Chapter 330 All In! Add Another Division and Two Brigades
Thirteen kilometers north of Datong, the joint command post of the 26th Division and the Cavalry Group.
"Two generals, report from the front."
"So far, the enemy's outermost fortifications built in Datong have been completely destroyed by the mountain and field artillery regiments."
"The 11th Independent Infantry Regiment and the 71st Tank Regiment are continuing to attack the city from the west and north. Based on the current progress, it will take us two days to approach the city wall."
After speaking, the communications staff immediately lowered his head and stood at attention, fearing that any move would anger the two lieutenant generals in front of him.
After patiently listening to the battle report, Yano Otonzaburo first moved to the sand table and pulled out several small red flags symbolizing the Eighth Route Army based on the information he had just obtained.
Then, the old devil pretended to be casual and said:
"Yo Xi, it seems that the warriors are very energetic, and the overall progress is pretty good."
"How come there were no reports on the casualties just now? I can rest assured that I will never take my anger out on you."
Attacking Datong, which has been stationed in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region for a long time, will inevitably cause small casualties. This is something all the senior officials of the Mongolian Army were mentally prepared for in the early stages of decision-making.
That's why Jutaro Amakasu suggested that Li Shouxin and King Toku's troops be transferred from the rear.
All this is to consume the Eighth Route Army's ammunition and reduce our own casualties as much as possible.
"casualties."
Facing his own general's question, the communications staff officer's reaction was obviously unnatural. He adjusted his expression, put on a brave face and replied:
"As of eleven o'clock tonight, the 26th Division has suffered 3,100 casualties, including 1,927 Yusha."
"The losses of heavy weapons were relatively light. The Eighth Route Army did not find our artillery position. However, due to air strikes, one Type 91 105mm howitzer was completely scrapped."
As soon as these words came out, Yano Otonzaburo's old face suddenly turned red, and his whole body entered a red temperature state.
Although the old Japanese had prepared himself mentally before taking action, the current number of casualties was still beyond his expectation.
Just two days before the war started, one-fifth of his division had evaporated. If we continue fighting like this, wouldn't it be possible to capture Datong only if the entire army is wiped out?
The casualties of friendly forces made Issaku Nishihara a little nervous.
Compared with the 26th Division that combines infantry and artillery, the formation of the cavalry group is inherently unsuitable for siege, otherwise his troops would not deal with flanking positions.
Although the old Japanese had strictly prohibited the armored forces from going too deep before the war, no one knew for sure until the specific report came out.
The communications staff officer did not remain silent for long. Soon he opened the folder and continued to report:
"The situation of the cavalry group is better. In two days, there were only 1,700 casualties, of which 632 were Yushan warriors."
"In the armored forces, the losses of tanks were very small. Only seven Type 95 light tanks were destroyed by the enemy. However, the situation of various types of armored vehicles is not optimistic, and more than half of them have been lost."
Hearing this, Nishihara Issei breathed a sigh of relief.
It is indeed difficult to replenish armored vehicles, but the basis of the cavalry group's mission is light tanks and medium tanks. As long as they can keep their tanks, their combat effectiveness will not drop too much.
After digesting the battle report, the two Japanese lieutenant generals couldn't express their sorrows.
"Hey, it seems that the Imperial Alliance Army with two divisions and six divisions alone is basically unable to win."
"Lieutenant Colonel Iguchi, please go and send a telegram now to ask where our support troops have gone? Can they reach Jin Province within one day?"
"Hi!"
Upon hearing his general's order, the communications staff breathed a sigh of relief and then trotted away from the command post.
How difficult is it to attack Datong? Neji Okamura, who oversees the army in the Fengzhen area, is naturally Menqing.
It is still only a peripheral battle, and a regiment of troops is consumed every day. How many people might have died in the street fighting after the city wall was blown down.
After all, basic light weapons have always been the Eighth Route Army's advantage. An infantry squad is equipped with a barrel, a light machine gun, two submachine guns and several rifles.
It has an astonishing amount of ammunition. Even if the Chou people come, they have to knock one out before leaving.
Some particularly wealthy main forces are even equipped with 50 or 60 mm mortars.
On the other hand, our own side is still dominated by the Type 38 rifle, Taisho Type 11 light machine gun and Type 89 grenade that have remained unchanged for thousands of years. Their firepower is down by more than one level.
If this kind of equipment were used in a street fight, it is estimated that the Class A division would have to be pressed to the ground and rubbed.
In order to prevent the North China Front from also having a life-threatening Osaka Division, Okamura Neji specially transferred the 110th Division, the 7th Independent Mixed Brigade and the 15th Independent Mixed Brigade to come for reinforcements.
In this way, a situation of one hundred thousand people attacking a city can be formed.
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After the communications staff officer left, Otonzaburo Yano found that his colleagues were still in a daze. He followed the other person's gaze and found that Nishihara Issaku was studying the map of Datong County.
"Nishihara-kun, are you worried about the street fighting?"
"Street fighting can indeed drag the battle into a stalemate, but the level of modernization in Datong is very low. Almost 99% of the buildings are masonry structures."
"This means that it is difficult for the enemy to take advantage of the complex environment in the city. If our numbers are large enough, we may even become the dominant party."
As someone who has been stationed in Datong for three years, Yano Otonzaburo can pat his chest and say that he knows every corner of the city.
In the eyes of the old devils, the houses in the county town could not withstand the direct fire of 75mm mountain and field artillery, not to mention that the cavalry group also had tanks, a magical weapon to open the way.
As if seeing that his colleagues still had concerns, Yano Otosaburo said confidently:
"You can rest assured about this matter. I will definitely come up with a battle plan that satisfies everyone within two days."
"Besides, the general who is best at defending the city in the Republic of China's army is the defeated general of you and me. No matter how powerful the Eighth Route Army surnamed Nie is, can it be better at defending than the Seventh Route Army?"
"Take out the momentum of the Taiyuan Battle that year, and let us join hands to conquer the city in front of us."
The colleagues in front of him were full of confidence, and Nishihara Issaku was embarrassed to refute.
From his perspective, the Eighth Route Army must be aware of the above situation. They are not fools. Since they can build a large group of fortifications outside the city, they will definitely strengthen the defense system inside the city.
As long as there are buildings to rely on, there is a high probability that their side will have a hard time.
When Nishihara Isaku thought that infantrymen carrying rocket launchers might appear from the roof at any time and then destroy his precious Type 97 medium tank with one shot, he felt that the future was bleak.
After a moment, the old Japanese shook his head and changed the subject:
"After two days of fighting, have you encountered the artillery positions of the Eighth Route Army in your division?"
This artillery was not the artillery regiment composed of 75 ladies, but the large-caliber mortar mentioned by the Second Independent Mixed Brigade.
In the current stage of positional warfare, the mortars of the Eighth Route Army caused heavy casualties to the attacking troops of the Japanese. After all, this thing is quite invincible in the trenches.
Moreover, the defenders had enough artillery shells. Every time they fired, they fired at full speed to cover an area, almost hanging up the Type 92 infantry guns.
"No, the enemy probably wants to save it for a critical moment."
"I have instructed all regiments to report immediately once they find the enemy's large-caliber mortars. We must nip that terrible thing in the bud."
When mentioning the 120mm mortar, Yano Otosaburo emphasized his tone.
For the next half an hour, the two discussed the subsequent combat plan in depth and proposed more appropriate options in many details.
In order to allow the troops who have been fighting continuously to adjust their status, they canceled the plan for today's night attack and asked all units to reinforce the existing positions on the spot.