Datong, Wudingmen Watchtower.
Due to the orders issued by Itachi Nishihara and Otonzaburo Yano, the Japanese did not launch a night attack tonight like they did two days ago, but chose to use the vision provided by the moonlight to strengthen their positions.
After all, the Eighth Route Army is good at night fighting. In yesterday's positional battle, they often found opportunities to launch counterattacks to regain the lost defensive depth.
This caused the troops stationed in Mongolia to become frightened. Even if they did not attack, they would take more precautions to prevent the previous results from being wasted.
Facing the "silent" enemy position, the army reorganization expert put down the telescope in his hand, and then said to the people next to him with great emotion:
"Yongjian, it seems that the Japanese have no plans to continue attacking tonight. It's not easy. Our comrades on the front line can finally take a breather."
"It's a pity that this ancient city of Datong will probably be destroyed in the war."
"I can shoulder this historical responsibility, but no one can undo the eternal hatred left behind."
Since being assigned by the organization to open up the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei base area in the Wutai Mountains, army reorganization experts have had little opportunity to command large-scale operations.
In this Battle of Datong, both the enemy and ourselves invested nearly 150,000 troops.
A battle of this level affects the boss's heart all the time. The Japs were extremely silent tonight, so naturally he wanted to pay a visit to the observation post.
After looking at the town behind him and then at his old partner beside him, the tiger in the forest patted him on the shoulder and said:
"We fought for two whole days. The Japanese casualties were not small. Even if the Type A division comes, we have to wait a while."
"What's more, the enemy's reinforcements are on their way. If nothing goes wrong, the Mongolian army will launch a full-scale general offensive tomorrow. We must also prepare for street fighting in advance."
"As for the issue of ancient buildings, don't think too much about it. Compared with the safety of the soldiers' lives, all non-essential things must give way."
"Besides, you have to believe in the wisdom of future generations. The Japs will not destroy the entire wall. After the war, there will definitely be an opportunity to repair the entire wall with bricks."
The sudden relief made the army reorganization expert couldn't help but take a second look at his comrades. In his impression, tigers in the forest have no habit of actively comforting people.
Hearing this, he quickly adjusted his mentality so as not to affect the subsequent deployment.
As an old comrade who has followed the organization through all kinds of difficulties, if you save people and lose land, you will keep them; if you save land and lose people, you will lose both people and land. Of course he understands this.
"Sure, let me lend you some good words."
"Let's go back first. The weather is a bit cold tonight. You can't have any problems with your body now."
After a while, the two left the tower hand in hand and came to the combat headquarters.
Looking at the busy staff, the tiger in the forest cleared his throat and ordered to his comrades:
"Inform each column to let the soldiers have a good rest tonight. If they hold on for one more day tomorrow, they can abandon their positions."
"The prey has been baited. There is no need to fight with the Japanese outside the city. It is time to implement the next phase of the street fighting plan."
"Don't forget to reveal some information to the enemy. You have to let them "accidentally" know the news about Lao Nie in the city. It's hard to catch these dogs who don't see rabbits and don't show off their hawks. It's hard to get them without stimulating them."
Compared with the Mongolian garrison, which suffered heavy losses and whose killed units were calculated as regiments, the casualties in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region were very small.
Our own side has an absolute advantage in firepower, and solid defenses and underground bunkers have been built on the main position. A large part of the reason why the Japanese are able to make the current progress is because all columns are releasing water.
However, things will look very different tomorrow.
Because the Japanese 110th Division is a special force set up in this country and is known as the strongest B division.
It has two infantry brigades, an artillery regiment, an engineering regiment, a baggage regiment, and a cavalry brigade. At its peak, it even had 24,400 people.
The entry of an enemy whose strength and combat effectiveness exceeds the standard will definitely increase the pressure on the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region.
Counting the enemy reinforcements from two independent mixed brigades, the frontal battlefield is about to face a strong attack by 70,000 Japanese regular troops.
The tiger in the forest is not some nutty nut. He will not let the troops defend against more than 20 105 howitzers.
The 1st Air Division is currently overwhelmed by the Army Aviation of the North China Front and is temporarily unable to provide air support. At this time, it was a very wise and correct choice to let each column hold on for one more day and then retreat into the city to prepare for street fighting.
There are a large number of bunkers and fortifications in the city, and the terrain is more complex and unsuitable for large forces to advance.
In this way, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region can completely drag the Japanese into street fighting that is more beneficial to the defenders according to the defense zones divided before the war.
When a group of staff officers issued orders to troops at all levels, the army reorganization experts silently walked to the city defense map. Looking at the small dots representing fortifications, he asked with some worry:
"How are the preparations for the tunnel I mentioned earlier?"
Although Datong was an important town in the past dynasties, neither the preserved fruit nor the Japanese paid attention to modernization. Except for the mining area, the various houses in the city are not much different from those of the previous century.
Buildings with masonry structures cannot protect against the enemy's mountain and field artillery.
In order to reduce the losses of the troops, and also to make the Japanese not suspicious. Army reorganization experts specifically ordered the soldiers to build a large number of hidden tunnels.
Unless the Japs use 105 howitzers to clear the ground without distinguishing between friend and foe, destroying even their own soldiers.
Otherwise, the tunnels and various fortifications will definitely turn the seemingly ordinary Datong County into a flesh-eating millstone.
After hearing his words, the tiger in the forest put down the telegram sent by 103 and said:
"Don't worry, I have arranged all the preparations for the street battle. Then you can just wait for the opportunity to retreat, and then happily make a marching pot."
"Everything is ready now, all we need is the east wind."
Hearing this, the army reorganization expert nodded.
Yongjian's work style is stable and trustworthy. He said everything was in place, so it must be OK.
"good!"
······
At 9 o'clock in the morning on November 22, 1941, Fengzhen.
"Nishihara-kun, Yano-kun, long time no see. Why do you two look so bad? Maybe you haven't had a good rest recently."
"Don't worry, with the reinforcements from our department, the next battle will be overwhelming. The three divisions and two independent mixed brigades together have a strength of 70,000, which is enough to fight another Tanzhou battle."
"By the way, did you read the telegram sent by General Okamura yesterday?"
The Japanese Lieutenant General who spoke was naturally Mamoru Iinuma, the division commander of the 110th Division. This person has the same living habit as a certain bald man, which is keeping a diary.
Baldhead's diary is more or less useful. Some of the content there can be used to make fun of, and can even explain some mysterious operations of preserved fruit.
Mamoru Iinuma's diary records his evil deeds from 1937 to the present.
In a sense, this old guy can definitely be regarded as a representative figure when humanoid stars shine. He can be shot a hundred times without getting rid of his hatred.
Upon hearing the words of their new colleagues, both Nishihara Issaku and Yano Otonzaburo's eyes lit up, as if the haze of the past few days had been swept away.
Without him, it was just because Okamura Neji sent a particularly important piece of information. In Datong, there is a big man who is crucial to the Eighth Route Army.
From 1937 to the present, the Republic of China has indeed sacrificed some senior commanders, many of whom were posthumously awarded the title of Army General.
However, the Eighth Route Army in North China never lost any high-ranking officials who could shock the whole country.
Both Shinozuka Yoshio and Iwamatsu Yoshio had formulated special combat plans just to capture or behead the deputy commander-in-chief or deputy general staff officer of the Eighth Route Army.
But as a result, the grass on their graves is now one meter high.
Not to mention arresting or beheading, even if the devils wanted to get photos of the two of them, they would have to send agents to attack the preserved fruits.
And judging from the strength of both sides, the Eighth Route Army did not send a marine regiment to major cities to carry out beheading missions. He, Okamura Neiji, was grateful to God.
Nowadays, there is actually a commander at least division level in Datong. How can the two old devils Nishihara Issaku and Yano Otonzaburo not be excited?
As long as they can bring back a body, the losses in the past few days are nothing compared to the gains in the future, and there is even the possibility of their military ranks rising to a higher level.
"I saw it! How could I not read such an important telegram?"
"Now I just want to personally lead my troops into Datong and get my loot as soon as possible. If I let the other party run away, I will definitely regret it for the rest of my life."
"I really didn't expect that we would get unexpected gains from this battle."
Nishihara Issei's words made the other two Japanese lieutenant generals nod their heads.
Judging from the excited expressions on the three people's faces, it seemed that they had already convinced the senior commander of the Eighth Route Army. After all, the current situation is that 70,000 regular troops are attacking a county, so I have the advantage.
"By the way, who do you think is the senior commander in Datong City? Liu? Or Nie?"
"I prefer the latter. That man is the soul of the Eighth Route Army's Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region. If we kill him, our North China Front will have one less enemy."
In the understanding of the Japanese, the Eighth Route Army has only three organized division-level troops. Judging from the current geographical location, we can first eliminate the 120th Division entrenched in the northwest of Shanxi Province.
So, that is the 129th Division and the 115th Division.
Among them, only the division commander of the former remained in the province, while the division commander of the latter had gone north to recuperate a few years ago.
But regardless of whether they are Liu or Nie, as long as they can catch them, it will be a great achievement. If the current strength of the North China Front Army was not too tight, Okamura Neiji even wanted to deploy two more divisions to fight Datong.
After reaching an agreement, the three Japanese soldiers gave orders to their troops:
"Twenty-sixth Division! The whole army attacks Qingyuan North Gate in the west! We must break through the Eighth Route Army defenders' defense line today! I require the troops to enter Datong tomorrow morning!"
"The cavalry group, with the 71st Chariot Regiment as the vanguard, attack Heyang North Gate with all its strength! Don't worry about the number of casualties! The time has come to be loyal to His Majesty Tian Locust!"
"The 110th Division, our goal is Wuding Ximen! Show the Eighth Route Army the strength of the strongest B Division!"
Although the three old devils are very excited now, they have not completely lost their minds.
The reason why they did not choose the main entrance with three walls as the offensive defense line was because Datong had urns on all four walls. Even if their respective troops can successfully break through the wall, they will not be able to achieve substantial gains in a short period of time.
The Wengcheng, with its narrower battlefield width, was simply a death pit for the infantry.
"Hi!"
······
A position ten kilometers away from Datong is the underground command post of the Fourth Division of the First Army of the Puppet Mongolian Army.
After two days and one night of attack, the morale within the Japanese Army had dropped to the bottom. The surviving commanders were crying and showing fear.
"Brother, please think of a solution quickly! We have already lost 2,700 brothers!"
"If we continue to rush down with the Japs, I'm afraid our First Army will become a thing of the past! Contact the Army Commander quickly to see if he can work out some connections and try to rescue us!"
The words of the deputy division commander of the puppet army represent the aspirations of all traitors.
The Fourth Division of the First Army has a very grand name, but its actual size is only a little more than a regiment, with a total strength of about 4,000 people.
This was the result of Li Shouxin forcibly transferring some soldiers from the other three divisions before the expedition, otherwise the number would be even smaller.
Nearly 70% of them were dead now. With the fighting qualities and will of the two Japs, how could the troops still have morale?
Hearing his subordinate's words, Guiguiting forced out a smile.
At this time, the traitor's face was pale, his eyes were bloodshot, and his body would tremble involuntarily from time to time. It looked like he had eaten a lot of lollipops.
"What can I do! We don't have a radio station, how can we contact the military commander!"
"The only way to survive now is to join hands with the Japanese army and rush into Datong County. Only by completing the mission will the brothers have the possibility of survival."
"We have to make a contribution! Otherwise we have to participate in subsequent battles!"
Hearing this, everyone fell into silence.
Recalling the brutal and intensive firepower of the defenders at the main position, the bodies of the two Japanese soldiers shook even more.
beat? how to spell?
Compared with the Eighth Route Army, the Thirty-fifth Army, which consists of seven and a half routes, is like a novice village.
In fact, compared with the situation of the Second Army, the situation of the Fourth Division is much better.
After all, the original plan of the 26th Division was to send them to blow up the city wall, so most of the time their division attacked from the flanks, avoiding the most ferocious firepower points as much as possible.
Unlike the Second Army, the five divisions were all used by the Japanese as consumables to block bullets, not even cannon fodder.
While Bao Guiting and others were talking, the Japs chief of staff from a few days ago came to the command post again.
Looking at a group of chicken-like imperial soldiers, Kawasaki Sadahisa showed a cruel and heart-rending smile.
"Gentlemen, it's time to hit the road!"
"The general offensive will officially begin in half an hour. After the bombardment is over, all your divisions must rush forward." (End of Chapter)
