readytorunbook Chapter 550: The Line of Defense Is Broken
Chapter 550: The Line of Defense Is Broken
Commander Xue of the Ninth War Zone of the Chinese government originally wanted to concentrate his main forces in the Miluo River area to severely damage the Japanese attacking forces. However, because the intelligence was stolen by the Japanese intelligence department, he not only failed to stop the Japanese army, but was breached by the Japanese attacking forces. Moreover, his concentrated main forces suffered heavy losses under the attack of the Japanese army and were almost wiped out.
The defense line of the Ninth War Zone of the Chinese government on the Miluo River side began when the Japanese army launched the attack on September 19 and lasted until September 26. The officers and soldiers of the Chinese army used their blood and lives to slow down the advance of the attacking forces of the Japanese 11th Army, buying precious time for the reinforcements from the outside.
While the offensive forces of the Japanese 11th Army were working together to attack the Chinese government's 10th Army, the commander of the Japanese 11th Army, Lieutenant General Anami Korechika, was also closely watching the other two Chinese government direct troops that had urgently reinforced from Jiangxi Province: the 74th Army and the New 22nd Army.
Among them, the first to arrive at the Changsha battlefield was the 57th Division, the vanguard of the 74th Army. Led by division commander Liao Lingqi, the 57th Division arrived at Chunhua Mountain, which had already been occupied by the Japanese army, on the north bank of the Laodao River. The Japanese troops had made preparations in advance and planned to encircle and annihilate the 57th Division of the Chinese government at Chunhua Mountain.
However, what the Japanese troops did not expect was that the commander of the 57th Division, Liao Lingqi, did not play by the rules and was willing to fight to the death. He had an aggressive combat style and liked to use offense as defense.
As soon as the 57th Division, under the command of its commander Liao Lingqi, arrived at the battlefield, it launched a surprise attack on the Japanese troops in Chunhua Mountain. This forced the Japanese troops, who were originally well-rested and preparing to encircle the 57th Division of the Chinese government, to go on the defensive.
The 57th Division, under the command of Division Commander Liao Lingqi, launched three consecutive fierce attacks on the Japanese positions on Chunhua Mountain. Eventually, the Japanese positions were broken by the officers and soldiers of the 57th Division, and the 57th Division successfully recaptured Chunhua Mountain.
Subsequently, the 58th Division of the 74th Army also rushed to the battlefield, and then took over the defensive position of Chunhua Mountain according to the order of the 74th Army Commander Wang, while the commander of the 57th Division, Liao Lingqi, led his troops to continue attacking the Japanese troops in the Malin area.
Soon after, the 51st Division of the 74th Army of the Huaxia government also arrived at the Laodao River battlefield and immediately took up positions on the south bank of the Laodao River to block the Japanese offensive forces' attack on the Laodao River defense line.
The loss of the Japanese 11th Army's attacking force at Chunhua Mountain greatly surprised the commander of the Japanese 11th Army, Lieutenant General Anami Korechika. He had not expected that the 74th Army, which was directly under the Chinese government, would be so brave.
Lieutenant General Anami Korechika, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, believed that the 74th Army, which was directly under the Chinese government, was one of the top three combat-effective units in the Chinese army. If the 74th Army could be completely eliminated here, the blow to the confidence and morale of the Chinese government would be obvious.
Subsequently, Lieutenant General Anami Korechika, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, mobilized the 3rd, 4th and 6th Divisions to attack the 74th Army of the Chinese government with all their might, preparing to use superior forces to surround the 74th Army of the Chinese government in Laodao River and then completely destroy it.
Lieutenant General Anami Korechika, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, immediately mobilized a force several times that of the 74th Army of the Chinese government to launch a fierce attack. This made Commander Wang of the 74th Army feel unprecedented pressure, but in order to delay the advance of the Japanese Army as much as possible, the officers and soldiers of the 74th Army also fought desperately to resist the fierce attack of the Japanese Army.
The bravery and tenacious fighting spirit shown by the various units of the 74th Army of the Chinese government in the battle also made the various attacking forces of the Japanese army feel different pressures, and the casualties of the various attacking forces of the Japanese army were also very huge.
Among them, the 57th Division, under the command of division commander Liao Lingqi, launched several counterattacks against the offensive forces of the Japanese 3rd Division, which disrupted the offensive rhythm of the Japanese 3rd Division. Later, the Japanese 3rd Division actually withdrew from the battle early due to heavy casualties among officers and soldiers.
The Japanese 3rd Division had to withdraw from the battle due to heavy casualties, which made the commander of the Japanese 11th Army, Lieutenant General Anami Korechika, even more eager to complete the goal of destroying the 74th Army of the Chinese government. Therefore, the commander of the Japanese 11th Army, Lieutenant General Anami Korechika, ordered the Japanese 40th Division to take over the offensive position of the Japanese 3rd Division and continue to complete the operational plan of encircling and destroying the 74th Army of the Chinese government.
Since the Japanese 11th Army deployed too many troops in the offensive, the Chinese government's 74th Army also suffered heavy losses in the three-day battle. Many battalion and company-level troops were reduced to only a dozen or even a few people. Moreover, the Japanese encirclement was about to be formed.
Seeing that most of the positions were breached by the Japanese army, Commander Wang of the 74th Army also consulted Commander Xue, the commander of the Ninth War Zone of the Chinese government. After completing the combat mission of delaying the advance of the Japanese offensive forces, Commander Wang of the 74th Army ordered the troops to break out in a dispersed manner to avoid the danger of being surrounded by the Japanese army.
The breakout and retreat of the 74th Army indicated that the defense line of the Ninth War Zone of the Chinese Government at Laodao River had been gradually breached by the Japanese attacking forces. For safety reasons, Commander Xue of the Ninth War Zone of the Chinese Government also withdrew the war zone headquarters from Changsha, but Commander Xue of the Ninth War Zone of the Chinese Government did not intend to abandon Changsha.
Because, while the 74th Army of the Chinese government was fighting a bloody battle with the Japanese attacking forces, the reinforcements dispatched by the Military Commission from various places were accelerating towards Changsha. Moreover, another government-affiliated force, the new 22nd Army, which came from Jiangxi Province, had also arrived in Changsha. This made Commander Xue feel more confident.
At the same time, the rear of the Japanese 11th Army was being besieged by various war zones of the Chinese government. Since a large number of troops were withdrawn to launch this attack, the defense of the area occupied by the Japanese 11th Army was very empty. Under the attack of other war zones of the Chinese government, the rear of the Japanese 11th Army was frequently in distress.
Even the Chinese Expeditionary Army Headquarters repeatedly urged the commander of the Japanese 11th Army, Lieutenant General Anami Korechika, to end the battle in Changsha as soon as possible and return to the rear to ensure the security of the occupied areas.
In particular, Commander Chen of the Ninth War Zone, who was commanding a large number of Chinese troops, was attacking the important town of Yichang while the forces of the Japanese 11th Army were concentrated in the Xiangbei battlefield. For the Japanese army, once Yichang was lost, even if Changsha was captured, it would be of no avail.