noffsinger Chapter 302 Giving up
Chapter 302 Giving up
"Do you think the new 22nd Army can eliminate the Japanese troops in the encirclement this time?" Commander He asked Senior Counsellor Wang with great interest. He also wanted to see Senior Counsellor Wang's opinion on the current battlefield situation.
Wang Gaocan looked at Chief He who looked so happy, and he hesitated to speak. Chief He saw his expression and understood what he was saying, so he encouraged him and said, "It's okay, we're just chatting, just talk about anything."
After hearing what Chief He said, Senior Counselor Wang adjusted his mood and said, "Commander He, let me tell you my personal opinion. Judging from the current situation, we have a great advantage, but we are given too little time. Although the troops of the new 100th Division have consumed some of the Japanese troops as much as possible before, judging from the remaining Japanese troops, if the Japanese army holds on, it will be difficult for the troops of the new nd Army to end the battle within one day. The Japanese army has now taken a defensive posture, which shows that they are aware of their situation. I think the th Division of the Japanese army will attack Zengcheng with all its strength tomorrow, and then quickly reinforce Sanshui from Yangcheng. Our pre-war combat plan is to transport all the materials in Yangcheng out. Now that this goal has been achieved, we should try our best to avoid major losses to the troops in the future, otherwise it will add a bad side to the successful completion of this mission."
After listening to Senior Counsellor Wang's analysis, Chief He felt much calmer. He also knew that this operation was very difficult, and he was just looking forward to the outcome of the battle with the attitude of "just in case it works". However, Senior Counsellor Wang's last words just now touched Chief He's heart.
The purpose of this operation is to transport supplies from Yangcheng. As long as the supplies are transported out, we will be successful. Moreover, the 12th Army is now retreating to Huaxian County. Although they have suffered heavy losses, the troops are still in place, which is considered a success.
He led such a small force and still completed the combat mission under the attack of three Japanese divisions, and the losses of the troops were not that great. It can be said that he completed the combat mission set by the Military Commission very well. Senior Counsellor Wang also clearly advised him not to get carried away. Maintaining such results is the best outcome.
"Well, you are right. Tell Huang Jinxian that if we can fight, then fight. If we can't, then the entire army should retreat westward. The combat missions have been completed. Let them not have any burdens. Also, let everyone in the headquarters be prepared. After dawn, the theater headquarters will retreat westward via Sanshui. This way, it will be easy for the New 22nd Army to retreat." Commander He also made a decision in his heart, that is, to stop while he is ahead. The current results of the battle have made him very satisfied, and there is no need to fight the Japanese army to the death here.
Wang Gaocan was very happy to see that Commander He had also let it go, so he immediately sent a telegram to the new 22nd Army and arranged for the withdrawal of the theater command.
"Brother Zhao, it seems that Commander He is still very calm. He did not give us a death order to attack the Japanese troops in the encirclement. Now we are relieved. From now on, we will have considerable freedom on the battlefield." Commander Huang felt relieved when he looked at the telegram sent by Commander He.
"Yes, Commander, I think we should surround the Japanese army, and after the theater headquarters has safely retreated, the entire army can retreat westward." Chief of Staff Zhao Dong expressed his thoughts with a relaxed look on his face.
In this battle, the new 22nd Army has accomplished all the tasks assigned by the war zone very well, and even exceeded the tasks. Now there is no need to take risks to eliminate the Japanese troops in the encirclement, mainly because time is too tight.
After hearing what Chief of Staff Zhao Dong said, Commander Huang nodded in agreement and said, "Well, the current casualties of the troops are not bad. After the theater headquarters has retreated, order the new 210th and 211th Divisions to withdraw to Sanshui, and the new 100th Division will be responsible for the rear. The entire army will withdraw to the western Guangdong area as planned to rest and wait. As for the Japanese troops in the encirclement, let Zhang Wenwu take care of it. Just try to deter them."
When it was eight o'clock in the morning, the troops of the 18th Division attacking Zengcheng changed their previous slow pace and launched a full-scale fierce attack on Zengcheng. Lieutenant General Hisana Makoto Nagana, commander of the 18th Division, also came to the front line in person to command the troops' offensive operations.
The command telegram from the Japanese 21st Army Headquarters was transmitted to the 18th Division at four o'clock in the morning. At that time, Lieutenant General Kuna Seiichi was sleeping soundly in his division headquarters. But when the communications staff on duty woke him up and read the latest command telegram from the headquarters, the shock in Lieutenant General Kuna Seiichi's heart was simply beyond words.
Lieutenant General Kuna Seiichi couldn't believe that the Chinese army had actually surrounded the flanking combat force led by Lieutenant General Anriyoshi, commander of the 5th Division, on the west bank of the Pearl River. You have to know that the flanking combat force consisted of more than one infantry regiment and a field artillery regiment, and the size of this force was not small.
How did the Chinese army do it? Lieutenant General Kuna Seiichi knew that if the situation was not critical, Lieutenant General Anriyoshi, the commander of the Fifth Division, would not have sent such a disguised telegram requesting reinforcements. How could the Chinese government's new 22nd Army be so fierce? Did they really think they could completely wipe out the troops of the Fifth Division in such a short time? Or did the Chinese army secretly dispatch a large number of reinforcements?
That shouldn't be the case. If the Chinese government had dispatched a large number of reinforcements, it would be impossible for the intelligence department to not have received any news.
After receiving the latest combat order from the headquarters, Lieutenant General Kuna Seiichi lost all desire to sleep. He first ordered the attacking troops in the front to prepare for a full-scale attack, and then sent a telegram to the troops that were making a flanking attack on Huaxian, asking them to pay attention to their surroundings to prevent the Chinese army from surrounding their flanking troops. What if the Chinese army really sent a large number of reinforcements? They had to be on guard against this.
After arranging these things, Lieutenant General Kuna Seiichi also rushed to the front line of Zengcheng with all the troops of the division headquarters. He needed to capture Zengcheng as soon as possible, and then lead the troops to Sanshui to reinforce the troops of the Fifth Division.
Lieutenant General Kuna Seiichi did not take the 12th Chinese Army defending Zengcheng seriously at all. He was confident that he could completely occupy Zengcheng within one day, and defeat the troops of the new 22nd Army of the Chinese government within two days at most. By then, the greatest achievement of this battle would go to the 18th Division.
There is no guard soldier left in Zengcheng now. The troops of the 12th Army Group had completely withdrawn from all positions last night. In terms of the speed of retreat, the troops of the 12th Army Group were very efficient. Now the vanguard of the troops evacuated from Zengcheng has reached Huaxian County.
On that day, the 18th Division's fierce artillery fire covered Zengcheng's outer positions. When the Japanese attacking infantry rushed to the defensive positions, they found that the Chinese troops who had been defending the positions desperately had disappeared without a trace at some point.
When Lieutenant General Kuna Seiichi learned that the Chinese troops guarding Zengcheng had all evacuated, he ordered his troops to march directly to Yangcheng. After occupying Yangcheng, they would attack towards Sanshui. Now Lieutenant General Kuna Seiichi was more confident that he could reinforce the Fifth Division's flanking troops as soon as possible.
The news of the Japanese occupation of Zengcheng was quickly reported by intelligence personnel lurking in the city. Commander He, who was on the retreat, also received the information from the intelligence department at the first opportunity.
The fall of Zengcheng had always been within Commander He's expectations. His mission this time had been successfully and exceeded expectations. Now this information had no effect on Commander He's mood at all.
"Tell the New 22nd Army that the 18th Division of the Japanese Army has occupied Zengcheng and is expected to enter Yangcheng at noon. Ask their blocking troops in the north of the South China Sea to be on high alert. Also, speed up the retreat so that the New 22nd Army will have less time to block the Japanese Army. They have worked hard in this battle. Tell Huang Jinxian that after the troops have withdrawn to western Guangdong, I will report his achievement to the highest levels of the government." Commander He also gave orders to Senior Counsellor Wang in high spirits.
He now does have the capital to be proud of. In the Battle of Yangcheng, he only used 100,000 men to fight back and forth with three divisions of the Japanese army. To be modest, this could be ranked among the top three in all the previous battles. In fact, Commander He believed that it could definitely be ranked first. In all other battles, his side had concentrated several or even ten times the force to fight against the Japanese army.
If I had more troops, I would have been able to easily defeat the Japanese flanking force on the west bank of the Pearl River. Unfortunately, it was all because of that Deputy Chief of General Staff Bai that held me back. I will remember this grudge first, and I will have plenty of opportunities to punish him.
The new 210th Division of the New 211nd Army was in the defensive position north of the South China Sea. Division Commander Cai also received a telegram forwarded by the military headquarters. The Japanese army should arrive here by the afternoon or evening at the earliest. His task was to hold on here until tomorrow morning, and then wait for the retreat order from the military headquarters to arrive, and then retreat to Sanshui with the new th Division from the South China Sea.
On the side of the new 100th Division, Zhang Wenwu was watching Ouyang Heng and the staff carefully drawing the defensive positions of the Japanese army's flanking forces that had just been reconnaissanceed and summarized. It must be said that although this defensive position of the Japanese army was built temporarily, it was still quite complete.
"Division Commander, the Japanese defensive position is difficult to attack. It is unlikely that we can wipe out this Japanese army within one day. It seems that we can only rely on siege." Ouyang Heng frowned, threw the pencil in his hand on the table and said with a little regret.
Zhang Wenwu looked at the map of the Japanese defense formation with a serious face. He was very unwilling in his heart. He had finally surrounded the Japanese army, but he did not have enough time to slowly eliminate this Japanese army. It was such a pity.
"Brother Ouyang, let's do this. If we attack during the day, the casualties of our troops will be too great. We have worked so hard to train these soldiers into veterans, and we can't waste them all here. The Japanese army is right at our doorstep, and it would be uncomfortable not to take a bite. I suggest that we organize the suicide squad and officers and soldiers with good marksmanship, and harass the Japanese army by firing hidden guns around their positions. This way, our losses will not be too great, and we can also make the Japanese army exhausted. At least, this Japanese army will not dare to actively pursue us when we retreat." Zhang Wenwu thought about it for a long time, and finally he gave up the risky attack.