has the strength to capture the Chinese positions within one day. Please give me the order!"
Lieutenant General Yoshika Ryosuke wanted this effect. It would be better to challenge the general. Now Akiyama Yoshiyun's fighting spirit has been aroused by the singing and harmony between him and Major General Ishu. All that is left is to see their performance. He clicked Nodding and saying:
"Yo Xi, the bravery of the 6th Brigade is obvious to all. I am fully confident that you will take down the 69th Army position within one day. I will leave the battle to you."
Akiyama Yoshiyun bowed deeply and then turned away angrily. Yoshika Ryosuke and Major General Isho looked at each other and smiled, like two cunning foxes.
It is said that sharpening a knife does not waste time chopping firewood. The Japs have been preparing for an attack all morning. Although they have not been attacked by the Japs all morning, the 69th Army does not feel relaxed at all, because they all know that the longer it is calm, the longer it is calm. , the storm became more violent.
The next attack is a decisive battle between the two sides!
The Japanese spent a morning mobilizing a large amount of ammunition and supplies, and the lost soldiers were also replenished. Almost all the thousands of supplementary troops in the baggage regiment and engineering regiment were used up, leaving only the cavalry regiment and the artillery regiment. With four infantry regiments, the 1st to 4th field hospitals were filled with injured Japanese soldiers. Even the lightly wounded were not eligible to be admitted. It was considered a mercy to give them a simple bandage;
In the words of the leader of the Japanese division: "The warriors of the empire must have super endurance!"
In order to completely defeat the 69th Army, Lieutenant General Yoshika Ryosuke even specially approved the use of special ammunition by the 6th Brigade...
The Japanese were very confident in capturing the Chinese positions, so their preparations were even arrogant, including enjoying a delicious lunch right under the eyes of the Chinese.
"You son of a bitch, you are deceiving me that there is no one in China! Order all the artillery to fire at the Japanese, I want to give them something to eat!"
Ruan Shaowen, commander of the 69th Army, said loudly that because the Japanese artillery was too powerful, the artillery battalions of the 69th Army and the artillery companies directly under each division were hidden and did not dare to be exposed, which made the Japanese think that the 69th Army had no artillery.
"Military seat, once our little artillery fire is exposed, it will be over. The most we can do is withdraw the mortars. The mountain artillery battalion-"
"No matter what, life is over. The 69th Army is almost running out of artillery. What more artillery do you need? The chief of staff carried out the order and ordered the artillery to blast me! Kill these idiots!"
