Age of Conquest Reborn

Chapter 698 Annihilation

In the battle of Yongheguan Ferry, two divisions and a brigade of more than 35,000 people from Okamura Neiji crossed the Yellow River to the west, and a division of more than 16,000 people crossed the Yellow River from the Fenglingdu Ferry to the west were trapped in the Tang and Autumn Period.

In the encirclement laid by Li, the subsequent troops crossing the river were bombarded again and suffered heavy losses. Okamura Neiji fully understood that he had fallen into Tang Qiuli's trap.

After receiving the emergency telegram from the Fenglingdu troops, Okamura Neiji finally realized that Tang Qiuli's troops had cut off his retreat. In fact, the troops stranded on the east bank of the Yellow River were alone and facing the water.

The enemy has no support, this is

In the most dangerous situation, he had no intention of fighting. He went to rescue the surrounded Akita Division. How to bring the remaining troops safely back to Taiyuan was a problem. The Luliang Mountains were full of mountains and ravines, so he retreated.

The biggest obstacle in Taiyuan.

At this time, Okamura Neiji has not lost confidence and has not lost all his capital. There are still more than 100,000 troops around Taiyuan, and they can fight Tang Qiuli to the end. There are also back-up Kwantung Army troops heading south. Thinking of the Yellow River this time

The disastrous defeat on the shore will lead to a collapse

He was in a desperate situation, and he felt a surge of cruelty in his heart. It is true that he is greedy for power and rushes forward. Looking at the battle situation in Shanxi at that time, his deployment was absolutely correct. Who would have thought that Tang Qiuli would design such a big situation for himself?

Use the whole of Shanxi as bait.

After receiving the order from Okamura Neiji, more than 20,000 Japanese troops in the Fenglingdu area in southern Shanxi immediately retreated to Taiyuan, but they could not leave. Chang Feng led the two main field brigades in Huangyadong and the newly formed Sixth Army.

field brigades, composed of Taihang Mountain Field Corps, in addition to

In addition to the four brigades that went north to the Luliang Mountains to cut off Okamura Ningci's retreat, the remaining four brigades, with more than 50,000 men, cut off all the Japanese troops' return routes to Taiyuan, along Yuanqu, Jiangxian, Houma,

Quwo and Di Mountain form an insurmountable iron wall.

However, Okamura Neji led the remnants of less than 7,000 people and retreated faster, but they could not escape the dragnet set by Tang Qiuli. When they just approached the Luliang Mountains, they ran into the 50,000-strong Taihang Mountains Field Corps' four brigades that were waiting for them.

With the remaining troops, the anxious Okamura Neiji commanded the troops to storm the interception position of the field corps in the Taihang Mountains. With a mere 7,000 men, he attacked the defense line of more than 50,000 men, which was almost like seeking death.

No matter how brave and fearless the Japanese soldiers were, they could not offset the huge gap in numbers and firepower. Seeing that there was no hope of breaking through, Okamura Neiji led his troops to retreat to the Xinyi line and wait for reinforcements. The only reinforcements he could count on were scattered soldiers.

exist

In the Luliang Mountain area, more than 10,000 people are chasing and suppressing a small force of the ** Division. As for the troops around Taiyuan, they are still gathering. They are still entangled by the elusive special operations detachment units. They are delayed. There is really no time to send troops for rescue.

Not sure.

After receiving the rescue order, the Japanese troops immediately gave up fighting with the small troops of the ** Division. Using Mafang as the assembly point, they desperately attacked westward, trying to open a gap, pull out Okamura Neji, and intercept the retreating Japanese troops.

The first unit of the Changfeng Taihang Mountain Field Corps heading to Taiyuan, set up

That is to say, two brigades were divided to intercept the Japanese army in the Dawu area. More than 5,000 people from more than 30 companies of the *** Division scattered in the Luliang Mountains were surrounded from behind. The Luliang Mountains formed a criss-crossing situation between the enemy and ourselves.

Generally speaking, the situation, the ** Division troops have the upper hand.

Tang Qiuli was even more anxious than Okamura Neji. Once the more than 100,000 Japanese troops from the Taiyuan direction came over, it would be a stalemate and entangled situation. He wanted to deal with the more than 35,000 Japanese troops surrounding him as soon as possible so that he could free his hands to attack the east.

Cross the Yellow River before the Japanese troops arrive around Taiyuan

, the Japanese troops under Neiji Okamura were completely eliminated, and the situation in southern Shanxi was very good. The four brigades commanded by Chang Feng and the two brigades commanded by Sun Zhenbang, with a total of more than 70,000 troops, tightly surrounded more than 20,000 Japanese troops.

It is only a matter of time before this Japanese army is completely wiped out in the Wenxi area.

Contrary to expectations, the Japanese Akita Division and other Japanese troops who were surrounded were the elite first-class divisions of the Kwantung Army. They had strong combat effectiveness and tenacious fighting will. Tang Qiuli commanded the six newly formed brigades to attack the Japanese defensive positions from all directions.

, at the end of the day, each other

Although there were casualties, the Japanese army was still unable to break through the Japanese position. Surrounded by superior forces, the Japanese army actually launched multiple counterattacks. The Japanese soldiers, fearless of death, launched a group charge. Although they were beaten by fierce artillery fire, corpses were scattered all over the field, and the troops were also injured.

It caused quite a few casualties.

Tang Qiuli deeply realized that no matter how brave the fighting spirit of the soldiers in the newly formed unit, it could not make up for the shortcomings caused by the lack of actual combat experience. If this were the old brigades of the ** Division, with only three brigades in strength,

These Japanese troops could be completely eliminated. He was secretly glad that the Japanese troops had no heavy firepower or artillery, and he only had two artillery brigades. Otherwise, the casualties of the troops would have been much greater, and the blocking line might even have been breached.

He originally planned to spend three days to deal with the Japanese army. After three days of fighting, even the Japanese army's outer positions were not broken through. The brigade commanders became impatient and the casualties of the troops increased sharply. Tang Qiuli immediately ordered to stop the attack. He

Come to the forward position and carefully observe the Japanese defense situation.

After three days of fighting, there were more than 35,000 Japanese troops, and the remaining strength was less than 20,000, but there was no chaos at all. In the rush, defensive facilities such as ring fortifications, concealed areas, fire support points, chain bunkers, and transportation trenches were deployed

They were all built, and the field fortifications were built by an expert. Tang Qiuli secretly admired them. The Kwantung Army was worthy of being the Japanese army.

The elite troops of the army, from officers to soldiers, are generally superior to the Japanese troops in North China, not only in terms of fighting will, but also in the command ability of the officers, the training quality of the soldiers, individual combat capabilities, etc. If they have heavy artillery to provide fire cover

To suppress them, we need at least nine brigades of troops to surround and eliminate them.

Okamura Neiji, who was staying at Xinyi, received reinforcements. These were the troops that had retreated from Liulin Ferry. After many days of consumption, they were no longer less than a division. In any case, in the cloudy weather,

Finally seeing a ray of sunshine was enough to make Neji Okamura happy. He had more than 16,000 people in his hands and it could work.

Okamura Neiji was clearly aware of the danger. The longer he stayed in Xinyi, the greater the possibility of being encircled. Once Tang Qiuli's troops were encircled, he would not be able to escape even if he had wings. He commanded the troops regardless of casualties.

Desperate to break out of the encirclement in the direction of Taiyuan, the Japanese soldiers who were on the verge of desperation were like a wild wolf with red eyes and wounded. They desperately launched a non-stop charge and were once less than ten kilometers away from the Japanese troops who came to rescue them.

It is a pity that Okamura Neji encountered the Huangyadong recruit field brigade, which was based on the Second Brigade of the ** Division and had been trained for more than four months.

The brigade was different. Neji Okamura's craziest offensive was repulsed and he lost his offensive spirit. At the same time, Tang Qiuli ordered a brigade at Wubao Ferry to immediately cross the Yellow River eastward and flank Jinluo.

, stabbed Neji Okamura again.

In order to quickly resolve the Japanese Akita Division and other Japanese troops that were surrounded in the Yanchuan and Intersection area on the west bank of the Yellow River, Tang Qiuli ordered the Eighth Route Army rear area troops to participate in the general attack on the Japanese army, and also transferred an artillery brigade from Fenglingdu

The other two heavy artillery regiments formed a powerful attack corps.

The ** Division troops, which had strengthened their artillery firepower, no longer used the flesh and blood of soldiers to attack the tightly defended positions of the Japanese army. On May 29, the general attack began. More than 2,000 artillery pieces of various calibers were used to attack the Japanese troops.

The Japanese positions at the intersection of Sichuan and Sichuan were exploded into a sea of ​​flames. From the time they crossed the Yellow River in the west until now, the Kwantung Army troops have never experienced such fierce artillery bombardment.

Tang Qiuli's request for all artillery units was to provide all-round coverage with no limit on the amount of ammunition. Before the bombardment, on the road from Dingbian to the Yanchuan front line, there was a constant flow of convoys from the ** Division Transportation Headquarters, with shell boxes like a hill.

Piles are everywhere, look

The soldiers of the Eighth Route Army who had to participate in the battle were dumbfounded. This battle was fought so grandly. The shells as dense as locusts just gnawed open the Japanese defense line. The spirit of bushido could not withstand the hot steel. The will to sacrifice for His Majesty the Emperor could not change the situation.

disadvantages.

Artillery fire flattened a Japanese position, and the infantry rushed to occupy it. Then there was another fierce artillery fire. For two full days, the remaining more than 20,000 Japanese soldiers endured a purgatory nightmare. Tons of steel were used without any traces.

It mercilessly shattered the spirit and enthusiasm of the Japanese soldiers. The area from Yanchuan to Jiaokou was only a dozen kilometers away. It was repeatedly plowed back and forth by the artillery fire of the Japanese Army, and the topography was completely changed from its original appearance.

Two days later, the Japanese division and the Eighth Route Army soldiers rushed to the last high ground. What they saw were the mutilated corpses of Japanese soldiers scattered everywhere. Everything, including their weapons, were in this overwhelming steel storm.

Sinochem

According to the policy of the Eighth Route Army, we captured a few prisoners and seized some Japanese equipment. In the eyes of the Eighth Route Army soldiers, they were rare treasures. However, after searching the entire position, there was not a single living Japanese soldier, not even the seriously injured ones.

No.

The unwilling Eighth Route Army soldiers found the intact bodies of some Japanese officers in several hidden areas. Among them were two lieutenant generals and a major general. They were the top commanders of the Japanese army. One of them was the Qiu Division.

Long, the shells did not shatter their bodies, but the shells blew up their hidden parts, and they were buried alive inside. They could be considered whole corpses. They came all the way from Japan to China. Such an ending was a surprise to these fanatical invaders.

For the patient, it is also the most honorable way to die.

The Battle of Yanchuan and Jiaokou lasted five days and ended with the complete annihilation of two divisions and one brigade of more than 35,000 Japanese troops. In this battle, Tang Qiuli's newly formed six infantry brigades suffered casualties.

With more than 5,000 men, the combat effectiveness of the Kwantung Army once again left a deep impression on him.

Tang Qiuli was a little surprised by such heavy casualties. In addition to the combat effectiveness of the Kwantung Army, he also considered more issues. There was another person who was deeply shocked by this battle. He was General Xiao Jinguang, director of the Eighth Route Army's Rear Area Stay Division.

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(To be continued)