Quartermasters can also fight the devils

Lieutenant General Ito Masayoshi, the commander of the 101st Division, took the telegram and read it. He smiled and said to his chief of staff, "Well, Nishiyama-kun, now we have a good opponent. The North China Expeditionary Army is really not very good. They always fight with local Chinese armed forces in the north. Suddenly, when they encounter the central army of the Chinese government, they will not fight anymore. Let us, the 101st Division, teach them a good tactical lesson, break the strongest shield of the Chinese government, and add powerful military exploits to the battle flag of the 101st Division."

Lieutenant General Ito Masaki also attached great importance to the New 22nd Army. Since the Battle of Taierzhuang became famous, the Japanese military headquarters specially issued a combat capability assessment report of various Chinese troops to all the dispatched troops in China. In this report, the New 22nd Army was ranked first. In the introduction of the New 22nd Army, the Japanese military headquarters specially emphasized that when dealing with this Chinese unit, its combat capability should be treated as equivalent to a Japanese Class B division. This shows that the Japanese military headquarters attaches great importance to the New 22nd Army.

In order to show his respect and importance for the New 101nd Army, Lieutenant General Masayoshi Ito personally led the 101st Division to attack Hongcheng. At the same time, he sent a telegram to Lieutenant General Yasuji Okamura, commander of the th Army of the Japanese Army, requesting him to send additional tank troops to assist. Okamura Yasuji also attached great importance to the New nd Army defending Hongcheng, and he specially sent two tank battalions to support the st Division's attack.

On the third day after the 101st Corps and the 101st Division broke contact, the vanguard of the 101st Division finally arrived outside Hongcheng, but the Japanese army, contrary to its usual practice, did not launch an attack on Hongcheng immediately. Instead, after waiting for almost a day, when the main force of the st Division arrived outside Hongcheng, they began to prepare for the attack on Hongcheng.

"Your Excellency the Division Commander, I have just observed the situation in Hongcheng. From what I have seen along the way, the Chinese government's new 101nd Army is preparing to rely on the city walls and streets of Hongcheng to engage in street fighting with our division." Major General Fukutaro Nishiyama, Chief of Staff of the st Division, reported to Lieutenant General Masayoshi Ito who was looking at a map in the temporary division headquarters tent.

Lieutenant General Ito Masaki nodded after looking at the map, and then said: "The New 22nd Army of China is very smart. They know that it is impossible to succeed if they set up a defense line outside Hongcheng to resist our attack. There is no defensive terrain outside Hongcheng that is favorable to them. The New 22nd Army is indeed worthy of its reputation. Very good, defeating such an opponent is the most rewarding."

"Your Excellency the division commander, the 101st and 101th Regiments of the 149st Infantry Brigade have made preparations for the attack, and the artillery regiment has also set up all the artillery. When do you decide we should launch the attack?" Major General Fukutaro Nishiyama respectfully asked the division commander, Lieutenant General Masayoshi Ito. He felt that the morale of the troops was high now and they should be able to launch an attack immediately.

The division commander, Lieutenant General Ito Masaki, threw the pencil in his hand onto the map in front of him, then smiled at his chief of staff and said, "Mr. Nishiyama, let our brave warriors of the Empire of Japan have a good meal, and then have a good rest tonight. Let everyone recover their physical strength and spirit. At 8 o'clock tomorrow morning, we will launch an attack on the Chinese army in Hongcheng."

Major General Fukutaro Nishiyama understood that the division commander attached great importance to the New 101nd Army of the Chinese Government in Hongcheng. He hoped that all officers and soldiers would rest up and have a real fight with the New 101nd Army of the Chinese Government. If the st Division could destroy the New nd Army of the Chinese Government this time, the st Division would become a great hero in the hearts of the Japanese people.

On the city wall of Hue Gate in Hongcheng, two staff officers of the new 100th Division were reporting the movements of the Japanese army to Ouyang Heng at the command center over the phone. After the report, they took the telephone down the city wall and ran to a position far behind the city gate.

"Division Commander, it seems that the Japanese army is not planning to attack today. When did the Japanese army become so cautious? It's no longer like their previous style of adventurousness." After putting down the phone, Ouyang Heng told Zhang Wenwu about the report from the reconnaissance staff on the city wall.

After hearing what Ouyang Heng said, Zhang Wenwu laughed and joked: "It's a good thing that the Japanese army didn't attack. This way everyone can sleep well at night. It seems that the Japanese commander on the opposite side is still very martial. This is going to have a real contest with us. Brother Ouyang, we can't neglect this Japanese commander, haha."

When Ouyang Heng heard Zhang Wenwu's joke, he also took out a cigarette and lit it up. He knew that this was the last calm before the war. Starting from tomorrow, this thousand-year-old ancient city would witness the life-and-death fight between tens of thousands of soldiers from both sides.

At eight o'clock the next morning, the artillery of the Japanese artillery regiment began to bombard the walls of Hongcheng on time. After more than ten minutes of shelling, the 101st Regiment and the 101th Regiment of the 149st Infantry Brigade launched attacks towards the Hue Gate and Yonghe Gate of Hongcheng respectively, and the Battle of Hongcheng officially began.

The Japanese attacking force approached the two gates of Hongcheng very smoothly. The division commander Masayoshi Ito and chief of staff Fukutaro Nishiyama, who were watching the battle from behind, put down their binoculars. They saw that the Chinese army had no intention of defending the city wall. Up to now, no Chinese soldier appeared on the city wall, and no one shot at the Japanese army in the attack.

"It seems that the Chinese army is waiting for us in the city. Very good, this is fair. Mr. Nishiyama, order the 101st and 149th Regiments to occupy the two gates of Hongcheng and guard them firmly. At the same time, let them each send a battalion of soldiers to launch a tentative attack into the city to test the bottom of the Chinese army." The division commander, Lieutenant General Masayoshi Ito, ordered the chief of staff Fukutaro Nishiyama beside him. The Chinese army did not rely on the city walls for defense, which made him more cautious.

After receiving the order from the chief of staff, Colonel Kunigoro Iizuka, commander of the 101st Regiment responsible for attacking Hue Gate, personally led the First Battalion of his regiment through Hue Gate to carefully search and attack the city. Colonel Tsuda Tatsusan, commander of the 149th Regiment attacking Yonghe Gate, sent his First Battalion forward to attack. He was preparing to climb the Yonghe Gate tower that had been occupied by the Second Battalion. He wanted to enjoy the cheers of victory.

The Japanese officers and soldiers who climbed up the two city gate towers excitedly shouted "Long live" loudly on the city gate towers and nearby city walls. This was their way of celebration. In their view, the Chinese defenders of Hongcheng must have fled, and now Hongcheng was an empty city, which was a very good thing for them.

On the roof of a civilian house 300 meters away from the Hue Gate tower, three officers and soldiers of the New 22nd Army Engineering Corps were lying on the roof and looking through binoculars at the cheering Japanese soldiers not far away. In the hand of one of the captains, was the detonator of an explosive device.

"Company commander, the Japanese search team is only fifty meters away from here. We can detonate now." A second lieutenant officer in charge of observation beside him reported in a low voice what he had observed.

The captain stared at the Japanese soldiers who were still climbing up the city gate tower and the city wall with a telescope. He said unhappily, "Why are you in such a hurry? Han the shorty at Yonghe Gate hasn't detonated yet. Wait until more Japanese soldiers climb up the city gate tower."

Less than ten seconds after he finished speaking, he heard a loud bang coming from the Yonghe Gate. The moment he heard the huge explosion, the captain pressed the detonator in his hand hard. Almost at the same time, the Hue Gate tower not far away disappeared with a shocking explosion.

The two consecutive loud explosions startled Lieutenant General Masayoshi Ito and Chief of Staff Major General Fukutaro Nishiyama. They raised their binoculars almost at the same time, but they could no longer see the city gate and nearby city walls. All they could see was thick smoke and dust, and bricks and rubble falling from the sky.

After seeing this scene, the division commander, Lieutenant General Masayoshi Ito, and the chief of staff, Major General Fukutaro Nishiyama, realized that they had been severely tricked by the New 22nd Army. The two explosions covered two regiments under their command. How much explosives had the New 22nd Army buried at the city gates and under the city walls?

"Damn it, the Chinese army has no martial ethics at all. How could they do such a despicable thing? Mr. Nishiyama, you quickly organize the officers and soldiers of the 103rd Regiment to assist the two regiments in front to treat and transport the wounded. Take a look at the losses of the 101st and 149th Regiments, and tell them not to attack the city for the time being, but to guard the existing areas." After the division commander, Lieutenant General Masayoshi Ito, reacted, he quickly ordered Fukutaro Nishiyama. He needed to quickly rescue the injured officers and soldiers of the two regiments in front. At the same time, he needed to know how many people were left in these two regiments. He needed to make an accurate assessment to prepare for the subsequent battles.

Lieutenant General Masayoshi Ito looked at Hongcheng not far ahead. Through the huge explosion caused by the New 101nd Army, he saw the determination of the Chinese army to defend Hongcheng. He had a premonition that this time his st Division would be involved in a bitter battle with the New nd Army.

Zhang Wenwu and Ouyang Heng also stood on the roof of the headquarters with binoculars and saw the shocking explosion. Zhang Wenwu put down the binoculars in his hand happily and said to Ouyang Heng beside him: "Brother Ouyang, how about it? My double-gun welcome ceremony is grand enough. Now the Japanese headquarters can't say that we neglected them, haha."

Ouyang Heng was also very happy. He felt that Zhang Wenwu was really smart. He actually set up such a big trap based on the Japanese army's habit of cheering on the city gate towers and city walls. The Japanese army was expected to suffer heavy casualties this time. The Japanese army might have to be busy all day rescuing those buried and injured officers and soldiers. This was also a huge blow to the morale of the Japanese army.