binnovel Chapter 360 Reinforcements Arrive
Chapter 360 Reinforcements Arrive
"I believe that the new 100th Division can hold its position. After all, they are the unit that created a miracle in Taierzhuang. This unit started out relying on defensive operations. In Hongcheng and Yangcheng, they have never let the Japanese army break through their defense line. Now, they will not let the Japanese army advance a single step." Commander Li stood up from the sofa, walked to the map, looked at the current combat situation, stared at the location of the Xiangzao Highway and said.
Inside the Japanese 11th Army Headquarters, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sadaichi Yoshimoto was also reporting on the battle situation to Commander Lieutenant General Yasuji Okamura.
"Commander, today the Chinese army launched a fierce attack on the 104th Division's various defense lines. Up to now, the th Regiment that was originally guarding the division's rear has been defeated by the Chinese government's Second Army and has retreated to the rear for rest. In the afternoon, the rd Regiment was sent by the division commander, Lieutenant General Fujie Keisuke, to reinforce the western wing defense line. The th Regiment of the th Division assigned to the th Division successfully blocked the offensive of the Chinese government's Second Army. Now the defense line there is relatively stable. The th and th Regiments in the front have also retreated to the last line of defense under the attack of the Chinese government's st Army."
Lieutenant General Yasuji Okamura was looking at the positions of various troops on the sand table, and he was extremely anxious, because Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sadaichi Yoshimoto and a group of people from the General Staff had searched for a long time in the afternoon, but they could not find a troop that could reinforce to Changshoudian.
Judging from the troops currently assigned to the 13th Division Commander Lieutenant General Ogisu Rikuhei, it would be very difficult to quickly break through the New 22nd Army's defensive positions on the north side of the Xiang-Zao Highway. They can only use the advantage of artillery and use firepower to consume the Chinese army bit by bit.
But this means that the commander of the 13th Division, Lieutenant General Ogisu Rikuhei, will need a long time to lead his troops to break through the positions of the New 22nd Army of the Chinese Government on the north side of the Xiangzao Highway.
But by that time, the 16th Division, which had been surrounded by the Chinese army, would probably find it difficult to hold on, and the attack of the 13th Division would be meaningless.
"Mr. Yoshimoto, the General Staff must assemble one to two infantry regiments for me and quickly transport them to the direction of Changshudian to fight. We must strengthen the attack power of Lieutenant General Ogisu Rikuei. Even if it is not a regiment-sized unit, it can be transferred at the battalion level. What we want is time." After thinking for a while, Lieutenant General Okamura Yasuji stated his request.
Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sadaichi Yoshimoto also thought about it. He felt that if the troops were to be drawn up according to the battalion size, it would still be possible to squeeze out some troops from some garrison divisions to form battalion-sized troops to reinforce Lieutenant General Ryuhei Ogisu.
This will also allow Lieutenant General Ogisu Rikuhei to have more rotational troops at his disposal to ensure that high pressure is maintained on the defensive positions of the New 22nd Army of the Chinese government on the inner side of the Xiang-Zao Highway. Only under high-intensity offensive pressure will it be possible to break through the defensive positions of the Chinese army in the shortest time possible.
"Yes, Commander. I will immediately organize the staff to screen all the troops and have them each dispatch at least one battalion to reinforce Lieutenant General Ogisu Tatsuhei." Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Sadaichi also immediately assured.
At 11 o'clock in the evening, the commander of the 13th Division, Lieutenant General Ogisu Rikuhei, finally received the reinforcements dispatched by the 3rd Division: the 18th Regiment, the artillery regiment that originally belonged to the 13th Division, and a heavy artillery battalion.
"Your Excellency the Division Commander, Your Excellency the Chief of Staff, all officers and soldiers of the 18th Regiment of the 3rd Division have arrived in accordance with the orders of Your Excellency Division Commander Susumu Fujita, and have accepted your command and orders. Please issue the combat mission." Colonel Naomitsu Takano, commander of the 18th Regiment, bowed deeply to Lieutenant General Ryuhei Ogisu, commander of the 13th Division, and Chief of Staff Major General Takuma Ishikawa in front of him.
"Thank you, Captain Takano, you've worked so hard to bring your troops here to join the battle in such a short time. You should have a good rest tonight. Tomorrow morning, I will arrange for someone to take you to see the Chinese army positions opposite and give you a firepower deployment map of the Chinese military's defensive positions. After lunch, you can start the attack, and the artillery unit will fully cooperate with your attack." The division commander, Lieutenant General Ogisu Ryuhei, was also happy to make arrangements for the commander of the 18th Regiment, Colonel Takano Naomitsu.
After all, the 18th Regiment had been traveling for almost a day and needed to recover their physical strength and energy. In addition, the artillery units also needed to build artillery positions, which all took time. Once everything was ready, they would launch a full-scale attack on the defensive positions of the New 22nd Army of the Chinese government.
As the Chinese say, "sharpening the knife does not delay the chopping of wood". If the preliminary preparations are done more thoroughly, the subsequent attack will be much smoother.
There is no need to launch an attack so hastily, and the 16th Division will not collapse immediately. In fact, according to Lieutenant General Ogisu Rikuhei's idea, he wants to wait until the reinforcements of the regiment sent by the 3rd Division arrive before launching an attack. This is actually safer.
But Lieutenant General Ogisu Rikuhei knew that the 11th Army Headquarters would not agree with his idea, and just now the Chief of Staff of the 11th Army, Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Sadaichi, had also sent a telegram.
In the telegram, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sadaichi Yoshimoto also told Lieutenant General Ogisu Rikuei a good news that Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Sadaichi had already drawn five battalions of troops from several divisions to reinforce the battle on Lieutenant General Ogisu Rikuei's side.
This news really made Lieutenant General Ogisu Rikuei very happy. The problem of insufficient offensive forces that he had been worried about was finally solved a lot. This also made Lieutenant General Ogisu Rikuei more confident in breaking through the defensive positions of the New 22nd Army of the Chinese Government.
Colonel Takano Naomitsu, commander of the 18th Regiment, was also very satisfied with the arrangement made by Lieutenant General Ogisu Rikuhei. He wanted to break through the defensive position of the New 22nd Army of the Chinese government with a single attack.
But the regiment commander, Colonel Naomitsu Takano, knew very well that he had to make preparations before the war, which included allowing the officers and soldiers in his troops to have a good rest and regain their mental and physical strength so that they could exert their due combat effectiveness.
"Please rest assured, Your Excellency the Division Commander, the 18th Regiment will definitely bring you good news in tomorrow's attack operation." Colonel Naomitsu Takano, the regiment commander, bowed again.