Among the divided Japanese troops, Chen Hanzhang handed over the two largest groups to the aviation force, while he concentrated his tanks to cover the infantry, and launched an attack on the remaining three divided Japanese troops at the same time. As for the rest, those trapped in the South Camp About two and a half squadrons, as well as most of the Japanese armed expatriates, he directly ordered a 122 rocket launcher company to come up with a fire coverage.
Of course, if he knew that among the two and a half squadrons of Japanese troops, there was the 69th Division Headquarters, he would never be so generous. In fact, the 69th Division is currently in a group situation with no fortifications and no bunkers. , it is the time when the rocket launcher can be used to its maximum effect.
However, considering the difficulty of replenishing rockets, Chen Hanzhang has always been very cautious in using rocket launchers in this battle. After all, this weapon can fire forty rockets in one salvo. Its high rate of fire and intensive firepower also mean With high consumption of ammunition.
In this roundabout operation, supplying is not an easy task when the communication lines are not open. Therefore, Chen Hanzhang will not use rocket artillery until he thinks it is the best moment. But now in order to speed up the battle process, Chen Hanzhang has nothing to worry about by reducing the number of casualties in order to prepare for the next battle that may be more brutal.
On the surface, Chen Hanzhang seemed somewhat indifferent to the battle situation in Datong, but in fact, the focus of his sight had always been on the battlefield of Datong. Mu Changqiu was currently short of troops. Although he broke through Datong's peripheral defense lines and city walls, he was also in the surrounding area. Under the siege of the Japanese troops in Yingxian, Huairen, and Zuoyun, it seemed that there was some support left and right.
Although the total strength of these Japanese and puppet troops who came for reinforcements as soon as possible was only one and a half corps, coupled with the Japanese defenders in Datong City and surrounding areas, they brought considerable trouble to Mu Changqiu. The territory of Datong is crisscrossed with mountains. How many mountain roads are there to connect with the surrounding Japanese military strongholds? Not to mention Mu Changqiu, who came from afar, even the guerrillas operating in the area don't know.
Mu Changqiu only had two infantry regiments and one cavalry brigade in his hands. Facing the six Japanese infantry brigades that were unable to defend themselves in Datong City, as well as one and a half brigades on the outside, and the increasing number of Japanese troops at the same time, they seemed to have insufficient strength. Although He can take advantage of the strong mobility of the troops in his hands, adopt mobile defense, concentrate firepower, and use his troops to solve the problems one by one.
However, the troops in his hands were not enough to deal with all the enemy forces. The two infantry regiments faced the six Japanese infantry brigades that had solid city defenses that they could rely on. They were actually at a disadvantage in terms of strength. The tank troops outside the city prevented the Japanese troops in the city from leaving the city to counterattack.
However, there was no large-scale counterattack. The continuous tactical counterattacks continued without interruption. The troops who broke into the city wall were almost driven out by the Japanese counterattacks in the city due to lack of follow-up troops. If it were not for the tanks on both sides of the breach, Using artillery fire, the Japanese troops who launched counterattacks on both sides of the breach were suppressed, and the breach was long lost.
What troubled Mu Changqiu was not just the lack of troops. In fact, the problem that troubled him the most was the serious shortage of food. When Mu Changqiu entered Datong, he rescued them from the major coal mines around Datong. Tens of thousands of miners were rescued in the Xinzhouyao Mine in the southwest of Datong City alone.
Under the reckless mining method of exchanging people for coal adopted by the Japanese and puppets, most of the miners were extremely weak and in urgent need of nutritional supplements. But Mu Changqiu, let alone solving the physical problems of these people, just barely gave in. It is difficult for these people to make a living.
Although the Jinsui local armed forces active in Zuoyun mobilized some millet and sorghum to meet the urgent need, Zuoyun, which belongs to the poorest place in Shanxi Province, can raise enough food to feed so many people. In desperation , Mu Changqiu could only send Chen Hanzhang one telegram a day.
The reason why Chen Hanzhang was eager to deal with the 69th Division was not just Mu Changqiu's telegram asking for help. In Chen Hanzhang's view, if the war situation in Datong remained stalemate for a long time, it would also contain a large number of troops of the Anti-Japanese Alliance and affect the Anti-Japanese Alliance. The development of a one-step combat plan.
Faced with the changes in the enemy situation and the development of the situation around Datong, we took advantage of the opportunity of the 69th Division to retreat southward from the city, regardless of means or losses, to eliminate this enemy force hanging alone in Suinan in the shortest possible time. , has become Chen Hanzhang's only choice now, and the best way to solve the problem. Let alone rocket launchers, if there are poisonous gas bombs in his hands, I am afraid Chen Hanzhang will use them without hesitation.
For the enemy troops that were exposed to a bare plain without any fortification cover and were compressed quite densely, after a volley of 160 rounds from a one-two-two rocket launcher, not even a single dregs would be left. Chen Hanzhang did not. Time passed one by one. To deal with the Japanese army hanging alone in the south camp, a rocket artillery battery was directly mobilized to fire a volley.
In fact, when this rocket launcher company fired a salvo, the entire 69th Division Headquarters plus the two and a half squadrons covering the division, more than a hundred armed foreigners, as well as the high-power radio station of the Division Headquarters and senior officials of the Division Headquarters Inside, everything was completely destroyed, nothing was left, and everyone in the encirclement was left with only a pile of stumps and broken arms.
Chen Hanzhang, who just wanted to save trouble, would have done so if he knew that the Sixty-ninth Division's regiment headquarters was also among the Japanese troops in Nanying. The regiment headquarters was sent to the west by a dense rain of rockets, but the way of death was much more comfortable than that of his subordinates who were either burned alive or crushed to death by tanks.
The two largest Japanese strongholds in the North House, which were divided at the top of the mountain, were reloaded with oil bombs. The attack fleet came again and used high-explosive bombs to drive out the village that was trying to put up a final resistance. Drop napalm bombs, and use air-to-ground rockets and airborne machine guns to sweep away.
All the people in the villages on this front line have long been relocated. Whether the Anti-Japanese Alliance uses artillery fire or air strikes, they naturally have nothing to worry about. How can they reduce their own casualties and how can they speed up the progress of the battle? Chen Hanzhang’s considerations at this moment.
After all the combat aircraft participating in the battle were evacuated, less than half of the nearly three infantry brigades of Japanese troops in these two large encirclement circles could stand up. The remaining Japanese troops were immediately replaced by two cavalry battalions from the Second Cavalry Brigade plus mechanized troops. One infantry battalion and two infantry battalions swarmed forward and were easily dealt with using sabers and machine gun fire.
The Japanese troops who tried to break through were either hacked to death with sabers or hit by tank machine guns and artillery fire. A large group of Japanese troops trapped at the top of the mountain relied on their large number of troops and ignored the bombing and strafing from aircraft in the sky. They forced their way to the west of the Pingsui Railway. Before they even got into battle formation, a battalion of mechanized infantry from the 1st Armored Division, plus two tank companies, and a cavalry battalion rushed up and swept them across, finishing the battle within three hours.
As for the remaining two encirclement circles, under the cover of the artillery of each division, the level-firing self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, and the huge power of the anti-aircraft machine guns of the battalion, the tanks, cavalry, and a large number of infantry swarmed forward, sweeping like an autumn wind. Like fallen leaves, the battle was over within half a day.
By 7:00 a.m. on April 10, after sixteen hours of fierce fighting, the main force of the Sixty-ninth Division, which the Japanese army had deployed on the battlefield in Suinan, as an organic division, had been erased from the order of operations of the Japanese army. Inoue Lieutenant General Zhenwei, along with most of his subordinates, were wiped out.
After finishing the 69th Division, Chen Hanzhang left Yi Liangpin to command a tank battalion, two battalions of the Second Cavalry Brigade, and an infantry regiment to guard the line from Jining to Fengzhen, and cooperated with them to continue their activities in Liangcheng and Fengzhen. , the independent regiment of the Saibei Military Division of the Shanxi-Sui Military Region on the Jining front line is responsible for clearing out the remaining Japanese troops.
He commanded the rest of the troops and made a 180-degree turn from the Victory Pass and Zhenchuan Pass line to the Outer Great Wall line and joined the Datong battlefield. Yi Liangpin, who led the army to Jining, also quickly transferred from Zhuozi Mountain. A train arrived, carrying a large amount of food and ammunition that the Japanese army had hoarded in Jining City. It followed Chen Hanzhang and quickly went south to support Mu Changqiu, who was in urgent need of food support on the Datong battlefield and was almost on the verge of collapse.
The troops entering the Great Wall from Deshengkou followed the Yuhe River southward via Gushan and approached the north of Datong. The troops commanded by Chen Hanzhang entered the Great Wall via Zhenchuankou. After crossing Cailiang Mountain, they joined the advancing army at the Julebao line. The troops mobilized for reinforcements gathered together and launched a defensive posture along the Baishan Mountain and the north bank of the Sanggan River.
Just as Chen Hanzhang neatly eliminated the 69th Division and the entire army crossed the Great Wall and headed south to join the Datong battlefield, Wang Minggui's troops set out from Kangbao to reinforce the Datong battlefield. The enemies of Zhixinghe and Taolin, who were traveling under the stars and at night, ignored them. After passing Chahanpo, Xinanzhuang moved south at full speed. Jining handed over the supplies for Chen Hanzhang to Yi Liangpin without stopping, and the whole army entered Youyu territory through Shahukou.
Despite some hesitation, when Wang Minggui passed through Liangcheng, he still sent part of his troops under the cover of artillery to capture Liangcheng, the only city in Suinan still controlled by the Japanese army, and completely annihilated the two Japanese defenders of Liangcheng. The squadron, as well as the part of the 69th Division that collapsed here, were scattered to ensure the safety behind them.
However, although a battle was fought in Liangcheng, it did not slow down the march of Wang Minggui's main force. All troops were transported by trucks and used the roads built by the Japanese army to move very fast. After starting from Kangbao, it only took 36 Hours later, his troops, led by tanks, rushed into the tiger's mouth.
Looking at the endless truck-carrying infantry under the cover of the tanks, as well as the heavy artillery pulled on the trucks, the Japanese and puppet troops who were guarding the Shahukou dared to block the attack and directly gave up the Shahukou. This road has been located in Shanxi since ancient times. In the strategic military area between the northwest and Suinan, even the people in Youyu County did not dare to return. Instead, they dragged their families and retreated along the mountain road to Zuoyun under the guidance of the puppet army.
After entering the Killing Pass, in order to cover Yang Jicai's move to enter the Great Wall line at Tunhu Pass, Wang Minggui did not immediately seize the line from Zuoyun to Huairen with his entire army, and outflank the northern section of the Tongpu Railway. Instead, with one division of troops, Wang Minggui swept across
At the same time, the area west of Datong is Kouquan and the west of Huairen.
Send a division of troops southward to seize Pinglu, and with the cooperation of the local armed forces of the Shanxi-Sui Military Region, seize Hongtao Mountain, assuming a posture of approaching Shuoxian and Shanyin, cutting off the Tongpu Railway, and
On the front line of Hongtao Mountain, they encountered the Japanese Zuojian detachment that was reinforcing the 69th Division, and immediately started a fierce offensive battle around the Hongtao Mountains.
A large number of anti-resistance alliances suddenly appeared on the Pinglu and Huairen lines, attracting all the attention of Okamura Neji. Tianzhen and Yanggao, two county towns east of Datong, were lost at the same time. A large number of anti-resistance forces appeared east of Datong.
News of the Allied Forces forced him, whether he liked it or not, to deploy all the troops he could mobilize to the vicinity of the Datong battlefield. At this time, the strength of the Japanese troops in Taiyuan and the surrounding areas was no more than four infantry squadrons.