Quartermasters can also fight the devils

Faced with this battalion of Japanese troops, the officers and soldiers of the 199th Division, although without any defensive fortifications, still used their numerical advantage to successfully repel the Japanese attack.

However, the commander of the 199th Division, Song Ruike, knew very well that this was only the vanguard of the Japanese army. The attack of this battalion of the Japanese army did not even have any artillery preparation before the attack. This showed that this Japanese army had rushed here at the fastest speed and did not carry any heavy weapons. The purpose of this Japanese army was also very obvious, that is, to harass the 199th Division through attacks and not give the officers and soldiers of the 199th Division time to build defensive fortifications.

Now, the 199th Division was indeed pinned down by the attack of this large Japanese brigade. There was no time to build fortifications outside the city of Yichang. As soon as the Japanese discovered that the officers and soldiers of the 199th Division were building fortifications, they would organize their troops to launch an attack on the 199th Division, preventing the officers and soldiers from having the time and energy to build fortifications.

The commander of the 199th Division, Song Ruike, is now very anxious. If the situation drags on like this, with the arrival of the large Japanese force, the 199th Division will not be able to hold Yichang without any defensive fortifications. The massive artillery fire from the Japanese army alone will be enough to destroy the 199th Division.

Therefore, the commander of the 199th Division, Song Ruike, hurriedly reported the situation here to Commander Peng of the 18th Army, and asked for reinforcements to be sent quickly, otherwise Yichang would be lost again after the arrival of the large Japanese force.

After receiving the telegram from Song Ruike, commander of the 199th Division, General Peng of the 18th Army was at a loss as to what to do about Song Ruike's request for reinforcements. Now he had no available troops. The only division that could be sent out, the 18th Division, was still gathering its troops in the rear to repair its previous wounds.

Moreover, the 18th Division now has only about half of its troops. Even if it is sent to reinforce the 199th Division, it will not be of much help and may even lead to the collapse of the 199th Division.

However, the demands of the commander of the 199th Division, Song Ruike, must be met. Otherwise, according to the current offensive and harassment goals of the Japanese army, once the main force of the Japanese army arrives in Yichang, the 199th Division will definitely not be able to defend Yichang. If Yichang is occupied by the Japanese army again at that time, it will be difficult for the 18th Army to bear this responsibility.

Commander Peng of the 18th Army reported this thorny problem to Commander Chen of the 6th War Zone, and directly stated that if reinforcements were not sent quickly, the 199th Division, without any defensive fortifications, would not be able to hold Yichang for more than two days in the face of the fierce attack of the Japanese army.

Commander General Chen of the Sixth War Zone is now a little overwhelmed. The Japanese army was originally retreating well, and he had arranged all his troops to pursue the Japanese army. As a result, the Japanese army suddenly turned around and attacked Yichang directly, which disrupted all the combat plans and ideas formulated by Commander Chen.

Now the troops of the Sixth War Zone are basically concentrated on both sides of the Japanese army's original retreat route. Even if they want to transfer these troops back to reinforce the 199th Division in Yichang, there is no time. Moreover, the Japanese troops that have already turned around will not allow their troops on both sides to easily reinforce Yichang.

Commander Chen looked at the positions of various troops in his war zone on the map, and after searching for a long time he finally remembered a troop, the New 22nd Army which was on its way to Yichang. This troop had been slow to march due to the continuous heavy rain in western Hunan, and it was not until the day before yesterday that their vanguard troops walked out of the mountains in western Hunan. If the New 22nd Army could speed up its march, it should still be able to reinforce the 199th Division in Yichang in time.

When Commander Chen thought of the New 22nd Army, he immediately sent a telegram to Commander Huang of the New 22nd Army, requesting that the entire New 22nd Army speed up immediately and reinforce Yichang within two days at the latest, and make sure to defend Yichang.

Now, half of the troops of the New 100nd Army have left the mountainous area in northwestern Hunan and entered the territory of Hubei Province. After receiving the telegram order from Commander Chen, Commander Huang also ordered the entire army to speed up its advance, and ordered the new th Division, which was at the forefront, to advance lightly and be sure to reach Yichang within two days and hold on until the arrival of the entire army.

After receiving the telegram from Commander Huang, Zhang Wenwu quickly ordered his troops to advance at full speed. Since the Japanese army had already arrived in Yichang, the troops of the new 100th Division needed to make a big detour to the west and go around to the west of Yichang before they could reinforce the th Division in the city from the west of Yichang.

From the current position of the new 100th Division, it will take about two days to reach Yichang. Along the way, it is also necessary to ensure that there are no attacks or harassment from Japanese troops. Therefore, the new 100th Division also sent out all its reconnaissance personnel. If any Japanese troops are found, they will take a detour and must not be entangled by these scattered Japanese troops, which would delay the reinforcement of Yichang.

The commander of the 199th Division, Song Ruike, looked at the telegram in his hand and smiled bitterly in his heart. It was indeed a very good thing that the New 22nd Army could come to reinforce, but his 199th Division might not last until the arrival of the New 22nd Army.

With the continuous arrival of follow-up Japanese troops, the offensive pressure on the 199th Division gradually increased. Moreover, the thing that worried the commander of the 199th Division, Song Ruike, was that in just one of the Japanese attacks, the Japanese army actually had artillery support. Although the artillery support in the Japanese attack just now was not very fierce, it can be roughly judged from the sound of the artillery explosions that the number of artillery pieces that the Japanese army currently has at the front line is only two or three at most. But this clearly gave the officers and soldiers of the 199th Division a strong signal that as time goes by, the Japanese army will invest more and more artillery.

Moreover, in the last Japanese attack, the Japanese artillery fire had caused considerable casualties to the officers and soldiers of the 199th Division. This was a very bad signal. In the absence of defensive fortifications, how could the officers and soldiers of their own troops survive under the coverage of Japanese artillery fire?

The whole division retreated to the city to fight the Japanese army in the streets? This is also a solution. However, if the 199th Division retreated to the city to fight in the streets, the Japanese army would concentrate all their artillery fire on Yichang City. You know, there are still many civilians in Yichang City. If a barrage of shells hit them, the civilians would suffer heavy casualties.