Thirteen kilometers north of Datong, the joint command post of the 26th Division and the Cavalry Group.
"Two generals, report from the front."
"So far, the enemy's outermost fortifications built in Datong have been completely destroyed by the mountain and field artillery regiments."
"The 11th Independent Infantry Regiment and the 71st Tank Regiment are continuing to attack the city from the west and north. Based on the current progress, it will take us two days to approach the city wall."
After speaking, the communications staff immediately lowered his head and stood at attention, fearing that any move would anger the two lieutenant generals in front of him.
After patiently listening to the battle report, Yano Otonzaburo first moved to the sand table and pulled out several small red flags symbolizing the Eighth Route Army based on the information he had just obtained.
Then, the old devil pretended to be casual and said:
"Yo Xi, it seems that the warriors are very energetic, and the overall progress is pretty good."
"What about the casualties? Why didn't you report them just now? I can rest assured that I will never take my anger out on you."
Attacking Datong, which has been stationed in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region for a long time, will inevitably cause small casualties. All the senior officials of the Mongolian Army were mentally prepared for this in the early stage of decision-making.
That's why Jutaro Amakasu suggested that Li Shouxin and King Toku's troops be transferred from the rear.
All this is to consume the Eighth Route Army's ammunition and reduce our own casualties as much as possible.
"casualties."
Facing his own general's question, the communications staff officer's reaction was obviously unnatural. He adjusted his expression, put on a brave face and replied:
"As of 11 o'clock tonight, the 26th Division has suffered 3,100 casualties, including 1,927 Yusha."
"The loss of heavy weapons was relatively light. The Eighth Route Army did not find our artillery position. However, due to the air strike, one Type 91 105mm howitzer was completely scrapped."
As soon as these words came out, Yano Otonzaburo's old face suddenly turned red, and his whole body entered a red temperature state.
Although the old Japanese had prepared himself mentally before taking action, the current number of casualties was still beyond his expectation.
Just two days before the war started, one-fifth of his division had actually evaporated. If we continue fighting like this, wouldn't it be possible to capture Datong only if the entire army is wiped out?
The casualties of friendly forces made Issaku Nishihara a little nervous.
Compared with the 26th Division that combines infantry and artillery, the formation of the cavalry group is inherently unsuitable for siege, otherwise his troops would not deal with flanking positions.
Although the old Japanese had strictly prohibited the armored forces from going too deep before the war, no one knew for sure until the specific report came out.
The communications staff officer did not remain silent for long. Soon he opened the folder and continued to report:
"The situation of the cavalry group is better. In two days, there were only 1,700 casualties, of which 632 were Yushan warriors."
"In the armored forces, the losses of tanks were very small. Only seven Type 95 light tanks were destroyed by the enemy. However, the situation of various types of armored vehicles is not optimistic, and more than half of them have been lost."
Hearing this, Nishihara Issaku breathed a sigh of relief.
It is indeed difficult to replenish armored vehicles, but the basis of the cavalry group's mission is light tanks and medium tanks. As long as they can keep their tanks, their combat effectiveness will not drop too much.
After digesting the battle report, the two Japanese lieutenant generals couldn't express their sorrows.
"Hey, it seems that the Imperial Alliance Army with two divisions and six divisions alone is basically unable to win."
"Lieutenant Colonel Iguchi, go and send a telegram to urge us. Ask where our support troops have gone? Can they reach Jin Province within one day?"
"Hi!"
After hearing his general's order, the communications staff breathed a sigh of relief and then trotted away from the command post.
How difficult is it to attack Datong? Neji Okamura, who oversees the army in the Fengzhen area, is naturally Menqing.
It is still only a peripheral battle, and a regiment of troops is consumed every day. How many people might have died in the street fighting after the city wall was blown down.
After all, basic light weapons have always been the Eighth Route Army's advantage. An infantry squad is equipped with a barrel, a light machine gun, two submachine guns and several rifles.
It has an astonishing amount of ammunition. Even if the Chou people come, they have to knock one out before leaving.
Some particularly wealthy main forces are even equipped with 50 or 60 mm mortars.
On the other hand, our own side is still dominated by the Type 38 rifle, Taisho Type 11 light machine gun and Type 89 grenade that have remained unchanged for thousands of years. Their firepower is down by more than one level.
If this kind of equipment were used in a street fight, it is estimated that the Class A division would have to be pressed to the ground and rubbed.
In order to prevent the North China Front from also jumping out of a desperate Osaka Division, Okamura Neiji specially transferred the 110th Division, the 7th Independent Mixed Brigade and the 15th Independent Mixed Brigade to come for reinforcements.
In this way, a situation of one hundred thousand people attacking a city can be formed.
······
After the communications staff officer left, Otonzaburo Yano found that his colleagues were still in a daze. He followed the other person's gaze and found that Nishihara Issaku was studying the map of Datong County.
"Nishihara-kun, are you worried about the street fighting?"
"Street fighting can indeed drag the battle into a stalemate, but the level of modernization in Datong is very low. Almost 99% of the buildings are masonry structures."
"This means that it is difficult for the enemy to take advantage of the complex environment in the city. If our numbers are large enough, we may even become the dominant party."
As someone who has been stationed in Datong for three years, Yano Otonzaburo can pat his chest and say that he knows every corner of the city.
In the old devil's view, the houses in the county cannot block the direct fire of 75mm mountain and field artillery, not to mention that the cavalry group has a path-opening weapon like a tank.
As if he could see that his colleagues still had concerns, Yano Otonzaburo said confidently:
"You can rest assured that I will come up with a battle plan that satisfies everyone within two days."
"Besides, the general who is best at defending the city in the Republic of China army was defeated by you and me. No matter how powerful the Eighth Route Army surnamed Nie is, is it possible that he is better at defending than the Seventh Route Army?"
"Show off the momentum of the Taiyuan Battle and let us join hands to conquer the city in front of us."
The colleagues in front of him were so confident that Nishihara Issaku was too embarrassed to refute.
From his perspective, the Eighth Route Army must also be aware of the above situation. They are not fools. Since they can build a large group of fortifications outside the city, they will definitely strengthen the defense system inside the city.
As long as there are buildings to rely on, there is a high probability that our side will be in trouble.
When he thought that infantrymen might appear from the roof at any time carrying a rocket launcher, and then kill his precious Type 97 medium tank with one shot, Issaku Nishihara felt that his future was gloomy.
After a while, the old devil shook his head, changed the subject and said:
"After two days of fighting, did your division encounter any artillery positions of the Eighth Route Army?"
This artillery is not an artillery regiment composed of Miss 75, but the large-caliber mortar mentioned by the independent mixed second brigade.
In the current stage of positional warfare, the Eighth Route Army's mortars caused heavy casualties to the Japanese offensive troops. After all, these things were somewhat invincible in the trenches.
Moreover, the defenders' artillery shells are really abundant. Every time they take action, they fire at full speed to cover an area, almost lifting the Type 92 infantry cannon to fire.
"That's not true. I guess the enemy wants to save it for a critical moment."
"I have ordered each regiment to immediately report the enemy's large-caliber mortar as soon as it is discovered. That terrible thing must be nipped in the cradle."
When mentioning the 120mm mortar, Otonzaburo Yano specifically emphasized his tone.
In the next half hour, the two discussed the follow-up combat plan in depth and proposed more suitable options in many details.
In order to allow the troops who were fighting continuously to adjust their status, they canceled today's night attack plan and asked all ministries to reinforce existing positions in place.
(End of chapter)
