RPAGF Chapter 118: Suppressing Bandits in Nanyun City
Chapter 118: Suppressing Bandits in Nanyun City
Under the artillery fire of the 103st Division and the fierce attack of the 713rd Regiment using general-purpose machine guns, submachine guns and mortars, the advance of the th Regiment was easily repelled.
When the 71st Division's artillery fire stopped, the st Division's headquarters immediately moved back three kilometers.
Having just arrived at the new headquarters, the commander of the 71st Division sighed heavily: "Alas, this battle is not easy to fight."
As the saying goes, once you make great progress, you will be exhausted again and again.
Although the Northern Army's fighting power was still strong, they had lost their initial courage under the enemy's dense artillery coverage.
"Division Commander, why do we have to fight so hard? This battle is led by the Third Army. We just need to tie down the enemy's forces." The chief of staff suggested.
However, there was one thing he hadn't said yet - the commander of the Third Army, Zeng He, and the commander of the Seventh Army, Wu Lihuang, belonged to different camps, and the relationship between them had always been tense.
If the Seventh Army Commander Wu Lihuang knew that the 71st Division was working so hard, he would probably be dissatisfied with the division commander.
The commander of the 71st Division then asked, "What are the casualties of the troops?"
"In today's battle, our troops suffered heavy casualties. No less than 700 people died from the artillery bombardment alone, and there are many seriously injured." The chief of staff's face looked a little heavy, and he answered slowly.
Inside the Third Army headquarters, Army Commander Zeng He was standing in front of a map, carefully marking the troop strengths of both sides and their respective deployments on it.
He stopped to think from time to time, considering the next strategic deployment.
At this time, the chief of staff hurried into the headquarters and reported to Zeng He with a serious expression: "Commander, the enemy's artillery poses a great threat to us. In addition, the enemy's firepower is very strong. The 32nd Division launched several attacks and encountered stubborn resistance from the Nanshan Army."
Hearing the Chief of Staff's words, Zeng He smiled disdainfully: "Stubborn resistance? Humph, I think they just want to preserve their strength and shrink back."
Although he knew clearly that the 32nd Division had not launched an all-out attack, Zeng He had no intention of pursuing the matter now.
He then asked the chief of staff: "What is the situation on the two wings?"
The chief of staff shook his head helplessly: "The situation is not optimistic. The 71st Division was hit by fierce artillery fire from the enemy and suffered heavy losses. The 72nd Division only has troops and is in a tug-of-war with the enemy on the battlefield."
Zeng He also felt very helpless about this situation.
The elite level of the Nanshan Army was completely beyond his expectations. Moreover, the sophisticated weapons they possessed and the actual number of the Nanshan Army were far beyond his expectations.
At this moment, the most ideal solution is to request the capital to send reinforcements. However, Zeng He has sent three consecutive distress telegrams, but has not received any response so far.
Who knew that this war was just a game between Li Bingqing and Yuan Shiting.
For them, neither the gains and losses of Nanshan Province nor the casualties of the attacking forces were what they really cared about.
If the battle is won, Li Bingqing can temporarily resolve the crisis. But if the battle is lost, or there is no result for a long time, it will cause a greater blow to Li Bingqing's reputation.
Therefore, before the war began, many people did not agree to use the army at first. Although they agreed to send troops later, they only sent the Third Army.
"Good! Judging from the current situation, it shouldn't be a problem to hold Changhuan." In the Yanping City Command Center, Fang Guoxuan felt relieved after receiving the battle report from the front, and he talked to himself.
However, the chief of staff at the side said tactlessly: "Commander, we only have enough shells for two more bombardments."
The "twice" mentioned here is calculated based on each shelling lasting thirty minutes.
Fang Guoxuan would not wait until the shells ran out before requesting support, so he decisively ordered: "Send a telegram to the Second Division immediately, requesting them to send more artillery and shells."
The chief of staff quickly followed Fang Guoxuan's instructions and sent a telegram to the Second Division of Changhuan City.
That night, Changhuan City transported ten trucks of artillery shells to Changhuan. Fang Guoxuan was overjoyed and became more confident in defending Yanping.
In this way, the attack and defense of Yanqiu outside Yanping City lasted for another two days. Under the threat of Nanshan Army's artillery fire, the intensity of the Northern Army's attack was greatly reduced.
During this period, the Second Division delivered two more artillery shells, and all the stored ammunition of the Second and Third Divisions was delivered.
On the afternoon of March 4, in Eshan County, Nanyun City, Wei Hanzhou requisitioned a county government compound as his temporary headquarters.
On the left of Wei Hanzhou was Wang Hu, who was looking at the map seriously, holding a pen in his hand, writing and drawing. Fang Jian also sent Wang Hu out for this bandit suppression operation.
"Captain Wei, we can now confirm that someone in Eshan County has contacted Zhang Guilin's troops and tipped them off." Chen Zui's voice broke the silence. He stood on the right side of Wei Hanzhou and said solemnly.
Wei Hanzhou frowned but did not speak, motioning Chen Zui to continue.
According to Wei Hanzhou's personality, he would just need to find the enemy's nest and attack directly. There's no need to go through all these twists and turns.
Chen Zui nodded and continued, "After we arrived in Eshan County the day before yesterday, we disguised ourselves as merchants as planned and bought up local specialties in various towns in Eshan. We also deliberately revealed in various towns that we were transporting a large amount of goods."
"We originally planned to use this to lure the remnants of Zhang Guilin out of the mountains and then destroy them in one fell swoop. The remnants of Zhang Guilin did come out of the mountains, but when they were about to enter our encirclement, they suddenly retreated."
"Based on the clues we have, it is very likely that the news of the encirclement and suppression was leaked, causing the remnants of Zhang Guilin to retreat after hearing the news."
Wei Hanzhou waved his hand and said in a cold tone: "Chief Chen, someone leaked the information. You can investigate it slowly."
"The matter of suppressing the bandits cannot be delayed any longer. I will lead my troops to launch a direct attack on the remnants of Zhang Guilin's army."
"Among the more than 500 people I brought this time, more than 100 are members of the special forces, and 28 of them are veterans with actual combat experience, enough to easily defeat the remnants of Zhang Guilin." Wei Hanzhou said confidently.
He believed that his troops were very powerful and even relying on only one hundred special forces would be enough to wipe out this group of bandits, so there was no need to adopt any fancy strategies.
In his eyes, this strategy not only wastes time, but also affects the morale of the soldiers.
"Okay." Although Chen Zui agreed, he was still worried about it.
He was worried that if the operation to eliminate the bandits did not go smoothly, Zhang Guilin might take his men and flee to the Nanshan Mountains, which would make subsequent pursuit very difficult.
Although the strength of the special forces cannot be underestimated, the enemy has a geographical advantage and is very familiar with the surrounding environment.
In this case, the special forces are likely to allow the enemy to escape easily because they do not understand the terrain.