After the Second Brigade captured Zhengding, the door of Shimen was wide open, and only two regiments of Japanese soldiers were left in the city;
As a transportation hub city, Shimen has no danger to defend.
Although the city wall of Shimen is high and thick, the Eighth Route Army has aircraft and heavy artillery. No matter how high the city wall is, it cannot withstand a few heavy bombs. In the face of modern artillery fire, the medieval city wall cannot stop the attack of tens of thousands of well-equipped Eighth Route Army. This The Eighth Route Army knew this, and so did the Japanese.
In order not to destroy the Shimen and reduce the casualties of the people in the city, the Eighth Route Army always adhered to the principle of surrounding three buildings and one, leaving a way for the Japanese to retreat. Now the problem is in the hands of Lieutenant General Lin Fangtaro of the 110th Division.
The 110th Division was originally a four-unit ad hoc division, with jurisdiction over the 110th Infantry Regiment, the 139th Regiment, the 140th Regiment, the 163rd Regiment, the 110th Cavalry Regiment, and one regiment each of engineering, artillery, and supplies, a total of 7 1 regiment and 1 brigade, plus the division and regiment headquarters, the total number of people is 24,400.
Due to the lack of Japanese soldiers, the 110th Division was reorganized into a 3-regiment C Division half a year ago. The 140th Regiment was transferred back to the mainland to form a new division. Workers, supplies, and artillery were all downgraded to brigades, and the total strength was reduced to 15,500. The combat effectiveness is judged to be [C] level.
As the Eighth Route Army launched the Battle of Shimen, the 110th Regiment originally stationed in Shanggu was ordered to withdraw from Shimen.
An infantry regiment has been lost in Zhengding City, and in the battles in other outlying counties, nearly two brigades of Japs were wiped out by the First and Third Brigades;
Shimen is now surrounded by three brigades of the 106th Column in the east, south and west directions, leaving only the north gate as a retreat.
Whether to attack or withdraw, Lieutenant General Lin Fang needs to seek the opinions of others:
"Gentlemen, Zhengding, the gate of Shimen, has been occupied by the Eighth Route Army. The 163rd Regiment stationed in Zhengding has been collectively destroyed. Adding the personnel lost in other places, the entire division has less than 10,000 warriors available for combat;
The Eighth Route Army around Shimen has about 60,000 people, and can be supported by no less than 100 aircraft, as well as a large number of heavy artillery troops. Currently, the Eighth Route Army has surrounded Shimen from three sides. Whether to attack or withdraw, we must come up with a plan as soon as possible, gentlemen. how about? "
The captain of the 110th Wing was a fanatical militarist. He stood up with a loud noise and said viciously:
“The Imperial Army has never had a precedent of retreating without fighting. It would be a shame for the Imperial Army to have tens of thousands of warriors flee without fighting, and it is a disgrace to His Majesty the Emperor!
Therefore, this should not be a matter of discussion, but a matter of discussing how to fight;
The Chinese people surrounded Sanqueyi in order to disrupt the imperial soldiers and reduce the warriors' will to fight to the death. I suggest that people should be sent to seal the north gate with stones, put it to death and survive, and not leave the task force to chance.
The Chinese have a large number of aircraft and heavy artillery, and the city wall cannot be defended at all, so they can only abandon the city wall defense line. The entire division withdraws into the city and fights with the Chinese in street fights. They fight until every soldier is killed, and they vow not to retreat until they die! "
He seemed to sense that the division commander intended to retreat, so he made his words very serious. He blocked the retreat from the beginning and was not within the scope of the discussion.
As the main commander of the 110th Division, Colonel Minakami Genzo has a strong say. Moreover, he brought up Yujin, and the 139th Regiment Captain was the first to stand up and support his proposal;
The two infantry captains had made up their minds, and the others could only second their opinions.
The Japanese are famous for their ability to defeat their superiors. Colonel Shui Shui and others made up their minds, and Lieutenant General Lin Fang could only give up the idea of retreat and live or die with Shimen City.
This commander on the water is no stranger to Chinese people. The famous Five Heroes of Langya Mountain happened when part of the 110th Regiment raided the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei base area. His hands are full of Chinese people.
Column 106 originally left a way for the Japanese to retreat, but they did not appreciate it and sent people to block the north gate with stones. They were determined to fight to the death with the Eighth Route Army, and Monk Xu could only help them.
The main task of attacking Shimen City was given to Li Tiejun's second brigade. They had previous experience in attacking Zhengding and would not bother the two commanders;
In the Battle of Zhengding, the Second Brigade did indeed fight well, wiping out one enemy regiment and suffering less than a thousand casualties. Cheng Xiazi was convinced and did not stand up to oppose Monk Xu's decision.
After confirming the attitude of the Japanese in the city, Column 106 stopped hesitating and issued an attack order, concentrating its forces to attack Shimen from three directions.
Like Zhengding City, the first ones to enter the scene were the air force and artillery. Their task was to blow up several gaps in the south city with high walls and thick walls that could be used to invade the city.
With the advent of aircraft and artillery, the Eighth Route Army no longer used the most primitive ladders to siege cities, which would cause too many casualties;
Even the Japanese no longer use their main forces to defend the city. If the 106th Column still climbs the ladder, there is no need for him to be the column commander. Chu Xiong still has the right to recommend that he be removed by the column commander.
The city wall of Shimen is indeed strong. The air force and artillery took a whole morning to blow up several places on the south wall. The widest one was more than 300 meters wide. The east gate and west gate also blew a gap each.
After lunch, the Second Brigade took the lead in launching an attack in Nancheng. Almost at the same time, the First and Third Brigades also launched feint attacks in the east and west directions.
Cheng Xiazi threw himself into a main battalion at once. This was not the consciousness of a feint attack.
Li Tiejun sent the Ermengzi Battalion. In the battle of Zhengding, the first battalion suffered more than 300 casualties;
Monk Xu immediately transferred more than 1,000 people from local troops to replace the lost soldiers of each brigade, and the number of casualties would be replenished.
The combat effectiveness of the replenished 1st Battalion quickly recovered after two days of rest. Due to the accumulation of certain experience in attacking difficulties, the 1st Battalion's combat effectiveness increased instead of falling, and the morale of the troops was also high.
The First Battalion, as the sharp knife of the vanguard group, took the lead in breaking into the city from outside the ruins. During this process, the Japanese troops never appeared. They only placed a small team of observation posts on the city wall. These are the eyes of the Japanese. They must be Clear it out.
After the first battalion entered the city, the Japanese whistles sounded one after another, which reminded the Japanese in the city that the Chinese were invading.
A few minutes later, the sound of shells piercing the air was heard in the sky, and the Japanese field artillery brigade opened fire, targeting the first battalion that had just entered the city garden;
The Japanese were also cunning and waited until the first battalion entered the city garden before firing. This was to make the Eighth Route Army's artillery use a defensive weapon.
There were a large number of ordinary people in the city. The Japanese drove them around the artillery positions and used them as human shields for their artillery. This really made it difficult for the Eighth Route Army to let go;
If necessary, the artillery units should try not to fire at the Japanese artillery positions, and the main combat operations should be left to the infantry.
The first battalion lay in the ruins, silently enduring the ravages of Japanese artillery fire. From time to time, someone was shot and fell.
Fortunately, the Japanese's artillery shells were limited, and the shelling stopped after half an hour. The infantry of both sides started fighting in the city.
There is no cleverness in this. What is completely competing is the combat power of the infantry of both sides. It is also a real war of attrition until one side can no longer withstand it.
Unknowingly, the two sides fought in the city all afternoon, causing casualties on each other, and it soon became dark.
After dark, Li Tiejun quietly put his favorite, the Cheetah Special Warfare Brigade, into the city. Their targets were naturally the Japanese division headquarters and field artillery positions.
He bet on winning the battle of Shimen on paralyzing the Japs' command system. Whether he can succeed or not depends on Cheetah.
