Chapter 191: The Destruction of the Seventy-two Division III
In order to encircle and annihilate the remnants of the 72nd Division in the shortest time, as the two Japanese troops arrived one after another, Hou Guozhong, who knew that the development of the war situation left him little time, put the last reserve team in his hands at this time.
It was thrown in and 70% of all artillery firepower was thrown on the positions held by the remnants of the 72nd Division from the Qingliang River to Zhengjiakou.
As the intensity of his attack became stronger and stronger, many flanks had been broken through, and the defense line on the south bank of the Qingliang River was already in danger, with the entire line collapsing imminently. The battered Lieutenant General Chiba Kumaji, on the one hand,
Organize the main force of the 152nd Regiment and attack in the southeast direction desperately, trying to open an escape channel.
On the one hand, engineers were organized to transport the main force of the two regiments, as well as part of the search regiment. With the three infantry squadrons of the 152nd Regiment as the backbone, they desperately resisted the attacks of the surrounding Anti-Japanese Alliance. Chiba Kumaharu ordered the blocking troops.
No one is allowed to retreat even one step until the battle is over, in order to create opportunities for the main force of the division to break through.
Although in order to open a way to break out, Lieutenant General Chiba Kumaji spent a lot of money. He concentrated a large group and adopted continuous wave tactics to launch a continuous fierce attack to the southeast. A battalion of the Anti-Japanese Alliance that blocked them was repulsed.
After a wave of offensive, before they could take a breath, the Japanese troops rushed forward again.
Even in the face of the intensive firepower of the resistance force, the Japanese army suffered heavy casualties. They used the corpses of their dead comrades to build simple bunkers on the spot, either to shoot at the blocking force, or to push them forward step by step.
.Although the mortars of the blocking troops continued to blow up the human bunkers of the Japanese army, the Japanese army still did not give up the attack.
A battalion of the Anti-Japanese Alliance deployed in the direction of its breakout had no favorable terrain to rely on. In just one day, it repulsed more than 40 Japanese troops. From squadrons to squadrons, multiple squadrons advanced hand in hand until the final group adopted many times.
Repeated impacts including charges.
With most of the first-line positions lost and two-thirds of the battalion suffering casualties, they relied on the last line of defense, as well as the fire support from the artillery behind them and surrounding friendly troops. They used the second-line positions to withstand repeated Japanese attacks.
Charge and block their breakout route.
After a day of breakout fighting, a large group of casualties invested by the Japanese army had only advanced less than two kilometers to the southeast. Although in the southeast, the 100th Division, which was currently fighting fiercely with the resistance blockade force, had already heard the sound of gunfire and artillery fire.
It came through clearly, but the Japanese breakout troops tried their best, but they just couldn't get through.
The tacit understanding between the different organized units of the Japanese army was much higher than that of the Chongqing army at that time. The Japanese army had never had the tradition of being immobile when friendly forces were in trouble, and the intensity of rescue efforts for its own brother troops had always been quite high. One hundred
As soon as the division arrived at the designated combat area, it immediately launched an offensive without even taking a rest.
Moreover, under the cover of tanks and heavy artillery, multiple fronts were moving forward in unison, and they were working together to open up the connection with the 72nd Division. However, no matter how strong the posture was, the troops invested were huge, and the offensive was quite fierce.
But it does not mean that they can open up the connection with the 72nd Division within the expected time and fish out Lieutenant General Chiba Kumaji from the sea of misery.
No matter how hard the 100th Division worked, the resistance force in front of them was not weak. Facing the menacing 100th Division, the resistance forces in front of them did not flinch at all and directly fought into a ball.
Not only did they fight extremely tenaciously in the blocking battle, they also launched tactical counterattacks from time to time. The entire defense line was like an iron barrel, leaving the 100th Division helpless.
After a daytime attack, it cannot be said that the 100th Division has made no progress at all. However, the location is still quite far away from where Lieutenant General Chiba Kumaji was trapped. At least, it is still a situation where water from far away cannot quench the thirst of the near. The only way to give
What comforted Lieutenant General Chiba Kumaharu was the intensive sound of gunfire in the direction of his main attack.
The 100th Division on the right wing could not be relied on in a short time, and the 118th Division on the left wing was also making little progress and had been fighting for a long time without success. However, after nightfall, Lieutenant General Chiba Kumaharu, who was not willing to just sit back and wait for death, did not suffer any casualties.
A breakout operation that was too big and stopped. As long as there was still a glimmer of hope, he would not just wait to die.
After night fell, the determined Lieutenant General Chiba Kumaji not only mobilized the last reserve team in his hand, but also brought up those who had been suppressed by the superior artillery fire of the Anti-Alliance. During the artillery battle with the Anti-Alliance,
The remaining artillery, which had lost two-thirds, was also put in. This force was the only remaining mobility in his hands.
Under the full cover of the remaining artillery at all costs, the Japanese breakout operation this time was more fierce than the offensive during the day. More than ten skirmisher lines were discharged at one go, and the offensive was wave after wave.
One line was defeated, and the following troops immediately rushed forward, barely giving the defenders any time to breathe.
If the frontal attack fails, a flank breakthrough will be adopted. If the flank breakthrough fails, a two-pronged approach will be adopted. The artillery behind the breakout troops adopts the tactics of dispersed deployment and concentrated fire, without any regard for the suppression and killing of the counter-attack artillery fire of the Anti-Japanese Alliance. Field artillery and mountain artillery are used.
, 105mm howitzers, plus two 150mm howitzers, poured artillery shells at the Anti-Union blockade force positions without hesitation. Even at critical moments, tactics of covering fire and indiscriminate shelling were adopted.
Its continuous charges caused two-thirds of the casualties after a day of hard fighting during the day, and it was no longer able to support a comprehensive defense. It could only use its few remaining troops to defend a few key points of the second-line position. Although it received deep support,
The artillery fire was fully supported, but the pressure was still increasing, and the position situation was already precarious.
But after Lieutenant General Chiba Kumaharu and his men fought hard for a whole day and most of the night. After almost filling in an entire infantry brigade, plus two infantry squadrons and an engineering squadron, they finally saw the dawn of a successful breakthrough.
When it comes to showing that moment.
The remaining defeated generals cheered. A force came diagonally from the flank, and two anti-alliance mechanized infantry companies, equipped with a tank platoon cover, braved the Japanese artillery fire and forced their way through the Japanese artillery blockade and rushed to the breakthrough.
.It also directly extinguished the fire of hope that was ignited in Chiba Kumaji's eyes, and completely cut off the last hope of the 72nd Division to escape.
After receiving reinforcements from the artillery troops moving south from the north bank of the Qingliang River, the deep artillery of the Anti-Japanese Alliance also concentrated two 107 rocket launcher batteries and one 122 rocket launcher battery to fire a volley deep into the breakthrough point chosen by the Japanese army. At the same time,
Concentrate all the artillery that can be concentrated to strengthen the fire suppression of the Japanese artillery.
The Japanese artillery had already suffered heavy losses during the day, and it was only thanks to multiple shifts of positions that the Japanese artillery was not completely defeated. After these few hours of artillery battle, which was far more intense than during the day, it was still completely defeated. Seventy Japanese field artillerymen participated in the battle.
After the fierce fighting in the past few days, the Second Regiment's last five remaining field guns, one 105 howitzer, two 150 howitzers, plus the remaining one and a half squadrons of the mountain artillery brigade attached to it before the war, all participated in the battle.
All artillery pieces were destroyed.
The artillery shells detonated by the Anti-Alliance artillery fire continued to explode on the Japanese artillery positions. The single pieces flying in all directions caused heavy casualties to the surviving Japanese artillerymen. This breakout operation of Lieutenant General Chiba Kumaji not only ruined the
The last bit of vitality of the 72nd Division also lost all the last artillery that had been painstakingly preserved these days.
The reinforcements in front of them did not stop at all after arriving, and directly crossed the breach that was almost opened by the Japanese army. Under the cover of vehicle-mounted machine guns and tank artillery fire, they again opened the breach.
The breach was completely blocked.
At this moment, the 152nd Regiment, which had almost run out of blood, could no longer muster enough troops to break through this breakthrough again. Lieutenant General Chiba Kumaji could only watch helplessly as they rushed out.
The anti-alliance armored forces once again blocked the breakthrough.
At this moment, behind the breakthrough point chosen by Chiba Kumaji, the gunfire from various attacking forces of the Anti-Japanese Alliance was getting closer and closer. Behind Lieutenant General Chiba Kumaji, there were already shouts of killing everywhere, and there were dense gunfire everywhere.
Sound. There is no hope of breaking out of the encirclement, and the blocking line behind them has been broken through. At this time, the 72nd Division has been forced to a dead end.
The 152nd Regiment, which had exhausted most of its strength during the breakout, was not only unable to reopen the gap, but even the remaining defensive positions had to shrink again and again. By the time Chiba Kumaji launched the breakout operation for the first time,
At dusk the next day, the remnants of the 72nd Division were trapped in a narrow position that was less than one thousand meters long from east to west and less than 200 meters wide from north to south.
Lieutenant General Chiba Kumaharu, who failed to break through but lost most of his strength, the only thing he could do now was to desperately call to Lieutenant General Uchiyama Eitaro of Jinan, the 118th Division on the left, and the 100th Division on the right. However,
The only answer he could get was two words: persist.
These two words were also the only answer that Lieutenant General Uchiyama Eitaro could give him. At present, the 100th Division was strengthening the 4th Independent Tank Brigade and had started a fierce battle with the Anti-Japanese Alliance. The 118th Division was also desperately fighting towards Zaonan.
, launched an attack on the Gucheng battlefield. Reinforcements from the left and right wings have arrived, and the Sixty-fifth Division stationed in Yanzhou is also rushing towards the battlefield desperately.
If Lieutenant General Chiba Kumaji cannot hold on at this time and is eaten by the enemy, then the entire combat plan formulated by the front army will directly fall short. By then, this situation will really become a situation where you cannot defeat the wolf, but you will be defeated.
The wolf bit him. So Uchiyama Eitaro's answer to Lieutenant General Chiba Kumaharu only had two words: insist.
At the same time, Eitaro Uchiyama, who was afraid that the 72nd Division would really be eaten up by the Anti-Japanese Alliance, was constantly urging the 118th Division and the 100th Division to speed up their attack. At least to break the Anti-Alliance's hold on the 72nd Division.
Encirclement, even if only one infantry group rushes in, it can cheer up the 72nd Division.
It’s not that Lieutenant General Chiba Kumaharu doesn’t understand what Eitaro Uchiyama means. But now his 72nd Division really can’t hold on anymore. The remnants of the 72nd Division are currently trapped in a small area, and the anti-Japanese machine guns don’t need to be aimed at.
, the bullets shot can easily pass from here to there. At the same time, the anti-alliance tank troops were even lying a few hundred meters away from the Japanese front line, constantly covering the infantry charge with direct-aimed artillery fire.
At this moment, the only anti-tank guns he had on hand were two rapid-fire guns that had no shells and a 50mm anti-tank gun. As for the remaining anti-tank guns, they had already followed the north bank of the Qingliang River.
After a defeat on the battlefield, the two regiments were completely wiped out and lost everything. Without anti-tank weapons, how could the remaining manpower be a match for the enemy tank cluster?
Lieutenant General Chiba Kumaharu, who did not get a satisfactory answer from Lieutenant General Eitaro Uchiyama, could only turn to the 118th Division, which was closest to him, and kept pleading on the radio to Lieutenant General Uchida Ginnosuke, the commander of the 118th Division, hoping that
He could work harder and help the 72nd Division as quickly as possible.