noffsinger Chapter 333 Don’t Let the Chinese Army Escape
Chapter 333 Don’t Let the Chinese Army Escape
You know, this time the 13th Division was responsible for breaking through the left and right defense lines of the Chinese army, occupying Xinye and setting up an encirclement. This arrangement was also to ensure that the 16th Division could be in a relatively complete state in the subsequent attack on the 31st Army of the Chinese government.
According to the plan, one battalion from the 116th Regiment and the 104th Regiment of the 104th Division was responsible for the defensive encirclement along the way, the th Regiment was responsible for attacking Xinye and then garrisoning in Xinye, and the th Regiment would reinforce the two battalions of the th Regiment and cooperate with the division's only artillery battalion to launch an attack towards Zaoyang in the direction of Zaoyang.
To be honest, the division commander, Lieutenant General Ogisu Rikuhei, was very unhappy with this arrangement of the 11th Army Headquarters. This was a typical case of wanting the horse to run without giving it grass to eat. Not only was his own division broken up into pieces, but he found it extremely unreasonable that there were only four infantry battalions responsible for such a long encirclement line in the west.
Although the 4th Cavalry Brigade also left a regiment of cavalry troops there to patrol and guard the gaps, the force is still not enough. How can the cavalry fight a defensive battle? In addition, they are also responsible for the safety of the logistics line. I really don’t know what the staff of the headquarters are thinking.
Since there really weren't that many troops, they just had to formulate a combat plan to defeat the Chinese government's Fifth War Zone troops. They were trying very hard to save face by coming up with such a large encirclement combat plan, even if Xinye was occupied by their own troops.
But this encirclement with gaps everywhere could not completely prevent the Chinese army from breaking out in a scattered manner. If you don’t have such a good appetite, don’t order so many dishes. Now I feel a little indigestion.
"No, Ishikawa-kun, the 65th Regiment is used to attack in the direction of Zaoyang and cannot move now. Although the 58th Regiment suffered a lot of casualties, as long as they occupy Xinye, they can rest well. There are no Chinese troops nearby that can threaten Xinye." The division commander, Lieutenant General Ogisu Rikuhei, rejected the proposal of the chief of staff, Major General Ishikawa Takuma.
The division commander, Lieutenant General Ogisu Tatsuhei, can now only pin his hopes of making merit on the troops attacking Zaoyang, with the 65th Regiment as the main body. In the previous attack operations, the performance of his 13th Division was indeed unsatisfactory. If he wants to have a remarkable achievement in this battle, he can only rely on the subsequent operations. Therefore, he must ensure the full combat effectiveness of the 65th Regiment.
Chief of Staff Major General Ishikawa Takuma nodded. He had said what he needed to say. His Excellency the Division Commander also considered the interests of the entire division, so he immediately said: "Your Excellency the Division Commander, according to the pre-war plan, after Xinye is captured, the division headquarters will move back to Changshoudian, the first line of defense of the Chinese army. For the sake of safety, can we make preparations in advance? After all, the subsequent operations will be commanded by Lieutenant General Fujie Keisuke, the commander of the 16th Division."
The division commander, Lieutenant General Ogisu Rippei, understood what the Chief of Staff, Major General Ishikawa Takuma, meant. After all, there could not be two commanders of the same level in one place. The commander of the 16th Division, Lieutenant General Fujie Keisuke, had been waiting in the back and watching the battle, and had never come over to give orders.
Similarly, after the occupation of Shinno, the command will need to be transferred, and all subsequent operations will be commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Keisuke Fujie, commander of the 16th Division, including the 65th Regiment and other troops that he will soon transfer.
He needed to lead the division headquarters back to Changshoudian and be responsible for commanding the encirclement defense line and troop supply line from Changshoudian to Xinye, which was equivalent to cooperating and assisting the 16th Division responsible for the attack.
The division commander, Lieutenant General Ogisu Rikuhei, even felt that this battle had ended ahead of schedule. At least there were no major battles for him to worry about. From then on, he just waited in Changshoudian for battle reports and the end of the battle.
"Well, Ishikawa-kun, you can let the people in the division headquarters prepare in advance. It will take over Shinno in the next two days, so it's better to prepare early. Then we can have a simple handover with Lieutenant General Fujie Keisuke in the back, and then we can go to Changshoudian to wait for news. For us, this battle is basically over." Lieutenant General Ogisu Rikuhei, commander of the 13th Division, agreed with the proposal of Chief of Staff Major General Ishikawa Takuma.
Inside the Japanese 11th Army Headquarters, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sadaichi Yoshimoto was reporting today's troop battle report to Commander Lieutenant General Yasuji Okamura.
"Mr. Yoshimoto, how long do you think it will take for the 13th Division's attack force to occupy Shinno and complete the encirclement of the Chinese government's Fifth War Zone troops?" Commander Lieutenant General Yasuji Okamura asked Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sadaichi Yoshimoto, frowning and staring at the position of Shinno on the sand table.
Now the 13th Division's attack speed is three days later than the combat plan formulated before the war. If Xinye's attack is delayed for a few more days, the Chinese government troops in Suixian and Zaoyang areas may escape.
After all, the strategic intentions of his own troops are now very clear, and it is impossible for Commander Li of the Fifth War Zone of the Chinese government to fail to analyze his own ideas and goals. He will definitely order the Chinese troops in Zaoyang and Suixian to evacuate to the north as soon as possible.
In that case, this operation of his would seem meaningless. By then, let alone completely annihilating the main force of the Fifth War Zone, it would be good enough to destroy a division-level force in the Fifth War Zone.
"Your Excellency the Commander, Lieutenant General Ogisu Rikuhei, the commander of the 13th Division, reports that his troops will be able to completely occupy Xinye by the morning of the day after tomorrow at the latest and complete the combat mission set before the war. After all, Xinye is a very critical position for China's Fifth War Zone, and the Chinese army guarding Xinye is also very tenacious in its resistance. The 13th Division needs some time." Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Sadaichi also spoke well of the 13th Division.
Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sadaichi Yoshimoto felt that the 13th Division consumed too much time in breaking through the defense line of the Chinese government's Fifth War Zone in Changshoudian. The original pre-war plan also reserved three days for the attack on Xinye. To be honest, the 13th Division did not exceed the prescribed combat time in Xinye.
Commander Lieutenant General Yasuji Okamura knew that things had come to this point and could only hope that the troops of the Fifth War Zone would escape more slowly, especially the 31st Army Group of the Chinese government in Zaoyang, which he considered to be the most important target of this battle.