Age of Conquest Reborn

Chapter 495: Tightness on the Eastern Front

The marching Japanese soldiers raised their heads to look for the source of the strange sound. My emperor is big. A cloud of artillery shells flew from the dark sky in the middle of the sky. With an unknown scream, they hit the top of their heads. "Evacuate, conceal the shelling of the Chinese army."

The shouts of the superior commanders all changed.

It's easier said than done. Zhao Yi's mortar battalion suddenly caught the Japanese army by surprise. More than a thousand shells accurately hit the Japanese army's brigade. Smoke billowed, explosions rumbled, and shrapnel roared and flew.

With such a dense marching formation and no defense, the losses suffered can be imagined.

Motoshima spit out the dirt in his mouth and got up from the ground. The captain's military cap was thrown far away by the shock wave and unfortunately fell into a mud pit. His arm was cut with a long bloody gash by shrapnel.

, he was injured, not only his body, but more importantly his heart, he realized that he was not invulnerable.

The swaying Japanese soldiers groaned in pain in a pool of blood. Those very quiet ones were already corpses. The Japanese troops advancing in multiple directions were basically covered by the sudden artillery fire. In just ten minutes, more than two thousand soldiers were killed.

The Japanese soldiers were killed and injured, and the ammunition truck that was moving along with the brigade was blown up, leaving an open space within a radius of thirty to forty meters.

Bendao was so angry that he pulled out his command sword and shouted, meaning to attack and kill the hateful Chinese soldiers alive. His regiment had never suffered such a big loss. Bendao couldn't bear it, but it had just suffered a heavy blow.

How could it be so easy for the soldiers to organize an attack formation? Just rescuing the wounded soldiers would take a while.

A dizzy Japanese soldier somehow bumped into the hysterical company commander and hit his injured arm hard. Motojima screamed in pain and vented all his anger on this poor soldier.

On the soldier's body, a cold light flashed from the command knife in his hand. Fortunately, this soldier returned to his hometown in Japan early, with nothing but ashes.

Bendao's eyes turned red, holding the command knife dripping with blood, he ran towards the soldiers who were running around like headless flies, and suddenly received a hard slap in the face, which made stars appear in his eyes. Bendao was furious, and

The guy who plucked the hair off the tiger's head really didn't have eyes. Having had enough of life, he stared at his blood-red eyes and turned his head sharply.

The command knife in his hand "clanged" and fell to the ground. No matter how mad Motoshima was, he didn't dare to have any temper. The one who beat him was the commander of the Japanese ninth division. His immediate superior looked at Motoshima's embarrassment.

There was a "hum" in the nose

He shouted and never looked at the island again. Next to the division commander was the commander of the regiment whom the island despised. This guy didn't look embarrassed at all. He had a bright military uniform and looked more like a young man than the disgraced Hongdao.

The division commander was sincerely angry that this island, which was full of muscles, had lost troops and generals before the official battle began, and was demoralized. This guy could do nothing but slash and kill. Following the division commander was

The field artillery regiment of the division heard that the outpost troops were ambushed by the Chinese artillery. Needless to say, the island regiment must have suffered a heavy loss.

The Japanese artillery went crazy, pouring artillery shells into the first position of Zhao Yi's troops. The smoke and dust were billowing. The soldiers of the mortar battalion of the brigade who retreated excitedly talked about the battle just now. It was so exciting. They looked at the little

The Japanese were bombed into the sky. It was like a door had been opened in their hearts, not to mention how bright it was. The infantrymen surrounded them with envy, asking questions.

After the artillery bombardment, the troops of a Japanese division continued to attack the outer positions of Wuqiao like a wild wave. The real fierce battle officially began. Zhao Yi's brigade withstood the uninterrupted attacks of a Japanese division and fought until dusk.

He had killed and wounded more than 8,000 Japanese troops, and he had also suffered casualties of more than 4,000, more than a quarter.

Some positions used to be battalion-scale defenses, but now they can only be turned into a company. After understanding the situation of the Wuqiao position, Liu Tiehan transferred a regiment of troops from the reserve team to strengthen Zhao Yi, and he was able to keep the position from being breached. Fortunately,

Unfortunately, with the South Canal guarding the flanks and the frontal battlefield of Wuqiao being narrow, the Japanese army could only devote one division of troops to the attack at a time. Zhao Yi's brigade gritted its teeth and held on.

The next day, the Japanese commander also discovered this problem. He transferred a brigade from the troops attacking Jingxian County, crossed the South Canal eastward, flanked the left wing of Wuqiao, and captured Wuqiao. Dezhou was completely exposed to the Japanese artillery fire.

Next, Liu Tiehan, who had been well prepared, deployed an entire brigade of troops here just to protect Wu Qiao's flanks.

A large group of Japanese troops who were the first to cross the river barely reached the east bank, but were severely attacked. The rest of the troops were still wandering on the river. This was a typical "attack halfway across the river". The Japanese troops, who had no roots at their feet, suffered heavy losses.

, the corpse drifted downstream with the current, and the Japanese soldiers, whose foreheads were bleeding, had to retreat to the west bank and gave up their plan to cross the river and flank Wuqiao.

After being stubbornly blocked, the Japanese army changed its strategy, divided its forces into multiple routes, and sought a breakthrough point, with Dezhou as the center, east of Wuqiao, the south bank of the Xinhe River in Zhangwei, to Botou, Dashan, and to Duokou on the edge of the Bohai Sea, which was hundreds of miles long.

Fierce fighting broke out on all fronts, and Liu Tiehan could only divide his troops to defend various key points.

This is the strategy of the Japanese army. They constantly divide the strength of the Chinese defenders and form a strength advantage at local attack points. Once a breakthrough is made, the entire defense line of the Chinese defenders can collapse. The Japanese tactics are very effective. East Point

The troops are at a disadvantage at any point and can only grit their teeth and hold on. As for counterattacks, they simply don't have the strength.

On the third day of fierce fighting, the entire Texas defense line was tight. The East Point Chief of Staff Zhao Yuhe was overwhelmed with calls from various places requesting for reinforcements. However, Liu Tiehan had no troops to send, so he sent all his own guard regiments.

Going to the defensive line where the fighting was tight, if he had to call for troops, he and Zhao Yuhe would be the only ones to take up the guns and go into battle. His troops had reached the limit of use.

Liu Tiehan didn't understand the Japanese army's intention. They frantically attacked the Dezhou defense line regardless of losses. For what purpose? Even after breaking through the Dezhou defense line, there was Han Fuju's Third Army with 260,000 troops around Jinan and on the south bank of the Yellow River.

The Japanese army was ready to attack the north bank of the Yellow River. It was already at the end of its offensive. What else could be done?

If they insist on going south and attack the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas, with the existing strength of the Japanese army, they will suffer serious losses in Dezhou. On the south bank of the Yellow River, if they are further exhausted by Han Fuju's troops, they will have more than enough ambition but not enough strength. But why are the Japanese army still so active?

Attack? This question has been lingering in Liu Tiehan's mind and can't get rid of it.

This is the unified strategy of Xiangyue Qingsi. He requires the three-pronged attack force starting from Datong in the west, Niangziguan in the middle, and Dezhou in the east to maintain an active offensive posture to forcefully suppress the Chinese defenders facing them, especially the Japanese army.

The division's troops prevented them from dividing their troops to reinforce the Taihang Mountains, cover the troops that entered the depths of the Taihang Mountains, and sweep away Tang Qiuli's lair. In fact, Xiangyue Qingsi had a deeper intention, but the time had not come yet, and it was not the time for a showdown.

Faced with the crazy Japanese attack, the difficulties of the Dezhou defense line increased sharply. By November 10th, the entire line was in emergency. Each brigade no longer had the troops to strengthen the defense line. In the Dezhou headquarters, Liu Tiehan watched the statistics from the staff office.

Looking at the troop casualty statistics table, I took a breath of air. Only six days after the war began, the troop casualties had already reached more than 30,000, which exceeded the strength of two brigades. The average daily casualties were more than 5,000, although the Japanese casualties were twice as many as their own.

Above, but the crux of the problem is that we can’t afford the consumption.

If he continues to fight like this, after five days, he will still have the troops to defend the hundreds of miles long Texas defense line. Liu Tiehan is not sure. Seeing his anxious look, Chief of Staff Zhao Yuhe reminded: "Commander-in-Chief, defend."

Jinan Huanghenan

Han Fuju's troops on the shore are currently not engaged in any fighting. As long as the Dezhou defense line can be defended, Jinan will be safe. Can you, in the name of the commander of the Shandong theater, order Han Fuju to mobilize 100 to 150,000 elite troops to reinforce the Dezhou defense line?"

Liu Tiehan just woke up from a dream. Yes, he was fighting against the superior Japanese army in Texas. Han Fuju's Third Army with 260,000 troops was idle there, almost hairy all over his body, and he didn't take the initiative to offer reinforcements. This

Korea

Fu Ju, are you waiting for him to come to him in person to beg him? Looking at the posture, telegrams and phone calls are of no use, so let's take a trip. He handed over the command of the army to Zhao Yuhe, taking a platoon of guards with him.

, drove to Jinan.

Liu Tiehan, who was thinking about the war in Texas, was so anxious that he drove all night without making any stops along the way. At dawn, he arrived at Yucheng. As cars passed through the city, Liu Tiehan felt that the atmosphere was not quite right. The people everywhere were dragging their families.

He took his mouth and fled towards Jinan. He was very surprised. Even if Dezhou fought hard, it would not make people abandon their homes and flee for their lives?

He grabbed a middle-aged man. He looked at his military uniform and didn't dare to say anything. He just said that the Japanese had already attacked. All the soldiers of the Central Army and Han Fuju had fled. We also ran away. The Japanese were killing people.

Don't blink and stay here to die. Sir, you should run away too.

After saying that, he didn't bother to say hello and hurriedly merged into the flow of people fleeing. Liu Tiehan's heart sank and he had a bad feeling. There is no smoke without smoke. "Quick, get to Jinan as quickly as possible."

After entering Jinan City, I felt that the city was filled with an atmosphere of panic. When I arrived at the Shandong Provincial Government Building, there was not even a sentry at the door. Once inside, it was deserted, with every door wide open and everywhere.

Waste paper was flying in the cold wind coming in through the window.

Han Fuju's office was even more messy. The tables, chairs and benches were all staggered. There were broken vases and randomly discarded documents, as if they had been looted by rout soldiers. The room was in a mess. A large photo of Chairman Chiang on the wall was tilted at one corner and hanging on the wall.

superior.

Liu Tiehan completely understood why Han Fuju ran away, why he didn't see a single soldier of Han Fuju when he crossed the Yellow River ferry, and why the people in Yucheng were rushing to escape. Everything was understood. He left behind the East Pointer who fought the bloody battle with the Japanese army in Dezhou.

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers fled, leaving countless civilians in Shandong behind.

(To be continued)