Chapter 17: Battle of Lanfeng (Part 2)
The rumbling sound of artillery fire faded quickly in the air and could no longer be heard clearly not far away. However, from a distance, the position of the 1661st Regiment on Huaer Mountain in Xinglong Town was already shrouded in smoke caused by the Japanese artillery bombardment.
This is already the end of the Sui-Zao Corridor. The terrain becomes flatter as you go west. So as long as you break through here, the Zaoyang County not far to the west will be exposed to the guns of the Japanese army.
The 1661st Regiment of the Huaer Mountain garrison belonged to Zhang Qingping's 166th Division. The 166th Division was one of the three divisions under the 47th Army. The 47th Army was the undisputed main force of Xiang Chuanyi's 15th Corps, which only had four divisions. It was also the direct force of Liu Wenhui, deputy commander of the Hunan-Hubei-Bashu War Zone in charge of the war in northwestern Hubei.
However, even with such a direct lineage and such a main force, the combat effectiveness of the 47th Army was still not optimistic among all parties. Just four days later, the 47th Army had successively lost more than ten important hilltops guarding the Sui-Zao Highway, so that the Japanese army had arrived at the gate of Zaoyang, the "ancient imperial township".
"Brothers, Deputy Commander Liu has personally issued a death order. You must hold on until dark."
The Japanese artillery bombardment had just stopped, and the lower-ranking officers and soldiers of the Sichuan Army, whose ears were still filled with noisy echoes, had no idea what their officers, who were gesticulating around them, were saying, but this did not prevent them from silently preparing for the upcoming battle.
At this time, the two squadrons of Japanese troops were already very close. The Sichuan Army, who had checked for the last time whether there were bullets in the gun barrels, half-lying and half-standing in the broken trenches, waited quietly.
Suddenly, gunshots rang out. Taking the sound of the Northwest-made imitation Czech-style rifles in the company commander's hands as a command, the surviving Sichuan Army officers and soldiers shot, reloaded, and shot again as quickly as possible.
The Japanese army, which had long been trained into killing machines, naturally did not show weakness. They either leaned against the rocks or used the corpses of their unlucky companions as cover, and opened fire on the defenders. In a moment, dense bullets dominated the small space halfway up the mountain. The two sides fired back and forth, and from time to time, some people fell silently, while others screamed in pain.
"boom!"
The grenades fired by the Japanese veterans with grenade launchers accurately hit the location of the Sichuan Army's machine guns. After the explosion, the defenders' firepower suddenly dropped sharply. Taking advantage of the gap in the Sichuan Army's firepower, more than a hundred Japanese soldiers jumped up and rushed towards the defenders' positions of less than 50 people, yelling.
"kill!"
The two sides soon wrestled with each other. The company and platoon leaders of the Sichuan Army used the Zidelai pistols produced by the Sichuan factory at that time to shoot at the robbers who rushed up. However, the Japanese army had strong manpower and their assassination skills were far more advanced than those of the Sichuan Army. Soon, the battlefield was littered with corpses, and only a very small number of indomitable Chinese soldiers were still struggling to hold on.
"Quick, quick, reinforce the Second Company!"
The reinforcements that came from the reserve position rushed forward anxiously , but they never expected that their movements had already been observed by the Japanese army. Soon, a string of blocking shells fell, and rows of Sichuan troops were swallowed up by the hot air waves before they even saw the enemy.
However, a small number of Sichuan troops managed to cross the line of fire and reach the front line of the fierce fighting. The arrival of these reinforcements caused the Japanese army, who thought they had won, to be involved in another fierce battle before they had time to celebrate their victory.
Unfortunately, the number of reinforcements that could pass through the Japanese blocking line was still too small. After inflicting certain casualties on the Japanese, the position eventually changed hands.
"There are less than 200 people left in the first battalion, and only 300 people in the second battalion, and all of their heavy weapons were destroyed. Only the third battalion is still intact, but its commander, Wang, died for his country."
Sun Siding, chief of staff of the 1661st Regiment, reported to the regiment commander Deng Guozhang with a bitter face.
"Captain, we can't keep fighting like this. If we continue, the 1661st Regiment will be finished. Captain, let's retreat."
"But what are the orders from the army commander and the division commander?"
Deng Guozhang was certainly heartbroken about the loss of his subordinates, but military orders were overwhelming, which made him dare not abandon Huaer Mountain easily.
"Let the brothers down there hold on for another two hours. It should be dark after two hours."
"2 hours?"
Sun Siding smiled bitterly, thinking that perhaps in less than two hours this Sichuan Army regiment would no longer exist.
"Captain, the Northwest is known for recruiting one by one, but it has been so long since the Battle of East Henan, and our army has only replenished less than 70%. If the 1661st Regiment is wiped out, Captain, you should leave some seeds in the regiment."
"this?"
Deng Guozhang hesitated, and just as he was undecided, a huge roar passed over his head, followed by waves of vibrations in the earth, telling him clearly what he had encountered.
"Air raid, the Japs' planes!"
"Captain!"
When Deng Guozhang and Sun Siding, who were covered in mud, were helped up from the collapsed wall by the flustered service soldiers, a soldier with blood on his head stumbled in. When he saw the two men who looked like mud men, he burst into tears.
"It's all over. The Third Battalion, the Third Battalion is finished."
"Captain, it will be too late if we don't retreat now."
Sun Siding spoke again anxiously.
"Captain!"
"Retreat, retreat immediately!"
Deng Guozhang waved his hands weakly, and was immediately lifted up by the guards and taken to the rear, one foot low and one foot high.
As the 1661st Regiment failed to hold out until dark as planned, the Japanese 101st Division was able to advance to the eastern suburbs of Zaoyang that evening.
That night, the panic-stricken people in Zaoyang County stayed awake all night. Lai Mutian's troops from the 2nd Regiment of the 165th Division of the defending army were the first to flee, followed by the county magistrate, the county police chief and others who fled to the countryside. When the news spread, the people were terrified, and the evacuation of people was endless. After dawn, Zaoyang became an empty city.
Seeing that the Chinese army in front of him seemed vulnerable, Lieutenant General Masayoshi Ito, commander of the 101st Division, became arrogant. On the one hand, he ordered Major General Masaburo Sato, commander of the 101st Infantry Brigade, to lead a battalion of the 101st Infantry Regiment, two squadrons of the 101st Engineer Regiment, a battalion of the 101st Light and Heavy Infantry Regiment, and the 1st Field Hospital, totaling about 2,000 people, to enter Sui County to ensure the retreat.
On the other hand, he appointed Major General Yoshishige Saeda, commander of the 102nd Infantry Brigade, as detachment commander, to lead the entire 103rd Infantry Regiment, two battalions of the 157th Infantry Regiment, the entire 101st Cavalry Battalion, one and a half battalions of the 101st Field Artillery Regiment, one battalion of the 101st Engineer Regiment, and one and a half battalions of the 101st Light and Heavy Infantry Regiment, totaling about 9,000 people, to use Zaoyang as their forward base and continue to pursue Liu Wenhui's troops.
Major General Yoshishige Saeda was a meticulous person. He found that although the strength of the Sichuan Army had been broken, the number of the First Corps of the Northeast Army still appeared in the Xiangfan area. Feeling that his troops were insufficient, he was afraid of falling into the Chinese army's tactic of luring the enemy deep into his territory. So he made a feint to the east and attacked in the west. His troops did not continue to attack westward, but instead bypassed Tongbai Mountain and fought their way between Tanghe and Xinye.
The sudden entry of the Japanese army into southwestern Henan immediately shook the Hubei-Henan-Anhui War Zone. When the attempt to withdraw the 12th Army Group failed, Yang Hucheng directly called on Sun Lianzhong's troops, which were reorganized in the Nanyang area, to join the battle. The Hunan-Hubei-Bashu War Zone also immediately mobilized the First Corps, which was the main force on the northern wing of the war zone, to participate in the encirclement and annihilation of the Saeda Detachment.
The sudden appearance of dense telecommunication signals in the southwestern direction of Henan made the Japanese 11th Army Headquarters in Wuhan, which had been paying close attention to the actions of the 101st Division, extremely nervous. The army chief of staff, Major General Takazo Numata, even bypassed Masayoshi Ito and ordered the Saeda Detachment to retreat to the Zaoyang line, but the Saeda Detachment, which had advanced too far, had no time to retreat to a safe area.
On April 20, the Sazhi Detachment, which had just retreated across the Tang River, was blocked by Chang Enduo's 115th Division of the 56th Army of the First Corps and Zhou Fucheng's 129th Division on the line of the Jiangshi River, a tributary of the Tang River. It was then surrounded in the narrow area between the Tang River, Liaoyang River and Jiangshi River by Feng Anbang's 42nd Army of the 19th Group Army and Feng Zhian's 77th Army who came from the north.
"Send a message to the divisional and corps headquarters."
In the detachment headquarters that had just been repaired, Major General Yoshishige Saeda, with a gloomy face, was speaking to the telecommunications staff amid the fierce gunfire all around.
"It has been found that the enemy facing our detachment is Sun Lianzhong's 2nd Army, 2 armies and 3 divisions with about 25,000 people, and Liu Duoquan's 1st Corps, 1 army and 2 divisions with about 20,000 people. In addition, the Chinese Army has a reserve force of about 10,000 people that has not yet been put into battle. Based on this, it can be judged that the main force of the Chinese Army in northwestern Hubei is here.
Although the Chinese army has five times the number of our troops, our troops remain undaunted.
This is a good opportunity to defeat the main force of the Chinese Army in northwestern Hubei in one fell swoop. I hope that the division commander and the commander will quickly send the main force. Our detachment is willing to serve as bait for this battle. "
After dictating this telegram, Major General Saeda Yoshishige turned to look at the main cadres of the besieged Japanese troops, including Colonel Matsui Kan'ichi, commander of the 103rd Infantry Regiment, Colonel Fukui Koutarou, commander of the 157th Infantry Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Oshima Yoshitada, commander of the 101st Cavalry Regiment, and Lieutenant Colonel Yamada Hidenosuke, commander of the 101st Field Artillery Regiment .
"Gentlemen, I have decided to use our headquarters as bait to attract the Chinese army to attack, so that the army headquarters can establish the battle situation in northwestern Hubei in one fell swoop. In this way, our department will inevitably be under tremendous pressure. I hope that you will abide by your duties and sacrifice for the empire and the emperor."
The core members of the Japanese army all responded enthusiastically, and when their barking stopped for a moment, Saeda Yoshishige continued.
"The reinforcements have a long way to go and will inevitably be blocked by the Chinese army. In order to hold out until the reinforcements arrive, please conserve your limited strength."
Yoshishige Saeda looked at the few people.
"Yamada-kun, your artillery is the key to your persistence. Please disperse to the infantry battalion level immediately."
Yamada Hidenosuke nodded in agreement, and Saeda Yoshishige turned to Oshima Kenshin.
"Oshima-kun, it is not advisable to keep cavalry in a war zone. You must be prepared to sacrifice. If necessary, you must firmly commit yourself and fight back against the Chinese army."
"Please rest assured, General!"
Oshima Kensho nodded slightly.
"The cavalry brigade is willing to sacrifice everything for the empire."
"Matsui-kun, Fukui-kun, you must preserve the reserve troops properly. I will assign the light and heavy troops and engineers to you."
After saying this, Saeda Yoshishige poured wine for several officers.
"Drink it, this is the last cup. From now on, all supplies will be controlled. You should all take your positions. You don't need to come to the brigade headquarters without notice."
"For the Empire, for the Emperor."
The hysterical Japanese officers raised their sake cups.
"Dry!"
