Chapter 299 Going south to support the regiment’s breakout
At two o'clock in the afternoon on May 12, the Third Flying Group under the Third Flying Group began operations under the command of Major General Saburo Endo.
The 32nd Bomber Group and the 44th Reconnaissance Aircraft Group dispatched aircraft one after another. These aircraft continued to bomb the eastern positions of Zhongtiao Mountain stationed by the 14th Group Army.
Aerial bombs fell on the position one after another, and with a deafening explosion, the entire position was instantly covered in smoke.
The scorching air waves instantly raised the temperature, and the shock wave quickly spread around.
After continuous shelling and bombing, most of the positions of the 15th Army, 93rd Army, and 98th Army under the 14th Group Army have been destroyed.
By three o'clock, the Japanese army assembled the 33rd Division, the 41st Division, and the independent Ninth Brigade with more than 30,000 troops to launch the attack.
This time the Japanese attack was very fierce, and they threw all their infantry into the battle.
A large number of infantry launched wave-like tactical attacks, repeatedly attacking the defenders' positions.
Lieutenant General Sakurai Shozo, the commander of the 33rd Division, and Nobu Shimizu, the commander of the 41st Division, directly supervised and directed the operations at the front line.
Major General Kenkichi Ikegami, commander of the independent ninth brigade, personally led the attack.
The 14th Group Army was unable to carry out tight defense, and defense loopholes appeared between various units.
Each mountain gun battalion has ten 75MM caliber mountain guns, and the overall firepower is not weak.
At half past three, the 27th Division began to set off from the Shunwangping area. They launched a fierce attack on the 14th Group Army's position from the flanks.
After the 7th Mixed Brigade of the Imperial Association Army withdrew, the Little Japanese Front Army Headquarters immediately issued an order.
Wei Junru asked Chu Yunfei and Chen Ziyun to command the troops and directly enter Zhongtiao Mountain to fight.
From Wenxi City to the Pinglu City area, there is a mountain road.
They reported directly to Qian Bojun, the deputy commander of the 11th Reserve Brigade, and the missing news of Zhang Fugui, the acting commander of the 12th Reserve Regiment.
However, the commander of the 36th Division, Jingguan Ren, and the commander of the 37th Division, Anda Twenty-san, believed that there was a Glory First Division here in Wenxi City and had to guard against it.
As long as these three armies break through and leave their positions, the two divisions will attack them again.
Tada Jun asked Akiyama Toyoji's aviation force to completely block the Yellow River to prevent the Fifth Army troops from crossing the river.
Of course, the position here at Seal Gate is also very important, so there is a division responsible for staying behind.
Wei Junru immediately made adjustments and arrangements based on the battlefield conditions.
The 27th Division attacked from the west, and the 35th Division was assigned to three divisions of the Imperial Army to attack from the east.
After Sakuma Shigemori listened to the report, he made a judgment on the spot, that is, the main force of the Glory First Division entered the battle at Nakatiao Mountain.
So far, they have arranged for the 93rd Army and the 98th Army to assume the defense of the northern position.
As for the Glory First Division, they have already captured Wenxi City.
At this time, the total strength of the Japanese and puppet troops was about 40,000, but they had to face the Glory First Division to the north.
Chief of Staff Yukio Kasahara and Deputy Chief of Staff Masaru Hirata, who were dispatched by the front army, read the cable and discussed it.
"In this way, after we respond to the breakout of the Fifth Group Army troops, we can advance here at any time to prevent being encircled by the Japanese army."
The artillery regiment, machine gun battalion, cavalry battalion, and special agent battalion directly under the division headquarters are hidden in the Wenxi City area.
Here at the Luojing First War Zone Commander's Headquarters, combat orders began to be issued one after another.
The special agent battalion unit is a unit jointly organized by the reconnaissance company of the artillery regiment and the guard company of the division headquarters security communications battalion.
Infantry and artillery commander Chen Ziyun directed these troops in combat.
At about 10:30 in the evening, the Glory First Division completely abandoned Wenxi City, and all its troops began to advance southward towards Pinglu City.
The two brigades are directly under the mountain artillery companies, which have been expanded into mountain artillery battalions.
The fighting here was very fierce and the fighting never stopped.
The North China Front Army Headquarters mobilized more than 13,000 puppet Manchu troops, and puppet Mongolian troops were assigned to them to fight.
After all, their overall casualties and losses were too great. If they continued to fight, they might be gradually annihilated.
At the same time, five divisions of the 17th Army and the 43rd Army of the Zhongtiao Mountain Attack Corps also quickly came to the battlefield to participate in the battle.
However, in the fierce fighting so far, these puppet troops have suffered more than 2,000 casualties.
Chu Yunfei and deputy division commander Hao Shiwen commanded the main force of the division, divided the troops into two groups, and quickly advanced towards the Pinglu City area.
Of course, Chen Ming should use the special agent battalion of the Glory First Division as a special force.
The Japanese and puppet troops stayed at the commanding heights and adopted flexible tactics to fight.
However, it is obviously difficult for these 75MM caliber mountain artillery to completely destroy the defensive positions deployed to suppress the Japanese and puppet troops.
Continuously conduct diversionary attacks on Hengling Pass and Shunwangping to prevent the 21st Division stationed here from participating in the battle.
For a time, the Japanese and puppet troops became busy and they actively prepared for combat.
However, as the 12th Reserve Regiment continued their fierce attack, they abandoned Yuanqu City and evacuated directly to the north.
At this time, the 4th Cavalry Brigade received the tanks and armored vehicles originally assigned to the 41st Division and independently mixed into the 9th Brigade.
Of course, their casualties were not large, but the Puppet Manchu Army and the Puppet Mongolian Army assigned to the independent 16th Brigade suffered greater casualties.
Unlike other little Japs, Sakuma Shigemori fought very cautiously.
Wakamatsu Heiji and Xu Chengpu commanded these troops and tried their best to block the Glory First Division.
The Zhongtiao Mountain Attack Corps and the 14th Group Army fought against the 27th Division, 33rd Division, 43rd Division and other units with all their strength.
The 15th Army, which was originally planned to be deployed to support operations on the north side, was urgently deployed on the west side to block the advance of the 27th Division.
Here at the headquarters of the 36th Division of the Japanese Army, the main officers of the Japanese and puppet troops gathered together.
So he immediately contacted the military headquarters and reported the situation here in detail.
On the way south, Chen Ziyun found Chu Yunfei, and he said with a serious expression on his face.
The machine gun battalion and other troops continued to ambush in the Wenxi City area.
When the call reached six o'clock, Chu Yunfei began to contact Chen Ziyun.
The 14th Army, the 3rd Army, and the 80th Army of the Fifth Group Army were still surrounded and attacked by numerous Japanese and puppet troops.
Now they are reporting that their whereabouts are unknown, and the commander's department is not in the mood to care about a deputy brigade commander or an acting regimental commander at this time.
After having a detailed combat plan, they immediately began to generate electricity and report.
Considering the situation of the three armies under the Fifth Group Army, Wei Junru prepared to withdraw them to the south bank of the Yellow River for rest.
And here in the east of Zhongtiao Mountain, the troops from both sides launched a large-scale battle.
Xu Chengpu, the former brigade commander of the Imperial Association Army, was promoted to lieutenant general and division commander, responsible for commanding these puppet troops in combat.
In the area east of Pinglu City, there is no sound of gunfire for the time being.
The Japanese army attacked with all their strength from the north and west sides, and a large number of troops were invested on the battlefield.
In this battle, neither the 36th Division nor the 37th Division dispatched the entire army. They left a certain number of troops to stay in the occupied area.
The Zhongtiao Mountain Attack Corps advanced eastward and attacked Jincheng and Yangcheng with all its strength to support the 14th Group Army in its operations.
However, they left an elite force to defend Wenxi Castle. Sakuma Shigemori believed that the cavalry troops were not good at attacking fortresses.
Chen Ziyun commanded the troops to stay in Wenxi City, naturally to fight the ambush of the Fourth Cavalry Brigade.
The Japanese and puppet troops assembled a force of about 3,700 people, and they originally planned to return to Pinglu City quickly.
For a time, the two sides launched a large-scale battle here, and it gradually developed into a melee.
However, they were stubbornly blocked by the Japanese and puppet troops, and the troops from both sides fought fiercely in the mountains and forests.
The Independent 48th Brigade under the Glory 1st Division prepared four regiments of the 11th Brigade, but they were intercepted by them, and there was not much progress for the time being.
Yamamoto Kazuki commanded special forces, paratroopers and other troops to continuously infiltrate, began to disintegrate the connections between various ministries, and harassed their command structures.
It was at this time that the main force of the Glory First Division commanded by Chu Yunfei and Hao Shiwen had already advanced to Zhongtiao Mountain.
They knew that it would be difficult for these Japanese and puppet troops to encircle and annihilate the Glory First Division, so they gave up their annihilation plan.
The Second Division of the Imperial Japanese Army and the Japanese Army independently formed 16 brigades and more than 15,000 troops to build blocking positions.
Together with their own tanks and armored vehicles, the armored force of the Fourth Cavalry Brigade is currently of a certain scale.
"Abandon the encirclement of the Fifth Army and let them break out. During the process of their breakout, we are dealing a heavy blow to them."
He dispatched several cavalry squads and dispersed them towards Wenxi City, while the main force of the brigade was on standby behind.
The 14th Army and other units now have no ability to break out. They can only stay in place and wait for reinforcements.
The deafening sound of guns and artillery fire continued, and various artillery shells continued to fire. The dark night was as bright as day.
After the Japanese and puppet troops suffered about 700 casualties, they lost confidence and began to flee toward the Pinglu City area.
With such a large number of aviation units assisting in the battle, the little devils here are naturally confident.
Commander-in-Chief Liu of the 14th Group Army ordered all units to hold their positions and quickly contacted the commander's headquarters here to request support.
At nine o'clock in the evening, deployed at Hengling Pass, Shun Wangping's 21st Division wanted to join the battle, but they were harassed by Li Yunlong's independent detachment.
Xie Yunxia serves as the battalion commander, and Wei Monk serves as the deputy battalion commander.
The 15th Army and the 9th Army are responsible for the defense of positions on the west side, while the 27th Army is responsible for the defense of positions on the east side.
"It may be difficult for our troops to completely annihilate them, so we can only block them."
The Imperial Association Army, the Puppet Mongolian Army, and the Puppet Manchukuo Army, which numbered more than 12,000 people, jointly formed the Second Division of the Imperial Association Army.
At two o'clock in the morning on May 13th, Sun Ming commanded the 12th Reserve Regiment and arrived at Yuanqu City.
They gave up the siege of the Third Army, the 14th Army, and the 80th Army and allowed these three armies to break out.
"Based on the current situation, there are more than 10,000 people in the Glory First Division, and they are well-equipped with weapons and equipment and have strong combat effectiveness."
The Fourth Japanese Cavalry Brigade is currently located in Li Yuanzhen, east of Wenxi City. Their main task is to contain the Glory First Division.
Chu Yunfei opened the map and looked at it. He felt that what Chen Ziyun said was very reasonable.
There are only 11,000 troops capable of fighting, and the losses are not insignificant.
Then they began to contact the front army commander Tada Shun. At eleven o'clock, Tada Shun approved the combat plan.
Wei Junru hoped that the troops of the Glory 1st Division would quickly break through the Japanese and puppet forces' obstruction in Zhongtiao Mountain, quickly advance to the Pinglu City area, and coordinate the operations of the Fifth Group Army.
The troops from both sides launched fierce offensive and defensive operations. The Japanese and puppet troops attacked from three sides in an attempt to launch a pincer attack on the 14th Group Army.
More than 2,000 troops from the 7th Mixed Brigade of the Imperial Alliance Army joined together with more than 1,000 remnants of the two brigades of the 36th Division and 37th Division that were hit.
Chief of Staff He Jingzhi assisted in the command.
"Master, this place in Yuanqu City is very important. It is the connection point between the east and west battlefields. It is still controlled by the Japs."
The 27th Division dispatched all its main forces and strengthened its artillery units. When the troops from both sides started fighting, the gap became obvious.
The Glory First Division is advancing towards Zhongtiao Mountain, they may come quickly.
At four o'clock in the afternoon, the 1st Glory Division launched combat operations.
The two armies dispatched five divisions and quickly advanced northward to strengthen frontal defense and block the Japanese attack on the north and west sides.
Chen Ziyun commanded the troops to set up traps. As long as they came over, the various ministries would immediately launch an attack on them.
They began to attack Yuanqu City, and the little Japs here defended themselves at first.
At this time, the independent detachment of the Zhongtiao Mountain Attack Corps, the Glory First Division, was drawn out.
The Japs assembled the 33rd Division, 41st Division, and the independent Ninth Brigade to attack on the north side.
This is also the reason why they were able to quickly evacuate the battlefield after encountering an attack last night to get out of the attack range and avoid serious injuries to their own troops.
After some discussion, Jingguan Ren and Anda Twenty-san summed up a specific combat plan.
However, the 15th Army only has more than 10,000 troops, and its combat effectiveness is weak.
On the contrary, in the area north of Pinglu City, the Glory 1st Division continued its fierce attack, preparing to break through the position of the 7th Mixed Brigade of the Imperial Association Army.
More than 20,000 troops from the four divisions of the 93rd Army and the 98th Army fought hard to hold on to their positions. They temporarily held their positions, but their own casualties continued to increase.
Eight Jin-made 17-type 75MM mountain artillery pieces were captured and dispersed into two mountain artillery battalions.
At this time, the special agent battalion was responsible for various combat tasks. They were engaged in the work of guards, scouts, and orderlies.
The 17th Army, the 43rd Army, and the 10th Division formed an attack corps, and they advanced directly to Jincheng and Yangcheng to fight.
The First Army Headquarters received the news, but Yoshio Shinozuka and Hanatani no longer have command authority.
So far, they have suffered no more than 500 casualties, and the overall impact is not very great.
However, the reconnaissance teams of the Little Devils were very cautious. After encountering an attack, they evacuated decisively.
Li Yunlong's independent detachment quickly retreated to the Zi JS area, using Zijin Mountain as their base.
At this time, facing the harassment and attack of 9,000 people from the independent detachment, they did not dare to be careless and were forced to give up the idea of participating in the war and go all out to defend.
On the Zhongtiao Mountain position, Commander-in-Chief Liu of the 14th Group Army received orders from Wei Junru to uniformly command all armies to conduct operations.
At around four o'clock, following Chu Yunfei and Hao Shiwen, the troops successively entered Zhongtiao Mountain.
This report did not arouse any response, but the commander-in-chief hoped that they would speed up their advance to prepare for the Fifth Army's breakout.
Wei Junru's intention was obvious, he wanted an independent detachment to contain the 21st Division.
Li Yuanzhen's fourth cavalry brigade also began to take action, and Sakuma Shigemori was very cautious.
Especially on the Jincheng and Yangcheng lines, Wei Junru planned to use offense instead of defense to disrupt the Japanese attack.
Wei Junru knew the Zhongtiao Mountain battlefield very well, and he made arrangements calmly.
Time passed bit by bit, night fell, and everything around Zhongtiao Mountain was pitch black.
The strength of five armies and ten divisions was fully engaged in defense.
During these more than 3,000 days, the puppet troops began to deploy defensive positions on the spot. They stationed at commanding heights and key pass areas to build positions for defense.
The Glory First Division came with great momentum, and the Japanese and puppet troops in Pinglu City had already received news one after another.
They also had to encircle the 20,000-strong troops of the three corps of the Fifth Group Army in the encirclement. The Japanese and puppet generals felt tremendous pressure.
"Deploy relatively elite troops to block them with all our strength to prevent them from joining forces with the Fifth Army."
The commander of the 36th Division is Iseki Ren, the commander of the 37th Division is Adachi Twenty-three, and the commander of the 16th independent mixed brigade is Wakamatsu Heiji.
It is obviously impossible to fight here without the support of the artillery regiment.
Chen Ziyun received the message from Chu Yunfei, and he arranged for Liang Guoping to command the artillery regiment to advance.
Of course, these Japanese and puppet troops have built a complete defense here. If the three armies of the Fifth Army want to break through, they will definitely have to be kicked against the iron plate.
These three armies suffered heavy casualties. If they continue to fight, they will be annihilated sooner or later.
"We must deploy our troops in advance and advance here quickly to capture Yuanqu City."
The Glory First Division troops quickly moved south under the command of Chu Yunfei and Chen Ziyun!
It is worth mentioning that after the Wenxicheng battle ended, Chu Yunfei, Chen Ziyun, Hao Shiwen, and Fang Ligong jointly produced electricity.
As well as Xu Chengpu, who had just served as the division commander of the Imperial Association Army, they quickly gathered together with their staff to discuss the next battle situation.
Around five o'clock, gunfire started to ring out in Wenxicheng.
Major General Shigemori Sakuma, commander of the brigade, has also been on the battlefield for many years and has rich command and combat experience.
At the same time, the little devil contacted Akiyama Toyoji's First Flying Regiment and asked them to fully support the battle here in Hirauriku City.
As for other troops, they continue to fight south.
The troops of the Glory First Division advanced, but were stubbornly blocked by them.
The 7th Mixed Brigade of the Imperial Association Army and other troops rushed over with the artillery regiment, and their positions were breached one after another.
The 21st Division was attacked in Wenxi City and suffered certain casualties.
The Ninth Army and the 27th Army, which have just met here at Fengmenkou, are fully supporting the troops to the north to strengthen the defense and garrison tasks of the 14th Army.
After pondering for a while, Chu Yunfei mobilized Sun Ming's 12th reserve regiment and secretly advanced to Yuanqu City.
As the battle continues, their two divisions have also suffered a certain amount of combat losses. Currently, these two divisions only have 25,000 troops.
The 36th Division and the 37th Division have more than 20,000 troops deployed on the east and west sides.
The Japanese and puppet troops continued to attack and fight, which consumed a lot of physical energy. They temporarily stopped attacking to rest and recuperate.
For a time, fierce fighting started here in the east of Zhongtiao Mountain, and the defenders were under great pressure.
Of course, these two people were shot, but as the saying goes, family scandals should not be made public, so now they will definitely not make any public announcement.
At this time, Wei Junru had urgently returned from the capital to the Chief of the First War Zone in Luojing, Henan Province, to take over the operational command of Zhongtiao Mountain.
The 16th independent mixed brigade was the main force, and the entire brigade consisted of 5,000 troops.
The 21st Division's baggage troops were stationed at Yuanqu City, and they had been attacked before.
Now that they don't have many remaining troops, they naturally won't stick to Yuanqu City.
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(End of chapter)
This chapter has been completed!