binnovel Chapter 367: Survive 1 Day
Chapter 367: Survive 1 Day
On the New 100th Division side, Ouyang Heng also asked the 811th Regiment to count the casualties immediately. After a rough statistics, Ouyang Heng also reported to Zhang Wenwu with a long face: "Division Commander, the casualties of the 811th Regiment have been counted. As of just now, the 811th Regiment has suffered 811 casualties and now has combat troops. The th Regiment requests to send troops for reinforcement."
Zhang Wenwu became worried when he heard the casualty figures given by Ouyang Heng. The three regiments of his new 100th Division were basically organized according to the standards of a reinforced regiment, with more than combat officers and soldiers in each regiment. The Japanese attack in just half a day had caused him to lose almost an entire regiment of troops.
At this rate of casualties, the new 100th Division can only hold out for about six days at most before there will be only one man left.
"Let the 812th Regiment go up to the position and take over the full defense of the position. The 811th Regiment will withdraw to rest. Let the 812th Regiment pay attention to the artillery coverage of the Japanese army during the attack and try to reduce casualties. If it doesn't work, let the Japanese army get closer and fight them. Don't let the Japanese army take advantage of their artillery." Zhang Wenwu also directly issued an order to rotate the defense.
There is still more than an hour before dark, and the Japanese might launch another attack on the defensive position. With the few remaining people in the 811th Regiment, they can't stop the large-scale attack of the Japanese. The complete 812th Regiment must be sent to defend, and the position must not be lost.
Ouyang Heng also quickly notified the 812th Regiment, which had been prepared for a long time, to take up the position and replace the 811th Regiment. The Japanese army might launch another attack at any time, so they had to act quickly.
Less than ten minutes after the 812th Regiment took over the position, the Japanese army's pre-attack artillery support began again. Fortunately, when the Japanese army was bombarding, the officers and soldiers of the 812th Regiment were basically hiding in the anti-artillery caves to rest, and the officers and soldiers of the 811th Regiment had also withdrawn smoothly. This time, the Japanese army's prepared artillery fire did not cause any casualties to the troops on the position.
The commander of the Second Battalion, Major Ikutame Arata, looked at the Chinese army positions in the distance that were being repeatedly ravaged by artillery fire. He hoped that the artillery bombardment would wipe out all the soldiers on the defensive positions of the New 22nd Army of the Chinese government opposite, so that his battalion would not suffer such heavy casualties like the First Battalion.
After the artillery attack lasted for nearly ten minutes, the commander of the second battalion, Major Ikutame Shin, drew his command sword and gave the order to launch an attack to the prepared troops.
Forty minutes later, the remaining officers and soldiers of the Japanese Second Battalion retreated to the starting position. The commander of the Second Battalion, Major Ikutame Shin, looked at the officers and soldiers sitting on the ground in front of him, gasping for breath, and his heart was filled with tears.
The attack of the Second Battalion was almost a replica of the First Battalion's attack. The only difference was that when the artillery just started to attack the position, the Chinese army launched a counterattack against the assault troops of the Second Battalion, which forced the artillery troops to quickly stop the shelling to avoid wasting shells.
The commander of the second battalion, Major Ikutame Shin, had just seen the scale of the Chinese army rushing out from the opposite side through the telescope. At that time, he knew that the strength of his battalion was completely insufficient to fight the Chinese army.
Sure enough, his Second Battalion was beaten back after only ten minutes of hand-to-hand combat with the Chinese army. There was no other way. There were too many Chinese soldiers rushing over, and the thousand officers and soldiers in front of him could not hold on.
Of course, Major Ikutame Shin did not gain nothing. From his observation, the Chinese army lost at least four to five hundred people in this attack, and the casualties on both sides were not much different.
Unfortunately, it is getting dark today, so we can no longer continue our attack on the Chinese army's defensive positions. We can only wait until tomorrow morning.
As the sky gradually darkened, the officers and soldiers on the defensive positions of the new 100th Division also breathed a sigh of relief. Although they had just reinforced the positions and had only resisted one Japanese attack, even so, all the officers and soldiers still felt a different kind of pressure.
In the previous battle, the 812th Regiment suffered heavy losses, with more than 812 casualties, but they still held their positions. At the same time, the Japanese attacking force also lost nearly people, so it was not a loss for the th Regiment.
Starting from noon, the defensive positions of the new 100th Division suffered three large-scale attacks from the Japanese Army in just less than half a day. Both sides suffered heavy losses that afternoon, but compared with the Japanese 100th Division that was under siege in Zaoyang area, the situation of the new th Division was still better.
Lieutenant General Keisuke Fujie, commander of the 16th Division, is now leading the division headquarters to prepare to move forward to join the 9th and 20th Regiments because, just as it was getting dark, Colonel Shizuji Sukekawa, commander of the 38th Regiment on the west wing, sent a death telegram, indicating that the west wing's defense line is already in danger.
At noon, the commander of the 38th Regiment, Colonel Shizue Sukekawa, already knew that his defense line could not be held. In just one morning, he lost nearly 500 defensive troops.
If the troops of the New 22nd Army of the Chinese government continued to attack at this rhythm in the afternoon, their own troops would be exhausted. Even if they managed to hold their positions in the afternoon, the darkness was about to come, and the commander of the regiment, Colonel Shizue Sukekawa, felt desperate.
The New 22nd Army of the Chinese Government will never miss a good opportunity at night. At night, the Chinese army can maximize their numerical advantage. Without air support and artillery support, their own troops will not be able to stop the attack of the New 22nd Army of the Chinese Government.
Therefore, the regiment commander, Colonel Shizueji Sukekawa, sent a death telegram to the division commander, Lieutenant General Keisuke Fujie, in the afternoon. He also knew that the division commander would never allow him to retreat with the remaining officers and soldiers, so he was determined to die.
After receiving the telegram from Colonel Shizuji Sukekawa, commander of the 38th Regiment, Lieutenant General Keisuke Fujie immediately ordered his chief of staff, Major General Mitsuo Nakazawa, to gather all the troops and personnel of the division headquarters and be ready to reunite with the 9th and 20th Regiments at any time. As for the possibility that his troops would be cut in half by the Chinese army at that time, he could not take care of that.
Now the 104th Regiment of the 104th Division behind him was desperately resisting the attack of the Second Army of the Chinese Government. Lieutenant General Fujie Keisuke would only dare to let the 104th Regiment retreat after the division headquarters was safe. If the th Regiment was allowed to retreat now, it would most likely be entangled by the Second Army of the Chinese Government. At that time, the division headquarters might be attacked by the Chinese army. In addition, the west wing defense line might be breached at any time, and the safety of the division headquarters and himself could not be effectively guaranteed.
(Thanks to the gift support from Duke Weiguo who loves beef jerky, Eat Dumplings Without Vinegar, Director of Shenlong Library, Zhuan Lin! Thank you all for your support and encouragement!)