March 12, 1941, Qijiang County, the National Revolutionary Army temporarily established the 68th Division Headquarters
"Damn, that bullshit Huangpu No. 1 man, even if he let a fool take command, the Sixth Theater would not collapse so quickly. There are twenty Central Army training divisions, ten Sichuan Army divisions, three heavy artillery regiments, and three A hundred thousand troops." Li Yunlong jumped to his feet and cursed in the headquarters.
At the beginning, Li Yunlong didn't take it seriously when the Japanese army launched an attack from Yichang. Tens of thousands of tired Japanese soldiers attacked hundreds of thousands of elite national troops who were waiting for them. Even if they could achieve victory, they would definitely suffer heavy losses. Breaking the first line of defense of the national army is almost over.
But in fact? The assault group formed by Lieutenant General Anan Weiji concentrated on the meager armored strength of the 11th Army and actually tore apart the national defense line in one fell swoop. It only took three hours from the firing of the first shot to tearing apart the national defense line.
As for the Chinese army opposite the Japanese army, they were equipped with 300 tanks alone, including "high-end goods" such as Valentine infantry tanks, but they were of no use, and those hundreds of tanks were left almost intact. Devil.
At that time, Lieutenant General Anami was almost laughing when he was taking pictures on the front line. When attacking the second line of defense of the Chinese army, the Japanese army used a lot of captured tanks and even forced the Chinese prisoners of war to drive tanks. The attack on our defense line had a great impact on the defenders of the second line of defense.
There is also the fort near Fengjie. The Sixth War Zone actually handed over all the defense of the fort to the fortress artillery and the Marine Corps. All the precious anti-air firepower was reserved for protecting its own headquarters. Not even a battalion was assigned to the fort. This Only then did Yamamoto’s air force make contributions.
After the fort fell, Hu Shoushan did not estimate the scale of the Japanese amphibious operations. Only a dilapidated Sichuan military division was left in Fengjie. Facing the impact of the Japanese marines, in just one round, the Sichuan military division, which was seriously lacking in heavy weapons, was It collapsed under the attack of Japanese naval guns.
The most irritating thing was that a heavy artillery regiment of the Central Army that was on standby strictly refused to cooperate with the Sichuan Army in the battle because it was worried about retaliatory bombardment by the Japanese navy. In the end, the artillery regiment and its weapon belt personnel were all captured by the Japanese. .
In the subsequent counterattack of Fengjie County in the Sixth Theater, this heavy artillery regiment equipped with M1910 122mm howitzers caused great losses to the counterattack troops. What is even more ridiculous is that our counterattack troops did not have any decent weapons in their hands. For heavy weapons, they could only rely on a few artillery battalions equipped with Krupp 75 mountain guns made in Shanghai. It didn't take long for the entire army to be defeated.
The loss of Fengjie not only split the defense area of the Sixth Theater in two, but more importantly, Anan Weiji obtained almost everything he needed here, including weapons, ammunition, food, vehicles, and even very convenient individual soldiers. rations.
Before taking Fengjie, the frontline troops of the Japanese Eleventh Army had only three days of rations, and the field troops could only obtain two rice balls mixed with soybean meal before the attack.
"Lao Li, don't worry. Didn't the Ministry of Military Affairs send troops for reinforcements? The Ninth War Zone has also started containment operations. The situation is not that bad." Ding Wei said while looking at the map. Judging from the current troop strength and weapon configuration, , the national army still has a great advantage.
"Old Ding, what's the use of looking at the map? There was no time when we didn't maintain an advantage over the Japs, but there was no time when we weren't pushed to the ground and beaten. The reinforcements were handed over to Hu Shoushan's command. What's that? Do you understand that the three armies are incompetent and exhausted?" Li Yunlong shook his head helplessly. He really couldn't understand. He had obviously lost hundreds of thousands of troops and a large number of heavy weapons, but it happened that the highest authority still trusted Hu Shoushan. , and more than 100,000 troops were cobbled together from the vicinity of the mountain city to support Hu Shoushan, and even naval and air forces were mobilized to the Sixth Theater.
"Old Li, Hu Shoushan is also the brigade commander's classmate after all. It is said that his grades are better than those of the brigade commander. He can't even cope with this situation, right?" Ding Wei was reminded by Li Yunlong that he felt unsure. If If the hundreds of thousands of troops were also destroyed, the mountain city would be really empty. Thinking that the Japanese army would fight all the way to the mountain city, he actually had a shuddering feeling.
"Old Li, it's not good. The navy was defeated. The seaplane carrier Ding'an was injured and ran aground. Tongde, Yining, and Weining were sunk in the battle. Chuguan and Chuqian were seriously injured. Our navy is finished." At this moment, Kong Jie pushed open the door and barged in.
It turned out that as soon as he gained command of the naval fleet, Hu Shoushan ordered the navy to cover the troops of the Sixth Theater to counterattack Fengjie. In his opinion, the Japanese army could not reach Fengjie without large warships, and the forts along the river were also destroyed. , As for the Air Force, everyone is equally matched. Even if the Navy cannot win, there is no problem in returning them whole.
But Hu Shoushan did not take into account the Japanese ground artillery fire, that is, the heavy artillery group captured in the Sixth Theater, M1910 122mm howitzer, B-4 M1931 203mm heavy howitzer, M14\/M16 100mm artillery, Miss 75 , the Japanese army concentrated hundreds of captured artillery pieces to assist the naval operations. The intensive artillery fire instantly annihilated the naval fleet. If the air force had not been desperate to cover it, the navy would have been completely annihilated.
But even so, I am afraid that the navy will not be able to count on it in a short time. After all, except for the Chuguan and Chuqian, the remaining small gunboats and torpedo boats are probably no match for the Japanese warships.
"One general is incompetent and the whole army is exhausted. Lao Li, you really got it right." After listening to the information Kong Jie brought, Ding Wei also felt very powerless. How long has it been? The small naval fleet that had been so prosperous for just a month was almost in ruins.
"Look, this is just the beginning. Sooner or later, all the wealth of the highest authorities will be sold out by the prodigal son." Li Yunlong curled his lips and frowned even more tightly. Without the support of the navy, the situation in the Sixth War Zone would be terrible. It's even more dangerous.
On the same day, the Japanese army began to airdrop paratroopers into the hinterland of Sichuan Province in units and squads, and launched large-scale raids on transportation hubs, bridges and other places. Although it did not cause too many casualties to the national army, even The airborne troops themselves were quickly annihilated, but several major highways in Sichuan Province were still paralyzed, and they were unable to recover for ten days and a half.
At the same time as the paratroopers launched the attack, the Japanese Army Air Force sent a bomber formation to bypass Guizhou Province and break into Sichuan Province. They bombed several shipping terminals in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, destroying a large number of terminal facilities. Hundreds of large and small ships were sunk and damaged. It was deployed near major cities, so it did not stop the Japanese bombing.
On the night of March 14, the Japanese Army Air Force carried out a large-scale bombing of the mountain city under the guidance of special high school agents. Although most of the bombs used by the Japanese army were crude cast iron bombs produced in Jinling or Hankou, they were simply filled with nitrated starch. It's a crap, but it doesn't affect the impact of these bombs on the morale of the people at all.
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