noffsinger Chapter 310 The End
Chapter 310 The End
Colonel Tsunahiko Watanabe, the commander of the regiment, understood that the Fifth Division's flanking operation had basically failed. Before the war, the 21st Army Headquarters had given them the task of quickly occupying Sanshui and cutting off the route for the Chinese government's new 22nd Army to retreat westwards.
Now, it is very likely that all the troops of the New 22nd Army of the Chinese government have withdrawn westward from Sanshui. This combat plan can be said to be a complete failure. If the flanking troops of the Fifth Division cannot occupy Sanshui before other troops, then the Fifth Division will become the laughing stock of the entire expeditionary army.
The regiment commander, Colonel Tsunahiko Watanabe, also hurriedly ordered the officers and soldiers of the two battalions of the 21st Regiment who had just arrived to quickly attack in the direction of Sanshui City, prepare for defense behind Sanshui City, and wait for the arrival of the troops from the division headquarters.
Lieutenant General Anriyoshi, commander of the Fifth Division, now felt fortunate in his heart that it was his Fifth Division's troops that came first to join him. In this way, he could tell others that it was his troops who successfully repelled the attack of the New 22nd Army of the Chinese Government after a fierce battle, and successfully forced the New 22nd Army of the Chinese Government to retreat.
If the troops of the 18th Division were to meet up first, he would really lose face. Not to mention the issue of the post-war summary of the expeditionary force, the fact that he would have to bow to and thank Lieutenant General Nagakuni Seiichi for helping him out after meeting the commander of the 18th Division would make it difficult for him to be happy.
After knowing that reinforcements from the two battalions of the 21st Regiment had arrived, the officers and soldiers of the entire 5th Division's flanking force relaxed. The past two days had exhausted them, and many soldiers fell asleep right on the battlefield after learning the news of the reinforcements' arrival. Once people relax their highly tense nerves, they will immediately feel very sleepy.
When the two battalions responsible for the attack on Sanshui City reported that they had occupied Sanshui City, the division commander, Lieutenant General Anriyoshi, quickly rushed to Sanshui City with the division headquarters and the escort squadron. He knew that the troops of the New 22nd Army of the Chinese government had already withdrawn completely, and the reinforcements coming from other directions would soon reach Sanshui City. He must arrive in Sanshui City before they arrived and meet them as a host to thank them for their reinforcements. This would also show everyone that Sanshui City was taken by the Fifth Division alone, and he had been waiting for them here for a long time.
Two hours after the division commander, Lieutenant General Anriyoshi, arrived at Sanshui City, the vanguard troops of the 55th Regiment of the 18th Division arrived at the edge of Sanshui City. This surprised the division commander, Lieutenant General Anriyoshi. He did not expect that the troops of the 18th Division would come so quickly. Fortunately, his troops had occupied Sanshui City in advance. If the troops of the 18th Division had occupied Sanshui City first, then his Fifth Division would really have been at the bottom of the list.
As for the current battle record, the division commander, Lieutenant General Anriyoshi, estimated in his mind that it should be similar to the 104th Division, which had also done nothing. Among the three divisions of the 104st Army in the Battle of Yangcheng, the th Division must be ranked first. As for the th Division and his own th Division, they would be tied for second.
When Colonel Shiro Yamazaki, commander of the 55th Regiment of the 18th Division, learned that the troops of the 5th Division had occupied Sanshui Castle, he secretly felt it was a pity. He was just a little bit short of adding another merit to the 18th Division in this battle.
Lieutenant General Andriyoshi, commander of the 5th Division, also met with Colonel Shiro Yamazaki, commander of the 55th Regiment, in the division headquarters which had just been set up in Sanshui City. Lieutenant General Andriyoshi also politely expressed his gratitude for the timely reinforcement of the 18th Division. Lieutenant General Andriyoshi still had to say words of thanks on this occasion, of course, these thanks were limited to verbal utterances.
The commander of the 55th Regiment, Colonel Shiro Yamazaki, was also polite and tactful. He said that a lieutenant general division commander was just being polite to him and was just going through the motions, and he must not take it seriously. At the same time, Colonel Shiro Yamazaki also observed that although the commander of the 5th Division, Lieutenant General Anriyoshi, was trying his best to hide his fatigue, his sunken eye sockets and big dark circles made him realize what kind of situation the 5th Division had been forced into by the Chinese government's new 22nd Army.
When the news of the occupation of Sanshui reached the headquarters of the 21st Army, the commander, Lieutenant General Gu Zhuangkanlang, leaned back in his office chair and breathed a sigh of relief. The Battle of Yangcheng was finally over, and he had completed the initial combat plan formulated before the war with his three divisions of troops. As for the task of destroying the New 22nd Army of the Chinese government, that was added later and could not be counted. If new tasks were to be added, more troops would have to be given to him. After all, the previous troop configuration only required the occupation of Yangcheng and cutting off the Guangdong-Hankou Railway Line of the Chinese government.
"Commander, congratulations. Under your leadership and command, we have completed the tasks set by the Expeditionary Force and the Imperial Headquarters before the war. The Expeditionary Force and the Imperial Headquarters will definitely commend you." Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Tanaka Hisaichi also congratulated the commander, Lieutenant General Furusho Kan'ō, with a relaxed look on his face.
Commander Lieutenant General Kanro Furushou said to Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Hisaichi Tanaka with a relaxed look: "Tanaka-kun, I don't dare to think about the commendation. I don't have any obsession with this commendation. It won't be long before I retire. I am very lucky to be able to make a small contribution to the Empire of Japan before retirement. You are still young, and the future world belongs to you."
Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Hisaichi Tanaka understood what Commander Lieutenant General Kanro Furusho meant. On the surface, the Battle of Yangcheng did complete the plans and tasks formulated before the war, but the casualties of the troops exceeded everyone's expectations.
The 104nd Brigade of the 132th Division was basically reduced to a hollow shell, the st Regiment of the th Division was almost gone, the th Regiment also lost more than half of its men, the th Field Artillery Regiment was basically wiped out, and the nd Regiment also lost more than half of its men. You know, all these troops were lost in the fighting on the west bank of the Pearl River. If you think about it this way, the Chinese government's new nd Army is quite terrifying.
On the day when Sanshui City was occupied by the Japanese army, the 21st Army of the Japanese Army reported to the Expeditionary Army and the headquarters that the Yangcheng operation had ended, and the pre-war tasks of occupying Yangcheng and cutting off the China-Guangzhou-Hankou Railway had been completed. This made the Expeditionary Army and the headquarters a little happy. As for the fact that the New 22nd Army failed to destroy the Chinese government, the Expeditionary Army and the headquarters tacitly did not mention this matter.