The Japanese army's indiscriminate bombing lasted for more than two hours and did not stop until nearly noon.
After the shelling stopped, the commander of the Japanese forward command looked out through the artillery mirror and saw that the entire Xuzhou City had been completely shrouded in billowing smoke. There were ruins inside and outside the city, and there were burning fires everywhere.
, looking around, there are no intact houses to be found, thousands of buildings have all become rubble fields.
…
In Xuzhou City, Baoshan Brigade underground headquarters.
Yue Weihan suddenly stood up and shook off the dust all over his body. Not far away, Liu Yi was also dusting off his woolen uniform. The clear coughs of the female soldiers suddenly sounded in the telecommunications room. Although the Japanese shelling had stopped
, but the female soldiers still looked frightened. After all, they were women who had never been on the battlefield, so it was no wonder.
Looking at the collapsed war room, Yue Weihan gave up the idea of rescuing people. The entire war room had completely collapsed, with tens of hundreds of tons of soil weighing down. The few staff officers who remained inside were definitely dead.
Instead of spending a lot of manpower digging out their bodies, it would be better to just let them lie there and rest in peace forever!
"Chief of Staff." Yue Weihan immediately turned to Liu Yi and said in a deep voice, "Contact all regiments and battalions immediately to count the casualties."
"Yes." Liu Yi stood at attention, then turned around and hurried into the staff headquarters next door. Although the war room in the center of the headquarters collapsed, the other offices were not affected because before the underground headquarters was built, Yue Weihan
This possibility has been fully considered, so each room is an independently constructed underground bunker, with only tunnels connecting the rooms.
Fierce gunfire rang out again on the ground. Needless to say, the Japanese army must have dispatched infantry again.
The soldiers of the national army who seemed to have disappeared forever also emerged from the ground one after another. The devastating bombing by the Japanese army in the morning did not seem to cause much damage to the national army, at least on the surface. The soldiers of other national armies responded with fierce firepower.
They gave the Japanese army a head-on blow and fought fiercely for an afternoon before the Japanese army returned defeated again.
…
In the evening, Liu Yi finally came back.
"Brigade, the situation is worse than expected!" Liu Yi said urgently without taking a sip of water, "This bombing by the Japanese army is different from the past. Its heavy artillery brigade fired at least more than 5,000 rounds of large-caliber grenades.
The aviation force also dropped at least four to five hundred heavy aerial bombs. This level of bombing intensity is simply unprecedented."
Cao Xinglong, who followed him to the brigade headquarters, smiled bitterly and said: "Brigade seat, it seems that the little Japs really regard our Baoshan Brigade as a thorn in their flesh. There are more than five thousand large-caliber artillery shells and four to five hundred heavy aerial bombs. That's enough."
Thousands of tons of supplies, the Japs’ heavy artillery brigade and air force probably took out all their money.”
"We'll talk about this later." Yue Weihan waved his hand and said, "Now, I just want to know the casualties of each regiment and battalion, as well as the damage to the surface and tunnel fortifications."
Liu Yi sighed and said sadly: "The casualties in each regiment and battalion are relatively serious. This unprecedented bombing by the Japanese army caused a total of 109 tunnel landslides. At least a thousand brothers were buried underground, most of them
He died heroically for his country, and only a handful of brothers were rescued."
"More than a thousand!?" Yue Weihan was so distressed that he almost suffocated.
These are more than a thousand living lives and more than a thousand battle-hardened veterans!
Just eight hours ago, these veterans were still betting on cigarettes, joking with their comrades, and telling the recruits stories about killing Japanese soldiers. But now, these veterans are gone forever.
They left forever this great country that they loved and fought for all their lives!
The dead are gone, but the living still have to fight the invaders to the bitter end!
Taking a deep breath, Yue Weihan suppressed the grief in his heart and said to Liu Yi: "Chief of Staff, what is the damage to the surface and tunnel fortifications?"
"The surface fortifications have been basically destroyed." Liu Yi sighed, worried about the tunnels, "What is even more worrying is that the damage to the tunnel fortifications is also extremely serious, and the sixteen most important transportation lines (tunnels) inside and outside the city have been interrupted.
Nine, the transportation line leading to the train station is also broken, and it will take at least ten days to open it!"
"Ten days?" Yue Weihan couldn't help but frown and said, "I'm afraid we don't have that much time."
Liu Yi nodded and said: "If the interrupted underground communication lines cannot be re-opened, our army will no longer be able to deploy troops through the tunnels. If the troops are deployed from the ground, they will be easily killed by Japanese infantry support artillery fire.
Especially the bayonet battalion and the independent battalion guarding the train station will be separated by the Japanese army and become a lonely army!"
Yue Weihan's brows suddenly tightened. This situation was completely beyond his expectation.
Yue Weihan never expected that the Japanese army would bomb Xuzhou on such a large scale at all costs.
Yue Weihan could figure it out with his toes. The Japanese army's large-caliber grenades and heavy aerial bombs were definitely prepared for the subsequent Wuhan Battle. Japan is an island country after all, and all resources must be imported, so it is impossible to have
There are too many large-caliber grenades and heavy aerial bombs for the Army to squander.
But now, the Japanese army actually threw all these artillery shells and aerial bombs in Xuzhou, and threw them at the head of the Baoshan Brigade!
This was far beyond Yue Weihan's expectations and caught him off guard. But then again, if everything can go as Yue Weihan expected and everything can go according to Yue Weihan's vision, then he is not
A man is a god. Yue Weihan alone can defeat millions of Japanese troops on the Chinese battlefield!
Seeing Yue Weihan's eyebrows furrowed and silent, Cao Xinglong asked anxiously: "Brigade seat, what should we do now?"
"All the surface fortifications have been destroyed, and positional warfare cannot be fought." Yue Weihan gritted his teeth and said, "Get out of the way, let the Japanese enter the ruins of the city, and fight with them in street fights!"
Yue Weihan and that little devil Teng Tianzhi thought of it together, and both of them thought of street fighting!
However, the little devil Teng Tianzhi did this intentionally, but Yue Weihan had no choice, because after letting the Japanese army enter the city, the battle situation would immediately evolve from a Japanese army's offensive to a large-scale street battle between the two sides. Although the Baoshan Brigade did not
I was afraid of fighting in street battles with the Japanese army, but in comparison, it was more advantageous to let the Japanese army fight in tough battles.
The truth is obvious: the casualties of the Japanese army in a tough battle will be greater, while the casualties of the Chinese army will be smaller.
Although the Bayonet Battalion achieved a brilliant record of four to one in the street battle early this morning, it was still the Bayonet Battalion after all.
There are dozens of battalions in the Baoshan Brigade. Not every battalion can fight as well as the bayonet battalion, and the equipment is even more incomparable. The bayonet battalion is equipped with the same submachine gun. I hope other infantry battalions can also obtain the bayonet battalion in street fighting.
His record is undoubtedly stupid. If nothing else happens, the ratio of casualties between the enemy and ourselves in large-scale street battles should be one to one.
"It seems that this is the only way." Liu Yi nodded and said, "What about the Bayonet Battalion and the Independent Battalion?"
"Don't throw it away at the train station!" Yue Weihan said decisively, "Telegraph Li Yulong and nail it there like a nail."
…
Xiao County, Japanese Third Army Headquarters.
Tomo Tomo Tetsuda strode into the war room, immediately put his feet back and stood at attention, and said to Lieutenant General Okabe: "General, in accordance with your order, all three hundred sniper teams have been organized. Each team has three members and two
A sniper and an observer are all veterans with outstanding marksmanship. Tonight, they can go into battle!"
"Yoshi." Lieutenant General Okabe said happily, "order all sniper teams...to attack!"
"Hai!" Major General Tengtian lowered his head suddenly, then turned around and gave the order.
…
Wuhan camp, Fifth War Zone Commander's Department.
After the miscarriage of the Xuzhou Battle, most of the area where the Fifth War Zone was located has been occupied. Most of the group armies originally affiliated with the Fifth War Zone have been transferred to other war zones or have been directly under the jurisdiction of the Military Command Department. Therefore, the Fifth War Zone Chief's Department has long existed in name only.
, except for the two armies of the Guangxi faction, General Li has almost become a bare commander already.
Although he no longer has military power, General Li is still concerned about the situation in Xuzhou.
Yue Weihan did not neglect his senior officers because of the secret warfare at the top. Every war situation report was first sent to the theater commander's department, and then forwarded to the military command department by the commander's department.
"Gong De, urgent message from Baoshan Brigade." Vice President Bai hurried into General Li's office holding a piece of message.
As the leader of the Guangxi warlords, Li Bai has always been indistinguishable from each other. Vice Commander Bai is not so much the deputy chief of the General Staff, but rather the chief of staff of the fifth theater.
"Oh?" General Li stood up and said, "Is there something going on in Xuzhou again?"
"Big deal!" Vice Commander Bai said with mixed feelings, "This morning, the fifth field heavy artillery brigade and the aviation regiment directly under the Central China Front of the Japanese Army carried out an unprecedented bombing of Xuzhou at all costs. Yue Weihan said in the telegram that the Japanese army at least went to Xuzhou City.
Thousands of tons of artillery shells and heavy aerial bombs were dropped!”
"Thousands of tons of artillery shells!?" General Li's expression changed slightly, "You can't handle this kid?"
Vice Commander Bai said solemnly: "The Baoshan Brigade has repeatedly inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese army, causing the Japanese army to lose all face. It seems that the top brass of the Japanese army are really angry this time, so they will bomb Xuzhou at all costs. I think the Baoshan Brigade is in danger this time.
It just so happened that Chiang refused to allow the Yellow River embankment to be dug in order to win the sympathy of the Western powers, alas."
General Li also sighed and said: "The Baoshan Brigade is trapped in a tight siege. I am afraid it is really doomed this time."
Vice Commander Bai nodded and said solemnly: "However, the sacrifice of the Baoshan Brigade is not without value. If nothing else, this battle can at least wipe out one of the most elite permanent divisions of the Japanese army, and it can also consume a large amount of the Japanese army in order to
The strategic materials stored for the Wuhan Battle also bought time for the deployment of the first, fifth, third, and ninth theaters."