Chapter 237 The Hope of the Japanese Major (Subscribe on the first day of July! Monthly ticket!)
Suematsu Shigeharu was very angry. As the vanguard of the Tenth Army, the 114th Division naturally advanced at a faster pace.
However, at four o'clock in the afternoon, the main force of the 114th Division had already gathered on the south bank of the Huangpu River. The 2nd Cavalry Squadron of the 18th Cavalry Regiment and its machine gun squadron were with the 1st Infantry Brigade of the 115th Infantry Regiment, which was designated as the forward.
An hour ago, we had crossed the simple pontoon bridge that the Engineer Regiment spent several hours building.
However, the vanguard troops of the 114th Division did not advance rashly because of the anger of the division commander. According to the intelligence from the Songhu Dispatch Army Headquarters, a Chinese infantry corps had arrived in Songjiang City.
Suematsu Shigeharu still had some self-awareness. He knew that relying on his own strength alone was still insufficient to defeat Matsue Castle, which was defended by an infantry army. Don't be too angry, but try to gain more energy.
The 1st Infantry Battalion, which was originally used as the siege vanguard, was not so much a vanguard as it was a unit responsible for plundering and defending the main force of the division when it crossed the river.
By the way, I also need to provide support for those unfortunate guys in the 18th Cavalry Regiment.
After learning the lessons of Fujiwaraichi, the 18th Cavalry Regiment no longer dared to rush into the hills and woods when searching and reconnaissance near Matsue. The large group always stayed back and sent out the cavalry squad first to check.
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Moreover, the 18th Cavalry Regiment simply did not dare to go outside the attack radius of the four mountain guns of the 115th Infantry Regiment Artillery Squadron that accompanied the 1st Infantry Regiment across the river.
The angry Suematsu Shigeharu did not lose his cool. He also knew that the amount of military exploits obtained in this surprise attack on the west of Shanghai was related to his future, and he only brought an infantry brigade, an artillery regiment and an engineering regiment.
and part of the baggage regiment, the strength of which was not sufficient for him to squander.
He did not rebuke the cavalry regiment for their caution.
However, the Chinese seem to have disappeared.
Not only was there not a single Chinese soldier found within five kilometers of the landing site, but even the villages were deserted.
If it weren't for the chickens and ducks in the village still foraging in the fields, it would seem like there was a dead land outside Songjiang City.
This is actually Tang Dao’s suggestion.
As early as yesterday, he asked the Songjiang County Government to send people to the villages and towns ten kilometers around Songjiang City to inform everyone, young and old, that they must leave.
Because this place will become a battlefield, and more than 100,000 Japanese troops will attack Songjiang.
The common people naturally don't want to leave their homes, but when they hear that the Japanese number one hundred thousand, no matter how stupid they are, they know that such a huge army needs a vast terrain to spread out. Once a war breaks out, the artillery shells fired from the city will not matter.
Are you Chinese or Japanese?
In addition, there are rumors that the Japanese are ferocious and committed all kinds of crimes on the battlefields of North China, such as burning, killing, looting, etc. It would be strange for them to leave without taking their families with them.
One day and one night was enough time to evacuate tens of thousands of surrounding villagers, and it also avoided the disaster of the Japanese army massacring ordinary people to vent their anger.
In the evening, a Fubuki-class light cruiser, escorted by two gunboats, sailed from the lower reaches of the Huangpu River. Only then did the 114th Division, which was fully prepared, begin to cross the river with its main force.
The range of the 127mm naval gun is as high as 11,000 meters, which just covers Songjiang City ten kilometers away. That also means that no matter where the Chinese artillery position is, six 127mm naval guns can carry out retaliatory bombardment.
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The six cavalry companies led by Gong Shaoxun, after following Tang Dao's decision, followed Tang Dao's advice and evacuated this area directly, without even leaving any sentries.
The Japanese army, whose anger level has been aroused to the extreme, will never make the mistake of advancing rashly again. The small number of cavalry must be followed by infantry and artillery. If they try to conduct a surprise attack, they are likely to be trapped.
They still have to retain their strength to operate on the periphery of the battlefield, just like Lieutenant General Wu wanted, to become a wandering wolf pack, and when they see the opportunity, they can bite the Japanese troops besieging the city without having to bite them to death. The bite will hurt.
That’s it.
Now, wouldn’t it hurt to bite them?
After the main force of the 114th Division crossed the Huangpu River, the 1st Infantry Battalion of the 115th Infantry Regiment, as the vanguard, took the lead in advancing to the east of Songjiang City, accompanied by four tanks.
With less than ten kilometers of road, the 1st Infantry Brigade, equipped with motorcycles and trucks, took less than half an hour to reach the area 1,500 meters outside Songjiang City.
All the Japanese military officers were lying on the top of a small mound and carefully observed the city in front of them, which was surrounded by layers of residential buildings.
Before their convoy arrived in a mighty manner, the cavalrymen of the 18th Cavalry Regiment had already seen sporadic Chinese cavalry escaping into the city in a hurry, indicating that the Chinese were aware of their arrival.
Standing majestically on the high ground and observing with a telescope is cool, and he has the temperament he should have, but if the Chinese see him and bombard him, the consequences will not be wonderful.
Dongcheng, designated by the Tenth Army Headquarters, is the main battle area of the 114th Division. The 6th Division, which will arrive later, will be responsible for the West City and Nancheng. The 18th Division will stay on the south bank of the Huangpu River as a reserve for the entire army.
Sending out a division and a half to attack a small city is already very impressive to the Chinese.
Not to mention that there is also a tactical arrangement of besieging three and one. Once the besieged Chinese escape from Beicheng, they will die faster. One of the 'Empire Double B' who is waiting to work will besiege and kill them in southeast China.
in the wilderness.
Because of Suematsu Shigeharu's anger, the 1st Infantry Brigade, which once again served as the siege vanguard, knew from top to bottom that the Chinese might not be able to hold on for too long under the siege of their own army, but this did not mean that they would be finished if they were not cautious.
You are qualified to taste the fruits of victory.
As the vanguard of the entire division, if they cannot devote all their strength to fight this battle, there will never be more than half of the entire infantry group of more than a thousand people who are qualified to set foot in this small town.
As the captain of the 1st Infantry Battalion, Major Junichi Watanabe must be responsible for himself and more than a thousand of his subordinates.
So as soon as he arrived outside Songjiang City, he ignored his status as a major captain and took his brigade deputy and several infantry squadron captains to the forefront of the temporary field fortifications that the soldiers were building based on the terrain to observe the Chinese city defenses.
However, due to the obstruction of layers of residential buildings hundreds of meters away, the Japanese officers could not see clearly the construction of the city fortifications in front of them.
If you want to reach the exposed corner of the city wall, you have to pass through this numbingly dense residential area.
The layer upon layer of residential area is quiet. Even though the sun is setting and it's time to make dinner, there is not a trace of smoke. It's like a dead zone.
Obviously, the Chinese had evacuated all the civilians in the villages just like the villages outside the city not long ago.
The residential area of the city was originally their favorite area. Just like the Chinese cities they once entered with great strides, Chinese civilians could only stand on the roadside with their heads lowered, waiting for the victors to review, and any disrespectful
Any action may lead to death.
That kind of pleasure of life and death is really wonderful.
This is conquest.
But this quiet residential area outside the city, without any sound, actually gave Junichi Watanabe a palpitation for no reason.
It seems that it is a sleeping beast that will open its big mouth at some point and devour everyone who dares to enter this area.
However, what can we do if we don’t send people in? It is unrealistic to completely destroy this residential area covering an area of more than one square kilometer just by relying on our own artillery.
Not to mention that there are not so many shells for him to waste, and time does not allow it.
Suematsu Shigeharu, who is advancing here, has issued a military order, ordering them to launch an attack on Dongcheng as soon as they arrive.
All the artillery pieces of the approaching artillery wing of the division and the six naval guns of the Fubuki-class destroyer staying on the Huangpu River will provide fire support to them.
When the heavy artillery brigade accompanying the military headquarters arrives tomorrow, the Chinese people surrounded in the city will be bombarded into powder, along with the entire city.
In fact, Junichi Watanabe didn't take the order from the division commander too seriously.
He did not dare to disobey the order, so he could only take the lead in launching an attack on the city to detect the Chinese firepower structure for the main firepower of the division, but this did not mean that he had too much expectations for naval guns and heavy artillery brigades.
The small town in Jinshan County is much smaller than the Songjiang City in front of us! The result? The two infantry regiments took turns to fight, and they fought all afternoon.
The small town was about to be blown to pieces, but the Chinese fought to the last man.
The Chinese officer who lit the explosives and went to hell with his wounded soldiers and a dozen Imperial Army soldiers left an indelible impression on the Japanese major who arrived at the scene in person.
Will there be another golden mountain here?
he does not know.
He just hoped that it wouldn't be...
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