Sword: Heart of Iron

Chapter 135: The army arrives and strengthens the city defense

The First Red Flag Corps.

Yuan Yelin's troops infiltrated the flank and rear of the 4th Regiment and carried out a series of sabotage on the logistics supply facilities.

The good times did not last long. The 4th Regiment was not a pushover. As soon as they realized something was wrong, they reported the news to the division headquarters.

Okamura Neiji was furious and immediately dispatched nearly half of the 16th Regiment to conduct a sweep in the wilderness. In order to avoid being surrounded by the Japanese army, after obtaining the consent of the superior command post, Yuan Yelin led his troops to withdraw to the west bank of Yishui overnight.

But after all this, the offensive rhythm of the 4th Regiment was delayed.

July 2th night.

After several hours of fierce fighting, both sides entered into a truce at the same time.

Zhang Hu walked out of the command post. Although he was very tired, he still forced himself to stay alert.

The guard followed behind him and offered a fur-collared coat, but Zhang Hu waved his hand and refused. He said in a low and hoarse voice: "This little bit of temperature is nothing. Give it to the injured brothers."

At sunset, the Japs unleashed large-caliber heavy artillery onto the battlefield.

The power is far beyond Zhang Hu's understanding.

To date, the largest caliber artillery he has seen is the 105mm Type howitzer.

I have only seen the calibers above that in books.

He was sure that the caliber of artillery used by the Japanese army was at least 150 mm.

When a grenade is dropped, the area within a hundred meters is instantly razed to the ground. Even if you are shooting from two hundred meters away, you will still be affected if you are not careful.

At best, you will be seriously injured, and at worst, you will die!
In addition to its tremendous power, it also has a strong psychological deterrent effect.

Zhang Hu still can't forget the devastating scene when the shell exploded.

He clearly remembered that the Japanese army fired a total of six missiles.

Just six artillery shells were enough to shatter the defense line consisting of thousands of people.

If it weren't for the brothers' strong will to fight, the position would have been breached by the Japanese long ago.

Wu Guangsheng came running over: "The casualties have been counted. In eight hours, more than a thousand brothers have died."

Zhang Hu became anxious and immediately snatched the roster.

On weekdays, he ate and lived with the soldiers, and they almost became close friends. He could call more than half of the people in the corps by name.

Looking at the cold words on the roster, Zhang Hu felt extremely sad.

Li Yunliang who cut his hair. Wang Zhong, whom he called a "young boy". Sun Jun, an old soldier who loved to listen to operas.
Zhang Hu clenched his fists and gritted his teeth: "Damn little Japs, don't let me find a chance, sooner or later I will drop a bigger shell on you!"

Wu Guangzhong felt bad after sacrificing so many of his men: "The strength of the Japanese Kwantung Army is far beyond our imagination."

"If this continues, let alone three days, it's even a question whether we can hold out until tomorrow night."

Zhang Hu snorted coldly: "We have to defend it even if we can't! This is the order from the commander!"

"Isn't it just heavy artillery? Order all troops to disperse their formations and build echeloned and deep defensive positions. I'm going to fight the devils to the death here!"

"We! Don't be afraid of the shells!"

Wu Guangsheng nodded and saluted: "Yes!"

The moonlight fell on the fields, and the Japanese troops were very quiet at night.

Based on previous combat experience, Okamura Neiji judged that the enemy would most likely launch a night attack, so he simply issued an order directly to the 4th Regiment, requiring the main force to be used to deploy defenses.

People in high positions often like to micromanage
Japan is a country that is extremely good at learning.

The detailed process of the Huaibei Campaign became public information for reflection and reference within the Japanese army.

3 month 1 day.

in the afternoon.

After several days of marching, the newly formed First Corps finally arrived in Linyi.

With 50,000 troops at the gates of the city and all kinds of artillery lined up, the fierce and concentrated long-range firepower attack made the Japanese troops besieging the city deeply experience what it means to give someone a taste of their own medicine.

The key point is that all the artillery used by Wang Feng were captured from the Japanese army.

The weapons produced by the Imperial Arsenal eventually ended up being used on their own people.

With the support and supplies from two full divisions, his troops were well fed.

There were 75 mm Type mountain guns alone.

There were as many as 24 Type howitzers.

The Japanese positions that were surrounded were torn open in an instant.

The surging army came out one after another. Okamura Neiji used his two main regiments to deal with the 1st Red Flag Corps. The troops surrounding Linyi were relatively weak.

There are only three battalions of troops.

The number of combatants was less than 3,000.

In front of the newly formed First Corps, it was not enough to fill the gaps. Before the air support arrived, the Japanese defense line was completely broken.

That night.

The newly formed First Corps marched into Linyi City in a mighty manner.

Pang Bingxun finally received the long-awaited assistance.

Third Army Command Post.

Looking around, one can see broken walls and ruins everywhere.

The destructive power of war was fully demonstrated at this moment.

Pang Bingxun staggered towards Wang Feng and saluted him with a standard military salute: "Sir, you are finally here!"

Being addressed as "Commander" by such an elderly person, Wang Feng felt a little embarrassed: "General Pang, the troops are moving slowly and the rescue is late, please forgive me."

Seeing the other party being so polite, Pang Bingxun's old face turned red. It was obvious that his own troops were fighting at a disadvantage, so he kept urging for support.

"What are you talking about? What are you talking about? It's windy outside, come in and sit down!"

Xu Zuyi also stood aside, silent, and nodded slightly to Wang Feng.

A group of people walked into the dilapidated command post.

Pang Bingxun personally brought a chair, brushed off the dust on it, and let Wang Feng sit down first.

In terms of military rank, he is one level higher than Wang Fenggao.

But in times of war, military rank was the least valuable thing. A bandit leader with slightly greater power could be promoted to major general.

On-the-spot promotions can be seen everywhere.

In terms of seniority, even if he fought for his entire life, he still could not catch up with the achievements others made in just half a year.

How can you have the nerve to take advantage of your age?

Wang Feng was not polite and sat down directly. He looked up at the battle map and immediately started talking about business: "How many troops do you have in your Third Legion that can participate in the battle?"

Pang Bingxun stood aside and counted on his fingers: "I'm afraid there are only two regiments at most."

Wang Feng frowned.

What can two groups do?
In a battlefield where tens of thousands of people were playing chess, not even a ripple could be created.

It seems that I will have to fight alone again.

Seeing Wang Feng's expression, Pang Bingxun hurriedly said, "Don't think it's too little, Commander Wang. These two regiments were the troops I led when I was in the Northwest Army. Even if they were asked to fight the Japanese with heavy machine guns, they would definitely not hesitate!"

Wang Feng nodded: "That's great." "The current situation is very urgent, so I'll make it short. The first problem we face is how to quickly consolidate Linyi's defenses."

"There are only a few rivers around Linyi, and not even a hill to be seen. The Japanese tanks can come and go as they please."

"My suggestion is to immediately build anti-tank fortifications around Linyi, whether by laying mines or digging trenches, in any case, to delay the advance of the enemy tanks."

Pang Bingxun nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes"

Wang Feng continued, "I'll leave this part of the mission to you, the Third Army. Are you confident?"

Facing the Second Division armed to the teeth, all his own troops were useful. The dirty work of building fortifications was directly assigned to the Third Corps, whose combat effectiveness had been basically lost. This also allowed the other side to have a sense of participation in the battle.

Pang Bingxun nodded.

You should do things according to your ability. The Third Corps has suffered such losses. The soldiers that will be replenished in the future will not be the famous men from the Northwest.

He had to keep some fire for the troops.

Xu Zuyi suddenly said, "Not long ago, Commander Li sent a telegram saying that the 22nd Army is rushing to help Teng County. Perhaps they can help us share some of the pressure."

Wang Feng turned his head and asked: "Sichuan Army?"

Xu Zuyi nodded: "It's Deng Xihou's troops."

The Sichuan Army is now in disgrace and is at the bottom of the National Army pyramid.

I don't want any battle zone. I'm like a ball, being kicked back and forth.

During the Anti-Japanese War in Shanxi, Yan Laoxi sent a telegram directly to the headquarters with fierce words, saying that it was "not enough to resist the Japanese, but more than enough to disturb the people."

Therefore, the Military Commission planned to transfer the 22nd Army Group to the First War Zone.

Who would have thought that Cheng Qian would directly refuse and say something even more unpleasant.

"Even Old Yan doesn't want it, so you want to give it to me? I don't want this kind of rotten army!"

In fact, the Sichuan Army was not like this in nature. Deng's troops were originally stationed in Chengdu in western Sichuan. Their external water transportation was controlled by Liu Xiang, and they were unable to purchase replenishment of ammunition. Half of the guns used by the soldiers were homemade and had extremely poor performance.

This time, inspired by the national cause, they volunteered to go out of Sichuan to fight in the war. They set out in a hurry and traveled a long distance. There were no supply stations along the way to provide support, so they had no choice but to purchase supplies locally.

It is inevitable that there will be an impact on military discipline.

Wang Feng didn't think it was a big deal.

Although the Sichuan Army's weapons were much more backward, their will and determination to fight against the Japanese far exceeded that of most domestic armies at the time of national crisis.

At present, the 47th Army is still fighting in Changzhi, and nothing unexpected has happened.

It's nothing but contempt and slander from local warlords.

If the war zone does not provide supplies, then they can only raise them on their own. When the army is defeated, it is inevitable that the soldiers will resort to forced buying and selling, but they are called "bandit troops."

That's ridiculous enough.

"In this way, the battle will be much easier." Wang Feng breathed a sigh of relief.

The straight-line distance from Teng County to Linyi is more than 100 kilometers. If we face the 2nd and 10th Divisions at the same time, the battle line will be too long and it will be difficult to cope with it.

Wang Feng coughed and said, "Okay, the battle situation is urgent, so let's stop here for today. I'll have to trouble General Pang to take care of the defense of Linyi City."

After saying this, he turned around and left with a group of officers.

He still has a lot of things to do. Compared with the defense of Linyi City, the established deceptive tactics are the top priority.

Pang Bingxun and Xu Zuyi followed behind and escorted Wang Feng out of the command post.

Looking at the convoy going away, Pang Bingxun sighed: "It's true that the waves behind push the waves ahead!"

"We are old and useless now."

He was deeply impressed by Wang Feng's vigorous and decisive attitude towards work.

Young people are full of energy!
Xu Zuyi smiled aside.

He was only the chief of staff of the theater, and he could not directly interfere with combat command, either in the headquarters or in the subordinate troops.

This time he came to Linyi on the orders of Li Zongren to supervise the battle on the front line.

Therefore, he did not interrupt when the combat orders were deployed just now.

"Let's go. The Japanese invaders are coming aggressively. We have to prepare early."

Inside the temporary command post.

While Wang Feng was away at the Third Army Command Post, Zhao Fangyuan had already summarized the situation in Linyi City in detail.

"Sir, half of the people in Linyi City have not yet evacuated."

"Do you want it?"

If we were to say which group is most affected by the war, it would be ordinary people.

Wang Feng thought about it and shook his head: "Forget about it for now, we just need to do our best to protect Linyi City."

It is not easy to leave your homeland.

Even Wen Yiduo wrote in his family letters: "I am not very good at going out by myself, and I have almost no courage to take care of three children and an old mother."

You have to know that this is a professor at Tsinghua University. If he thinks so, let alone ordinary people.

The Second Division is pressing forward step by step, and the Corps currently has no spare manpower and supplies to deal with this matter, so it can only be put on hold for the time being.

Wang Feng: "Immediately deploy the mission according to the original plan, place the 59th Army Cavalry Regiment west of Linyi, and build more fake tents to confuse the Japanese army."

"Notify Sergei to eliminate the Japanese spies in the city to prevent the plan from being leaked."

"As for manpower, first hire the people in the city, pay them more, and settle accounts on a daily basis."

He could only help to this extent as he was unable to do anything. He gathered the people to do the work so that if they really had to run away, everyone would have more money.

If a large-scale army was mobilized to help the civilians evacuate, a gap would appear on the front line, and Okamura Neiji would seize the opportunity.

Even if the people in the city wanted to escape, they had no chance.

Zhao Fangyuan nodded.

"Sir, with the size of the cavalry regiment, it would be difficult to play a role even if we don't face the Japanese cavalry brigade head-on. Do you want to expand it?"

He thought about this question for a long time during the march.

Even if the cavalry regiment could infiltrate behind the Japanese army, its impact on the battle situation would probably be minimal.

Wang Feng frowned and said, "Go and count how many idle war horses there are in the army, and how many ordinary infantrymen can ride horses."

Cavalry has its own set of tactics. Infantry that can ride horses cannot be considered cavalry in the strict sense.

But enough is enough.

It was World War II, and he really didn't expect cavalry tactics to play such a significant role.

Under the crazy fire of heavy machine guns, the cavalry fell in large numbers like wheat being cut.

War horses are more of a tool for fast movement.

The correct solution is to wait until you arrive at the battlefield, then dismount and fight as infantry.

Zhao Fangyuan nodded: "Okay, I'll get ready now."

Before leaving, Wang Feng added: "Telegram Chu Yunfei and ask his reserve 1st Corps to replace Zhang Hu's troops. I'm afraid that they will be disadvantageous in the battle if they fight for a long time and tire themselves out."

He was unwilling to give up his stronghold on the west bank of Yishui until the battle line was fully deployed.

If the First Red Flag Corps had not attracted the attention of the Japanese army, the Second Division would probably be at the gates of the city by now.

(End of this chapter)