Shortly after Tiegang's cavalry battalion launched a surprise attack on the Japanese reinforcements in Banqiao Town, the 541st Regiment of the 180th Division also launched a strong attack on Linhuaiguan.
The cavalry battalion was well-calculated and unprepared, and the battlefield selection of Iron and Steel was extremely tricky. It was not until the cavalry battalion's saber almost stabbed the little Japs in the buttocks that the Japs finally found out. The result is one can imagine, so even if the Japs
One brigade was still defeated and the Japanese were unable to organize effective resistance.
However, the 541st Regiment's attack on Linhuai Pass did not start smoothly.
Although the Japs stationed at Linhuaiguan only had half a brigade left at this time, and the ammunition was not enough, the Japs had built complete fortifications in advance, and all machine gun nests were reinforced with wood. Various side fires, light and dark
Bunkers, communication trenches and even underground bunkers are all available.
This is also the characteristic of the little devil.
The Japs during World War II were like a group of tireless prairie dogs. They built fortifications wherever they hit them. As long as they stayed in one place for more than three days, they could build complete field fortifications. Once it exceeded seven days, the materials would be lost.
If it is sufficient, it is possible to build a permanent fortification, and if it exceeds three months, it is very likely to build a fortress.
The U.S. military has suffered enough from the Japanese fortifications on the Pacific battlefield. Almost all islands such as Iwo Jima, Saipan, and Guadalcanal have been built into fortresses by the Japanese. Even though the U.S. military has absolutely superior firepower, it can only take a few lives.
Filling it in, taking lives and pushing it forward bit by bit. In the end, the top US military officials couldn't stand it anymore, so they adopted a leap-frog tactic and decided not to compete with the Japanese for islands, but to skip over these islands and directly attack little Japan.
of the main island.
The Japanese troops marching north from Central China have been stalemate on the Huaihe River battlefield for more than a month, so the Japs at Linhuai Pass have built the fortifications at Linhuai Pass like iron barrels. However, the 541st Regiment lacks the heavy firepower to attack the enemy, so it seems that there are not many options.
Every time there was enemy fire interception, they could only send death squads holding bags and blow them up one by one.
This style of fighting was not only brutal, but also extremely inefficient. More than an hour later, the cavalry battalion had defeated the Japanese reinforcements in Banqiao Town, and they all began to pursue freely. However, the 541st Regiment still did not have much power.
Progress has been so great that even the first line of defense on the periphery has not yet been broken through.
After another half an hour, Xiang Tianhu arrived at Linhuaiguan.
Xiang Tianhu was immediately annoyed when he discovered that the 541st Regiment was pushing forward little by little according to the steps and squads. At that time, he dismissed the commander of the 541st Regiment from his post and promoted the commander of the 1st Battalion to the commander of the new regiment.
As soon as the regiment commander took office, he fully understood Xiang Tianhu's combat intentions and immediately led the 1st Battalion to launch a desperate charge.
Facing the group charge at all costs by the 1st Battalion of the 541st Regiment, the disadvantage of the Linhuai defenders' lack of ammunition was immediately exposed. The Japanese built a lot of light and dark firepower, flanking firepower and even bunkers, but due to insufficient ammunition, these firepower points could only be used.
It produced less than 10% of the power, so it was not enough to stop the group charge of the 1st Battalion of the 541st Regiment.
After more than 300 officers and soldiers were injured or killed, the 1st Battalion Commander finally broke into the Japanese headquarters with the last remaining 100 officers and soldiers, and personally killed the highest commander of the Linhuai Pass garrison, Colonel Utada alive!
At dawn, the 1st Battalion Commander lay on Utada's desk. With his remaining left hand, he crookedly wrote the words "Linhuai Pass has been captured" on a piece of paper, and then handed it to his orderly to submit to the sky.
Tiger, after writing the note, the 1st Battalion Commander fainted on the spot due to excessive blood loss. In the hand-to-hand combat that just ended, although the 1st Battalion Commander hacked Colonel Utada alive, he also let Utada remove one of his arms, and it was his right arm.
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(Dividing line)
Zhang Zizhong stayed up all night, waiting for news from the 180th Division.
But Xiang Tianhu seemed to be deliberately trying to make things difficult for Zhang Zizhong. No news came back for a long time. Zhang Zizhong would unconsciously raise his head every half an hour and glance at the wall clock hanging on the wall. Time was passing by little by little.
, seeing that the hour hand had pointed to past four in the morning, and the day was almost dawn, but there was still no news from the 180th Division.
Zhang Zizhong began to lose his composure. Could it be that the 180th Division's attack on Linhuaiguan was not going well?
What worries Zhang Zizhong even more is that if the battle cannot be resolved before dawn, the situation will become more difficult when the Japanese aviation troops arrive.
Another half hour passed, and a hint of fish belly white appeared in the eastern sky.
The chief of staff, who had also stayed up all night, sighed and said with some regret: "It seems that our judgment was wrong. The northward group of Japanese troops in Central China did not fall into a dilemma of running out of ammunition and food. The 180th Division's attack only
I'm afraid it will be very difficult to fix, and it will most likely affect the defense of the protruding part of the south bank, so we have to make arrangements in advance..."
However, before the chief of staff finished speaking, a communications staff officer rushed out from the communications office, waving a telegram copy in his hand and shouted: "Military seat, staff seat, good news!"
Zhang Zizhong and the chief of staff immediately stood up.
The staff officer then stood up to attention and said loudly: "Military seat, staff seat, the 180th Division urgently called. Half an hour ago, we successfully recovered Banqiao Town and Linhuaiguan, killed more than 2,000 Japanese, and seized 1,770 firearms of all kinds."
There are more than a hundred guns, more than ten cannons of various kinds, and more than ten trucks and three-wheeled motorcycles, and the rest of the materials are countless."
After the communications staff officer finished his report, there was a moment of silence in the war room.
A moment later, Zhang Zizhong and the chief of staff waved their fists at the same time.
"Well done!" Zhang Zizhong waved his big fist and said fiercely, "Beautiful!"
The chief of staff also waved his fist twice and said with excitement: "It seems that our previous judgment is still correct. Even if the Japanese army in central China is not in a desperate situation of running out of ammunition and food, it is not far behind.
Military Seat, as long as the commander-in-chief makes up his mind and carries out a full-scale counterattack, we have every chance to gather the 50,000 Japanese on the Huaihe battlefield and annihilate them!"
Zhang Zizhong hummed and said with deep understanding: "Chief of Staff, immediately report the victory to the superior department and state our judgment truthfully to the superior department."
"Yes!" The chief of staff stood up to attention, saluted, then turned around and walked excitedly into the communications office, dictating to the radio operator the victory telegram from the Fifth Theater Commander's Department.
The victory report of the 59th Army immediately shocked the headquarters of the Fifth Theater Command.
The 59th Army's return to Huaihe is of great significance, because it is not only the most successful counterattack launched on the Huaihe battlefield in the past month, but also because after the return of Huaiguan, it is one of the two lifelines supporting the northward cluster of Japanese troops in Central China.
One, the Jinpu Railway has been cut off.
At this time, if Hu Zongnan's 17th Army boldly penetrates eastward from the northern foot of the Dabie Mountains to seize Changfeng Town, then another lifeline for the Japanese troops in Central China to move northward, the highway connecting Feicheng and Huainan, will also be cut off. In this way, the Huaihe River battlefield will be cut off.
The more than 50,000 Japanese troops will become an isolated and helpless army.
Thinking of the possibility of annihilating more than 50,000 Japanese troops on the Huaihe battlefield in one fell swoop, the commander-in-chief of the Fifth War Zone, Li Zongren, could no longer remain calm, because this was not only an opportunity for the Fifth War Zone, but also an opportunity for the entire country and the entire nation!
Imagine that if the 9th and 13th divisions are really reunited and annihilated on the Huaihe battlefield, then the situation on the entire Xuzhou battlefield will immediately change. If the 9th and 13th divisions are eliminated first, Li Zongren will be fully confident and then
The main forces of the 5th and 10th Divisions heading south along the canal and the Ping-Han Line were also eliminated.
If the Japanese's southbound cluster and northbound cluster are eliminated together, it means that the Battle of Xuzhou will end with a complete victory for the squadron. After losing the four most elite main divisions, Li Zongren has enough reason to believe that
For at least three years, Little Japan will no longer be able to organize a large-scale offensive.
It is even possible for the squadron to take the opportunity to launch a full-scale counterattack and regain North China in one fell swoop, while losing vast territory in East China.
By then, little Japan will most likely repeat the mistakes of the Shanghai War of 128 and request European and American powers to mediate. In the end, the Nationalist Government may still inevitably lose some interests, but at least it can preserve the basic integrity of its territory and prevent North China from being destroyed.
, a large area of East China was split off.
If such a result really occurs, Li Zongren will go down in Chinese history as a national hero!
Thinking of this, Li Zongren couldn't calm down at all, and immediately ordered the staff department to send an emergency telegram to the Wuhan camp.
After the Wuhan camp received the telegram from the Fifth War Zone, they were a little disbelieving at first, and then overjoyed. In the excitement of the Generalissimo, it is said that he scolded three Niang Xipi, exaggerating that he was a loyal general, his exact words
It goes like this: Zhang Zizhong, I know, I know, I experienced how powerful he was during the Central Plains War.
Everything that happened next was a matter of course. Faced with such a huge temptation, how could Chairman Chiang, who even dreamed of a hearty victory, be able to hold back? Chairman Chiang immediately ordered Hu Zongnan's 17th Army Corps to leave from the Dabie Mountains.
Cross Beilu to the east and seize Changfeng Town within three days.
Although the 17th Army Corps has not yet completed its training and its combat effectiveness has not yet been restored, Chairman Chiang does not care about this anymore.
Chairman Chiang looked at the map and thought that as long as Hu Zongnan's 17th Army captured Changfeng Town and cut off the road from Feicheng to Huainan, the Japanese 9th and 13th Divisions trapped on the Huaihe River battlefield would immediately become turtles in the urn.
A few days ago, a large amount of supplies belonging to the Japanese army in Central China were inexplicably destroyed. The situation is really gratifying.
Chairman Chiang has even seen that victory is beckoning to him. After losing three consecutive conference battles and losing large areas of land in North and East China, will he finally usher in a great victory? The Republic of China will finally win.
Is there a historic transition to a strategic counter-offensive? Niang Xipi, any protracted war is all nonsense!