Chapter 330 What if someone raids Jiangcheng?
The moment the pontoon bridge was built, the armored regiment, led by Zhao He, sailed towards the Xijiang River in three columns.

Behind them, the troops of the 59th Division followed closely.

Even though the previous battle had made them very tired.

But they still gritted their teeth and charged forward with high morale.

This was the closest they had ever come to retaking Guangzhou.

If I fail this time, there may not be a next time.

So no matter how tired they are, they grit their teeth and persevere.

"Brothers, whether the glory of the Iron Army can be restored depends on today. Follow me and kill the Japs." Tang Lian personally held a Thompson submachine gun and shouted to the brothers behind him.

"Kill the devils."

"Kill the devils."

"Kill the devils."

If there were no tanks as cover, the 59th Division would have suffered heavy casualties just crossing the river.

Because the Japanese on the shore were very accurate in shooting, they started shooting at each other.

There is no doubt that the soldiers of the 59th Division suffered the loss.

But now it’s different.

With tanks as cover, the casualty rate was greatly reduced.

When the tanks reached the middle of the pontoon bridge, Major Yamashita was already in a panic. He knew that he must not let the tanks cross the river, otherwise they would face a massacre. He could only bite the bullet and shout loudly.

"Baga, machine gunner, hurry up, shoot now and suppress the Chinese army's firepower."

Captain Onomura next to him was speechless. Machine gun firing?
You think that's our tank?
Can heavy machine guns penetrate armor?

Although he thought so, the machine gunners still faithfully carried out orders.

Unfortunately, due to the previous artillery attack, they had very few machine gunners left.

There were originally more than a dozen heavy machine guns, but now there are only a few left. Not to mention suppressing the enemy, even firing back at the enemy's machine gunners is impossible.

Not to mention the machine guns and artillery on the tanks, which were blown up in a few seconds.

Seeing this, Major Yamashita had no choice but to organize a volunteer team.

All they could do now was run to the first tank and blow up the pontoon bridge.

But it didn't work at all.

Not to mention whether they could avoid the heavy artillery fire, even the machine gun fire from the tanks would have blocked them and made it impossible for them to move forward.

As Major Yamashita watched the members of the suicide squad fall to the ground one after another, his eyelids twitched wildly.

It is impossible to defend the Xijiang defense line.

"Major, I suggest we retreat immediately. We can't hold on." Onomura couldn't help but persuade as he looked at his subordinates who kept falling.

The sparse firepower on his own position made him realize that if he continued, he would be committing suicide, so it would be better to retreat early.

"Damn it, we must hold the Xijiang position and wait for reinforcements." Although Major Yamashita felt sorry for his subordinates, he had no choice.

Guangzhou is different from other cities. Because of its developed maritime trade, there are no city walls here.

When the Japanese army captured Guangzhou, they were able to take the city quickly because it had no city walls.

Why did Yu Hanmou's 12th Army give up Yangcheng so easily? Wasn't it because there were no city walls? They retreated decisively only when they could no longer defend Yangcheng.

The Japanese army is facing the same situation now.

If we fail to defend Xijiang River, it means that the next line of defense will also fail.

"Major, there are two rivers behind us, and we can build fortifications there." Captain Onomura said anxiously as he watched the tanks pass through the pontoon bridge and head towards the position.

These words made Major Yamashita somewhat excited, but he also knew that if he continued to hold on like this, his entire army would be wiped out.

"Baga, tactical change." Looking at the tanks getting closer and closer, Major Yamashita finally couldn't bear the fear in his heart and ordered a retreat.

After the vanguard of the 129th Division learned that Xijiang had been lost, they also moved in, because they knew that it was absolutely impossible for them to stop the tanks with their flesh and blood.

Not to mention that they don't have decent anti-tank weapons.

So when faced with the tank regiment's charge, they could only keep retreating and looking for new cover.

At the Yangcheng Command, Lieutenant General Nakazono Moritaka looked at the tense and busy scene. From his initial panic, he still sat firmly at the head of the circular conference table.

Yes!

He wasn't panicking at all.

What we need to do now is to hold on.

Waiting for reinforcements.

Because he knew there was no point in panicking.

It’s better to stay calm and see what the Fourth War Zone is trying to do.

Do we really want to take over Yangcheng completely, or do we want to surround the city and attack its reinforcements?

"Report, the Xijiang defense line has been lost, the two garrisoned infantry battalions have been completely wiped out, and the Chinese Army's armored regiment is attacking." The combat staff walked in and said quickly.

"Where is the 129th Division?" Lieutenant General Moritaka Nakazono asked casually.

"Prepare to set up a defense line west of the Pearl River." The operations staff immediately replied.

"A fight to the death?" Lieutenant General Nakazono Moritaka was naturally familiar with Sun Tzu's Art of War and immediately understood the intention of the 129th Division.

"Yes, Division Commander Naotobu Uzawa believes that only by defending the Pearl River can we defend Guangzhou, so he suggested setting up a defense line along the Pearl River to block the attack of the enemy tank regiment." The operations staff explained.

"Yoshi, tell Uzawa-kun that whether we can hold Yangcheng depends on whether the 129th Division can hold out until reinforcements arrive." Lieutenant General Nakazono Moritaka nodded.

"Where is the 104th Division? When will it arrive in Yangcheng?"

"We have arrived in Zengcheng and are expected to reach Yangcheng in two days, but I suggest that the division be stationed in Zengcheng." The combat staff officer said with some concern.

"Do you suspect that the 104th Division will rebel?" Lieutenant General Nakazono Moritaka guessed what he was thinking and asked directly.

"Hai, after all, they are formed by the remaining personnel of the 104th Division. Now that the Sichuan Army has joined the battle, there is no guarantee whether anyone from the th Division is colluding with the Sichuan Army." The combat staff felt that the danger should be nipped in the bud.

Now the 104th Division is an unstable factor.

Or.

The sudden joining of the Sichuan Army made him wonder if there was some other conspiracy.

The main reason was that the impact the 4th Division had on the Japanese army was too bad.

This also led to a bad impression of the 104th Division.

"You're right. The sudden joining of the Sichuan Army has indeed aroused my suspicion. In this case, let the 104th Division temporarily garrison Zengcheng and wait for new orders." Lieutenant General Nakazono Moritaka pondered for a while and decided that for safety reasons, he should let the 104th Division garrison Zengcheng first and wait and see how the situation develops. In other words, he wanted to see if the th Army could quickly capture Changsha.

If the 11th Army fails to capture Changsha and is unable to provide support.

If Yangcheng is no longer safe, he might abandon Yangcheng and retreat to Zengcheng, report to the 104th Division, head north to join the th Army, and attack Changsha from the north and south.

Or perhaps they would retreat to Chaozhou, or even Fujian Province, and wait for reinforcements to arrive.

He didn't believe that the base would give up such a large territory as Yangcheng.

After figuring everything out, Lieutenant General Nakazono Moritaka was no longer anxious, but rather very calm. He ordered the frontline positions to be defended and at the same time ordered the only fighter planes in his hands to search for the Chinese army's transportation routes and cut off their logistical supplies.

The purpose of all this is to delay the actions of the Chinese army.

After adjusting the strategy, the 59th Division's attack was indeed not as swift as before.

Especially since the heavy artillery regiment has to cross the Xijiang River to provide fire support, they can only rely on tanks to attack.

But if the armored regiment wants to continue to output, it needs a supply of artillery shells and fuel.

When the fuel is almost consumed, we have to stop and wait for logistical supplies.

"The logistics supply is too slow, which greatly slows down our marching speed." Zhao He said somewhat dissatisfiedly.

The armored regiment's supplies all need to be transported from Hanoi, so the transportation distance is very long.

Even if Kang Huojian sent out hundreds of vehicles, it would not be enough to meet the armored regiment's consumption.

After all, they had to ensure the consumption of the armored and artillery regiments, and also transport arms to the Fourth War Zone, so naturally they were unable to do so.

What's more important is that the roads here are really bad.

"The advancement speed is already very fast. One day is equivalent to our half-month advancement." Tang Lian was very content. They were almost reaching the Pearl River.

As long as you cross the Pearl River, all that remains is the urban area of ​​Yangcheng.

Unless the Japs are willing to fight them in street battles, the outcome is already decided.

Now the balance of victory has tilted towards the Fourth War Zone, but it has only been temporarily halted due to logistical supply issues.

Once all supplies arrive, we will launch the general attack.

"I thought we could cross the Pearl River today." Zhao He still felt a little regretful.

"Captain Zhao, let's rest first. The brothers are all very tired." Tang Lian glanced at the brothers behind him who looked tired and spoke.

"Okay, let the brothers rest first." After saying this, Zhao He also felt very tired.

.........

The intensity of the battle here began to cool down, but the battle of the Japanese 11th Army had just begun. Right from the start, the Japanese 3rd Division launched a fierce attack on Changsha's outer defense line. In addition to using heavy artillery, it also used a large number of fighter planes for bombing.

They were determined to blow up the entire city of Changsha into ruins.

This combination of punches made Xue Yue a little confused.

According to the experience of the previous three battles, the intensity of the Japanese army was gradually increasing.

To put it simply, it means to test it first and then gradually increase the intensity.

How can it be like this, using the ultimate move right at the start?

Heavy artillery, aircraft, and tanks launched continuous bombings, and Changsha city's outer defense lines were in direct danger.

"These Japanese are like crazy." After collecting the battle reports from the front line, Deng Weiren kept marking the enemy and our own situation on the map.

"Sir, these little devils must be in a hurry to open up the railway and go south to support the Japanese troops in Yangcheng. We must not let them pass."

"I know everything you said." Xue Yue also frowned as he looked at the map. The supplies that Shancheng promised were still a long way off. The fierce attack of the Japanese army really gave him a headache.

"Should we open up the defense line and let the Japanese army pass through?" Deng Weiren said hesitantly.

"No..." Xue Yue immediately rejected the proposal. He supported Zhang Fakui's plan to recapture Yangcheng. Now it has come to the critical moment and they must not let him down.

According to the Tianlu tactics summarized before, he still followed the method of the third battle.

Three lines of defense were still set up in northern Hunan: the first line was the Xinqiang River, guarded by the 20th and 58th Armies; the second line of defense was the Miluo River, guarded by the 37th and 99th Armies; the third line of defense was the Laodao River and the Liuyang River, with the 10th Army responsible for guarding Changsha and its outer positions.

At present, the Japanese army has broken through the first line of defense, and the 20th and 58th Armies stationed there have withdrawn to the second line of defense.

This is much faster than expected.

The main reason was that the Japanese army mobilized a large number of main forces, which put a lot of pressure on the front-line defenders.

"Order the 37th Army and the 99th Army to hold the second line of defense. At the same time, order the 20th Army and the 58th Army to withdraw to the third line of defense. After resting, assist the 10th Army in defending the outer positions of Changsha." Xue Yue pondered for a while. It was not a good idea to fight the Japanese army head-on.

It was obvious that the Japanese army was determined to take Changsha at all costs this time, so he had to leave enough troops to garrison Changsha.

As long as Changsha is not lost, the Japanese army's hope of moving south will be shattered.

All he can do now is buy enough time for the Fourth War Zone.

"Sir, you said that the Japanese army has withdrawn so many main forces to attack Changsha in the south. Has Jiangcheng's defense been weakened?" Deng Weiren asked hesitantly while looking at the map.

"This is not certain. The Japanese 11th Army needs to defend a large territory, but its manpower is extremely short. Many places are garrisoned by the Imperial Army." As he spoke, Xue Yue felt that something was wrong.

Yes!

The Japanese army is now short of manpower, and has drawn so many elite troops to attack Changsha.

You should know that Yueyang is to the north of Changsha, and beyond Yueyang is Jiangcheng.

"What do you mean? What if a troop attacks Jiangcheng?" Xue Yue looked at Deng Weiren and said with some disbelief.

"Yes." Deng Weiren nodded quickly.

"No, I don't have any elite troops now. Li Yutang's Tenth Army is still resting. In the last battle, more than half of their troops were lost, all veterans. Now they are replenishing with new recruits, and many weapons and equipment are not in place yet. It is not appropriate to let the Tenth Army attack Jiangcheng." Xue Yue immediately shook his head and refused.

If it was the fully equipped and manned Tenth Army, he might have let the Tenth Army try a surprise attack.

Even though Jiangcheng's defenses are weak, it doesn't mean there are no soldiers stationed there.

The Japanese army is not stupid.

"Commander, I know that the 10th Army is still in the rest and recuperation stage. Although we are unable to raid Jiangcheng, the Gui Army stationed at the junction of Hubei, Henan and Anhui is still very strong and the losses are not great. We can definitely send troops to raid Jiangcheng." Deng Weiren advised again.

Hearing this, Xue Yue was stunned, looked at him in surprise, but then looked at the map again.

"The Fifth War Zone? Brother Delin? That's a good choice."

The Gui army is now hiding in the mountains at the junction of the three provinces. If they attack Jiangcheng, the crisis in Changsha will be resolved immediately.

I just don’t know whether Li Delin will agree to his request.

"Commander, you can try to make a phone call. Perhaps the Fifth War Zone will agree. After all, Jiangcheng has been lost for so long. If it can be recovered, it will be a great achievement for Commander Li." Deng Weiren advised from a different angle.

"Recapture Jiangcheng? What a joke? That's a fortified city." Xue Yue immediately thought this was a joke.

(End of this chapter)