I am Jiang Weiguo in World War II

Page 324

At first, Lieutenant General Itagaki was inclined to the first one, but soon, he changed his mind.

"Only one division?" Lieutenant General Itagaki was very surprised by the detailed report of the 11th Regiment. "The Nanjing Army that crossed the Great Wall and entered Suiyuan only had one division? And there were no tank units and heavy artillery units?"

"Yes!" Chief of Staff Nishimura Liwen reported, "It is the 17th Division of the Nanjing Army stationed in northern Shanxi, and the 88th, 99th, and 39th Divisions stationed in Shanxi have not yet moved.

In the Battle of Fengzhen, although the enemy dispatched [-] or [-] tanks, they were all German No. [-] and No. [-] light tanks and the Imperial Army tanks captured at the beginning. It is certain that there is no organized tank unit. As for the artillery, The enemy army only has the artillery scale of an ordinary artillery regiment, and there is no heavy artillery unit!"

"It's just humiliating me Itagaki Seishiro!" A wave of anger welled up in the heart of Lieutenant General Itagaki. The Nanjing Army beat him with a division and it was not an armored division or even a heavy artillery unit. Lieutenant General Itagaki was taken seriously by Lieutenant General Itagaki, and Lieutenant General Itagaki felt deeply ashamed and angered by this kind of contempt that the opponent "looked down" on him.

After all, Lieutenant General Itagaki was a soldier, so he quickly analyzed the situation of the war: the Nanjing Army only dispatched one division to attack, which shows that the Nanjing Army also launched the attack in a hasty and insufficiently prepared situation.

The 17th Division of the Nanjing Army came on a large scale. If the 5th Division of the Japanese Army adopted the tactics of defending the city, although it was safe, it would lose face. "A division of the Imperial Army was attacked by a division of the Chinese Army. There is no 'going forward bravely, advancing without retreating', but shrinking like a tortoise in the city and being beaten passively." No matter how you explain this statement, it is very harsh and ugly, and it can be called a disgrace to the 5th Division and even the entire Japanese Army.

Lieutenant General Itagaki is indeed afraid of the Nanjing Army, but he is definitely not "fearing the Nanjing Army like a tiger". He has always regarded his failure on the Nanjing battlefield as a stain on his military career and tried hard to wash it away. Now, if the 5th Division chooses to be passive Defense, Lieutenant General Itagaki's "famous name" will be completely destroyed, and the outside world will inevitably say that he "has been frightened by the Nanjing Army", which is something he would rather die than do.

In addition, the Nanjing Army now has a division, which means that there will be a second division, a third division... is coming, if the 5th Division starts defending the city, it will have to face more and more Nanjing If they fail to do so, they will fall into heavy siege. Since the Nanjing Army is coming one division after another, the best countermeasure for the Japanese army is to "actively attack" in order to defeat them one by one.

In addition, Lieutenant General Itagaki already knew that the 17th Division had no tank units or heavy artillery units, which added to his confidence and courage to take the initiative to fight. He hoped to defeat a division of the Nanjing Army in the next battle and wash away his previous strength. stain.

As Lieutenant General Itagaki made up his mind, the 5th Division was mobilized, gathered and attacked from Guisui, and faced the 17th Division of the Nanjing Army. One of the two sides went east from Guisui, and the other went west from Fengzhen. Liangcheng, between Guisui and Fengzhen, met on a narrow road.

When the 17th Division and the 5th Division collided in Liangcheng, it was the morning of December 12th. At this time, the wind was raging and the sky was freezing. The temperature was already minus 14 degrees (the winter in most parts of Inner Mongolia lasts for five months or even half a year, and January is the coldest when the temperature can be as low as minus 30 degrees). Heavy snow fell from the sky. In just one hour, the Liangcheng area was covered in ice and snow for thousands of miles.

The heavy snow prevented the aircraft of both sides from dispatching, and it was difficult for the cars and artillery of both sides to move quickly.

In the howling snow, the gray waves of the Nanjing Army and the yellow waves of the Japanese Army glared at each other, and the helmets and uniforms of the soldiers on both sides were covered with snowflakes.

Liangcheng is located at the southern foot of Yinshan Mountain. The terrain is complex and changeable. It is dominated by mountains and hills. The whole city is surrounded by mountains.

Daihai is a famous lake and an important lake in Inner Mongolia. It is located in a long and narrow basin with Matou Mountain in the south and Manhan Mountain in the north. The lake is about 25 kilometers long from east to west, 20 kilometers wide from north to south, and covers an area of ​​about 160 square kilometers. Daihai is moist, so the land around Liangcheng is fertile.

The 17th Division of the Nanjing Army and the 5th Division of the Japanese Army entered the basin between Matou Mountain and Manhan Mountain at the same time, as if two trains were coming against each other, and started a confrontation on the south bank of Daihai.

At this moment, both Chen Mingren and Itagaki Seishiro felt hesitant, because the environment and conditions in front of them destined that the battle would only be head-to-head with no technical content, killing [-] enemies and self-defeating [-].

It's just that the battle is imminent, and it has to be done. Neither side is willing and impossible to retreat.

"Fifth Division, your defeated general!" The officers of the 17th Division shouted vigorously, "Kill!"

"Kill!" Amidst the tiger-like roar that broke through the snowy sky, the Nanjing army swept towards the Japanese army amidst the ice and ice waves on the snowy ground, and the Japanese army also greeted them with a howling wolf-like roar.

On the battlefield where the snow is brutal and windy, the sound of killing is loud, and Liangcheng, the lakeside of Daihai Lake, and the hills in the suburbs are all caught in the bloody battle where the mountains and rivers change color.

The planes of both sides could not be dispatched, and the artillery was stuck in the snow pit and it was difficult to move. The main force of the fight was entirely infantry.

In the nearly boiling snowflakes, soldiers from both sides collided with each other like an avalanche and a torrent, and launched a face-to-face strafing. In the lightning rain of locust bullets, the crowd continued to fall down in unison, and those who followed behind started amidst the howling of tigers and wolves. The earth-shattering hand-to-hand combat, the flying spring-like blood danced wildly with the storm-like shouts of killing, countless dead, and the soldiers who fell on the battlefield were quickly buried by heavy snow and frozen into stones by the cold wind.

In the turbulent snow waves, soldiers from both sides fought and fought hard on the snow that submerged their ankles and quickly turned into knees.

In the original silver-white land, gray waves and yellow waves collided continuously, splashing countless groups of extremely eye-catching and dazzling red blood pools in the snow. The cold wind blew, and the corpses turned into stones, and the blood pools turned into red ice cubes.

From a bird's-eye view from a high altitude, it is like countless red ink dripping on the white rice paper, blooming densely packed "red flowers of human life".

This is a completely head-to-head, life-for-life battle.

During the bloody battle in the morning, the Japanese army killed and injured more than 21 people, and the Nanjing Army also suffered casualties of the same number of officers and soldiers. Liangcheng was shattered into ruins covered by heavy snow. The regiment "turned from offense to defense" on the frontal battlefield of Liangcheng, restraining the Nanjing Army and attracting the attention of the Nanjing Army. In the northeast direction of the sea, it interspersed with the Nanjing Army's flank, in order to defeat the Nanjing Army in one fell swoop.

Coincidentally, Chen Mingren had exactly the same idea as Lieutenant General Itagaki. He ordered the 171st and 172nd brigades to continue to confront the Japanese army on the main battlefield of Liangcheng, and at the same time ordered the 173rd brigade to bypass Daihai and raid the Japanese rear.

As a result, the battle situation was divided into two. The Japanese army trying to get around the rear of the Nanjing army and the Nanjing army trying to get around the rear of the Japanese army collided head-on in Maihutu Town on the northeast lakeside of Daihai, and then started the same head-to-head fight.

The two sides surrounded Daihai, fighting to the death.

At five o'clock in the evening, night fell.

In the division headquarters of the 17th Division, Chen Mingren was thinking hard about countermeasures. At this time, the guards reported that several Mongolians requested to be interviewed by him and declared that there was an "important military situation" report.

Chen Mingren immediately summoned him, and he was very surprised to find that the head of the visitors was a woman in her early twenties but with a heroic attitude.

The woman introduced herself: "General Chen, my Mongolian name is Sefulema, my Chinese name is Qijunfeng, I am Fujin of Shiwang (Shilabdorji, a Mongolian prince in Inner Mongolia) , is also the security commander of the Urad Front Banner appointed by the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs of the Nationalist Government, with the rank of major general.

During the war, I was ordered to fight against Japan behind the enemy lines in the west of Suiyuan Province, and after the peace and armistice, I was ordered to form an intelligence collection team behind the enemy lines in the west of Suiyuan Province to collect intelligence on the Japanese army!" Mongolian anti-Japanese heroine.

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"It's amazing! It's amazing!" Chen Mingren was surprised at first, and then he was in awe, "Thank you for your hard work!"

Qi Junfeng saluted Chen Mingren, and then said eagerly: "General Chen, when you were fighting with the Japanese army, some of our team members disguised themselves as ordinary Mongols and were active in the vicinity, and we found a very important piece of information. The logistics base is in Sansumu Township on the northwestern lakeside of Daihai, so I came here to report to you!"

Chen Mingren was overjoyed immediately: "Thank you!"

Qi Junfeng smiled: "General Chen, although I am a woman and a Mongol, but when it comes to resisting Japan, what is the difference between male and female, and what kind of Han and Mongolian? As long as you are Chinese, you should do your duty. ah!"

Chen Mingren nodded again and again, full of emotion: "That's right, well said!"

The information sent by Qi Junfeng is indeed very important, but after research, Chen Mingren found that this information is "a waste to eat, and it is a pity to discard it", because Sansumu Township is on the other side of the Daihai Sea, and the Nanjing Army bypassed it from the southeast You will encounter the Japanese army, and you will still encounter the Japanese army if you go around from the northeast. The Nanjing Army and Sansumu Township are completely across the "sea".

"Then go across the lake!" Zhang Yun blurted out.

Chen Mingren's heart skipped a beat: "Is it feasible?"

Zhang Yun is very sure: "Of course it is possible! The temperature in the Daihai area has been below zero since the beginning of last month, and it has been frozen for a month and a half. The lake is completely frozen, let alone leaving, driving is no problem. !"

Chen Mingren thought over and over again, and finally made a final decision: "Okay! This task is entrusted to you!"

After receiving the order, Zhang Yun immediately made intensive preparations. He first tried it on the lake, and found that it was no problem to drive an empty car on the lake, but if it was full of people, it would be a bit dangerous to drive up. The center ice layer is a bit brittle and thin.

After thinking for a while, Zhang Yun came up with a good idea. He mobilized more than 100 cars. The wheels were wrapped with cotton cloth to prevent slipping. However, the cars were not used to carry people, but to pull people. The soldiers on the attack cut down the nearby trees and cut them into planks to serve as skateboards. There were more than a dozen soldiers standing on the big skateboard, and three or five soldiers on the small skateboard. They were connected in series behind the car like candied haws and were pulled by the car. "Ice skating" on the lake.

One car towed more than 40 soldiers (some skateboards were not used to stand on people, but were used to store weapons and ammunition), and more than 100 cars could drag [-] soldiers across the frozen Daihai Sea.

At ten o'clock in the evening, the assault troops of the 17th Division roared onto the ice of Daihai, crossed the big lake, and attacked the Japanese army.

The whole journey was more than 25 kilometers. In order to prevent accidents, the car moved slowly, so it took two hours for the assault troops to cross Daihai.

This is a very wonderful process, as described by the 171st Brigade Chief of Staff Chao Lemen: "The sky is endless darkness, the ground... should be said to be the ice surface, the ice surface is an endless dark silvery white, so empty. It makes people feel that there is no sustenance for the soul, as if the whole world is like this, without end.

The thought that the snow under our feet was not solid ground, but a large lake, gave us a very strange feeling.

The ice layer is relatively thick and solid, and there have been no incidents where the ice layer was crushed and vehicles and people fell into the lake, but there were still more than a dozen accidents, all of which were cars skidding and then staggering into a mess, and some cars collided with each other. The collision caused some injuries, and some cars were difficult to brake, slid to a distant place and overturned.

Overall, the process was uneventful, and the real danger didn't appear until we landed!"

At twelve o'clock in the middle of the night, the assault troops arrived at the Japanese division headquarters on the other side of Daihai Lake and on the lake near Sansumu Township, the Japanese military logistics base. In the cold wind and snow, the sound on the lake alarmed the Japanese troops on the shore of the lake.

Discovering that a large number of Nanjing troops were coming from the lake, the Japanese army was shocked, and then opened fire crazily. In the rain of bullets, the blood of Nanjing army officers and soldiers who had no shelter on the ice was splattered three feet, and the bombs flew away. Shells from barrels, mortars, infantry artillery, and mountain cannons blasted the ice surface to pieces one by one. Amid the sound of smashing ice cubes, the ice surface was blown apart by the Japanese army like a turtle shell. A large number of officers and soldiers of the Nanjing Army fell into the ice cave. Some officers and soldiers were dragged into the bottomless, dark abyss, and icy bottom of the lake by their weapons and equipment, drowning or freezing to death, and some officers and soldiers fought bravely. They braved the Japanese army's bullets and swam in the icy water, or swam ashore with ice floes to participate in the battle.

Amidst the raging artillery fire and shell fire, the Japanese army saw in astonishment that the officers and soldiers of the Nanjing army who fell into the water showed extremely tenacious spirit and will. At this time, the temperature was as low as minus [-] degrees, and it was extremely cold. Some officers and soldiers of the Nanjing Army swam in the icy water and then remained motionless. They exhausted their heat and strength and sank into the lake. Their cotton uniforms were completely soaked. The officers and soldiers of the Nanjing Army bravely launched a charge after landing. When the cold wind blew, the uniforms froze into hard blocks of ice, and the lake water on their faces, hands, hair, and eyebrows instantly froze into icicles and icicles.

The soldiers of the Nanjing Army who fell into the lake and went ashore to fight were all like wooden men, stumbling and staggering, their hands and feet were completely stiff, their fingers couldn't control them, they couldn't shoot at all, their fingers were frozen with the guns, and their scalps were frozen with the helmets Together.

After stepping ashore, these Nanjing Army soldiers were like moving stone monuments, and after being shot, they fell down in the snow like stone monuments.

"Kill!" The officers and soldiers of the Nanjing Army who rushed to the shore from the ice on the lake roared, rushing to kill the Japanese army.

At the same time, a large number of Japanese troops rushed from the shore to the ice.

The battle in the cold wind was extremely fierce. Due to the low visibility due to the night and snow, the battle was basically close combat or even hand-to-hand combat.

In the snowstorm, the soldiers on both sides fought like crazy.

The wound had no time to bleed, and the blood was frozen by the low temperature. The bayonet in the low temperature hit the ice as hard as iron, and the ground immediately broke. Soldiers from both sides who had their ears and noses ripped off in the wind abounded, and the mournful wailing was accompanied by screams and shouts that shook the sky.

The artillery shells from the infantry on both sides fell all over the sky, blasting countless sharp ice cubes and ice chips on the snow and ice, whizzing and dancing in the explosion waves like iron pieces, and some soldiers from both sides in the melee fell into the ice on the lake together. Frozen to death and frostbitten can be found everywhere in cracks or holes in the ice, and many soldiers from both sides wrestled and hugged were frozen into lumps in the extremely cold lake water.

The number of soldiers in the 5th Division is much smaller than that of the 17th Division (the 5th Division is about 2.8 people, and the 17th Division is about 3.3 people), and the 5th Regiment of the 9th Brigade of the 11th Division is here. The battle of Fengzhen before the Battle of Liangcheng had been severely damaged, so the number of Japanese troops was further lower than that of the Nanjing Army. Since the two sides had already engaged in full-scale combat at this time, the Japanese army did not have many soldiers to protect the division headquarters and the supply base, only three There were more than a thousand people, and most of them were heavy soldiers and engineers. The Nanjing Army who killed them had more than 5000 officers and soldiers. Therefore, after more than half an hour of melee, the Japanese army was scattered and defeated, and the officers and soldiers of the Nanjing Army who rushed into Sansumu Township Crazy arson and throwing grenades, explosions and blazes, the Japanese army's supplies were destroyed one pile after another in the explosions and fires.

"Where's Seishiro Itagaki?" Zhang Yun shouted anxiously.

The Nanjing Army who entered the Divisional Headquarters of the 5th Division found that the building was empty. Lieutenant General Itagaki fought against the Nanjing Army many times on the Nanjing battlefield. With a deep understanding, he very much suspected that the Nanjing army who came through the ice lake had beheaded him, so he had already evacuated as soon as the gunfire rang out.

The night was full of wind and snow, and the surrounding terrain was complex, making it impossible for the Nanjing army to pursue.

"Damn it! Let this old turtle run away!" Zhang Yun hated it.

Although the division headquarters of the 5th Division could not be destroyed, the assault force still achieved fruitful results. More than two-thirds of the Japanese army's supplies transported from Guisui and hoarded in Sansumu Township were burned, and the raging fire illuminated the Half of the night sky was covered, and there were constant explosions in the fire. It was the Japanese ammunition that had been detonated.

Taking advantage of the great opportunity when the assault troops succeeded and the Japanese army suffered heavy losses, Chen Mingren decisively ordered the whole division to fight back.

In the bloody battle until dawn, the 5th Division of the Japanese Army was basically defeated by the 17th Division of the Nanjing Army. The Nanjing Army recaptured triumphantly and passed through Liangcheng.

In the wind and snow, the Chinese cheers were earth-shattering.

Lieutenant General Banyuan led the 5th Division and gave up returning to Sui. There were two roads in front of him, one was to retreat to Baotou to the west, and the other was to flee to Ulanqab to the east.

Without much hesitation, Lieutenant General Itagaki chose the second option, because the first option was a dead end. If he withdrew westward with the 5th Division, he would be unable to escape, because if Baotou went westward, it would be attacked by the Ma Jiajun. The controlled Ningxia Province is gone, and there is no way out. Guisui, east of Baotou, was captured by the Nanjing Army. With the arrival of the follow-up troops of the Nanjing Army, the 5th Division is really a turtle in the urn and will undoubtedly die.

The 17th Division defeated the 5th Division in one fell swoop in the Battle of Liangcheng. In addition to the previous Battle of Fengzhen, in two battles, the 17th Division suffered more than 1.1 casualties and more than 1.5 Japanese soldiers, and recovered the capital of Suiyuan Province. Guisui and the vast land to the west of Guisui.

After the 17th Division regained Guisui and repelled the 5th Division, the follow-up 88th Division has also arrived. The 88th Division attacked from Datong and directly attacked Ulanchabu, resulting in the escape from Guisui to Ulancha. Bu's 5th Division was beaten again.

Due to the speed of the Nanjing Army, the follow-up troops of the Japanese Army were unable to rush to reinforce the 5th Division for a while.

After another loss of four to five thousand soldiers, Lieutenant General Itagaki was forced to abandon Ulanqab in extreme pain and unwillingness, and retreated to Zhangjiakou in the south of Chahar Province.

In just four days, the Nanjing Army regained Suiyuan Province with a brilliant record.

Chapter 396 Fighting Again (3)

After the troops stationed in Nanjing launched a lightning attack on the Japanese army in Suiyuan, the troops stationed in Lu immediately launched a thunderous attack on the Japanese army in Hebei. The roaring artillery, the flying fleet, and the tanks galloped freely. The raging Nanjing army was like the Yellow River bursting its banks Like a roar, it swept towards the Japanese army, and the Japanese army was really in a hurry.

Except for the 39th Division of the Nanjing Army in Shanxi, the other three divisions were all engaged in the attack on Suiyuan and Chahar. In addition to the 3st Division, the 101th Division, and the 37th Division of the Nanjing Army in Shandong, the other three divisions were all engaged in the attack. The attack on Hebei Province (because Shandong is surrounded by the sea on both sides, the Nanjing Army must be prepared for the possible landing of Japanese troops in Qingdao, Yantai, Weihai and other places in eastern Shandong, so three divisions are kept stationed on the Jiaodong Peninsula), in addition to the above 38 field divisions, The 3th Division of the Biochemical Corps also joined the battle.

In general, the tactics of the Nanjing Army are: the troops stationed in Shandong launch a powerful offensive against Hebei, thereby containing the heavy Japanese army in Hebei, and indirectly assisting the troops stationed in Shanxi, so that the troops stationed in Shanxi can better attack the two provinces of Suicha Attack.

In this North China counterattack, the Nanjing Army invested a total of 7 field divisions to participate in the battle, with a total strength of more than 25 troops. In addition, other units of the Central Army stationed in Henan Province, such as Jiang Dingwen's Department and Tang Enbo's Department, were also ordered to participate in this counterattack. .

"Fengtian kills thieves! Take back the country!"

"No victory, no return! No death, no rest!"