readx; Dense bullets whizzed among the slowly advancing marines, bringing up flowers of blood, and clusters of crimson colors suddenly appeared in the turbid river, and people kept falling on the water; Immediately afterwards, the explosion of guns and grenades came from the middle of the motorboat, and the water surface was immediately enveloped in flames, and the soldiers who had nowhere to hide fell in pieces. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

At this time, the Japanese army fleet began to suppress the fire, dozens of cannons opened fire at the same time, and in just a few minutes, hundreds of shells were poured on the river embankment, one after another towering giant trees fell to the ground, the dense bushes were blazing with fire, and the smoke and light of gunpowder suddenly submerged a section of the river embankment hundreds of meters long.

The surviving Marines rushed out of the water, rushed to the beach by the river, and then threw themselves behind the slightly raised mound, watching nervously the movement on the embankment.

Unexpectedly, there was no more attack until the last Marine landed, and it seemed that all the attackers had been eliminated by the shelling.

The suspicious marines rushed up the embankment under the cover of naval guns, and saw only charred trees all over the ground, not even the shadow of a Chinese soldier!

The Marines immediately set up a simple beachhead on the river embankment to cover the motorboats to bring heavy equipment to the shore before attacking upstream. They had just walked not far away, three bombers swept over the river and flew towards the Huangshan position, and a few minutes later, there was an earth-shattering loud noise in the distance, and the earth trembled.

The Marines were about to move at full speed when they were blocked by a river channel just a few meters wide. Just as the army was about to erect a pontoon bridge, a dense burst of bullets were fired from the woods, in the middle of the thatch, and behind the mounds on the opposite side, which disappeared again after knocking down a dozen soldiers, so that the attack of the warship guns was once again in vain.

An hour later, the pontoon bridge was finally built, and the army was preparing to cross the river, when a fishing boat full of dry firewood suddenly appeared from the south side of the river, and rushed down the river and rushed towards the pontoon bridge at high speed, and when it was less than 100 meters away from the pontoon bridge, a grenade flew out from the grass by the river, impartially, and landed in the middle of the dry firewood, turning the fishing boat into a fire boat.

Looking at the approaching fireboats, the Marine Corps commander hurriedly ordered his subordinates to intercept them, and some of the soldiers used bamboo poles to intercept them, and some directly used grenades to explode them, but they could not stop the approach of the fireboats, and the raging flames burned directly under the bridge, driving away the soldiers gathered at the bridgehead.

Immediately after that, the sound of intensive gunfire rang out again, and the machine-gun bullets swept continuously at a height of more than 10 centimeters from the ground, knocking down dozens of soldiers who had just crossed the bridge to the ground and temporarily losing their combat effectiveness.

The anxious Marine Corps commander hurriedly ordered his subordinates to attack with grenades, and after throwing more than two dozen grenades, finally sank the fishing boat and restored contact with the opposite shore. However, when the follow-up troops of the Yue army arrived at the opposite side, they were greeted by soldiers wailing on the ground with their legs crossed, and the squadron disappeared without a trace as before.

Seeing that the sky was about to darken, but his troops had only advanced a few hundred meters away, the commander of the Marine Corps was very dissatisfied with the progress made so far, so he ordered his troops to advance at full speed and strive to reach the Huangshan position before dark. The move of the Yue army had long been expected by the thunder, and dozens of mines were buried in the enemy's inevitable path, quietly waiting for the arrival of the Yue army.

After stepping on three mines in a row, the Marines had to stop, build fortifications on a 20-meter-high mound by the river, and wait patiently for the dawn to come.

At a time when the naval fleet was being dragged to the periphery of the Jiangyin fortress by thunder, the Japanese army that set out from Nanjing was also unable to move an inch under the resistance of the third detachment, and the Yangtze River waterway, which was tens of kilometers long from Zhenjiang to Jiangyin, was still under the control of the Jiangbei Army.

At the end of January 1940, the Guards Mixed Brigade, the Taiwan Infantry Brigade and the 18th Division were assembled in the south of Qitang and Nanning respectively.

Due to the follow-up troops of the squadron did not arrive in time, the defenders of the Kunlun Pass area rushed to the battle, due to the lack of troops, the firepower was far inferior to the opponent, and the shortcomings of the weak left and right wings were soon exposed in front of the Yue army, and the main force of the Yue army in the following week, like a storm sweeping the leaves, successively captured Wuming and Silong in the west of Kunlun Pass; Binyang, Zouwei, Shanglin and other places in the north cut off the back road of Kunlun Pass, and confronted the defenders in the area of the Qingshui River Valley, shaking the entire rear of Qiangui.

At this time, the troops in Liuzhou and Genshan were empty. If the enemy crosses the river and advances northward, it will be difficult for the central [***] team to resist without large troops, and the Liuzhou side is panicked, and the people are panicked and ready to flee. The base camp immediately activated an emergency plan, sending all the rear troops that could be used in Guangxi and the military cadets who were in training to the front line to resist the enemy, preparing to use flesh and blood to block the possible fortifications of the army and buy time for the rear to assemble troops.

On February 3, the defenders of Kunlun Pass were broken through their positions after ten days of stubborn resistance and the whole army was annihilated. Chen Cheng, Bai Chongxi and others immediately changed their troop deployment, strengthened their flanks, and flanked behind enemy lines. Occupy the main point on the left with a force in an attempt to block the enemy's northward advance; The main force made a roundabout attack from the direction of the VIP Road, in an attempt to cut off the rear lines of communication of the enemy advancing north.

However, the purpose of this operation was to avenge the annihilation of the 21st Wing by the [***] squadron, and after launching a blitzkrieg with sudden action to achieve the goal of inflicting heavy damage on the [***] squadron in Kunlun Pass, before the [***] squadron launched a large-scale counterattack, on February 10, it suddenly turned south and prepared to board a ship from Qinzhou Bay to return to Guangzhou, and only the 5th Division remained outside Nanning and the nearby main strongholds.

"The praying mantis catches the cicada, and the yellow finch is behind", the vanguard of the army's southward retreat has just arrived in Qinzhou, and Yu Hanmou, commander of the 12th Group Army, personally led the 151st Division and the 156th Division to conquer Lingshan, Hepu, Pubei and other places in succession, threatening the flank of the Fifth Division in Nanning. In order to save the Fifth Division, Ando Toshiyoshi had no choice but to lead his troops to attack eastward, preparing to annihilate Yu Hanmou first, and then return directly to Guangzhou by land.

Just when the 21st Army of the Yue Army was deeply trapped in the Guangxi battlefield and could not extricate itself, and the Jiangyin Fortress and Zhenjiang Fortress were controlled by the Jiangbei Army, Gao Fei announced the launch of the Nanchang Campaign in the name of the Fourth Theater Commander's Department!

After nearly two months of intense preparations, the Fourth Theater has concentrated the 60th, 61st, and 167th Divisions, six infantry divisions of the First Division, the 27th and New First Divisions, and one tank division of the 78th Division on the periphery of Nanchang.

The 17th Division was stationed in Nanchang, echoing the 15th Division stationed in Yingtan, and the 11th Army had an infantry brigade in Jiujiang, which could provide assistance to the Nanchang defenders at any time. In order to ensure the victory of the battle, Gao Fei ordered the 167th Division to raid Wucheng Town on the south bank of the Xiushui River in a rapid interspersed manner, completely cutting off the retreat of the Nanchang defenders; The new 1st Division and the provisional 1st Division took Dongxiang between Nanchang and Yingtan, and then built fortifications on the spot to block the reinforcements of the 15th Division; The tank units of the 78th Division, as the main force of the attack, attacked the urban area of Nanchang with the cooperation of the 60th Division and the provisional 27th Division; The 61st Division was the general reserve of the assault group.

In order to minimize the casualties of the troops, Gao Fei formulated the guiding principle of the battle, which was to use the high-speed interspersing ability of the armored units to surprise the city of Nanchang in a surprise attack, so that the troops did not have time to react.

At 10 o'clock in the evening of February 5, 1940, more than 100 heavy artillery pieces of the heavy artillery brigade opened fire at the same time, and the originally dark night sky instantly turned into a blood-red color.

Yu Wenzheng stood on the top of the command vehicle and said loudly to the tank drivers gathered next to him: "The last time I attacked Bao'an County, although I completed the task, I lost more than 20 tanks, and as a result, I was banned from going into battle in the later battles. Now, the army commander has put the opportunity in front of us again, if we don't cherish it well, how can we be worthy of the army commander's trust in us! ”

Looking at the resolute faces of his subordinates, Yu Wenzheng nodded with satisfaction and reminded again: "Everyone must firmly remember this: our task is to tear through the defense line of the Yue army and break into the urban area of Nanchang as quickly as possible!" As for how to divide and surround the enemy, how to annihilate it, that is a matter for motorized infantry brigades and infantry, let's leave it alone, on the way to the march, if we encounter a strong stronghold of the army, if we can't clear it at the first time, immediately bypass the side, absolutely not delay time, if your tank falls behind, find a way to catch up with yourself, I don't have time to wait! ”

After saying that, he asked aloud, "Got it?" ”

"Got it!" The tankers replied in unison.

"Let's go!" Yu Wenzheng waved his hand forward, jumped into his tank first, and then roared towards the pontoon bridge on the Fu River.

The outpost positions of the Yue army, which had been thoroughly cleaned by heavy artillery, were full of flames rising into the sky, the solid fire points had been completely destroyed, the Yue army with heavy casualties had lost its command, and the Yue army, which had survived by chance, could only rely on its own bravery to launch a suicidal charge against the tank group.

However, with the ferocious roar of the tank machine guns, a storm of bullets flew out of the tank group, strangling the approaching Japanese troops at the front of the position. Hundreds of tanks spread out on a frontal area hundreds of meters wide, ran straight over the positions of the Yue army, and after breaking through, they immediately rushed along the road at full speed towards the city of Nanchang, and there was no time to pay attention to the Yue army behind them. Behind the tank group, the motorized infantry brigade followed closely, completely wiped out the stubborn enemy with light weapons, and then used its high-speed mobility to divide the army into several pieces, and finally surrounded the remnants of the enemy with the cooperation of the infantry, and annihilated them piece by piece.

Under the cover of the dark night, the tank drove at full speed and rushed towards Nanchang along the road, Yu Wenzheng stood firmly on the top of the command vehicle, raising the telescope from time to time to observe the movement in the distance.

Suddenly, a flare rose into the air, illuminating the nearby places hundreds of meters away as if it were daylight, and the outpost troops set up here by the Nanchang Army were stunned by the hundreds of tanks that suddenly appeared in front of them, and actually forgot to attack! Yu Wenzheng gave the order to attack without hesitation, the tank turret turned rapidly, and in an instant, a dozen shells and dense machine-gun bullets covered the mountain, and from time to time there were screams of dying in the middle of the skyrocketing fire.

At the same time, mortars and light infantry guns arranged behind the mountains also continued to bombard, leaving rows of dense craters on both sides and in the middle of the road.

Yu Wenzheng immediately commanded more than a dozen tanks in front to shoot at the Yue army to attract its attention, and then separated a dozen tanks from behind and went around the back of the mountain. After two rounds of continuous bombardment, Yu Wenzheng did not care about observing the effect of the shelling, and directly ordered the tank group to continue to advance.

At the same time, the guerrillas who had infiltrated Nanchang City in advance set fire to the city in accordance with the predetermined plan, created chaos, and took the initiative to attack the barracks and military organs of the Japanese army, and engaged in street battles with the 17th Division. The army was not prepared at all, fell into a state of panic, and was unable to use this time to organize troops to go out of the city for reinforcements.

At half past three o'clock in the morning, the tank group assaulted under the city of Nanchang, and then immediately formed a formation on the periphery of the fortifications of the city, and began to attack at the same time on a frontal distance of two kilometers.

It was only at this time that the commander of the 17th Division realized the seriousness of the problem and hurriedly ordered the gendarmerie unit and an infantry brigade to maneuver around the middle [***] team in the city, and the rest of the troops all went out of the city and waited for an opportunity to counterattack. In addition, the heavy artillery units placed on the commanding heights inside the city also began to bombard the outside of the city to prevent the tank group from continuing to approach.

In the face of the counterattack of the Yue army, Yu Wenzheng first commanded the tanks to completely destroy the city gate with continuous artillery bombardment, and blocked the Yue army in the city with ruins, while his own tank group moved around the city fortifications, looking for a way to break into the city while clearing the resistance of the Yue army. Hundreds of tanks bombarded the city wall incessantly with artillery, and soon the fortifications of the Yue army were full of holes, and when they encountered a relatively wide section of the road, the tank group even used a high-speed assault to carry out a short reconnaissance of power, and took the opportunity to destroy the strong firepower points arranged by the Syrian army in the city.

The main force of the 17th Division finally passed through the collapsed rubble, and before they could organize their formation outside the city, the motorized infantry brigade of the 78th Division rushed over at a rapid pace, so the army directly blocked the [***] team on the tattered position. Half an hour into the fierce battle, a tidal wave of infantry rushed up and rushed towards the city from all directions, paying no attention to the fierce battle with the motorized infantry brigade.

At this time, the tank group took the opportunity to press the Japanese army outside the city from both flanks, forcing the other side to retreat into the city. The motorized infantry brigade followed closely behind the Japanese army, biting their tails so hard that they could not organize an effective defense. At this time, the guerrillas in the urban area had already joined up with the infantry who had broken through in advance, and they were flanking the Japanese army in front and back, and engaged in fierce street fighting. The ineffective tanks immediately withdrew outside the city and swept the surrounding strongholds.

After entering the urban area, the army retreated in the streets and houses to resist stubbornly, going from house to house, street to street and alley to compete with the [***] team. The 17th Division had been stationed in Nanchang for several months, and was very familiar with the terrain of the city, and from time to time used small units to detour back to the flank of the Central [***] team to carry out counterattacks, and the progress of the attacking troops was extremely slow, and by eight o'clock in the morning, one-third of the urban area was still under the control of the army.

After receiving a distress telegram from the defenders of Nanchang, Okamura immediately ordered the garrisons of Yingtan and Jiujiang to reinforce at full speed, and then dispatched an infantry brigade from Wuhan to take the transport ships of the naval fleet to Nanchang, and at the same time, sent out more than 100 bombers belonging to the 11th Army to contain the offensive of the [***] team as much as possible.

On the ground, while evacuating the residents of the city, the squadron advanced little by little by means of blasting, gradually compressing the living space of the Japanese army, and at the same time constantly bombarding the Japanese army with heavy artillery, in order to completely destroy its will to fight.

In the sky, the bombers braved the dense anti-aircraft shells and anti-aircraft machine gun fire, took turns to dive and bomb, and attacked the [***] team with incendiary bombs and heavy bombs.

Inspired by the spirit of bushido, the desperate army continued to counterattack with a large number of ***, and dragged the [***] team to the death with this crazy style of play - after a day of hard fighting, they only advanced a distance of about 200 meters!

While Nanchang was fighting endlessly, the 15th Division of the Chinese Army was dispatched to storm the positions of the New First Division and the Provisional First Division with the support of more than a dozen bombers; The infantry brigade departing from Jiujiang, with the cooperation of more than 10 naval vessels, forcibly crossed the Xiushui River and stormed the position of the 167th Division along the west side of Poyang Lake.

After the 17th Division learned that reinforcements were coming at full speed and that the main force of the Third Fleet from Wuhan would also arrive in the suburbs of Nanchang within two days, it suddenly became more confident and resisted even more desperately, forcing the squadron to pay a huge price for every step forward.

Looking at the increasing casualty figures on the front line, Gao Fei finally decided to use the tank group of the 78th Division to conduct street battles, even if Nanchang was completely razed to the ground, he would resolutely annihilate all this army!

(To be continued)