Episode 84 The Fourth Division of the Imperial Japanese Army

For a whole day on the 7th, the defense of the 66th Division of the Ming Army on the banks of the Yalu River was from Andong City to Dadonggou Port, along the northwest bank of the Yalu River in a narrow strip of about 45 kilometers. Now the Japanese army suddenly attacked, and forced the Yalu River from the Korean side to cross the Yalu River by multiple routes, while the 66th Division of the Ming Army faced a 45-kilometer-long defensive line, and its forces were too scattered to defend at all.

The two defense points of the 66th Division of the Ming Army are Andong City, and the other is Dadonggou Port at the mouth of the Yalu River. These two pieces of strength are relatively thick, Andong City is stationed with troops directly under the division headquarters and a regiment, and a regiment is also stationed on the Dadonggou side. The rest of the forces were scattered in the middle of the line of defense more than forty kilometers long, and they were all annihilated in the first place.

At present, only two Ming troops in Andong City and Dadonggou Port District are still holding on. And they're already under siege. Large Japanese troops had already poured into Mukden from both sides of them, and although these two Ming troops were still fighting, they were already "behind enemy lines".

The Ming troops of the regiment that held the Dadonggou port area, because they were close to the sea, were not only attacked by the Japanese troops on their backs, but also shelled by Japanese warships at sea. The Japanese Navy sent a detachment in the northern part of the Yellow Sea, cruising between the Liaodong Peninsula and Korea. The main force was two battleships and six cruisers, waiting for the Ming Dongjiang Fleet in Lushun to come out to meet or meet the trapped Ming army in Dadonggou. In this way, the Japanese army achieved its goal - to lure the Ming fleet out for a decisive battle and annihilate it in one fell swoop.

It is precisely because of this that the Ming army in the port area has held out until now. Because the Japanese army wanted to use them as "bait", they tried to catch the Ming warships in Lushun. Otherwise, with the shelling of two cruisers and four destroyers off the coast of Dadonggou, at such a close distance, the Ming army of just one regiment would have been blown up long ago.

But it was the Ming army that was really attacked by the Japanese army, another regiment that was holding on to the city of Andong. Now they have lost the artillery regiment, that is, most of the heavy artillery. Now there is artillery, which is only equipped by the infantry regiment itself. There are also 32 medium and heavy tanks in the division's direct units, which are now dispersed, so they are also equipped in two infantry regiments and used as infantry support tanks. In the port area and the city, there are now more than a dozen vehicles on each side.

The Ming army in the city only controlled part of the block, and most of the surrounding blocks were in the hands of the Japanese army. Although the strength of the Ming army of a regiment was small, it stubbornly resisted the Japanese army several times its own by relying on the complex environment of the streets and alleys, the rich experience of street fighting in the Northern Expedition, and the strong firepower configuration.

The firepower of an infantry regiment of the ordinary motorized infantry division of the Ming army is 6 150mm infantry guns, 18 75mm infantry guns, 54 60mm mortars, 20 80mm mortars, 4 47mm anti-tank guns, 18 37mm anti-tank guns, 27 anti-tank guns, and 102 light and heavy machine guns.

The firepower of an artillery wing of the Japanese Army's A Division is generally 36 75mm field guns and 12 120mm howitzers. The number of artillery pieces of the Japanese army as an artillery wing (artillery regiment) was only twice the number of artillery pieces of an infantry regiment of the Ming army. And the maximum caliber artillery of the Ming army was 150 mm, while the Japanese army was only 120 mm. As for the firearms of the infantry regiments on both sides, that is, mortars, infantry guns, light and heavy machine guns, etc., the Japanese army was still inferior to the Ming army.

However, when the Japanese army suddenly attacked, and the Ming army division headquarters and this infantry regiment retreated into the city in a hurry, some of the heavy weapons did not have time to bring and were blown up on the spot. There are also some that are lost while fighting and retreating. Now in the hands of the Ming army in the city, only two of the 6 150mm heavy guns remained, and only 8 of the 18 75mm infantry guns remained. However, other light artillery and mortars, the Ming army was basically intact with them. It's also a real weapon in street fighting.

……

When the Japanese army attacked in the early morning, it can be said that it was ambitious and morale-like, and it was also excited about the unprepared reaction of the Ming army on the opposite side. This is in line with their long-term indoctrination that "the Ming Kingdom is a hedonistic country, advocating individualism, and the army lacks the spirit of tenacious fighting" and so on. But when these soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army carried small sun flags, talked and laughed freely, and stepped on the rubble in Andong City in big leather shoes, ready to search for prisoners, they were suddenly subjected to heavy shelling, and then there was a dense network of machine-gun fire, and hundreds of people fell on the spot......

A large block in front of it seemed to have suddenly turned into a group of fortifications, and all kinds of fierce small arms fire crossed and fired overwhelmingly...... Only at this moment did the Japanese army know that there was still the main force of the Ming army in the city, and the other party was ready to resist to the end.

Attacking Andong head-on were the Japanese 10th Division (division commander Ryosuke Isoya) and the 4th Division (division commander Matsui Mei).

The 4th Division attacked in front, first forcing its way across the Yalu River and besieging the city. After suddenly encountering fierce resistance, the Fourth Division did not continue to storm inward, but behaved "very rationally" and began to sweep the periphery of the city, and then surrounded the area held by the Ming army in the center on three sides. The fourth side is the Yalu River.

At this time, the 4th Division began to call the friendly 10th Division behind, saying that our 4th Division had already attacked the Ming army from three directions on land, and now asked the 10th Division to attack the back of the Ming army from the Yalu River, as long as the attack was left.

Ryosuke Isoya, the commander of the 10th Division, was very unhappy when he received the request, thinking that the 4th Division was really all Osaka vendors, and the words he said were all like a stock market...... If you attack on land, let us attack from the river, and it is called "You have already attacked on three sides, as long as we attack the remaining side"...... However, Ryosuke Isoya didn't take the Ming army of a regiment in the city seriously. What's more, I saw a lot of heavy artillery and tanks that were blown up on the periphery, and the firepower of the remnants of the Ming army in the city must have been greatly reduced.

Therefore, the 10th Division generously agreed, cooperated with friendly forces to surround on all sides, and crossed the Yalu River on a raft and rushed towards the city of Andong on the opposite bank.

But a scene that Ryosuke Isoya didn't expect happened. Dozens of machine guns suddenly appeared on the opposite bank, spewing fire tongues together, and the rate of fire was called fast, and the hit was accurate. Almost every raft on the surface of the river was beaten into a sieve and sank rapidly. The soldiers on the raft were either beaten into blood gourds, or they also fell into the river, struggling in the water, braving bullets to swim to the opposite side. But he didn't climb ashore at all, and he died in the water one by one.

The attacking Japanese infantry immediately called for artillery support, and soon the shells also flew by whizzing. However, the field telephone of the division headquarters immediately heard the shouting and scolding of the friendly 4th Division on the opposite side. There was no way, the area controlled by the Ming army was too narrow and long, the middle was too narrow, and most of the shells flew through the positions of the Ming troops and fell on the positions of the friendly troops on the opposite side......

And a moment later, a batch of artillery shells flew across the river and smashed on the positions of the 10th Division on the North Korean side. Among them, several were 150mm heavy shells, which killed a large number of people in one fell swoop, and the bloody crater was more than one person deep. Moreover, infantry shells and mortar shells of various calibers rained down.

The 10th Division was annoyed and angry, and questioned the 4th Division on the phone, asking if they had shelled the Ming army and fired it by mistake. But the 4th Division categorically denied that they had not fired a single shot at all. The staff officers of the 10th Division confirmed it several times before they had to believe that the shells were fired by the besieged Ming army. It's just a regiment of the Ming army...... And not yet an artillery regiment.

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"Matsui-kun!!" Ryosuke Isoya grabbed the phone and said with anger in his breath, "If I'm not mistaken, I'm afraid there is only one street between your ministry and the Ming army, right?" Why can't a breakthrough still be formed? …… Please don't expect too much from our department, our department and the Ming army are separated by a river, and at most they can only play a role in containment! …… Again, I ask why your ministry can't launch an effective charge?!!! ”

"Bump!!"

He dropped the telephone receiver and scolded:

"Bastard! Coward! In the first division of the Imperial Army, how could there be such a sloppy army!! ”