binnovel Chapter 327 Mission Introduction
Chapter 327 Mission Introduction
On May 4, the Japanese army's left-wing encirclement force finally broke through the two wing positions of the Fifth War Zone in the Changshoudian defense line. Commander Li of the Fifth War Zone ordered the troops in the direction of Changshoudian to slowly retreat to the northwest, trying to delay and consume the Japanese army's advance speed and manpower.
However, the Japanese 4th Cavalry Brigade, which had been waiting behind, quickly advanced northward after the infantry opened a gap. They needed to advance to Xinye quickly to clear all obstacles along the way for the infantry.
After the Third Division, which was responsible for the right-wing attack, learned that the left wing had broken through, the division commander, Lieutenant General Susumu Fujita, immediately ordered the front attacking troops to use a large number of poison gas bombs to attack the positions of the 84th Chinese Army guarding Tarwan.
Faced with the Japanese army's reckless attack, the 84th Army of China suffered extremely heavy casualties. After the two sides changed hands in Taerwan three or four times, the 84th Army was no longer able to continue fighting with the Japanese army. Finally, in the afternoon, the offensive force of the Japanese 3rd Division captured Taerwan, and the remaining troops of the 84th Army retreated westward to Sui County.
Inside the headquarters of the new 22nd Army, Commander Huang was discussing the combat plan just issued by the theater command with the chief officers of all his troops.
"Everyone, Commander Li from the theater has just opened a telegram ordering our new 22nd Army to be prepared for battle and to await orders from the theater at any time. Now, Chief of Staff Zhao will introduce to you the specific combat tasks assigned to our new 22nd Army by the theater command." Commander Huang also explained the tone of the meeting.
After Commander Huang finished speaking, Chief of Staff Zhao Dong took his baton and stood in front of the wall with a large military map, and began to explain the operation.
"At present, the Japanese army is attacking the troops of our Fifth War Zone from both sides of Zaoyang and Suixian areas. According to the intelligence obtained by the war zone, the Japanese army is attacking the left wing of the Fifth War Zone with the troops of the Third Division, while the Japanese army's 16th Division, 13th Division and the Fourth Cavalry Brigade are attacking the right wing of the Fifth War Zone. According to the judgment of the war zone, the Japanese army wants to use the troops of the Third Division to delay and attract the attention of the Fifth War Zone troops in Suixian area, and then use this large force on their left wing to quickly attack northward and occupy Xinye, and then surround the main force of the Fifth War Zone in Suixian and Zaoyang areas." Chief of Staff Zhao Dong also began to give a comprehensive explanation from the beginning of the battle.
"The Japanese army's attack on the left and right wings officially began on May 1st, but our Fifth War Zone Command had long anticipated that the Japanese army would launch an attack on the front-line troops. Before the Japanese attack, the front-line troops had already switched from offense to defense and built relatively complete field defense positions. This thwarted the Japanese army's attempt to quickly break through the front-line troops of the Fifth War Zone. As of this afternoon, the Japanese army has only captured the Changshoudian on the right wing and the Talwan defense line on the left wing of our Fifth War Zone. Our guard troops also withdrew to the corresponding locations according to the order of the war zone command. Although the front-line troops suffered heavy casualties, they also frustrated the Japanese army's plan and bought time for us to adjust our deployment." Chief of Staff Zhao Dong also gave a detailed introduction to the latest situation of both sides.
Zhang Wenwu and several division-level commanders were also staring at the map intently, listening to Chief of Staff Zhao Dong's explanation and introduction.
From the introduction and explanation by Chief of Staff Zhao Dong, everyone has a comprehensive understanding of the battlefield situation and their own judgment.
Now everyone felt that there were only two options before their new 22nd Army. Either they attacked westward from Xiangyang and cooperated with the 31st Army in Zaoyang to stop the Japanese army in the area south of Zaoyang, and ensure that the troops of the Fifth War Zone near Suixian could smoothly withdraw from Suixian via Zaoyang to a safe place.
There is another way, which is for the entire army to defend Xinye and ensure the retreat route of the 31st Army and the Fifth War Zone troops.
"After analyzing and judging the above situation, the theater command decided to wait for the Japanese encirclement forces to occupy Xinye and attack Zaoyang. Our new 22nd Army will be responsible for retaking Xinye and encircling the Japanese forces attacking Zaoyang, and strive to eliminate this group of Japanese troops." Chief of Staff Zhao Dong gave a battle plan that no one had expected.
Even Zhang Wenwu did not expect that Commander Li from the Fifth War Zone would dare to play such a big game. This was too unexpected.
This combat goal is indeed very attractive, and several troop commanders began to worry. It seems that currently only the New 22nd Army where their troops are located has the ability to carry out this task. Even if the New 22nd Army is more powerful, the manpower is not enough.
Looking at the officers who were talking to each other, Chief of Staff Zhao Dong said at the right time: "In order to successfully complete this combat goal, Commander Li has transferred the Second Army from the First War Zone to cooperate with our New 22nd Army. At the same time, he also transferred the 68th Army of the First War Zone to Tongbai to contain the 29th Brigade of the Japanese Army attacking from Xinyang, so that this Japanese army cannot affect our operations."
Following Chief of Staff Zhao Dong's words, several troop commanders at the conference table also understood what was happening. At the same time, they were all wondering in their minds whether they could complete the combat mission assigned by the theater with such a force.
"Everyone is clear about the situation in the war zone and the ultimate goal. Now, let me talk about the combat tasks of our various military units." Chief of Staff Zhao Dong continued to explain to the map.
"To ensure the smooth implementation of the theater command's plan, the army commander and I have studied it and decided that once the theater command's order is issued, the entire army will quickly move north along the Xiang River and concentrate its forces to suddenly launch an attack on the Japanese troops in Xinye. The Second Army will attack Xinye from the direction of Dengxian. After retaking Xinye, the new 210th Division and the new 211th Division will join forces with the Second Army to attack the Japanese troops that are surrounded and try to completely eliminate this group of Japanese troops."
"The new 100th Division will attack southward from Xinye, clearing out the Japanese troops responsible for the encirclement in the south, until the Xiangzao Highway is opened, and then set up a defense line south of the highway to block the Japanese reinforcements coming from the south, and establish contact with the st Army Group in Zaoyang."
Chief of Staff Zhao Dong introduced the combat deployment of the new 22nd Army in one breath. Only after Chief of Staff Zhao Dong finished speaking did Zhang Wenwu come to his senses.
It's no wonder that Zhang Wenwu was a little dazed. The main reason was that the task assigned by Chief of Staff Zhao Dong to the New 100th Division made him feel a little too tough. He had a share in both offense and defense. He was treating the New 100th Division as a super trump card.
What Zhang Wenwu was really worried about was not the attack, but the defense on the south side of the highway, which was the most critical point of this battle. If his new 100th Division could not hold the defense line, then the combat plan of the Fifth War Zone would not be successful.