Age of Conquest Reborn

Chapter 553: The End of Isotani Rensuke (2)

Coincidentally, the new attack direction chosen by Rensuke Isotani happened to be Tongshan due south of Xuzhou, and the five main brigades of the *** Division led by Tang Qiusheng, with more than 60,000 troops, were on standby at the Three Forts near Tongshan.

, Li Zongren placed the troops of the *** Division in the southeast area of ​​Xuzhou, implicitly fearing that Tang Qiusheng would compete for credit.--%.net

No matter from the direction of the Japanese attack or the terrain conditions of Xuzhou, the direction of Tongshan is not suitable as the best place to attack. The hills outside the city are undulating and the terrain is complex, which is especially unfavorable for the deployment of large troops. It is easy to defend and difficult to attack.

From the perspective of Li Zongren's entire strategic layout, the terrain conditions, from Tongshan to Sanbao, are the secondary directions of the Battle of Xuzhou.

Isotani Rensuke invested a division and a brigade in the direction of Tongshan with a total of more than 45,000 troops, and strengthened a large number of artillery and tanks. In his words, he wanted to use this heavy hammer to smash the enemy in one fell swoop.

Open the defense line of the Chinese defenders in Xuzhou. Tomorrow will be the most critical day in determining the battle of Xuzhou.

Regarding the confusion of other generals as to why the commander put the main assault force in Tongshan, which has complex terrain and is easy to defend and difficult to attack, Isotani Rensuke seemed to be in a good mood and patiently explained that precisely because Tongshan is easy to defend and difficult to attack, China

The commander would definitely not place heavy troops here, as it was also the weak point of Xuzhou's defense line. We assembled heavy troops and opened a breakthrough with a sudden attack when the battle in western Xuzhou was fiercest.

After the troops invaded Xuzhou, they immediately attacked from south to west, and with the imperial army attacking in the west, they flanked the Chinese defenders, split Xuzhou into two parts, and annihilated them. There is a strategy in the Chinese military book, which is called "surprise them and attack them unprepared"

"That's my plan.

Looking at the admiration eyes of his generals, Isotani Rensuke smiled reservedly but proudly. Immediately, the Japanese army readjusted their deployment according to the order and got busy all night long.

Li Zongren in Xuzhou City was also in a good mood at this time. Isoya Rensuke followed his own plan and walked into the trap step by step. The six divisions of the Sichuan Army that took the Japanese army's back route had already reached the line from Lizhuang to Huangkou and were working hard to build fortifications.

, Isotani Rensuke’s escape route has been cut off.

Liao Lei's troops, who were ambushing the Japanese flanks in Yanglou and Jiahe Village, had sharpened their knives, and suddenly rushed out at his own order. The Japanese flanks were oppressed, and Xuzhou's troops launched a counterattack again. Isoya Rensuke had only one way to retreat.

But what awaited them was the more than 80,000 Sichuan troops who were waiting in full formation. These Sichuan soldiers were willing to fight with their lives, and the Japanese army could not get any advantage, which was enough for the little devils.

He issued an order overnight, ordering Liao Lei's 21st Army troops to covertly approach the Japanese army and prepare for an attack. However, he did not expect that Isotani Rensuke had already set the main attack direction at Tongshan in the south of Xuzhou.

He did not invest many troops in the direction, and the main force was concentrated in the west and north directions, which were vulnerable to attack.

Tang Qiusheng, who was ready to sit on the bench, received a report from the reconnaissance force that a large number of Japanese troops were moving covertly to the Tongshan area in southern Xuzhou overnight. Looking at the terrain map of Xuzhou, he roughly guessed the intention of the Japanese commander, which must be a frontal attack.

Xuzhou was unable to take advantage and wanted to attack it unprepared.

He smiled and shook his head. He was so blessed that he didn't have to be busy. There was no reason not to eat the fat meat that was put into his mouth. There were tens of thousands of troops in the Third Fort, and the Japanese army didn't notice it at all. It just caught him off guard. He

The troops were ordered to keep strict confidentiality and not reveal any trace of their whereabouts. The reconnaissance troops, based on the principle of not alerting the Japanese troops, closely monitored all the actions of the Japanese troops and retrieved the distribution map of the Japanese troops.

The artillery unit secretly built positions overnight and entered a battle-ready state. Immediately, he reported the situation here and the deployment of the troops to the division commander. Soon, Tang Qiuli called back with only three words: "hit hard".

Nothing else was said. Tang Qiusheng understood his brother's thoughts and fully agreed with his battle plan. What he wanted was to be under Xuzhou City, which resulted in the lives of Isotani Rensuke and his First Army.

Information about the latest movements of the Japanese army was continuously transmitted to Tang Qiusheng's headquarters. While the Japanese army was working hard under the cover of night, they did not know that in the darkness, countless pairs of eyes were staring at them.

With all their actions, troops one after another left the three forts and headed towards the predetermined target.

Tang Qiusheng immediately reported the news of the Japanese army's change of deployment to Li Zongren in Xuzhou City. Li Zongren was surprised. The direction of Tongshan was indeed a place where few troops were deployed because of the dangerous terrain. He also judged that the Japanese army would not choose that place.

As the main direction of attack, he secretly cursed the Japanese for being cunning, while lamenting that the troops of the Japanese Army were really

It was good luck that he could catch hot steamed buns with cold hands. He exchanged several telegrams with Tang Qiusheng and determined the battle plan in the direction of Tongshan. The troops of the *** Division were mainly responsible for annihilating the Japanese siege troops in Xuzhou City.

The defenders, without alerting the Japanese troops outside the city, transferred the main force to the direction of Tongshan to attack the Japanese troops from both inside and outside.

The Japanese division commander Hyōno Kutaro, who was responsible for attacking the southern part of Xuzhou, was a very cautious Japanese general. His division, plus the strength of an attached brigade, moved overnight to the direction of Tongshan. After seeing the terrain conditions here,

He couldn't help but frown. There were ravines and crisscrosses, and it was impossible to deploy too many troops. Each attack could only use the strength of one regiment. Facing the convenient location of the Chinese defenders, this small amount of troops had no effect.

.

Increasing the number of troops one by one can only provide the Chinese defenders with piles of living targets. How to attack Xuzhou with the least casualties and in the shortest time has been very troublesome for Kyutaro Hyōno. He even took the risk and infiltrated in person.

Arrive at Lixu

Reconnaissance not far from Xuzhou City. A large group of staff and staff accompanied the division commander, freezing in the cold wind. In the dark night, Xuzhou City could not see any lights or tall city walls.

, silence stands like a giant.

After completing a heroic reconnaissance operation and returning to the division headquarters, Hyōno Kutaro's frown relaxed. He made the following arrangements for the attacking troops. The attached artillery units concentrated their bombardment on the defense of Xuzhou City.

The position is three kilometers wide, and the intensity of deep shelling is increased.

His intention was very obvious. He used a large amount of artillery fire to blast a passage in Xuzhou, concentrate the firepower, attack one point, and extend the artillery fire to bombard the Chinese defenders in depth. The tanks served as movable fortresses to cover the infantry attack, not far from the impact point of the bombs.

at a distance of five hundred meters.

This is a very risky strategy. It is equivalent to rushing forward to catch the explosion point of the artillery shell. If you are not careful, you will be hit by your own artillery shells. Nearly a hundred artillery fire salvos. Who can guarantee the accuracy of the impact point? Everyone

The senior officers looked at each other, shocked by the bold tactics of the division commander.

Hyōno Kyutaro was also forced to do so. Only in this way could he prevent his troops from becoming a living target for the Chinese defenders. He carefully looked at the terrain and found that as long as there were three or five heavy machine guns, the road to attack could be sealed. What kind of traditional

After the shelling, the tactics of infantry charge are not suitable for use here at all. Even if one of the defenders' machine guns survives, it will cause huge casualties to the troops.

On December 22, the battle first started in the west of Xuzhou. After the fierce bombardment by the Japanese army, tanks covered a large number of infantry and began to storm the Xuzhou city defense fortifications. For a time, artillery fire and gunshots were heard all over the periphery of Xuzhou. The Japanese army attacked all fronts regardless of casualties.

During the attack, many parts of Xuzhou's city wall were blown down by Japanese artillery fire. Subsequently, the target of the Japanese artillery attack was to suppress the artillery fire of the Chinese defenders, and fierce artillery battles also started at the same time.

The collapsed city wall formed huge gaps. These gaps became the key targets of the Japanese army's attack. Because most of the defenders' forces were transferred to the direction of Tongshan, Xuzhou's western defense line faced several crises. The Japanese army had already reached the gaps.

Below, the 88th Division of the Sichuan Army guarding here had to pile up people to block the gap.

The Japanese soldiers who had touched the victory garland left behind numerous corpses and refused to retreat. They used the only three footholds to build fortifications in a hurry. If the Japanese army succeeded, it would undoubtedly pose a great threat to the defenders' positions.

On the contrary, the direction of Tongshan, where the fighting should have been more intense, has been surprisingly calm. So far, no signs of Japanese attack have been found.

Feeling the pressure, Li Zongren almost wavered in strengthening the deployment in the direction of Tongshan last night and moved the troops there back to the frontal position. Facing such a fierce Japanese attack, he suspected that Isotani Rensuke had played a trick on him.

The Japanese army in the direction of Tongshan was a real feint attack force.

Otherwise, the Japanese army will not attack the western city defense position with all their strength. There is no such way to feint an attack. There is only one division of the Sichuan Army defending the western defense line. He is not sure whether he can withstand the next Japanese attack. He is hesitating.

, I wanted to pick up the phone several times and give orders, but a voice kept echoing in my ears.

Those were the words of Tang Qiusheng, deputy commander of the ** Division. Commander Li, according to the latest deployment of the Japanese army, Tongshan must be the main direction of the Japanese army's attack. No matter what pressure the western direction suffers, do not waver in the established battle plan and eat this Japanese army.

This means that the Battle of Xuzhou has ended early.

Li Zongren finally made up his mind, and the original plan remained unchanged, but the battle situation in the frontal position really worried him. He thought again and again, and threw in the last unit he had, which was his guard regiment. This was the elite of the Gui army. Although

It is a regiment, with a strength of more than 4,300 men, well-equipped, and composed of battle-hardened veterans and experienced officers in the Gui Army. There are not many scars on that man's body.

This guard regiment is known as the tiger of the Gui Army. Li Zongren is reluctant to use it. It is fed by the white ocean. The most rare thing is that everyone is loyal to him. Now, he has to use this troop to fight the last battle.

Play a card to stabilize the shaky western defense line.

Watching the more than 4,000 officers and soldiers of the guard regiment disappear in the smoke of artillery fire, Li Zongren kept looking at their backs. He couldn't help but feel heartache and physical pain. He was reluctant to leave for a long time. The Japanese artillery shells exploded far and near, stirring up mud and

Dust fell on him from time to time. The guards reminded Chief Li to pay attention to his safety, but he didn't hear it. He was focused on his own heart.

(To be continued)