Section 270 The city is broken

Shi returned to the location of the regiment headquarters with a grim expression, and after summoning the commanders above the company level to roughly explain the rest and patrol matters of the next troops, he began to stand on the map and think about the battle situation in front of him. But no matter how hard he thought about it, he felt that this battle was really a bit suspenseful.

The main point is his lack of understanding of the various friendly units in the Sixth Theater. In particular, the rout of the 29th Army made him lack trust in friendly forces. In a major battle in which hundreds of thousands of troops on both sides of the enemy and our side fight each other, it is often more futile to rely on the strong combat strength of only a few troops. Just like the battle in front of him, the entire 29th Army could not hold the Jiang defense line, but it had to rely on the 57th Division to defend Changde to change the situation of the war, which was too difficult for a strong man. In recent years, the 57th Division has shown extremely strong combat effectiveness under the command of Commander Yu Chengwan, especially in defending the city, and Commander Yu has rich experience and excellent command ability.

However, after all, the 57th Division has only one division, only 10,000 people, and the devils in front of it are probably tens of thousands.

The last time in Shanggao, the 57th Division was able to hold the frontal defense line and block the devils in Shanggao, in addition to the brave fighting of the officers and men of the 57th Division, another point was that the fierce battles of their regiment on the periphery gave the Japanese army a heavy blow. In addition, the containment and protection of the 58th Division's flank positions on the south bank of the river also greatly reduced the pressure on the frontal battlefield. Today's defensive line, at first glance, seems to be quite passable except for the number of enemy troops facing it head-on. After all, judging from the original battle situation, after Changde dragged the enemy army, it was mainly to buy time for the friendly troops on both wings to counterattack and encircle, and now Changde's right flank is the troops of the 9th theater of operations, the left flank is the 74th Army and the 100th Army, and there is the 29th Group Army behind it, and the 10th Group Army is maneuvering on the periphery of the enemy, and it is possible to cut off the enemy's retreat at any time.

It looks like the situation is still under control, but can it really be as rosy as it seems? Can the actions of the ministries really develop as the superiors envisioned?

Time passed in this tense and anxious atmosphere. On November 22, the 32nd year of the Republic of China, the main force of the Japanese army, which had been assembled, launched a fierce attack on Changde and launched a full-line attack on the position of the 57th Division.

The first target of the Japanese army was not Changde City, but Deshan Mountain on the right rear of Changde. In order to ensure the connection between the 57th Division and the other side of the river, at the beginning of the campaign, the 188th Regiment of friendly troops was dispatched to assist in the defense.

However, the officers and men of the 188th Regiment faced the overwhelming Japanese army, although they did not fear fighting, but they were also helpless. The main attack force of the devil did not encounter too much bloody battle consumption along the way, and at this moment when it reached the periphery of Changde, it was still full of physical strength and ammunition, and in the face of the overwhelming pouring of shells, the officers and men of the 188th Regiment were almost killed and wounded, and only held on for one day, and Deshan was lost. The loss of Deshan not only indicates the loss of the commanding heights on the periphery of Changde, but more importantly, the rear road of the defenders' 57th Division has been completely cut off, and Changde has been surrounded by Japanese regiments.

On the 24th, the Japanese 116th Division launched a fierce attack on Changde.

At the beginning of the campaign, the 116th Division did not engage in various battlefields, but stayed on Dongting Lake with boats and ships. On the one hand, the 116th Division maintained sufficient physical strength, and on the other hand, it also made the troops of the Ninth Theater of the National Army unable to understand the thoughts of the Japanese army for a while, and did not dare to gather heavy troops to support Changde. Otherwise, once Changsha is empty, the Japanese army will have a gap to take advantage of, and it will be difficult to ensure that the main force of the Japanese 11th Army will not turn around and go south.

Now the 116th Division, which is full of spirit, has invested all its strength in the battle, and all its firepower has been poured into Changde City. It's just that the troops that are recuperating are not only the 116th Division of the Japanese Army, but also the officers and men of the 57th Division stationed in Changde are also holding back their strength, waiting for the Japanese army to throw themselves into the net.

In order to open the breakthrough and tear apart the defense line of Changde in the shortest possible time, the Japanese army invested a whole infantry wing on the battlefield, and strengthened the number of artillery in front of it, forming an amazing artillery cover.

Garrisoned in the north of the city is the 169th Regiment, and the regiment commander Chai Yixin is a famous general of the 57th Division. In the face of the ferocious attack of the Japanese army, the 169th Regiment responded calmly and without timidity. The soldiers, who were accustomed to this kind of bloody and hard battle, used complete fortifications to block layer by layer, not giving an inch, and every time they put the Japanese army closer and then concentrated their firepower to shoot and kill. Although such an attack was also easier for the Japanese army to break through the position and cause casualties to the own side, they relied on the fortifications and relied on their solid combat ability to give the Japanese a heavy blow, and in less than half a day, hundreds of Japanese soldiers were killed on the way forward.

In the face of such a situation, even the Japanese army, which has always relied on the "spirit of bushido", is also very unbearable, if they continue to fight like this, I am afraid that before they reach the city of Changde, everyone will die.

The Japanese adjusted their attack and rained shells, including poison gas shells, on the positions of the Changde defenders with a dense artillery barrage. In a short period of time, dozens of soldiers were poisoned and fell, and the Japanese army immediately broke through the forward position and approached the city wall.

However, when the Japanese army reached this point, it had to stop, and the soldiers of the national army relying on the city wall built a three-dimensional defensive fortification, which made the Japanese army who had just breathed a sigh of relief despair again.

In reality, after several years of fighting, the Japanese army is already powerless at the moment. The officers and men of the Nationalist Army who fought with the Japanese army at the beginning did not pose a great threat to them either because of backward weapons and equipment, or because there were many old, weak, sick and disabled, and often a squadron of Japanese troops could easily solve a battalion or even an infantry regiment on the opposite side. However, after several years of fighting, these remaining officers and men of the national army have made great progress in terms of weaponry and personal combat capability, and even the combat capability of individual elite units has surpassed that of the Japanese army, which was unthinkable before.

Therefore, at this moment, in the face of the Nationalist troops who were waiting for the battle, the Japanese army had no choice but to suspend the offensive and consider other offensive methods when they had already tested the strong firepower of the Nationalist troops in front of them.

On the evening of the 25th, the Japanese army launched another strong attack, but this time, it took a feint attack in other directions, and chose the direction of the main attack on the Yuanjiang River in the south, hoping to open a gap behind the 57th Division. However, what made the Japanese desperate was that the defenders had already prepared and launched a fierce attack when the Japanese army landed, inflicting heavy losses on the Japanese army immediately. The attack force of the 6th Wing of the 3rd Division suffered most casualties, and the 10th Squadron, which was the main attacker, was completely annihilated. However, this time the Japanese army was determined to break through the defense line of the Nationalist army, and even launched a strong attack at any cost, and the battle lasted until dusk, when the Japanese army used poison gas bombs several times with the help of aviation, and finally repelled the defenders outside the south gate.

On the 26th and 27th, the Japanese army attacked the whole line again, and the 3rd Captain of the 120th Wing, Ge Yeku, and the 3rd Captain of the 133rd Wing, Wakio, were both killed during the attack.

At this time, the situation of the decisive battle has been completed, the various units of the national army on the outer line of Changde have begun to launch a counteroffensive, and the Japanese troops gradually feel the pressure greatly increased, so the Japanese army in order to take Changde as soon as possible, and even let go of one side to let the 57th Division break through, but the officers and men of the 57th Division are determined and still hold on. The division commander, General Yu Chengwan, personally commanded the officers and men of the division to build fortifications in all lanes and streets, and adhered to Changde with a determined heart.

On the 28th, the fortifications near the North Gate were almost completely destroyed under the attack of Japanese aircraft and artillery, and the defenders suffered all casualties. The Japanese 133rd Wing broke through the North Gate after paying a heavy price in casualties.

On the 29th, the Japanese troops at the South Gate, East Gate, and West Gate all broke through to Changde City. But the 57th Division shouted, "There is a wall to guard a wall, a trench to guard a trench, and a pit to guard a pit." The slogan of death turned every house, every street, and every pile of ruins into a battlefield to kill the enemy. Every time the Japanese army took a step forward, they had to pay the price of blood, and every time they occupied a position, they had to fill it with human lives.

At this moment, after several days of fighting to the death, Changde has become a scorched earth, and the Japanese planes bomb day and night, but the officers and men of the 57th Division are still defending the southwest corner under the command of the division commander General Yu, fighting to the death, and want to live and die with Changde.

According to the original combat strategy, the 57th Division only needed to delay the Japanese army in Changde for two or three times in order to buy time for the movement of the peripheral units, however, at this time, the officers and men of the 57th Division with 8,000 troops had killed the 40,000 or 50,000 troops of the anti-Japanese army for five or six days, and the friendly troops on the periphery still did not arrive in time to reinforce and kill. The deputy division commander, commander, division attached, director of the political department, chief of staff, etc., held on to the central bank, and the commanders of each regiment divided the area and held one room for the final resistance, swore to the death, and wished victory. Long live the 74th Army, long live Chairman Chiang, long live the Republic of China. ”

At the same time, the independent regiment on the outskirts of Changde was also caught in a bloody battle, and Shi couldn't help but fall into a deep groan when he saw the Japanese troops blocking the fierce attack in front of him, and he couldn't make up his mind for a while.