RPAGF Chapter 765: Desperate Prospects
Chapter 765: Desperate Prospects
Chapter 765: Desperate Prospects
765 Desperate Prospects
"Baga, why did the gunfire in the city stop?"
At this moment, in the headquarters of the 22nd Mixed Brigade of the Japanese in the north of the city, the Japanese brigade commander Mishan Milu was there after dawn.
It was discovered that the sound of gunfire in Shaoguan City had stopped.
This gave him a bad feeling.
"Quick, contact the Sixth Squadron and ask them about the situation."
Unfortunately, the Japanese telegraph operator called for half a day but received no response at all.
Then, as the sky brightened.
The Japanese brigade commander Mishan Milu saw through the telescope a plaster flag that belonged to them and was originally planted on the top of the north city wall.
It has been burned.
The flag was replaced with the National Army flag, and some National Army soldiers were cheering with guns raised.
"idiot!"
Seeing this scene, the old Japanese naturally knew what was happening.
He was so angry that he smashed the telescope to the ground.
After fighting hard for several days, we still failed in the end.
"Immediately organize a special attack team to retake Shaoguan."
The old Japanese devil Mishan Milu is not willing to give up and wants to organize a suicide squad to continue the attack.
"Your Excellency, Brigade Commander, this is impossible.
The Chinese artillery arrived the day before yesterday, together with their blocking troops.
The passage for our troops outside the city to enter the city has long been blocked.
There is no way our special forces can rush in.
Besides, with the complete destruction of the 6th Battalion, the other infantry battalions also suffered heavy losses.
We can’t continue this battle.”
A Japanese colonel chief of staff nearby quickly stepped forward to persuade them.
We can’t let Mishan and Milu, who are already blinded by anger, do whatever they want.
Mishan Milu's face turned pale, and he knew that what his chief of staff said was right.
However, if under this circumstance, they failed to capture Shaoguan and open up a southward passage from northern Guangdong.
How could he explain this to Commander Tanaka and Chief of Staff Itagaki?
"Your Excellency, Commander, we don't have to rush.
Based on the information previously sent by Chief of General Staff Itagaki.
Now in Guangdong Province, in addition to Ye Qingshan's 89th Army, which is still fighting with us,
The rest of the Chinese troops were just watching from the sidelines.
In northern Guangdong, there is only Ye Qingshan’s main division.
Even if they did, they have now recaptured Shaoguan.
We just need to wait for the two regiments of the 40th Division of the th Army to move south smoothly and meet us.
By then, it will be no problem for us to retake Shaoguan.
I just don’t believe that Ye Qingshan’s soldiers are so strong.
They have a division of about 10,000 people, and they can't hold out for long.
It would be better for us to rest here now and wait for the arrival of reinforcements from the 40th Division.
At the same time, replenish our artillery shells.
Then the battle will decide the outcome."
The Japanese chief of staff was chattering nearby, giving advice to the old Japanese, Mishan Milu.
The old Japanese soldier Mishan Milu gradually calmed down. After hearing what the chief of staff next to him said, he immediately felt that it made sense.
The current situation in Shaoguan is indeed unfavorable to their brigade.
Continuing to attack is not a wise choice.
"Hey, then do as you say.
How is the situation at the Ninth Brigade?"
Mishan Milu continued to ask.
“Don’t worry, Brigade Commander, their progress is not as good as ours.
Shaoguan, which we want to capture, is a place that the Chinese will fight to the death to defend.
It's supposed to be difficult.
However, the 9th Mixed Brigade on the western front was unable to break through the resistance of several Chinese regiments and attack Shaoguan from the side.
Their performance was not as good as our brigade's.
If the 9th Mixed Brigade could break through the Chinese blockade earlier and attack the Chinese army in Shaoguan from the flank.
We have already won this battle.”
After listening to this, Mishan Milu felt better immediately.
If his teammates are worse than him, then he doesn't have to worry about being punished by his boss.
If any punishment is to be imposed, the 9th Mixed Brigade should be punished first.
Immediately, the Japanese 22nd Mixed Brigade rested in the north of Shaoguan City.
Waiting for the two regiments of the Japanese 40th Army to come to support them, they had already moved south from the Xiangxi battlefield.
The reason why they dared to rest so close to Shaoguan City.
This is because the Japanese knew that there were Nationalist troops in Shaoguan City and they did not have the strength to launch a counterattack against them.
And this is indeed the case.
After dawn, we received the news that Shaoguan City had been recaptured.
Ye Qingshan, Xia Yang, commander of the New 1st Division, and others entered Shaoguan City together.
At this moment, the Shaoguan city had become a mess after five days of fierce fighting between the First Regiment and the Japanese invaders.
"Commander, division commander."
The commander of the first regiment, Hao Zhan, brought the remaining 800 soldiers of the regiment to meet Ye Qingshan and the division commander Xia Yang.
Ye Qingshan looked at the wounded regiment commander Hao Zhan, and the dirty men behind him whose faces were hard to see.
Many of the soldiers were still injured and didn't want to say anything.
He raised his hand and saluted them.
Captain Hao and the surviving soldiers of the regiment returned the gift.
Neither side spoke, and there was no need to say anything.
"Captain Hao, how many people are left in your group now?"
The division commander Xia Yang next to him couldn't help it anymore and asked Captain Hao.
“Most of those who survived are here.
There is another company defending the north of the city.
There are probably about 800 to 900 people left. "
After hearing this, Xia Yang felt heartbroken.
Hao Zhan's regiment is the most elite and most capable main force regiment of their division and even of their 89th Army.
At its peak, the regiment had a total strength of 3,000 men.
As a result, after the battle, more than half of the troops were killed.
Even if we count the wounded outside the city, the total number of four or five hundred people is less than half of the number in its heyday.
Normally, the group has basically lost the ability to continue fighting.
It's time to remove it for renovation.
But unfortunately, Ye Qingshan didn't even have an extra reserve team at the moment.
He even sent the guard battalion to join the battle last night.
Therefore, there is no chance for repair at this moment.
They recaptured Shaoguan City and needed to hold it firmly for the next few days.
"Captain Hao, there is no way for you to withdraw and rest.
You will still be needed to guard Shaoguan City for the next two weeks.
No matter what, we cannot let this place be captured by the devils."
Commander Xia said to Commander Hao.
Captain Hao seemed to have been mentally prepared and immediately responded, "Don't worry, Commander.
This was taken back by thousands of brothers in our regiment at the cost of their lives.
There is no way we would give in to the Japs.
We will take this on as a group, and we swear to live and die with this city!"
"it is good!"
At this time, Ye Qingshan next to him also said: "Captain Hao, take your people and have a good sleep.
Leave the defense to my guard battalion.
The Japanese outside the city would not dare to attack for the time being.
In this battle, we suffered heavy casualties, but their casualties were no less than ours. "
Ye Qingshan could see that everyone in the regiment, from the regiment commander to the soldiers below, had fatigue in their eyes.
During these five days, they barely slept for a few hours.
"Yes, Commander."
Captain Hao originally wanted to be tough.
But looking at Ye Qingshan's unquestionable eyes, he changed his mind and agreed.
Soon, Captain Hao and the soldiers of the regiment found some houses in the city that had not been blown down by the Japanese.
He leaned against the wall and quickly fell asleep.
"Commander Xia, tell the kitchen staff to start cooking immediately.
Wait for the brothers in the regiment to wake up and give them a hot meal. "
Ye Qingshan explained.
“Yes, Commander.
Don't worry, I'll take care of these."
"Commander, a message from Division Commander Long."
Xiao Wusheng came over at this time to report the situation.
Seeing this, Xia Yang took his people away to deal with other matters.
"Where are Long Wendong and the others?"
"Commander, Division Commander Long and his men have entered Guangxi Province and received the first supply from the Guangxi Army.
So far, they have walked nearly 400 kilometers.
It’s a little faster than expected.”
"Yeah, the speed is okay."
"Commander, with the speed at which Division Commander Long and his men are marching.
In less than three weeks, they will be able to reach northern Guangdong."
The young martial artist also said with surprise.
But there was no trace of joy on Ye Qingshan's face, and he said calmly: "Their difficulties have just begun.
After the march in the previous few days, the soldiers' physical strength and morale were at their peak.
Even the mules and horses following them were full of energy.
However, they were able to maintain this high-intensity march every day for five days without any noticeable drop in speed.
Long Wendong and his team are already very good.
But in the next two weeks, there is no doubt that their marching speed will slow down.
Neither people nor mules and horses could withstand this high-intensity and long march.
In addition, the conditions of mountain roads in Guangxi Province are not objective.
They will be able to arrive on time on the 16th.
I am very satisfied. ”
After hearing what Ye Qingshan said, the surprise on the young martial artist's face gradually disappeared.
"By the way, what's the situation with the 131st Division of the Gui Army?
Let them attack the Japanese in the Danxia Mountain area. Is there any news now?"
"Commander, the 131st Division of the Gui Army.
There has been radio silence since last night.
We couldn't contact them.
According to the time, they should not have arrived at Danxia Mountain yet.
I guess we’ll have to wait until after noon.”
“Keep calling them.
If you have any news, report to me immediately."
"Come and contact Deputy Commander Wu for me. I want to know the progress of their attack in Yangcheng..."
Afterwards, Ye Qingshan contacted the New Second Division and the New Third Division that were attacking Yangcheng.
We know that they have been under heavy bombardment from heavy artillery regiments and bomber groups in the sky in the past few days.
They have successfully eliminated the two lines of defense of the Japanese outside Yangcheng.
The enemy is already at the gates.
“According to Deputy Commander Wu’s report.
The 23th Division, the main force of the Japanese 104rd Army, has now abandoned its positions around Yangcheng.
All troops retreated to Yangcheng and deployed defenses along the city walls and rivers.
Trying to stop our army step by step or delay time.
Deputy Commander Wu said they were already working on a more detailed offensive plan.
They also knew that even if the city was captured, the Japanese 23rd Army would not surrender easily.
They will inevitably engage in street fighting with us, so they need to prepare in advance."
After listening to Xiao Wusheng's report, Ye Qingshan nodded slightly.
Deputy Commander Wu and his colleagues’ prediction must be correct.
If the Japanese 23rd Army had been willing to give up Yangcheng so easily, they would not have been able to hold on until now.
If they wanted to escape, they should have gone to the two main divisions of the 89th Army.
They escaped by sea before they were surrounded.
This is the best way to retreat.
But now, the Japanese 23rd Army was trapped in Yangcheng and had lost the opportunity to escape by sea.
Then the other party must have chosen to defend to the end.
Fortunately, the terrain in Yangcheng is very good.
It is not a terrain that is easy to defend but difficult to attack.
This is good news for the attacking New 2nd Division and New 3rd Division.
Ye Qingshan was not worried about the situation in Yangcheng.
After all, their 89th Army was the attacking force over there.
It's just a matter of how long it will take to capture Yangcheng and annihilate the remnants of the Japanese 23rd Army.
But these all take time.
And only their New 1st Division held on in northern Guangdong.
Only in this way can we buy enough time for the New 2nd and 3rd Divisions to attack the city on the southern front.
So, in the final analysis,
The key to this battle lies in the battlefield in northern Guangdong.
After five days of fierce fighting, not only the 1st Regiment of the New 1st Division suffered heavy casualties.
In fact, all the other regiments also suffered heavy casualties.
Moreover, Xue Yue had previously sent news to Ye Qingshan, informing him that two regiments of the 11th Japanese Army had left the Xiangxi battlefield and headed south.
Even now, a group has recaptured Shaoguan.
But once the two Japanese regiments heading south arrived safely.
How are they supposed to defend this place?
It would be too difficult to complete this task with only the 10,000 men of the New 1st Regiment.
Three weeks.
It’s only the sixth day, and there are still two weeks to go.
How could they accomplish this with their exhausted army of only 10,000 men?
Even if the 131st Division of the Gui Army was able to successfully launch a surprise attack on the logistics base of the th Mixed Brigade of the Japanese.
They even recaptured the front line of Danxia Mountain.
It can only make their situation in northern Guangdong slightly better.
Still unable to reverse the disadvantage.
After all, the two Japanese infantry regiments that marched south from the Xiangxi battlefield in the north were only the first wave of Japanese troops marching south.
The hundreds of thousands of Japanese soldiers from the 11th Army will continue to move south.
At the beginning, Xue Yue promised Ye Qingshan that he would delay the Japanese 11th Army for at least two weeks.
What if two weeks later, the entire 11th Army of the Japanese invaders marches south?
What should they do then?
After thinking about the difficulties they faced in this battle, the young warriors felt despair.
Anyway, Xiao Wusheng couldn't think of any other way to keep them in northern Guangdong for two weeks.
He couldn't help but look at Ye Qingshan.
Seeing that Ye Qingshan was still calm and composed, and not at all panicked, the young martial artist calmed down a lot.
Ye Qingshan is their backbone at this moment.
"How many of the road-blasting teams we sent out have returned?"
Ye Qingshan asked again.
It turned out that a few days ago, Ye Qingshan asked Xia Yang to organize several reconnaissance teams.
They were asked to carry a lot of explosives and mines and go around to the main roads at the junction of Hunan and Guangdong to the north gate.
Choose a strategic terrain to carry out blasting.
Laying mines.
The rocks caused by the explosion can block the road.
Even so, it could only completely stop the Japanese from moving southwards from the Xiangxi battlefield.
But at least, it can prevent the Japanese mechanized troops and logistical supply troops from passing through for a short period of time.
"Two have returned, but the others haven't come back yet."
The young martial artist replied.
But he knew that these small doses could only delay the Japanese for a while and would not have much impact on the war situation.
Xiao Wusheng still doesn't understand what solution Ye Qingshan has.
It would allow them to hold out in northern Guangdong for three weeks until the 89 elite troops of the th Army returned.
If we don't make it through to that point, everything will be in vain.