Anti-Japanese War: Li Yunlong dared to attack Taiyuan

At the same time as the first batch of airdropped supplies arrived, a group of fighter jets and light bombers were stationed at Jinzhou Airport.

After these bombers and fighter planes entered Jinzhou, they could not only provide certain fire support for Tashan, but also support the troops attacking Fengtian.

At the same time, the arrival of this batch of airdropped supplies greatly boosted the morale of the First and Second Divisions.

In the past, when they had no supplies, they dared to fight the Japanese devils head-on. Now, they have no worries. Even if they are surrounded by the Japanese devils, there are planes to deliver supplies. The soldiers are more confident that they can complete the blocking mission excellently!

The logistics troops of the two divisions quickly assembled the rockets, put the warheads and bodies together, and distributed them to the combat troops.

At the same time, the artillery of both units also received mortars.

This was only the first batch of airdropped supplies. Soon the second batch of airdropped supplies was delivered to the battlefield. This batch carried some light weapons, mainly light and heavy machine guns and grenade launchers, to strengthen the firepower of the two divisions.

All the people in Tashan have been evacuated, and Ding Chengye set up his headquarters in the town.

With Tashan Town as the center, within a radius of five kilometers, trenches, communication trenches, foxholes, machine gun positions, artillery positions and some sniper positions were constantly dug out.

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Here is the third update. I was delayed by something today and didn’t finish writing the fourth chapter. I still owe six chapters.

Chapter 610 Let Them Go South

Japanese troops heading towards Harbin.

"retreat?"

After seeing the content of the telegram sent by Toshimichi Kamimura, the temporary Japanese commander in charge of commanding the Harbin direction, Jita Kentani, couldn't help but frown.

"Hai!"

"Report, the vanguard was ambushed by the Eighth Route Army and is exchanging fire with them!"

"Report,……"

"Report, a call came from Khabarovsk. The commander ordered us to retreat immediately and quickly return to Harbin. We must leave the main force behind to prevent a rout!"

"Report, a call came from Khabarovsk, ordering our troops to retreat immediately without delay!"

"Report, a call came from Khabarovsk, ordering our troops..."

Seven consecutive telegrams were sent to Jianya Jita, and the wording of each telegram was much harsher than the previous one.

Kentani Jita also realized that something unexpected might have happened, otherwise the Kwantung Army Headquarters would not have sent so many telegrams in a row asking him to retreat.

"Order the troops: the rear troops will become the front troops and retreat to Harbin. Order the vanguard troops to gradually withdraw from the firefight with the Eighth Route Army and be responsible for covering the rear!"

"Hai!"

Kentani Jita finally chose to believe the order of the Kwantung Army Headquarters and began to retreat. As instructed, he left the vanguard troops behind to ensure that they would not be pursued during the retreat.

In fact, the transfer of more than 200,000 people is a very troublesome thing, especially when the marching destination is suddenly adjusted during the march. It is easy for orders to not be conveyed properly, which will eventually lead to command confusion.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, the army will not suddenly change its marching direction, otherwise chaos will easily occur.

At this time, if someone shouted "So-and-so is dead" or other slogans, causing a sudden roar of troops, the 800,000-strong army might instantly become a mob. Even if they could stop the flow of the river with a whip, they would still be beaten to a pulp.

The Sixth Division was responsible for blocking the Japanese troops heading towards Harbin. The Tenth Division had already begun moving on the flank, and the First Armored Division was preparing to go around from behind.

The tactics were similar to those used by the Japanese to attack Xinjing, except that there was no Third Corps to supplement their forces. So the goal for the Japanese troops coming from Harbin was not to completely annihilate them, but to block and harass them, and to take a bite if there was a chance.

The Sixth Division was responsible for frontal containment, the Tenth Division was responsible for flank containment, and the First Armored Division launched the attack, aiming to defeat as many as possible.

If we cannot defeat them, then we will give up Songyuan and wait for the battle in Xinjing area to end.

"Report, the Japs are retreating!"

Hearing this, the Sixth Division Commander Xu Hua (he was formerly the commander of the 771st Regiment, the same regiment commander who had blocked the Japanese cavalry regiment on the outskirts of the Ping'an County blocking battle. He was not the same person as the dismissed Sixteenth Division Commander Chen Hua).

He walked to the map, frowning. According to the plan, they needed to hold off the Japanese for a day to buy time for the rest of the troops. But the Japanese retreated after attacking for less than half an hour?

"The frontline troops discovered that the Japanese were retreating in an orderly manner. They probably wanted to withdraw from the battle."

Xu Hua frowned as he looked at the map and asked, "What are the Japs doing? Are we scaring them because of our overpowered firepower?"

As an old regimental commander, Xu Hua encountered this situation for the first time. In the past, when they encountered the Japanese troops, they were considered tough. They either killed them by themselves or completed their mission and retreated. This was the first time they encountered a Japanese army that retreated on its own initiative.

"Order the 25th Regiment to hold on to the Japs and send a telegram to the Corps Headquarters to inquire about the situation!"

"Yes!"

Xu Hua's intuition told him that the Japanese retreated on their own initiative, and something must have happened, otherwise they would not retreat on their own initiative.

At the First Corps Headquarters, the division commander received Xu Hua's telegram.

"The Japanese troops in the Harbin direction have retreated. They must have learned about the situation on our side and are preparing to return to defend Harbin!"

After putting down the telegram, the division commander thought for a moment and said, "Send a telegram to the Sixth and Tenth Divisions, and immediately launch an attack on the retreating Japanese. Take as much meat as you can!"

"Yes!"

"Report this news to headquarters!"

"Yes!"

Inside Baicheng, Li Yunlong handed the telegram to Jiang Shou: "The devils in Harbin have retreated, and their speed is quite fast!"

"Pity!"

Jiang Shou shook his head and said, "We still don't have enough time. Otherwise, if the Second Corps' troops were to outflank us, we would be able to wipe out this Japanese army!"

After the Japanese decided to launch a major counterattack, Li Yunlong had already adjusted his combat deployment.

The troops of the Second Corps were marching rapidly towards Harbin. At the same time, the troops responsible for supporting the Seventh Division also turned south to cut off the Japanese retreat.

But after all, there was not enough time, and it would take two more days to reach the battlefield.

"The division commander has ordered a pursuit. With our forces, it would be a great victory if we could wipe out the Japanese troops heading towards Xinjing in one go. Besides, our original target was not Harbin."

"Well, let's keep chasing them. Let's stop hiding the First Division and attack the devils directly. Bite off a piece of our flesh!"

“As for Harbin!”

Chief Jiang glanced at the map and said, "It will be difficult to recapture it this time. What's the situation with the Seventh Division?"

"We have already engaged in a firefight with the vanguard of the Far Eastern Front. Currently, the Pingdingshan and Daqingshan positions are in our hands."

Chief Jiang glanced at the position of the Seventh Division and said, "There's no need to stop the enemy reinforcements. Even if we hold them off for a few days, we won't be able to take Harbin in such a short time. Let them advance south and have the Seventh Division retreat!"

"Yes!"

The purpose of the Seventh Division blocking the Far Eastern Front was to buy time for the main force to attack Harbin. However, the focus of the attack has been adjusted. There are a large number of defenders in Harbin, and it is unlikely to capture it in a short time. There is no point in continuing to block the Far Eastern Front, so they simply retreated and redeployed according to the battlefield situation.

"The Japanese still have too many troops. If we defend a city, the price we have to pay is too high. The gain is not worth it!"

Li Yunlong couldn't help but sigh. The Japanese had already had hundreds of thousands of defenders in the four eastern provinces. Adding the 200,000 elite troops of the Far Eastern Front and the five divisions coming from the peninsula, their force would reach around a million in just a few days.

It is impossible for Li Yunlong's troops to wipe out all of these Japanese troops. They need to give up some areas, consolidate the areas they have recaptured, and then take their time to make further moves.

As long as he could gain a foothold in the four northeastern provinces, Li Yunlong believed that his troops would be able to expand rapidly and their strength would definitely exceed that of the Japanese.

After receiving the order from the headquarters, the Sixth Division and the Tenth Division no longer hid themselves and began to attack the Japanese troops coming out of Harbin like tigers descending from the mountains.

At the same time, the 1st Armored Division also joined the battle.

However, the enemy troops in Harbin also left a rearguard unit, and they were not defeated in a short period of time. Although they suffered heavy casualties, they successfully retreated back to Harbin.

At the same time, the Seventh Division, which was blocking the Japanese around Pingdingshan and Daqingshan, also successfully retreated and returned to the direction of Songyuan. The situation in Heilongjiang Province once again returned to its previous state.

The Japanese occupied Harbin and the area north of Harbin, and Li Yunlong's troops occupied Qiqihar and other areas.

Chapter 611 The Angry Commander of the Kwantung Army

"boom!"

In the city of Khabarovsk, a loud noise was heard from the Japanese headquarters, and Mei Jing Meijiro threw out everything he could see.

Tucked away among the debris was a telegram, the source of everything. Most of the Fifth Army had been surrounded and annihilated. Four divisions and over 100,000 puppet troops were completely annihilated by the Eighth Route Army in the area from Hada Mountain to the Songhua River.

Tens of thousands of people surrendered, and tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers died in battle. This was the greatest loss the Japanese had suffered since the start of the war, except for the Russian counterattack in Siberia last winter.

"Damn it! That idiot Kamimura Toshimichi is a criminal and a disgrace to the Empire. He destroyed the Fifth Army!"

When Kamimura Toshimichi left the city, Meijing Meijiro had a bad feeling and sent telegrams to him several times to ask him to return to Xinjing, but he insisted on going. In the end, Meijing Meijiro gave up trying to dissuade him. After all, even if an army of hundreds of thousands were ambushed or defeated, at most only a portion of them would be lost.

As a result, that bastard Uemura Toshimichi actually destroyed four divisions, which amounted to over 100,000 men. After seeing the last telegram sent by Uemura Toshimichi, Mei Jing Meijiro just wanted to cut this guy into pieces!

His death was not a big deal, but the four divisions he had destroyed were the only main force from Xinjing to Fengtian. If these four divisions were annihilated, the situation in the entire southern part of Manchuria would become extremely devastating.

The Kwantung Army, which was now heading south, was returning to provide support, but was blocked and was trying to break through Tashan. Reinforcements from the peninsula were also on the way.

During this period, Xinjing was held by only one division, and Fengtian was also held by only one division. If Kamimura Toshimichi had not mobilized the forces of these four divisions, Li Yunlong's troops would have been hesitant to attack Fengtian from the south, as Xinjing still had over 100,000 troops ready to outflank them at any time.

But now that the threat from Xinjing is gone, Li Yunlong's troops can attack Fengtian with confidence, but it is not certain that Fengtian can be defended.

"Report, a call from Harbin: the Northern Route Army has successfully withdrawn to Harbin, and the Eighth Route Army did not attack Harbin!"

Another telegram was delivered to Mei Jing Mei Zhi Lang. Hearing this news, Mei Jing Mei Zhi Lang's anger was slightly relieved. Harbin's main force was saved, and there was still strength for the next battle.

"What's the damage?"

"Report, we've lost about 15,000 men. Li Yunlong's armored forces are very formidable, and we don't have effective anti-tank weapons!"

"The Fengtian Arsenal has already been..."

Mei Jing Mei Zhi Lang wanted to say that the Fengtian Arsenal had begun mass-producing anti-tank weapons to be used against Li Yunlong's troops, but he stopped talking. Now Mei Jing Mei Zhi Lang had to face a decision: whether to blow up the Fengtian Arsenal.

The Fengtian Arsenal was the largest arsenal in Asia. Before the Japanese took over, the Fengtian Arsenal was already quite large, and after the Japanese took over, they partially expanded it.

After 1937, the Japanese invaded in large numbers and moved all the arsenals they had looted to the vicinity of Fengtian. In this way, Fengtian became the largest arsenal production base in Asia.

There are several tank production lines, rifle production lines, large bullet production lines, artillery shell production lines, gun barrel production lines, engine production lines, etc. From small ones that can produce various bullets, rifles, light and heavy machine guns to large ones that can produce various aircraft and tanks.

In addition, there are a large number of supporting steel mills, and the annual steel production ranks among the top in the world.

But such a crucial location was about to be lost. It was too late to relocate these facilities, leaving only one option: destroy them or leave them. Destroying them was easier, as there was a division stationed in Fengtian City that could blow up all the arsenals. The last thing Fengtian lacked was raw materials for weapons manufacturing.

But once the bombing, the Japanese hard work of more than ten years of accumulation will be wiped out. Especially for the Kwantung Army, once these arsenals are all blown up, they will lose their current transcendent status.

The reason the Kwantung Army dared to feign obedience to the Japanese Imperial Headquarters, obeying only the Emperor's orders and not those of the Japanese Army Headquarters, was because they were completely self-sufficient in all their supplies, independent of the Japanese mainland. Without the Army Headquarters' control over their logistics, they were able to challenge the latter.