Chapter 274 Lancheng fell, trying to encircle the 48th Independent Brigade
The 71st Division began to move into Lancheng and Jingle City, with four artillery positions behind them to provide cover for them.
The 48th Independent Brigade assembled on the south side, and officers such as Chu Yunfei and Chen Ziyun were in charge of the command. They paid close attention to the battlefield situation.
After the commander's department made adjustments, the battlefield situation changed instantly.
The Little Japanese troops immediately made changes and formed an independent Ninth and 16th Brigade to form a force of 4,000 people to participate.
These four thousand troops have always been assisting in operations on the south side, but Chen Ziyun had previously commanded the troops to carry out strikes.
At present, they are reuniting with the 27th Division, and as the 48th Independent Brigade advances to the south.
The little Japs, who had only 3,000 troops left after being beaten, did not dare to return to the south to fight.
After the 27th Division headquarters received the news, they did not dare to gather all their troops to attack Lancheng with all their strength.
After all, although the 48th Independent Brigade suffered a certain degree of losses, their remaining troops still have strong combat capabilities.
"This means that the Seventh Army troops may advance to the battlefield at any time and engage in defensive operations here."
However, just when the defensive positions of the Japanese and puppet troops were shaken, the junction between Lancheng and Jingle City was broken through by the 27th Division.
For a time, the 71st Division troops stationed in Lancheng were under great pressure.
The 71st Division troops stationed in Lancheng and Jingle City took the opportunity to rest and quickly restore the physical fitness of the officers and soldiers.
They launched an attack on Jingle Castle overnight, while Kojima Shinko's troops and Yanashita Shigeharu's troops launched a counterattack directly with the cooperation of the 27th Division Search Wing and other troops.
"Your Excellency, Commander, if the Shanxi-Sui Army troops continue to increase their combat strength, we may not have any advantage."
"Now that they are defending Lan City and Jingle City, it obviously shows that the Jinsui Army is ambitious. After all, the distance here is too far and very close."
"They may even resort to wheel-and-wheel warfare, constantly consuming our troops, and eventually the frontline troops will suffer heavy casualties."
Zhao Yinfu knew the fighting situation on the front line, but he couldn't help but take a breath of air.
Otherwise, the 48th Independent Brigade threatens the 27th Division from the flanks, and it will be difficult for them to fully launch an attack.
These tanks and armored vehicles use machine guns to carry out operations to attack the 48th Independent Brigade.
He asked the 27th Division and other troops to continue fighting and capture Lancheng and Jingle City no matter what!
Kojima Nobuki commanded the special garrison, the 1st Army Division of the Royal Association Army, and the 7th Mixed Brigade of the Royal Association Army with more than 10,000 troops, and they went south to fight.
The third regiment of the garrisoned infantry and the Yamamoto Special Forces successfully captured the junction and quickly advanced in depth.
This time, the little devils have gathered a lot of troops. According to their plan, these troops are going to achieve results quickly.
He has an intelligence background, so he knows the situation in Jin Province very well.
"If the Jinsui Army gathers heavy troops here in the future, they will sooner or later launch an attack on Taiyuan, directly threatening the security of our military headquarters."
Apart from anything else, they still have about 7,000 troops. Once these troops attack from the flank, they will still pose a great threat.
Special garrison, two reinforced infantry brigades, an artillery brigade, as well as tanks and armored vehicle units.
After the 48th Independent Brigade launched its attack, 105MM mountain guns launched a fierce shelling.
In the past, when the 48th Independent Brigade fought, the Shanxi-Sui Army would provide supplies, ammunition and personnel to supplement the troops.
Officers such as Nobumasa Tominaga also contacted subordinate officers one after another to convey combat orders from the military headquarters.
"So I think we must not only continue the battle between Lan City and Jingle City, but we must also win here."
At around 11 o'clock in the evening, after both sides suffered casualties, the 48th Independent Brigade stopped attacking and quickly withdrew.
If the 71st Division had not taken over the defense in time and continued fighting at this level, the 48th Independent Brigade would have been exhausted sooner or later.
At this time, the first section chief came to Yoshio Shinozuka, and he directly made suggestions.
"Based on the current situation, the Jinsui Army wants to launch a large-scale battle with us here."
In a head-to-head battle, even if they achieve results, they will suffer certain casualties.
"Your Excellency, Commander, if we withdraw our attacking troops at this time, wouldn't we be showing weakness to the Shanxi-Sui Army?"
This means that they only have two days!
Commander Guo of the 33rd Army quickly reported to Commander-in-Chief Zhao Yinfu of the Group Army.
However, the 71st Division troops continued to defend under four artillery positions. After all, they had more than 6,000 troops.
The 27th Division Search Regiment, the Engineer Regiment with 2,000 troops, the 1st Army Division of the Royal Association Army, and the 7th Mixed Brigade of the Royal Association Army with 12,000 troops.
This is also the reason why the 48th Independent Brigade was able to obtain results several times after launching operations.
The total number of troops invested by the Japanese and puppet troops exceeded 40,000, and the aviation force also fully supported the operation.
Early on the morning of the 30th, around eight o'clock, the Japanese air force came over the battlefield again.
Chief of Staff Hanagu was making a report with documents, his brows were slightly wrinkled and his mood was not very good.
Here in Jingle City, there are the Kojima Shinhung Special Guards, the 1st Army Division of the Royal Association Army, and the 7th Mixed Brigade of the Royal Association Army with 15,600 troops.
As night fell, at eight o'clock in the evening, the 48th Independent Brigade troops began to take the initiative.
The 48th Independent Brigade was restrained and attacked by a large number of Japanese and puppet troops, and was gradually in a situation of being surrounded.
They were scattered in different areas and built complete bunker positions.
The Yamamoto Special Agent Team is assigned to the 27th Division for combat operations.
In defense, they will actively launch counterattacks to prevent the attacking forces from exerting continuous pressure on the defending forces.
"Once a field division is defeated, the consequences are not something we can bear."
One bomber after another began to carry out carpet bombing on Lancheng, and the troops of the 27th Division launched an all-out attack.
After Chu Yunfei received the report, he decisively commanded the troops to attack.
He had no idea that the situation in the battle would turn around in such an instant.
Here in Lancheng, there are 20,000 troops of the 27th Division, which are independently mixed into the 9th and 16th Brigade, and more than 4,000 troops.
The Jinsui Army began to deploy troops to join the battlefield. This was not good news for the Japanese army.
The previous section chief, Ryuzo Takeshita, has been transferred to the 12th Army, so the current section chief, Colonel, has just been appointed.
The little Japanese troops could not get enough rest time. They were worried that they would be attacked at night, so they could only strengthen their vigilance.
On the contrary, the little devils here have four 99-type 105MM mountain cannons and eight Jin-made 16-type 105MM mountain cannons.
Tominaga Nobumasa's 27th Division troops attacked Arashi City with all their strength. They wanted to capture Arashi City in the shortest possible time.
Kojima Nobuhiro also developed a relatively complete defensive battle plan after repeated research.
The First Army Headquarters assigned an Army Lieutenant Colonel Nobuhiro Kojima to command such a large number of troops in combat, which shows the First Army Headquarters' trust in him.
These large-caliber mountain guns also played a strong fulcrum role in combat.
After the Japanese and puppet troops received the combat order from the First Army Headquarters, they began to mobilize.
The commander of the First Army, Yoshio Shinozuka, looked at the map and fell into deep thought. He did not express his opinion for a long time.
For a time, the Japanese and puppet army officers expressed their opinions one after another. They stated that they would completely capture Lan City and Jingle City before midnight on December 31st!
Time is passing, and the night is passing by in a hurry.
After Yoshio Shinozuka listened to the advice of the Chief of Staff, he nodded thoughtfully.
The First Army Headquarters conducted repeated discussions on the frontline combat situation, and they began to adjust their attack strategy.
"This unit is the earliest division-level combat unit organized in the Shanxi-Sui Army. They have certain combat effectiveness."
"You must know that the Shanxi-Sui Army troops had little courage to fight us before, but later their independent 48th Brigade continued to gain results by fighting against us."
However, after a long period of fierce fighting, physical energy and ammunition are consumed, and weapons are destroyed, the morale of the officers and soldiers will naturally be affected.
The participating troops of the independent mixed 3rd, 9th, and 16th brigades will be united, and the 5,000-strong force will be under the unified command of Yanashita Shigeharu.
"Currently, the troops responsible for the defense of Lancheng and Jingle City are the 71st Division of the 33rd Army of the 7th Group Army of the Shanxi-Sui Army."
When it was past ten o'clock in the morning, Commander Zhao of the 71st Division hurriedly began to contact the 48th Independent Brigade.
They currently only have the 11th Reserve Regiment and the mountain artillery company directly under the 12th Reserve Regiment.
At five o'clock in the afternoon, the sky gradually became dark.
Hanatani felt that the Japanese troops needed to stop in time to avoid an uncontrollable situation.
However, this Japanese and puppet army still maintained a strength of tens of thousands, and they did not achieve much results in subsequent operations, and their casualties did not continue to increase.
Kojima Nobuhiro also knew that the 48th Independent Brigade had certain anti-armor combat capabilities, so he just arranged these tanks and armored vehicles for mobile operations.
Especially the 27th Division, they showed the fierce strength of a field division.
Yoshio Shinozuka personally issued an order this time, requiring all ministries to complete the operation before February.
The mountain artillery regiment continued to carry out shelling, and a large number of artillery shells fell one after another around the position.
After all, if a large number of Jinsui troops were deployed to fight in Lancheng and Jingle City, the consequences would be disastrous.
After the troops of the 27th Division captured Lancheng, they did not rest and recuperate, but continued to attack.
The Jinsui Army rarely fought against the Japs in the past two years. They continued to conserve their strength and expand their troops.
Commander Chen commanded the troops to retreat quickly, but Yamamoto's special forces cut off their retreat and all units suffered heavy casualties.
At the same time, Nobuki Kojima commanded the Japanese and puppet troops and continued to attack Jingle City.
"Your Excellency, Commander, Your Excellency, Chief of Staff, this is the information we just received."
At one o'clock in the morning on December 30, the headquarters of the First Army was in Taiyuan City, the capital of Shanxi Province.
Their main goal is not to annihilate the 48th Independent Brigade, but to contain and bite the 48th Independent Brigade as much as possible to prevent them from escaping the battlefield.
Moreover, they were newly replaced full force troops, and they were still able to hold their position in the face of Japanese and puppet attacks.
Regardless of casualties and losses, the Japanese and puppet troops launched a complete siege in an attempt to completely encircle the 48th Independent Brigade.
Their mission is to contain the 48th Independent Brigade to prevent the 48th Independent Brigade from affecting the operations of the 27th Division.
All these troops were deployed here in Jingle City, and they mainly conducted containment operations against the Jingle City defense forces.
Although the 48th Independent Brigade gradually broke through the Shinheung Japanese and puppet army positions on the small island at this time, it was obviously to no avail.
On the other hand, the Royal Association Army was hit hard by the 358th Regiment and the artillery unit, and suffered heavy losses.
The Japanese army assembled an independent mixed force of 5,000 men from the 3rd, 9th, and 16th Brigades, and a 3,000-man force from the Kojima Nobuki Special Guards.
These more than 6,000 little soldiers guarded the 48th Independent Brigade and launched offensive operations to protect the main force of the division.
Not to mention anything else, the troops of the First Theater Zone here in Zhongtiao Mountain alone contained the 36th Division, 37th Division, and 41st Division under the First Army.
Of course, this is also related to the fact that the defensive positions of Lancheng and Jingle City were completely destroyed after continuous bombardment and artillery shelling.
At three o'clock, the troops of the 71st Division stationed in Lancheng were attacked from the front and flanks, and their positions were captured one after another.
The 2,000-man independent mixed third brigade, under the command of Yanashita Shigeharu, assisted in the attack on Jingle City.
"Your Excellency, Commander, do we want to...temporarily stop fighting?"
If a large-scale battle breaks out between the two sides in Lan City and Jingle City, this is not what the little devil wants to see.
As of now, they have four army groups, as well as a large number of directly-affiliated troops.
There are 13-type 75MM mountain guns made in Jin Dynasty one after another, and the number is not large, so it is difficult to play a big role on the battlefield.
However, they did not mobilize any troops for support. Yan Laoxi just wanted to use the 48th Independent Brigade to fight the Japanese army, while the other Jinsui troops were recuperating.
Nobumasa Tominaga, commander of the 27th Division, commanded the second and third regiments of the garrisoned infantry and the mountain artillery regiment to launch a fierce attack on Arashi City.
However, now other Jinsui Army units have also begun to participate in the war. For the Japanese army, this is a dangerous signal.
Yamamoto Kazuki commanded the special agent team to quickly cut through and directly cut off the connections between the regiments under the 71st Division.
The 48th Independent Brigade continued to attack, but failed to break through their blockade.
However, Kojima Nobuhiro commanded the troops and had already built a complete defensive position.
The third infantry regiment in the garrison left one unit to defend the junction, while the main force attacked the flanks.
When Yoshio Shinozuka heard this report, his expression became more solemn.
It's just that the battle has progressed to this point, and the Japanese and puppet troops have suffered certain casualties, but they still have not made any progress.
With such strength, according to their original predictions, they could quickly resolve the battle.
After all, here in Jin Province, the First Army is under greater combat pressure.
Their artillery, infantry, and armor work together in coordinated operations.
Army Commander Yoshio Shinozuka stood in front of the map with a solemn expression on his face, looking at the locations of Arashi City and Jingle City without saying a word.
These three security divisions are the only division-level combat units of the First Army.
"Chu Yunfei's 48th Independent Brigade has been deployed to flank defense, and they have launched a night attack on the 27th Division."
"And according to the intelligence we have received, the Seventh Army has entered combat status, and they maintain contact with the defense forces of Lancheng and Jingle City."
Within a day, Japanese and puppet troops repeatedly attacked Lancheng and Jingle City.
The captain of the second class took a telegram and quickly came to Shinozuka Yoshio and Hanatani Masa to report.
Commander Chen constantly contacted the 33rd Army Headquarters and reported in detail the situation here.
He hoped that Chu Yunfei could quickly command the troops and rush to support the defense operations in the Lancheng area.
As for the 71st Division, it is even more trapped in a bitter battle. At this time, their combat strength is less than 5,000.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, Chen Ziyun commanded the cavalry battalion to make a detour from the east side, which posed a certain threat to the Japanese and puppet troops.
After discussing with the staff, Lieutenant General Nobumasa Tominaga, the commander of the division, dispatched troops to focus on prevention on the south side.
In fact, if the Jinsui Army goes all out to attack the Japs' troops, the Japs will be under great pressure in Jin Province.
Not to mention their commanding abilities, the little devils and other staff members who are in charge of operations are still very strong in their staff capacity.
After listening to the report, Hua Guzheng had a solemn expression on his face.
Of course, although this Japanese and puppet army has a large number of troops, it does not have many field troops.
Even though the 48th Independent Brigade is relatively strong, they still have many advantages.
In fact, most of the fights between Chu Yunfei and Chen Ziyun were clever.
Immediately afterwards, Yoshio Shinozuka directly issued the combat order.
The 3,000-man troops of the 9th and 16th Brigade were independently formed, and the 3,000-man troops of the 1st Infantry Regiment in the garrison were responsible for the defense on the south side.
The main force of the 71st Division gradually moved towards Jingle City, while Lancheng began to be captured by the Japanese troops.
These Japanese and puppet troops went directly south to counterattack the 48th Independent Brigade, and their purpose was obvious, which was to capture the 48th Independent Brigade!
At eight o'clock in the evening, the main force of the 27th Division of the Japanese and puppet troops stormed the 71st Division of Jingle City.
However, until now, the Japanese and puppet troops have suffered casualties of varying degrees.
They launched a night attack on the troops of the 27th Division, and the troops from both sides fought fiercely.
The 48th Independent Brigade's field artillery battalions and artillery battalions are currently assigned to the 71st Division for combat operations.
They had more than 3,000 troops before joining the war, and they have not suffered too many casualties so far.
Moreover, the tanks and armored vehicle units of the Little Devils all suffered casualties.
The 71st Division was locked in a bitter battle in Jingle City, and its combat strength was only over 4,000.
Yan Laoxi's Jin-Sui Army and the Japs have always adopted a co-optation strategy and rarely attack them.
This time in the battle in Lancheng and Jingle City, the Japanese and puppet troops invested a lot of troops.
The most important point is that Kojima Nobuki commanded the Japanese and puppet troops to hold back the 48th Independent Brigade.
After the 48th Independent Brigade launched its attack, the Japanese and puppet troops coordinated defense and cooperated with each other.
They assembled more than 20,000 Japanese and puppet troops to attack the 48th Independent Brigade with all their strength.
The remaining independent mixed brigade troops mainly deal with the Eighth Route Army.
At nine o'clock in the evening, the 48th Independent Brigade launched a fierce battle with the Japanese and puppet troops.
In addition, there is a 3,000-strong independent mixed third brigade formed by Yanashita Shigeharu to assist in the battle on the north side.
For example, in this defensive operation, the 27th Division caused them considerable losses.
Moreover, the 71st Division initially entered the battlefield at full strength, and they could still block the Japs' attacks.
The First Army Headquarters issued the order, and the Japanese and puppet troops became very active in combat.
A killing radius of tens of meters still poses a great threat to attacking troops.
Zhao Yinfu knew that if there was a change in the next battle, heavy casualties would inevitably be incurred.
Even the 71st Division and the 48th Independent Brigade are in danger of being annihilated.
He quickly contacted the superior department and asked Yan Laoxi to make a decision quickly.
After receiving the news from the Second War Zone Commander's Headquarters, Yan Laoxi and Chief of Staff Chu Qingbo quickly discussed it.
The two people stood in front of the map and continued to analyze it.
Whether they should continue to stick to Jingle City is the focus of their discussion!
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(End of chapter)
This chapter has been completed!