Quartermasters can also fight the devils

At ten o'clock in the evening, the night attack organized by the attacking forces of the Ninth War Zone officially kicked off. Lieutenant General Ogamo, commander of the 34th Division of the Japanese Army, also attached great importance to it and personally sat in the division headquarters to command the night defense operations.

The night defense combat plan formulated by Lieutenant General Ohgamo, commander of the 34th Division of the Japanese Army, was also based on the current actual situation. He ordered all defense forces to retreat slowly and appropriately when the Chinese army's night attack forces were more fierce, so as to concentrate the troops and make the defense circle tighter.

As long as they can withstand the Chinese army's night attack tonight, the 33rd Division will launch a full-scale attack from behind the Chinese Army's 9th Reserve Division tomorrow morning. At that time, they will command the concentrated breakout troops to attack the defensive positions of the Chinese government's 9th Reserve Division.

The 34th Division of the Japanese Army was responsible for the night defense. After the attack of the various night attack forces of the 9th War Zone began, it also retreated in an orderly manner to the second line of defense that had been prepared long ago to defend. This prevented the various night attack forces of the 9th War Zone from achieving much effect, but only further compressed the space of the 34th Division from all directions.

After launching the night attack, the various night attack troops of the Ninth War Zone found that the 34th Division of the Japanese Army was already prepared. When the Japanese army retreated to the second line of defense, the attack of the night attack troops of the Ninth War Zone was blocked in front of the second line of defense by the Japanese defense forces that had been prepared long ago.

Although the Japanese army successfully defended against the attacks of the various night attack forces of the Ninth War Zone, the night defense forces of the 34th Division of the Japanese Army also suffered heavy casualties, with as many as seven squads being wiped out.

However, Lieutenant General Ohgamo, commander of the 34th Division of the Japanese Army, was still satisfied that the division could withstand the night attack of the Chinese government's 9th War Zone troops. The troops suffered heavy losses, but that didn't matter, as there would always be casualties in war. As long as the 34th Division could break through successfully, it would be the greatest victory.

The various night attack troops of the Ninth War Zone saw that the Japanese army's second line of defense was well prepared and that continuing the attack might not necessarily yield much results, so at three o'clock in the morning, they gradually stopped the night attacks and turned to consolidating the defense of the occupied positions.

When it was half past six in the morning, Lieutenant General Shozo Sakurai, commander of the 33rd Division of the Japanese Army, personally commanded the central troops to launch a fierce attack on the back of the 9th Reserve Division of the Chinese Government on the northern wing of the encirclement. At the same time, Lieutenant General Ogamo, commander of the 34th Division of the Japanese Army in the encirclement, also commanded the breakout attack troops that had been prepared long ago to launch a sudden and fierce attack on the encirclement and defense positions of the 9th Reserve Division.

Zhang Yanchuan, commander of the 9th Reserve Division of the 70th Army of the Chinese government, had guessed before that the 33rd Division of the Japanese Army might choose to attack his side, and arranged all the available troops for defense tasks. But when the 33rd and 34th Divisions of the Japanese Army launched a joint attack, the 9th Reserve Division could not hold on.

The 9th Reserve Division soon suffered heavy casualties under the pincer attack of two Japanese divisions, and the defensive positions on both sides were almost penetrated by the Japanese offensive forces. Therefore, the commander of the 9th Reserve Division, Zhang Yanchuan, felt that if the battle continued like this, the 9th Reserve Division would be wiped out here, so he issued an order to retreat.

The commander of the 9th Reserve Division, Zhang Yanchuan, was also the deputy commander of the 70th Army. Since the commander Li Jue was not at the front line when the war broke out, Zhang Yanchuan commanded the combat operations of all the troops of the 70th Army as the deputy commander.

However, Deputy Commander Zhang Yanchuan misjudged the Japanese army's offensive intention, thinking that the Japanese army was going to encircle the 70th Army's troops. In that case, the situation of the 70th Army would become very unfavorable. Therefore, Zhang Yanchuan, as the deputy commander of the 70th Army, ordered the 9th and 19th Reserve Divisions to retreat towards Fenghuangwei and Zhuangfang.

As soon as the two divisions of the 70th Army retreated, the troops of the 33rd Division of the Japanese Army entered Guanqiao and successfully joined the surrounded troops of the 34th Division.

On the southern front, the Japanese 20th Independent Mixed Brigade had not been able to break through the defense line of the 51st Division of the 74th Army, and was instead outflanked by the troops of the 74th Army and attacked from both front and back.

Therefore, Lieutenant General Isamu Kinoshita, the Chief of Staff of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, who had arrived in Hongcheng to unify the command, ordered Major General Naozo Ikeda, the commander of the 20th Independent Mixed Brigade of the Japanese Army, to lead the troops to retreat to the northeast, get rid of the attacks and entanglement of the Chinese army and return to Gao'an City, establish a reception position near Gao'an, and cover the retreat of the 34th Division.

When the 33rd and 34th Divisions of the Japanese Army successfully joined together, the 20th Independent Mixed Brigade of the Japanese Army, led by its commander, Major General Naozo Ikeda, successfully broke free from the entanglement of the 51st Division and quickly marched towards Gao'an City, preparing to meet the arrival of the 34th Division in Gao'an.

After the 33rd Division of the Japanese Army launched an attack on the rear of the 9th Reserve Division, the other troops in the 9th War Zone responsible for the encirclement also knew that the Japanese Army wanted to open the encirclement and rescue the 34th Division of the Japanese Army. So each unit seized the opportunity to launch a fierce attack on the 34th Division of the Japanese Army in the encirclement. Even the two divisions of the 74th Army, which were originally responsible for blocking the front, launched a full-scale attack on the 34th Division from the front blocking positions.

However, the retreat of the 70th Army allowed a regiment of the 33rd Division of the Japanese Army to successfully merge with the 34th Division, thus creating a breakthrough in the encirclement. This made Commander Luo of the 19th Army Group, who was responsible for the unified command of the front line, very angry.

Upon learning that two divisions of the 70th Army had abandoned their positions and retreated without authorization, Commander Luo of the 19th Army was so angry that he smashed several teacups in the army headquarters. However, the two divisions of the 70th Army had already retreated, and this gap had to be sealed immediately.

Moreover, although part of the reinforcements of the 33rd Division of the Japanese Army have already rushed into the encirclement, half of the combat forces of the 33rd Division are still entangled with the two divisions of the New 22nd Army. If the encirclement is expanded now, the 34th Division of the Japanese Army can still be surrounded again.

Therefore, Commander Luo of the 19th Army Group ordered the 70th Army to withdraw from the encirclement and outflanke the Japanese army to expand the scope of the encirclement. At the same time, he ordered the troops in other directions to intensify the attack on the 34th Division of the Japanese Army to slow down the retreat of the Japanese Army.