Chapter 283 The First Glory Division marches eastward to Jiangcheng

On the afternoon of May 7, 1941, along with the Japanese 41st Division on the North Road, the independent mixed ninth brigade launched combat operations.

By six o'clock, the First Army Headquarters issued a full-line attack order.

At this time, the Japanese army assembled six divisions: 21, 33, 35, 36, 37, and 41, which were independently mixed into the 9th and 16th brigades, with the 4th Cavalry Brigade as the main force.

These little devils were accompanied by a large number of the Imperial Association Army, the Puppet Mongolian Army, and the Puppet Manchu Army to launch an attack on Zhongtiao Mountain in four directions.

The little devils on the North Road assembled the 41st Division and independently formed the 9th Brigade to attack.

Here on the East Road, the Japs assembled the 21st Division and the 35th Division, which were attached to the 20th, 21st and 24th Divisions of the Imperial Association Army.

The Japanese and puppet troops here are a heavily armed group, with a total strength of more than 50,000.

As the battle started, the commander of the 21st Division, Tanaka Jiuichi, commanded the troops to take charge of the main attack.

It first assembled more than 8,000 infantrymen, attached to the main force of the artillery regiment, and received dozens of tanks and armored vehicles to assist in the operation, and quickly advanced along the north bank of the Yellow River.

Army Commander Yoshio Shinozuka immediately contacted Nori Shimizu, the commander of the 41st Division, to report the situation in detail.

The casualties and losses of his troops were increasing. At night, when the Little Japanese Air Force was unable to dispatch, the situation improved.

Their real main attack is the outflanking troops. They will quickly advance along the north bank of the Yellow River, seize the Yellow River ferry, and cut off the retreat route of the Zhongtiao Mountain defenders.

There are three divisions under the 14th Army, the 83rd Division is on the south bank of the Yellow River, and the 94th Division is attached to Hengling Pass to assist the 17th Army in its defense.

Qing Shui's idea was not bad. After the division chief of staff received the order, he quickly began to make deployments.

In order not to affect the battle at Zhongtiao Mountain, he arranged for his troops to defend Jiangshan and intercept the troops of the Glory First Division.

Qingshui stood in front of the map and thought for a long time, with a serious expression on his face, and then personally issued the order.

When the support troops of the 27th Division arrive, it will not affect the battle here.

The 80th Army was basically a Shaanxi Army unit, and it was considered capable of fighting in the early stages of the Anti-Japanese War.

The 41st Little Devils Division fighting on the North Road and the independent mixed ninth brigade had only about 20,000 troops.

But they were reinforced with a certain number of tanks and armored vehicles.

The troops from both sides fought fiercely here, and deafening gunfire continued.

When the Glory First Division advances to Yicheng and Jiangcheng, it will naturally be able to coordinate the evacuation of the 43rd Army troops.

More than 10,000 troops advanced rapidly, and they advanced to Houma City at one o'clock in the morning on May 8.

They quickly infiltrated according to the previously planned route.

The Glory First Division is very powerful, and they have achieved amazing results in Jin Province several times.

The 17th Army originally had the newly formed Second Division and the 84th Division under its jurisdiction, but the newly formed Second Division is a newly formed unit and is still training in the rear.

Near them, there were all troops from the First Theater Zone, and there were no troops from the Shanxi-Sui Army.

Lieutenant General Harada Kumakichi, commander of the 35th Division, commanded the participating troops of the 35th Division, while the Imperial Japanese Army troops fully assisted the 21st Division in the battle.

The 17th Army has only one division, which is responsible for the defense of the junction.

"All ministries should stick to their positions and actively carry out defensive operations to ensure the connection between the 5th and 14th Group Armies, thereby stabilizing positions across the board."

The main force of the 27th Division also began to be commanded by the division commander Tominaga Nobumasa, and followed the Suzuki detachment to fight south.

The artillery regiment attached to the 48th Independent Brigade took the lead, and the machine gun battalion attached to the 11th Independent Brigade followed behind.

More than 30,000 Japs advanced in multiple columns, concentrated machine gun fire, and continued to launch a continuous fierce attack on the Fifth Army's positions.

This is a branch of Zhongshan Tiao, entrenched in Mianheng, and is the boundary mountain between Jiangcheng, Houma City and other towns.

The chief of staff of the division came to the division commander Qing Shuigui and said with a serious expression on his face.

"Master, Commander Gao of the 17th Army and Commander Zhao of the 43rd Army also sent messages, hoping that we can quickly advance to Yicheng and Jiangcheng!"

The 41st Division Regiment Headquarters is currently established in Jiangcheng County. After Qingshui Juju received the news, he immediately started discussions.

After all, the 36th Division, 37th Division and other units had already fought fiercely with the defenders of Zhongtiao Mountain.

Chu Yunfei prepared to send troops to quickly advance to Yicheng and Jiangcheng to assist the battle in the Hengling Pass and Shunwangping areas.

On the Northeast Road, there is the 33rd Brigade and the 4th Cavalry Brigade quickly advancing towards the front of the 14th Group Army.

As long as Jiangshan is defended, the Glory First Division troops will be blocked outside Jiangcheng.

Chu Yunfei took the message and checked it. He quickly issued an order for the main force of the entire division to assemble towards Yunqiu Mountain.

Even these two troops can stick to a certain area and stand by, wait for the situation to change, and wait for opportunities to seize territory!

The Japs had enough intelligence, so the 36th Division and the 37th Division dispersed their troops to attack.

He Jingzhi personally started to generate electricity and asked the 27th Army in Lingchuan to rush to Jincheng and Yangcheng areas to attack the 33rd Division and the 4th Cavalry Brigade regardless of all odds.

Up to now, only the Third Army and the 80th Army have been able to participate in the battle and intercept the Fifth Army.

About five thousand troops are under control and serve as a reserve force.

Zijin Mountain is also called Jiangshan Mountain. Because most of the rocks are red, it is called Jiangshan Mountain, also known as Zijin Mountain.

Hengling Pass is where the two armies join together, and there is a road to the south from here leading directly to Yuanqu City!

"Master, Commander-in-Chief Zeng of the Fifth Army sent a message, hoping that we can quickly dispatch troops to support the battle."

The two main troops of 10,000 people, equipped with more than 30 tanks and armored vehicles, continued to violently attack the positions of the 84th Division and the 94th Division.

The combat effectiveness of these two divisions is not very strong, and their weapons configuration is not very good either.

The Third Army came from the Yunnan Army system and joined its direct line troops, so its combat effectiveness was quite satisfactory.

This time the Japanese army had drawn up a very complete battle plan. They had strong troops for a frontal attack, but it was not the main attack.

He began to adjust his deployment. The 41st Division and the independent 9th Brigade participated in the artillery battle and assembled in the southwest.

By three o'clock in the morning, the Glory First Division fully recovered Houma City, and its main force gradually began to advance towards Jiangcheng.

At the same time, before dark, Shimizu contacted the First Flying Regiment again and requested the aviation to provide bombing support.

The Japs continued to attack, and the 84th Division and the 94th Division were under tremendous pressure.

But at this time, the main force of the Japs had already gone to the Hengling Pass and Shunwangping areas to fight.

Its main force continued to violently attack the positions of the 17th Army, which put great pressure on the 17th Army.

However, as night fell, the special agent team commanded by Yamamoto Kazuki and the infiltration force organized by special agents and traitors began to attack.

At the same time, Major General Wakamatsu Heiji, commander of the 16th independent mixed brigade on the West Road, commanded more than 10,000 days of puppet troops and quickly advanced westward along the north bank of the Yellow River.

That is to advance rapidly eastward along the north bank to open up contact with the 16th independent mixed brigade advancing to the east, thereby cutting off the retreat route of the Zhongtiao Mountain defenders.

The operation is a coordinated defense between the two divisions. In fact, the two divisions fight independently without supporting each other and only focus on the defense of their own positions.

However, among these 5,000 troops, there are heavy troops, and they only have about 2,000 troops.

The 43rd Army of the Jinsui Army was at Shunwangping. They were attacked by the 41st Division and the independent ninth brigade.

With the disintegration of the Northwest Army, these troops from the Northwest Army have been suppressed.

Of course, it would be better if they withdraw, so that the defenders of Zhongtiao Mountain would have a chance to breathe and adjust.

However, judging from the organization of each department, its main combat force is the 43rd Army of the Shanxi-Sui Army!

The 43rd Army has three divisions, but their total strength is no more than 10,000, and the average strength of each division is less than 6,000!

Now even if the Glory First Division is dispatched, the Japs will not withdraw from the battle.

The frontline headquarters of the First Army also held discussions immediately, and they wanted to find a response strategy.

"The 84th Division of the 17th Army, the 94th Division of the 14th Army, the 43rd Army's temporary 46th Division, the temporary 47th Division, and the 70th Division fully defended the front-line position at Henglingguan."

These heavy machine guns and mountain cannons are their only heavy weapons.

At the same time, here on the West Road, this is the absolute main direction of the Japanese army's attack. The Japs have assembled troops from the 36th Division and the 37th Division here.

Of course, what Yan Laoxi was thinking after Chen Ziyun got the message was the same as Ming Jing's.

At this time, all their main forces participated in the battle, and Qing Shui had a reserve force of about 5,000 people.

"Should we temporarily stop attacking the Hengling Pass and Shunwangping areas now and gather all the troops together?"

A force of 4,000 troops advanced to the Shunwangping area to conduct containment operations against the 43rd Army.

The 27th Army must coordinate the 14th Group Army in operations to ensure the safety of the eastern positions in Zhongtiao Mountain.

At eleven o'clock, all the main forces of the Glory First Division were dispatched.

Yan Laoxi asked the Glory First Division to execute the order of Commander He Jingzhi, and the troops quickly attacked Yicheng and Jiangcheng.

They only have one 84th Division, which is a unit from the Northwest Army.

Chen Ziyun led the artillery regiment and followed the 48th Independent Brigade.

As the battle started, there were many troops fighting under the Fifth Army.

The focus of its attack was on the junction of the Third Army and the 80th Army, in an attempt to divide it and focus on seizing the 80th Army's positions.

Of course, because the ferry and ships were bombed, it would take time for the 83rd Division to quickly reach the north shore to join the battle.
To be continued...