Age of Conquest Reborn

Chapter 664 Clearing the perimeter

Tang Qiusheng's Sulu Mobile Corps carried out the second phase of the Shijiazhuang battle plan. In other directions, everything went smoothly, especially the troops led by the regiment's chief of staff Yu Guanghan, who had captured Tangshan, an important town in eastern Hebei.

Pointing directly at the eastern part of Tianjin, Tong Batu's Second Cavalry Brigade and Bagena's Sixth Cavalry Brigade arrived at Shanhaiguan and swept away the traitor troops of Yin Rugeng of the Jidong Anti-Communist Autonomous Government. In fact, they had cut off the connection between North China and Northeast China.{}

Only Baoding on the Jizhong Plain, Tang Qiusheng used three main brigades to attack for three days and three nights, but it was not captured. The troops suffered heavy casualties. This was completely beyond his expectation. Since there was no problem with the troops' tactics,

So what was the problem? He was puzzled. Could it be that the Japanese army in Baoding was extremely powerful? This was the only reason that could explain the failure of the Baoding attack.

Tang Qiusheng guessed correctly. Since Shijiazhuang was captured by the Sulu Mobile Corps, the Japanese army in Baoding, which was not far from Shijiazhuang, felt an immediate threat. In addition to reporting their own situation to Commander Okamura Neiji

In addition, they also asked for help from the Japanese troops in Peiping, but Okamura Neiji was beyond his reach. The Japanese commander in Peiping was very smart and knew that Baoding was over, and Peiping would not be much better, so he assembled more than 6,000 people to reinforce Baoding.

In this way, the number of defenders in Baoding increased to about 12,000. The captain of the Japanese garrison defending Baoding, Mitsu Shiro, had the rank of major general and graduated from Tokyo Imperial University. He was a typical Japanese soldier, fanatical and belligerent.

He was a member of the Communist Party of China with a very strategic vision. There were fierce battles around Pingjin, so he felt that something was wrong. When Shijiazhuang fell, the murderous aura that came through made his heart tighten.

Baoding will inevitably become the next target of attack by the Chinese devil Tang Qiuli, but the emptiness of the garrison forces makes him feel unsure. To be honest, Commander Okamura Neiji, regardless of the safety around Pingjin, is dedicated to sweeping away the people in the Taihang Mountains.

I was quite dissatisfied with the way I did it. I just muttered this in my heart, but I didn't dare to tell the commander, who was in high spirits, that getting a slap in the face would be a light thing, and he might even be dismissed from his post.

Although he was dissatisfied, Baoding still had to be defended. If Baoding was lost, he would not be able to reap the benefits. He stated his interests and finally got reinforcements from Peking. Mizu Shiro immediately stepped up war preparations in Baoding. He knew very well that with ten thousand

There were many people trying to keep the Chinese army out of the city, but it was a dream, so Mizu Shiro worked hard inside the city.

Every street and every private house has been built as a defensive firepower point. The defensive troops are also divided into several combat groups according to the requirements of street fighting. Each group has twenty to thirty people. They are equipped with sufficient ammunition, and each group can go their own way.

In order to fight, there is only one order: fight to the last man, and must not give up the position unless everyone is shattered. He will have to pay a heavy price if the Chinese soldiers do not advance a step forward.

After doing this, Mizu Shiro went deep into each combat team. In popular words, he did political and ideological work, mobilized before the war, and cheered up the soldiers. However, this guy's political and ideological work was full of lies. He was trying to scare these people.

Soldiers and Chinese people like to behead people the most, especially when treating prisoners. They torture them in every possible way, and then cut off their heads and hang them on a tree.

The Japanese soldiers did not care much about death in battle, but they were afraid of losing their heads. It is said that the soul of a headless person cannot return to his hometown or enter the Yasukuni Shrine. Anyway, after Mizu Shiro's deception and intimidation, the effect was pretty good.

The Japanese soldiers, with their resentment against the enemy greatly increased, were determined to die rather than be taken prisoner, and they fought until their last breath to be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor.

After cheering up the soldiers and fooling around, Mizu Shiro returned to the headquarters and waited uneasily for the ** division's attack. The reason why he held on to the idea of ​​​​defending Baoding was that he still had hope and sustenance in his heart. In Xianxian County

, Suning area

The army is his greatest hope. No commander wants to see Baoding lost. With Pingjin and Tianjin in a passive situation, if he defends Baoding by himself, wouldn't it be a stand-alone force with a gold star on the collar?

It is possible.

Tang Qiusheng's troops encountered Japanese soldiers who were full of confusion, and met the insidious and cunning guy Mizu Shiro. In addition, the Japanese army more than doubled their strength. It can be imagined that the difficulty of the attack would be large, and there would be relatively large casualties.

Being reasonable, Tang Qiusheng reported the battle situation in Baoding to the division commander Tang Qiuli who was on his way to Shijiazhuang.

In the telegram, Tang Qiusheng first reviewed himself. The failure of the Baoding battle was directly related to his command. If it affected the battle to capture Tianjin, he was willing to take full responsibility. To his surprise, Tang Qiusheng

In the reply, not only did he not blame the enemy at all, he also said that fighting Baoding as it is is the best way. The troops should not rush to capture Baoding and should fight steadily to avoid heavy casualties.

After arriving in Shijiazhuang, he invited the division headquarters to make important deployment adjustments. From Tang Qiuli's telegram, Tang Qiusheng vaguely discerned some clues. Attacking Baoding should be a clever move by his cousin. He had no idea about attacking Baoding.

Shunli's guilt and self-blame have also been reduced a lot. In fact, Tang Qiuli ordered the Sulu Mobile Corps to attack Baoding just to see how Okamura Neji would react.

After losing Shijiazhuang, Okamura Neji formed a heavy group to fight for it. After many days of fighting, the Japanese army retreated repeatedly. Okamura Neji did not respond, but he was still focused on killing the Huangyadong base. Well, I will clean up the Japanese outside Pingjin.

of

Force, attack Baoding, it depends on what you do, Baoding is lost, Peking and Tianjin are two isolated cities, you can choose a target at will, or attack both targets together, this time, Okamura Neji can still stay in the Taihang Mountains

?

The Baoding battle lasted for three days and three nights. All the intelligence returned from the Taihang Mountains showed that Okamura Neiji, who was besieging Huangyadong, continued to launch continuous attacks on Huangyadong. All Japanese troops in the Taihang Mountains, except reinforcements,

Beyond the docile troops,

There was no sign of mobilization. According to statistics on April 28, Okamura Neiji used troops above the brigade size to launch four attacks on the core position of Huangyadong. In other words, Okamura Neiji, this

The old devil is at odds with Huangyadong.

This situation made Tang Qiuli feel nervous while he was on the march. The telegram sent by Chang Feng was quite optimistic. So far, the third line of defense and the core area of ​​Huangyadong have not suffered any losses. The troops

The casualties are extremely minor. In addition, the new recruits who are being trained are also participating in the battle in batches. Please rest assured, division commander, that the Huangyadong garrison will fight for another year and a half without any problems.

Tang Qiuli knew that with the ammunition and supplies hoarded in Huangyadong, there would be no problem in holding on for three years. However, under a prolonged attack, there was no way to defend the city. Huangyadong, which was under heavy attack, would be in danger if it was defended for a long time.

I don’t understand, Okamura Neiji is guilty of that evil spirit, clinging to the Huangya Cave, he must get rid of it quickly, and he even doesn’t care about his own rear. Is he a desperate move or has he got another plan?

?

Tang Qiuli thought about it, but he didn't know where Okamura Neji went astray. If the Kwantung Army was his back-up plan, they would protect the safety of Pingjin's rear for him, but the battle outside Shijiazhuang was filled with fireworks.

Seeing the Japanese army retreating in succession, there is no information about the Eastern Army troops moving south in large numbers? If the Huangyadong base must be destroyed, it may not be possible in the short term?

Since he couldn't figure it out and Tang Qiuli didn't bother to waste his brain cells, Okamura Neji accepted the truth and let him compete with the iron walnut Huangyadong. As soon as he arrived in Shijiazhuang, he immediately formed the Tianjin Campaign Headquarters and personally served as the commander-in-chief.

The commander ordered the four brigades of Liu Tiehan's East Command troops who had rushed to the Shijiazhuang area to replace the three brigades of the Niangziguan garrison that attacked Baoding. They ordered that Baoding must be captured within five hours.

As soon as the four brigades of cutting-edge troops entered the battle, they had already suffered most of their casualties. The exhausted Japanese army was immediately exhausted. Moreover, Tang Qiuli assigned two artillery brigades to the attacking troops. In a word, they had no time to talk to the little Japanese with artillery shells.

Wasting time with these bastards, artillery fire was everywhere in Baoding City. Various firepower points and strongholds guarded by the Japanese army were turned into dust and minced meat under the fierce artillery fire, along with the soldiers who still wanted to be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor.

Mizu Shiro was hiding in a private house, surrounded by more than a dozen staff officers and guards. He looked at the explosions everywhere and closed his eyes in despair. Everything was over. The reinforcements he had hoped for were not there, but reinforcements from the Chinese army had arrived. Commander

Your Excellency, this is your mistake, how can you be sorry for it?

There were more than 10,000 warriors of the empire. He drew his command sword and prepared to commit suicide by caesarean section. The artillery of the Japanese division was even more ruthless and did not even give him this chance. Several artillery shells flew in. Minfang, Mizu Shiro and his men,

It became a pile of ruins, with broken bricks and tiles stained with blood.

The Baoding battle ended in less than three hours. No one of the more than 12,000 Japanese soldiers survived. The East Point troops suffered less than 300 casualties. The three brigade commanders under Feng Jiwu who were the first to attack Baoding were

I feel very uncomfortable. Are the troops in the East Point more powerful than our Niangziguan garrison? They are both the main force of the ** division. How can the gap be so big?

In fact, there is no need for it. The Japanese army in Baoding has been attacked for three days and three nights in a row. It is already ripe fruit. The troops in the East Point are just the last people to touch. The words of the division commander Tang Qiuli made

The three brigade commanders, who were worried, suddenly felt relieved, but they felt that they were being petty.

"The Battle of Baoding was able to end successfully in less than three hours, and the troops of the Niangziguan Guard Corps were indispensable. Without their continuous attack regardless of casualties, the troops of the East Point would not have been able to complete the task so smoothly. Therefore,

, to report and commend the Niangziguan garrison troops." This was announced by Tang Qiuli himself at the meeting to attack Tianjin.

Now that Baoding has been captured, there are no factors outside Pingjin that can threaten the security of the troops attacking Tianjin. Yu Guanghan's troops, from the Tangshan area in eastern Tianjin, and Tang Qiusheng's troops, starting from Baoding, carried out assaults in the northwest of Tianjin. Two troops, east and west.

Opposing each other, they are like two sharp knives, thrusting straight into Tianjin.

(To be continued)