People are shining their swords, secretly helping the Iron Triangle in Northwest Shanxi

Chen Ziyun began to read out the combat orders. This time he assembled a large number of troops for siege operations.

The 52nd Little Devils Division is also actively deploying here, and they are preparing to ensure control of Ziling Town.

In this way, even if the battle is over, the little devils can still plant a nail in the area west of Qinhe River so that they can launch attacks at any time.

Lieutenant General Toshizaburo Makoto, the division commander, has now adjusted his deployment, and he will be able to deploy all the troops.

The 69th Regiment and the 107th Regiment were assigned to the main force of the Field Artillery Regiment. A total of people were stationed in Ziling Town for defense.

The 150th Regiment, the Engineer Regiment, the Field Artillery Regiment , and troops were stationed in Xiwan Town, east of Ziling Town, for defense.

Ziling Town and Xiwan Town are across the Qinhe River, one is to the west and the other is to the east.

The two towns were completely controlled by the little devils, so they could get in touch with each other and ensure that they could support each other's operations.

At the same time, in Boai City, there is also the search wing of the 52nd Infantry Division. This force of more than a thousand people can quickly maneuver to support operations at any time.

The commander of the 52nd Division, Toshizaburo Mako, was ready. He wanted to ensure absolute control of Ziling Town.

In addition, Edao Torao's 41st Regiment is rapidly advancing towards the battlefield in northern Henan to strengthen the operations of the 52nd Division.

The little devils are well prepared here. They want to maintain the battle and obtain certain results.

Okamura Neji was unwilling to end the battle like this, so he wanted to continue fighting.

Time passed. On the morning of May 18, Li Yunlong detachment and Kong Jie detachment took the lead in taking action.

Li Yunlong commanded the New 1st Regiment, the New 3rd Regiment, and the Artillery Regiment to take the lead in advancing along the west bank of the Qin River. They wanted to cut off the Japs' troops east of Ziling Town and west of the Qin River.

At the same time, Kong Jie commanded the independent regiment and four guerrilla brigades launched an attack on Xiwan Town to cut off the connection between Ziling Town and Xiwan Town.

Around nine o'clock, the troops from both sides started fighting, and deafening gunfire continued.

The Little Devils have deployed a certain number of troops in the area east of Ziling Town. There are more than a thousand of them, and they are responsible for maintaining contact with the east bank of the Qin River.

However, these more than a thousand little Japanese troops were quickly attacked by Li Yunlong's two infantry regiments and an artillery regiment.

The 150th Regiment of Xiwan Town and the Engineer Regiment wanted to rush over to help, but they were intercepted by the Kongjie detachment.

The two sides fought fiercely on the east and west banks of the Qin River, causing casualties on both sides.

By eleven o'clock in the morning, the little devils in Zilin Town wanted to mobilize troops to rush for reinforcements.

But at this time, Chen Ziyun had already commanded the troops to advance towards Ziling Town.

The two regiments of the third brigade began to attack Ziling Town from the west, while the guard regiment and the first guerrilla regiment attacked from the south.

The First Artillery Regiment is responsible for supporting operations, and the Cavalry Regiment performs blockade tasks to the north of Ziling Town to prevent the Japs from moving towards the northern highlands.

The Fourth Guerrilla Regiment is deployed in Hanoi County and other areas, and they are to serve as the general reserve force.

Suddenly, fierce fighting began in Ziling Town and other areas.

Chen Ziyun commanded various ministries to continue to attack, and deafening gunfire sounded one after another.

The Little Japanese troops were initially prepared to take the offensive, but as more and more troops went out to fight, the Little Japanese began to mass their defenses.

The main forces of the 69th Regiment, the 107th Regiment, and the Field Artillery Regiment were fully committed to the defense in Ziling Town.

More than 8,000 Japs relied on positions built in advance for defense and directly intercepted the attack of the four infantry regiments commanded by Chen Ziyun.

By two o'clock in the afternoon, Li Yunlong dispatched two guerrilla brigades of the independent detachment to the west bank of the Qin River east of Ziling Town for defense.

Two infantry regiments and an artillery regiment of the independent detachment began to launch a fierce attack from the east side. In the afternoon, Ziling Town became the main battlefield, where the main forces of both sides were assembled.

Chen Ziyun assembled six infantry regiments here, two artillery regiments directly participated in the attack, and there was also a cavalry regiment on the north side to blockade.

The little devils stationed in Ziling Town, the little devils were under great defensive pressure, and their casualties and losses continued to increase.

At six o'clock in the afternoon, one message after another was delivered to the headquarters of the 52nd Division.

Lieutenant General Toshizaburo Mako, the commander of the division, stood in front of the map, his brows furrowed tightly and a solemn expression on his face.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander, Ziling Town has been attacked by the enemy's main force. According to reports from various ministries, the enemy has assembled at least nine regiments in Ziling Town."

"They took turns attacking with a large number of infantry. The enemy adopted a strategy of attacking from three sides and blocking one side. Obviously they wanted to carry out encirclement and annihilation operations."

"Currently, the connection between Ziling Town and Xiwan Town is completely cut off, and there are a certain number of enemy troops blocking Qinhe."

"The troops here in Xiwan Town are unable to rush to rescue, and the casualties in Ziling Town are about to exceed 1,000."

The division chief of staff took the document and made a report immediately.

After hearing the losses here in Ziling Town, Toshizaburo Mako couldn't help but take a breath of air.

In a short period of time, there were hundreds of casualties. If this battle continued, the three regiments in Ziling Town might suffer heavy losses.

The two infantry regiments and one field artillery regiment stationed here are the absolute main force of the 52nd Division.

If they were to be annihilated, the 52nd Division would exist in name only.

"Where are the 41st Wing? Where have they arrived?" Toshizaburo Mako asked, looking at the chief of staff.

Before the chief of staff could answer, a messenger quickly came to report.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander, Captain Ejima Torao of the 41st Regiment has arrived in the city in advance with the Regiment Headquarters."

"Captain Jiangdao Tiger Alliance is outside. He wants to know more about the situation on the battlefield."

The messenger began to report, and when he heard that Ejima Torao had arrived at Sanyo Castle, Toshizaburo Mako smiled.

Without any hesitation, he immediately began to meet with Ejima Torao.

Edao Torao's 41st Regiment Headquarters has arrived in the northern Henan area in advance, and its follow-up troops are also marching in a hurry, and it is very difficult to reach the battlefield.

The 41st Regiment once belonged to the Fifth Division and has strong combat capabilities.

In this mobile operation, they were also reinforced by many vehicles, so they marched very fast.

Jiangdao Huxiong did not achieve much results in the battle in southeastern Shanxi. Even if he captured high ground such as Laoxiong Mountain, he was not very satisfied.

This time he was transferred to the battlefield in northern Henan. Edao Torao had great ambitions.

He knew that there were not only Li Yunlong's troops here, but also Chen Ziyun's troops.

These troops are the thorns in the side of the North China Front Army, and Jiangdao Torao wants to eliminate them completely.

In his opinion, even if his alliance only has 5,000 people, there will be no problem in dealing with them.

Toshizaburo Mako was ecstatic about the arrival of the 41st Regiment. After all, now is the time when the 52nd Division needs combat troops.

After meeting with Ejima Torao, Toshizaburo Mako introduced the battlefield situation in detail.

At the same time, he proposed a combat plan, which was to launch a direct offensive with the 41st Regiment as the main force, thereby clearing out the troops east of Qinhe River. (End of chapter)