binnovel Chapter 301 The center is blooming? Whose flower is blooming?
Chapter 301 The center is blooming? Whose flower is blooming?
"Mr. Watanabe, do you mean that the Chinese army wants to surround and completely destroy us? Do they have the guts to do that? You know, there is a multi-regiment troop on the frontal offensive battlefield not far from us that can reinforce us at any time, and it will take less than a day to rush over from the frontal battlefield. Do they think they can destroy us within a day?" The division commander, Lieutenant General Anriyoshi, said to the regiment commander, Colonel Watanabe Tsunahiko, in great surprise.
The commander of the regiment, Colonel Watanabe Tsunahiko, also fell into deep thought. Although the troops fighting in the flanking operation had suffered heavy losses, the strength on their side was not something that the Chinese army could completely eliminate within a day. During this day, the troops fighting in the front could withdraw some of their forces to reinforce this side.
Moreover, if the 18th Division needs it, it can drive the Chinese army in front of them to come here for reinforcement within two days. At that time, it will not be a matter of the Chinese army destroying them, but they will be surrounded by the reinforcements. It is impossible for the Chinese commander not to see this situation.
"Sir, I think we should still be careful. Judging from the current deployment of the Chinese army, the only explanation that makes sense is that they want to encircle and destroy us. Otherwise, there is no need for them to deploy troops to defend our rear. If they just want to cut off our logistics supply lines, they can send troops to attack our supply convoys. There is no need to defend there. Although I don't know what confidence the Chinese commander has to do this, we still have to take this matter seriously. I suggest that we gather all the troops back and defend on the spot. As long as we can hold on for two days, the Chinese army will be surrounded by our reinforcements, and we can strike the Chinese army in the center." The commander of the regiment, Colonel Tsunahiko Watanabe, spoke his mind honestly. He couldn't flatter at this time, as it was related to his own life.
The division commander, Lieutenant General Anriyoshi, walked slowly back and forth in the regiment headquarters. He rethought the purpose of the Chinese army. Indeed, other than wanting to destroy his own troops, no other reason could explain this deployment of the Chinese army.
"Mr. Watanabe, let the First Battalion withdraw as well, and have all the troops start to go on the defensive and build field fortifications as soon as possible. I will send a telegram to Commander Kan'iro Furujo to explain the situation here, and ask him to order the 18th Division to quickly occupy Zengcheng, and then attack Sanshui from the north. At the same time, request to withdraw troops from the front battlefield on the west bank of the Pearl River to attack along our roundabout route, defeat the Chinese army behind us, and open up our logistics supply lines. We will entangle the Chinese army here. Don't they want to surround and destroy us? Since this is their ultimate strategic intention, then we will use this ultimate goal of theirs to attract the Chinese army here, and then we will see who will have the last laugh." The division commander, Lieutenant General Anriyoshi, also explained his own orders and combat ideas to the regiment commander, Colonel Tsunahiko Watanabe.
Lieutenant General Anriyoshi was getting angrier and angrier the more he thought about it. He felt deeply that he was being looked down upon by the commander of the Chinese army. The commander actually wanted to surround and destroy his troops. This was a contempt for himself and also for the combat effectiveness of the Fifth Division. He had never seen such an arrogant and presumptuous Chinese army.
The regiment commander, Colonel Watanabe Tsunahiko, also quickly issued the order to switch to defense. For a while, the Japanese camp was surrounded by Japanese soldiers who were digging trenches and building positions. They didn't know why they were suddenly on the defense when they were attacking the Chinese army's positions before.
The soldiers didn't know why this happened, but Major Shuichi Kurokawa, commander of the 3rd Battalion, and Major Maogong Kato, commander of the 1st Battalion of the 21st Regiment, knew very well why this happened, because the regiment commander, Colonel Tsunahiko Watanabe, had already explained the actual situation to them, and they were a little worried about the current situation of the troops.
Although they did not believe that the Chinese army could completely wipe out their troops in one or two days, if the Chinese army did not have some way to end the battle in such a short time, would they have gone to such great lengths to set up such an encirclement? Did the Chinese army have nothing to do?
Major Masaaki Yasukawa, captain of the 1st battalion, is in a bad mood now. After receiving the order from the regiment commander to return to defend, he quickly rushed back with his troops. His battalion is responsible for the defense of the south side of the camp. Looking at the soldiers who are working hard to dig fortifications, Major Masaaki Yasukawa is also evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of both sides in this battle in his heart.
Major Masaaki Yasukawa felt that for the Chinese army, all their tactical actions so far had achieved very good results, and they had successfully surrounded the Fifth Division's flanking combat forces. However, the Chinese army only had one to two days to complete the final offensive operation, which was a very difficult task for the Chinese army that lacked heavy weapons.
As for their own troops, the logistic supply lines have been cut off, and the supplies and ammunition in the troops are not very sufficient. Moreover, due to the fact that they were ambushed several times by the Chinese army in previous battles, the combat losses of the entire army are indeed a bit high. Now the casualties of each battalion are basically reaching the level of half, and they are at a disadvantage in terms of numbers.
After analyzing the situation for a while, Major Masaaki Yasukawa felt that both sides had half the advantages and half the disadvantages. No one was in a clear advantage, and all the advantages could turn into disadvantages in an instant. This was a gamble.
"Your Excellency the Commander, Lieutenant General Andriyoshi, the commander of the 5th Division, sent a telegram saying that they are now surrounded by the Chinese army outside the city of Sanshui. Lieutenant General Andriyoshi believes that the Chinese army must have withdrawn a large number of troops from battlefields in other directions and came to the Sanshui battlefield. He judges that the ultimate goal of the Chinese army is to encircle and destroy the flanking combat force he leads. Lieutenant General Andriyoshi hopes that the headquarters will order the 18th Division to capture Zengcheng as soon as possible, and then attack in the direction of Sanshui, and then withdraw part of the troops from the front battlefield on the west bank of the Pearl River to open up their supply lines, attack the Chinese army from the center, and surround and destroy the Chinese army near the city of Sanshui." Lieutenant General Tanaka Hisaichi, Chief of Staff of the 21st Army, walked quickly into the office of Commander Lieutenant General Furusho Kanro with a telegram and said.
Commander Lieutenant General Kanro Furujo took the telegram and read it, then he asked the Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Hisaichi Tanaka: "Mr. Tanaka, do you think the Chinese army really wants to completely wipe out the flanking troops led by Lieutenant General Anriyoshi? I think they want to retreat from Sanshui and surround the flanking troops led by Lieutenant General Anriyoshi. The commander of the Chinese army is not a fool. Doesn't he know that the combat time given to him is actually very short? I think the commander of the Chinese army is just fighting if he can. If he can't fight, he will definitely withdraw from Sanshui to the west with his troops without looking back. The center-blooming tactics mentioned by Lieutenant General Anriyoshi are simply nonsense. They have already run away, whose flowers are you blooming for?"
Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Hisaichi Tanaka did not express his opinion after hearing what Commander Lieutenant General Kan'ro Furusho said. He believed that the analysis of Commander Lieutenant General Kan'ro Furusho should be more reliable, but he did not need to take sides or express his attitude on this matter. He only needed to do his job well.
"Then, Commander, how should we respond next?" Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Tanaka Hisaichi asked the question. His meaning was very clear. They couldn't just watch the Chinese army besiege the flanking force led by Lieutenant General Anriyoshi.
"Mr. Tanaka, make arrangements according to Lieutenant General Anriyoshi's request. His combat method can at least prevent the flanking troops from being wiped out by the Chinese army." Commander Lieutenant General Furusho Kanro also affirmed the request made by Lieutenant General Anriyoshi.
It would be unreasonable not to take any rescue measures if a troop was surrounded by the Chinese army. However, Lieutenant General Furusho Kanro knew that the combat plan to eliminate the New 22nd Army of the Chinese government, which had been arranged for so long, would not be completed. The Chinese government could retreat westward from Sanshui at any time. It seemed that he did not have the honor to complete the task assigned by the headquarters and the expeditionary force.
Inside the Fourth War Zone Headquarters, Senior Counselor Wang excitedly knocked on the door of Commander He's office with the telegram he had just received.
"Is there any news from the New 22nd Army? What's the situation? How is the plan going?" When Chief He saw that it was Senior Counselor Wang, he hurriedly asked. He had not slept all night and was anxiously waiting for the New 22nd Army's combat report tonight.
"Commander He, the battle tonight over the New 100nd Army was very successful. The troops of the New 210th Division successfully destroyed the artillery unit of the Japanese flanking force, and cut off the Japanese logistics supply line. Now a regiment of the New th Division on loan is blocking the Japanese army's retreat route. According to feedback from reconnaissance in the front, the Japanese army has discovered that their situation is not good, and has begun to build defensive fortifications on the spot." Senior Counsellor Wang handed the telegram to Commander He with a happy look on his face, and dictated the contents of the telegram.
"Great, great, the new 100nd Army does a great job, the new th Division does a great job too. Now the Japanese flanking troops have become obedient. Even if we cannot defeat this Japanese force, we can save ourselves the trouble of pursuing our troops when we retreat." Commander He was very happy after getting the results he expected.
Now the initiative on the battlefield is in your own hands, and you can decide whether to fight or retreat at that time.
(Thanks to the gift support from Wei Guogong who loves beef jerky, Xu Zhiqing from Shangdu Railway Station, Danxin Zong who likes asarum, and Wei Sen who loves matsutake mushrooms! Thank you all for your support and encouragement!)