Age of Rebirth

Chapter 680 Taiyuan City Breakdown ([-])

The twilight of dawn, penetrating the darkness of night, descended on the Jinzhong Plain. Zuo Siyu took a deep breath of the clear air full of gunpowder smoke, pointed the telescope at the former 25th Division position occupied by the Japanese army, and personally trained the First Brigade of the Second Brigade. It is impossible for the regiment to safely evacuate from the Taigu battlefield. They fought fiercely with the tentatively attacking Japanese army for one night, killing more than 200 Japanese soldiers, and more than [-] brothers themselves. One regiment did not receive orders. , Responsible for covering the retreat of all Jin army troops on the Taigu battlefield.

If one regiment withdraws at this moment, the Japanese army will chase after Taiyuan City. Even if a Japanese soldier passes through the defensive position, the news of the Jin army's withdrawal will be known to the Japanese commander Neiji Okamura. Therefore, the first regiment last night The resolute blockade actually bought the Taiyuan defenders a precious night of preparation time. Zhao Chengshou's Seventh Army rushed to the outskirts of Taiyuan in a hurry. Sooner or later.

Zuo Siyu didn't know that his decision played a key role in the entire battlefield. Looking around, all the friendly troops had already withdrawn, leaving only a group of solitary troops, surrounded by powerful enemies. The soldiers all understood the situation they were facing. Being bitten by the little devil, the two sides were already entangled and couldn't get away. With Taiyuan City behind them, they couldn't retreat.

Zuo Siyu ordered the second battalion commander and the third battalion commander to check the medicines of the troops and prepare for the next Japanese attack. The first battalion commander was shot six in the battle last night, and he didn't even have time to say a word. Looking at him, he swallowed his last breath in his arms, without even tears. The first battalion commander is his own younger brother, and he brought him to the army. How can he explain to his mother?He didn't dare to think that Zuo Siyu himself didn't intend to return to Taiyuan City alive. [

The sun just broke through the dawn, a scream broke the tranquility, and countless cannons fell from the sky, "Bombardment! Take cover immediately!" Zuo Siyu shouted loudly. This time the Japanese army's shelling was more violent than the previous one. , the position was shrouded in gunpowder smoke, and the thick soil layer in the hidden part withstood several large-caliber guns. And the degree of violence, it can be judged that the Japanese have not discovered that the Jin army has withdrawn from the position.

Such a violent and large-scale bombardment shows that the little devil is determined to break through the position today, so it is even more impossible for the little devil to achieve his goal comfortably. If a regiment delays the Japanese attack for an hour, Taiyuan can make more preparations, Zuo Siyu Yu ordered the messenger to convey his order. After the Japanese artillery stopped, the whole regiment quickly opened up the skirmish line to increase the width of the blocking front as much as possible, creating the illusion that a regiment wanted to fight like a division.

Fortunately, the personal training brigade is the direct line of Yan Xishan's direct line, and its equipment level is far higher than that of other troops of the Jin army. The ratio of light and heavy machine guns is much higher. This was enough for the little devil to drink a pot, and the suffocating shelling lasted for two full hours before gradually stopping.

Neiji Okamura was not very satisfied with the results of the battles in the past few days. According to his plan, the troops could approach the city of Taiyuan a few days ago. Unexpectedly, the battle in Taigu would be a stalemate. Judging from the experience of Wuxiang , he almost doubted that what he was facing was not Yan Xishan's Jin army. The position of the defenders made him very angry. Taiyuan and even the whole of Shanxi were not his ultimate goal.

If you entangle with the defenders in Taigu for too long, it will affect the smooth implementation of the follow-up plan, and the direction of Jinzhong will not be smooth. The troops were replaced by the new division. He gave his subordinates the order that they must take down the positions of the Chinese defenders in Taigu before [-]:[-] this morning. Of course, Neiji Okamura provided enough artillery support for the attacking troops.

Crowds of Japanese soldiers appeared in the field of vision of a group of soldiers. They had been fighting continuously for several days. The nerves of the soldiers had become numb. In their eyes, there were only khaki figures running and screaming. Zuo Siyu saw in pain that there were more than 100 brothers in the shelling just now, and they could never open their eyes again.

Under Neiji Okamura's strict order, the frontline commander of the Japanese army deployed two divisions at the same time. Tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers launched a crazy group charge towards the front that was only a few kilometers wide. , Suddenly there was a shower of shooting sounds, tongues of flames, dense bullets, fiercely shooting at the Japanese soldiers.

Like a speeding train, it suddenly bumped into a cliff, bursting out countless sparks, and the Japanese army's charge momentum was immediately stopped. The Japanese frontline commander could hardly believe his eyes, and fought for several days. The Chinese army still has such fierce firepower. Is this the Jin army?Why is it different from the Jin army in Wuxiang?

The waves of the Japanese army's first charge hit the hard rock, smashed their bodies, and retreated like a tide. At least thousands of Japanese soldiers' corpses lay in front of a group of positions, followed by more violent shelling, shelling, charging , was repelled, and then came again, the casualties of a regiment gradually increased, and the firepower of the counterattack became thinner and thinner.

At around ten o'clock in the morning, there were less than 100 people who could hold guns in a group of lightly and seriously wounded. Zuo Siyu understood that the last moment had come. Brother, it was worth it to stop tens of thousands of little devils for more than five hours and leave thousands of lives. The thick layer of shell under his feet shows the intensity of the battle. It's getting clearer.

Zuo Siyu gritted his teeth and pulled the trigger of the heavy machine gun. He watched the little devil fall convulsively and fell under the gun. He was so happy that he laughed. Soaring up, the orange-red flame exploded, and the body of Zuo Siyu, the colonel of the First Regiment of the Personal Training Brigade, turned into a phoenix, soaring up to the sky of the land of Sanjin.

At [-]:[-], the last burst of gunfire subsided, and the Taigu battlefield, which had been fighting for several days, fell silent. Okamura Ningji stepped through the pits everywhere, passed through the dead bodies, and stared at the battlefield where the gunpowder smoke had not cleared for a long time. I can't believe it. After searching the entire battlefield, there are only hundreds of corpses of Chinese soldiers, and a military flag with half of its corner burned by artillery fire is still planted on the ground. The eyes of Mura Neiji.

After several days of fierce fighting, at the expense of the lives of nearly ten thousand soldiers, Neiji Okamura got the result he wanted, but he did not have the ecstasy of victory. Even stopping tens of thousands of people from the Imperial Army for one night and half a day, Okamura Ningji had a re-evaluation of the combat effectiveness of the Jin Army, and had a vague premonition that the plan to occupy Shanxi was not as he imagined. smoothly.

Zhao Chengshou, commander of Taiyuan City Defense, was busy arranging troops to be withdrawn from Taigu and Jinzhong. He and Jinzhong defender Sun Chu were old acquaintances. The Japanese army admired him very much and invited him to be his deputy commander. All the troops were withdrawn, and Zhao Chengshou increased his troops by more than 8 people.

The Japanese should have appeared around Taiyuan. Only the Japanese troops were found in the southeast. The sound of guns and artillery in the direction of Taigu did not stop all night. Which troops did not withdraw?Zhao Chengshou ordered to contact as soon as possible. When it was almost noon, the officer who went to contact brought back a message. He personally trained the first regiment of the second brigade. He did not withdraw his position and started a fierce battle with the Japanese army. More than [-] people were killed in battle.

Zhao Chengshou understood that the direction of Taigu was the key area for the main force of the Japanese army to attack. Ningji Okamura personally commanded it, and Zuo Siyu used a regiment of troops to block the Japanese army overnight and half a day, covering the smooth retreat of the Taigu defenders. No wonder the Japanese army did not appear in Taiyuan Good job, he didn't have too much sadness. Next, it's time for him and the little devil to work hard.

On May [-]th, two groups of Japanese troops joined forces at the foot of Taiyuan City. According to the order of Neiji Okamura, the Japanese army did not take any respite, and immediately launched an attack on Taiyuan from the south and southeast directions, and the defense of Taiyuan officially started. , On that day, the outer defense line of Taiyuan fought fiercely across the board. Both sides invested a large number of troops.

However, the situation became more and more unfavorable for the Jin army. The Japanese army besieged Taiyuan with nearly 30 troops, and the main force of the Taiyuan defenders was Zhao Chengshou's Seventh Army, plus other troops, but about 23 people. The fierce Japanese artillery fire , Bringing great casualties to the defenders. On the ninth day alone, the Jin army suffered more than [-] casualties.

On May [-]th, the battle became more and more intense. The Japanese army repeatedly broke through the Jin army's outer defense line in Taiyuan. Zhao Chengshou organized death squads and regained the lost positions. Five kilometers away, the sun was erected, and the Japanese army recaptured it with heavy troops. [

On May [-], after nine days of fierce fighting, all the outer defense lines of Taiyuan were lost, and the defenders withdrew into the city to hold on. There was a tendency to encircle Taiyuan. In order to avoid the fate of being encircled and wiped out, Zhao Chengshou, who was overwhelmed, sent a telegram to Yan Xishan to allow the defenders to abandon Taiyuan and transfer to Northwest Shanxi.

Yan Xishan replied, agreeing to Zhao Chengshou's request, with the best policy of preserving strength, at night, before the Japanese army's encirclement was completely closed, the Taiyuan defenders withdrew from the north gate. Breaking through the interception of some Japanese encircling troops, he transferred troops to the northwest area and joined Yan Xishan.

On the morning of May [-]th, the Japanese army entered the resisted city of Taiyuan, and the sun flag was raised in the streets and alleys of Taiyuan. The nine-day defense of Taiyuan ended and Taiyuan fell.

(To be continued)