War of Resistance

Chapter 418

While Zhang Tianhai was still feeling sorry for the loss of his troops, the battle for the defense of Teng County had entered a completely intense stage.

A round of Japanese-made [-]-type artillery shells rained down on the city wall of Teng County. For the battle of LY Japanese artillery fire, the battle here was too intense. After all, this is the main battlefield of Jinpu Road. !

Since the [-]th, the main force of the Japanese army on the north line of Jinpu Road (all of the [-]th Division of Isoya Rensuke and part of the [-]th Division and part of the [-]th Division) has attacked the outskirts of Teng County .

After attacking the outskirts of Teng County, the main force of the Japanese army on the north line of Jinpu Road, under the command of Commander Isoya Rensuke, launched a fierce attack on Teng County.

It's just that compared with the main force of only half of the Fifth Division going south, the headquarters of the Tenth Division is not so strong after being strengthened by the 4th Division and the 70th Division. The main combat force reached nearly [-] people, with more than [-] artillery pieces, and more than [-] aircraft that cooperated in combat.It is worth mentioning that even the armored train has two trains!

The firepower of the Japanese troops on the north line of Jinpu Road attacking Tengxian County was much stronger than that of the Fifth Division when it attacked LY—Tengxian County was bombed by nearly [-] shells from the Japanese army in one day. Almost destroyed!

At this time, almost all the people in Tengxian county had run away, and there was almost only an empty city left here.

Zhang Xuanwu, head of the 40th Regiment of the 364th Brigade of the 727st and [-]nd Division of the No. [-] First Army of the Sichuan Army who is in charge of stationing here and the commander of the city defense of Teng County, is not in a hurry at the moment.

No.40 Wang Mingzhang, the former commander-in-chief of the First Army and the commander of the [-]st, [-]nd and [-]nd Divisions, has told Zhang Xuanwu more than once that the city defenses should be strengthened.

Zhang Xuanwu's [-]th Regiment was not always stationed in Tengxian County. Originally, his [-]th Regiment was stationed at the Beishahe position fifteen miles north of Tengxian County under the order of Master Wang Mingzhang. The Japanese army's offensive was too fast, and they directly attacked the city of Teng County, and launched an attack on Teng County with absolute firepower superiority.

When Tengcheng was in danger, at [-]:[-] pm on March [-]th, Wang Mingzhang directly issued the following order to Zhang Xuanwu on the phone: "([-]) The division has decided to stick to Tengxian County; ([-]) ) In addition to one battalion of the [-]th Regiment in Hongting and Gaomiao still performing its original missions, the other battalion left the second-line position in Beishahe under the command of the [-]th Division. Set off now, run back to Teng County to garrison the city defense."

When Zhang Xuanwu led his troops to withdraw from Beisha River, Wang Mingzhang ordered him to blow up the railway bridge over Beisha River by telegram.

When Zhang Xuanwu led his troops back to the north gate of Teng County, Wang Mingzhang was already waiting anxiously at the gate.

After seeing Zhang Xuanwu, Wang Mingzhang immediately appointed him as the city defense commander of Teng County, and then briefly explained to Zhang Xuanwu the situation in all aspects of the city at this time.

At this time, the first battalion (battalion commander Yan Yi) of the [-]st Regiment of the [-]th Brigade deployed in Chengqian Town was also ordered to transfer back to Dongguan, Teng County.

Wang Mingzhang said to Zhang Xuanwu: "Liu Zhirong Battalion (No. 40 First Army's Secret Service Battalion) has already set off from Lincheng by train, and it will arrive in an hour or two. All these troops are under your unified command. .You serve as the commander of the city defense, and unify the deployment of these troops to defend the city."

"Yes! Master!" Zhang Xuanwu stood at attention and saluted.

Following the No.40 First Army Special Service Battalion arrived at the same time, there was also a train of food and ammunition from Lincheng, especially hand grenades, which were very sufficient, so Zhang Xuanwu immediately decided to give each of the guards in Dongguan and the city Distribute fifty grenades.

As of late at night on the 372th, the combat troops at Chengguan in Teng County consisted of one regiment headquarters, three battalion headquarters, ten infantry companies, and one mortar company; An infantry company of the 743rd Regiment of the 500nd Brigade of the 600th Division who came to the city to collect and transport ammunition, a total of about [-] people.In addition, the armed police and security regiment to which Zhou Tong, the magistrate of Teng County, has [-] to [-] people.

At this time, there are a total of 3000 armed forces in the city, but the real combat troops are less than [-].

At dawn on the 40th, more than [-] enemies continued to attack the front boundary river position, Longshan and Puyangshan positions of the No. [-] Fifth Army.

At [-]:[-] in the morning, machine guns and rifle shots were heard in various villages outside the East Gate in Teng County. The enemies from Fenghe and Longyangdian had begun to attack our security forces guarding East Gate.

At about [-] o'clock, about a battalion of enemy artillery (twelve mountain artillery, note that this paragraph is the original text of Zhang Xuanwu's memoirs) was deployed on the high ground near the Donghe River, and after test firing, they immediately fired a platoon of artillery to the east of our Teng County. Guan, Chengnei and Xiguan railway stations exploded.At the same time, twelve enemy combat planes flew over the sky, bombing and strafing frantically.

At this time, Wang Mingzhang, the commander of the 40nd Division stationed at the Xiguan Electric Lamp Factory, heard the sound of gunfire, first asked Zhang Xuanwu about the situation on the phone, and then he went directly to the city to the headquarters of the 20th Division. Same as Chen Li, Commander of the 364th Division, and Shui Tiqing, Acting Commander of the [-]th Division Inaugurated as the acting commander-in-chief of the No.[-] Second Army, the first and second fourth divisions were appointed as deputy division commander Shui Tiqing), Wang Zhiyuan, commander of the [-]th brigade, and city defense commander Zhang Xuanwu met.

After the meeting, Wang Mingzhang first asked Zhang Xuanwu about the deployment of the city defense, the construction of fortifications, and the replenishment of ammunition.

After receiving Zhang Xuanwu's reply, Wang Mingzhang asked with a serious face: "Head Zhang, are you sure about defending the city?"

Zhang Xuanwu asked, "How long will you stay?"

Wang Mingzhang hesitated and said, "Two or three days."

Zhang Xuanwu didn't answer directly, but instead asked Wang Mingzhang: "Master, with the existing troops and enemy situation in the city, how long do you think it can last?"

As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere of the scene suddenly became heavy.

The corners of Wang Mingzhang's stubby beard full of stubble twitched slightly because he didn't have time to shave, and then asked, "Are you sure you can keep it for more than a day?"

Zhang Xuanwu shook his head, and said: "Among the ten infantry companies serving as the city defense force, six companies are not the organic units I belong to. I can't estimate the combat effectiveness of the two battalions Yan Yi and Liu Zhirong. I can't guarantee that I can keep it for more than a day."

After hearing the words, Wang Mingzhang said: "Our reinforcements will arrive at night at the earliest. If we can't defend for more than a day, then we might as well fight outside the city!"

After finishing speaking, Wang Mingzhang turned his face and asked several teachers and brigade commanders present: "What do you all think?"

Several division commanders, brigade commanders, and several division chiefs of staff looked at each other in blank dismay, and then they all agreed on the action of maneuvering outside the city.

Seeing that everyone agreed with the opinion on mobile operations outside the city, Commander Wang Mingzhang immediately called to report the situation to Sun Zhen, the commander-in-chief of the group army who was in Lincheng, and proposed to conduct mobile operations outside the city.

After hearing Wang Mingzhang's report, Sun Zhen thought for a while and replied: "The chairman called us to defend Teng County and wait for Tang Enbo's army to come to relieve the siege. The vanguard of Tang Enbo's troops arrived in Lincheng yesterday, and the follow-up troops are also on their way. Arriving one after another, I immediately urged Wang Zhonglian's No.80 Fifth Army to go north quickly. You should ensure that Teng County is waiting for reinforcements. You are the former commander-in-chief of the No.40 First Army. Your headquarters should be transferred to the city immediately so that you can personally Command the defense of the city. If you don't have enough troops, you can transfer all the No.40 First Army outside the city into the city and stand there for reinforcements!"

After listening to Sun Zhen's order, Wang Mingzhang immediately stood at attention across the phone and said: "Yes! Sir, I will definitely defend Teng County to the death and prevent the Japanese army from taking Teng County!"

……

PS: The first update is here.The second will be at night!
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(End of this chapter)