Quartermasters can also fight the devils

The attacking force of the 13th Division of the Japanese Army, under the cover of twelve tanks, began to rush quickly towards the defensive position of the 199th Division. At the defensive position of the 199th Division, intermittent whistles were sounded, reminding all officers and soldiers to quickly enter their respective defensive positions to stop the Japanese attack.

As the distance between the two sides continued to narrow, the sounds of gunfire and explosions filled the entire outside of Yichang City. Lieutenant General Tanaka Shizukazu, commander of the 13th Division of the Japanese Army, carefully observed the tactical movements of the attacking troops through the artillery scope. At the same time, he was also observing the weaknesses and loopholes in the defensive positions of the opposing Chinese army.

The attack by the Japanese 13th Division lasted for a full hour. During this period, a small group of Japanese troops even rushed into the defensive position of the 199th Division. However, this small group of Japanese troops only stayed in the defensive position for less than five minutes before being driven out by the officers and soldiers of the 199th Division.

Lieutenant General Shizukazu Tanaka, commander of the 13th Division of the Japanese Army, watched this full-scale offensive carefully. When he saw that the squad of officers and soldiers who had rushed up to the Chinese army's position were driven out by the Chinese army, he ordered the attacking force to retreat.

The division commander, Lieutenant General Shizukazu Tanaka, was quite satisfied with this attack. Through this attack, he also saw that the defensive position of the Chinese army on the opposite side was just as he expected. Although the Chinese army spent an entire night to build it, this simple defensive position was simply a decoration in front of his artillery fire.

The fact that their troops were able to break into the Chinese army's defensive positions in the first full-scale attack showed that the Chinese army had suffered heavy casualties in the previous battles, and then after such fierce bombardment by their own artillery units, many of their positions were also destroyed.

Lieutenant General Tanaka Shizuka, the division commander, knew very well that if he launched two or three more full-scale attacks, the Chinese army defending Yichang would be completely defeated by his own troops. What if the Chinese army retreated to Yichang City and fought street battles with his own troops? It was easy to deal with. He could just blow up Yichang City with artillery fire. Anyway, most of the houses in Yichang City were wooden structures and could not withstand the bombardment of his own artillery units.

The commander of the 13th Division of the Japanese Army, Lieutenant General Shizukazu Tanaka, was in a good mood, but the commander of the 199th Division, Song Ruike, could not be happy at this time, even though the troops of the 199th Division had just repelled the Japanese army's full-scale attack.

However, the casualties of the troops were very heavy. In this comprehensive attack by the Japanese army alone, the 199th Division suffered more than 1,000 casualties. In addition, many of the defensive positions dug last night were destroyed by the Japanese artillery fire. This made the division commander Song Ruike feel that the situation was not good. If the battle continued like this, it would be difficult for his 199th Division to hold out until the arrival of the new 22nd Army.

The commander of the 199th Division, Song Ruike, ordered his troops to quickly reinforce the fortifications on the defensive positions, while sending an urgent telegram to Commander Peng of the 18th Army. In the telegram, Song Ruike explained the situation in Yichang City in detail, and at the same time requested the war zone to let the new 22nd Army speed up its march, as he estimated that he would not be able to hold out for much longer.

Lieutenant General Shizukazu Tanaka, commander of the 13th Division of the Japanese Army, also ordered the officers and soldiers of the attacking force to rest. At the same time, he asked the commander of the artillery unit to extend the artillery support to 30 minutes in the next attack. This would enable a more comprehensive destruction of the Chinese army's defensive positions and provide a more favorable battlefield environment for the attack of the attacking force.

After the Japanese 13th Division Commander Lieutenant General Tanaka Shizukazu rested for half an hour, he ordered the attacking troops to launch another fierce attack on the Chinese army's defensive positions. The fierce battle lasted until after noon, when the Japanese army suspended the attack.

The commander of the 199th Division, Song Ruike, took advantage of the Japanese army's pause in the attack at noon to eat lunch, and risked his life to personally come to the defensive position to inspect. However, when Commander Song Ruike arrived at the defensive position, his heart sank to the bottom.

After a morning of shelling by the Japanese army, many parts of the original defensive positions had been destroyed. The trenches in many places had either been blown apart or were almost filled with soil raised by the exploding shells. The entire position could no longer provide cover and help to the officers and soldiers. The officers and soldiers were now taking advantage of the time when the Japanese army stopped attacking to repair the already dilapidated position.

Lieutenant General Shizukazu Tanaka, commander of the 13th Division of the Japanese Army, did not give the officers and men of the 199th Division much time to repair their positions. At 1:30 p.m., the Japanese artillery began to fiercely bombard the defensive positions of the 199th Division again, and this time the artillery preparation time lasted more than 30 minutes.

Moreover, in the attack that began at noon, in addition to artillery support, more than a dozen Japanese planes appeared in the air, which caused the officers and soldiers of the 199th Division to suffer greater casualties while defending.

In order to achieve the goal of occupying Yichang today, Lieutenant General Shizukazu Tanaka, commander of the 13th Division of the Japanese Army, organized a second attack force at noon, so that he could continuously replace the attack with the attacking Japanese troops and ensure that the Chinese army in Yichang could be successfully defeated before dark.

The 199th Division suffered heavy casualties under the repeated large-scale attacks of the Japanese army. A main regiment that was originally defending the position had less than 300 officers and soldiers who could still fight. The defensive forces still guarding the position had already received all the troops after four consecutive reinforcements.

The officers and soldiers of the 199th Division held out until four o'clock in the afternoon, when they finally allowed the Japanese army to rush into the defensive positions. At this time, the commander of the 199th Division, Song Ruike, no longer had any troops to send to support the defensive positions.

Now they can only rely on the officers and soldiers on the positions. If they cannot drive out the Japanese troops that have rushed into the positions, it will be difficult for the defensive positions to hold out until dark. Without the defensive positions, the 199th Division will not be able to hold on to Yichang.

However, as more and more Japanese troops rushed into the positions, the commander of the 199th Division, Song Ruike, knew that he could not drive the Japanese out of the positions with the existing strength of the 199th Division. So, he could only order the officers and soldiers still in the defensive positions to retreat and see if he could organize an effective defense in Yichang City and delay until the troops of the new 22nd Army arrived.

(Thanks to the gift support from Duke Wei who loves beef jerky, the Peng family who only eat dumplings without vinegar, and the crisscrossing family! Thank you all for your support and encouragement!)