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 sitting in the city of sleepy sorrow. Several warehouses in the city were lost, and the mountains of food in the warehouses were naturally lost.
Yang Jicai only besieged and did not launch an attack. However, while the limited food was left empty, the Japanese army must first ensure the supply. At first, the puppet army only gave one wotou of sorghum noodles a day, and later they simply gave two bowls of sorghum noodles a day. And this sorghum was all.
The batter became thicker and thinner. After two peeings, my stomach was empty again.
Even except for a small number of senior officers, the Japanese army could only get rice and white flour, and ordinary Japanese soldiers could only eat sorghum noodles. This also caused a large number of puppet soldiers to cross the front and surrender 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 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 wildly. 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 never suffered any major setbacks and showed arrogance from the bottom of 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. After receiving the order, this Japanese division set off from the station and used poison gas to open the way.
Get rid of the layers of resistance from the Shandong Military Region troops and quickly complete the assembly in the shortest time. Take the train via the Shide Railway, which has not yet been bombed by the Anti-Japanese War, and enter 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 poison 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, but 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. 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 were vastly different from 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 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 two major plants, the Northwest Chemical Plant and the Northwest Steel Plant, was delayed.
Little progress has been made. Especially at the Northwest Steel Plant, it took three days just to wait for the blast furnace to cool down. After five days, only some light equipment was disassembled.
After hesitating for a moment, Yang Jicai transported all the equipment that had been dismantled by the Northwest Machinery Factory and the Machinery Repair Shop, and that could be transported by truck. As for the light equipment such as motors that had been disassembled by the Northwest Steel Plant and the Northwest Chemical Plant,
All were transported by truck first.
Concentrate all efforts to dismantle blast furnaces, open-hearth furnaces and larger equipment. Once dismantled, they are loaded onto a freight train that has stopped 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, they will all be incorporated into combat troops. In addition, some of the mobilized prisoners will be
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.
Weapons were distributed to the captured Japanese and puppet troops and 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 units 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 heading north for reinforcements. Its six infantry squadrons ignored the air interception. At the same time as the 32nd Division arrived at the outskirts of Taiyuan
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 to get rid of the constant pursuit and interception of the Taihang Military Region. It abandoned some strongholds and used a concentrated brigade to forcibly march towards Taiyuan City via 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 the only two small regiments could not fundamentally change the situation of the battle.
progress. We can only cooperate with the two regiments of the Taihang Military Region crossing 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 in the area east of Changzhi by the 36th Division of the Japanese Army stationed in Changzhi and the 37th Division of the Japanese Army stationed in Yuncheng. 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. However, as soon as the counterattack troops recaptured the shop, 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 destroyed. A regiment of the Jinsui Military Region that cooperated in the operation also had to retreat to the south due to heavy losses due to a lack of experience in coordinated infantry and tank 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 strategic point of the 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.
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Faced with the increasing casualties in the Hedong war, the number of available troops was insufficient. 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 withdrew a force to the north, using Lancun, Xiangyangdian, and Xincheng at the bend of the Fen River as key points to prevent the Japanese army from crossing the Fen River, cut off the Tongpu Railway from the west, and seize 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 situation 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 to attack from the front and outflank them. If they cannot break through from the front, they will forcefully detour to the flanks. With three regiments of troops, they 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 leaving behind
In addition to the six infantry squadrons protecting their own rear, most of the troops were still deployed under Taiyuan City.