Quartermasters can also fight the devils

One of the troops of the 106th Division of the Japanese Army was lucky. After transiting in the mountains for a day, they finally reached the edge of the mountainous area. The radio station in the troops could be used as they wished. Although the signal was not so stable, it was already very good news for the Japanese army.

"Commander, a telegram has been received from an infiltration unit of the 106th Division." Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sadaichi Yoshimoto walked quickly to Lieutenant General Yasuji Okamura who was sitting in front of the sand table with the telegram and said.

When Lieutenant General Okamura Yasuji heard that the telegram was sent by the 106th Division, he quickly took the telegram and read it. After reading the telegram, Lieutenant General Okamura Yasuji was also confused. The compass was malfunctioning? The radio station was interfered and could not send messages normally? What was going on?

"Damn it! The intelligence department didn't even know there was a mining area in that mountainous area. They are all criminals of the Empire of Japan. I will hold them accountable. Mr. Yoshimoto, where is this unit now? Tell them to withdraw quickly." Lieutenant General Okamura Yasuji roared angrily in the operations hall. After reading the telegram from the 106th Division, he finally understood why such a speechless situation had occurred.

After searching on the sand table, Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Sadaichi pointed to the southeast of Wanjialing and said, "Commander, this unit is currently here, southeast of Wanjialing, but their front has been blocked by the Chinese army. Now they are trying to break through to the front."

"Where are the troops of the 106th Division?" Lieutenant General Okamura Yasuji looked at the area southeast of Wanjialing on the sand table. He knew that the th Division should have been surrounded by the Chinese army on the other side of Wanjialing, and the decisive battle between the two sides had already begun.

"The commander of the 27th Division, Lieutenant General Masaharu Homma, sent a telegram earlier saying that his troops were ambushed by the Chinese army in Baishui Street and are now fighting with the ambushing Chinese army." Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sadaichi Yoshimoto also pointed out the location of the 27th Division. He had no hope for the 27th Division's actions.

"Order the troops of the 106th Division to break through the encirclement of the Chinese army as quickly as possible. They can break out from any direction. At the same time, contact the other troops of the 106th Division as soon as possible. Also, have the Air Force send aircraft to assist the 106th Division in its breakout operation. Make sure that we always have aircraft over the 106th Division." Lieutenant General Yasuji Okamura quickly made arrangements based on the current situation.

When Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Sadaichi, the Chief of Staff, finished recording Commander Okamura Yasuji's order and was about to leave, Lieutenant General Okamura Yasuji suddenly stopped him and said, "Mr. Yoshimoto, send a telegram to Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Ryosuke of the 9th Division, telling him the situation here and asking him to speed up the attack on Hongcheng. Now victory or defeat depends on his speed."

Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sadaichi Yoshimoto was stunned. This telegram sent by Commander Okamura Yasuji to Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Ryosuke of the 106th Division added a lot of pressure on Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Ryosuke. It seemed that Commander Okamura Yasuji was not optimistic about the situation of the 106th Division. Indeed, it would be too difficult for the th Division to break out by relying on its troops scattered into five routes.

Inside the First Corps Headquarters, everyone is extremely happy. The 106th Division of the Japanese Army has finally been surrounded just now. Now the question is when to wipe out these more than 106 men in the th Division.

While Commander Xue was happy, he was also worried about the new 106nd Army in Hongcheng. He could not send any troops to reinforce Hongcheng now. He could only concentrate all his forces to annihilate the surrounded th Division as quickly as possible.

He knew very well that all the previous arrangements of both sides were for this decisive battle. In order to allow the New 22nd Army to continue to hold Hongcheng, he had sent a telegram to Commander Chen in the war zone. He hoped that Commander Chen could personally give the New 22nd Army an order to hold on to the death. As long as the New 22nd Army could hold on, he would be able to win the final victory.

After receiving the news that the Japanese 106th Division had been surrounded, Commander Chen realized that the most critical moment had arrived. When the top government officials learned about the encirclement of the 106th Division, they were very happy and asked Commander Chen to annihilate this Japanese division, which put Commander Chen under tremendous pressure.

It would take time to annihilate the Japanese 106th Division. The key point now was whether the new nd Army in Hongcheng could withstand the Japanese attack. After receiving Commander Xue's request telegram, he understood Commander Xue's concerns, so he immediately sent a telegram to Commander Huang of the new nd Army.

In the telegram, Commander Chen asked the new 100nd Army to hold on even if there was only one man left, as the critical moment of the battle had arrived. At the same time, he also sent a telegram to Zhang Wenwu of the new th Division to encourage Zhang Wenwu.

Afterwards, Commander Huang replied that the new 22nd Army would obey the orders of the superiors and defend Hongcheng to the death until the last man. At the same time, at the end of this telegram, Commander Huang also mentioned that Zhang Wenwu requested that he be allowed to use some unconventional means to defend the city at the last moment.

Commander Chen looked at the contents of the telegram in his hand and felt very gratified. His own troops were still very powerful at the critical moment. In response to Commander Huang's request of Zhang Wenwu, Commander Chen also replied that there was no problem and that everything was aimed at achieving the final victory. He felt that Zhang Wenwu was going to send people to launch a sneak attack again.

After the 100th Division concentrated its forces in the urban area, it launched a fierce attack on the area defended by the New 100th Division. The officers and soldiers of the New 100th Division, who had been prepared for a long time, fought back and forth with the Japanese army. After a day of fighting, the officers and soldiers of the New th Division only allowed the troops of the th Division to advance a distance of meters.

In the evening, Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Ryosuke called Colonel Hitomi Hidezo, commander of the 19th Regiment who was in charge of the offensive command, and Colonel Wakisaka Jiro, commander of the 36th Regiment, to the division headquarters. He vented his anger over the past two days. He was very dissatisfied with the offensive of his own troops.

"Baga, how are you commanding the attack? Are you letting the soldiers of the Empire of Japan slowly crawl forward? Even if they are crawling, it is still faster than your attack speed. This is simply bringing shame to our 9th Division." Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Ryosuke scolded the two regiment commanders.

Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Ryosuke had to be angry. The offensive progress of this unit was getting slower and slower day by day. Today, even after concentrating all the troops, they only advanced 106 meters. He knew that the th Army Command was still hoping that after he occupied Hongcheng, he would quickly take his troops to rescue the surrounded th Division.

But at the current rate, by the time they capture Hongcheng, there will probably be only a few people left in the 106th Division.

"Sir, please calm down. The officers and soldiers on the front line have tried their best. We have also lost a lot of officers and soldiers in the attack over the past two days. The Chinese army's defensive will is indeed too tenacious. Up to now, there has not been a single position that was not occupied after repeated battles." The brigade commander, Major General Ishu Nobutoki, comforted Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Yoshisuke at the right time.

Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Ryosuke also knew that the Chinese defenders' defense was indeed tenacious, but he had no other choice. The telegram sent by the 11th Army Headquarters had made him very anxious. He asked the two brigade commanders: "Do you have any ideas about the next battle? How can we speed up the attack?"

The two regiment commanders looked at each other, and the 19th Regiment Commander, Colonel Hitomi Hidezo, bowed and said, "Your Excellency, the Chinese Army has deployed a lot of garrisons on some important streets and intersections. The casualties of the troops are relatively large. In addition, the officers and soldiers on the front line basically have no way to sleep at night. The explosions and sneak attacks caused by the small harassment troops of the Chinese Army in the rear really make all the officers and soldiers a little worried."

Colonel Jiro Wakisaka, commander of the 36th Regiment, also quickly added: "Your Excellency, we all know that the 106th Army Headquarters has ordered us to occupy Hongcheng as soon as possible to eliminate the Chinese government's new nd Army troops, and then rescue the th Division. However, the officials of the th Army Headquarters must also take into account the actual situation in Hongcheng. They should at least send us some troops to assist us."

After hearing the complaints of the two regiment commanders, Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Ryosuke understood in his heart that they were under a lot of pressure, but how could the 106th Army send any reinforcements now? Didn't you see that even the crippled 106th Division was sent to rescue the th Division? They were still thinking that they could rescue the th Division as soon as possible. It was impossible for their side to get any reinforcements.

Seeing that Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Ryosuke did not say anything, Major General Ishu Nobutoki continued to add: "Your Excellency, our troops are really insufficient now. By the end of today's attack, we have lost two and a half battalions of officers and soldiers. The remaining officers and soldiers are very tired after continuous attacks."

Major General Jing Shuxuan also used data to illustrate the problem. His meaning was more straightforward. According to this casualty rate, after three more days of fighting, the two infantry regiments of his 18th Brigade could be basically eliminated.

Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Ryosuke was also pacing back and forth in the headquarters tent. He knew that he had to replenish the troops for the front line. The continuous attacks had made the officers and soldiers exhausted, which was why the offensive effect was getting worse and worse. But where could he get the troops?

"How about this, I will reinforce you with all the officers and soldiers of the division's guard squadron. In addition, I will have the 101st Division's Cavalry Battalion transfer two squadrons of soldiers to be converted into infantry reinforcements for you." Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Ryosuke was really ruthless this time. He was ready to send all the soldiers who could be sent out and those who could not be sent out into the city to fight to the death.

When Major General Jing Shuxuan heard that the division commander was going to make a last-ditch effort, he quickly said, "Your Excellency the division commander, the guard squadron cannot move. The safety of the division headquarters is very important. It is safer for us to convert the officers and soldiers of the cavalry battalion into infantry to fight in the city."