Chapter 222 Li Yunlong: Still an old comrade-in-arms
"What kind of weapons and ammunition did your Commander Kong prepare for us...it was two radio stations. These are good things that we usually cannot seize even if we want to!" Li Yunlong stared at the correspondent and asked!
"I don't know the specific equipment!" the correspondent replied, shaking his head.
"But we took down the Jinzhong Arsenal...it was filled with all kinds of weapons and ammunition, including thousands of artillery shells..."
"The night before yesterday, we killed four to five thousand Japanese puppet troops at Jinzhong and Taiyuan airports, and we also captured their equipment and ammunition!"
"Last night, we used company units to attack small and medium-sized strongholds around Taiyuan... and eliminated more than 300 Japanese and more than 600 puppet troops, captured 24 strongholds, and also seized a large amount of weapons, equipment and supplies!"
"Except for a small number of weapons and ammunition to replenish the troops, all the remaining weapons and ammunition were sent to Jinzhong!"
"The weapons and ammunition there are enough for both of your regiments to be equipped with all-Japanese equipment. You can get whatever you want!"
Li Yunlong felt as if he had eaten honey, with a smile on his face, and immediately said to Ding Wei: "My old comrade is still kind!"
"After the troops successfully broke through, I worried about weapons and ammunition every day... I didn't expect that Kong Jie had a mountain of weapons and ammunition in his hands and couldn't use them all!"
"Ding Wei, our trip was not in vain..."
"I suggest that we take the time to rest and rush to Jinzhong as soon as possible to replenish weapons and ammunition!"
"If we get the equipment early, we will have more confidence in fighting the Japanese. We don't have to panic when we encounter little Japanese!"
Ding Wei was also very happy, and after thinking for a moment he replied: "Let's rest for another three hours, and then march quickly to Jinzhong..."
"Let's rest while replenishing weapons and ammunition, and contact Lao Kong by the way to find out the real purpose of our coming to Taiyuan!"
At the Japanese Army Headquarters in Taiyuan, Yoshio Shinozuka rested during the day and worked at night as usual.
Appearing in the war room on time at five o'clock in the afternoon, the chief of staff was just in time to compile statistics on the latest battle situation.
"Your Excellency, Commander...the independent regiment captured a total of 24 of our strongholds last night..."
"The troops left behind lost 328 Imperial troops and more than 650 Imperial Alliance troops, all of which were within control..."
"None of the county towns or large strongholds have been attacked... From this, it can be confirmed that the independent regiment has suffered heavy casualties in the continuous battles and has lost the ability to attack critical areas. The frontline mopping up troops can safely sweep away without worrying about Taiyuan's safety.
Yoshio Shinozuka is not a person who pins his hopes on others on the battlefield.
Although there is no plan to mobilize troops from the front line to return reinforcements, we are not blindly passive in the defense of Taiyuan.
After knowing that the Independent Regiment attacked Jinzhong and Taiyuan Airport, they sent troops to reinforce Jinzhong and Taiyuan Airport, while strengthening Taiyuan's defense and gathering armed expatriates in Taiyuan City to defend Taiyuan together.
After the chief of staff made the report, he asked with a serious face: "How many armed expatriates have been assembled by the headquarters to assist the remaining troops in defending Taiyuan."
Mentioning this matter, the smile on the chief of staff's face grew wider: "Report to the commander... After mobilization, 1,348 overseas Chinese joined the city defense fortifications. Their humble position allowed them to form 27 squads, and each three squads formed an infantry
Squadrons, nine squadrons in total!”
"The logistics department has distributed weapons and ammunition to them. Each infantry team is equipped with three light machine guns and three grenade launchers!"
"It turned out that retired veterans who had served as heavy machine gunners and gunners were organized into a mixed squadron, equipped with six heavy machine guns, four mountain cannons, and eight mortars..."
"Dedicated to providing fire cover to the other eight infantry squadrons!"
The serious expression on Yoshio Shinozuka's face relaxed a lot, and he ordered immediately!
"Arrange them all on the outer city wall, deploy two squadrons in each direction, and then transfer eight companies of the Imperial Association Army from the Taiyuan garrison, four reinforced squads, and divide the troops into four groups to help defend the Taiyuan outer city!"
"All remaining units of the Taiyuan garrison will defend the inner city!"
At the enemy headquarters of the Independent Regiment outside the city, Kong Jie was having a conversation with the commanders of the four main battalions under his command.
"It is now half past seven in the evening... I will give everyone an hour and a half to prepare... At nine o'clock in the evening, there is no need to wait for my order, and we will launch an attack on the outer city of Taiyuan at the same time..."
"We will not distinguish between main attackers and assists in this attack... Whoever attacks the outer city first will be the first!"
"Operation Assault Company and Third Battalion..."
"After the Third Battalion captured the North Gate, the assault company immediately entered the city and went straight to the Taiyuan Arsenal. They captured it as quickly as possible to prevent the Japanese from blowing up the arsenal!"
Shen Quan was responsible for attacking the South Gate. After hearing the order, he swore firmly: "Regiment commander, don't worry, in order to capture the South Gate, I have prepared a full 200 rounds of mountain artillery and infantry artillery shells, and 800 rounds of mortar shells..."
"Even if I use artillery shells, I will blast the Japanese and puppet troops defending the south gate into pieces..."
Kong Jie shook his head and reminded: "Don't be careless!"
"The reconnaissance company reported that the Japanese army built many machine gun bunkers on the outer city walls..."
"When attacking a city, you must use your brains, don't be reckless, and don't just take people's lives to fill it..."
"We no longer have many troops and cannot afford to fight a war of attrition. We must not only capture the outer city of Taiyuan, but also capture it at the minimum cost."
Chen Quan immediately answered: "Don't worry, I have asked the mountain artillery and infantry artillery of the first battalion to prepare the bayonets on the cannons..."
"After the attack started, they immediately pushed the artillery to the forefront of the battlefield..."
"Use artillery shells wherever there are machine gun bunkers to minimize the damage caused to us by the bunkers!"
At nine o'clock in the evening, the Japanese military headquarters in Taiyuan City was very calm.
The combat staff, communications staff... were busy with their own affairs in an orderly manner.
Yoshio Shinozuka was not idle either, staring at the sand table to study the latest battle situation of the frontline mopping up troops, and thinking about how to fight tomorrow...
The chief of staff was also standing nearby looking at the map. He always felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't figure it out.
Until the commander suddenly spoke: "What are the independent regiment doing tonight...Why didn't I hear their movement so late?"
The chief of staff slapped his head violently and said with a look of realization: "Commander, I also feel that something is wrong tonight. It's so late and we haven't received any news that the independent regiment is attacking our stronghold. This is so abnormal!"
"I will contact the intelligence personnel monitoring the Independent Regiment now and ask them to report the latest situation of the Independent Regiment immediately!"
Before anyone could move, the sound of "rumbling..." explosions reached the headquarters.
Everyone was shocked. Several combat staff members who reacted quickly rushed out of the war room, climbed to the commanding heights of the headquarters, and looked in the direction of the explosion, trying to figure out what the explosion was about.
"General... there were fireballs rising from the east gate, north gate... south gate of Taiyuan... eighty percent of them were caused by the explosion of artillery shells!" A combat staff officer hurried to Yoshio Shinozuka to report.
"General, there are also fireballs rising from the west gate of Taiyuan..." Another communications staff officer ran into the war room to report.
"Ding-ding-ding..." Before Yoshio Shinozuka could reply, the phone in the room rang, and the quiet war room suddenly became lively.
The phone soldier just grabbed a phone, and another phone rang...
"Your Excellency, Commander... The east of the city was attacked by the main force of the Eighth Route Army... The opponent was equipped with at least two mountain cannons and eight mortars... The firepower was very fierce... All the defensive troops in the east of the city have climbed up the city wall. They have suffered heavy losses. Please reinforce!
"The phone soldier who answered the phone first reported.
"General... the north of the city was attacked by the main force of the Eighth Route Army..." Another telephone soldier covered the phone and reported.
"The troops stationed in the north of the city resisted desperately, but the Eighth Route Army's siege artillery fire was too fierce. They have lost more than fifty people...the casualties are still increasing sharply, please support!"
"Your Excellency, Commander... the intelligence department has just received an urgent message: The main force of the independent regiment has all rushed outside Taiyuan City, carrying a large number of heavy weapons, and seems to be attacking Taiyuan!" The person in charge of the intelligence also ran over to join in the fun.
Shinozuka Yoshio became angry when he heard this, and he was very dissatisfied and cursed: "The independent regiment has already begun to attack the city... What is the use of you sending the information here now?"
The person in charge of intelligence was also very frustrated.
Last night, the independent regiment captured more than 20 small and medium-sized strongholds outside the city.
On the surface, the losses of the Shanxi garrison were very small.
As long as the frontline mopping up troops return timely reinforcements, these lost small and medium-sized strongholds can be easily recaptured.
It was only just now that the person in charge of intelligence realized that the losses of the Shanxi garrison were far greater than what appeared on the surface.
Small and medium-sized strongholds are like the eyes and ears of the imperial army, watching every move around Taiyuan.
After the small and medium-sized strongholds were captured by the independent regiment, the remaining troops in Taiyuan became blind and deaf.
Originally, there was a small stronghold every ten miles around Taiyuan, and Taiyuan City could be contacted directly by phone.
After the intelligence officers of the Independent Surveillance Group find out some information, they only need to rush to the nearest stronghold and transmit the information to Taiyuan through the phone.
After all these small and medium-sized strongholds were eliminated by the independent group, the intelligence agents would have to spend at least twice as long to transmit the information they found to Taiyuan.
That's why the person in charge of intelligence conveyed the news of the independent regiment's attack on Taiyuan to the headquarters so late.
He wanted to explain to the commander, but seeing Yoshio Shinozuka's brows furrowed and his face full of anger, he swallowed back the words that had reached his lips.
In the end, I decided to lower my head and stand aside to be scolded...
The chief of staff stepped forward in time to relieve the siege: "Commander... Judging from the report of the city defense garrison, the independent regiment attacking us is equipped with at least thirty mortars, eight mountain guns and infantry artillery!"
"Nearly all of our troops defending the outer city are armed expatriates... The Eighth Route Army's artillery fire is too fierce. I'm worried they won't be able to withstand it for long..."
"Hagajia Road... we were fooled by the independent group!" Yoshio Shinozuka suddenly realized and cursed.
"Last night, we specially selected small and medium-sized strongholds to attack, which made us mistakenly believe that they lost their troops and generals and lost their ability to attack fortresses, which led to the idea of underestimating the enemy and preparing for us to be caught off guard tonight..."
"What a cunning opponent, he tricked all of us!"
"Based on their offensive posture, they will not give up until they force the mopping up troops back!"
After saying that, he looked at the chief of staff and asked: "If we defend the outer city at all costs...how long can we hold on..."
The chief of staff was silent for a while before replying with a frown: "The artillery strength of the independent regiment far exceeds ours. As long as they have enough ammunition, they can use up all our limited troops with artillery shells alone!"
"Almost all the troops defending the outer city are armed expatriates, and their fighting will is far inferior to ours!"
"According to their current loss rate, another hour would be good..."
"There are still more than a thousand people in the inner city, and their combat effectiveness is twice that of the armed foreigners. In addition, the independent regiment has been consumed by the armed foreigners as part of its strength. It should be able to last three or four hours!"
"Too short!" Yoshio Shinozuka replied solemnly.
"There are no more troops around Taiyuan, so we can only mobilize troops from the front line to come back for reinforcements... No matter how fast they go, it will still take two or three days..."
"By the time they return to Taiyuan, we will have been wiped out by the independent group!"
"Let all the troops stationed in the outer city retreat to the inner city. We abandon the outer city and concentrate all our troops and firepower to defend the inner city..."
"The inner city is much smaller than the outer city. Defending the inner city can not only concentrate firepower but also troops. It will definitely be no problem to hold on for three or four days!"
"Immediately send a telegram to the frontline mopping up troops...Immediately dispatch three infantry brigades to return to Taiyuan..."
"No, three brigades are too few!"
"In the battle of Xingling, the Independent Regiment defeated our three brigades in one battle. The same thing must not happen again!"
"Directly dispatch six infantry brigades and one artillery brigade to march back to Taiyuan to support Taiyuan..."
"I want to wipe out the independent group in the outer city of Taiyuan!"
The chief of staff agreed with this approach, but did not immediately accept the order.
The outer city of Taiyuan is not only home to a large number of ordinary people and expatriates, but also has a large number of military facilities. If they are all abandoned, the losses to the Shanxi garrison will also be huge.
Immediately reminded Yoshio Shinozuka: "Commander... The Taiyuan Arsenal is in the outer city... Giving up the outer city is equivalent to giving up the arsenal... Otherwise, the arsenal will be blown up when the troops retreat... What we can't get from the Eighth Route Army
Don’t even think about it!”
"It can't explode!" Shinozuka Yoshio shook his head like a rattle and denied without hesitation.
"Do you think the arsenal is the weapons and ammunition we usually use? We can get replenished at any time if it explodes?"
"Many of the equipment in the arsenal are not only of high value, but also unique. They are not available in the whole of China... After they are bombed, they can only be shipped from China!"
"There is also a lot of domestic military equipment. It is impossible for us to just give it to us if we want it!"
"If we really blow up the arsenal, we may not be able to resume production in the next year!"
"You are also considered a high-ranking officer of the Japanese Empire. You should know that the strategic direction and strategic focus of the empire have shifted..."
"Since last year, the domestic supply of weapons, ammunition and supplies to us has been decreasing."
"By the beginning of this year, the ammunition supplies we had received were less than half of previous years!"
"But our operations are becoming more and more frequent and larger in scale, and we consume far more ammunition than in previous years."
"This means that half of the weapons and ammunition required by the Shanxi garrison every year must be provided by themselves!"
"Our only solution is the Taiyuan Arsenal!"
"If the Taiyuan Arsenal did not produce a steady stream of weapons and ammunition for us, the ammunition consumption and reserves of all Shanxi garrison troops would be halved. Then how could we still fight, how could we fight a big war!"
"In order to ensure that there are no problems with the ammunition supply for the Shanxi garrison, there must be no problems at the Taiyuan Arsenal!"
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
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