Quartermasters can also fight the devils

Just when the Japanese army broke through the defensive positions of the 100th Division, the troops of the New 100th Division, which were rushing frantically towards Yichang, were still at least half a day's journey away from Yichang. This was already the fastest speed at which the New th Division could advance at full speed with light equipment.

Faced with the urgent telegram from Song Ruike, commander of the 100th Division, Commander Chen of the Sixth War Zone was quite helpless. The Japanese army obviously wanted to reoccupy Yichang in the shortest possible time, but the closest troops to Yichang on his side were only the new th Division.

However, judging from the current situation, the 100th Division probably won't be able to hold out until the arrival of the new th Division. It looks like Yichang will be lost again.

Commander Chen is also considering one thing now. Since the 100th Division cannot hold out until the arrival of the new th Division, should he take the initiative to withdraw the th Division from Yichang? Otherwise, not only will Yichang be failed to be defended, but the th Division will also be lost. That would be a loss.

Seeing that the troops of the new 100th Division could not reach Yichang before the collapse of the th Division, Commander Chen thought for a while and then issued a retreat order to Commander Peng of the th Army, requiring the th Division to retreat westward from Yichang and return to the original starting point for rest and replenishment.

Then, Commander Chen sent a telegram to the new 100th Division, ordering it to launch a tentative counterattack against Yichang after arriving there. If the Japanese defense was tight, they should retreat to a safe area and wait for orders to avoid excessive casualties among the troops.

Zhang Wenwu, who was marching quickly with the new 100th Division, saw the telegram from Commander Chen of the Sixth War Zone and realized that the th Division in Yichang might not be able to hold on.

Zhang Wenwu could understand this situation very well. After all, it was impossible for a division of troops to withstand the fierce attack of a Type A division of the Japanese Army without perfect defensive fortifications. It seemed that his new 100th Division had to be prepared to attack Yichang.

Zhang Wenwu told Ouyang Heng the contents of the telegram from Commander Chen of the Sixth War Zone. Zhang Wenwu wanted Ouyang Heng to think about the battle plan for attacking Yichang City during the march. This would be much more difficult for the new 100th Division than defending Yichang City.

After all, the Chinese army is currently seriously lacking in heavy weapons and equipment for offensive operations. Even the new 100th Division, which is the government's direct force, only has 100 field guns captured from the Japanese army. The shells are running out as time goes by, and the speed of supply cannot keep up with the speed of consumption in combat. But even so, the equipment of the new th Division is already better than that of more than % of China's infantry divisions.

After receiving the telegram from Commander Chen of the Sixth War Zone, the commander of the 199th Division, Song Ruike, saw that there were more and more gaps in the defensive positions and his troops were unable to drive the Japanese out of the positions. So he ordered all officers and soldiers of the 199th Division to retreat westward and abandon the defense of Yichang City.

With the retreat of the officers and soldiers of the 199th Division defending Yichang, the 13th Division of the Japanese Army once again seized control of Yichang from the Chinese army one and a half days after their retreat from Yichang.

At seven o'clock in the evening, Lieutenant General Shizukazu Tanaka, commander of the 13th Division of the Japanese Army, led the 13th Division headquarters into the city of Yichang which had been completely occupied by the Japanese Army.

As soon as the 13th Division commander, Lieutenant General Shizuichi Tanaka, occupied Yichang, he sent a telegram to report the victory of retaking Yichang to Lieutenant General Kazuichi Sonobe, commander of the 11th Army. His 13th Division completed the combat mission assigned by His Majesty the Emperor within one day, which made the division commander, Lieutenant General Shizuichi Tanaka, feel infinitely proud.

You know, the commander of the 13th Division, Lieutenant General Tanaka Shizukazu, just took over as the commander of the 13th Division last year from Lieutenant General Ogisu Ryuhei who was transferred to the Kwantung Army. This Zaoyi Battle was the first time he led the 13th Division to participate in a large-scale battle. This victory was of great significance to him. This time, he established a lot of prestige within the 13th Division and could also show his face in front of His Majesty the Emperor. Just thinking about it makes people excited.

After the Japanese 13th Division occupied Yichang, the division commander, Lieutenant General Shizukazu Tanaka, did not order the troops to continue pursuing the retreating remnants of the Chinese government's 199th Division. The division commander, Lieutenant General Shizukazu Tanaka, was well aware of the current situation.

From the aerial reconnaissance conducted by the Air Force during the day, it can be learned that the Chinese government should be mobilizing troops to rush to Yichang. The main task of their own troops is to hold the occupation of Yichang City for at least one month. If they rashly pursue the remnants of the Chinese army and are surrounded by the Chinese army, then the 13th Division will be in big trouble.

This time, the combat mission was assigned by His Majesty the Emperor himself, so we have to be cautious in everything we do. As long as we complete the combat mission assigned by His Majesty the Emperor, it will be the greatest achievement. Besides, the officers and soldiers of the 13th Division are already exhausted, and the supplies and ammunition are below the warning line, which does not meet the conditions to pursue the Chinese army.

Therefore, Lieutenant General Shizukazu Tanaka, commander of the 13th Division of the Japanese Army, ordered the troops of the 13th Division not to pursue the Chinese army, but to quickly dig defensive fortifications outside the city of Yichang to guard against a possible counterattack by the Chinese army. At the same time, he asked the artillery units to mark the firing parameters at various locations outside the city of Yichang as soon as possible, so that they could provide artillery support to the defense forces at any time when the Chinese army launched a counterattack.

The commander of the 199th Division, Song Ruike, led the remnants of his troops and retreated westward to the vicinity of Xiaoxita. After seeing that the Japanese army did not pursue his troops, the commander of the 199th Division, Song Ruike, breathed a sigh of relief and ordered his troops to stop retreating, and then took inventory of the troops and gathered the stragglers.

After counting the troops, Song Ruike, commander of the 199th Division, looked at the list of casualties in his hand and felt like crying but had no tears.

The 199th Division only held Yichang for a little over a day, and only more than 3,000 people were left in the entire division. At this point, the 199th Division basically lost its combat effectiveness, and it would take more than half a year to recover its combat effectiveness.

At this point, the commander of the 199th Division, Song Ruike, reported the tragic situation of his troops to the commander of the Sixth War Zone, Commander Chen, and his immediate superior, Commander Peng of the 18th Army.

When Commander Chen of the Sixth War Zone read the contents of the telegram from the commander of the 199th Division, Song Ruike, he felt distressed. The 18th Army was his basic force, and now all three divisions of the 18th Army were destroyed.