noffsinger Chapter 873 The Japs Start to Counterattack
Chapter 873 The Japs Start to Counterattack
Komoda Yasuichi was somewhat reluctant to send troops to counterattack immediately. After all, they had just retreated here in the morning, and the Japanese were still frightened and their morale was very low.
If we want to launch a counterattack, we must at least wait until the Japanese have eaten and drunk enough and their morale has been boosted.
He asked, "Where is the 51st Division?"
The communications officer stood up and replied, "Your Excellency, at the 51st Division's marching speed, we should arrive here around noon today!"
Komoda Yasuichi glanced at his watch, considered for a moment, and said, "It's already 10 a.m., and there are only two hours until noon. I think we should wait for the 51st Division to arrive. I'll discuss this with Division Commander Kanichiro Ueno before making a decision."
"Everyone, return to your respective units first. Take good care of your own men. Make sure the warriors are well fed and watered to boost morale!"
The Japanese officers stood up and said, "Hello!"
After the battle in the morning, the flight formations of both sides suffered casualties and losses, but neither of them gave up. Instead, they returned to the airport, refueled and replenished their ammunition, and then took off and flew towards the other side's airport. They would not give up until a victory was determined and the right to accuse was seized.
From 8 a.m. to 12 noon, the two sides fought three more battles in the sky. Each time, both sides sent out more than a dozen fighter jets. Some fighter jets were hit hard and exploded in the air, while others were hit hard and fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.
At noon, just after Koichi Komoda had finished his lunch, the staff officer came over with a telegram to report.
"Your Excellency, Division Commander, something has happened. Yesterday evening, all units of the 51st Division were bombed by the Chinese, causing heavy losses. Not only did they suffer over a thousand casualties, but a large amount of heavy firepower, food, ammunition, and other military supplies were destroyed and burned. They have lost their offensive capability in a short period of time!"
"We just sent a telegram asking why they arrived on time, and they told us the truth, saying that we should launch the attack as planned, and they would come to replace us after the supplies arrived."
"Clang!" Komoda Yasuichi dropped the teacup in his hand to the ground. He then stood up angrily and yelled, "Baka Yalu!"
"Go get the Chief of Staff!"
"Hayi!"
When Tadamichi Sulin arrived, Komoda Yasushi handed him a telegram: "Look for yourself, the 51st Division was bombed by the Chinese yesterday evening. They lost all their ammunition, food, and other supplies. They will be unable to cooperate with us in combat for at least a few days."
Sulin Zhongdao took the telegram and read it, his face full of worry, and then said seriously: "Your Excellency, it seems that we can only rely on ourselves."
Upon hearing this, Komoda Yasuichi glanced at his watch and immediately said, "Order the 137th Infantry Regiment to launch a counterattack at 2:30 PM, launching attacks from Phoenix Mountain and the Balcony. Order the 161st Infantry Regiment to launch attacks from Wutong Mountain and Yinhu Mountain."
"Order the 104th Field Artillery Regiment to provide artillery support!"
Sulin Zhongdao stood at attention and bowed his head, saying, "Ha Yi!"
The armed soldiers of the merchant corps who had just captured several hilltops were stepping up the construction of defensive fortifications, and were busy on every hilltop.
Since the arrival of the Japanese, although they sent troops to occupy these hills, they did not build strong fortifications, which also reduced many casualties among the armed soldiers of the Merchant Corps during the attack.
But precisely because there was nothing on these mountains, the armed soldiers of the merchant corps had to build fortifications from scratch.
At noon, Zhang Yunhe rushed over from the island and inspected the defensive fortifications that the soldiers had repaired on Phoenix Mountain. The fortifications had not been completed yet, but the progress was fast.
On a battlefield, Zhang Yunhe was eating dry rations with the soldiers when the accompanying staff officer came over and reported: "Sir, the intelligence department reports that the two infantry regiments of the 104th Division are gathering after lunch and seem to be planning a counterattack!"
Zhang Yunhe stood up after hearing this and said to Yang Xiong, "It seems we can't wait until the fortifications are completed. Tell everyone on the hilltops to quickly repair the fortifications in key locations, especially the anti-artillery holes!"
"We've pinned down the enemy's air power, but they still have an artillery regiment. I'll order the artillery regiment to suppress the enemy. Whether you can withstand the enemy's frenzied counterattack depends on your resolve and the strength of your anti-artillery holes and fortifications!"
Yang Xiong stood at attention and said, "Please rest assured, sir. We will hold our ground until our death. The Japanese won't be able to attack unless we are all dead!"
Zhang Yunhe patted Yang Xiong on the shoulder and said, "Do your best. If it doesn't work, retreat to the south of the river."
"As long as there are no Japanese planes bombing us, I have the confidence to hold on!" Yang Xiong said, and then he asked another question: "Sir, we have captured more than 1000 Japanese prisoners from the 108th Infantry Regiment of the 104th Division. Now we have to leave at least one company of troops to guard them."
"Now that the Japanese are preparing to counterattack, do you think we should escort all these Japanese prisoners to the rear to relieve us of some of the burden and pressure?"
Zhang Yunhe thought for a moment and said, "No need to escort them to the rear. We are short of food now. We don't even have enough to eat ourselves. We don't have enough food to feed these prisoners. Let's deal with them all and do it more cleanly!"
"Yes, sir!"
At two o'clock in the afternoon, the two battalions of the Japanese 137th Regiment arrived at the foot of Fenghuang Mountain and Yangtai Mountain respectively, and the two battalions of the 161st Regiment arrived at the foot of Wutong Mountain and Yinhu Mountain respectively.
They used engineering shovels to dig offensive trenches at the foot of the mountain as quickly as possible, built the most basic defensive positions and anti-artillery holes, and set up observation posts and forward command posts.
Yang Xiong, observing the enemy's movements at the foot of the mountain through a telescope, said, "They'll probably launch an attack within half an hour at the latest. Notify the defending troops on each hilltop to rest quickly, conserve their energy, and recharge!"
"Yes!" The operations staff stood at attention and saluted.
The chief of staff standing nearby said, "I'm afraid the Japs will launch a round of artillery fire first. If we want to suppress the Japs' artillery fire, we can only find a way to transport the artillery to the mountain."
Yang Xiong shook his head: "This is basically impossible. A cannon weighs thousands of pounds, and the mountain road is uneven. How can it be transported up? The artillery fire can only be sustained."
An officer nearby couldn't help but ask, "If we move our artillery to the foot of the hill behind us, won't we be able to hit the enemy's artillery positions?"
The Chief of Staff shook his head: "How can we hit it if the range is insufficient?"
At 2:30, the Japs really began to cover the armed defense positions of the Merchant Corps on several hills with artillery fire. The officers and soldiers could only hide in the anti-artillery holes and endure the Japs' ruthless artillery attacks.
The main reason was that time was too short. If there was enough time, they could have used the mountain to dig tunnels. These tunnels could not only avoid artillery fire, but also hide troops and even heavy firepower.