Yoshio Iwamatsu has requested tactical guidance from Neji Okamura.
But Okamura Neji has not replied to him so far, so Yoshio Iwamatsu decided not to wait and was ready to issue orders to break out and respond.
Too late and things will change.
How many surrounded soldiers can be rescued?
Tonight is the time when the Japanese army has the greatest chance. Once the Eighth Route Army completes the encirclement fortifications, there will be no chance.
The tunnels dug by the Japanese army were not large, and they did not store much food and water.
When not surrounded by the Eighth Route Army, the Japanese army in Taiyuan could send a supply chain to continuously deliver food, ammunition and water to the Japanese army in the tunnels.
The Japanese troops in the tunnels continued to fight for two months without any problems.
But now these Japanese troops are surrounded in the tunnels and can survive for several days without food. If there is no water, it will be really fatal.
then.
Chief of Staff Hanatani was quickly formulating a combat plan and ordered the 21st Infantry Brigade, 24th Division and 41st Infantry Division to break out on time at 2 o'clock in the evening.
Troops from the 5th Brigade, 3rd Composite Brigade and 1st Cavalry Brigade, as well as the 28th Division, will be ready to respond.
the other side.
The Eighth Route Army had already guessed that the Japs would break out tonight, so they laid a heavy ambush on the Japs' way to meet the troops.
At the same time, the Eighth Route Army troops surrounding the Japs were also ready to destroy the Japs at any time.
The night is as dark as ink.
The Japanese army's Qinglong Mountain position.
Seeing that the appointed time was about to arrive, the Japs emerged from the entrances of the tunnels on the positive and reverse slopes and moved toward the Eighth Route Army's position.
Soon, a Japanese soldier stepped on a landmine, causing a loud bang.
The Eighth Route Army soldiers jumped up from the trenches and foxholes. When the fire suddenly appeared, the densely packed Japanese soldiers were already close to 100 meters away from the position.
"The devil is coming!"
"Get him!"
Seeing the Japanese and puppet troops preparing to break out, the soldiers were not only not afraid at all, but also very excited.
The Japanese were hiding in the tunnels, and the Eighth Route Army had nothing to do with them.
But the Japanese and puppet troops emerged from the tunnels, no different from living targets.
Seeing that they were exposed, the Japanese and puppet troops stopped pretending. Amidst the cries of killing, the Japanese rushed toward the Eighth Route Army position with rifles in hand.
"beat!"
"kill!"
"..."
The company and platoon commanders surrounding the Japanese and puppet troops gave the order to fire without hesitation.
"Da da da…"
In an instant, a sound like exploding beans rang out, and a dense rain of bullets poured towards the charging Japanese, who suddenly fell in large pieces.
After the new regiment was equipped with Type 5 and Type 6 guns, their firepower increased by more than one level compared to the original.
Type 56 semi-automatic rifles accurately fired, Type 56 submachine guns and Type 56 light machine guns continued fire suppression.
The mortar positions in the rear continued to fire flares to provide the infantry with a field of vision. The Japanese who were trying to break through were exposed, and they were all exposed to intensive firepower.
"Boom boom…"
The dense gunfire was accompanied by the sounds of many 20mm machine guns and 12.7mm heavy machine guns.
Both machine guns are truly high-powered weapons.
The Japanese who was hit was immediately stopped at the waist.
Of course, there were also Japanese soldiers who charged and shot at the Eighth Route Army positions.
However, the gap between the Japanese's firepower and that of the Eighth Route Army was huge.
Just as the Japanese broke through, the Japanese who were preparing to attack fired in the direction of the Eighth Route Army's position.
Under the cover of artillery fire, the Japanese who responded to the breakout launched an attack towards the fighting area.
soon.
The Eighth Route Army's artillery fire counter-suppressed the direction of the Japanese artillery positions, forcing the Japanese artillery positions to be moved.
At the same time, dense artillery shells fell in the direction of the Japanese attack, disrupting the Japanese attack at once.
The Japanese who responded were quickly repulsed.
But the Japanese did not give up and quickly organized a second and third attack, but were repelled by intensive firepower.
Then, the tanks and infantry of the Eighth Route Army launched a countercharge against the attacking Japanese.
In the northeast, northwest, and southeast of Taiyuan, the sound of gunfire was very dense, and the battle was like a pot of hot oil.
Cai Dongcun.
New regiment, frontline headquarters.
Listening to the rumbling explosions in front of him, Li Yunlong was smoking a cigarette without any worry on his face.
Zhao Gang and Wang Dehou had already gone to bed, and Captain Li Da was temporarily on duty in the middle of the night.
All combat deployment orders have been issued, and even emergency plans and reserve teams have been left. The outcome of the battle is not something Li Yunlong can decide.
The battle lasted from two o'clock in the middle of the night to six o'clock in the morning. The sky turned white. The Japanese who responded retreated, and then the Japanese in the position retreated into the tunnel.
The Qinglong Mountain position was covered with the corpses of Japanese soldiers.
Regarding the results of last night's battle, news gradually reached the headquarters of the new regiment.
At this time, Wang Dehou and Zhao Gang woke up after sleeping.
Li Yunlong introduced the battle situation last night to Zhao Gang and Wang Dehou.
"In the direction of the Taigu defense line where the 129th Division attacked, some Japanese escaped, but not many. There were only a few hundred Japanese who escaped."
"Most of the Japanese were pushed back."
"In the 21st Infantry Regiment and 41st Infantry Division of the Fifth Division, no Japanese escaped from their positions."
It was the new second regiment led by Ding Wei that attacked the 41st Division position.
The two positions were not far apart. Considering that the New Second Regiment had to guard against the Japanese attack and surround the Japanese of the 41st Division, Li Yunlong sent a combined battalion of more than 10,000 people to reinforce Ding Wei during the day.
Not all the Japs in the 41st Division were in the position, but the Japs' combat troops, such as the 41st Division Engineer Regiment and the Heavy Troops Regiment, were all in Taiyuan.
"As expected." Zhao Gang nodded, "Although night fighting and close combat are the specialty of our Eighth Route Army, after all, the firepower of the 129th Division is not as powerful as our New First Regiment and New Second Regiment."
"It was expected that some Japanese soldiers would break through."
"Since most of the Japanese have been blocked," Wang Dehou also said, "then it won't affect the overall situation."
With a smile, Li Yunlong said: "The Japs who responded last night fell into our trap. Many Japs were surrounded and eaten. The Japs suffered a lot of casualties. According to this method of attack, the Japs will have to rest in less than a month."
Zhao Gang looked stern: "We just want to make the Japanese feel desperate, completely desperate. I suggest that we don't attack Taiyuan first. We first kill the Japanese and puppet troops in the surrounded tunnels and then slowly attack Taiyuan."
At present, a lot of troops are needed to surround the Japanese. If additional troops are used to attack Taiyuan, the troops will definitely not be enough.
"That's right!" Li Yunlong nodded: "That's what I think. Although we can't attack Taiyuan, we can't be idle either!"
"It's time to clear out those concrete bunkers and turrets."
"Send two heavy howitzer battalions and a combined battalion to pull out all the Japanese bunkers and gun towers north of Taiyuan City!"
"After we kill the 5th Division and the 41st Division, we can go straight to Taiyuan City."
"Yes!" Wang Dehou stood up and responded.
…
Taiyuan.
inner city.
Japanese First Army Headquarters.
Commander Yoshio Iwamatsu got up early. After washing, he had no time to have breakfast, so he took Kamekawa Shiro to the operations hall.
"Mr. Huagu, how many Locust Army troops successfully broke through last night?"
As soon as he entered the operations hall, he saw Chief of Staff Masaru Hanatani, Deputy Chief of Staff Masao Miyazaki, Commander of the 3rd Mixed Brigade Kazuki Yamamoto and others standing in the operations hall.
So Yoshio Iwamatsu looked at Chief of Staff Hanatani Masaru and asked impatiently.
"Report to Commander..."
Hua Guzheng had a bitter expression:
"Only more than 500 people from the 7th Infantry Battalion of the 89th Regiment of the 24th Division successfully broke through last night!"
"Nani?" Yoshio Iwamatsu's expression suddenly turned ugly, "Only this small number of troops can successfully break through?"
The 7th Infantry Brigade of the 24th Division has more than 1,000 people, but only more than 500 people successfully broke through, indicating that the other 500 people have been loyal to the Locust.
What makes Yoshio Iwamatsu angry is that after organizing such a large-scale response attack last night, only such a small number of troops succeeded in breaking through.
So needless to say, both the troops responding to the attack and those preparing to break out must have suffered heavy losses.
"Hi!"
Hua Guzheng explained with an ugly face:
"The Eighth Route Army was well prepared. It knew that the surrounded Locust Army would break out last night, and also knew that the Locust Army would go to meet them, so the Eighth Route Army set up an ambush on the road."
"The Eighth Route Army had strong firepower and was fully prepared. The Locust Army suffered heavy losses."
"Baga!" Yoshio Iwamatsu looked at Hanatani Masaru and cursed mercilessly, "Trash!"
"Hi!"
Although Hua Gu was dissatisfied, he still lowered his head suddenly:
"Your Majesty Commander, please give me another chance. I will rescue the surrounded Locust Army tonight."
Just as Yoshio Iwamatsu was about to speak, Kazuki Yamamoto suddenly said in a deep voice: "Your Excellency, Commander, with all due respect, if you give the Chief of Staff another 10 nights, you will not be able to rescue the surrounded Locust Army."
"Yamamoto-kun!" Hanatani was furious, "Do you know what you are talking about?"
Hua Gu is an extremely arrogant person who has high ambitions but low abilities.
Even if he was reprimanded by the Commander, Yamamoto Kazuki still stood up to question him, which made Hanagani suddenly furious.
After all, you are one of the planners of September 18th. Who are you, Kazuki Yamamoto?
However, Iwamatsu Yoshio waved his hand and said: "Yamamoto-kun, continue talking!"
Yamamoto Kazuki's expression was still paralyzed, and his tone and expression did not fluctuate at all: "During the offensive operation last night, my mixed 3rd brigade suffered more than 900 casualties. The attack will last for up to five nights. My 3rd Brigade would have to be wiped out."
The mixed 3rd brigade was cobbled together from here and there, with average equipment and average quality of soldiers.
Yamamoto Kazuki has the ability to lead troops, but there is no way to significantly improve the combat effectiveness of the mixed 3rd brigade in a short period of time.
Even if the combat effectiveness of the mixed 3rd brigade is raised to the level of Class A division soldiers, it will still be no match for the Eighth Route Army.
Although Kazuki Yamamoto is very good at improving the morale of the troops, under the leadership of Yamamoto, the 3rd Mixed Brigade became a roaring force not long after its establishment. The spirit of bushido was quickly understood, and the soldiers rushed to be the first to be loyal to the Locust.
Is it useful? It definitely works.
But it's of little use.
The heavy artillery and tanks of the Eighth Route Army ruthlessly crushed the Bushido spirit and body that formed the 3rd Brigade.
Bushido and the spirit of loyalty to the Locust and the Empire are of no use in the face of heavy artillery, tanks and aerial bombs.
The Battle of Nomenkan has already proven this.
Moreover, Kazuki Yamamoto participated in the Battle of Nomonkan. Heavy artillery, tanks and aerial bombs left an indelible impression on Kazuki Yamamoto.
The Eighth Route Army currently faced by the Japanese army has no less firepower than the Soviet army at Nomenkan in all aspects.
even.
The tactical command ability of Li Yunlong, the frontline commander of the Eighth Route Army, was no worse than that of Sukov, the Soviet commander who commanded the Nomenkan battle.
Yamamoto Kazuki is not a fanatical and fanatical officer like Hanatani Masaru. He knows that if he continues to fight like this, there will only be one ending.
That was the total annihilation of the 90,000 locust army on the Taiyuan and Zhengtai Railways.
"My 1st Cavalry Brigade also suffered more than 1,000 casualties!" The commander of the 1st Cavalry Brigade also said, "The Fifth Division also suffered more than 800 casualties!"
Yoshio Iwamatsu frowned suddenly, the casualties were much greater than he expected!
Including the 28th Division that responded to the attack, as well as the surrounded 21st Regiment, 24th Division and 41st Division, there were at least several thousand casualties in last night's battle.
However, this is only an estimate, and specific casualty data have not yet been calculated.
There were several battlefields last night, all of which were large in scale. The total number of troops invested by both sides was nearly 200,000.
"Yamamoto-kun, what do you think we should do?" Iwamatsu Yoshio asked in a deep voice with gloomy eyes.
"Breakout!"
Yamamoto Kazuki said in a serious tone:
"The surrounded Locust Army cannot be rescued while Wohu Mountain, Tianlong Mountain, and especially the Shizuizi position in the southeast are still in our hands."
"I suggest that we issue an order immediately to make preparations and wait until the evening to leave Taiyuan immediately."
"Passing through Shouyang and Yangquan, with the 40th Division and the 56th Division, and then passing through Niangzi Pass, this is the only way to get out of trouble."
"Once the Eighth Route Army eats the surrounded Locust Army and captures positions such as Crouching Tiger Mountain, Tianlong Mountain, Fengliang Pavilion and Shizuizi, we will not be able to leave even if we want to."
"idiot!"
As soon as Yamamoto Kazuki finished speaking, Hanatani Masaru's curses and questions rang out:
"Yamamoto Kazuki, you also said that you are not a senior spy of the Eighth Route Army lurking at the headquarters of the First Army?"
"Your Excellency, Chief of Staff!" Yamamoto Kazuki narrowed his eyes, and a chilling aura disappeared. "You said that I am a senior spy of the Eighth Route Army. Do you have any evidence?"
At this moment, Yamamoto Kazuki felt a murderous intention towards Hanatani Masaru.
I, Yamamoto, fought for the Locusts and shed blood for the Empire. You actually suspect that I am a senior spy of the Eighth Route Army?
Unless idiots like Hua Guzheng are eliminated, the First Army will never be able to defeat the Eighth Route Army.
Hanatani was so courageous that he turned a blind eye to Yamamoto Kazuki's killing intent: "You actually bewitched the commander and gave up 30,000 elite soldiers of the Locust Army. What are you if you are not a spy? Your Excellency, commander, I suggest that Yamamoto Kazuki be killed immediately. I would rather Don’t let go of wrongful killing.”
"Chief of Staff, you are wrong. This is not called giving up." Yamamoto Kazuki corrected him in a deep voice, "This is called cutting off the wrists of a strong man!"
"When your hand is bitten by a venomous snake, you should cut off the wrist immediately to prevent the poison from spreading and endangering your life."
"Our current situation has reached the moment when a strong man should cut off his arms!"
Iwamatsu Yoshio immediately hesitated. He was originally afraid of death. His body wanted to escape from Taiyuan, but his reason told him that he could not retreat without permission without orders from his superiors.
…
(I was delayed by something during the day, so there will be a big chapter today.)
(End of chapter)
