Age of Conquest Reborn

Chapter 555: The End of Isotani Rensuke (4)

The tenacious fighting spirit and resistance of the surrounded Japanese soldiers exceeded the imagination of the Gui Army soldiers, especially the Japanese group combat tactics. When the siege reached a point, they were often killed by fire from behind or from the flanks. They were very uncomfortable.

I was used to this style of fighting, but I had never seen anything like this. I was very uncomfortable with it, and suffered a lot of losses. For a while, I was helpless against the Japanese troops who were stubbornly resisting after being surrounded.

The troops of the ** Division had fought many battles with the Japanese army, especially several main brigades, which fought from Northeast China to North China. They had long understood the Japanese army's combat routines clearly. When they saw the Japanese soldiers adopt the tactics they usually used after being surrounded,

Team cooperation, fire support, and individual fighting tactics were used again, and there was no rush to attack each small firepower point.

Instead, they used small groups against small groups, with light artillery dispersed among various attacking units. After approaching a Japanese entrenched position, they did not fire or shout. A few mortars were mounted on the racks, and a round of shells was fired at the Japanese entrenched positions.

Blow up the large area, then go up and clear out the remaining enemies.

When encountering a place where mortars cannot attack, heavy artillery support was immediately called, and the temporary firepower points guarded by the Japanese troops were cleared one by one. Although this method of attack was slower, it could minimize the casualties of the troops, and

The tactics used were to compress from the periphery to the center, gradually driving the Japanese troops to the central area of ​​Tongshan.

The dazzling movements of the ** division troops, clear point by point clearing, and skillful coordination of infantry and artillery tactics, left the commander and soldiers of the Gui Army dumbfounded and amazed. The division commander of the Gui Army had a very lively mind. This was a brand new type of warfare.

Who would be a fool if he didn't learn the law? He had an idea and dispersed the troops to the ** division troops at the platoon level and followed them to fight.

However, it is useless to look at it. If you have not learned the tactics, it is useless if you cannot keep up with the equipment. The domestic army is equipped with as many artillery of various calibers as the ** division. The walkie-talkies are equipped to the company level and can be called directly.

Regimental artillery support.

The battle lasted from day to night. During this period, Isotani Rensuke sent several rescue troops, but they were all beaten back by the blocking troops arranged by Tang Qiusheng. In addition, the troops of the Sichuan Army and the Gui Army in front of Xuzhou continued to launch attacks.

The small-scale counterattack pinned Isotani Rensuke's main force on the battlefield outside the west gate of Xuzhou, preventing him from sending more troops.

A night of fierce fighting, the artillery fire from the direction of Tongshan continued all night, and the sound of gunfire was solid and intermittent. The Japanese army organized several large-scale breakouts, intending to break through the siege of the ** squadron and move closer to the main force. The five artillery regiments of the ** division

Artillery fire exploded all the areas where the Japanese army tried to break through, turning them into a sea of ​​fire. The battle lasted until dawn, and the remaining more than 20,000 Japanese troops were finally compressed into a small area of ​​only a few kilometers around Tongshan. The atmosphere of despair was inevitable among the Japanese soldiers.

spread.

Whether it was the more than 20,000 Japanese troops who were surrounded, or the besieging Japanese divisions and Gui Army troops, they all knew clearly the fate facing the remaining Japanese troops. The desperate Japanese soldiers continued to make suicidal charges, and fell one by one in the fire.

In the net, all efforts were a desperate struggle. Tang Qiusheng saw that the battle situation was developing according to the original plan, so he ordered the infantry to stop the attack and the artillery to conduct a covering bombardment on the Japanese army.

The artillery fire like a volcanic eruption flooded the target area. As far as the eye could see, only the rising black smoke and constant flashes of light were seen. Forty minutes later, the artillery fire stopped and the smoke dissipated. Tongshan had been completely changed by the artillery fire.

topography and landforms, waist

Thick trees were blown into sawdust, and hard rocks were turned into fine stones. There were no corpses of Japanese soldiers, only deformed helmets and occasional pools of dark red blood, proving that there were once 20,000 soldiers.

Many Japanese soldiers are entrenched here.

The soldiers were not even interested in cleaning the battlefield. This was not the first time they had experienced this situation. The soldiers and officers of the Gui Army were different. In just forty minutes, more than 20,000 Japanese soldiers were wiped out, and not even the bones could be found.

They were so shocked that they couldn't open their mouths from ear to ear. They all stood there blankly. They could only describe their feelings as shocked.

The battle in the direction of Tongshan ended, and Tang Qiusheng sent a brief telegram to Li Zongren: "Commander Li Xunjian, the battle in Tongshan has ended. Encircled by the Gui Army and the ** Division troops, after a night of fierce fighting, the Japanese army raided our Xuzhou troops.

More than 45,000 people have been wiped out."

Li Zongren, who received the telegram, shouted: "Okay". The noise was so loud that all the officers in the headquarters were frightened. Li Zongren's face glowed red, and he destroyed Isoya Rensuke's unit, which was equivalent to

After breaking both of his legs, it was time to deliver the final blow.

He immediately ordered the troops belonging to Liao Lei's 21st Group Army to immediately encircle the more than 50,000 Japanese troops outside the west gate of Xuzhou. The order was issued. The main force of the Gui Army, which had listened to the sound of gunfire all day and night, was already simmering with anger.

They rushed out from both wings of the Japanese army like a tsunami. At the same time, at the Lizhuang and Huangkou lines, the troops of the six Sichuan Army divisions responsible for cutting off the Japanese army's retreat also changed their original deployment and rushed over from behind the Japanese army.

Li Zongren had the courage to do this. In the Battle of Tongshan, he wiped out nearly one-half of the Japanese army. The troops in Isoya Rensuke's hands were only more than 50,000 people. His own troops were more than four times the Japanese army. The Japanese army still had

Wanting to return to Zhengzhou, but unable to even get out of Xuzhou, Tang Qiusheng commanded his troops to attack the west of Xuzhou from the direction of Tongshan.

On the afternoon of December 23, more than 200,000 Japanese troops on the battlefield in Xuzhou surrounded them from three directions, tightly surrounding Isotani Rensuke's remaining 50,000 troops at the foot of Xuzhou City.

Under the command of Isotani Rensuke, the Japanese army fought desperately to break through the encirclement in the direction of Zhengzhou. When they rushed to Xiao County, they could no longer break out.

The remaining troops retreated into Xiao County and waited for reinforcements.

When he learned that in the direction of Xuzhou, the First Army, which he had high hopes for, was surrounded by superior Chinese troops and suffered heavy losses. It was surrounded in Xiao County and had no hope of breaking out. Xiangyue Qingsi was shocked. He could not lose the First Army.

Since then, not only have they placed high hopes on themselves, but also His Majesty the Emperor and the base camp have placed high hopes on them. They hope that through a series of battles by the First Army, they can break the deadlock on the China battlefield and seek a breakthrough. At the very least, it will be a great support for the Songhu battlefield.

However, the current situation is completely opposite. Not only did Isotani Rensuke fail to break the deadlock, he fell into the trap of the commander of China. The Ni Bodhisattva was unable to save himself when crossing the river. The eyes of Kogetsu Kiyoshi were on fire, and the First Army was finished.

, he himself would be doomed, and even His Royal Highness the Manned Prince could not protect himself.

He issued several strict orders in succession, ordering the Japanese troops in the direction of Cangzhou to break through the blockade of the Chinese army at any cost, go south to Xuzhou, and rescue Isotani Rensuke's First Army. In order to unify the command of the 300,000 Japanese troops in Cangzhou, he implored Zai

His Royal Highness Prince Ren was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Cangzhou Front Army.

Zai Ren, who received Xiang Yue Qingsi's request telegram, was unwilling to take a trip into this muddy water. There was no mobile force that could be mobilized in the entire North China. The existing troops were difficult to break the deadlock. Last time in Texas, the troops had already been mobilized.

The head was bruised and bleeding, this

He would definitely not be happy with it. He couldn't stand Xiangyue Qingsi sending several telegrams with sincere words, almost crying. If he could get away, he would kneel in front of Zai Ren. There was no other way, Zai Ren could only feel unhappy.

He went to Cangzhou to take up the post of commander.

Xiao County, a small courtyard in the countryside, is where the headquarters of the Japanese First Army is located. At this time, the headquarters is filled with gloom and gloom. In just one night, Isotani Rensuke suddenly became much older.

, full of ambition, it has only taken more than ten days to be surrounded by an isolated city and unable to escape.

Isotani Rensuke sat silently on his chair and went through all the battle situations in his mind. He now fully understood that the ** Division troops' desperate blockade in Kaifeng and Shangqiu was to buy time for the Chinese army to mobilize and block the blockade.

He only considered that Tang Qiuli's troops did not have any extra troops to stop him from going south. He did not expect that there were troops from other parts of China that could be transferred to Xuzhou, and they had a strength of more than 200,000.

That Li Zongren was a local warlord in Guangxi, China. Why did he take part in the war against the empire so actively? Before the war, the intelligence provided by the intelligence department of the base camp said that all the local warlords in China were not of the same mind as their central government.

With the sole purpose of preserving their strength, the Imperial Army can easily defeat them all.

Now it seems that the situation is not like this. If the First Army did not choose to march eastward to attack Xuzhou in accordance with the orders of His Majesty the Emperor and the headquarters, but instead marched westward to attack Xi'an, echoing the Yamaguchi troops in Shanxi, if I had not thought

If we had created miracles and established immortal achievements, we would not be in the current situation.

However, there were no ifs, everything happened, and he tried his best to get into a big trap. He could not scold the emperor and the base camp for being idiots and retarded, nor could he scold himself for being a lunatic and a brain-dead man. He could only scold the Chinese people for being too cunning, especially

That Chinese devil Tang Qiuli, thinking of Tang Qiuli, Isotani Rensuke groaned as if he had a toothache.

All the Japanese officers in the headquarters, who were listening to the fierce gunfire outside, were startled by the painful groans of the Commander. They thought it was a heart attack and looked at the officers with panic.

His face couldn't suppress the panic in his heart. Isotani Rensuke was very angry, but he was not showing off his power. When he lost his temper, he asked with a gloomy face: "Has the telegram to the dispatch army headquarters been sent out?"

This is the only thing he can do. He hopes that the troops in the direction of Cangzhou will go south as soon as possible. Although he also knows that the hope is slim, it is better to have a life-saving straw than to have nothing.

This was a telegram to save his life. The Japanese communications officer dared not send it immediately. The content was even more serious than what the commander dictated. Moreover, he sent several telegrams in succession, exaggerating the current situation as extremely urgent and tragic. Although

The Chinese army has not yet launched an attack, but that will be a matter of time. The 130,000-strong army that set out now has only about 50,000 people left, which makes these Japanese officers who were once full of confidence feel frightened.

(To be continued)