binnovel Chapter 458 The Japanese Army’s Bottom Line
Chapter 458 The Japanese Army’s Bottom Line
As the sound of gunfire from the New 22nd Army's attack got closer, the Japanese troops on the pontoon bridge became more chaotic. Even the gendarmerie officers and soldiers who were originally there to maintain order were swept towards the north bank by the troops crossing the bridge. Due to the crowds, some Japanese soldiers retreating on the pontoon bridge even fell into the river.
"boom"
A mortar shell exploded in the river more than fifty meters west of the pontoon bridge. The splashing water flew seven or eight meters high in the air, which scared all the Japanese officers and soldiers.
Although the explosion of the Chinese army's mortar shell did not cause any casualties and was still some distance away from the pontoon bridge, the Japanese officers and soldiers all knew that this was a calibration shell from the Chinese army. In a while, another calibration shell would fall to correct the landing point of the shell, and then a fierce artillery attack would follow.
The division commander, Lieutenant General Shiro Inaba, and the chief of staff, Major General Sadatsumi Nozaki, were also shocked by the shell that exploded in the Xinqiang River. The Chinese army's mortar shells could hit the Xinqiang River, which meant that the Chinese army was not far from the riverbank.
"How come the Chinese army's pursuit troops are so fast? According to the distance of this artillery shell, the Chinese army's pursuit troops from the rear should be only four to five kilometers away from us at most. Mr. Nozaki, order the engineering troops to get ready." The division commander, Lieutenant General Shiro Inaba, put down the telescope in his hand, and calmly ordered the chief of staff, Major General Sadatsumi Nozaki beside him.
Chief of Staff Major General Sadatsumi Nozaki did not expect that the Chinese army's pursuit troops would arrive at least five minutes earlier than expected. Don't underestimate these five minutes. The troops withdrawn from the two wing defense lines on the south bank of the Xinqiang River have not yet completely passed the pontoon bridge.
According to the original estimated time, the troops withdrawing from the two wings would have time to withdraw quickly via the pontoon bridge before the Chinese army pursued them. When the troops had almost withdrawn, the engineering troops would detonate the explosives and completely destroy the pontoon bridge. The other officers and soldiers left on the south bank could only rely on kayaks to cross the river.
Now, this originally very well-planned time has been disrupted by the pursuing troops of the Chinese army. With the fall of this mortar shell, more mortar shells will fall on the pontoon bridge within a minute, which will cause considerable casualties to the retreating troops which are already in some chaos.
"Mr. Nozaki, let all the troops that have retreated to the north bank come to the riverbank. We must stop the advance of the Chinese army and at the same time provide some fire support for the retreating troops." The division commander, Lieutenant General Shiro Inaba, then gave another order to the chief of staff, Major General Sadatsumi Nozaki.
After bowing, Chief of Staff Major General Sadatsumi Nozaki turned around to convey the order of the division commander. He knew that this retreat would definitely not be as simple as he had thought before, and the casualties of the troops would continue to increase due to the early arrival of the Chinese army.
Even when the division commander gave the order to use explosives, some officers and soldiers would be sent into the sky by the engineers' explosives, but all this was part of war, and death was only one of the final forms of war.
It is not difficult to see from the order of the division commander, Lieutenant General Inaba Shiro, that the current combat goal has changed from the smooth retreat of the troops to blocking the Chinese army on the south bank of the Xinqiang River, preventing the Chinese army from taking advantage of the situation to attack the north bank of the Xinqiang River, and stabilizing the front lines of both sides before the war.
You know, this time the 11th Army concentrated so many troops to launch a battle, with the goal of occupying Changsha city and even the entire Hunan Province. As a result, up to now, not only has it failed to occupy any land controlled by the Chinese government, but it has also lost a large number of troops and weapons and equipment.
If the Chinese army were allowed to take advantage of the situation and rush across the Xinqiang River, occupying the territory originally belonging to the Imperial Japanese Army, it would be a real mess. Even after the war, it would not be possible to say that this battle was a defeat or a failure. By then, no matter who looked at it, it would be a complete and utter defeat.
Therefore, the order from the division commander, Lieutenant General Inaba Shiro, was very clear. All troops and everyone had to hold their positions on the north bank of the Xinqiang River. No troop could retreat early. Even if everyone died here, they had to hold the last bottom line. This was also the last fig leaf for the 11th Army and the headquarters in this battle.
On the Japanese defense lines on both wings of the Xinqiang River, the Japanese troops have been evacuating continuously in accordance with the retreat order. This has caused more and more positions on the defense lines to fall into the hands of the encircling troops on both wings of the Ninth War Zone. As the Japanese army's blocking defense strength decreased, the encircling troops of the Ninth War Zone also began to advance rapidly towards the pontoon bridge.
Just as all the Japanese officers and soldiers on the pontoon bridge had expected, twenty seconds after another mortar calibration shell fell, a burst of rapid mortar explosions began to sound smoothly around the pontoon bridge. Although no shells had fallen directly on the deck of the pontoon bridge, the explosions of mortar shells and the splashing water around them told the Japanese officers and soldiers who were retreating on the pontoon bridge that they were in danger.
As mortar shells continued to fall, the Japanese officers and soldiers who were retreating on the pontoon bridge were occasionally hit and fell by shrapnel from the exploding mortar shells. The splashes from the shells also soaked the retreating Japanese officers and soldiers. The river water and blood mixed together on the deck of the pontoon bridge and continued to flow from the deck of the pontoon bridge into the Xinqiang River.
However, the mortar fire of the Chinese troops did not stop the retreat of the Japanese officers and soldiers. The Japanese officers and soldiers who boarded the pontoon bridge braved the mortar shells that kept falling all around and ran quickly towards the north bank of the pontoon bridge. This was just a pure obsession and desire of human beings to live.
Chief of Staff Major General Sadatsumi Nozaki had asked the signalman to bring the telephone to the small mound. He held up a telescope and closely watched the retreat of the troops on the pontoon bridge. At the same time, he was waiting for the division commander Lieutenant General Shiro Inaba to give the final order to blow up the bridge.
The division commander, Lieutenant General Shiro Inaba, was holding a telescope and looking carefully at the rear of the retreating Japanese troops. As long as the Chinese army appeared in his sight, it would be time to give the order to blow up the bridge. This pontoon bridge was very critical. Once the Chinese army controlled the pontoon bridge, the position on the north bank of the Xinqiang River would be difficult to defend.
Suddenly, the division commander, Lieutenant General Shiro Inaba, seemed to see through the telescope several soldiers in Chinese military uniforms rushing towards the pontoon bridge. This made him nervous. He needed to observe carefully to determine whether these were scattered Chinese troops rushing over or whether the Chinese army had indeed completely attacked this side.