plumnovel Chapter 159 Terauchi Hisashi's Reinforcements
Chapter 159 Terauchi Hisashi's Reinforcements
"A gift from the Emperor? Or is it a general's sword?"
The principal raised an eyebrow and said, "Not bad, really not bad."
"I wonder who has this katana now?"
The principal asked with a smile.
Commander He's face darkened, and he said somewhat awkwardly:
"This... is said to be a gift for Li Zongren, the commander-in-chief of the Fifth War Zone."
"Did you give it to him?"
The principal narrowed his eyes slightly, a complex emotion flashing across them, but he quickly concealed it, and finally said with a smile:
"That's a perfect gift. The Fifth Theater Command made the greatest contribution to this operation, so this katana is the most appropriate gift for the theater commander."
Commander He chuckled twice, then changed the subject:
"Chairman, do you think we should launch a general offensive? Although the offensive in the Taierzhuang area is progressing quite smoothly, the Japanese army has also made breakthroughs in other directions, and the Japanese forces on the periphery are constantly increasing. We must wipe out this Japanese army as soon as possible."
The principal frowned, looked at the map, and said:
"You're right, we can't delay any longer, things could get complicated if we wait any longer."
Having said that, he turned to Commander He and said:
"Send a telegram to Keqin right now and tell him that when the time comes to take action, he should not hesitate. If the Japanese army does not come, he can take the initiative to attack."
The 10th Division suffered heavy losses and was essentially a defeated fugitive. The 20th Division, after a fierce battle, was also repeatedly defeated by the 3rd Detachment and was at its last gasp.
Regardless, the current battlefield situation in Xuzhou is in our favor!
This night was quite long for Rensuke Isogai.
He didn't receive news of Seya Kei's successful breakout, but instead received the devastating news of the complete annihilation of the Seya Brigade.
"Segaya has already perished; he died in battle."
Chief of Staff Atsuro Umemura's voice carried an undisguised sorrow.
In Isogai Rensuke's sinister eyes, flames of hatred flickered, but he simply stood there, saying nothing.
After a long while, he walked to the front of the map with his hands behind his back.
"What is the status of the troop reorganization?"
"Isoya Rensuke asked in a deep voice."
Starting yesterday, their troops broke out in different directions and gradually regrouped, still numbering over 15,000 men.
In addition to the troops already stationed in Yixian, there were still more than 17,000 troops.
But the 10th Division led by Isogai Rensuke originally numbered a full 30,000 men.
In less than ten days, a third of them have been lost, and most of them were combat personnel.
The losses are unimaginable.
"The troops have been reorganized, some unit numbers have been canceled or merged, but the losses of heavy weapons are difficult to replenish."
The warehouses in Yixian County only contained some mountain guns and field guns; all the heavy artillery was lost or captured by the enemy.
The ammunition reserves are also severely insufficient, with only three basic units remaining.
Atsuro Umemura said in a solemn tone.
The situation of the 10th Division is not optimistic. Without sufficient artillery and shells, their combat effectiveness is greatly reduced if they rely solely on infantry.
Moreover, the large number of lost mules and horses posed a significant challenge to their marching and troop carrying capacity.
Japanese Class A divisions were basically equipped with mules and horses.
For example, the 10th Division, after being reinforced during the war, had nearly 10,000 mules and horses, which could be used to pull artillery or transport supplies and ammunition.
Currently, many of these mules and horses have been captured by Li Jianghe's troops or lost on the battlefield, which has greatly reduced the amount of supplies they can carry.
"What about the 20th Division?"
Rensuke Isogai knew very well that their hope of breaking out now rested on Bunzaburo Kawagishi's 20th Division.
Although the Japanese 20th Division had suffered some losses before, its main force was still intact, and its artillery units had not suffered too many losses.
In fact, the ideal way to break out was not to have the 10th or 20th Division act as the attacking force, but to have the 1st Mixed Brigade take on this task.
After all, they are mechanized troops, and their ability to attack and break through enemy lines is far superior to that of infantry.
Unfortunately, this unit was wiped out overnight by Li Jianghe's Third Detachment and no longer exists.
Even two tank companies of the 10th Division met the same fate.
"They are already planning a breakout, and at the same time, our troops from Zoucheng and Jining are rushing to their aid."
Atsuro Umemura said, "However, we don't have much time left. After Li Jianghe's troops on the Taierzhuang front line wiped out our Seya Brigade, our next target will definitely be us."
"We'll set off tonight, leaving a regiment behind in Yixian to cover our retreat."
Rensuke Isogai said without the slightest hesitation.
He knew very well that the number of Japanese troops in North China who could come to his aid was small, and holding out and waiting for reinforcements would only lead to certain death.
Only by breaking through to the north as soon as possible can there be a glimmer of hope.
The North China Front Army, of course, would not sit idly by and wait for its demise, and was drawing reinforcements from multiple directions.
In fact, after the annihilation of the 1st Mixed Brigade, Terauchi Hisaichi had already keenly sensed that the battlefield situation seemed to be developing in a direction he did not want to see.
At this moment, in the North China Area Army Headquarters, Terauchi Hisaichi was staring at the map, his gaze coldly fixed on the Taierzhuang area.
"I never expected that this little Li Jianghe would become the stone that brought down this elephant of ours."
"Terauchi Hisaichi said through gritted teeth."
Naosaburo Okabe, the Chief of Staff of the North China Area Army, who was standing nearby, was more optimistic.
"No matter what, the 10th and 20th Divisions now have a total strength of around 40,000 men."
Even if the enemy surrounds them from all sides, they should be able to hold out for a while.
Or they could break through to the north. I think even relying solely on Tang Enbo's 20th Army Group, plus part of the Third Detachment, might not be enough to stop them.
Of course, what gave Naosaburo Okabe confidence was the reinforcements that were about to arrive on the battlefield: a total of three full divisions plus two mixed brigades.
Terauchi Hisaichi said with an icy gaze:
"After our reinforcements arrived, they split into two groups."
As he said this, he pointed to the map and said:
"One force advanced along the Yellow River towards Kaifeng and Zhengzhou, while another force rushed south to attack the enemy's troops in Tengxian, creating conditions for the main force of our 20th and 10th Divisions to break out."
After saying that, he looked at Naosaburo Okabe and said:
"How long until reinforcements arrive?"
After considering it for a moment, Okabe Naosaburo said:
"With the assistance of the Jinpu Railway, we can reach the battlefield in three days."
"Alright, three days. Have Kawagishi Bunzaburo and Isogai Rensuke's troops wait here for three days."
Terauchi Hisaichi said with an icy gaze.