Although the trapped Japanese and puppet troops were not short of ammunition, drinking water and food became a big problem for the more than a thousand Japanese and puppet troops trapped in a small area. Although the Anti-Japanese Alliance did not attack, the lack of food and water left the Japanese The puppet army was stationed in sleepy city, and several warehouses in the city were lost. Naturally, the mountains of food in the warehouses were also lost.
Yang Jicai only laid siege and did not launch an attack. However, while the limited food was left empty, he had to first ensure the supply of the Japanese army. At first, the puppet army only provided one wotou of sorghum noodles a day. Later, they simply gave two bowls of sorghum noodles a day, and this sorghum was all. The batter was getting thicker and thinner, and after two peeings, my stomach was empty again.
Even the Japanese army, except for a small number of senior officers, could only get rice and white flour, and ordinary Japanese soldiers could only eat sorghum noodles. This also resulted in a large number of puppet soldiers who crossed the front and surrendered to the Anti-Japanese Alliance. After this battle, a proverb became popular in Taiyuan City: "If all the little devils eat sorghum noodles, then the tail of the rabbit will not grow."
However, the Japanese and puppet troops in the city calmed down, but the 41st Division's desperate attack outside the city never slowed down. The most important thing is that not only did the Japanese troops in the south of the city attack with increasing intensity, the battle continued until April 2 On the 14th, a certain number of Japanese troops also appeared in the southeast and east of Taiyuan, where no Japanese troops had originally appeared.
As the Japanese reinforcements arrived one after another, the entire defense line outside Taiyuan City was facing increasing pressure, especially the Japanese troops appearing in the southeast of the city. Yang Jicai felt that something was wrong as soon as they met. The momentum seemed to be unstoppable. It was the same as over-fighting, and it was obviously different from the old-fashioned Japanese soldiers in North China.
When the Japanese army came up, they attacked fiercely, charging in all directions. When their charge was blocked, they insisted on fighting to the death. At first glance, they looked like the kind of Japanese army that had not suffered any major setbacks and had arrogance in their bones. Moreover, their artillery fired at a high speed. Not only is it extremely fast, but its firing rate is fast and accurate.
It was not until after a day of hard fighting that a prisoner was captured that it was discovered that this Japanese army was the main force of the 32nd Division transferred from the Shandong battlefield by Okamura Neji. This Japanese division set off from its station after receiving the order and used poison gas to open the way. After getting rid of the layers of obstruction by the Shandong Military Region troops, they quickly completed the assembly in the shortest time. They took the train via the Shide Railway, which had not been bombed by the Anti-Japanese Alliance, and entered the Zhengtai Line via Shimen.
When the Zhengtai Railway was severely damaged due to air strikes and was no longer usable, after getting off the bus at Huolu, we entered the Shanxi battlefield from Niangziguan. We relied on the large number of poisonous gas shells replenished at Shimen and the only two of the Twelfth Army. The tank squadron opened the way, ignoring the interception of the troops of the Southern Hebei Military Region who had first reinforced the battlefield in southeastern Shanxi, and forced a march all the way to Taiyuan.
Although the march speed was slower, after all, they arrived at the Shanxi battlefield as soon as possible. However, this division did not follow Okamura Neji's idea to reinforce the Juyongguan front line. Instead, it was temporarily transferred to Taiyuan. There was no way , Okamura Neiji really did not dare to risk losing Taiyuan, so he stubbornly followed his plan and transferred the 32nd Division to Juyong Pass.
Not to mention that there is a military headquarters in Taiyuan City, so he can only guarantee Taiyuan first, but there is no such military headquarters. Unless he wants to completely abandon Shanxi, the northern route to launch an attack on China's rear, otherwise he must Rescue Taiyuan immediately.
Once Taiyuan is lost, the entire Shanxi battlefield will be divided into two independent battlefields: southern Shanxi and northern Shanxi. The so-called Jinsui, Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei, and Taihang base areas of the communist army in Shanxi will be completely connected. It is said that the territory of Shanxi, that is, the territory of Hebei and northern Henan, will never be able to live in peace.
Although the troops from the two brigades of the Southern Hebei Military Region who were the first to arrive at the battlefield, with the cooperation of the three regiments of the Taihang Military Region, deployed in a trapezoidal shape along the Niangziguan line on both sides of the Zhengtai Railway, they took advantage of the terrain to intercept them layer by layer, trying to intercept them. The 32nd Division was intercepted in the area east of Niangziguan.
However, when the Japanese army came up, they used a large amount of poison gas and used firepower to clear the way without hesitation of artillery shells. Due to the lack of gas masks and the firepower of the southern Hebei Military Region troops, which was vastly different from that of the Japanese army, although they paid a high price, they ultimately failed to meet expectations. Intercept this division outside Niangzi Pass.
It only ate up some small troops of the division, but failed to injure the division. With the support of the first unit of the independent mixed fourth brigade, it forcibly broke through the blockade of the Taihang Military Region troops at all costs. In the end, they arrived at the outskirts of Taiyuan in accordance with the time required by the Japanese North China Front.
Faced with the increasing number of enemy troops in the surrounding area, and the continuous urging of the acting commander of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Military Region to evacuate, Yang Jicai gritted his teeth and persisted despite not following the order. After the intense and busy days of the first five days, including being captured Personnel, students, as well as a large number of workers and family members who were evacuated first, and those who need to be evacuated have basically been transported.
However, the disassembly and assembly of industrial equipment progressed extremely slowly. In five days, only the equipment of the Northwest Machinery Factory and the Machinery Repair Shop were dismantled. However, the disassembly work of the Northwest Chemical Plant and the Northwest Steel Plant was delayed. There has been little progress, especially in the northwest steelmaking plant. It took three days just to wait for the blast furnace to cool down, and after five days, only the disassembly of some light equipment was completed.
After hesitating for a moment, Yang Jicai first transported all the disassembled equipment from the Northwest Machinery Factory and the Machinery Repair Shop that could be transported by truck. As for the light equipment such as motors that had been disassembled from the Northwest Steel Plant and Northwest Chemical Plant, All were transported by truck first.
Concentrate all efforts to dismantle blast furnaces, open-hearth furnaces and larger equipment, and load them on a freight train that has been parked on the dedicated railway line of the northwest steelmaking plant. In order to speed up progress, the level of mobilization of the people has never been reached. Upon request, Yang Jicai ordered them to be summoned with guns. As for wages, they were all paid according to the maximum limit.
At the same time, all the rescued prisoners of war who came from the Eighth Route Army will be incorporated into combat troops based on the cadres at all levels captured in the original prisoner of war camps. As long as the underground party organizations in the concentration camps prove that they have not rebelled, all will be incorporated into combat troops, plus some mobilized prisoners. Prisoners of war from the Jinsui Army and the Central Army, as well as basic low-level company and platoon officers, were temporarily organized into several independent battalions.
The weapons that were distributed to the captured Japanese and puppet troops were all brought to the front as the second echelon. Even the more than 2,000 captured puppet troops were mobilized and incorporated into combat troops. Facing more and more Japanese reinforcements, Yang Jicai We can only use the forces that can be mobilized as much as possible to supplement the combat troops.
Yang Jicai struggled to support himself here, and the aviation combat troops responsible for supporting his operations were also dispatched. The British light bombers that had just been put into use also began to dispatch in large numbers to provide ground support with all their strength. The entire surrounding area of Taiyuan City, southwest, The south and southeast directions were all in a sea of fire.
However, the main force of the 41st Division of the Japanese Army in Linfen was also constantly forcibly breaking through the interception of the Taiyue Military Region and was sending reinforcements to the north. Its six infantry squadrons ignored air interceptions and arrived at the outskirts of Taiyuan at the same time as the 32nd Division. On the same day, they forcibly entered Taiyuan Wusu Airport and joined the 237th Regiment of the 41st Division.
The independent mixed fourth brigade stationed in Yangquan is also constantly shrinking its troops, getting rid of the constant pursuit and interception of the Taihang Military Region, abandoning some strongholds, and using a concentrated brigade to forcefully march towards Taiyuan City through the direction of Yuci. The leading one The infantry squadron has advanced to the Shizui line in the southeast of Taiyuan.
Our troops around Taiyuan, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Fourth Division troops that had never been found, finally rushed to the battlefield after discovering the fierce fighting that broke out around Taiyuan. However, the strength of only two small regiments could not fundamentally change the situation of the battle. In order to make progress, we can only cooperate with the two regiments of the Taihang Military Region crossing over from the south to tightly entangle the reinforcements of the independent fourth mixed brigade.
However, the reinforcements of the main force of the Hebei, Shandong and Yu Military Region were intercepted by the Japanese 36th Division stationed in Changzhi and a section of the 37th Division stationed in Yuncheng in the area east of Changzhi, and reinforcements were received. Although the first unit of the Taihang Military Region under the command was making every effort to reinforce the outskirts of Taiyuan, its progress was extremely slow under the layers of obstruction by the Japanese army.
Faced with an increasingly unfavorable situation, in order to contain the Japanese offensive in the south of the city, Yang Jicai concentrated all the tanks he could mobilize, plus the two most complete companies in his hands. A regiment from the Jinsui Military Region arrived later to attack Xiaodian. The front-line Japanese army's salient launched a counterattack to contain the Japanese army's continued assault on the Shuangta Temple front line and ensure the stability of the southern defense line.
Yang Jicai concentrated all the mobile forces at hand and launched this counterattack. Although the Japanese army's salient was leveled, as soon as the counterattack troops recaptured the store and before they could gain a foothold, the Japanese army concentrated two infantrymen. Team, fight back at all costs.
After a day and night of fierce fighting between the two sides, the two companies invested by Yang Jicai were all fired up. The cooperating regiment of the Jinsui Military Region also suffered heavy losses due to a lack of experience in infantry-tank coordinated operations. The Black Kiln front line continues to defend.
A reinforced tank company that participated in the war had only five tanks left. The remaining tanks were all destroyed by the Japanese army's meat bomb offensive or mountain artillery fire. The strategically important store in the south of Taiyuan City was completely lost, so Yang Jicai could only give up the store. Di Village and Mingqian Town in the east of the store, and completely blow up Wusu Airport, the only external channel besides the Fenhe River Bridge, and withdraw the troops to Mazhuang and Qinxian Village in order to fully defend the Dongshan-Fenhe River corridor. .
Faced with the increasing casualties in the Hedong war and the insufficient number of available troops, Yang Jicai gritted his teeth and ordered most of the defensive Xishan Jinsui Military Region to withdraw across the Fenhe Bridge, strengthen the battlefield in Taiyuan, and blow up the Fenhe Bridge to concentrate his forces on Taiyuan. Xindian, Niutuo Village, Mengjiajing, Mazhuang, Qinxian Village and other key points around the city to ensure the progress of their demolition.
And with one force withdrawing northward, using Lancun, Xiangyangdian and Xincheng at the bend of Fenhe River as key points, they blocked the Japanese army from crossing the Fenhe River, cut off the Tongpu Railway from the west, and seized the Shiling Pass in the north of Yangqu. Guanmao Mountain on the west side is to ensure the retreat route of the entire army when necessary.
With more and more enemy troops appearing in the surrounding area, Yang Jicai had to carefully consider the retreat plan. In his opinion, although there was no enemy behind him yet, a complete division of the Japanese 32nd Division had already rushed to the outskirts of Taiyuan. Based on the current comparison of the enemy's and our own forces, this division will definitely not simply fight to the death and only attack along the front line of Dongshan.
The Japanese army's tactics have always been frontal assault and outflanking. If the front cannot be broken through, it will forcefully detour to the flanks. It has three regiments of troops and will never simply attack from the front. What Yang Jicai is most worried about now is that the 32nd Division will seize the opportunity. Niutuo Village detoured around Yangqu Town, outflanked its own retreat, and completely cut off its northward retreat.
Although the troops of the Southern Hebei Military Region and the First Division of the Taihang Military Region behind it are desperately launching counterattacks in an attempt to relieve the pressure on Taiyuan City, at present, the number of Japanese troops to be restrained is limited. In addition to the six infantry squadrons protecting their own rear, most of the troops were still deployed under Taiyuan City.