Every artillery shell fired from the front stopped all the attacking troops of the 44th Division. The blocking of a small position made the entire division feel like it was facing a formidable enemy. There was always naval gunfire behind them.
Within the range of the enemy, the movement was slow and slow. The overwhelming Ninth Division over there had already penetrated deep into the enemy's army. However, the various units participating in the battle here were less than one kilometer away from the starting point.
However, although the 44th Division did this a little too slowly, it has an obvious advantage. That is, although the landing was carried out, the losses due to the relationship between the echelon and the focus of the anti-alliance firepower strike were indeed huge. But the actual investment
After the front-line battle, the overall casualties suffered were quite minimal compared to those of the Ninth Division.
Although the troops of the Ninth Division participating in the battle, under the instructions of Lieutenant General Yuan Shou, adopted the tactics of fighting steadily and uniting together. However, in the face of the counterattacks, the offensive never stopped. But the Forty-fourth Division
However, he retreated at the first sign of attack, waiting for the enemy to retreat on his own initiative after being breached by the Ninth Division on the flank, and then began to advance.
Although the furious Lieutenant General Yuan Shou repeatedly issued death orders, the attack speed of the entire 44th Division could not be increased. Instead, he pushed the attached part of the 9th Division to the front to take the lead. He cautiously followed behind.
, crawling slowly. Yes, based on the speed at which the 44th Division is traveling, even a tortoise can crawl faster than them.
Although Lieutenant General Yuan Shou sent senior combat staff from his own division to personally rush to the front line of the 44th Division to supervise the battle despite the intense firepower of the Anti-Japanese Alliance, it was of no use. The participating units of the 44th Division,
The attack speed was just not that fast. A total of 3,000 troops were hiding behind the 1,000 troops attached to the Ninth Division.
In desperation, Lieutenant General Hara Mamoru could only send a report to Lieutenant General Yoshio last month, asking him to urge the commander of the 44th Division, Lieutenant General Sekihara Roku, and the dilly-dallying 44th Division Headquarters, as soon as possible.
Landing ashore to command his own troops. Otherwise, allowing the 44th Division to continue climbing like this will delay major events and affect all follow-up actions of the entire army.
As for the 44th Division, let their division commander take command on the ship. As the commander of the 9th Division, facing this gang of rogue Osaka traders, he is really at the end of his rope and has no choice.
If possible, he would rather throw these guys back on the ship and wait for them, rather than use these rubbish troops again.
Lieutenant General Yuan Shou couldn't understand what the base camp was thinking about. For such an important military operation, you had to send a more shameless unit. But there were so many divisions to choose from, and you had to choose this one.
Come help the merchants. Even if you use this 44th Division to replace the 48th Division in Jiaodong, it would be good.
Although the 48th Division was not the original 48th Division, the original 48th Division had been wiped out in the Tianjin Defense War some time ago. When the 48th Division was established, the battle number assigned by the base camp was six.
Sixteenth Division.
However, after learning that the 48th Division, the main division of the Taiwan Army, was completely destroyed on the Tianjin battlefield, the commander of the Taiwan Army, General Ando Rikichi, insisted on reorganizing the 48th Division at the base camp. General Ando Roshichi's attitude was very clear.
The forty-eighth division is composed of the basic corps, and the two Taiwan regiments under it are the symbols of the Taiwan Army.
The 48th Division was completely destroyed in the North China battlefield, which was detrimental to the empire's rule over Taiwan. He asked the headquarters to treat the 48th Division just like the standing divisions that were annihilated in Manchuria, and reorganize it as soon as possible to restore the empire's presence in Taiwan
military symbol.
General Ando Rikichi has quite a lot of connections within the base camp. I don’t know how he persuaded the base camp to actually agree to this ridiculous opinion. It’s just that the base camp agreed, but it is so simple to form a division.
things.
Since the soldiers and equipment were not yet ready, the base camp simply changed the designation of the 66th Division, which had just been independently formed into the 46th Brigade, to the 48th Division. Anyway, this 66th Division
He will also be transferred to the Taiwanese military, so changing his designation is not a big deal.
As a result, the newly appointed commander of the 66th Division, Lieutenant General Kitagawa Kazuo, inexplicably became the new commander of the 48th Division. The original 249th Regiment, 304th Regiment, and 305th Regiment,
The designations were changed on the spot to the 1st and 2nd Taiwan Infantry Regiment, and the 47th Regiment.
However, the 48th Mountain Artillery Regiment of the 48th Division was unable to reorganize due to lack of equipment. The original Mountain Artillery Regiment of the 48th Division was renamed the Mortar Team of the 48th Division.
The mountain guns originally equipped were turned into mortars.
As a result, under the tense situation of the North China War, the newly formed Forty-Eighth Division had just been formed, and before General Ando Toshiyoshi could laugh out loud, it was transferred to the North China battlefield to fight on the Shandong Peninsula. As a result, Ando calculated carefully.
General Li Ji, in the end it was all in vain.
But in the view of Lieutenant General Yuan Mamoru, although the base camp said that this matter was a little ridiculous, the newly formed 48th Division could not compare with the original 66th Division in terms of heavy weapons. It was better than the 40th Division.
The Fourth Division's gang of Osaka merchants, who are like soft-legged crabs, are much stronger, at least they won't be so dissatisfied after being thrown into front-line combat.
Fortunately, although the Forty-fourth Division moved extremely slowly, Major General Ogata Shinki was still quite generous. After knowing the current situation of the front-line battle situation and the ineffectiveness of the Forty-fourth Division's actions, he ordered the Marine Special Marines and all landing
The internal fireboat regiment was generously handed over to the command of Lieutenant General Yuan Shou.
It's just that this Yokosuka Joint Special Marine Corps belongs to a Marine Corps that is equivalent to an army brigade. It only has a strength of more than a thousand people. It cannot replace it in any case. Even if a regiment has not yet had time to land, at least there are still five thousand troops.
For Lieutenant General Yuan Shou, the 44th Division with its large number of troops was no better than nothing at best.
Lieutenant General Yuan Shou's counterattack, due to the delay of the 44th Division, formed a situation of being fast in the north and slow in the south. However, the faster the offensive troops on the northern front progressed, the more worried Lieutenant General Yuan Shou was.
It felt a little unusual. Any other army would not deploy only one regiment in front of such a large defensive area for anti-landing operations.
Moreover, the enemy has deployed so many artillery units along the Qikou front line and deployed so many mines in the deep water area off Qikou. They have spent so much time setting up such a big trap for the empire’s landing operation that it is impossible to do it on the beach.
Only one regiment of infantry was deployed on the position. The enemy was not a fool. Did he think that relying only on artillery could stop the empire's landing operation?
The most critical thing is that after Lieutenant General Yuan Shou launched the attack inland, it was no longer possible to provide fire support to the landing troops by relying only on the range of naval guns. At the same time, all remaining materials, equipment, and personnel have been sent ashore and followed.
The sea water has begun to recede, and naval ships have begun to retreat one after another because there is no need to continue to station in the Bohai Bay, or they can no longer provide fire support.
While losing the naval gun fire support, it provided a protective umbrella for the Japanese landing troops, and took over the disabled fleet to implement in-depth fire support. After a day of air combat, there were very few aviation forces left at this moment, and they withdrew from the battlefield due to the fall of night.
, Lieutenant General Yuan Shou's inner uneasiness became increasingly intense.
Although almost all the landing ships and most of the landing craft were lost, only one-third of the remaining troops that had not yet landed finally climbed ashore. However, although they received certain reinforcements, they were unable to escape from the ship.
After the artillery cover, the strong uneasy feeling in Lieutenant General Yuan Shou's heart did not disappear as the night fell, but became stronger and stronger.
Before the landing operation was carried out, according to the intelligence transferred from the North China Front Army, the enemy's two armored divisions had not yet appeared on any battlefield. The North China Front Army mobilized all intelligence networks, but it was still unable to find the enemy.
Where exactly is such a huge armored force lurking?
This makes everyone from Okamura Neiji to Lieutenant General Hara Mamoru feel extremely uneasy. Everyone is a senior officer, and they all know in their hearts what kind of enemy is the most terrifying? They know that they are near the battlefield, but
The enemy that can never be found is the most terrifying thing.
The terrain of the Qikou line is almost flat. Except for a few depressions, there is not even a larger highland. This kind of terrain is the most suitable for tank operations. Even a squad leader understands this common sense. And in this kind of terrain
Below, the enemy's tank cluster never showed up, which was like a thorn in the heart of Lieutenant General Yuan Shou.
Even though the Ninth Division is equipped with a large number of rocket launchers, the enemy armored cluster that has not yet appeared still makes Lieutenant General Yuan Mamoru's nerves always in an extremely tense state. There are two armored divisions and hundreds of vehicles.
tanks and a large number of armored vehicles. If they all overwhelm the Qikou front line, how should you and the weak 44th Division deal with it?
The attacking force develops in depth, and sooner or later it will escape the cover of the naval guns. Most of its artillery is lost in the sea. The remaining artillery is insufficient, and the 44th Division is ineffective. Once it encounters a large number of enemy tanks,
I am afraid only God knows how long the Ninth Division, which is already half disabled, can hold on due to the impact.
After the northern attack force based on the 7th Regiment arrived at the front line of Hulangzhuang, Lieutenant General Yuan Shou ordered to stop the attack and build fortifications on the spot to prepare for defense. Lieutenant General Yuan Shou repeatedly warned the northern attack group, especially
Be prepared for anti-tank operations. Be prepared to face the impact of a large number of enemy tank groups.
At the same time, he continuously called Lieutenant General Sekihara Roku, the commander of the 44th Division who finally came ashore, and asked the 44th Division to take advantage of the gap when the anti-alliance artillery fire finally stopped, and under the cover of night, they must enter their designated position and fight with them.
The troops on the northern front formed an overall posture of alternating cover.
The northern front troops were currently too intrusive and the attack was too smooth, which made him really uneasy. So after the sky gradually darkened, he ordered all the northern front attack groups to stop and wait. After waiting for the sky to lighten, he was already calling continuously
After the aviation support arrives, the next step will be decided based on the situation.
Although the order was issued, Colonel Asahi Shiro, the captain of the 7th Regiment responsible for commanding the northern front operations, strictly followed his order. Although the front line of Hulangzhuang was unusually calm that night, nothing happened. But
Even though this night was peaceful, Lieutenant General Yuan Mamoru, who felt increasingly uneasy, had the most difficult night.
It was not until daylight that the reinforcements of the Marine Special Marines arrived at Sunzhengzhuang and were deployed to the flanks of the 7th Regiment to serve as cover. The sluggish 44th Division was under the personal supervision of Lieutenant General Sekihara Sixth who finally came ashore.
, and finally arrived at the front line of Sanhuzhuang. Lieutenant General Yuan Shou was anxious all night, and finally calmed down a little.