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Text Chapter 233 The bloody battle at Shanhaiguan

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    Chapter 233: The bloody battle at Shanhaiguan

    (Thanks to book friends rollin2002, n, quieter, stardust rain, investigators, pla-1234 for their monthly votes!)

    On April 10, the Japanese army advanced to Shanhaiguan City.  ////Rarely, the Japanese army did not launch an attack on this day.  Although the city wall of Shanhaiguan is only 14 meters high and 7 meters thick, it is still not something that the Japanese army lacking heavy artillery can capture.  On the Shanhaiguan city wall with a circumference of 4 kilometers, the Western Sichuan Army deployed powerful firepower.  In addition, on Jiaoshan Mountain next to Shanhaiguan, the Western Sichuan Army also deployed a division of troops, forming horns with Shanhaiguan.  The two cavalry corps were in the area south of Shanhaiguan, ready to launch a counterattack against the Japanese army.

    On April 11, reinforcements from four Japanese divisions arrived at Shanhaiguan, further strengthening the Japanese army's strength. After deducting previous losses, the total strength rose to 180,000, far behind the Western Sichuan Army.  superior.

    That night, Shanxian Youpeng once again held a military meeting. In addition to him, there were twelve division commanders attending the meeting.  However, the eight divisions in front all suffered heavy losses.  The most serious ones were the Second Division and the Thirteenth Division.  The Second Division now only has more than 8,000 men left, while the Thirteenth Division has less than 5,000 men left.  However, compared with Lieutenant General Nogi Nogi Nogi, the commander of the 13th Division, and Lieutenant General Sakuma Sasumata, the commander of the Second Division, they are undoubtedly extremely lucky.  Although his Thirteenth Division suffered heavy losses, both lines of defense of the Western Sichuan Army were breached by him.  Although the casualties were higher, it didn't matter as long as the Western Sichuan Army's defense line could be broken.  Nogi Nogi is very happy. Because of these military exploits, he will definitely be promoted after the war is over, and may even serve as one of the three most important officers of the army.  The three chief officers of the Japanese Army, the Minister of War, the Minister of Military Command and the Director of Education, must all be appointed by army generals.  The three chief officers of the Japanese Navy are the Minister of the Navy, the Minister of Military Order and the Commander of the Combined Fleet.  Even if this battle ended in failure, Nogi Nogi's achievements are indelible.  This also made several other division leaders extremely jealous of Nogi Nogi.  Because every time the Thirteenth Division succeeded, it was because of picking peaches. Several other divisions had seriously weakened the Western Sichuan Army, and the Thirteenth Division could naturally win easily.

    The four new divisions arriving on the battlefield are the First Division, the Fourth Division, the Seventh Division and the Eighth Division.  Among them, the First Division and the Fourth Division were the elites of the Japanese army.  In particular, the Fourth Division is the only two divisions in the Japanese Army equipped with Murata 22-year-old repeating guns.

    The commander of the 1st Division is Lieutenant General Yamachi Motoharu, the commander of the 4th Division is Lieutenant General Yamazawa Seigo, the commander of the 7th Division is Lieutenant General Kawakami Soroku, and the commander of the 8th Division is Lieutenant General Kawakami Soroku.  The division leader is Lieutenant General Obo Gon.

    "Everyone, after nearly a week of fierce fighting, our army paid a huge price to break through the two lines of defense of the Western Sichuan Army. Now, in front of us is Shanhaiguan, known as 'the first pass in the world'. As long as we capture Shanhaiguan, we  You will be able to win. You will all become heroes of the Japanese Empire. According to the information we obtained, the Chinese only have four divisions in Shanhaiguan. Two of them have already been defeated by us in the battle on the first two lines of defense.  It was severely damaged. Of the remaining two divisions, one was deployed in Shanhaiguan, including the remnants of the other two divisions. The other division was deployed on Jiaoshan. Jiaoshan and Shanhaiguan guarded Jiaoshan in an attempt to block the attack of the Imperial Japanese Army.  . In addition, the Chinese are behind Shanhaiguan, and there are two cavalry corps with a total of more than 80,000 elite cavalry. This means that when we attack Shanhaiguan, we must deploy troops to guard against the attack of the Chinese cavalry." Shanxian Youpeng said.

    The twelve division commanders all looked intently and listened quietly to Shanxian Youpeng's speech.

    "Everyone, this battle is very important to the Japanese Empire. Therefore, we can only succeed and not fail. Starting from tomorrow, we will launch a fierce attack on the Shanhaiguan defense line. Now assign offensive tasks, the first division and the third division  When the division attacks Jiaoshan, it must capture this place. The Fourth Division, the Fifth Division, the Sixth Division and the Fourteenth Division focus on attacking Shanhaiguan, taking down the "No. 1 Pass in the World" of the Chinese, and letting the Japanese  The flag of the empire is flying above Shanhaiguan. The 7th and 8th divisions are on guard against the Chinese cavalry attack. Several other divisions are serving as reserves! Are you confident in taking Shanhaiguan?" Friends from Shan County  asked loudly.

    "Don't worry, Commander, we will definitely conquer Shanhaiguan and kill all the Chinese people!" All twelve division commanders said loudly.

    At the same time, the atmosphere in the western Sichuan garrison in the direction of Shanhaiguan was also tense.  In the previous week's battle, the Western Sichuan Army lost a full division of troops, which made Zhao Bowen, the commander of the Shanhaiguan Theater, very nervous.  It is very difficult to rely on the remaining 50,000 troops to resist the attack of more than 100,000 Japanese troops.  As for the other two cavalry corps, their role is to counterattack, not to defend the city.  staff officerThe reinforcements sent by the Ministry of Defense will not arrive until five days later.  These days are crucial for Zhao Bowen and the Western Sichuan Army.

    The General Staff Headquarters also attached great importance to the war at Shanhaiguan, and had already sent reinforcements before the war started.  However, the reinforcements all set off from Sichuan, and it takes a lot of time to reach the front line of Shanhaiguan.  The reinforcements this time were also composed of elite troops from the Western Sichuan Army, including the First Division, the rebuilt Second Division, the Fourteenth Division and the Fifteenth Division.  These divisions are currently the only reinforcements that the Western Sichuan Army can mobilize.  If we need reinforcements, we may have to wait another month.  However, both the General Staff Headquarters and Zhao Bowen himself believed that as long as there were reinforcements from these divisions, it would be enough to defeat the Japanese army.  Not only that, these troops will also launch a thorough counterattack against the Japanese army and drive the Japanese army out of China and even North Korea!

    The eyes of the Western powers are also focused here. Whether the Japanese army can capture Shanhaiguan means that Japan's hope of ending the war with dignity can be realized.  If the Japanese army fails again, the Western powers, led by Britain and France, may have to consider how to reduce Japan's losses.  However, Japan, which has lost its army and navy, will obviously be unable to face China.  It will definitely be severely slaughtered by China.  Therefore, the Western powers also hoped that the Japanese offensive would be successful.  This puts Shanxian Youpeng and other generals under great pressure.

    Early in the morning on April 12, the Japanese army launched an attack on the Shanhaiguan defense line.  First, the Japanese First Division and Third Division stormed Kakuyama.  The Western Sichuan Army garrisoned at Jiaoshan was the Third Division.  The Third Division is also considered an old unit among the Western Sichuan Army. It was the first unit established after the expansion.  The commander of the Third Division, Yang Guoxing, was also a veteran general in the Western Sichuan Army.

    The battle was very fierce from the beginning. In order to win, the Japanese army attacked very fiercely.  However, the fortifications of Jiaoshan are extremely strong. Not only are they civil fortifications, some important firepower points are also reinforced with cement by the Western Sichuan Army, making it very difficult for the Japanese army to conquer Jiaoshan.  But even so, the Japanese army's desperate fighting style, which did not condone the lives of soldiers, also put great pressure on the Third Division of the Western Sichuan Army.

    After the attack on Jiaoshan began, the Japanese attack on Shanhaiguan also began.  The four Japanese divisions, with the Japanese Fourth Division as the main force, totaling more than 60,000 people, launched a fierce attack on Shanhaiguan.  The Japanese army concentrated more than 400 artillery pieces and blasted the city wall of Shanhaiguan.  The artillery of the Western Sichuan Army also launched a fierce counterattack, and the artillery battle was fierce.  The Japanese artillery was unable to knock down the city wall of Shanhaiguan. At the same time, they had to find a way to cross the moat that was more than ten meters wide. The attack was very difficult.

    The Japanese army adopted indigenous methods and used artillery cover. Soldiers carried sandbags and stones and threw them into the moat in an attempt to fill in the moat and pave a way out.  However, when the Japanese army filled the moat, they were inevitably subject to crazy firepower from the Western Sichuan Army on the city wall, causing great casualties to the Japanese army.

    In order to reduce casualties, soldiers of the Japanese Fourth Division lay down on the ground and fired at the Western Sichuan Army a hundred meters away from the moat.  The Murata 22-year-old repeating gun they are equipped with has a fast rate of fire and can cause heavy casualties to the Western Sichuan Army.  When other troops were filling in the moat, they also tried their best to protect themselves, such as holding up wooden boards with sandbags hanging on them to defend themselves against bullets from the Western Sichuan Army.  Although it could withstand bullets, it was unable to deal with artillery shells, which caused the Japanese army to pay huge casualties.

    In order to fill in the moat, the Japanese army spent two days and suffered more than 10,000 casualties.  Only then was a road more than 40 meters wide opened.  However, in front of them was a city wall 14 meters high and 7 meters thick. This made the Japanese army very embarrassed and had to use the ancient siege method of siege ladders. The difficulty can be imagined.

    Even so, the Japanese army is still holding on and desperately launching an attack on Shanhaiguan.  Compared with the battle at Shanhaiguan, the battle at Jiaoshan was undoubtedly more intense.  The Third Division stationed at Jiaoshan has repelled dozens of Japanese attacks during these two days of fighting, killing and wounding tens of thousands of Japanese troops.  But its own losses were not small, with nearly 2,000 casualties in the entire division.

    However, the war was very beneficial to the Western Sichuan Army.  The longer the delay is, the better it will be for the Western Sichuan Army.  Once reinforcements from the Western Sichuan Army arrive, it will be even more impossible for the Japanese army to capture Shanhaiguan.  By then, the exhausted Japanese army will have to prepare for the counterattack of the Western Sichuan Army. At the same time, the Japanese army, whose logistical supply lines have been cut off, will have to raise supplies. These are the difficulties faced by the Japanese army.

    Youpeng from Shanxian County was also very anxious. If Shanhaiguan could not be conquered for a long time, the Japanese army would definitely lose this time!

    PS: The first update is here!  It seems that the monthly tickets have started to be doubled, Xiaoyu is also asking for some monthly tickets!  thanks for your support!  (To be continued.
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