Three hundred and fiftieth chapters one after another blow
At this moment, what Hata Juichi is most eager to know is not just how to rescue the Sixth Division. [.Com text] but how many troops and equipment the opponent has. From the square 14th Division at the far west of the entire front
regiment, to Mishan, which blocked the Eighth Division's full Western aid, there were enemy armies everywhere in Baoqing.
Several divisions reported that the number of enemy troops around and in front of their divisions was at least 20,000. The estimate of the number of enemy troops reported by the Sixth and Fourteenth Divisions was between 30,000 and 40,000.
.The total strength of these many troops exceeds 100,000.
The figures on equipment are even more different from the pre-war estimates. According to the situation reported by the Sixth Division yesterday alone, the opponents deployed more than 200 artillery pieces with a caliber of 75 mm or above in front of them. Among them, there are
There are a large number of heavy artillery with a caliber of 150 mm or more. At the same time, the 14th Division on the Western Front also reported a similar situation.
And the intelligence he received before the war showed that the opponent's total strength did not exceed 70,000, and there were no more than a hundred artillery pieces with a caliber of 75 mm or more. It's really a ghost. They suddenly got so many more troops from there, and they still can't.
There are so many cannons? These soldiers and equipment can't just pop up from the ground overnight, can they?
If all this is true, then they actually deceived the intelligence department of the Kwantung Army, which has always been known to have great powers and omnipotence, and they deceived them thoroughly. They have been able to keep it secret for such a long time, what exactly did they do?
How was it done? All the judgments made before the war were wrong, and none of the intelligence was correct. How could we fight the next battle?
Originally, Namada Juichi thought that even if the opponent concentrated superior forces and equipment to launch a strong attack on the Sixth Division, but even if the tanks, one regiment of heavy artillery, and one and a half regiments of heavy artillery were transferred away, the Sixth Division would still be able to rely on its usual fierceness and tenacity.
With his fighting style, the remaining three tank regiments, hundreds of tanks, and more than a hundred heavy artillery pieces, even if they were unable to severely damage the opponent, they could repel the opponent's attack and protect themselves without any problem.
During the battle of Wuhan the year before last, Shigeichi Hata, who had fought with the Sixth Division, was fighting alone on the north bank of the Yangtze River with one division. When facing the China Army with more than a dozen divisions, not only did it
They did not fall behind. Instead, they attacked the city and took the lead. The fierce style of breaking down the gate of Wuhan was very impressive.
After learning that the Sixth Division was allocated to the Fifth Army to participate in the anti-alliance encirclement and suppression campaign, he immediately placed the Sixth Division in the most critical position, even placing eight of the heavy artillery and tanks on hand.
Chengdu strengthened the Sixth Division in the hope that they could create another miracle in the Battle of Wuhan.
He then thought that the Sixth Division, which he had high hopes for, had been completely defeated in the first round of battle, and was almost on the verge of being completely destroyed.
With the enemy's situation unknown and how many of the enemy's troops still hidden and unshown, Juichi Namada didn't even know that the 29th Division he had dispatched to rescue the Sixth Division would encounter another enemy.
What kind of situation will it be like, will it encounter the eastward detachment of the Sixth Division?
In order to prevent the fifth army's only reserve from making the same mistake, after much hesitation, Namada Juichi gave the 29th Division an order to terminate the rescue. He then turned around and ordered the 8th Division, which was attacking, to stop its westward advance and stay on the spot.
Turning to defense. He should carefully consider what to do next. As for the rescue operations of the 6th and 10th Divisions, he should wait until dawn and the results of the aviation reconnaissance are returned.
What made him even more troubled was that Major General Tabaka Senichi, the military chief of staff who was sent out to inspect the Sixth Division, lost all continuity after sending a telegram that he had arrived safely. As for Namada Shigeichi,
For example, Major General Tasaka lost contact. This was not the only bad news he received tonight.
At the same time that Major General Tasaka lost contact, the 6th and 12th Division Headquarters also lost contact one after another. No matter how hard the communications troops at the corps headquarters called desperately, only the rustling sound of electricity came from the radio.
The division headquarters never got any reply.
All contact with the two divisions was cut off, casting a heavy shadow over Hatada Juichi's heart. It was just over four days before the battle started on the eastern front, and less than two days on the western front.
So we lost two divisions and four regiments of troops. What is the next battle plan?
And Namada Juichi, who was eager to get the real battle situation at the front, especially the real situation of the 6th and 12th Divisions, was depressed and finally waited until the sky had just brightened and the visibility was barely enough for the plane to take off, but he suffered a more serious attack.
A blow. This blow was simply more serious than the blow his opponent had given him. Because it suddenly started to rain, and the rain was quite heavy.
The Yilan area on the western front received the most rainfall, which was light rain, but the eastern front line of Muling, Mishan, and even Mudanjiang and Ning'an received the first heavy rain since the beginning of spring. The heavy rain falling from the sky made Muling
All aviation forces at Bamiantong Airport and Ning'an Langang Airport were forced to suspend operations. Not to mention ground support, even take-off reconnaissance was impossible.
Unless the Army Aviation Forces risk the aircraft getting stuck in the soft runway of the airport flooded by heavy rain, or being hit by lightning in the dense cumulonimbus sky and destroying the aircraft and killing people. But this is not a good idea for the Army, which has always regarded pilots as its most precious asset.
For aviation, it is absolutely impossible.
Aerial reconnaissance was restricted by the weather. As for ground reconnaissance, after receiving the order from the Fifth Army, the 14th Division sent out small troops several times to try to establish contact with the Sixth Division, but they were all ignored.
No reply. Not to mention sending back information, no one even came back to report the news.
Namada Juichi, who had lost almost all sources of intelligence, became blind in a short period of time. His only source of information that the Sixth Division was still resisting turned out to be that the right wing of the Fourteenth Division in the west could still hear.
The sound of gunfire can still be heard in the mountains south of Yilan.
The 6th Division, which always had some sources of information, was forcibly divided by its opponent and the 8th Division on the right, and was surrounded. It was also beaten in the first round, and was crippled early without a full infantry unit.
The situation in the 10th Division was even worse.
In addition to receiving a letter from Lieutenant General Tokawa Jiro, commander of the 10th Division, at midnight yesterday, the 10th Division is still resisting tenaciously. With great loyalty to the Emperor and the Empire, the officers and soldiers of the entire division are still fighting bloody battles with the enemy who have superior equipment.
The 10th Division fought hard, but its reserves of supplies were almost completely destroyed. Now they were running out of ammunition and food. After a telegram was sent to the entire division that they had prepared jade pieces, there was no news.
The continuous deterioration of the war situation and the successive blows made Hatada Juichi miserable. After hesitating for a whole day, he decided to change the original plan of having a regiment to reinforce the Sixth Division and mobilize the general to suppress the army.
The two regiments of the 29th Reserve Division currently deployed in the Muling area, as well as the only independent field artillery regiment and the 10th independent mortar regiment on hand for mobile operations, all moved westward to immediately reinforce the 29th Division.
Sixth Division.
While resuming the 8th Division's continued westward advance, it was strictly ordered to break through the defense of the opponent's blocking troops within twenty-four hours at the latest. Go westward with all your strength, reach the territory of Boli in the shortest possible time, and rescue the Second Division.
The 10th Division and the 6th Division march eastward.
Although making this decision was very difficult for Namada Juichi. However, compared to the Eastern Front, where the troops were more concentrated, the premature erosion of the Western Front's battle situation only allowed him to mobilize early and not yet complete the final formation.
The division artillery wing and search team were not yet in place. Originally, the 29th Division was not prepared to be mobilized to the battlefield, but was only used to mop up enemy-controlled areas after the war.
But Juichi Namada also knew clearly what it would mean for the entire Western Front once the Sixth Division collapsed. It not only meant that all the flanks of the Fourteenth Division would be exposed, but also that once the opponent followed this opened path
The gap goes all out to the south, threatening Harbin to the west, and approaching Mudanjiang, an important town in northern Manchuria, to the east, outflanking the retreat of several divisions on the eastern front.
After the 7th Division was transferred, the 2nd Division, 24th and 25th Divisions were severely damaged last year and were transferred to Fengtian in southern Manchuria to rest and lick their wounds. The 4th Division was also there
In preparation for shipment and transfer to the China battlefield, there were almost no field divisions in the entire North Manchuria region except for the 23rd Division, which was responsible for the defense of Central and North Manchuria and the defense of Western Manchuria.
The 51st Division, which was originally planned to facilitate the Kwantung Army, was still being formed in Japan. Currently, only one and a half regiments have arrived in Manchuria, and they are only equipped with infantry equipment, including cavalry, artillery, engineers and other technical arms and heavy equipment.
It's still under construction and very slow.
As soon as the 28th Division was organized, it was transferred from the base camp to the China battlefield to take over the 6th Division. Now several divisions in the entire North Manchuria area are under his command. In the rest of the area, except for independent garrison units with only light weapons and
Apart from the puppet Manchukuo army and police, there was no other military force.
Once the Sixth Division collapses, the gates to the entire Western Front will be opened. There will no longer be any defensive force from Yilan to Harbin. If the opponent is willing, they can even easily enter the Wei River along the southern area of Yilan
, Yanshou outflanked the 14th Division's retreat. But this consequence was something he, Namada Juichi, could not bear.
In the face of an almost cruel situation, despite some hesitation, he still mobilized the 29th Division, the last reserve team he could use at present. Even if the main force of the Sixth Division could not be rescued, he would still be trapped in Bo
The eastward detachment of the Sixth Division in the mountainous area of central Lee rescued him.
Although the 29th Division set off immediately after receiving the order, even if the 29th Division could arrive in the southern area of Yilan in time to participate in the battle, it would not be able to change any situation at this time. Because one day was delayed, and no longer
It was irreversible. The battle situation on this day became a key point that affected the subsequent course of the entire battle.
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