You can search "Anti-Japanese Iron-Blooded Mission" in Baidu to find the latest chapter!
When the Seventh Division and the Japanese army on the Bengbu front were actively preparing for war, the situation on the Shandong battlefield once again took a shocking turn.
In the direction of Linyi, due to the garrison's command errors, the previous favorable situation was completely lost. From then on, both the 3rd Army and the 59th Army fell into a bitter battle.
Since the attack, the number of Japanese troops in front of the Third Army has gradually increased, and now there are more than 4,000 people. Artillery fire continues day and night, and there are many reciprocal assaults and hand-to-hand combat. The battle is extremely fierce.
The Third Army also carried forward the glorious tradition of perseverance of the Northwest Army, preferring to die rather than retreat. The division and brigade commanders were at the position supervising and commanding. The battle was unprecedentedly fierce, killing the enemy was impossible, but it suffered heavy casualties.
As of March 25th, the number of combat troops in the 115th Brigade was 500-600; the 117th Brigade had more than 800 troops and the supplementary regiment only had 700 troops; the 39th Division had only more than 3,000 troops left, which was less than the pre-war number. half.
Because the frontline battle situation was so tense, Pang Bingxun had to recruit the general's special agent battalion and student teams to join the front line. Currently, there are no reserve teams in the frontline army, division headquarters, or even the first company.
Casualties of soldiers are one thing, but what is more important is the loss of weapons and equipment. After more than half a month of hard fighting, more than half of the light and heavy firearms of the Third Army were destroyed by enemy artillery or self-damaged, but no replacement was received. The combat effectiveness has dropped drastically.
Since the Third Army Corps has indeed reached the point of running out of ammunition and food, Xu Zuyi, who served as combat guidance on the Linyi battlefield, also felt that the situation was serious and made a request for additional troops to the theater on the afternoon of the 26th.
In a telegram sent to the commander of the Xuzhou War Zone, Xu Zuyi mentioned: "Pang's army has suffered heavy losses. Although it is trying to defend the line between Jiuqudian, Xiaolijiazhuang, Shibuling and Huangshan, if the enemy attacks again, it will be difficult to support the east of the river. . Zhang Jun (59th Army) occupied the line between Zhugao, Guchengcun, and Nanqufang. Yesterday, several regiments crossed the river to occupy Taoyuan. This morning, they attacked Sanguan Temple and suffered heavy losses, so they stopped the attack. In the afternoon, Pantou counterattacked Taoyuan. It was extremely fierce. At the same time, Yingziqian, Yizhuang, and Shabuzhuang also found that there were about a thousand enemies combined with infantry and artillery, and they had to deal with it with only one unit. The front was too large and they had no offensive capability."
"The enemy seems to have increased again. The actual number is unknown, about four to five thousand, and the weapons and ammunition seem to be sufficient. Linyi City is now within the effective range of the enemy's artillery. Although the legion headquarters plans to move back, it may shake the will of the front and affect the defense of the city. Troops. Zhang's army is still in the ancient city and is also threatened by Yitangji. Here, Pang's army has lost its combat effectiveness. Although Zhang's army is still half strong, its morale is much worse than before. It is difficult to defend Linyi without strong reinforcements. Pray for early Decide."
Due to Xu Zuyi¡¯s request, the 5th Theater Command decided on that day to transfer Wang Zhaozhi¡¯s 333rd Brigade of the 111th Division of the 57th Army stationed in Ganyu to go for reinforcements and place it under the command of the 59th Army. But at this time, the situation on the Linyi battlefield was still critical.
At this time, the enemy's 5th Division has surrounded Linyi City on three sides, that is, the enemy from the east is attacking Huangshan in the southeast of the city, Shibuling and Jiuqudian in the east of the city, and Sanguan Temple in the northeast of the city, and is guarding the 3rd Army Corps at The troops on the east bank of the Yi River fought fiercely.
In Wangjiacha River and Qide north of Linyi City, as well as Shilipu, Balitun and Xiaoling in the northwest of Linyi City, and in the ancient city area west of Linyi City, the 59th Army is also fighting repeatedly with the enemy in order to make available troops for the front-line positions. , Linyi City was handed over to the defense of two regiments of the Lunan Security Forces, and Linyi City was in danger.
At the same time, on the southern front, after the enemy's 33rd Brigade of the 10th Division of the Japanese Army captured Teng County, the main force had moved south to Lincheng. The brigade commander Kei Setani immediately decided to pursue all the way south to the Grand Canal line; Pursue all the way east to Yixian County. That is, the 1st Battalion of Furong Zhenping's 63rd Regiment pursued from Lincheng to Hanzhuang along Jinpu Road, and its 2nd Battalion pursued Yixian County.
It is worth mentioning that the purpose of the Japanese occupation of Yixian was to control the Zaozhuang coal mine in the area and coordinate the operations of the 5th Division in the Linyi area to the east.
On March 20, the Japanese army captured Hanzhuang and Yi County. On that day, Setani Kai received a request from the 10th Division to occupy and secure the area along the canal from Hanzhuang to Taierzhuang, serve as security for Lincheng and Yi County, and send a force to attack Xiang Yizhou, order to cooperate with the 5th Division to fight.
Two days later, Furong Zhenping¡¯s 63rd Regiment arrived in Yixian from Lincheng. At 10 o'clock on the same day, Kei Setani issued an order for his brigade to attack Taierzhuang and cooperate with the 5th Division, and the Battle of Taierzhuang began.
In order to conquer Taierzhuang, the Japanese army dispatched the elite of the 10th Division, the 1st Battalion of the 63rd Regiment, to guard the vicinity of Hanzhuang. The 2nd Battalion, a field artillery battalion, set out from Yixian County to occupy Taierzhuang and the nearby canal line area.
In addition, the main force of the 10th Infantry Regiment set out from Lincheng to attack Linyi to support the 21st Regiment of the 5th Division, and the main force of the 33rd Brigade gathered near Yi County.
Naturally, the Fifth War Zone would not sit still and wait for death. Facing the menacing enemy forces, the Fifth War Zone commander responded immediately. The war zone deployed its main force on the line of the canal in an offensive and defensive posture. The main force came from the southeastern and northeastern mountains of Yi County. , side attack southward.The enemy gathered and annihilated the area between Lin, Zaozhi Road and Hanzhuang Canal.
Tang Enbo's 20th Army's newly assigned 31st Division concentrated its main force on the east side of Yi County and the mountainous area near Jiaoshan Head in the northwest of Zaozhuang. After arriving at the predetermined position, it began to attack across the entire line. It must first defeat the enemy in Yi Zao and move toward Lincheng and Shagou. Attack nearby, press the enemy on the east bank of Weishan Lake and annihilate them. One part of it is gathered in the area north of Taierzhuang, preparing to assist the main battle in Yixian County and its northwest region.
Sun Lianzhong's 2nd Group Army's newly attached 110th Division will defend with one unit on the south bank of the canal west of the new gate, waiting to cross the river and advance northward. The main force is controlled near Jiawang and between Jingshan and Maocun towns.
Sun Tongxuan's 3rd Group Army (missing the 51st Army) overran the north and south areas of Jining, and then moved between Yanzhou and Zouxian and between Jiehe and Guanqiao. In response to the 59th Army and the attacking troops south of Lincheng, they attacked the enemy's flanks and rear, and Prevent enemy reinforcements or intercept the enemy's return route.
In order to regain the central Shandong area, the Chinese defenders even dispatched precious air forces and used 14 bombers to bomb the enemies in Hanzhuang, Lincheng and Zaozhuang on the morning of March 24.
At dawn on the 25th, the 85th Army of Tang Enbo's troops launched attacks in Zaozhuang and Guoliji, and the 52nd Army launched attacks in Yixian and other places, surrounding the 2nd Brigade of the enemy's 10th Regiment in Guoliji, which was preparing to go to Linyi.
Subsequently, Setani Kei decided to concentrate his forces on the Guoliji area east of Zaozhuang for a decisive battle with the Tang Army, so the brigade was forced to cancel its plan to go to Linyi.
Since the security of the vast areas, towns, and Jinpu Chrome and Jiaoji Roads in the rear has occupied more of the enemy's 2nd Army troops in the west, there are only two brigades to attack southern Lunan.
Although the tactics adopted a method of advancing from east to west and supporting each other, due to insufficient troops, most battles were unable to be completed after strong counterattacks by the Kuomintang Army's 3rd Army, 20th Army, 2nd Army, 3rd Army 59th Army, etc. Achieve expected results.
Despite this, the 2nd Battalion of the Japanese 63rd Regiment that attacked Taierzhuang arrived near Taierzhuang on the evening of March 24. One of them invaded the village through artillery blasting the gap in the wall in the northeast of Taierzhuang.
Subsequently, the 31st Division commanded by Chi Fengcheng immediately launched a counterattack, and after a continuous fierce battle throughout the night, the enemy was pushed back.
The defeated enemy built fortifications in the area north of Taierzhuang, continued its counterattack with defensive troops, and prepared to attack Taierzhuang again.
The start of the Battle of Taierzhuang had a major impact on the enemy situation on the Bengbu front line. Originally, according to the expectations of the Japanese Second Army Headquarters, they would be able to defeat the Chinese defenders in front of them in late March and completely occupy the entire territory of Shandong.
Then in early April, the main force can be concentrated to attack Xuzhou, the most important transportation hub on the Jinpu Line. By then, as long as the Central China Front Army on the southern line can capture Bengbu, they will be able to successfully open up the Jinpu Line.
However, because the Japanese army underestimated the fighting will of the Chinese defenders and the combat effectiveness of the fifth theater, most battles were unable to achieve the expected goals.
In fact, it is no wonder that before the war, the Japanese Army's Special High School learned that except for a small number of elite Central Army troops in the Fifth Theater of the Nationalist Government, the rest were all local miscellaneous armies, including the Northwest Army, the Northeast Army, the Sichuan Army, the Guangxi Army, the Guizhou Army, etc. , so Second Army Commander Nishio Hisao and others happily believed that this battle must not be too difficult.
But after the actual battle started, they were shocked. Although the fighting power of those miscellaneous troops was not very good, their fighting will was stronger than imagined. For example, in the battle of Tengxian County, according to the estimate of the Japanese 33rd Brigade, there were only two soldiers in the city of Tengxian County. The Sichuan army of 3,000 people may not be able to withstand it for even one day before collapsing.
However, the final result was that the defenders, under the command of division commander Wang Mingzhang, preferred death to surrender until they fought to the last man, and at the cost of annihilating the entire army, they blocked the Japanese army in Teng County for three days.
Because of this, the Japanese troops on the northern front saw that they were no longer able to achieve the pre-war strategic goals by the end of March, and immediately asked the Japanese troops on the southern front to speed up their progress, telling them that after conquering Bengbu, they must meet at the foot of Xuzhou City in early April. .
PS: Brothers and sisters, I¡¯m so sorry, my waist is twisted! (Remember the website address: www.hlnovel.com