EBE Chapter 517 The attack begins
Chapter 517 The attack begins
When the tanks of the Japanese attacking force were lined up to cover the infantry and advanced to a distance of less than 553 meters from the position at the foot of the mountain, the rd Regiment concentrated its heavy machine guns at the position at the foot of the mountain and fired fiercely at the Japanese tanks.
The Japanese tank that was rushing in the front came under concentrated attack from the heavy machine guns of the 553rd Regiment. The bullets penetrated the weak point of the armor of the Japanese light tank, killing all the tank soldiers in the tank. The tank also lay in place and no longer moved forward.
The Japanese tanks at the back were also frightened when they saw that the leading tank was knocked down by the heavy machine guns of the Chinese army. In order to avoid the attack range of the heavy machine guns of the Chinese army, they dodged to both sides of the attack line and dared not continue to attack forward.
This caused great trouble for the hundreds of Japanese infantrymen following the tanks. As the tanks retreated to both sides of the battlefield, the concentrated heavy machine gun fire of the 553rd Regiment fell on these infantrymen. For a moment, the attacking Japanese infantrymen were beaten to a bloody mess, and after leaving behind more than a hundred corpses, they retreated to the side of the road under the loud shouts of the army officers, and fired uselessly at the positions of the 553rd Regiment from a distance.
At the other end of the battlefield, the 554th Regiment took advantage of the panic caused by the Japanese attacking force's 553rd Regiment's flank attack and moved its position to the north side of the road, trying to mobilize the enemy and create an opportunity to destroy the enemy, but failed to achieve its goal and could only form a standoff with the Japanese in the new position.
At this time, the 555th Division Commander Fang Tian, Deputy Commander Shi Zuhuang, and Chief of Staff Li Zhongxin also brought the 553th Regiment as a reserve force to the rd Regiment, ready to join the battle.
After fighting with the Japanese invaders until night, Yang Botao, commander of the 553rd Regiment, discovered that Japanese vehicles coming from Yichang were speeding eastward in a row. He immediately ordered mortars to bombard them. Unfortunately, no measurements were made during the day, and the mortars were fired hastily at night, so the distance could not be determined and the effect was not great.
Just as Yang Botao, commander of the 553rd Regiment, ordered the adjustment of the firing range, Fang Tian, commander of the th Division, issued a retreat order. It turned out that after the Japanese troops in the Yichang direction learned that this side of the road was occupied by the Chinese army, they immediately sent a large number of reinforcements. After completing the established combat objectives, they issued a retreat order in order to avoid being surrounded by the Japanese army.
It was already midnight when the retreat order was received from the division commander Fang Tian. The commander of the 553rd Regiment, Yang Botao, quickly organized the troops into a marching column. Using a compass and the Big Dipper to determine the direction, they retreated northward by feeling their way. Not long after they walked, the officers and soldiers of the 553rd Regiment heard a lot of voices and horses neighing on the left side in front of their team. When the officers and soldiers listened carefully, they found that it was a large marching column of the Japanese army.
This scared the officers and soldiers of the 553rd Regiment, who thought they had been surrounded by the Japanese army. The commander of the 553rd Regiment, Yang Botao, was also experienced. He judged from the noise made by the Japanese army's march that the Japanese army did not know that their troops were right next to them.
Yang Botao, commander of the 553rd Regiment, felt that it would not be a good decision to open fire on the Japanese army at this time, because he did not know the exact location and strength of the Japanese army. Rashly shooting would not only fail to cause much damage to the Japanese army, but would also expose his own side.
Therefore, the commander of the 553rd Regiment, Yang Botao, thought again and again and decided that he had to make up his mind and take a risky move. He ordered the marching troops of the 553rd Regiment to pretend that nothing had happened and continue to move forward, taking advantage of the darkness when the Japanese army could not see the specific situation here clearly and hiding it from the public.
The commander of the 553rd Regiment, Yang Botao, led his troops and walked shoulder to shoulder with the Japanese reinforcements for dozens of meters in the dark, and then separated safely. However, after the 553rd Regiment and the Japanese troops had distanced themselves, all the officers and soldiers of the regiment were so nervous that they were sweating.
When the 185th Division was fighting the Japanese army, what was the 18th Army, where Commander Chen started his career, doing?
In fact, from the combat plan and deployment formulated by Commander Chen to recapture Yichang, it can be found that in Commander Chen's early combat plan to recapture Yichang, the combat tasks assigned to other units were all aimed at restraining the actions of the Japanese army. This was obviously to create a good combat environment and conditions for the 18th Army to recapture Yichang.
After all, Yichang was lost from the 18th Army, and it was the 18th Army itself that had to take it back. Everyone in the 18th Army, from Commander Peng to ordinary soldiers, thought so.
Moreover, now that the 11th Division has returned to the army, the three divisions under the 18th Army have all gathered together, and its combat effectiveness has also been enhanced. Previously, when the 18th Army first arrived in Yichang, the 11th Division was temporarily transferred to Dangyang to plug holes and block the Japanese attack, and was unable to participate in the defense of Yichang.
Now, although the 11th Division has been reorganized into the combat sequence of the 18th Army, the entire unit suffered heavy casualties after the previous blocking operation in Dangyang. When the entire division arrived at the Zaoyi battlefield, there were only more than 8,000 officers and soldiers, and it was obviously unable to undertake the main combat tasks.
The 18th Division, which had been guarding the urban area of Yichang, was in an even worse situation. It was attacked by three Japanese divisions in Yichang and half of the troops were defeated. Until now, it is still in the process of receiving and reorganizing the troops and is also unable to take on major combat tasks.
With this calculation, only the 199th Division of the 18th Army still maintains its full combat effectiveness. Therefore, the main attack force of the 18th Army this time will undoubtedly be undertaken by the 199th Division.
However, although the 11th Division is currently understaffed, it is impossible for Commander Chen to leave the 11th Division out of such an important battle to recapture Yichang.
Because this is the old unit where Commander Chen started out, and it is also a very combat-effective unit. Even though it has been half-crippled at present, the combat capability of the 11th Division is much stronger than other Chinese troops.
To this end, Commander Chen also ordered the 11th Division to launch an attack on Zhenjing Mountain, recapture this commanding height, and open the door to recapture Yichang.
After receiving the combat order from Commander Peng and Commander Chen of the 18th Army, the commander of the 11th Division, Fang Jing, immediately mobilized the troops, quickly organized them into battle formations, and prepared to attack the enemy.
Fang Jing, commander of the 11th Division, was well aware that the mission of capturing Zhenjing Mountain was also a very arduous task for the current 11th Division. However, if the mission could be successfully completed this time, it would fully demonstrate the combat capability of the 11th Division and prove the 11th Division well.
(Thanks to the gift support from the awesome Azhe, the Duke of Wei who only eats dumplings without vinegar, the Duke of Wei who loves beef jerky, and the crisscrossing Peng family! Thank you all for your support and encouragement!)