Age of Conquest Reborn

Following the order of Major General Battelle, commander of the armored forces of the Independent Division, hundreds of tanks from the First Armored Assault Group rumbled across the several hundred meters wide Daling River along the erected pontoon bridge.

The infantry, following the tanks, completed the pontoon bridge.

As the number increased, the armored group was divided into multiple assaults, crushing the land on the north bank of the Daling River. Up to this point, Battelle, who had been in control of the overall situation, breathed a sigh of relief and said to the communications unit: "Report to the headquarters immediately, the armored assault group

The breakthrough point on the north bank of the Daling River has been occupied!"

Significant progress was made in the main breakthrough direction of Linghai. After the tank group and the infantry accompanying the attack landed on the north bank of the Daling River, at the same time, the independent division troops located in the two secondary breakthrough directions of Xinzhuangzi and Yingpan also sent calls one after another.

Report, broke through the defense line of the Ninth Army of the Kwantung Army, and the troops successfully boarded the north bank of the Daling River.

At this point, the first stage of the offensive, the planned plan to break through the Daling River defense line of the Ninth Army of the Kwantung Army, was successfully completed. Although he had known for a long time that this would be the result, Feng Jiwu still felt indescribable relief after receiving the report.

, said with emotion: "Chief of Staff, this battle to break through the Kwantung Army's defense line is probably the one with the fewest casualties among our army's previous offensive battles. The brand-new fighting style and different tactics from the past have endless magical effects!"

Colonel Zhang Hansheng, chief of staff of the Niangziguan Garrison Corps, was not thinking about this, and said: "Commander, the victory in the first stage of the offensive campaign is expected. Do you want to order the offensive troops to expand the breakthrough and follow up immediately?

"

Feng Jiwu smiled and said: "Give the order, and report the battle situation to the division commander. I thought that the division commander must be waiting for our telegram! Our headquarters also moved forward to Daling.

Go to the north bank of the river! After more than a year of confrontation with the Japs, what is the north bank of the Daling River like? This time I finally saw it, it was a worthwhile trip!"

With an order from the headquarters, hundreds of thousands of follow-up troops from the Niangziguan Garrison Corps crossed the Daling River on pontoon bridges like rolling floods from the three breakthrough points of Linghai, Xinzhuangzi, and Yingpan. At this point, the Ninth Army of the Kwantung Army

The entrenched Daling River defense line collapsed. The first assault group of armored troops attacked Linghai City from three directions. Another important city in the Liaoxi Corridor leading to Fengtian, it was quickly surrounded!

The headquarters of the Ninth Army of the Kwantung Army is not located in Linghai City, but is located in the small town of Santaizi, more than 30 kilometers away from Linghai. It is unclear what kind of mentality it is in. Lieutenant General Grang, the commander of the Ninth Army,

Set up the army headquarters here and give Linghai City to the 18th Division as the location of the headquarters.

Lieutenant General Gran's approach was criticized by all the senior officers of the Ninth Army, because it violated the glorious tradition of the Japanese Empire's generals who always command from the front, and gave people the impression of a coward. However, on the north bank of the Daling River,

After the defense system was severely hit by the independent division's ground and air firepower, leaving bricks and tiles everywhere, the senior officers of the Ninth Army Headquarters began to admire the foresight and wisdom of the commander, Lieutenant General Granny.

Although the Dalinghe frontline position was riddled with holes, Santaizi, where the army headquarters was located, was not hit by a single artillery shell or bomb, and was able to continue to function as a headquarters. However, the current barn

Lieutenant General. I wish I could be killed by the artillery shells and bombs of the independent division. This way I can save my worries. I don’t have to answer to Commander-in-Chief Yoshijiro Umezu, and I won’t become a sinner of the Japanese Empire!

After several years of painstaking efforts, the Dalinghe defense line of pure reinforced concrete structure was broken through by the independent division troops from three directions in less than two hours. Moreover, the casualties of the soldiers of the Ninth Army were more than half.

The above is still a preliminary estimate. After a real count, the Ninth Army plus the attached troops numbered more than 90,000, and I am afraid there are less than 40,000 left. Even thirty or forty kilometers away from the battlefield, the earth-trembling explosions soared into the sky.

The light of the fire made the general in the barn break out in cold sweat.

The terrible thing is that all wired communications with several divisions and brigades on the front line were interrupted. After finally making a radio call to contact them, the only order issued by Lieutenant General Barn to the frontline troops with more than half of their casualties was, "At any cost,

Even if you use the bodies of imperial soldiers to fill it, you still have to block the three breaches. Don't even worry about the independent division troops that have crossed the Daling River, just block the breaches!

Lieutenant General Granny has not yet lost his composure. If he orders the troops on the front line of Daling River to block the incoming independent division troops at this moment, his follow-up troops will inevitably flow in along the breach, instead of rushing in front of the water flow.

It is better to control the dam at the source. He is convinced that for the Niangziguan garrison of the independent division with more than 400,000 troops, there will not be too many troops crossing the Daling River.

Less than three hours after the battle began, and less than forty minutes after the defense line was breached, how many troops could the independent division troops that boarded the north bank of the Daling River have to block the breakthrough and block the independent division's follow-up troops in Daling Henan?

Then, mobilize troops to encircle and annihilate some of the independent division troops that have crossed the Daling River. If necessary, you can request Commander-in-Chief Umezu Yoshijiro to join the encirclement and annihilation of the troops on the second line of defense that have not yet had time to retreat!

It should be said that Lieutenant General Barn's judgment was quite satisfactory, and the approach he adopted was understandable. However, he ignored several key factors. First, Feng Jiwu adopted the breakthrough method of armored clusters covering the infantry, which basically destroyed the artillery.

, and lacked anti-tank weapons, for the Kwantung Army, the best combination of tanks and infantry, even a surprise attack on one or two tank brigades and three or two infantry brigades, would be fatal to the Kwantung Army, not to mention,

Several self-propelled artillery regiments of artillery commander Zheng Yong followed closely behind.

What's more, Lieutenant General Guan was thinking based on conventional thinking. He seriously underestimated the speed and quality of the engineering troops of the Niangziguan Guard Corps in erecting the pontoon bridge.

On the meter-wide Daling River, pontoon bridges were erected that were several times larger than the traditional pontoon bridge troops. Therefore, within a unit of time, the independent division's troops crossing the Daling River were more than ten times the usual number.

Feng Jiwu led the convoy of Corps headquarters and directly affiliated agencies, turned on the headlights, and unabashedly arrived at the pontoon bridge on the south bank of the Daling River. However, he had to stop. All the pontoon bridges were on the Daling River ferry in the direction of Linghai's breakthrough.

, all crowded with tanks, artillery trucks, personnel carriers and large groups of infantry, rolling towards the north bank of the river like a torrent. The scene was tense but not chaotic. Soldiers and officers with military police insignia were responsible for temporarily directing the traffic.

Responsibilities.

Feng Jiwu got off the armored command vehicle and looked at the troops who were busy crossing the river. He bared his teeth and said, "Chief of Staff, isn't it a bit unscrupulous to cross the river like this? What if at this time, a few Japanese bombers came over?

, It doesn’t take more than a few dozen aerial bombs to kill us. Look, there are not even air defense positions set up on both sides of the ferry. Isn’t this underestimating the enemy?”

Chief of Staff Zhang Hansheng said with a smile: "Commander, have you forgotten that there are still Japanese planes in the sky in the Northeast? Besides, if there are, the aviation force will not send many fighter jets!"

Feng Jiwu slapped his head and said as if he suddenly realized: "I have forgotten about this problem. By the way, Chief of Staff, how is the battle to expand the breakthrough point going?"

Zhang Hansheng replied: "At the three breaches, one tank brigade and two infantry brigades respectively attacked horizontally along both sides of the breach, dividing and surrounding the Kwantung Army troops on the Daling River line. The battle was going very smoothly.

It was fierce, and the follow-up troops continued to advance in depth to the north bank of the Daling River, but they were in a posture of not interfering with each other!"

Feng Jiwu nodded and said: "Well, eliminating the remaining enemies is not a rush job, but it cannot be delayed too long. By the way, where is Commander Battle!"

Zhang Hansheng smiled and said: "Commander Battle is following the Second Armored Assault Group and is advancing in the direction of Linghai. I am afraid he is already outside Linghai City. He said in a telegram to the Corps that now is the time to use the speed of the armored group.

When he has the advantage, Linghai City should be an empty city now, so to gain speed, he must command from the front and keep abreast of the battlefield situation at all times!"

The worry in Feng Jiwu's eyes flashed. From the bottom of his heart, he did not want Battelle to fight on the front line like an ordinary tank soldier. His position should be in the rear. If something went wrong, how would the division commander be affected?

?The independent division will also lose an excellent armored commander, which is the biggest loss!

When Feng Jiwu was hesitating whether to send a telegram asking Battelle to return to his command position, a military jeep came to an emergency stop in front of him. A major officer jumped out of the car, holding a letter in his hand.

Telegraph, quickly ran to him, stood at attention and saluted, "Report to the commander and chief of staff, the latest situation!"

"Read it!" Feng Jiwu said succinctly.

The staff officer read: "The reconnaissance force reported that they found that on both sides of the three breakthrough points of Linghai, Xinzhuangzi, and Yingpan, a large number of Japanese troops were attacking from other directions. In about thirty minutes, they will be able to exchange fire with our troops and separate and encircle them.

The remaining Japanese troops on the Daling River front line are threatening the progress of the battle!"

Feng Jiwu sneered and said: "Aren't you slow to react? The little devil is here to block the gap. Order the reconnaissance troops to indicate the targets for the artillery. Order Zheng Yong's artillery group to immediately use the most violent artillery fire to attack the three breakthrough points."

Two walls of fire were shot on both sides. I want to see how many lives the little devil has left to fill in! Order to expand the breach, divide the troops surrounding the Kwantung Army soldiers, and end the battle as soon as possible!"

On the south bank of the Daling River, at the Artillery Headquarters of the Independent Division, Zheng Yong, who received the order from Feng Jiwu, immediately became excited and laughed and said: "It's time to live again. I thought that nothing would happen without me. The little devil will ask for it."

Fight, then let these bastards be killed, staff, convey my order, the heavy artillery group will start bombarding, fire out six walls of fire, show him Feng Jiwu!"

(To be continued)