Chapter 351: Captured a regiment flag?

After checking it over and over again, and asking the communications officer to confirm it again, General Hata Shunroku finally believed that it was all true.

The Third Division suffered heavy losses and could be wiped out at any time.

This is really incredible.

His original idea was for the Third Division and the Ninth War Zone's troops to continue to consume each other.

Then, when the five divisions of the Kwantung Army arrived, they could withdraw to rest and then transfer three Type B divisions to cooperate with the enemy and attack Changsha city together.

The results of it?
The Kwantung Army was still on the way and the 3rd Division was about to be destroyed.

It's really too unbelievable to say this out loud.

You should know that now in the entire China Expeditionary Army, there is only one Type A division left, the 3rd Division, and the others are Type B or Type C divisions.

Or it could be those Imperial Army.

Although the Imperial Army has several million troops, it is of no use.

The most we can do is to maintain public order. Asking them to participate in the encirclement and suppression would be a waste of bullets and they would just be firing blanks into the sky.

A small number of the Imperial Army have decent combat effectiveness, but they are also needed to encircle and suppress the guerrillas.

Therefore, he didn't have many troops to mobilize.

If the Third Division is gone, it will be really troublesome.

Thinking of this, General Hata Shunroku finally lost his previous calmness.

"Which division can be mobilized now?" General Hata Shunroku asked immediately.

One thing that needs to be made clear here is the troop deployment of the Japanese 11th Army after the Battle of Jiangcheng.

First, the area occupied by the Japanese 11th Army in Jiangnan was roughly the area north and east of the connecting line of Yueyang-Tongcheng-Tongshan-De'an-Fengxin-Fengcheng-Jinxian.

By the summer of 1941, the composition of the Japanese 11th Army had changed somewhat.

首先第33、第101、第106师团先后调出第11军的序列，第39、第40、第4师团又先后加入到该军的序列，另外第11军又增加了独立混成第18、第20旅团。这样，第11军仍还有7个师团(即第3、第4、第6、第13、第34、第39、第40师团，日军一个师团至少1.5万人)又3个独立混成旅团(独立混成第14、第18、第20旅团)。

其中第3师团仍担任应山一带的警备任务；第4师团担任应城、安陆地区的警备任务(第三次长沙会战前调归大本营直辖，其防区由第18独立混成旅团接替)；第6师团担任岳阳至崇阳一带的警备任务；第13师团担任宜昌及其附近的警备任务；第34师团担任南昌地区的警备任务；第39师团担任荆门、沙东、当阳一带的警备任务；第40师团担任咸宁、通山、大冶地区的警备任务。

However, due to the outbreak of the Pacific War, the 4th Division was withdrawn and later rebelled.

The 13th Division and the th Division were also transferred to the Southern Army, and then transferred to India, where they were severely damaged by British special bullets and suffered heavy losses.

The remaining ones are the 34th, 39th and 40th Type B Divisions, plus the 18th Independent Mixed Brigade.

The total military strength was reduced from 150,000 at its peak to only 100,000.

This is also the reason why Li Zongren agreed to Cun Yunsheng to attack Jiangcheng.

Because of their weak strength, there is still hope of taking them down with the cooperation of three American-equipped divisions.

However, the plan failed due to the arrival of the Kwantung Army.

Of course, the headquarters could not just watch the 11th Army perish, so they drew some troops from the mainland. Unfortunately, all of them were new recruits, and even if more troops were brought in, the combat effectiveness had seriously declined.

"I'm afraid the most we can do is to mobilize one unit from the 18th Independent Mixed Brigade," the operations staff officer replied immediately.

"Is there only one brigade?" General Hata Shunroku asked with a disappointed look on his face.

Although it is a mixed brigade with more than 10,000 people, the strength of the Ninth War Zone is not weak.

At least one more division must be added.

"Yes, the other three divisions must maintain an offensive posture, otherwise the Chinese army will notice the clues and will definitely launch harassment." said the combat staff.

"Do they dare?" General Hata Shunroku still asked with his previous thinking.

Upon hearing this, the combat staff was stunned. If it were in the past, the Chinese army would certainly not dare to do this.

But now the Third Division is about to be destroyed, and the morale of the Chinese army is greatly boosted, so who knows what they might do.

Maybe it's a full-scale counterattack, etc. As a combat staff officer, all these must be taken into consideration.

"Commander, the area we need to defend now is too large. Once we withdraw troops, the remaining Imperial Army will not be able to stop the Chinese army's counterattack. Xue Yue of the Ninth War Zone is a tough opponent. We must be prepared for any eventuality." The combat staff advised earnestly.

Hearing this, General Hata Shunroku was silent for a while.

"In other words, if the Kwantung Army does not enter the pass, it will be impossible for us to prevent a new battle?"

"Commander, although I don't want to admit it, this is the fact. I have now lost the ability to launch a counterattack against the Chinese army, unless you can convince the headquarters to withdraw the Southern Army, or continue to increase the troops. But those new recruits may not be able to play a big role, and may even drag down our combat effectiveness." The combat staff looked helpless.

In fact, since the beginning of 1942, especially after the second half of the year, the Japanese army felt increasingly difficult.

The shortage of troops, especially veteran soldiers, has led to a decline in combat effectiveness, which is particularly obvious.

Secondly, the logistical supplies are getting worse and worse. The canned foods used to be beef, but what about now?
They were all beef offal and so on, which were totally inedible.

If it weren't for the supplies received from Southeast Asia, it would be difficult to maintain even the most basic food rations.

As staff officers, their daily duties include studying the changes in the enemy and friendly situations and also their own logistical supplies.

Because planning cannot be separated from logistical support.

It is because he knows all this that he becomes pessimistic.

"Baga, don't say those things." General Hata Shunroku shouted angrily.

If this kind of news were to get out, it would cause instability in the military's morale.

"Hai." The operations officer lowered his head quickly.

"Since we cannot withdraw more divisions, let the 18th Independent Mixed Brigade cooperate with three divisions of the Imperial Army to support the rd Division and rescue it. The rest will just have to wait for the Kwantung Army to arrive." General Hata Shunroku also knew that he could not withdraw more troops now, so he could only make such an arrangement.

"Also, send another fifty fighter planes to Changsha to rescue the Third Division and use bombs to slow down the enemy's actions."

"Hay."

.........

The news that the Third Division had two regiments surrounded naturally reached the mountain city. Since the victory at Wanjialing, there had never been another feat of encircling and annihilating an entire division.

Moreover, this division is a Type A division, which is not comparable to the Type B division like the 106th.

Even though a large number of veterans were drawn from the Third Division, it was still called a Type A division.

If they could really destroy a Type A division, their power would be greatly increased, especially when facing Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union, they would be more confident.

Otherwise you will always be inferior to others.

"Xue Boling did a good job and fought a great battle." In the Shancheng office, the old man looked at the telegram in his hand and couldn't help but sigh.

This is a huge boost to our prestige. We encircled and annihilated the Japanese Third Division.

In the past, I couldn’t even imagine this, but now it’s really happening.

"But what about this heavy artillery regiment and armored regiment?" The old man asked with a puzzled look after reading the telegram.

He Yingqin and Chen Cheng looked at each other, and finally Chen Cheng, the head of the Civil Engineering Department, stood up and spoke firmly.

"It was provided by the Nanyang Task Force."

"South China Sea Task Force?" The old man was stunned, and then he immediately understood which unit this number belonged to.

"Damn Stilwell."

When it comes to Stilwell, the old man grits his teeth.

It is actually understandable why the relationship between the two sides is so bad.

Stilwell wanted command, but the old man didn't want to give it to him. He felt that Stilwell was using his elite troops as cannon fodder.

He completely forgot what others thought when he used the ragtag troops as artillery.
So naturally the relationship between the two sides is very bad.

Moreover, it is not easy to get American aid, so the relationship between the two sides is very average.

As a result, he was very annoyed when he heard that the troops supported by Stilwell were actually helping him to encircle and annihilate the Japanese 3rd Division.

Chen Cheng and He Yingqin pretended not to hear.

"So this Xue Boling has defected to Stilwell?" The old man took a deep breath. He had to find out. If it was true, then he had to replace him.

"No." Chen Cheng immediately stood up and said.

"According to intelligence, the Japanese army has sent five Type A divisions of the Kwantung Army southward. They are currently moving rapidly southward along the railway and are expected to arrive in Jiangcheng tomorrow."

"Their goal should be to completely open up the Yue-Han Line."

"The Guangdong-Hankou Line? Wasn't Yangcheng taken by Zhang Fakui?" As soon as the old man finished speaking, everyone understood that these five divisions of the Kwantung Army were heading for the Fourth War Zone.

This heavy artillery regiment and armored regiment also supported them from the Nanyang Task Force.

The purpose was to destroy a division and boost morale before the Kwantung Army arrived.

Thinking of this, the old man fell completely silent.

There were two options before him: either withdraw Xue Boling and replace him with another person, and then abandon the city of Changsha and let the Japanese army open up the Guangdong-Hankou Line.

But obviously, this is impossible to agree to.

If that were the case, he would probably be scolded to death.

The second way is to continue to use Xue Boling and let him block the five divisions of the Kwantung Army in Changsha City.

The cost is heavy casualties, but the benefits are many.

After taking another look at Chen Cheng and He Yingqin's performance, he suddenly realized that he only had the second option left.

"What price did the Nanyang Task Force pay?"

"Three American-equipped divisions, plus a heavy artillery regiment and 48 155mm howitzers." Chen Cheng said quickly.

"Free?" the old man asked subconsciously.

Looking at Chen Cheng's performance, he also understood that it was impossible for it to be free. At most, the price would be a little cheaper.

"No other conditions?"

"No, we will just use the railway to transport some refugees." Chen Cheng said indifferently. This was not even a condition. It even helped the Ninth War Zone solve a lot of problems.

"Three American-equipped divisions! That's quite a big deal. Stilwell is really willing to spend it." The old man's tone was a little sour, but he also knew that the more important thing right now was to find out whether this battle could be fought.

"Can the five Type A divisions of the Kwantung Army stop them?"

"I don't know. There shouldn't be any problem with the advice given by Xue Boling. In addition to these supports, the Fourth War Zone will also dispatch an army group to provide support." Chen Cheng said quickly.

"Then let him try. If he can really stop the attack of five Type A divisions, it will greatly increase our power. At least when facing the ambassadors of Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union, we will be more confident." The old man thought about it and this was the only way.

As soon as this ended, Li Zongren in the Fifth War Zone received a call from Bai Chongxi.

"Brother Delin, we really lack courage this time. Three American-equipped divisions, plus a heavy artillery regiment and 48 155mm howitzers can be organized into an elite American-equipped ace force." Bai Chongxi said sourly on the phone.

When they heard that five divisions of the Kwantung Army were heading south, they immediately retreated.

As a result, the equipment of the three American-equipped divisions shipped to the Fourth War Zone was transported to the Ninth War Zone.

Xue Yue got a great bargain.

It suddenly became the most powerful unit in the civil engineering department.

Originally, these three American-equipped divisions belonged to them, but they ended up losing everything because they backed down at the critical moment, and they also destroyed the credibility of the Gui army.

"Brother Jiansheng, I didn't expect that Xue Boling would actually dare to agree to it." Li Zongren also felt a little regretful. If he had done it earlier, he might have been able to capture Jiangcheng in one fell swoop, and then use Jiangcheng's geographical advantages to fight another battle with the Japanese army.

With three American-equipped divisions and a heavy artillery regiment, they could still compete with the Japanese army. Even if they lost, the Japanese army would not have an easy time. More importantly, the reputation of the Guangxi clique had been established.

Thinking of this, he really regretted it.

"It's too late now. The Kwantung Army is about to arrive in Jiangcheng. My reconnaissance troops found that the railway is under martial law within 100 meters and no one is allowed to approach. The Kwantung Army should pass through my defense zone tonight." Li Zongren said somewhat dejectedly.

"It's not too late. This battle will not end so soon. With more than 100,000 Kwantung troops, it will be difficult for Xue Boling to stop them even if he wants to. But if we can win this battle tragically, no, as long as we can defend Changsha, it will be considered a victory, and his reputation will be even greater." Bai Chongxi also sighed.

"Brother Delin, why don't you have your troops support the Ninth War Zone and see if they can capture a few cities, or launch a surprise attack on Jiangcheng. We must earn back some face for the Guangxi clique."

"I was planning the same thing. The Japanese army's defense is somewhat weak now. I plan to send the troops out of Dabie Mountains and head straight to Yuzhang to see if I can take the opportunity to expand the results of the battle." Li Zongren began to speak out his plan.

Before he could finish his words, he heard the combat staff officer on Bai Chongxi's phone hurried in.

"Sir, the battle report from the Ninth War Zone is that the Japanese army dispatched fifty fighter planes a few days ago. Just after arriving in Changsha City, they were attacked by unidentified fighter planes. More than thirty of them were shot down, and the remaining fighter planes fled in panic."

"An entire regiment of the Third Division has been annihilated, and the Sixth Infantry Regiment's flag has been captured."

Bang!

Bai Chongxi was so shocked that he dropped the phone on the table.

Li Zongren was also confused.

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(End of this chapter)