Chapter 412: Annihilating Over Twenty Thousand Enemy Troops

The 200th Division was lying in ambush behind Taierzhuang; Du Yuming received a report from scouts that a Japanese Army regiment was maneuvering to cut off the retreat of the Taierzhuang defenders.

"Map!"

After Du Yuming shouted this, the staff officers in the command post immediately brought him a map.

After glancing at the map, Du Yuming chose a location for the ambush.

"Pass on my order: the tank regiment is to prepare. Our 200th Division must win this battle and completely annihilate this group of Japanese troops!"

In the operations conference room, everyone shouted in unison: "Yes!!"

This battle was the first engagement for the 200th Division, and everyone was fired up, wanting to prove that in the Republic of China Army, it wasn't just the Sichuan Army that could fight!

Although the order had been issued, the situation for the troops near Lanfeng was quite dire, and the fighting was in complete disarray.

Moreover, reports from frontline soldiers indicated that the tank unit approaching this time had excellent infantry-tank coordination, which undoubtedly meant this was reinforcements from the Imperial Army.

There was no other way; the best option for the 11th Regiment now was to hold their ground until dawn and wait for the Imperial Aviation to relieve them.

Higashikuni-no-miya Naruhiko had just taken over as Commander of the Second Army, as the previous commander, Nishio Toshizo, had been directly recalled to the country; now, with insufficient forces, this old devil directly contacted the Kwantung Army Commander, Ueda Kenkichi, who agreed immediately.

Company Commander Zhang led his tank company and unleashed a torrent of steel directly upon the little devils, crushing countless little devils into pulp.

The two men hurried to check the situation; the old devil Fujiwara Ichiro took a look and discovered that a large number of tanks and armored vehicles had appeared in front of them.

"The Division Commander's method is really quite good. These devils mistakenly think we are the Japanese Army; they are so happy now, but they'll have plenty to cry about later."

In this Xuzhou region, the Chinese forces actually still possessed such powerful combat strength.

After a night of fierce fighting, the Second Army Commander in Jinan, Higashikuni-no-miya Naruhiko, received the battle damage report and discovered that the unit's strength was somewhat insufficient.

When Du Yuming received this telegram, he couldn't help but admire Yu Hua; as an infantryman, he actually understood armored troops in such detail.

Furthermore, with Sun Zhen of the Sichuan Army as the head of Shandong Province, he mobilized the local administrative agencies within Sichuan Province to govern Shandong Province, having local personnel from each county assist the army in combat, logistics transport, field hospitals, and so on—everything was fully prepared, with the common people assisting the troops in blocking the Japanese Army.

In the entire Shandong Province region, everything was in chaos, and both sides were locked in a very intense struggle.

A tanker beside Company Commander Zhang said: "Company Commander, this is what is called 'the art of war is based on deception'."

Far away in Hankou, Lao Chang learned of the battle results and shouted with joy, clamoring that he wanted to award the 200th Division Commander.

Beside Abe Ichiro was an old soldier who had been in combat for a long time; he patted Abe Ichiro on the shoulder: "New recruit, don't be afraid!"

Nagano Yuichiro estimated that it must be the Detachment Commander who feared his own forces were insufficient and had specifically dispatched a tank unit as reinforcements.

They immediately mobilized troops to begin rescuing the 11th Regiment; Sun Lianzhong and Lu Han learned of this and immediately deployed troops to begin striking the Japanese Army.

Following Yu Hua's methods, Du Yuming had strengthened the training of the 200th Division, and tonight's battle proved far more effective than the Battle of Songhu.

"This Taierzhuang Victory is inseparable from everyone's efforts, but now the Japanese Army has assembled over 300,000 troops and is encircling Xuzhou. To avoid repeating the same mistakes and the situation of total collapse seen in the Battle of Songhu, we are now discussing the issue of withdrawal."

Especially since half of the Republic of China Army's field units were assembled in the Xuzhou region; if the devils succeeded, and with new units not yet fully trained, once the Chinese troops were surrounded and annihilated, E Province and Hunan Province would be indefensible, and the gateway to Sichuan Province would be thrown wide open—this was a very thorny problem.

At the same time, the Guangxi Clique's air force units, like falcons, also bombed the Sakamoto Detachment and the Segaya Detachment, making the Japanese Army in Taierzhuang suffer greatly.

Looking at the map, the Japanese Army was implementing a strategy of maneuvering for a grand encirclement; if the Chinese troops did not withdraw in time, they would be completely annihilated by the little devils.

When Terauchi Hisaichi learned that Higashikuni-no-miya Naruhiko had contacted the Kwantung Army and mobilized forces without consulting him, he was extremely angry; this was a total disregard for him as the Area Army Commander!

Upon hearing this, Du Yuming clapped his hands and shouted loudly: "Not bad!"

"Our smooth progress this time is all thanks to Yu Hua's suggestions."

As he spoke, Abe Ichiro was about to issue the order for enemy attack, but the old devil Fujiwara Ichiro shouted: "Friendly forces!"

In the areas of Teng County, Langya, and Wenshang, the Sichuan Army, the Third Group Army, as well as the armies of Zhang Zizhong and Pang Bingxun, also began to counterattack the Japanese Army.

"Immediately send a request for reinforcements to the Detachment Commander, and at the same time, order the entire army to hold their ground and persist until dawn."

At the very least, in the battle of Langya, the Sakamoto Detachment had been held back by the forces of Zhang Zizhong and Pang Bingxun for a full month; only now, after the Imperial Army increased its forces, were they barely able to continue the fight!

"Men, get ready for me; we will utilize the effect of our armored corps to crush this group of little devils."

Company Commander Zhang patted Xiao Li on the shoulder, "Almost forgot, you kid were specially recruited from university, which is why you know so many things."

"Don't signal randomly! Look, the tanks and armored vehicles have the Imperial Army's Plaster Flag pasted on them, and the flags raised by the troops are also the Imperial Plaster Flag."

At this moment, the 11th Regiment's Regiment Commander, Nagano Yuichiro, arranged for the devils to meet the arriving tanks.

At the same time!

One must know that in the fighting in the Pingjin Region, the 5th Division and the 10th Division had never encountered the tanks and armored vehicles of the Republic of China Army.

Especially Gui Yongqing's 27th Army, which was chased and beaten by the little devils in the Lanfeng region, with no power to fight back.

Just at this moment, the earth suddenly began to tremble.

After the Taierzhuang Victory, the Japanese Army on the South Line, under the urging of Hata Shunroku, had now crossed the Huai River and was closing in on Su County; Hata Shunroku wanted to be the first person to take Xuzhou.

However, in the Lanfeng region, after the local administrative personnel fled, the troops' supplies and the treatment of wounded soldiers all became major problems.

When he learned that the 200th Division was heading to Taierzhuang, Yu Hua even specifically sent a telegram to Du Yuming, telling the 200th Division Commander to properly train infantry-tank coordination.

At this moment!

A tank company of the 200th Division—the company commander saw a group of little devils waving and shouting at the tanks, and he laughed happily.

Ueda Kenkichi ordered two regiments to be drawn from each of the 2nd Division and 7th Division, plus some auxiliary branches, to rush to the aid of Xuzhou.

Yu Hua had also specifically compiled the problems of infantry-tank coordination that appeared in the Republic of China Army during the Battle of Songhu into a booklet and sent it to Du Yuming.

The tremendous sound was like the earth dragon turning over, which gave Abe Ichiro quite a scare.

Lincheng, Yu Hua and Sun Zhen went to attend this military conference!

After the train sped along, everyone arrived at the conference room, where Li Delin spoke first!

After all, the outer positions of Taierzhuang had already been captured by the Imperial Army, and the role played by the tank units was limited, which was why the Detachment Commander had dispatched armored troops as reinforcements.

After the Taierzhuang Victory, Chang Kaishen was extremely excited; this was the first victory achieved by Central Army troops in the fighting, and for this reason, he specifically had newspapers in the Hankou region heavily publicize this Taierzhuang Victory.

After Fujiwara Ichiro's reminder, Abe Ichiro looked carefully and discovered that it really was true; the flags of the Imperial Army were fluttering among the ranks of tanks and armored vehicles.

The Chief of Staff echoed: "Although the Sichuan Army is sometimes a bit like that, on the stance of resisting Japan, the Sichuan Army is still very good."

Even the enemy did not understand infantry-tank coordination; in Shanghai, the Imperial Army had captured quite a few of the enemy's tanks.

In order to achieve the goal of encircling and annihilating the main Chinese forces as quickly as possible, Terauchi Hisaichi ordered the 14th Division and the 108th Division to hurry and move toward Lanfeng to take Lanfeng City.

"Back during the Jiawu period, the little devils ambushed our Beiyang Fleet by disguising themselves as British ships; what we are doing now is nothing more than paying them back in their own coin!"

"We have already taken two lines of defense from the Japanese Army!"

In over a month of fighting, he clearly felt that the battlefield on the Far East Continent was not at all like the Imperial Army's declarations of sweeping through the Republic of China in one go.

"It is estimated that the battle can be completely resolved by twelve o'clock tonight."

"During the July 7th Incident, I was fighting in the Beiping area, and a single regiment dared to provoke a Division under the command of Liu Zhi's Army Group in the First War Zone of the Republic of China."

However, thinking that the other party was a Prince, even if he gave them a scolding, he would be the one to suffer the loss, so Terauchi Hisaichi held back.

The old devil kept counseling Abe Ichiro to ease his emotions.

"Messenger!"

Immediately, the two of them also began to report; the Imperial Army's tanks had arrived, and after Regiment Commander Nagano Yuichiro received the report from his subordinate, he did not have much suspicion.

After Li Delin learned that the Japanese Army on the South Line was advancing so rapidly, and coupled with the failure of the Chinese forces in the Lanfeng area, he now had to consider the issue of withdrawing troops, because if they continued to fight, it would be very easy to fall into the predicament of the Battle of Songhu.

Abe Ichiro said in astonishment: "Tanks... Armored Vehicles, could it be that the Chinese forces have started an attack?!"

In the conference room, everyone learned that Ogisu Rippei's 13th Division was now less than half a day's journey from Su County, Doihara's 14th Division was maneuvering toward eastern Henan, and Isogai Rensuke's 10th Division was maneuvering toward southwestern Shandong.

"Boom—"

Occupying this place would cut off the material supplies for the defenders of Taierzhuang!

Under the moonlight, the sentry on duty, Abe Ichiro, was standing behind a bunker; Abe Ichiro was a new recruit who had just been added to the Sakamoto Detachment.

He immediately ordered Tang Enbo's th Army Group to quickly rush to the aid of Taierzhuang and wipe out the two Japanese Detachments.

The 200th Division, directly under our Military Affairs Commission, is also a formidable force!

As night fell, the Japanese 11th Regiment, under the orders of Nagano Yuichiro, set up camp!

According to the Detachment Commander's orders, the 11th Regiment was to seize the small town of Yulin outside Taierzhuang, which was a major transportation hub.

When the 11th Regiment was annihilated by the 200th Division, Du Yuming also sent a telegram to the Nanjing Command in Hankou to report the results of this battle.

After Nagano Yuichiro learned of this, he suddenly felt a chill shoot straight from the soles of his feet into his chest.

"Haha..."

At the command post of the 200th Division, a Communications Soldier came to report, "Report, Division Commander, the frontline troops are progressing very smoothly."

It was not just the 200th Division that counterattacked tonight; the Segaya Detachment and the Sakamoto Detachment, far away in Taierzhuang, learned that the 11th Regiment had been attacked.

All of a sudden!

Because, in his memory, how could the weak Republic of China Army afford to arm an armored unit?

The Second Army increased its forces to attack Taierzhuang, and Lu Han and Sun Lianzhong suddenly felt the pressure and hurriedly asked Li Delin for help; seeing that the time was about right, Li Delin decided it was time to encircle and annihilate the little devils in the Taierzhuang area.

The counterattack by the troops in the Taierzhuang area suddenly plunged the Japanese Army into a predicament; Tang Enbo's th Army Group and the 200th Division, these two units, were like tigers descending from the mountains, beating the Sakamoto Detachment and the Segaya Detachment until they threw away their helmets and armor.

This time, heading to Yulin Town, his regiment had not brought any anti-tank weapons at all; now that the enemy had dispatched so many tanks, the consequence awaiting the 11th Regiment might be total annihilation.

Pingjin Area Army Commander Terauchi Hisaichi was dumbfounded the next morning after receiving telegrams from various units.

At this moment, this group of devil soldiers realized that the incoming tanks were not the Imperial Army, but the enemy, and everyone began to shout: "Enemy attack... Enemy attack..."

In this Lanfeng Battle, the Chinese forces were clearly more numerous than the Japanese, about 150,000 men, but they failed to annihilate Doihara's 14th Division; compared to the Taierzhuang Victory, this Lanfeng Battle was quite a slap in the face!!

Coupled with the fact that the residents of the Lanfeng area, upon learning that the Japanese Army had crossed the Yellow River and moved south, all fled, and the local administrative personnel also left with their families, the troops fighting in the Lanfeng area were not at all like those in the Taierzhuang area or the Teng County area; after Li Delin took over the Fifth War Zone, he strictly ordered local administrative agencies not to retreat.

Hankou! When the people at the Nanjing Command learned that two divisions of the Japanese Army were rapidly approaching Lanfeng, Lao Chang ordered the generals in the areas near Lanfeng to hold their positions at all costs, block the Japanese Army from moving south, and formulated a plan to encircle and annihilate the Japanese 14th Division.

"Gentlemen!"

The forces participating in the Lanfeng Battle included Song Xilian's 71st Army, Gui Yongqing's 27th Army, Yu Jishi's 74th Army, Li Hanhun's 64th Army, and Huang Jie's 8th Army.

The Japanese Army moving north from Subei and the Japanese Army moving south successfully joined forces at Xinan; Xinan was only one hundred kilometers from Xuzhou, and now the east side of the Chinese defenders had been captured by the Japanese Army, creating a crisis on the flank.

The battle lasted for five days; the Japanese 5th Division routed the troops of Zhang Zizhong and Pang Bingxun and moved south to meet the remnants of the Segaya Detachment and the Sakamoto Detachment; the Chinese side gave up the pursuit; this battle annihilated more than 20,000 Japanese troops, and the Segaya Detachment and the Sakamoto Detachment were completely crippled.

According to intelligence from the Lan Intelligence Agency, in the Songhu Battle, the tank unit that the Republic of China Army had painstakingly built was almost completely destroyed by the Imperial Army.

"Although it is a bit difficult now, as long as we break through the defense line of the Republic of China Army, any women, gold, silver, and treasures are ours to plunder."

For this reason, he specifically ordered the frontline troops to discuss a plan for the entire army to retreat.

The Taierzhuang Victory gave many generals in Hankou a shot of adrenaline; everyone thought that if Li Delin could command local troops to achieve the Taierzhuang Victory, then with the 10 divisions of the Central Army they had prepared in the Lanfeng area to encircle and annihilate the Japanese 14th Division, there should not be much of a problem.

Liu Fei, who attended this meeting, felt anxious in his heart after learning the true situation on the battlefield; if this was not grasped correctly and the Republic of China Army was encircled and annihilated, the situation of the War of Resistance would be quite unfavorable.

He stood up and said: "Commander Li, the situation is critical; I think it is inappropriate to convene a meeting of Army Group generals now; we should summon the Division Commanders of the frontline troops to attend the meeting to explain the stakes and facilitate a withdrawal."

(End of this chapter)