bookrebus Chapter 761 No attack is smooth
Chapter 761 No attack is smooth
The reinforcements sent by the 51st Division of the Chinese government that arrived shortly afterwards immediately launched a counterattack against the 109th Regiment of the Japanese Army. At the same time, planes from the Chinese and American Joint Air Forces at Zhijiang Airport also flew over Longtan and bombed the positions of the 109th Regiment of the Japanese Army.
Moreover, this time the aircraft of the Joint Air Force of China and the United States used a new type of incendiary bombs. The moment these shells exploded on the ground, they ignited a raging flame. The heat waves of thousands of degrees made the officers and soldiers of the 109th Regiment of the Japanese Army on the ground feel like they were in the deep sea of hellfire.
Just as the officers and soldiers of the 51st Division of the Chinese government were engaged in a fierce battle with the 109th Regiment of the Japanese Army, the 19th Division of the 100th Army of the Chinese government near Longtan also came to reinforce. Under the pincer attack of multiple Chinese government troops, the 109th Regiment of the Japanese Army was quickly defeated by the Chinese government's army. Moreover, because the 109th Regiment of the Japanese Army was fighting in a roundabout way and was adventurous, it was quickly surrounded by the Chinese government's army.
When the 109th Regiment of the Japanese Army was defeated by the Hua Xia Zhenfu Army in Longtan, the other two regiments of the 116th Division of the Japanese Army also fell into trouble.
The 120th Regiment of the 116th Division of the Japanese Army was ordered to attack the Furong Mountain area. After the 120th Regiment crossed the Zishui River, the commander of the 120th Regiment, Colonel Tadao Kodama, organized a force of 1,400 people to launch a roundabout attack on Taohuaping.
The Chinese government army only had one company of soldiers defending Taohuaping, but facing the attacking force of the 120th Regiment of the Japanese Army which was ten times larger than their own, the officers and soldiers of this company guarding Taohuaping showed no weakness and launched a fierce street fighting with the attacking force of the 120th Regiment of the Japanese Army in Taohuaping. It was not until all the more than 100 officers and soldiers of the entire company were killed that the attacking force of the 120th Regiment of the Japanese Army captured the town of Taohuaping that night.
After the 120th Regiment of the Japanese Army occupied Taohuaping, its commander, Colonel Tadao Kodama, continued to command his troops to attack towards the Furong Mountain area. The location of Furong Mountain was very important. If the attacking force of the 120th Regiment of the Japanese Army occupied Furong Mountain, then the attacking force of the 20th Army of the Japanese Army could go directly to the Hunan-Guizhou Highway and obtain the large amount of aid materials stockpiled by the Chinese government in the rear.
The attacking force of the 120th Regiment of the Japanese Army first launched an attack on the Yankoupu area of the Chinese government army's forward position in Furong Mountain. The Chinese government stationed in Yankoupu was the 57th Regiment of the 19th Division of the 100th Army.
Facing the attack of the 120th Regiment of the Japanese Army, the officers and soldiers of the 57th Regiment of the 19th Division of the Chinese government actually held on for twelve days, which prevented the 120th Regiment of the Japanese Army from entering the Furong Mountain area.
The defense of Furong Mountain by the 57th Regiment of the 19th Division of the Chinese government was extremely important to the entire Xiangxi Campaign. The attacking forces of the 120th Regiment of the Japanese Army were never able to break through Furong Mountain and take advantage of the convenient conditions of the Hunan-Guizhou Highway. This forced the attacking forces of the 20th Army of the Japanese Army to transport troops and supplies through the rugged paths in the mountains, which consumed a lot of time and energy for the attacking forces of the 20th Army of the Japanese Army, and also extended the supply lines of the attacking forces of the 20th Army of the Japanese Army, which greatly affected the combat effectiveness of the attacking forces of the 20th Army of the Japanese Army.
As a result, Colonel Tadao Kodama, commander of the 120th Regiment of the Japanese Army, had to lead his troops to abandon the attack on Yankoupu and was forced to attack Dongkou Town instead. The garrison deployed by the Chinese army in Dongkou Town was a battalion of the 19th Division of the Chinese government.
The officers and soldiers of this battalion of the 19th Division of the Chinese government took advantage of the extremely rugged terrain outside Dongkou Town and built their positions on the mountain ridges like shelves, and set up barricades to cover their shooting positions.
Moreover, in front of the Chinese army's defensive position was a vast paddy field, and the shooting field was very wide. Facing the attack of the 120th Regiment of the Japanese Army, the officers and soldiers of the 19th Division of the Chinese government also used cross-fire of light and heavy weapons to organize a dense firepower network in front of the defensive position.
This created a great obstacle to the attack of the Japanese 120th Regiment's offensive force. However, the commander of the Japanese 120th Regiment, Colonel Tadao Kodama, ordered the offensive force to launch a full-scale charge using a suicidal charge combat method regardless of casualties.
The Japanese 120th Regiment's attack force rushed forward regardless of casualties, catching the officers and soldiers of the 19th Division's battalion off guard, allowing the Japanese 120th Regiment to occupy Dongkou Town. However, at this time, the outer Chinese troops had already assembled around Dongkou Town and surrounded the 120th Regiment.
As for the 133rd Regiment of the 116th Division of the Japanese Army, although the 133rd Regiment of the Japanese Army did not encounter sniping by the Chinese army, it was blocked by the steep mountains in western Hunan.
Between the towering cliffs, there were only a few stone paths for the officers and soldiers of the 133rd Regiment of the Japanese Army to march. While climbing these dangerous roads, the officers and soldiers of the 133rd Regiment of the Japanese Army kept slipping and rolling down the cliffs.
Moreover, at this time, the aircraft of the Joint Air Force of China and the United States also discovered the 133rd Regiment of the Japanese Army that was marching hard in the mountains. So, the aircraft of the Joint Air Force of China and the United States launched a fierce bombing on the marching troops of the 133rd Regiment of the Japanese Army.
Under the attack of the aircraft of the Joint Air Force of China and the United States, the commander of the 133rd Regiment of the Japanese Army, Colonel Kurose Heiichi, could only order the troops to march at night. As a result, the speed of movement of the 133rd Regiment of the Japanese Army was greatly slowed down. At the same time, the travel time difference between the front and rear troops of the 133rd Regiment of the Japanese Army was as long as four days.
Because the three regiments of the Japanese 116th Division, which was responsible for the central offensive operation of the Japanese 20th Army, were all caught in a very unfavorable situation, especially the Japanese 109th Regiment, which had penetrated deep into the rear of the Chinese government army and was facing the danger of being wiped out by the Chinese government army.
Faced with such a dilemma, the commanders of the 116th Division of the Japanese Army, Lieutenant General Motoshiro Hishida, and the commander of the 47th Division of the Japanese Army, Lieutenant General Hiroshi Watanabe, also expressed opposition to continuing the attack because of the heavy casualties in their respective divisions.