The Japanese army headquarters and brigade commander stood in front of the city defense map, waiting for news, very anxiously.
It was no longer possible to rely on the city defense fortifications to hold out until dawn. Now he only had one hope: the city defense troops could be withdrawn a little more, so that the troops could control more territory and fight street battles with the Eighth Route Army, and last longer.
The sound of gunfire from the east of the city was getting closer and closer, and a hint of bad premonition slowly appeared on the anxious face of the brigade commander.
The east gate is about 1.5 kilometers away from the headquarters, and the gunfire that just came was at most one kilometer away, which means that the war has spread to 500 meters inside the city.
If there are still troops in the east of the city, they will definitely not let the Eighth Route Army entering the city easily penetrate 500 meters into the city.
Based on this analysis, it is almost certain that something happened to the garrison in the east of the city.
I was afraid of something, and as soon as this bad premonition came into my mind, a second lieutenant stumbled in, and before he could stand still, he gasped and reported.
"General, I have been ordered to assist the retreating troops from the east of the city."
"When we arrived about 500 to 600 meters away from the east gate, a group of Eighth Route Army troops suddenly appeared blocking the way."
"At least one company of troops, equipped with a large number of light machine guns, will open fire when they stand between us and the retreating troops from the east of the city."
"I immediately commanded the troops to launch an attack from the Eighth Route Army's reserve, intending to cooperate with the garrison in the east of the city to attack from the front and back to break through the Eighth Route Army's blocking position."
"But I brought too few troops there. There was only one combat unit. As soon as they fought, they were hit by two light machine guns from the opponent and suffered heavy casualties."
"The garrison in the east of the city also suffered heavy losses. In order to avoid unnecessary losses, they took the initiative to stop the attack and retreated to several nearby yards with the few remaining troops."
"The Eighth Route Army blocking the road surrounded them on the spot."
"I can't rescue them even if I try my best to save them. I can only bring a few subordinates back to report."
The deputy chief of staff's heart skipped a beat and he replied with a heavy face: "General, the gunfire we hear now must be the Eighth Route Army's siege of the garrison in the east of the city."
Then he stared at the second lieutenant and asked: "How many of them are left to retreat to the surrounding yards?"
"Less than two hundred people!" the second lieutenant replied quickly.
After thinking for a while, he added: "And he didn't carry heavy weapons, not even a heavy machine gun, otherwise he would definitely be able to break through the Eighth Route Army's blocking position."
"They are finished." The deputy chief of staff made a sad judgment.
Staring at the brigade commander, he analyzed: "General, without heavy weapons and just relying on a few yards, the more than a hundred imperial troops will definitely not be able to hold on for long."
"Once they are killed, the Eighth Route Army there will take advantage of the victory and continue to attack the center of the city to kill us."
"We have no other troops in the east of the city. I propose to draw two squadrons of expatriate armed forces from the reserve to set up defenses in the east of the city, and use the favorable terrain to fight street battles with the Eighth Route Army. We must persist until dawn."
The brigade leader couldn't think of any other way and ordered with a stern face: "Just do as you say."
"Didn't the second wave of reinforcements we sent to the east of the city just come back? Let's send them over. Let's set off now. We must arrange the battlefield before the garrison in the east of the city is killed."
"After the Eighth Route Army comes over, try to catch them off guard and greet them well with bullets and grenades."
The east side of the city is the direction that the brigade leader is most worried about.
After solving the problem there, the whole person became obviously much more relaxed.
But this good mood did not last long and was interrupted by a messenger.
"General, only one-third of the troops stationed in the south of the city have been withdrawn!"
"The Eighth Route Army that attacked the south of the city was too cunning. They discovered us as soon as we started to retreat, and they kept hiding several mountain cannons to no avail."
"As soon as the troops evacuated the city defenses, they used mountain cannons to blast open the city gates and rushed into Datong City, chasing us and beating us from behind."
"Many imperial troops did not die on the city walls, but died on the way to retreat."
"After the troops withdrew 500 meters into the city, in order to reduce losses, the captain ordered us to divide our troops and hide in the yards and houses next to the streets to fight with the Eighth Route Army's pursuers, slowing down their attack speed."
"At that time, there were still more than 100 troops in the army. They did not carry heavy weapons and they would not be able to hold on for long."
The brigade commander was confused. He did not expect that the battle situation in the south of the city would be as bad as in the east.
He wanted to curse and wanted to kill the commander of the garrison in the south of the city on the spot and ask him how he commanded him, but the matter was already at this point and no matter how angry he was, it would not help.
The deputy chief of staff looked at the serious order: "Deploy a squadron of armed foreigners from the reserve team to reinforce the south of the city, and send out an infantry squad from the headquarters guard squadron to fight together. We must use street fighting to drag the Eighth Route Army there until dawn."
After giving the order, the brigade commander not only did not relax, but became even more nervous.
The south of the city where I feel most at ease is like that, and the north and west of the city are definitely not much better.
After deducting the troops just sent out, there are only two squadrons of reserves left, and they are all armed expatriates.
If something goes wrong in those two directions, a maximum of one squadron from each direction will be reinforced, and the headquarters will be left without troops.
At that time, he will become a mere commander, and whether he can survive until dawn depends entirely on the hands of those armed expatriates.
If you can block the Eighth Route Army's attack with street fighting, you still have a chance to survive.
If you can't block it, you will definitely die in battle.
While waiting anxiously, what the brigade leader was most worried about happened.
Without exception, the retreat in the remaining two directions also turned into a rout.
There were only more than 200 people left in the north and west of the city who retreated to the areas under their jurisdiction to engage in street fighting.
The Eighth Route Army has many soldiers and strong firepower, but its own defensive troops have few people and weak firepower. They will definitely not be able to hold on for long.
After receiving the accurate battle report, the brigade commander did not hesitate at all and decisively ordered all remaining reserves to go to the battlefield.
After becoming the polished commander, the only thing that made him happy was that it was almost dawn.
As long as the troops persist for another hour, the troops that the military headquarters has assembled will launch an attack on the garrison.
At the same time, the aviation force will also send aircraft to reinforce itself.
If the garrison is desperate to continue to capture Datong, then I will fight with them here to buy time for the military to destroy the garrison base.
If the garrison retreats and returns to the base area, Datong City will be saved.
In the siege headquarters outside the east gate, the radio kept ringing. Every few minutes, a telegram was translated by Zhou Liang, or a battle report was delivered by messengers on fast horses.
"Report to the leader, Commander Li: The offensive troops in the west of the city have successfully entered Datong City and are chasing the retreating Japanese and puppet troops." The messenger ran in quickly, panting and reporting.
"Chief, regimental commander, Chengnan reported that they have entered Datong City." The communications staff then handed over a telegram.
"Report from the north of the city: All the offensive troops have entered the city, and there are still more than 200 Japanese and puppet city defense troops. The offensive troops have surrounded the courtyard where they retreated, and are fighting for each courtyard, nibbling and annihilating them bit by bit." A few minutes later, the communications staff officer said
Another telegram was sent.
Li Hao looked at Chief of Staff Zhou and said happily: "Chief, we have won this battle."
"Judging from the battle reports of the siege troops, there were less than 800 Japanese and puppet troops who escaped into the city. Adding in the temporarily recruited expatriate armed forces by the Japanese army, there are still at most 1,500 little Japs in Datong City."
"They have low morale, poor combat effectiveness, and poor equipment. They will definitely not be able to hold on for long."
Chief of Staff Zhou replied with satisfaction: "Comrade Li Hao, thank you for your hard work. From now on, the more than a thousand Japs left in the city will be left to me."
"I guarantee that none of them can escape."
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