The Japanese only had one squadron with nearly 400 Japanese who crossed the river. However, even though there were only 400 people, its combat power should not be underestimated. Although the reserve troops in Jiujiang City were transferred to Guanzhou by Li Yunheng, there were still many soldiers in Jiujiang City. There is also a regiment of security forces and a security regiment directly under the 16th Army. Since the Battle of Nanjing, Jiujiang has become a frontline city. Therefore, the security forces in the city have also received special training from the Central Army and have certain combat capabilities. Li Yunheng judged that even if the Japanese launched a surprise attack on Jiujiang, they would not be able to break through quickly because of the existence of the Gantang Lake position. However, he forgot that Jiujiang was not the only landing site at Gantang Lake. In fact, as long as the Japanese People who are willing to put in the effort and are not afraid of the trouble can cross the river in other places by moving ants.
More than 400 Japanese soldiers were all elites personally trained by the "Long Island Fox". They were not only first-class in skills, but also well-equipped. Among them, almost every one of them had a German MP-40 submachine gun, and at the same time, every ten people had a grenade launcher. , every thirty people are equipped with a Type 92 heavy machine gun. It can be said that this is a group of devils armed to the teeth. When this group of devils suddenly appeared outside the gate of Jiujiang East City, the security forces on the city gate drawbridge were stunned. It wasn't until the other side fired first, killing all five people on duty, that they reacted. However, it was already too late. The security guard on the tower was about to retract the suspension bridge when a "boo" sounded and several grenades landed on the tower. Nearby, three of the security guards were killed and several others were injured. The others immediately dispersed.
The Japanese occupied the East Gate without much effort. Immediately, Major Imura, who led the team, left a small team to occupy the East Gate. After the incident, he led the others directly to Jiujiang Middle School to kill.
Almost at the same time, some Japanese spies and some bribed traitors in the city began to set fires and create chaos according to the predetermined plan. They loudly publicized the news that the Japanese had invaded. After hearing this, the civilians in Jiujiang City could not tell the truth from the false and immediately fell into chaos. Many people began to pack their bags and rush into the streets to escape from the city, and the chaos they caused made Li Yunheng's subsequent efforts immediately come to nothing. As the leader of the old Hunan Army, Li Yunheng still had some courage, and the troops under his command, For example, the 53rd Division also had certain combat effectiveness. Li Yunheng could have quickly assembled the guard regiment and launched a counterattack, but the chaos in the city forced him to abandon this plan. The chaos in the city made it impossible for him to judge the Japanese army's intentions. In this way, when someone proposed to him to retreat to Kantang Lake first and then wait for an opportunity to counterattack, he had no choice but to adopt this opinion.
"Long Island Fox" has been planning today's battle for several days. When a red flare suddenly appeared over Jiujiang City, he gave the order and immediately, the cannons that had been moved from Xingang and Guanzhou on the other side roared in unison. , hundreds of thousands of artillery shells bombarded the outer positions of Gantang Lake in just ten minutes. At the same time, those small black spots in the sky turned into fighter planes visible to the naked eye, roaring. They rushed towards the 53rd Division camp at Gantang Lake. Just as the Japanese artillery and aviation were ravaging the Gantang Lake position, the large Japanese army ambushing on the other side of Gantang Lake began to carry various wooden boats and small boats from the reeds. After running out, the Jiujiang offensive that the Japanese had planned for a long time began in an instant.
The Japanese army had been attacking Xingang and Guanzhou some time ago, which paralyzed the officers and soldiers of the 53rd Division. They took it for granted that that was the main direction of the Japanese attack. Therefore, except for one regiment whose turn it was to guard the position, they stayed in the trenches. All the troops stayed in their barracks. As a veteran Hunan Army, the 53rd Division fought bravely but did not have much tactical literacy. Originally, according to the order of the Military Commission, the frontline trenches had to be dug to at least 1.8 to 2 meters. However, the officers and soldiers of the 53rd Division only dug about one meter and two meters on the beach because they could not dig deep enough to accumulate water. As a result, the protective capabilities of the trenches were quite limited. Therefore, the Japanese only conducted artillery fire for ten minutes. In preparation, the Gantang Lake forward position was completely paralyzed. In a regiment stationed inside, at least two battalions of officers and soldiers were directly killed. The officers and soldiers of another battalion saw that the trenches could not hide people. At the request of the regiment commander to preserve their strength, Braving the heavy artillery fire, we withdrew the second line of defense.
The second line of defense is not safe either. It is only one kilometer away from the camp and has been targeted by the Japanese aviation. Originally, if they dug deep communication trenches as required and dug air-raid shelters and artillery-proof holes at regular intervals, They were able to escape this round of bombings, but they didn't have anything they should have, and everything they shouldn't have (some officers and soldiers of the 53rd Division, in order to be lazy and enjoy themselves, carried a lot of reeds into the traffic ditch to use as mattresses), but they all had it. , a bomb from a Japanese plane can often ignite a traffic trench. Of course, people cannot pass through the burning traffic trench. What to do, they can only go up and run. In this way, these soldiers running on the ground become Those Japanese aircraft were a living target for the aviation troops to practice their marksmanship. Often, a Japanese aircraft would roar past and plow down a piece of land with just a press of the shooting button.
The Japanese bullied the Chinese army, which had no air force in Jiujiang. This time they dispatched all bombers, a total of seventeen bombers, four of which were medium bombers. These bombers flew between the 53rd Division camp and the second line of defense. They destroyed more than one regiment of the 53rd Division.
Li Yunheng led the guard regiment to Gantang Lake. He originally expected to gather his troops and launch a counterattack against the small group of Japanese troops in Jiujiang. However, he was only halfway through when he encountered the defeated troops of the 53rd Division. At this time, the commander of the 53rd Division He is still with Li Yunheng. The division commander is not here, and there are not many brigade commanders and regimental commanders. There are only a few battalion commanders in such a large army. Together, these battalion commanders believe that Gantang Lake cannot be defended. , the military base was in Jiujiang City, so they might as well abandon Gantang Lake and defend Jiujiang. So, under their leadership, the remaining soldiers of the 53rd Division, who had finally escaped the Japanese bombing, retreated towards Jiujiang City like a tide.
"Yu Zeliang, what's going on?" Li Yunheng saw the miserable appearance of his men coming towards him and already guessed what happened. However, with a sense of luck, maybe his men learned about the changes in Jiujiang City and came to help. He couldn't help but Ask a battalion commander this way,
Yu Zeliang had a mournful face: "The military seat and Gantang Lake have been lost. The Japanese dispatched hundreds of planes and large troops. We suffered heavy losses."
Li Yunheng had actually been prepared for this result in his heart, but when it was confirmed, his expression changed drastically. The so-called defeat was like a mountain, and it was definitely impossible to counterattack Jiujiang with this remnant army at this moment. Since Gantang Lake If it is lost, the Japanese may land there at any time. Once a large Japanese force enters Jiujiang, let alone counterattack Jiujiang, Xingang and Guanzhou's first and third reserve divisions are in danger of being surrounded and annihilated.
At this time, there was a abnormal situation in the officialdom of the Republic of China, that is, some guys who were originally bandits or even warlords, just because they had some people and guns in their hands, not only were they not subject to encirclement and suppression, but they were able to get promoted and make a fortune.
Li Yunheng belongs to the old Hunan clique. It is said that since the Hunan clique no longer exists, there is no need for him and his troops to exist. In fact, this is not the case, just because someone has a gun in his hand, so not only does he exist, Moreover, he lived a very prosperous life. He suddenly transformed from a division commander to a military commander. Therefore, Li Yunheng had a very deep understanding and desire for people and guns. The first reserve division and the third reserve division were his assets and guarantees. He still nourishes the living conditions and involves his own interests. Naturally, he is unwilling to let him be eaten by the Japanese army. Therefore, even though he knows that once Xingang and Guanzhou are lost, there is no possibility of Jiujiang situation turning around, he still resolutely issued an order for the first and third reserve divisions to immediately withdraw from their positions and move toward Xingzi Town.
Jiujiang was lost in the blink of an eye, and it was completely lost. Ye Zhao, commander of the 12th Xuexi Division in Hukou, received the report from the frontline scouts and was so angry that his nose was crooked. Li Yunheng was so unreasonable. When I came to Hukou, I went to visit the other party, saying that the two sides should cooperate vigorously and support each other in times of crisis. The other party was so good that it was enough to lose Jiujiang in the blink of an eye. They didn't even know it because the former commander of the 12th Division was seriously ill. He had to retire early. Ye Zhao had just come to the division and had not had much time before he encountered this trip to the north. Although the 12th Division was from the old Cantonese school and he and Ye Zhao were from the same school, considering that Ye Zhao had just arrived, Soldiers don't know generals, and generals don't know soldiers. That's why Ouyang Yuncai only assigned such an easy job to the 12th Xuexi Division. For this matter, Ye Zhao even criticized him for a time, thinking that the commander-in-chief didn't believe in his ability. He was planning how to manage the Hukou front line so that it could play a role at the critical moment. However, before his arrangements were completed, Jiujiang was lost, which meant that Hukou was directly placed on the front line. No wonder he was so popular. Big,
Once Jiujiang is lost, the Northward Army Corps of the Xuebing Army will be in danger, because in this case, they will face the situation of being attacked from three sides. The Northward Army Army has a total of five divisions, and it seems to have a lot of troops. However, precisely because of the problem of troop strength, What Ouyang Yun is most worried about is that the Japanese will take notice of them and risk their lives to encircle them. By then, the Battle of Hankou will have changed. It will no longer be a battle between China and Japan to compete for the important town of Hankou, but will most likely become a battle between China and Japan. The Japanese army encircled and annihilated the Northward Army Corps of the Xuexi Army. Once this happened, Ouyang Yun could be sure that except for Xue Yue from Nanchang who might lend a helping hand to a certain extent, the armies of other factions would definitely stand aside and watch.
This matter was of great importance. Ye Zhao did not dare to take it lightly and immediately reported it to Ouyang Yun. After Ouyang Yun learned of this situation, he stood blankly in front of the sand table and did not say a word for five minutes.