The town of Lanling is not large, so it is said to be easier to defend, but I have too few troops at hand. The armored infantry company is full of 150 people. During the attack on Lanling, 23 people were killed and 39 wounded, including the lightly wounded and those who could. There were 18 casualties in the battle. I deployed the remaining 106 people to the north of the city and reinforced them with 4 No. 1 tanks and 2 No. 2 tanks that were out of fuel. There were 457 people in Cao Yunjian's battalion, 49 were killed and 88 were wounded, including 36 wounded who could fight. This way His battalion still has 356 soldiers, and more than 30 of them were mobilized to cover the broken down tanks in the city. The task I gave him was to guard the south and west directions and reinforce him with 3 damaged No. 1 tanks and 2 No. 2 tanks. There is still one machine gun that can be used, and all six anti-tank guns have been strengthened for his battalion. Cao Yunjian will deploy the anti-tank guns specifically. Of the 200 special forces soldiers of the special forces brigade, 21 were killed and 19 were wounded. There were still 160 people who could fight. I used them as a reserve team and finally used them. The defense in the east of the city was handed over to the armored group commanded by Cao Lei. I gave it back to him. Thirty special forces were sent as cover.
The fall of Lanling shocked the entire North China Front. The current location of the Jigu Division is Linyi to the west, Taierzhuang to the south, Yixian to the east, and Lanling to the north. It was originally recaptured by the Chinese army in Yixian. After the defeat of the Japanese Itagaki Division in Linyi, he planned to strengthen Lanling's defenses and make every effort to ensure the smooth flow of the supply arteries. He had never thought about withdrawing the troops. He originally wanted to capture Taierzhuang in one fell swoop during the march, and the troops were at the forefront. Pointing directly at Xuzhou, he did not expect that a miscellaneous Chinese army like Sun Lianzhong, whom he had always looked down upon, would actually stop his invincible division in Taierzhuang for 10 days. Now the Chinese army suddenly occupied Lanling, and the Bancun Regiment 1 who was guarding Lanling The whole brigade was wiped out in just 12 hours. Chief of Staff Tada Jun immediately suggested that Captain Tanaka lead a regiment and 50 tanks to counterattack and recapture Lanling, and also requested the North China Front to send reinforcements for support. The North China Front responded immediately and sent a regiment north from Mengyin Jingchi County to quickly open up communication lines and restore contact with the Isoya Division.
After getting the exact information, Li Zongren also studied the map carefully and allocated Zhang Zhaoying's 139th Division, Chang Enduo's 111th Division, and Huo Shouyi's 112th Division to Guan Linzheng for only one purpose: to hold Lanling and close the Jigu Division. In order to completely annihilate the Jigu Division, Bai Chongxi personally went to Guan Linzheng's regiment headquarters to supervise Guan Linzheng's operations. Li Zongren also gave reassurance to Sun Lianzhong, who was pleading hard. Sun Lianzhong's troops suffered heavy casualties, and the newly added 39th Division also suffered more than half of its casualties in the battle. Sun Lianzhong planned to withdraw across the canal to defend, but Li Zongren knew that if he withdrew through the canal, It would be very difficult to counterattack, so no matter how difficult it was for the 2nd Army and how Sun Lianzhong begged, Li Zongren only had 10 words: "Hold firmly, retreat and engage in military law." Sun Lianzhong reluctantly said: "Okay, Commander Li, I will obey the order. , until the entire 2nd Army is finished." Putting down the phone, Sun Lianzhong called Chi Fengcheng: "After the soldiers have finished fighting, you can step forward and fill them in. If you fill them in, I will come and fill them in. Who dares to retreat across the canal? , kill without pardon."
Guan Linzheng issued a death order and ordered all units of the 20th Army to quickly prepare for battle. Whichever regiment is ready for battle must immediately set off to Lanling. The first group that hesitates will be killed. Soon the 11th Regiment of the 4th Division also set out to assemble in the Lanling area.
The eyes of the officials including Okamura Ningji, Bai Chongxi, Li Zongren, Tada Shun, Isotani Rensuke, Guan Linzheng, and Sun Lianzhong were all focused on the small town of Lanling. This small town has taken on so many things, even more than it can bear.
Our unit's 26 Opel trucks and 8 half-track armored personnel carriers kept traveling between Yixian and Lanling on the road, transporting troops. On both sides of the road were soldiers running forward, and Opel trucks and armored personnel carriers roared. As they drove past them, the soldiers in the car excitedly waved to the soldiers on the road.
There is a hill next to a section of the road from Taierzhuang to Lanling. A detachment of the special forces decided to intercept the Japanese brigade here. The reason why the detachment leader Chen Mingtian chose this place as a blocking position is because more than 300 meters in front of it is the bend of the road. Both vehicles and tanks must slow down when they arrive here. This hill is more than 50 meters away from the road. The side close to the road is very steep and tanks cannot drive up. There is a huge boulder standing on the hill. At the bottom of the boulder, there is a natural stone cave. , can accommodate troops to prepare for artillery bombardment. On the left and right side of the boulder, the special forces immediately built fortifications. Chen Mingtian made the regulations. One whistle, rifle fire, two whistles, each person threw 2 grenades, three whistles, everyone worked together. charge.
When the leading soldiers ran back to report that the Japanese advance troops were coming to Chen Mingtian, Chen Mingtian ordered everyone to prepare for battle. There was smoke on the road in the distance, and the enemy was coming. Three cars emerged from the smoke. It was unclear how many cars were in the convoy in the distance. Chen Mingtian immediately ordered the combat team around him to shoot the tires and driver of the Japanese car with rifles. When the Japanese car approached the corner and slowed down, Chen Mingtian immediately ordered to fire. Zhang Xiangliang's four-man combat team immediately opened fire on the Japanese car. In a car, the driver and an officer in the Japanese cab folded their hands and fell on the seats. The car ignited a puff of black smoke and stopped. Before the two cars following it could react, Zhang Xiangliang's combat team set fire to the remaining two cars. More than a dozen Japanese soldiers jumped out of the cars and lay down. Looking for the direction of shooting beside the car, Chen Mingtian ordered all the special forces to concentrate fire. The accurate shooting killed these Japanese soldiers on the roadside. Seeing that the situation was not good, several Japanese soldiers turned around and ran away. They were killed before they could take a few steps. Special forces were killed on both sides of the road.
The special forces jumped out of their positions, rushed to the Japanese corpses, and picked up weapons. Not only did they get back more than 10 Japanese rifles, they also seized 2 Japanese machine guns. Chen Mingtian slapped his thigh, which solved a big problem.
At this time, there was a roaring sound on the highway in the distance, just like the muffled thunder in summer. The special forces trained with my tanks every day. When they knew the tanks were coming, Chen Mingtian ordered everyone to pay attention to concealment and not to fire without orders.
Sure enough, the Japanese army drove over with 7 or 8 tanks, followed by a long column of infantry on foot. When they discovered the destroyed Japanese car at the corner, they immediately stopped advancing and sent out scouts to investigate the condition of the road. When these more than 10 Japanese soldiers As the special forces got closer and closer, Chen Mingtian held his breath and waited for them to touch the position under the special forces' position. Chen Mingtian blew the whistle twice, and more than 20 grenades flew from the mountain to the Japanese scouts at the same time. At their feet, although they had discovered the special forces on the hill, so many grenades meant that they would not be able to return alive. The Japanese commander in the distance had seen the death of the scouts through his telescope, but he did not understand whether it was a grenade or an artillery shell that killed them. To be sure, the officer gathered more than 200 Japanese troops at the corner and ordered tanks to bombard the hills on the road and the rows of fortifications opposite the hills. There were fake fortifications built by special forces and there was no one there. The shells fired by the Japanese tanks on the hills were absorbed by the huge bodies of the boulders, while the fortifications on the highway were the focus of the Japanese army. Rows of tank grenades hit the area, plowing through it. But in fact, the special forces soldiers were not injured at all.
The Japanese officer waved a small flag, and more than 200 Japanese soldiers formed a skirmish line and approached the false position on the road. Chen Mingtian raised his rifle and steadily aimed at the Japanese officer waving the flag. "Bang" gunfire sounded. The Japs on the road all bent down, stopped, and checked the situation of their companions around them. No one was shot, but the Japanese officer holding the small flag had a hole between his eyebrows made by a bullet and fell to the side of the road.
