War of Resistance

Chapter 601 The Tranquility Before the Storm

For this Mengcheng offensive and defensive battle, the Guangxi army had no better way than to fight the Japanese army in the final street battle.

Only by street fighting can the Japanese army be held back. Otherwise, if large troops are sent outside the city for positional warfare, then nine out of ten they will be covered by the enemy's heavy artillery fire. Such a situation is not suitable for the [-]rd at all. The situation of the [-]rd Regiment—the current [-]rd Regiment has only about [-] people in total, and the reinforcements from the rear are not coming so fast at all!
Therefore, they can only choose to fight in the street, other than that, they have no better choice!

"Remember to strengthen the city walls, and make full use of the terrain to block the enemy's advance. Even if we fight to the last person, we must not retreat without authorization!" Zhou Yuan instructed Captain Ling.

"Yes, sir!" Ling Yunshang responded, and hurried to carry out Zhou Yuan's order.

Soon, it didn't take long for the [-]rd Regiment to formulate a combat plan to use some troops to contain the outside of the city, and large troops to fight the enemy inside the city.

On the morning of the next day, that is, the morning of May [-], the vanguard of the Japanese army immediately launched an attack on the east gate of Mengcheng after arriving outside the city of Mengcheng.

The fierce artillery fire hit the small county town of Mengcheng, and several gaps appeared in the city wall made of these mud.

Dazuo Wakisaka Jiro, who was in charge of commanding this operation, immediately had his eyes brightened—the task of conquering Mengcheng is aimed at the present!
Dazuo Wakisaka Jiro is the commander of the No.18 Brigade No.30 Sixth Regiment of the Ninth Division of the Japanese Army. Due to the tense battle on Jinpu Road, the No.11 Division, No.13 Division and the No.[-] Division of the reserve army battle order The main forces of the [-]nd Division and the [-]th Division were deployed in Suxian, Feihe, and Luohe, fighting fiercely with the national army.

Therefore, the No.30 Sixth Regiment of Chief Wakisaka Jiro launched the attack on Mengcheng as a vanguard. After all, the main force of the Ninth Division also serves as the reserve team of the front-line combat troops!
As for why the main force of a standing division needs to serve as a reserve force for the troops in the reserve army's battle order, the reason is very simple-the main force of the Ninth Division has just been on the Songhu battlefield and the national army. The casualties were huge, and before they were fully replenished, they fought again in Nanjing and the No.70 Fourth Army.

With such a style of play, how could there be few casualties?Even if the number of Japanese soldiers killed in battle is relatively small, the wounded soldiers can't return to the army so quickly, right?
The No.30 Sixth Regiment was originally equipped with a mountain artillery squadron with four artillery pieces, which is enough for use. Moreover, Lieutenant General Yoshika Ryosuke, the head of the division, told Wakisaka Jiro before departure: "The current strength of the southern front It’s tight, the shells can be released, but we must ensure that Mengcheng is taken as quickly as possible to cope with the battle in Su County!”

As for the next step to attack Yongcheng, Yoshika Ryosuke would naturally not say, and he had not received any combat orders and plans from the Central China Dispatch Army Command.

The established combat plan to outflank the main force of the National Army's fifth theater is not announced to the public, and even the grassroots troops rarely issue such a large plan.

After all, if the big plan is distributed to the grassroots troops, the risk of leaking secrets will be increased first, followed by the meritorious mentality of the grassroots troops, which may lead to the collapse of the plan.

Among the Japanese army at this time, the problem of the following and above is still quite serious!
Neither Terauchi Shouichi nor Hata Shunroku wanted to take this risk, nor could they afford it—if the strategy made a mistake and the hundreds of thousands of troops failed in battle, then they would definitely "suicide themselves to thank the emperor"!

Assigning specific combat tasks can perfectly avoid this kind of risk...

As a result, Wakisaka Jiro has only received the task of capturing Mengcheng at present, and after the capture of Mengcheng, he will send forward troops to Yongcheng to "observe the situation."

Well, this "inspection situation" can be regarded as equivalent to "power search".

Under such a severe fighting situation, without a brigade dispatching troops, the possibility of being eaten is very high.

Besides, if a brigade is not eaten, it is also due to luck-for example, in North China, just on the side of Pi County, a brigade of the [-]rd Division was eaten by the Yunnan Army within half a day. clean.

In Central China, such risks can naturally be reduced a lot. According to the intelligence of the Central China Dispatch Army Command: the Chinese army stationed in Mengcheng and Suxian is Li Zongren's Guangxi army.

It's not that the combat effectiveness of the Gui army is poor, but that it has different emphases in various aspects-the Dian army is strong in discipline and equipment, while the Gui army is good at combat without fear of death and fighting in the mountains and forests.

Putting it on the plains, the strengths of not being afraid of death and fighting in the jungle are insignificant. The inferior equipment cannot be made up for by saying that they are not afraid of death, and no amount of courage can compare to a cannon fire.

Although the current No. 30 Sixth Regiment has only four artillery pieces, and there are certain shortcomings in personnel, if they encounter the first regiment directly under the third theater or the Yunnan Army Brigade, they may not be able to escape.

However, they encountered the Gui army that was extremely lacking in heavy firepower and not well equipped, so a fierce battle began.

The four Qiwu Mountain Cannons concentrated their firepower and knocked down a corner of the east gate.

"It's okay! Adjust the muzzle! Turn left five degrees!!!" The artillery squadron leader of the Japanese army roared loudly. The fragility of the city walls of Mengcheng was beyond his expectations. I can take it down.

Looking at the collapsed part of the city wall, Wakisaka Jiro showed joy in his eyes. He pulled out a command knife and shouted: "Warriors! It's time to make contributions! Go!!"

Under the wielding of Wakisaka Jiro's command knife, these Japanese soldiers who were not tall and had bow legs began to charge forward, just like the wild boars that were slaughtered!
Yes, they are wild boars. The lazy appearance of domestic pigs can no longer describe their energetic state!

……

The news of the collapse of the city wall reached Zhou Yuan immediately.

"What? The city wall has collapsed... Cough cough cough..." Zhou Yuan blushed suddenly from anger. At this time, his body was very weak. It's about the serious injury.

Before the body has fully recovered, it is inevitable to be a little excited when you hear the news that the battle is not going well.

"Mr. Zhou, please rest assured. Commander Ling is commanding the troops to fight fiercely with the Japanese invaders. Mengcheng will never fall in such a short period of time." Liang Jiaju, the staff officer of the accompanying division, reported.

"It's fine if Captain Ling is here, I'm afraid there will be an accident on the front line. No, I have to go ahead and have a look." Zhou Yuan braced himself and wanted to go outside...

……

When Mengcheng fell into a fierce battle, Lan Feng's side was still calm.

But everyone knows that this is just the calm before the storm.

It won't be long before this tranquility will be broken.

……

PS: Make up for the second update last night.

Send the first update tonight before twelve o'clock!
Thanks to the starting point book friend Ling Feng Xiaolang, book friend 20191223140649913, master of destruction, book friend 2018051545831296, *Time Like Water*, Red Star Republic, book friend 201812234059221, and two monthly tickets for the homeless man named Evil God Crushu !

(End of this chapter)