mtl008 Chapter 544 1 is on the verge of collapse
Chapter 544 1 is on the verge of collapse
The day after the Japanese Air Force sent planes to carry out the bombing, the well-prepared Japanese troops, under the order of Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinozuka, commander of the Japanese First Army, suddenly rushed out together in the evening and invaded the Zhongtiao Mountain area from the east, west and north "in a pincer formation with a central breakthrough."
On the eastern front, Lieutenant General Harada Yukichi, commander of the 35th Division of the Japanese Army, and Lieutenant General Tanaka Hisaichi, commander of the 21st Division, each led their troops, and with the cooperation of the 4th Independent Cavalry Brigade and the incorporated puppet troops of Zhang Lanfeng and Liu Yanfeng, they attacked in three directions along the western section of Daoqing Road toward Jiyuan and Mengxian.
On the western front, Lieutenant General Ando Jujuzo, commander of the 16th Division of the Japanese Army, Lieutenant General Iseki Ren, commander of the th Division, and Major General Wakamatsu Heiji, commander of the th Independent Mixed Brigade, commanded their respective troops and attacked from the southeast of Wenxi and Xia County towards Zhangdian Town.
On the northern front, Lieutenant General Shimizu Noriyuki, commander of the 41st Division of the Japanese Army, and Major General Ikegami Kenkichi, commander of the 9th Independent Mixed Brigade, led their respective troops to use lightning tactics to make a central breakthrough, and launched a fierce attack from Hengling Pass to the west side of Hengyuan Avenue.
On the northeast front, Lieutenant General Sakurai Shozo, commander of the 33rd Division of the Japanese Army, which had just replenished some of its troops, strengthened part of the 4th Independent Mixed Brigade and attacked Dongfeng Town from Yangcheng.
On the first day after the Japanese army launched a full-scale offensive, the Japanese army on the eastern front used Wen County as the starting point, concentrated more than 5,000 infantry and more than 1,000 cavalry, equipped with a large number of artillery, and with the cooperation of dozens of aircraft, one hundred tanks and armored vehicles, launched a strong attack along the north bank of the Yellow River towards the area where the Ninth Army of the First War Zone of the Chinese government was located. Under the sudden and fierce attack of the Japanese army, the defending Ninth Army was beaten back step by step.
The western front was the main attack direction of the Japanese army. The Japanese army divided its troops into several columns and, with the support of airborne aircraft, launched a fierce attack on the defensive positions of the newly formed 27th Division of the 80th Army in Xicun, Xinliyuan, Wangjiayaotou and Liangjiayaotou. In addition, a part of the 37th Division was dispatched to launch a feint attack on the positions of the 165th Division of the 80th Army stationed in Liujiagou and Guwang, in order to contain other troops of the 80th Army.
The Japanese army's attack on the northern front was at the junction of the Chinese government's Fifth Army and the Fourteenth Army in the Zhongtiao Mountains. The Japanese army's strategic intention was to quickly capture Hengling Pass and Hengyuan Avenue, and then capture Yanqu County, in order to divide and encircle the two armies of the Chinese government in Zhongtiao Mountains and annihilate them one by one.
Therefore, at the beginning of the battle, the Japanese army concentrated its heavy forces to launch a fierce attack on both sides of Hengyuan Avenue. The 43rd Army of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army of the Chinese government stationed on the northeast side of Hengling Pass and the 17th Army of the Fifth Army on the southwest side were simultaneously attacked by heavy Japanese forces. For a time, the sound of gunfire rang out in all directions at Hengling Pass, and the Chinese defenders suffered an extremely tragic battle under the fierce attack of the Japanese army.
The only good thing was the Japanese attack on the northeastern front. Since the 33rd Division had suffered heavy losses in the Shanggao area before, although the troops had urgently replenished some new recruits, due to time constraints, the replenishment could only restore the entire division to 70% of its full strength.
The Chinese defenders stationed on this line are mainly composed of the 14th Army Group, including the 14th Army Group Headquarters, the 98th Army, the 15th Army and the 93rd Army. Moreover, the 14th Army Group is also a direct force of the Chinese government, and its weapons and equipment are much stronger than those of the Fifth Army Group.
On the first day of the attack, the Japanese army mainly launched a fierce attack on the defense line of the 98th Army of the 14th Army Group. Commander Wu of the 98th Army led his troops in a desperate resistance and repelled the attacks launched by the Japanese army many times, completely defeating the Japanese offensive forces and killing a regiment commander of the 33rd Division of the Japanese Army and more than 700 Japanese officers and soldiers. It can be said that the results of the battle were fruitful.
However, on the entire battlefield, only the situation on the northeast front was favorable to the Chinese troops. On other fronts, the Chinese troops faced an all-out offensive by the Japanese army and fought extremely hard, with huge casualties.
The eastern front battlefield could no longer hold out on the morning of the second day after the Japanese army's full-scale offensive. Under the fierce attack of the Japanese army, the troops of the Ninth Army of the Chinese government suffered heavy losses and had to abandon Jiyuan and Mengxian and retreat westward.
Seeing that the troops on the eastern front had completely retreated, the First War Zone Command of the Chinese government ordered the Ninth Army to retreat to the position north of Fengmenkou to continue to prevent the Japanese army from attacking westward. Fengmenkou was the only way for the Japanese army to advance westward, and it was also a key place that the Japanese army was determined to capture.
In the early morning of the next day, the Chinese troops on the western front were broken through by the Japanese army's defense line of the 27th Division east of Zhangdian. As a result, the connection between the 80th Army and the 3rd Army was cut off. The two divisions of the 80th Army retreated to Caojiachuan and Taizhai areas. The Japanese attacking forces occupied the Huaiba, Jianping, Nangou and other ferry crossings below Maojin Ferry that night. The farthest Japanese troop attacked and advanced to the junction of Pinglu, Yuanqu and Xiaxian counties.
At the same time, the Japanese army also divided into three groups to attack the defensive positions of the Third Army of the Fifth Army of the Chinese government. One group of Japanese troops rushed northwest to Wangjiahe, the headquarters of the Seventh Division, and another group of Japanese troops rushed southeast to Tanghui, the headquarters of the Third Army.
After the Seventh Division headquarters in Wangjiahe was surrounded by the Japanese attack forces, the Seventh Division commander Li Shilong had no choice but to lead his troops to break out. Under the fierce attack of the Japanese troops, the Third Army commander Tang Huaiyuan in Tanghui had to lead the remaining personnel of the army headquarters to retreat eastward to the Wenyu area. As a result, they were blocked by the Japanese army halfway. After the troops suffered heavy casualties, they could only retreat to the northeast.
On the northern battlefield, the Chinese army was unable to withstand the Japanese attack. On the second day of the Japanese attack, the defensive position of the 43rd Army of the Chinese government in Shibaping was breached by the fierce attack of the Japanese army. The commander of the 43rd Army, Zhao Shiling, organized forces to launch a counterattack, but failed to block the breakthrough after several charges. So he had no choice but to order the abandonment of the position and retreat to Wangxianzhuang.
On the other side, although the 17th Army of the Chinese government relied on fortifications and favorable terrain to put up a relatively effective resistance and prevented the Japanese from breaking through its defensive positions, it was forced to withdraw from its defense line because the friendly positions on the left and right wings of its defensive positions were successively broken through by the Japanese.
On the evening of the second day after the Japanese army launched a full-scale offensive, the Japanese attack force occupied the county seat of Yanqu on the bank of the Yellow River, cutting off the connection between the Chinese army in Zhongtiao Mountain and the troops on the south bank of the Yellow River. The Japanese army also realized the middle breakthrough plan formulated before the war, and the Chinese army was divided into two halves.