Age of Rebirth

Sun Zhenbang, the commander of the Ximan battlefield, issued the order to focus on artillery and gradually reduce the battlefield space of the Kwantung Army troops in the encirclement. He smiled and said to Yuan Jinghao: "Commander Yuan, do you have any additional comments?"

Yuan Jinghao took a sip of milk tea with gusto, shook his head, and said, "Your Commander Sun has done everything right, what else can I add, combat staff officer, add a sentence to the order, don't be stingy with shells, tell the artillery unit, Use artillery fire to clear the way for the infantry!"

Tang Qiuli, who was far away at the Jinzhou headquarters, naturally didn't know what the commanders of the two corps were planning in private. Most of his thoughts were not on the battlefield, but he began to think about the reconstruction after the recovery of the Northeast. Yes, the large tracts of land in Siberia, which is sparsely populated, need to be developed, and no one can do it. The Kwantung Army prisoners of war on the battlefield are the best free labor!

Therefore, Tang Qiuli changed a rule that has been enforced since the beginning of the Bloody Hands, but it is definitely not out of kindness. To the Japanese, there is no mercy at all, but it is more useful than killing them. Of course, I will no longer kill the Japanese prisoners of war as before!

Shortly after the telegram was sent back to Sun Zhenbang and Yuan Jinghao, Feng Jiwu and Han Tie also jointly sent a telegram, the content of which was very simple, "The division pointed out that the attempt of the Seventh Army of the Kwantung Army in western Liaoning to meet the Kwantung Army's breakout from Ximan has been suppressed." Completely shattered, the Seventh Army of the Kwantung Army was severely damaged, and retracted to the original area within the encirclement!"

Tang Qiuli murmured, now, the timing of the general offensive on the western Liaoning battlefield must be adjusted. It is also a bait to keep the troop convoy sent by the Japanese army headquarters from withdrawing. After all, thousands of merchant ships, for the establishment of maritime trade lines in the future.It's a good starting capital. Shipbuilding can't be as fast as snatching a ship. If you don't take the business that comes to your door, wouldn't it be against the harmony of heaven?

Immediately, Tang Qiuli called back to Feng Jiwu and Han Tie, "Commanders Feng and Han took into account the overall situation on the battlefield in western Liaoning. After careful consideration, the division commanded that the time to launch a general offensive against the Kwantung Army troops in the encirclement could be appropriate." Delay, the specific time is to be determined, waiting for the order!"

"During this period, your Ministry can adopt limited offensive tactics to maintain a certain degree of pressure on the Kwantung Army troops in the encirclement, mainly to kill their vital forces and compress their battlefield maneuvering space, forcing them to concentrate on the narrow seaside In the area, for the final gathering and annihilation. Create favorable conditions. As for the scale of the period, Feng and Han can decide at their discretion, and it is best to make the enemy army panic and unable to protect themselves!"

At the end of the telegram, Tang Qiuli still added an order to persuade the remnants of the Kwantung Army in the encirclement of the Liaoxi battlefield to surrender. Feng Jiwu, who received the telegram, said to Colonel Zhang Hansheng, the chief of staff of the corps: "Chief of staff, the order of the division commander In the last paragraph, I changed my original intention! It’s interesting to keep the prisoners of the Kwantung Army!”

Zhang Hansheng pondered for a while and said, "Commander, this is changing the old rules of our military division. I'll consider it. I'm afraid the commander has other plans, right?"

Feng Jiwu smiled quietly, "Chief of staff, the plan of the division commander is probably because of the thousands of Japanese merchant ships! Let our troops in western Liaoning fight but not wipe out. However, I am still not very big on persuading the little devil to surrender." understand!"

"By the way, Chief of Staff, communicate with Commander Han, and send the division commander's order to persuade the little devils in the encirclement to surrender to the commanders at all levels. Don't wait until the time of the general offensive, and say hello to death, so that no one is left. !"

At this time, the battlefields in the Qilaotu mountainous area of ​​Ximan and the Nuluerhu mountainous area battlefield have already been turned upside down. The main forces of the Outer Mongolia Field Corps and the North China Field Corps are advancing steadily from the east, west, and north. The main artillery fire, supplemented by tanks and infantry, pushed across like a giant wall, submerging the outer positions that the Kwantung Army had built hastily.

Sun Zhenbang and Yuan Jinghao controlled the attacking rhythm of the troops, and made phone calls to each brigade at any time to keep track of the progress of the battle. The infantry and tanks fought at a leisurely pace, but the artillery units often had to set up a position. After firing a few rounds of shells, he received an order to move the artillery position forward immediately. Then, there was a burst of desperate work. The artillery was hung on the tractor, the shells were reloaded, and then hurried to the next shelling position!

In the afternoon of this day, the artillery commanders at all levels couldn't stand it anymore, and they called the theater headquarters to complain, "Both commanders, the artillery positions are frequently moved forward, and the soldiers are exhausted physically, so it is difficult to adapt to such a high pace. Such a battle will inevitably affect the effectiveness and efficiency of the shelling, please give the command proper consideration of the specific difficulties of the artillery!"

The deputy commander Yuan Jinghao answered the call. After putting down the phone, he said to Sun Zhenbang: "Commander Sun, the artillery is complaining all over the world. The infantry and tanks are easy to talk about. Let's just walk away. We have to think of a way. It won't work like this. Only the artillery is left. Move forward!"

Sun Zhenbang stroked his chin, thought for a while and said, "Commander Yuan, otherwise, before the general offensive, all the heavy artillery units will stay where they are for the time being and use mobile tanks and self-propelled artillery to carry out assaults. , plus the mortars of each regiment and battalion, it is enough for the little devils in the encirclement to drink a pot. After two days, there is not much space left for the little devils on the battlefield, and the infantry has been beaten to the end. Pull up the heavy artillery unit, let's do a concentrated shelling, and settle the battle!"

Yuan Jinghao smiled, nodded and said: "I think it is possible, and to avoid problems with the infantry coordination, I said Commander Sun, you don't have to worry, the aviation fleet has wiped out the Kwantung Army in the encirclement, and our general offensive will begin." Afterwards, we went to clean up the battlefield, and they spent a lot of money, more than 500 fighter jets and bombers, what a huge formation!"

Sun Zhenbang smiled helplessly, "Commander Yuan, it's not that you don't understand the tempers of Le Yiqin and Liu Cuigang. They're the ones who don't want to let go of their own advantage. Feng Jiwu and Han Tie, for the time being There is no need for aviation soldiers, no, we should use all our energy here! Forget it, he bombed his, we beat ours, Liu Cuigang and Le Yiqin's soldiers can't jump out of the plane to catch prisoners, can they? "

"Okay!" Seeing Sun Zhenbang's helpless face, Yuan Jinghao was happy, "I still have to go to the United Communications Office to check the situation of the ground-air connection. There are many directions for the troops to attack, and the progress is uneven. The position will be occupied immediately, but don't let the aviation bombs drop on the heads of our soldiers, it will be a big deal!"

The strong oppression of Ximan's participating troops and the fierce artillery bombardment turned over the positions temporarily built by the soldiers of the Kwantung Army, forcing the troops of the five armies of the Kwantung Army to retreat step by step, and had to gradually shrink the defensive circle. , More than 40 people are crowded in a narrow area of ​​less than [-] kilometers, and the density of troops is unprecedentedly huge, but the losses caused by this have also doubled.

A single shell or bomb can take away the lives of dozens or even dozens of Kwantung Army soldiers. The two armies that marched in the direction of Qilaotu Mountain could not bear the pressure and were driven to Nuluerhu In the direction of the mountainous area, the troops attacking in the south direction were even more beaten to death. The brigade with the army's pockets and mouths gave full play to the advantages of artillery fire and turned a ravine into a sea of ​​​​flames. The Kwantung Army The corpses of the soldiers were covered in layers in the ravine!

Including General Tosa, the interim supreme commander of the Ximan Kwantung Army, and the other four army commanders, they all felt like mirrors in their hearts. Nuluerhu Mountain is the burial place of more than 40 Kwantung Army soldiers in Ximan !

The ferocious artillery fire and steady attack of the troops from the peripheral ** divisions forced the Kwantung Army troops of the five armies to form a circular defense system back to back. Relying on the temporarily excavated field fortifications, they desperately supported the maneuvering space of the battlefield so as not to be smothered to death, but these It can only be regarded as a fortification of an earth ditch, and it is vulnerable to intensive artillery fire. Every mountain and every ravine left the fragmented corpses of Kwantung Army soldiers.

More than 40 Kwantung Army soldiers are like an isolated island with loose soil. The hundreds of thousands of troops from the North China Field Corps and the Outer Mongolia Field Corps in the periphery are like a surging torrent, roaring and carrying a huge impact. The huge waves surged, and the isolated islands shrank a little.

In the sky, the mixed aircraft fleet of the aviation force has already started the second round of fierce bombing. The area occupied by the Kwantung Army troops seemed to be boiling. Soil pillars, low bushes, patches of forest, and waist-deep wormwood have all become hiding places for soldiers of the Kwantung Army. However, when a "bo bo" bomb fell, the vegetation on the surface, together with the hidden The soldiers of the Kwantung Army bombed into the sky together.

The Nuluerhu mountain area is not a mountainous area with jagged rocks, ravines, and caves. There are neither tall peaks nor natural barriers for concealment. The whirling and whirling shrapnel strangled all life in the coverage area, and the tall trees fell crashingly, which could also take the lives of several Kwantung Army soldiers.

"Jedi! Death!" General Tosa, the interim supreme commander of the Kwantung Army of Ximan and the commander of the Third Army, muttered to himself with a pale face. Under the protection of a dozen guards and staff officers, he hid under a protruding rock , It is safe for the time being, he stared straight at the battlefield full of gunfire and rain of bombs, his soldiers were torn apart by the explosion like a volcanic eruption.

Previously, Ximan's encirclement was mostly plain areas, and there was no possibility of breaking through. Now, more than 40 soldiers have been driven into the mountains, and breaking through is even hopeless. telegram.

(To be continued)