On the outskirts of Xuzhou, the headquarters of the Sixth Division.
The long night finally passed, and the Chinese army, which seemed to be everywhere and pervasive, finally withdrew.
The Chief of Staff of the Sixth Division, Colonel Shimono, strode into the war room. He immediately put his feet back and stood at attention. He said to Lieutenant General Hisao Tani, the commander of the Sixth Division: "Your Excellency, the casualty statistics are out. The 13th Infantry Regiment is here."
A brigade was severely damaged, with more than 300 people killed and nearly a hundred seriously injured. The captain of the infantry brigade was also killed."
"What!?" Hisao Tani said in disbelief, "The casualties are so heavy?"
"Hai!" Colonel Shimono suddenly lowered his head and said, "Your Excellency General, according to the reports of the surviving soldiers, the Chinese army that attacked last night was very good at night fighting and even better at street fighting. Its light firepower equipment was even better than that of the Imperial Army, and the Imperial Army's artillery
It is also limited to the road terrain and cannot exert its power, so it is at an absolute disadvantage in street battles with the Chinese Army."
"Baga." Hisao Tani said in a deep voice, "Shimono-kun, it seems we are in trouble."
"Yes." Colonel Shimo said with deep understanding, "Street fighting is not what the Imperial Army is good at, and it is not conducive to the Imperial Army's artillery advantage. However, the Chinese Army on the opposite side is very good at street fighting. Although its strength is less than 20,000, its combat effectiveness is even sufficient.
Comparable to the 100,000 Chinese troops who defended Nanjing, the casualties of the imperial army in this battle were probably even greater than in the Battle of Nanjing."
Hisao Tani frowned and said, "Is street fighting really inevitable?"
Colonel Shimono shook his head solemnly and said: "General, I'm afraid it will be difficult to avoid it."
Hisao Tani pondered for a moment and then said: "Shimono-kun, immediately report the battle damage to the Third Army Headquarters."
"Hai." Colonel Shimo suddenly lowered his head and immediately took the order.
…
Thirty miles southwest of Xuzhou, Xiao County.
Lieutenant General Okabe Naosaburo has officially assumed the post of commander of the Third Army and established a headquarters in Xiao County.
The first order Lieutenant General Okabe issued as commander of the Third Army was not a combat order, but a personnel appointment. He almost immediately transferred Chief of Staff of the Fifth Division Satoshi Tetsuda to the Third Army Headquarters.
, the little devil Tomo Tetsuda also transformed from the chief of staff of the fifth division to the chief of staff of the major general of the third army.
In the war room, the communications staff officer was reporting military information to Lieutenant General Okabe: "Your Excellency General, last night the Chinese Army outside Xuzhou City suddenly launched a large-scale counterattack. Among them, the street fighting in the neighborhoods outside the train station was the most intense. The Sixth Division
The 13th Infantry Regiment to which it belonged suffered heavy losses, with nearly 400 casualties, and the casualties of the Chinese Army were unknown."
Lieutenant General Okabe waved his hand, and the communications staff member suddenly lowered his head, then turned and left.
Lieutenant General Okabe turned his gaze to Tomo Tetsuda and said, "Tetsuda-kun, what do you think?"
Teng Tianzhi frowned and thought for a moment and then said: "General, I'm afraid we have to change our tactics!"
Lieutenant General Okabe gestured to Tomo Tomo and continued. Tomo Tomo strode to the simulated sand table, pointed at the sand table and said: "General, please see, although Xuzhou also has ancient city walls, after thousands of years of development, its city has
It has already expanded outside the city wall, so there are also large blocks outside the city. If our army still adopts the original tactics and blindly attacks from the front, then the large blocks outside Xuzhou City will become a street battle battlefield that the enemy and our armies repeatedly compete for!
"
"Street fighting is not the specialty of the Imperial Army, but the Chinese Baoshan Brigade opposite is the elite of the elite. According to my understanding, the Baoshan Brigade is very good at street fighting, and even better at night fighting. It has also built a large number of tunnel fortifications inside and outside Xuzhou City, and it appears elusive.
It is impossible to prevent, so if our army still adopts strong attack tactics, huge casualties may be inevitable."
Lieutenant General Okabe nodded and said, "So, do you have any good suggestions?"
Chidao Tengtian: "Your Excellency General, I believe that we should conduct a devastating bombing of Xuzhou at all costs to destroy the surface and tunnel fortifications of the Chinese army as much as possible, kill a large number of the enemy and seriously weaken the enemy's spirit, and then remove the enemy from each division.
Veterans with outstanding marksmanship were mobilized to form a large number of sniper teams to launch sniper operations against the Chinese army."
"Sniper combat?" Lieutenant General Okabe said thoughtfully, "Tengada-kun, this is a brand new topic."
For the vast majority of senior Japanese generals like Lieutenant General Okabe, tactics such as sniper warfare, street fighting, night fighting, special operations, etc. are all new topics that Shizuo is involved in. However, Satoshi Tsuda graduated from the Berlin Military Academy in Germany.
I have also systematically studied these cutting-edge topics, and my attainments are quite considerable.
Tomo Tetsuda said very seriously: "Your Majesty General, don't think that sniper operations are just piecemeal harassment warfare. In fact, as long as the terrain is suitable, large-scale sniper operations are even more effective than frontal assaults, and can also kill a large number of enemies.
while conserving our own strength as much as possible.”
"Yoshi." Lieutenant General Okabe nodded happily and said, "Tengtian-kun, it's up to you to arrange this matter."
"Hai!" Teng Tianzhi suddenly lowered his head and said, "General, your humble position will never disgrace your mission."
…
In Xuzhou City, Baoshan Brigade underground headquarters.
Liu Yixing hurriedly walked into the war room and said to Yue Weihan: "Brigade, the results of the Bayonet Battalion have been reported."
After that, without waiting for Yue Weihan's reply, Liu Yi continued: "Basically, at least two squadrons of the Japanese army were annihilated!"
Yue Weihan's biggest concern was never this. He immediately said anxiously: "What about the Bayonet Battalion itself? How many casualties have there been?"
Liu Yi hurriedly said: "The Bayonet Battalion itself suffered little losses. It suffered about more than a hundred casualties, including more than fifty killed in action. The ratio of losses between the enemy and ourselves in the brigade was nearly four to one. Such a result would be comparable to other national army units.
, don’t even think about it, only our Baoshan Brigade can achieve such a record!"
"This is nothing to show off." Yue Weihan shook his head and said coldly, "If the terrain were not favorable and the Japanese army's heavy firepower could not take advantage, the casualty ratio between the enemy and us would probably be three to one or even two to one!"
If other Chinese generals heard this, they would be absolutely ashamed and guilty. If Japanese generals heard this, they would be so angry that they vomited blood and died. If the other Chinese soldiers could beat the Japanese army with casualties one to one, it would be a huge victory.
However, in Yue Weihan's eyes, fighting the Japanese army at a score of two to one or even three to one can only be regarded as a failure.
However, Yue Weihan is by no means sitting in a well and looking at the sky, being arrogant.
In addition to the lack of heavy weapons and aviation coordination, the Baoshan Brigade completely overwhelmed the Japanese army in terms of light weapons configuration, grassroots officers' tactical literacy, veteran ratio, and commander's tactical command ability. Even the seventeen most elite permanent soldiers in the Japanese army's battle order
The division cannot be compared with the Baoshan Brigade.
In addition, the tunnel fortifications that the Baoshan Brigade spent several months carefully building greatly offset the Japanese army's artillery and aviation advantages. It is no wonder that such a record was achieved.
"Boohoo boom..." The scream of artillery shells suddenly sounded on the ground.
Yue Weihan listened intently and his expression suddenly changed: "What a fool, it's a 240mm caliber grenade!"
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a huge explosion on the ground. In an instant, the entire underground command headquarters began to shake slightly, and a large amount of gravel and smoke fell down through the wooden beams on the top of the bunker. Yue Weihan
, Liu Yi and several major staff officers in the war room were instantly disgraced.
Immediately, another series of explosions came down through the surface.
The commanders and fighters in the Baoshan Brigade Headquarters were not affected in any way. They continued to do whatever they were supposed to do. Even the dozen or so female confidential officers in the telecommunications room next door looked calm and did not appear panicked by the bombardment of the Japanese large-caliber heavy artillery.
Being at a loss, and this is the foundation of an elite army. It is not afraid of danger and is not alarmed by changes.
Time passed slowly amidst the huge explosion. Looking up through the lookout hole, I saw that the entire ground had been completely shrouded in gunpowder smoke, and no trace of light could be seen!
Gradually, Yue Weihan's expression changed a little.
Liu Yi's face was also a little embarrassed, and his words were difficult to say: "Bridge, one hundred and eight shots!"
Yue Weihan looked cold. The one hundred and eight rounds Liu Yi mentioned did not refer to the number of shells alone, but to the number of salvo rounds. In other words, the Japanese large-caliber heavy artillery had fired one hundred and eight rounds on Xuzhou City.
The total number of salvos and artillery shells fired must have exceeded a thousand, and it seemed that the Japanese army still had no intention of stopping the shelling.
At this moment, another shrill air defense siren sounded on the ground, and Japanese aviation troops actually arrived.
Just as the shrill air defense siren sounded, a huge explosion like a landslide and tsunami was heard violently from the surface. Suddenly, the entire underground bunker of the headquarters began to tremble violently. Several majors in the war room
The staff officer immediately fell to the ground, and the operator's scream also rang out in the next door telecommunications room!
The heavy aerial bomb turned out to be a heavy aerial bomb! Yue Weihan and Liu Yi looked at each other in awe.
The aftermath of the first heavy aerial bomb explosion has not yet dissipated. The second and third explosions struck one after another. The several major staff officers who had just struggled to get up suddenly fell to the ground without any image. Liu
Yi Ye suddenly took two steps back and held on to the wall to barely stabilize his figure. Only Yue Weihan's figure remained unmoving.
Amidst the endless explosions, a blast like a thunderbolt suddenly shattered everyone's eardrums.
Yue Weihan and Liu Yi's expressions suddenly changed, and they quickly flashed into the telecommunications room next door. As veterans, of course they could tell that this was a heavy aerial bomb falling directly on the ground above the war room! It was almost Yue Weihan and Liu Yi.
The moment he entered the telecommunications room, more than a dozen beams spanning the roof of the war room suddenly collapsed.
This is the power of super large-caliber heavyweight aerial bombs. Unless it is a reinforced concrete fortification, as long as it is hit directly, even an underground bunker ten meters deep underground will be shaken and collapsed. What a pity for those major staff officers.
He was buried alive before he could react. Although Yue Weihan and Liu Yi wanted to save him, they had no time to care!