bookcurios Chapter 821 Siege of Guilin
Chapter 821 Siege of Guilin
Yokoyama Isamu was a pragmatist and immediately assembled four divisions to besiege Hengyang.
"Everyone, today's attack has been blocked again, and the enemy is clearly well prepared, with gas masks and airplanes. So the responsibility for the failure of the siege of Hengyang City does not lie with you, but with me! So, please cheer up and take the next step immediately!"
After saying this, Isamu Yokoyama tore off the map in front of the headquarters and pointed at several huge arrows pointing to Chenzhou, Hezhou and Guilin.
A smug smile appeared on his face, this was his proudest work.
"Everyone, since Hengyang cannot be defended, we will go directly south and attack the weak Guangxi. Take Liuzhou, Guilin, and Nanning. There is aid from Country M there, and we can get reinforcements!
Moreover, once we open up the transportation line to Vietnam to the south, we can enter Vietnam and also go east to Guangdong!"
The 40th Division Commander, Lieutenant General Nagaomoto Seiichi, said suspiciously:
"Commander, have we given up on Hengyang?"
Yokoyama Isamu was even more proud, as if he was waiting for such a seemingly stupid question.
"We are not giving up Hengyang! We are strategically bypassing it! Once we get supplies in Guangxi and the 23rd Army's reinforcements arrive, we will launch a counterattack against Hengyang!"
Although Yokoyama Isamu said this, he still had doubts in his heart about whether he could fight back to Hengyang.
"Everyone, if there are no questions, launch an attack on Guangxi immediately and make sure to capture Guilin before the end of May!"
"Hayi!"
At three o'clock in the afternoon of that day, to the surprise of Monk Wei, the four divisions besieging Hengyang began to retreat alternately, gradually retreating to the south.
After Wei Heshang reported the information of the enemy's retreat to the Pingshun Command, he sent a small force to monitor the enemy.
Inside the Pingshun Command Center, Li Yunlong and Wang Meng stood in front of the map with their arms folded, puzzled.
"Old Li, what on earth does this little devil want to do?"
"I can't guess. Could it be that they are afraid that our troops will move south and deal a fatal blow to them, so seeing that Hengyang has been unsuccessful for a long time, they are preparing to retreat south?"
"Well, it's possible. But will they attack Yongzhou? We have two aviation divisions there!"
"Move to the scene immediately, open fire and be on alert! Fortunately, the 201nd and rd Regiments of the st Airborne Brigade were sent over, otherwise it would be really dangerous!"
All the planes at Yongzhou Airport took off and after launching a round of attacks on the retreating enemy, they moved to Baise, Guangxi.
The 201nd and rd Regiments of the st Airborne Brigade built defensive positions on both wings of Yongzhou Airport and cooperated with the airport garrison to defend the airport.
The Japanese 34th and 68th Divisions advanced towards Guilin from the west via Xinning, while the 40th and 58th Divisions encircled Guilin from the east via Xintian and Daoxian.
The 40th Infantry Regiment of the 234th Division passed through Yongzhou and could not help but want to go in to have some fun and "replenish" supplies.
However, after the scouts reported that they had discovered the independent column's airport in the southern part of Yongzhou City, "warlike spirit" prevailed, so they commanded the entire regiment to split into two routes, left and right, and launched a fierce attack on the positions on both wings of the airport!
He had originally planned to take a photo with the wreckage of the plane after taking over the airport, and then return to the city in style with his mission accomplished. However, reality soon slapped him in the face.
The firepower of the positions on both wings was incredibly strong, especially the hail-like rocket launchers, which blew them down in large numbers, leaving no room for "negotiation" at all.
After three hours of "suicide" attack, leaving two thousand corpses and tears of regret at the Yongzhou Airport position, the commander of the 40th Division, Lieutenant General Nagaomoto Seiichi, ordered a retreat.
By the afternoon of the next day, all four divisions had retreated from Hengyang and arrived around Guilin, ready to launch an attack.
The 3rd Division, the 13th Division, the 39th Division and the 17th Brigade also rushed south via Huaihua and Shaoyang respectively.
The Eighth and Ninth Armies of the Fourth Army of the Independent Column have cleared large tracts of land in Jingzhou, Xiangyang and other places, and are preparing to cross the river near Changde and launch an attack on Changsha!
The engineers have already built a pontoon bridge on the Yangtze River and are waiting for the order from the headquarters to cross the river and fight.
After a night of observation, Li Yunlong and Wang Meng discovered that the Japanese had indeed turned their attack target to Guangxi.
"Old Li, I suggest that you immediately order the 201th and 202th Armies of the th Army Group to cross the river and pursue the enemy troops north of Hengyang. In addition, the st Airborne Brigade will set up a blocking position in Shaoyang, and the nd Airborne Brigade will drop to Huaihua to set up a position!"
"Damn it, I didn't expect the Japanese to give up Hengyang. I thought it was just a feint, but now it seems that Yokoyama Isamu is very determined, he is a real character!
Has the transferred aviation division returned to Yongzhou? Let them immediately launch an air strike on the Japanese troops north of Hengyang. In addition, the 201st Airborne Brigade and the 202nd Airborne Brigade should not forcefully block the attack, lest the Japanese troops fight to the death and cause us huge casualties!
What is the current movement of the Central Army? "
Wang Meng took the intelligence information prepared by the General Staff.
"After the Central Army's 93rd Army failed to block the Huangsha River section of the Hunan-Guangxi Railway, it moved to Xin'an and Quanxian. Currently, there are still 131st and 170th Divisions in Guilin. The situation is not optimistic!"
"What changes have occurred to the four divisions of the Japanese who moved south?"
"The 58th Division will attack Sanjiang in the northwest from Lingchuan, and the 68th Division will attack Yangshuo from Guanyang. The 34th and 40th Divisions will attack Guilin!"
Li Yunlong asked his staff to mark the movements of the Japanese on the map with red arrows. Looking at the four Japanese divisions all surrounding Guilin, he kept muttering to himself.
"Damn it, two divisions are the only ones that can hold out against two divisions of the howling Japanese? What on earth is Chongqing doing? Didn't they get a warning the day before yesterday?"
"It's nothing but the same old problems. Now is not the time to scold them. They were forced to allow us to enter Hunan before. I guess they won't allow us to enter Guangxi without great pressure!"
Li Yunlong shook his head helplessly and could only do the task at hand first.
"Mengzi, first eliminate the enemies in the north of Hengyang, and try your best to keep them in Hunan.
In addition, the 10th Army of the Fourth Army Group will speed up the attack on Hankou while there is no enemy support, and strive to resolve the battle within three days and eliminate the remaining enemies. The 11th and 12th Armies of the Fifth Army Group will also speed up the offensive rhythm, strive to capture Jiujiang within a week, and defend the Yangtze River! "
The staff officer immediately issued the order to all the troops. After receiving the order, Wei Heshang, who was far away in Hengyang, immediately ordered the 201nd and rd Regiments of the st Airborne Brigade at Yongzhou Airport to march to Shaoyang immediately.
Monk Wei left a battalion to take care of the wounded, and the rest of the troops were assembled.
"General Fang, Hengyang has been relieved. The 10th Army should have no combat effectiveness. I suggest retreating immediately!"