bookcurios Chapter 277: Occupation of Yangquan, 37th Division Escapes
Chapter 277: Occupation of Yangquan, 37th Division Escapes
After receiving the urgent telegram from Yangquan, the commander-in-chief of the Taiyuan First Army, Yoshio Kozuka, turned pale instantly.
Yangquan is the most important transportation hub on the Zhengtai Railway. It is crucial to the layout of the North China Front Army in the entire North China region and must not be occupied by the Eighth Route Army again.
He immediately gave an order to send a division of troops to Yangquan for rescue.
After receiving the order, the garrison division in Jinzhong area did not dare to delay in the slightest and took swift action to provide reinforcements in the direction of Yangquan.
The huge Japanese army marched quickly in the snow. The sound of their footsteps and the clash of guns were particularly clear in the silent snowfield.
When the 30th Division reached the Shouyang area, it was immediately met with fierce resistance from the New st Brigade.
Under the leadership of Ding Wei, the New 1st Brigade has made full preparations.
Ding Wei arranged a force of nearly 2 to block the Japanese reinforcements, and the remaining 1 stayed behind in the base.
The entire Japanese reinforcement force had a total of only 18,000 people, while the New 2st Brigade that blocked them had nearly troops.
Ding Wei stood on a high place and observed the enemy's movements through a telescope.
His brows were furrowed, but there was a hint of cunning in his eyes.
He said to the staff officer beside him: "You see, the Japanese are really anxious this time, but our New 1st Brigade is not a pushover."
The staff officer nodded and responded, "Brigade Commander, we have more troops than them. We can definitely give them a surprise."
Ding Wei smiled slightly, and then gave the order to take the initiative to attack.
He believed that the New 30st Brigade was fully capable of launching a proactive attack on the Japanese. After obtaining the consent of most generals, the New st Brigade began to take the initiative to attack the th Division.
The forces of the four infantry regiments began to encircle the 4th Division, confusing the 30th Division.
The commander of the 30th Division originally thought that he would face a tough blocking battle, but he did not expect that the Eighth Route Army would take the initiative to attack, which was completely beyond his expectations.
He was overjoyed and immediately ordered his troops to attack with all their might and break through the blocking position as quickly as possible.
But the ideal is beautiful, but the reality is cruel.
The 30th Division launched a desperate attack, but the more they fought, the more they felt something was wrong. It seemed that they were surrounded by the Eighth Route Army's blocking force in front of them.
When the commander of the 30th Division reacted, he immediately broke out in a cold sweat and immediately gave the order to retreat.
"Retreat! Retreat quickly!"
After receiving the order to retreat, the Japanese army desperately began to break out. After a fierce and bitter battle, the 30th Division successfully jumped out of the encirclement at the cost of losing thousands of Japanese soldiers.
Ding Wei watched the enemy retreat from a distance, with a hint of regret on his face.
He said to the staff officer beside him: "What a pity! If it weren't for this damn weather, we could have kept them all."
The staff officer nodded and responded, "Commander, we have done our best. The 30th Division suffered heavy losses this time and will definitely not be able to launch another effective attack in a short period of time."
Ding Wei sighed, he knew what the staff officer said was true.
.................
11 month 5 day.
Outside Yangquan City in the early morning.
After a bloody battle, the independent brigade successfully captured all positions outside Yangquan.
The surviving Japanese soldiers retreated back to Yangquan City one after another, preparing for a final desperate resistance.
The reinforcement troops, which the commander of the 37th Division had high hopes for, were now surrounded by the independent brigade on the outskirts of Yangquan and were in a precarious situation.
More than 37 Japanese soldiers from the 8000th Division who rushed back from various places to reinforce were surrounded in three locations by the three regiments of the Independent Brigade.
After a day of bloody fighting, more than 37 Japanese soldiers from the 8000th Division were all killed by the Independent Brigade.
Each infantry regiment of the independent brigade had more than 6000 people, while the Japanese troops coming back from various places had only more than 8000 Japanese soldiers. Facing the Eighth Route Army that was several times larger than them, they were no match at all.
Coupled with the lack of heavy artillery, they were unable to hold the positions they had established.
Under the cover of artillery, the soldiers of the independent brigade launched a fierce encirclement and annihilation campaign against the Japanese.
Li Yunlong stood in the front-line command post, looking towards Yangquan City with a telescope.
Snowflakes fell on his shoulders, but he didn't feel cold at all.
Then he looked at the time on his hand again. It was 8 o'clock in the morning. He nodded, then walked to the table, picked up the radio, and began to contact the artillery position.
"Artillery positions, if you hear this, please respond and immediately launch an artillery attack on Yangquan City."
Li Yunlong's voice rang out over the intercom, firm and powerful.
"Received, understood, the shelling will begin immediately." A response from the artillery position came over the intercom.
Then he picked up the walkie-talkie and began to contact the commanders of each regiment. After the bombing was over, he launched a general attack on Yangquan.
Heavy snow began to fall from the sky again, and the snowflakes covered the bloodstains and bullet craters on the battlefield.
However, the soldiers on the artillery position were busy as hell. As the order to fire was given, a violent roar suddenly erupted on the artillery position.
The artillery regiment's 20 105mm large-caliber heavy artillery and rocket launchers bombarded the Japanese on the city wall, and the Japanese stationed at the railway station were given special attention.
The entire Yangquan City was shrouded in the sound of explosions, and countless Japanese soldiers were trembling in the city.
The city walls trembled under the bombardment of artillery fire, as if they would collapse at any time.
The Japanese soldiers in the city were in a panic. They didn't know when the bombing would end.
When the Eighth Route Army launched the siege on the city, the commander of the 37th Division received a telegram from Yoshio Kozuka.
He opened the telegram with trembling hands, and the content of the telegram made him feel relieved.
Yoshio Kozuka ordered the 37th Division to immediately evacuate Yangquan and break out from the direction of Yu County.
He knew very well in his mind that Yangquan could no longer be defended and the 37th Division must not be destroyed by the Independent Column in Yangquan, otherwise he would not be able to explain to the headquarters.
Two divisions and one brigade of the First Army had already been destroyed by the Independent Column. If the 37th Division was destroyed again, he would really have to commit suicide by disembowelment.
After receiving the order to retreat, the 37th Division acted quickly. More than 8000 Japanese soldiers, led by the division commander, broke out from the back door.
The Japanese planes in the sky continued to bomb and attack the encirclement of the Independent Brigade to cover the retreat of the 37th Division.
Li Yunlong was in the command center, watching the enemy's retreat through a telescope.
His brows were furrowed, but in the end he did not give the order to pursue.
In his opinion, occupying Yangquan was the most important thing, and he did not want to ask the soldiers to make unnecessary sacrifices.
He turned to his staff and said, "Let the soldiers prepare to enter the city. Yangquan is already ours."
The staff officer quickly conveyed the order and the soldiers began to pack their equipment and prepare to enter the city.
There was joy of victory on their faces, and although they were tired, their eyes were shining with hope for the future.