Add Bookmark | Recommend this book | Back to the book page | My bookshelf | Mobile Reading

Free Web Novel,Novel online - All in oicq.net -> Historic -> Rebirth of the war years

Volume 1 On the Songhua River Chapter 553 The End of Isotani Rensuke (2)

Previous page        Return to Catalog        Next page

    Chapter 553: The End of Isotani Rensuke (2)

    Coincidentally, the new attack direction chosen by Rensuke Isotani happened to be Tongshan due south of Xuzhou, and the five main brigades of the *** Division led by Tang Qiusheng, with more than 60,000 troops, were on standby at the Three Forts near Tongshan.  , Li Zongren placed the troops of the Japanese Army in the southeast area of ??Xuzhou, implicitly fearing that Tang Qiusheng would compete for credit.  -< Piaotian literature registered members recommend this work >-%.net

    Regardless of the direction of the Japanese attack or the terrain conditions of Xuzhou, the direction of Tongshan is not suitable as the best place to attack. The hills outside the city are undulating and the terrain is complex, which is especially unfavorable for the deployment of large troops. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack.  From the perspective of Li Zongren's entire strategic layout, the terrain conditions, from Tongshan to Sanbao, are the secondary directions of the Xuzhou battle.

    Isotani Rensuke invested a division and a brigade in the direction of Tongshan with a total of more than 45,000 troops, and strengthened a large number of artillery and tanks. In his words, he wanted to use this heavy hammer to smash the enemy in one fell swoop.  Open the defense line of the Chinese defenders in Xuzhou. Tomorrow will be the most critical day in determining the battle of Xuzhou.

    Regarding the confusion of other generals as to why the commander placed the main assault force on Tongshan, which has complex terrain and is easy to defend and difficult to attack, Isotani Rensuke seemed to be in a good mood and patiently explained that precisely because Tongshan is easy to defend and difficult to attack, China  The commander would definitely not put heavy troops here, as it was also the weak point of Xuzhou's defense line. We assembled heavy troops and opened a breakthrough with a sudden attack when the battle in western Xuzhou was fiercest.

    After the troops invaded Xuzhou, they immediately attacked from south to west, and with the imperial army attacking in the west, they flanked the Chinese defenders, split Xuzhou into two parts, and annihilated them. There is a strategy in the Chinese military book, which is called "surprise them and attack them unprepared"  "That's my plan.

    Looking at the admiration eyes of his generals, Isotani Rensuke smiled reservedly but proudly. Immediately, the Japanese army readjusted their deployment according to the order and got busy overnight.

    Li Zongren in Xuzhou City was also in a good mood at this time. Isoya Rensuke followed his own plan and walked into the trap step by step. The six divisions of the Sichuan Army that took the Japanese army's rear route had already reached the line from Lizhuang to Huangkou and were working hard to build fortifications.  , Isotani Rensuke's retreat has been cut off.

    Liao Lei's troops who were ambushing the Japanese flanks in Yanglou and Jiahe Village had already sharpened their knives. They suddenly rushed out at his own order. The Japanese flanks were oppressed. Xuzhou's troops launched a counterattack again. Isoya Rensuke had only one way to retreat.  But what awaited them was the more than 80,000 Sichuan troops who were waiting in full formation. These Sichuan soldiers were willing to fight without their lives, and the Japanese army could not get any advantage, which was enough for the little devils.

    He issued an order overnight, ordering Liao Lei's 21st Army troops to covertly approach the Japanese army and prepare for an attack. However, he did not expect that Isotani Rensuke had already set the main attack direction at Tongshan in the south of Xuzhou.  Direction, he indeed did not invest many troops, and the main collection was concentrated in the west and north directions that were vulnerable to attack.

    Tang Qiusheng, who was ready to sit on the bench, received a report from the reconnaissance force that a large number of Japanese troops were moving covertly to the Tongshan area in southern Xuzhou overnight. Looking at the topographic map of Xuzhou, he roughly guessed the intention of the Japanese commander, which must be a frontal attack.  Xuzhou couldn't take it, so he wanted to attack it unprepared.

    He smiled and shook his head. He was so blessed that he didn't have to be busy. There was no reason not to eat the fat meat that was put into his mouth. There were tens of thousands of Japanese troops in the Third Fort, and the Japanese army didn't notice it at all. It just caught him off guard. He  The troops were ordered to keep strictly confidential and not to reveal their whereabouts at all. The reconnaissance troops followed the principle of not alerting the Japanese troops, closely monitored all the actions of the Japanese troops, and wanted to get back the distribution map of the Japanese troops.

    The artillery unit secretly built positions overnight and entered a battle-ready state. Immediately, he reported the situation here and the deployment of the troops to the division commander. Soon, Tang Qiuli called back with only three words: "hit hard".  Nothing else was said. Tang Qiusheng understood his brother's thoughts and fully agreed with his battle plan. What he wanted was to be under Xuzhou City, which resulted in the lives of Isotani Rensuke and his First Army.

    Information about the latest movements of the Japanese army was continuously transmitted to Tang Qiusheng's headquarters. While the Japanese army was working hard under the cover of night, they did not know that in the darkness, countless pairs of eyes were staring at them.  With all their actions, troops drove out of the Three Forts one by one and headed towards the predetermined target.

    Tang Qiusheng immediately reported the news of the Japanese army's change of deployment to Li Zongren in Xuzhou City. Li Zongren was surprised. The direction of Tongshan was indeed a place where few troops were deployed because of the dangerous terrain. He also judged that the Japanese army would not choose that place.  As the main direction of attack, he secretly cursed the Japanese for being cunning and lamented that the troops of the Japanese Army were really lucky. They could catch hot buns with cold hands. He exchanged several telegrams with Tang Qiusheng and determined the direction of Tongshan.  The combat plan is to focus on the troops of the ** Division, responsible for annihilating the Japanese siege troops. The defenders in Xuzhou City will mobilize the main forces without alerting the Japanese troops outside the city.In the direction of Tongshan, Japanese troops were attacked from both inside and outside.

    The Japanese division commander Hy¨­no Kutaro, who was responsible for attacking the southern part of Xuzhou, was a very cautious Japanese general. His division, plus the strength of an attached brigade, moved overnight to the direction of Tongshan. After seeing the terrain conditions here,  He couldn't help but frown. There were ravines and crisscrosses, and it was impossible to deploy too many troops. Each attack could only use the strength of one regiment. Facing the convenient location of the Chinese defenders, this small amount of troops had no effect.  .

    Increasing the number of troops one by one can only provide the Chinese defenders with piles of living targets. How to attack Xuzhou with the least casualties and in the shortest time has been very troublesome for Kyutaro Hy¨­no. He even took the risk and infiltrated in person.  We went to a place not far from Xuzhou City for reconnaissance. A large group of staff and staff accompanied the division commander, freezing in the cold wind. In the dark night, there was not a single light in Xuzhou City.  The city wall stands silently like a giant.

    After completing a heroic reconnaissance operation and returning to the division headquarters, Hy¨­no Kutaro relaxed his frown. He made the following arrangements for the attacking troops. The attached artillery units concentrated their bombardment on the defense of Xuzhou City.  The position is three kilometers wide, and the intensity of deep shelling is increased.

    His intention was very obvious. He used a large amount of artillery fire to blast a passage in Xuzhou, concentrate the firepower and attack one point. The artillery fire was extended to bombard the Chinese defenders in depth. The tank was used as a movable fortress to cover the infantry attack, not far from the impact point of the bomb.  at a distance of five hundred meters.

    This is a very risky strategy. It is equivalent to rushing forward to catch the explosion point of the artillery shell. If you are not careful, you will be hit by your own artillery shells. Nearly a hundred artillery fire salvos. Who can guarantee the accuracy of the impact point?  Officers at all levels looked at each other, shocked by the bold tactics of the division commander.

    Hy¨­no Kyutaro was also forced to do so. Only in this way could he prevent his troops from becoming a living target for the Chinese defenders. He carefully looked at the terrain and found that as long as there were three or five heavy machine guns, the offensive road could be sealed. What kind of traditional  After the shelling, the tactics of infantry charge are not suitable for use here at all. Even if one of the defender's machine guns survives, it will cause huge casualties to the troops.

    On December 22, the battle first started in the west of Xuzhou. After the fierce bombardment by the Japanese army, tanks covered a large number of infantry and began to storm the Xuzhou city defense fortifications. For a time, artillery fire and gunshots were heard all around Xuzhou. The Japanese army attacked the entire front regardless of casualties.  During the attack, many parts of Xuzhou's city walls were blown down by Japanese artillery fire. Subsequently, the target of the Japanese artillery's attack was changed to suppress the artillery fire of the Chinese defenders, and fierce artillery battles also began at the same time.

    The collapsed city wall formed huge gaps. These gaps became the key targets of the Japanese army's attack. Because most of the defenders' forces were transferred to the direction of Tongshan, Xuzhou's western defense line experienced several crises. The Japanese army had already reached the gaps.  Below, the 88th Division of the Sichuan Army guarding here had to pile up people to block the gap.

    The Japanese soldiers who had touched the victory garland left behind numerous corpses and refused to retreat. They used the only three footholds to build fortifications in a hurry. If the Japanese army succeeded, it would undoubtedly pose a great threat to the defenders' positions.  On the contrary, the direction of Tongshan, where the fighting should have been more intense, has been surprisingly calm. So far, no signs of Japanese attack have been found.

    Li Zongren, who was under great pressure, almost wavered in strengthening the deployment in the direction of Tongshan last night and moved the troops there back to the frontal position. Faced with such a fierce attack by the Japanese army, he suspected that Rensuke Isotani had played a trick on him.  The Japanese army in the direction of Tongshan was a real feint attack force.

    Otherwise, the Japanese army would not attack the western city defense position with all their strength. There is no way to feint an attack. There is only one division of the Sichuan Army defending the western defense line. He was not sure whether he could withstand the next Japanese attack. He was hesitating.  , I wanted to pick up the phone several times and give orders, but there was a voice that kept echoing in my ears.

    Those were the words of Tang Qiusheng, deputy commander of the ** Division. Commander Li, according to the latest deployment of the Japanese army, Tongshan must be the main direction of the Japanese army's attack. No matter what pressure the western direction suffers, do not waver in the established combat plan and eat this Japanese army.  This means that the Battle of Xuzhou has ended early.

    Li Zongren finally made up his mind, and the original plan remained unchanged, but the battle situation in the frontal position really worried him. He thought again and again, and threw in the last unit he had, which was his guard regiment. This was the elite of the Gui army. Although  It is a regiment, with a strength of more than 4,300 people, well-equipped, and composed of battle-hardened veterans and experienced officers in the Gui Army. There are not many scars on that person's body.

    This guard regiment is known as the tiger of the Gui Army. Li Zongren is reluctant to use it. It is fed by the white ocean. The most rare thing is that everyone is loyal to him. Now, he has to use this troop to fight the last battle.  Play a card to stabilize the shaky western defense line.Watching the more than 4,000 officers and soldiers of the guard regiment disappear in the smoke of artillery fire, Li Zongren kept looking at their backs. He couldn't help but feel heartache and physical pain. He refused to leave for a long time. The Japanese artillery shells exploded far and near, stirring up mud and  Dust fell on him from time to time. The guards reminded Chief Li to pay attention to his safety, but he didn't hear it. He was focused on his own heart.

    (To be continued)
Didn't finish reading? Add this book to your favoritesI'm a member and bookmarked this chapterCopy the address of this book and recommend it to your friends for pointsChapter error? Click here to report