Quartermasters can also fight the devils

"Tell the troops in the front not to let their guard down. The Japanese must have rotated the attacking forces, and they may launch an attack at any time. Let the troops continue to fight according to the previous tactics. The Japanese only have two tricks, so just be prepared to defend against artillery fire. We can retreat after holding out for one more day tomorrow." Commander Cai also asked his men to be more vigilant and not be ambushed by the Japanese.

The attack of the 41st Regiment of the Japanese Army also began under the cover of artillery fire. The commander of the regiment, Colonel Kan'ichi Okabe, sent a squadron of officers and soldiers from the 1st Battalion to carry out this exploratory attack. He and the chief of staff, Lieutenant Colonel Hideaki Sato, were also using binoculars to carefully observe the situation on the opposite Chinese army's position from behind. He hoped to find the weaknesses in the Chinese army's defense through this attack.

The officers and soldiers of the new 210th Division also entered the positions after the Japanese artillery bombardment. When the front-line commander found that the Japanese army had only sent a squadron of people to attack this time, he was a little confused. What the Japanese army was doing? Was the Japanese army planning some conspiracy?

So he decisively asked some soldiers to shoot, while the others all retreated to the anti-artillery holes to prevent the Japanese from doing anything special. The sharpshooters just had to continue to play freely.

When the officers and soldiers of the new 210th Division on the battlefield began to shoot, the commander of the 210st Regiment, Colonel Kan'ichi Okabe, was shocked by the first round of shooting by the officers and soldiers of the new th Division, because he clearly saw through the telescope that half of the soldiers in his squadron were knocked down directly, and almost all the officers of this squadron fell down in the first round of shooting by the Chinese army.

"Let the troops in the front withdraw. This attack is meaningless." Colonel Kan'ichi Okabe put down the telescope in his hand and ordered the chief of staff, Lieutenant Colonel Sato Hideaki with a heavy face.

He did not expect that his exploratory attack would suffer such heavy casualties. A unit without a commander would not perform well, and could not test the depth of the Chinese position. Is this the defensive capability of the new 22nd Army of the Chinese government? It is indeed good.

This attack by the Japanese army ended in such a whimper. When the attacking Japanese troops retreated, the officers and soldiers on the positions of the new 210th Division also stopped shooting. The commander on the front line was now a little unsure of what the Japanese army meant. It seemed that they were just going through the motions. The intensity of this attack was not as fierce as the previous ones by the Japanese army.

After seeing that the Japanese troops had retreated, the commander of the new 210th Division's front line ordered most of the officers and soldiers to withdraw from the trenches to rest, but he still left some people on the front line. He was afraid that the Japanese troops would suddenly attack again. Although it was almost dark, it was better to be careful.

"Your Excellency the Regiment Commander, the 3rd Squadron of the 1st Battalion has withdrawn." Chief of Staff Lieutenant Colonel Sato Hideaki came to Colonel Okabe Kanichi, the Regiment Commander, and reported in a low voice.

Colonel Kanichi Okabe, the commander of the regiment, was thinking about something with his head down. When he heard what Lieutenant Colonel Hideaki Sato, the chief of staff, said, he raised his head and asked, "Mr. Sato, what is the situation of the troop losses?"

"Your Excellency the Regiment Commander, the situation of the Third Squadron of the First Battalion is very bad. The squadron leader and the squad leader were all killed, and more than 70 soldiers were injured or killed." Chief of Staff Lieutenant Colonel Sato Hideaki reported the statistical data he had just obtained. In his mind, he also had a great change of mind about the combat effectiveness of the New 22nd Army of the Chinese Government.

After hearing about the loss of the troops, Colonel Kanichi Okabe, the commander of the 41st Regiment, frowned. He asked the Chief of Staff, Lieutenant Colonel Hideaki Sato, "Mr. Sato, do you think the New 22nd Army of the Chinese Government was fighting at full strength just now? Through my observation just now, I found that the defensive combat capability of the New 22nd Army of the Chinese Government is really very good. Their shooting and coordination organization are also very good, and there are almost no obvious weaknesses. But if the New 22nd Army of the Chinese Government is defending with the same strength just now, then I am still very confident in breaking the Chinese army's defense line, but I am not sure whether the New 22nd Army of the Chinese Government has used its full strength."

Lieutenant Colonel Sato Hideaki, the chief of staff, thought for a moment and said, "Captain, I think this should be the full defensive strength of the Chinese government's new 22nd Army. Even if it is not fully demonstrated, it will not be improved much. We have fought against various Chinese troops. The combat power demonstrated by the Chinese government's new 22nd Army in the defensive operation just now can be said to be the strongest among the Chinese army."

After receiving an affirmative answer from the chief of staff, Lieutenant Colonel Sato Hideaki, the commander of the regiment, Colonel Okabe Kanichi, thought about it in his heart. He felt that what the chief of staff, Lieutenant Colonel Sato Hideaki said made sense. No matter how strong the new 22nd Army of the Chinese government was, it would not be much stronger than other Chinese armies. It seemed that he should send a large-scale force to attack tomorrow.

"Well, Sato-kun, at 104 o'clock tomorrow morning, the First Battalion will launch an attack on the Chinese army's positions. The Second Battalion will serve as the second echelon and be ready to reinforce the First Battalion's attack at any time. The Third Battalion will serve as the reserve force, and the artillery of the 104th Field Artillery Regiment will provide minutes of artillery cover. Tomorrow we will defeat the defense forces of the New nd Army of the Chinese government, occupy Shunde City, and let the th Division see the gap in combat power between it and our Fifth Division." Colonel Kan'ichi Okabe, the regiment commander, made up his mind to break through the Chinese army's resistance tomorrow and boast of his military exploits.

In the direction of Daya Bay, the troops of the Japanese 18th Division had advanced to the last line of defense of the 12th Army: Zengcheng.

After the troops arrived near Zengcheng, Lieutenant General Hisanazu Nagana, commander of the 104th Division, also sent out the troops responsible for the flanking operations. This flanking force was composed of an infantry regiment plus a cavalry battalion of the 108th Division and the th Regiment of the th Division. It can be said that the troop configuration of this flanking force is already very good. Judging from the current combat effectiveness of the th Army, it is impossible to resist this flanking force of the Japanese army.

The flanking troops also arrived near Zhengguo at night, but the Japanese army did not launch an attack overnight. They needed to cooperate with the troops of the 18th Division in the frontal combat and then suddenly launch an attack on Zhengguo at the right time.

Thanks to the Japanese army's suspension of attacks and bombings a few days ago, the speed of material transportation in Yangcheng has increased a lot. At present, the materials in Yangcheng have basically been transported. This also made Commander He of the war zone feel a little relieved. As long as the materials are transported out, the troops on his side can start to retreat at any time.

"Commander He, today the vanguard troops of the 210th Division of the Japanese Army in the direction of Daya Bay have arrived near Zengcheng, but the Japanese army has not launched an attack on Zengcheng. The headquarters believes that the Japanese army should have sent a roundabout force to attack Zhengguo and then attack Huaxian. Commander Yu of the 210th Army Group called to inquire about the transportation of supplies. He hopes that the theater will speed up the transportation of supplies. The new nd Army on the west bank of the Pearl River repelled the attack of the Japanese army outside Shunde City today and wiped out about a battalion of Japanese officers and soldiers. According to the feedback from the new th Division on the front line, the Japanese army should have made adjustments to the attacking troops in the afternoon, but the new th Division will hold on to Shunde for another day to buy more preparation time for the defense of Sanshui and Nanhai." Senior Counselor Wang reported to Commander He on the combat situation of each unit today.

When Commander He heard the battle report from Daya Bay, his brows furrowed more and more. He knew that it would be difficult for the 12th Army to stop the Japanese attack, and Commander Yu was also thinking about running away quickly. However, the new 22nd Army presented a completely opposite situation. Not only did the new 22nd Army destroy another battalion of Japanese troops, but the front-line troops actually took the initiative to share the pressure of blocking and defending with other troops. Just from this point alone, we can see how high the morale of the new 22nd Army is.

"Tell Commander Yu back that the supplies from Yangcheng will take another two days. Order the 12th Army to hold Zengcheng for at least three days. Also tell Commander Yu to pay attention to the defenses of Zhengguo and Huaxian. The Japanese are likely to send out flanking troops to cut off our retreat." Commander He gave the orders to Senior Counsel Wang. He had to keep an eye on the 12th Army at all times.

"I see. Do you have any instructions for the New 22nd Army?" After writing down Commander He's words, Senior Counselor Wang also asked as usual if there was anything else he needed to convey to the New 22nd Army.

Speaking of the New 22nd Army, Commander He also said with a relaxed look: "You just need to report the battle situation in Daya Bay to the New 22nd Army. There is nothing else that needs to be explained in particular. We don't need to worry too much about Commander Huang. They will fight well in this battle."

Wang Gaocan also understood what Commander He meant, so he hurried to do what Commander He had just instructed him to do, mainly on the 12th Army's side, he had to appease Commander Yu and make sure he held on to Zengcheng.

At eight o'clock the next morning, the Japanese artillery outside Shunde City began to cover the defensive positions of the new 210th Division with artillery fire on time. The Japanese artillery was also anxious. At present, the troops of the 104th Division still participating in the battle on the front line on the west bank of the Pearl River only had their own artillery battalion. This was simply incredible to them. When they set out, they had a brigade of troops.

Colonel Kan'ichi Okabe, commander of the 41st Regiment, was satisfied with the artillery bombardment. Before the attack, he gave instructions to the commander of the 1st Battalion, Major Mamoru Sugimoto, asking him to organize the attack of the troops well and ask the officers in the front to pay attention to their own safety.

He believed that as long as the officers paid attention to their own safety, and with the attacking firepower of a battalion of officers and soldiers, judging from the firepower of the Chinese army on the position yesterday, they should not be able to withstand the attack of their own troops for too long. Even if the attack of the first battalion was not so smooth, the second battalion would soon take over the attack of the first battalion, and today they would definitely be able to occupy the blocking position of the new 22nd Army of the Chinese government outside Shunde City.