Chapter 349 Whether you can win depends on your legs!

In Changsha City, Xue Yue looked at the map and began to describe his tactical arrangements. To put it bluntly, he would use the armored regiment as a sword to tear open the Japanese army's frontal defense.

The infantry followed closely and fought in coordination with the tanks.

In addition, the 10th Artillery Regiment will use heavy artillery to block the Japanese army's retreat route.

To put it bluntly, it is to copy the German blitzkrieg in Europe.

Of course, it can't be compared with a real blitzkrieg, but it can still be tried on a small scale.

After hearing Xue Yue's plan, Zhao He was eager to try it, but Meng Fan frowned and asked.

"Sir, can I ask you one more question? Which unit is cooperating with our armored regiment in the attack? Is it reliable?"

He has been in the ragtag army for many years and has been cannon fodder for so long that he knows everything about their character.

So he had to ask clearly which unit was cooperating in the attack.

Don't let the entire armored regiment be trapped, that would be a huge loss.

You have to know that this is the armored regiment that Cun Yunsheng spent a lot of effort to create. If it were gone.

He really didn't know how to explain to the other party.

"It's Li Yutang's Tenth Army." Xue Yue naturally knew the other party's concerns and said with a smile.

Hearing that it was Li Yutang's Tenth Army, Meng Fan nodded. It was obvious that he knew Li Yutang's Tenth Army and also knew what kind of person he was.

The Battle of Changsha went pretty well.

"Since you have no objection, let's get ready. We will start the attack tomorrow according to the predetermined plan. The Japanese army will never dream that we will launch a general offensive at this time." The smile on Xue Yue's face never stopped.

Especially when they learned that Zhao He's armored regiment had forty-eight tanks, they were even more delighted.

This time he was going to give the Japanese army a severe blow.

…………

It was four o'clock in the morning, when people were most sleepy, but the Japanese soldiers on the position of the 3rd Division of the Japanese Army did not dare to make the slightest movement.

Because they have dealt with the other side before, they know they must be vigilant at all times.

"Wake up, there seems to be some movement."

"It seems to be the sound of a chariot."

"Nani, how is that possible? You must have heard it wrong."

"How could the Chinese have tanks?"

"You heard it right, this is definitely a chariot."

"Go and report to the captain."

Colonel Matsuyama Yoshimasa of the 6th Infantry Regiment of the rd Division of the Japanese Army was stunned for a moment when he looked at the telegram in front of him.

"What's going on?" Colonel Matsuyama Yoshimasa came to his senses and asked.

He knew that the Tenth Army had just launched a general attack against them and should not have time to launch a new offensive for the time being.

Could it be that their reinforcements have arrived?
This is impossible.

There was no news that reinforcements would arrive.

And there are more than 100,000 refugees coming from the north.

It is said that the defenders in the city took out military rations to help the refugees.

Have the refugee issue been resolved?

After thinking for a long time, he still couldn't figure it out.

"There are a lot of people gathered on the opposite side." The investigator hesitated for a moment and expressed his judgment.

"They look like engineers. They are building a bridge."

In order to hold its position, the Japanese 3rd Division specifically chose a location near a river.

At the same time, in order to stop the enemy's offensive, they blew up all the bridges on the river.

"Engineers? Building a bridge? Are they going to cross the river?" Colonel Matsuyama Yoshimasa was confused again.

Are we really going to attack?
impossible!

We just attacked, why are they attacking again?
Do they have so many new forces?
Just then, a sharp burst of cannon fire was heard in the sky.

"Baga, it's artillery fire, are they really going to attack?"

"Quick, dodge, and get everyone up to fight back."

"The Chinese army is coming, fight back quickly."

At the heavy artillery position on the riverside, 48 155mm heavy howitzers fired at the same time.

The scene was so spectacular that at least the commander of the 10th Artillery Regiment, Huang Zhengcheng, was so excited that he did not sleep all night.

It cost him a huge price to pull these heavy artillery to the front line.

But, it’s painful and joyful.

Although I am very tired, I feel great now.

This was the first time he had experienced so much heavy artillery fire.

There was no sign of sleepiness on his face. Instead, he shouted excitedly.

"Blow it up! Blow it up hard! Blow these sons of bitches to death."

"Yes."

Dozens of artillery shells were fired at the same time, directly bombing each position of the 6th Infantry Regiment one by one. These positions had been marked long ago and could not escape the bombing at all.

Then there was another round of massacre, and the Japanese were beaten so badly that they couldn't raise their heads.

"Go, go, go, build the bridge quickly."

Several engineering battalions were quickly building bridges and paving roads.

The follow-up troops followed closely, and behind them were the tanks.

Forty-eight tanks roared and slowly drove towards the pontoon bridge.

"Will this collapse?" someone asked worriedly.

"No, it will never collapse. We have tried." said the commander of the engineering battalion in charge of building the bridge.

"This is an American tank. It's a bit heavy."

"Don't worry, I guarantee it with my head, it won't collapse."

It turned out that it did not collapse, because the engineer battalion commander knew that the task was very difficult, so he did not dare to delay anything.

"Cross the bridge."

.........

"Go and ask for tactical guidance quickly. The Chinese army has launched an attack." Colonel Matsuyama Yoshimasa, who was knocked to the ground by artillery fire, got up and shouted to the communications staff officer next to him.

His position had long lost contact, and apart from the smoke from the artillery fire, there was no other movement.

This means that the fate of being completely wiped out is not far away.

"The telephone line is blocked and telegrams cannot be sent." The communications staff officer said hurriedly.

"Damn it! Why did the Chinese army in the city suddenly launch an attack?"

"This is not right. Do they want to wipe out the entire Third Division?" Colonel Matsuyama Yoshimasa guessed.

But no one could give him an answer, so he had no choice but to pick up his command knife and rush out of the front-line command post in the semi-underground bunker.

But just as I walked out of the bunker, I saw a tank coming at high speed in the distance.

The machine gun position nearby immediately began to turn its gun muzzles, but the bullets hit the tank's armor, leaving only bullet marks and no other damage.

"boom!"

At this time, the tank stopped and fired a shot, and the machine gun position was destroyed.

Before Colonel Matsuyama Yoshimasa could react, another M4 tank drove towards them from a distance, and Colonel Matsuyama Yoshimasa hurriedly retreated back to the bunker.

"Damn it, there are Chinese troops outside. Are they launching a counterattack?" Colonel Matsuyama Yoshimasa shouted.

"Haven't you contacted me yet?"

"Report, no."

"idiot!"

Unfortunately, no matter how hard they tried to communicate, their phone lines were destroyed by the first round of shelling.

Soldiers sent out to repair telephone lines were also killed by the shock wave generated by the exploding shells.

More importantly, facing the American M4 tanks, their counterattacks were ridiculous and completely useless. In just half an hour, they had torn through the defenses of the Sixth Infantry Regiment.

However, Zhao He did not linger in the battle, but continued to lead the armored regiment forward.

His mission is to move forward, forward, and forward again.

As for the rest, just leave it to the infantry.

Li Yutang's Tenth Army followed closely.

To be honest, Li Yutang swore that he had never fought such a prosperous battle in his life.

The tanks lead the way, the heavy artillery provides support, and all he has to do is command the infantry to expand the results of the battle.

Based on the gap torn open by the armored regiment, we can continue to expand outward and eliminate more Japanese troops.

“Don’t stop, keep going.”

"Let the supply vehicles in the rear catch up and refuel at any time." Zhao He ordered.

"Yes."

"We need the team to move faster and try to kill the Japanese as quickly as possible and head to their rear."

"Yes!"

According to the plan made by Xue Yue, they would directly break through the defense line of the Japanese Third Division, so he was very anxious along the way.

He kept urging his subordinates to speed up.

The goal is to complete the mission as quickly as possible and encircle the Japanese 3rd Division.

"Commander, we are already going very fast. If we go any faster, we will lose the infantry behind us. Why don't we wait for them?" the subordinate next to him advised.

Hearing this, Zhao He was stunned. Yes.

No matter how fast we move, if we lose our infantry and the Japanese surround us, it will be troublesome.

It would be better to stop and wait for them.

"Okay, let's stop and rest for an hour, rest and refuel. By the way, urge those infantrymen to speed up." Zhao He ordered.

"Yes."

The Tenth Army in the rear were really running so hard that their legs were almost broken.

In fact, if they knew that there is a type of soldier called motorized infantry.

I guess their first reaction is envy.

But the reality is the opposite. Motorized infantry, as the name suggests, should run faster than a motorcycle.

So this is nothing for them.

"Damn it, this chariot is running too fast. I can't catch up with it at all."

"My throat is about to smoke."

"Stop talking, my legs are about to break."

"Okay, stop wasting time."

"When have we ever fought such a rich war?"

"Get up now, don't stop."

Once you stop, you will fall behind, and at this time you can only grit your teeth and keep running forward.

Fortunately, the morale of the 10th Army is still very good.

With tanks leading the way and heavy artillery providing support, everyone's morale was high.

"Commander, the infantry reported that it would take them another half an hour to catch up. Let's wait a little longer." At this time, the adjutant came over and said again.

Hearing this, Zhao He's expression didn't look very good.

"What's going on? Another half hour? What are they doing? Why are they so slow?"

The day lilies were cold in half an hour, and they were now catching the Japanese off guard.

While the Japanese were still not aware of their situation, they surrounded the Third Division.

Otherwise, the story of the 106th Division will probably be repeated.

"Send a telegram to the Tenth Army and tell them whether they want to repeat the incident at Wanjialing?"

"Whether they can completely wipe out the Third Division depends on whether their legs can outrun the Japanese."

"Yes."

Li Yutang's face naturally didn't look good when he received Zhao He's telegram, and he yelled immediately.

"Everyone, get your shit together. They sent a telegram to taunt us. Are they trying to repeat the incident at Wanjialing where they let the Japanese 106th Division escape? Whether we can completely annihilate the Japanese rd Division now depends on whether we can outrun them."

"Even if you have to run your legs off, run! Speed ​​up!"

As Li Yutang spoke, he began to gallop on his warhorse.

Behind him were the miserable infantrymen.

"What? The Chinese army has already broken through the defense line of the Sixth Regiment and is heading straight for my division headquarters?"

Lieutenant General Takahashi Tagaji was stunned when he saw the telegram sent to him.

Who would have known that in just a few hours, the 6th Infantry Regiment's defense line was breached and even killed, and the enemy's main force was already heading straight for him.

This scared him to death.

"Can anyone tell me why this is happening?" Lieutenant General Takahashi Tagaji asked blankly.

It's a pity that everyone is confused, even though the 3rd Division is much weaker now.

But it is not something the Chinese army can control.

Although the 10th Army had good combat effectiveness, the quality of its troops had dropped significantly after several battles.

You can feel it from the battle not long ago.

Although the Japanese army suffered more than 3,000 casualties, the Tenth Army was not much better off.

Why do you dare to fight back now?
Who gave them the courage?

"Matsuyama Yoshimasa is such an idiot. I really want to know how he defended himself. Didn't I tell him? He was told to build fortifications and bunkers, but why couldn't he hold out for even a few hours?"

If Colonel Matsuyama Yoshimasa heard this, he would definitely cry out in injustice.

He did build fortifications and bunkers, but they were of no use.

Forty-eight tanks led the charge, and most of them were M4 medium tanks, which encountered fortifications.

It was gone after one shot from them.

And they have no means of fighting back.

The bullets hitting the tank were completely useless.

It can only be called scraping.

"Your Excellency the division commander, the Tenth Army must have something to rely on. I suspect that they have dispatched armored units. Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain why our defense line was breached in such a short time, and even the Sixth Regiment didn't have time to pass on the message." The chief of staff said.

"I suggest an immediate tactical shift."

I have to say, his sense of smell is still very sensitive.

This abnormal behavior must have other purposes.

"You mean, they want to wipe out my Third Division?" Takahashi Takaji asked in disbelief.

"Hai, it's very likely. Otherwise, I don't understand why they would suddenly behave so abnormally. I even suspect that the armored regiment from Yangcheng has arrived in Changsha. Your Excellency, the division commander, we are very lacking in accurate intelligence right now. I suggest that we make a tactical shift first." The chief of staff urged again.

Upon hearing this, Lieutenant General Takahashi Takaji fell into deep thought. He felt that what his chief of staff said made sense.

Because it's too abnormal.

Normally speaking, it would be considered good if we could inflict heavy damage on his entire regiment.

It is really too weird that an entire regiment completely loses its ability to counterattack in just a few hours.

But I still feel a little unwilling to retreat like this.

"Okay, let the division headquarters make a tactical shift first, and the rest of the regiments will continue to hold their ground. Also, notify them that if they notice anything wrong, they should shift their tactics immediately without hesitation." Takahashi Tagaji thought for a moment and added.

"Yes." The chief of staff did not refute.

The Japanese army was preparing to retreat, but Zhao He looked depressed.

"Captain Li, your infantry is too slow. You should know that speed is of the essence in this operation."

(End of this chapter)