Chapter 44: The Third Battle of East Henan (XII)
Lieutenant Colonel Hu Lian, with two silver stars on his collar badge, stood in the corridor holding a cigarette. As a tank battalion commander, he naturally did not have to squeeze into a tin tank car with the soldiers or stand in the flatbed carriage loaded with tanks and artillery to eat the northwest wind.
However, despite all these things to wait for, his face was filled with deep worry as he looked up at the sky.
Seeing Hu Lian obeying the air defense discipline and holding the cigarette without sniffing it, Lieutenant Colonel Qiu Dadao, the administrative deputy battalion commander, obviously understood his concerns: "Battalion commander, are you worried about the Japanese planes?"
"Yes, we left Tongguan without any cover, how could the Japanese not know anything about it?"
Although the Clairvoyant system doubled the Northwest Army's air defense capability, the battlefield was so large and the Chinese fighter planes were limited that they could not defend against the sudden attack of the Japanese squadron at any time and anywhere. The reconnaissance aircraft had dual functions of reconnaissance and bombing. Therefore, it was normal for Hu Lian to have this concern.
"It's not easy for you to collect these treasures. It's no wonder that they are lost on the battlefield. What if they are blown up by the Japanese?"
Hu Lian shook his head.
"I don't know about others, but at least I will be heartbroken."
"What discouraging words are you saying, Battalion Commander? The Japs are not omnipotent. Many of their planes have been shot down by our Silver Eagles. How dare they bomb us randomly?"
Qiu Dadao is also an old major who participated in the Great Wall War of Resistance. According to seniority, he should be Hu Lian's superior, but he was not a transportation soldier, so he was wronged by the position of lieutenant colonel deputy battalion commander. However, he did not mind it and continued to perform his duties conscientiously. It is said that he will be promoted to colonel and transferred to a rear post soon, just in time for this battle. Originally, he was not planned to join the expedition, but he insisted on getting the opportunity from the brigade commander He Zhiguo, and now he has become Hu Lian's mainstay.
"We are not afraid even if they come. Those anti-aircraft guns on our car are just for show." Before Qiu Dadao finished his words, the sounds of anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft machine guns came to his ears. The two were stunned, and Hu Lian immediately took the lead and rushed to the flatbed carriage at the back.
As soon as the doors of the connecting carriages were opened, we saw the 37mm twin-barreled anti-aircraft gun at the rear of the train spewing a series of fireballs into the sky. At the same time, the twin-barreled 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine guns behind the locomotive also fired.
"I'm such a fucking jinx, what I say comes true."
Hu Lian jumped onto the flatbed carriage as he spoke.
"What are you standing there for, machine gun."
Under Hu Lian's rebuke, several infantrymen guarding the No. 2 tank hurriedly picked up the light machine guns and several rifles beside them and fired blindly into the air.
"Give it to me, idiot!"
Hu Lian grabbed the Czech-style gun from the machine gunner, held it in his arms, and fired at the enemy planes that had come down again after turning.
"Little devil, come after Uncle Hu if you dare."
"The Chinese Northwest Army must be planning a counterattack outside Zheng County."
The Japanese scouts who were driven away by Hu Lian and his men eventually did not escape the pursuit of the Northwest Air Force that took off from Luoyang. However, before even crashing, the Japanese planes reported everything they saw to the rear. As a result, everyone from the North China Front Army Headquarters to the 12th Army Headquarters knew what the opponent was going to do.
"The 101st and 33rd Divisions have just occupied Xinyang, and the supply lines at Pingjing Pass and Wusheng Pass have not yet been fully opened. The railways and roads north of Xinyang have been extensively damaged by the Chinese army. It is unrealistic to expect them to move north quickly."
In order to respond to the possible major counterattack by the Northwest Army, the Chief of Staff of the 12th Army, Major General Kobayashi Asazaburo, flew from Jinan to Guide as soon as possible to hold an emergency meeting with the Chief of Staff of the 110th Division, Colonel Matsuda Takeshi, the Chief of Staff of the 5th Division, Colonel Nariyama Hideshige, and other chiefs of staff of the front-line participating troops.
"The battle at Zhangjiakou has not yet ended, and the front army is unable to withdraw troops to the south, so we must rely on the existing strength of the 12th Army to curb the Chinese counterattack."
In response to Major General Kobayashi Asazaburo's request, Colonel Nariyama Hideshige said with great embarrassment: "The Hiroshima (5th) Division is facing a joint counterattack from the Chinese Army's 2nd, 7th, and 8th Corps. It is already very difficult to maintain the current front line. There is absolutely no strength to reinforce the 110th Division in the north."
Lieutenant Colonel Shirataki Rishiro, the chief of staff of the 35th Division, was the lowest-ranking person present, but for the benefit of his division, he also answered under Major General Kobayashi's expectant eyes: "The situation of the 35th Division is similar to that of the 5th Division. The Third Army of the Northeastern China Army is concentrating five divisions to attack the east of the Laoqi River under the control of our division. For this reason, our division also hopes that the army headquarters can return the 219th Infantry Regiment, the 35th Search Regiment, and the 35th Engineer Regiment."
Seeing that the direction of the meeting might blow to his head, Major General Kobayashi immediately waved his hand and said, "It is not possible to return the 219th Infantry Regiment for the time being. Don't be confused by the Chinese Army's final madness. With the 101st Division about to move north, how can the Chinese Army hold its ground and even take the initiative to counterattack?"
Major General Kobayashi made a gesture of encirclement on all sides: "Aren't the Chinese army afraid that the Imperial Army will repeat the Songhu Battle's large-scale encirclement and annihilation tactics? No, our enemy, Dai Jiliang, the chief of the Chinese Northwest Army, is very clear about the consequences of fighting the Imperial Army. From Pingjin to Anyang to Guide, the Chinese army has slipped away from the clutches of the Imperial Army time and time again. Therefore, I can fully determine that this time is the same. The purpose of the Chinese army is only to contain our army so that they can launch a counterattack outside Zhengxian County, break through the encirclement of Kaifeng, and rescue the besieged Chinese army."
Major General Kobayashi's words were full of whitewashing, but his analysis of the Northwest Army's avoidance of a large-scale decisive battle still made sense. Therefore, Colonel Chengshan and Lieutenant Colonel Shirataki present fell into deep thought.
After a long while, Shirataki Rishiro responded: "The Chief of Staff's analysis is very interesting. We have news that our division can stop the frenzy of the Chinese army with the existing forces, but we really don't have extra forces to support the 110th Division."
Cheng Shanxiushige followed up and said: "The situation of our division is the same. In order to stop the attack of the Chinese army, we have already used the maximum strength of our division. We have no spare strength to support the Himeji Division. I suggest that the army headquarters should draw troops from the 36th Division."
"Our division is undertaking the important mission of attacking Kaifeng."
Of course, Colonel Chengshan's proposal was rejected by Colonel Ichiro Tanai, Chief of Staff of the 36th Division.
"Not to mention that our division has already captured most of Kaifeng, we must not give up halfway. The troops that have entered the city have already disrupted the organization, and it will take some time to withdraw and reorganize." Colonel Tanai had not finished speaking when Major General Kobayashi suddenly interrupted and asked, "How many days will it take for your division to capture Kaifeng?"
Colonel Tanouchi's expression froze, and then he said in a very cautious tone: "The Chinese troops defending Kaifeng are the direct troops of the Northwest Army. They are well-equipped and have a strong fighting spirit. Although our division has fought several battles and captured most of the city, the enemy troops are still stubborn and are still resisting. Therefore, it will take at least 15 days."
Major General Kobayashi sneered: "At the beginning, the Imperial Army said that it would take three months to resolve the China Incident, but now it takes more than a month to capture an isolated city under siege. Is the 36th Division still a brave and capable Imperial Army?"
"Your Excellency, Chief of Staff, war cannot be based on subjective imagination."
Colonel Tanai certainly could not bear the stigma of the 36th Division being a weak unit, so he argued.
"In Songhu, Anyang, and Guide, the war has taught us that China is not so easy to conquer. The Chinese have the courage to fight, and this courage can only be admired by the Imperial Army."
“It’s okay to admire your enemies, but you must conquer them.”
Kobayashi Asazaburo spoke in a high-sounding tone, but in fact, if a reserve force could not be found, the Japanese army would soon face the fate of being conquered by the Chinese army. For this reason, he could only suppress the dissatisfaction of the 36th Division.
"So I hope that Mr. Tanai will convey the army headquarters' wish to General Mai, to stop the Chinese army outside Zhengxian, and then turn around to eat up the enemy in Kaifeng. Anyway, they are already trapped."
Under pressure from the 12th Army Headquarters and also considering that if Zhongmou was lost, the 36th Division would not only fail to annihilate the Kaifeng defenders but would also be in danger of being annihilated itself, Lieutenant General Wu Chuannan finally agreed to transfer the 222nd Infantry Regiment and the 223rd Infantry Regiment to the Zhongmou front line, leaving only the 224th Infantry Regiment and part of the 36th Search Regiment's attached mountain artillery and the 36th Engineer Regiment to continue attacking Kaifeng.
However, although the strength of the Japanese siege troops was greatly reduced, the Japanese troops on the front line seemed to have sensed that victory would be lost to them. Therefore, the sound of gunfire in Kaifeng city became more and more intense.
“Snap, snap!”
After the gunshots, the Japanese stragglers who were stumbling forward in the ruins caused by their own artillery fire all fell to the ground at once. They tried to use the rubble to avoid the sniper attacks of the Chinese soldiers, but they did not know that the Chinese side had marked the firing range. Soon, an 82mm mortar with its fuse deliberately cut off exploded over the heads of these demons, causing certain casualties among the Japanese soldiers who were unable to dodge.
The Japanese machine guns and grenade launchers immediately fired at the mortar position, but at this time the Chinese mortar position had been moved, and the Japanese retaliation failed.
The Japanese army fired aimlessly for a while, and when they saw that the Chinese side did not fight back, they cautiously stuck their heads out and slowly advanced one meter at a time.
At this moment, a brick from the ground floor of a building along the street that was destroyed by Japanese planes fell down unnoticed, and a black gun barrel stretched out, firing a series of .
The Japanese army, which suffered losses again, angrily turned its attention to this newly discovered firepower point, but the Chinese position was too good.
The corners of the walls have always been the strongest part of the building, and the collapsed floor slabs on the top formed a fairly solid cover.
As a result, the Japanese machine guns and grenade launchers were rendered ineffective.
The Japanese army intended to make a detour from the side, but first they needed to cross the open area at the entrance of the street. The machine gun that seemed to be firing non-stop just blocked the entire road section, and a strong charge would inevitably cause huge losses.
However, the Japanese army refused to believe in evil. Several Japanese engineers waited with explosive tubes in their hands. Perhaps according to their judgment, this firing position was not suitable for the placement of heavy Maxim machine guns. Therefore, they must have deployed the Czech type that was commonly equipped by the Chinese side.
The ZB series machine guns only have a magazine capacity of 30 rounds at most, so they will soon have the opportunity to cross the blockade.
However, these Japanese engineers miscalculated. Just when they calculated that the Chinese ammunition was running out and jumped up, the German-made MG-34 operated by the Tianzi 2nd Regiment Airborne Troops still had half a chain of bullets left. Therefore, these Japanese soldiers were doomed to tragedy.
But the blocked Japanese army quickly called in the Type 92 infantry gun, which fired 3.8kg high-explosive shells at an initial velocity of 198m/s, turning the blocking position upside down on the spot.
The flying machine gun parts and the bodies of Chinese soldiers added new bloody marks to this life-and-death battle.
However, the Japanese infantry artillery had not yet moved, and the 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun bullets fired from a very long distance tore through the Japanese infantry gun's shield like tearing paper, and tore apart the Japanese gunners behind the gun shield.
Five minutes later, the Japanese army's retaliatory artillery fire arrived. Two 75mm Type 94 mountain cannons fired more than ten shells at the area where the Chinese anti-aircraft machine guns were located from 4,000 meters away, making the already devastated city even more dilapidated.
