mtl008 Chapter 328 Don’t Think Too Much
Chapter 328 Don’t Think Too Much
According to Zhang Wenwu's judgment, the Japanese army's encirclement would definitely not have too many troops. His new 100th Division's attack from Xinye to the south was mainly to defeat and drive away the Japanese army, which was still achievable for the new 100th Division.
However, the task of defending the highway between Xiangyang and Zaoyang was more challenging. After all, the Japanese encirclement force was surrounded, so who could say for sure how many Japanese reinforcements would come?
If there are too many Japanese troops, how should our troops defend?
"Wenwu, your new 100th Division has a very arduous task in this battle. However, in order to ensure the successful encirclement and annihilation of the surrounded Japanese troops, your division has no choice but to shoulder this heavy responsibility." Commander Huang also spoke to comfort Zhang Wenwu.
Commander Huang knew Zhang Wenwu's concerns. At that time, the greatest help to Zhang Wenwu and his men would be if he accelerated the attack and eliminated the Japanese troops in the encirclement as soon as possible. He had to use most of his forces on the attack in order to complete the combat tasks set by the war zone.
"Wenwu, you don't have to worry too much. When the time comes, the troops of the Fifth War Zone in Huji and Yicheng will carry out flanking harassment operations against the reinforcements of the Japanese army, which will also be able to tie down this part of the Japanese force to the greatest extent." Chief of Staff Zhao Dong also told Zhang Wenwu some good news.
"Commander, Chief of Staff, how many reinforcements do you estimate the Japanese army will have?" Zhang Wenwu also asked the question that concerned him most.
There was no way. Although the new 100th Division had a strength of more than people after being supplemented during this period, if the Japanese reinforcements had a division, it would be difficult for their own troops to hold out until the specified time.
You know, the area south of Xiangyang and Zaoyang is flat and wild, with no rivers or mountains. It is very difficult to stop a large-scale Japanese attack under such terrain.
"Wenwu, according to our deduction, the Japanese encirclement west of Zaoyang should be about the size of two regiments. Xinye should have about one regiment of Japanese troops attacking and guarding, and the remaining more than one division of Japanese troops will attack from Xinye towards Zaoyang. After all, the Japanese army also needs to eliminate the Fifth War Zone troops in Suixian and Zaoyang areas as soon as possible. If the Japanese attacking troops are too few, they will not be able to complete their combat mission." Commander Huang also stated the results of their previous deduction.
"But, to be honest, we don't know whether the Japanese army will send new troops and how many troops they will send after they know that their encircling troops are surrounded." Chief of Staff Zhao Dong also told the truth.
They can still analyze the current strength of the Japanese offensive forces, but they cannot say for sure how many troops the Japanese 11th Army will send later.
"Wenwu, don't worry, I have thought about it comprehensively. The Japanese 11th Army has only so many troops. It is impossible for those divisions on the Nanxun Line to come here. The troops near the three towns cannot be moved at will, unless Okamura Yasuji doesn't want the three towns anymore. So, I think the Japanese reinforcements will not exceed the size of a division." Commander Huang also saw that the atmosphere was a bit awkward, so he hurriedly stated his judgment.
Zhang Wenwu also knew that Commander Huang and Chief of Staff Zhao Dong could not give the answers he wanted, so it seemed that he could only send as many people as possible to investigate.
As for how many reinforcements the 11th Army will send from the three towns, that depends on fate. However, Zhang Wenwu strongly agrees with Commander Huang's words, that is, the Japanese army does not have many troops that can be mobilized for reinforcement, so they will still have a chance to fight when the time comes.
"Please rest assured, Commander and Chief of Staff, the new 100th Division will definitely complete this combat mission. The Japanese army will not be able to cross the Xiangzao Highway unless all our new 100th Division members are killed in battle." Zhang Wenwu stood up and loudly assured the two big guys.
Zhang Wenwu also figured it out. It might be pointless to worry about those things now. After the Japanese army captured Xinye, he would know everything after he had investigated it clearly.
No matter how many reinforcements the Japanese army sends, the new 100th Division just needs to hold the defense line. If it really doesn't work, it will ask the st Army in Zaoyang to borrow some troops.
I will fight to the death to defend the Xiang-Zao Highway, which is also the 31st Army's retreat route to the west. When the time comes, I will ask Commander Tang for some troops to help with the defense. The other side will definitely cooperate. After all, this is also helping themselves.
Commander Tang of the 31st Army Group does not yet know that he has been targeted by Zhang Wenwu. He is now busy deploying his troops and making preparations for the war in accordance with the orders of the war zone.
To be honest, Commander Tang felt that the New 22nd Army should be allowed to guard Zaoyang, just like they did in Taierzhuang before, while he himself would launch the attack on the outside.
Commander Tang felt that the New 22nd Army was much stronger in defense than his own troops, and the defensive capabilities of the New 22nd Army should not be wasted.
But at the same time, he was very satisfied with the New 22nd Army guarding the road between Xiangyang and Zaoyang. With the troops of the New 22nd Army guarding there, he would be quite safe in Zaoyang.
Commander Tang did not think that the Japanese army could break through the defense line of the New 22nd Army and cut off his way to the west. You know, from the beginning of the war to now, no Japanese army has been able to successfully break through the defense line of the New 22nd Army.
Let’s not talk about the distant past, let’s just look at the previous battles of Hongcheng and Yangcheng. The Japanese army took turns attacking the defense line of the New 22nd Army, but they never captured it once.
Not only did they fail to capture the New 22nd Army's defensive positions, but the New 22nd Army killed so many of their senior officers and captured several of them. As for the ordinary soldiers of the Japanese Army, the New 22nd Army killed a huge number of them.
Commander Tang even felt a little maliciously that the Japanese troops would probably feel very frightened when they encountered the New 22nd Army, and might even fight passively.
Before the 4th Cavalry Brigade opened the way, the Japanese army's left-wing encirclement force was also advancing rapidly towards Xinye.
They only sent small troops to deal with the harassment of the Chinese troops on the flank. In the eyes of the left-wing encirclement troops, there was only Xinye.
The Japanese encirclement troops also had to be anxious. According to the combat plan issued by the headquarters before the war, they should have broken through the defense line of the Fifth War Zone troops of the Changshoudian Chinese Government on the first day. Now they should be attacking Xinye, or have already occupied Xinye.
However, they are still on their way to Xinye, which makes the commanders of the 16th and 13th Divisions extremely anxious.
(Tomorrow's update may be a little late as I'm on my way back!)