The First Army's attack lasted only one and a half hours and successfully overcame three lines of defense of the Japanese Sixth Division. This forced the commander of the 36th Brigade, Major General Takada Miaki, who was responsible for the defense of this area, to commit suicide.
And this last line of defense was the line of defense personally commanded by Lieutenant General Masaemon Sakamoto, the commander of the Japanese Sixth Division. He didn't know how long his last line of defense could withstand the pace of the Chinese army. Although he placed many elite soldiers on this line of defense and put extra care into the trenches, he had no idea whether he could hold the line of defense. not sure.
After taking a breath, he said to the communications staff: "Send power to the headquarters."
"At 8:40 this morning, our unit was violently attacked by Chinese artillery fire. The intensity of artillery fire was unprecedented. Now the first, second, and third lines of defense have been occupied by the Chinese. Our sixth line of defense has been occupied by the Chinese. The division has suffered heavy losses, and our division is retreating to the last line of defense. Although the officers and soldiers' loyalty to His Majesty the Emperor has not changed at all, the disparity in strength between the enemy and ourselves makes it difficult for our division to resist. The entire sixth division is in pieces!"
Kanto Hall
"Report, there is an urgent report from Rehe. They are under a full-scale attack by Chahar's northwest army. They are besieged on all sides and are in critical condition."
A report shocked Muto Nobuyoshi in the headquarters, who was happy about the dispatch of reinforcements from the base camp, to death.
If the Sixth Division was completely wiped out in Chengde, he, the commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army, would be done for.
"Baga!! The abominable Northwest Military Government, the abominable Zhang Yunhan!!" Muto Nobuyoshi's face suddenly turned ugly as his good mood was ruined.
"How is the situation now?"
Seeing Muto Nobuyoshi's livid face, a combat staff officer asked quickly.
"The situation is very bad. According to the telegram from the Sixth Division, the First Army of the Northwest Army has entered the center of Chengde. Their attack is extremely violent. The Chinese Army has tanks, heavy artillery and bombers to assist in the attack. The station has been lost. Two thousand All but a small part of the remaining security teams surrendered. The third line of defense of the Sixth Division is now in danger under the fierce attack of the Chinese."
"Your Excellency, Commander, the Chinese attack is too fierce, why don't we give up on Chengde?" Chief of Staff Xiaoji Guozhao said quickly.
"It's too late." Muto Nobuyoshi shook his head sadly.
Sure enough, just after saying this, another communications staff officer hurriedly rushed into the headquarters.
"It's not good! The entire Sixth Division is in pieces!!!"
“Nani???”
"Baga!! Ah!!!"
"Damn the Northwest Army! Damn Zhang Yunhan!! What happened to our Imperial Japanese Army!! Ah!!"
Muto Nobuyoshi slammed the table angrily, stood up, and cursed Zhang Yunhan. But at this moment, his heart suddenly contracted. He screamed and fell to the ground and began to twitch. It didn't look like he was pretending.
"Military doctor! Military doctor! Go to the military doctor quickly!!!"
Xiaoji Guozhao quickly ordered the soldiers to find a military doctor, and several staff officers carried Muto Nobuyoshi to the sofa.
After a while, the military doctor rushed into the headquarters and quickly gave Muto Nobuyoshi first aid. The rescue lasted for three hours, but was ultimately ineffective.
…
Lieutenant General Masaemon Sakamoto was sitting in the dark basement, which was his headquarters. However, at this moment, there were not many people here.
Because even the chief of staff went out to fight the Chinese soldiers in person. Sakamoto Masaemon sat on a chair and listened to the sound of submachine guns and grenade explosions outside. He knew that the Sixth Division was finished.
Two hours ago, he felt that he could hold on for a week, but he would break out the next day.
When the Chinese army attacked the city, he felt that if the Sixth Division could hold out for three days, the Kanto Agency would definitely provide emergency rescue, so he was not worried.
However, as a line of defense was lost every half hour for the next half hour, Sakamoto Masaemon had completely lost hope, and breaking out had become a wishful thinking. There were large groups of Chinese troops in any direction. With only the last line of defense and engineers, The total number of communications, staff, etc. is less than a thousand people, breakout?
It’s better to seize the time and think about how not to fall into the hands of the Chinese.
Suddenly, the gunfire outside stopped.
Masaemon Sakamoto's eyes were dull, and he slowly took out his gun, Nanbu Fourteen, from the drawer. He fumbled with the body of the gun, loaded it, and looked at the door with fierce eyes.
Tong!
A soldier kicked open the door and rolled over.
Masaemon Sakamoto fired three shots in a row, but none of them hit. At this moment, another Chinese soldier planned to enter. Masaemon Sakamoto aimed his machine gun at the door.
"Don't move, put down your weapons and surrender!!"
The soldier who rolled in raised his 28 and a half and pointed it at Sakamoto Masaemon.
"Hahaha, surrender?"
"There is an old saying in China."
"It's called, I would rather die than surrender, I,,,,"
Before he finished speaking, Sakamoto Masaemon pointed his gun at the soldier and prepared to shoot, but the soldier at the door had already opened fire first.
Bang bang bang bang!
Sakamoto Masaemon, who was shot several times, was full of bullet holes and bleeding. He slowly sat down on the chair and hit his head on the table with a loud bang.
"Report to superiors! Sakamoto Masaemon, commander of the Japanese Sixth Division, has been killed!"
The commander of the leading assault company looked at the general star on Masaemon Sakamoto and asked the soldiers to report to the top.
…
Zhangjiakou
Zhang Yunhan was looking at the progress. The resistance encountered by the 45th Division was negligible. They were either marching or on the march, occasionally entering a city and planting a flag.
After the 5th Army captured Longhua, it began to move south. If the battle goes well, it will switch defenses with the 1st Army. If the battle goes wrong, it can quickly annihilate the Sixth Division.
However, Zhang Yunhan may not have expected that things seemed to be developing a bit wrong. The Northwest Army swept across Rehe with almost overwhelming force.
If there was a Japanese devil here at this time, he would definitely scold Zhang Yunhan: Isn't it just crushing? I fired a shot, and you almost threw the ammunition box over. With this firepower, not to mention the Sixth Division, the Guards Division also had to kneel down.
thump thump thump
"Come in!"
"Report to the Commander-in-Chief!"
"Commander Chang of the First Army called."
"Our First Army joined the 44th Division of the 15th Army and launched an attack on the Japanese Sixth Division of the Chengde garrison at 7:00 on April 26. After two hours of bloody fighting, Chengde was captured and the Japanese Sixth Division was killed. Lieutenant General Nagasakamoto Masaemon is clearing out the remnants of the army."
This telegram was quickly delivered to Zhang Yunhan. The telegram said that the Japanese army was almost completely wiped out, which meant that there were almost no survivors. Chang Naichao was worthy of being one of Zhang Yunhan's most respected generals. This battle was really beautiful!
But Chang Naichao also said in the telegram that Chengde City was seriously damaged and it may take a lot of effort to rebuild it. But Zhang Yunhan doesn't care, a Sixth Division is worth it!
