eurekapd Chapter 213 Qinyuan County is blocked
Chapter 213 Qinyuan County is blocked
December 1, 28pm.
The Japanese Luowangzhuang position was completely destroyed. Except for a few Japanese remnants who were still on the run, the main Japanese force withdrew in two routes to Jiexiu County and Pingyao County in the rear.
Due to the loss of the Luowangzhuang position, Xiaoyi's front was completely exposed to the 88th Army.
The Japanese in Xiaoyi stopped firing at the 3rd Armored Regiment in Nanyao Village and withdrew their troops to guard the city walls.
At the same time, Jiang Feng ordered the 3rd Artillery Regiment of Shuitou Town, which had been looking forward to it, to launch an artillery bombardment on the Shangguan position of the Japanese in Zhongyang County, and the 1st Cavalry Army launched a lightning charge on Zhongyang County.
However, when thousands of cavalrymen rushed to the Shangguan position, they found that there was no living person on the position except for a few scattered Japanese corpses.
Jiang Feng understood immediately after learning about this. Due to the rapid fall of Luowangzhuang, the Japanese were trying to preserve their manpower, abandon the occupation of the mountainous areas, and concentrate their forces on defense in the plains.
Therefore, Jiang Feng once again ordered the 1st Cavalry Army to advance rapidly towards Zhongyang County.
The cavalry army is not just composed of cavalrymen on horseback, but also has anti-tank artillery units, artillery units, etc., which can also be used for sieges.
The fact turned out to be just as Jiang Feng had expected. The vanguard of the 1st Cavalry Army, the st Cavalry Division, arrived at Zhongyang County first. At this time, the Japs had already withdrawn completely, and even the police and puppet soldiers from the puppet police station in the city had all run away.
After confirming his guess, Jiang Feng made a bold decision, which was to have the 1st Cavalry Army continue to move northward, while ordering the Mechanized Infantry Division to attack Xiaoyi County and the Armored Division to attack Jiexiu County.
At dusk, news finally came from the 520th and 521st Motorized Infantry Regiments, which had been silent since the start of the war.
The two regiments crossed the Taiyue Mountains and finally arrived in Qinyuan County after overcoming numerous dangers.
But they were unlucky. Although Qinyuan County was located on the west side of Qin River, it was close to the Qin River and the East City Gate was built along the Qin River, forming a natural barrier.
The advance companies of the two regiments were ambushed by the Japanese when they arrived at Wuma Village, about 8 kilometers west of Qinyuan County. Dozens of Japanese mountain cannons fired at the same time. Although the troops were not completely wiped out, they suffered heavy losses. In the end, only one platoon withdrew.
The armored vehicles of the other two platoons were almost all hit by the Japanese artillery fire.
Because the mountain road was difficult to travel, the two regiments marched slowly, so the Fifth Army behind them followed relatively closely.
That night, the 520th and 521st Regiments, as well as the 3th Division of the 7rd Army which arrived later, set up an offensive line in Wuma Village, preparing to launch a surprise attack under the cover of night.
The Japanese also made a serious mistake. They secretly deployed a mountain artillery regiment and an infantry regiment in Wuma Village in order to ambush the main force of the 88th Army.
The scouts of the Japanese artillery regiment saw the advance company of the 520th Regiment driving armored vehicles into the outskirts of Wuma Village, and then reported to the regiment commander that dozens of armored vehicles had arrived, but did not say they were the main force.
The artillery regiment commander then reported to the division commander and requested orders.
However, he said that there were more than 100 armored vehicles coming to Wuma Village, which were definitely the main force of the 88th Army, and requested to open fire.
When the division commander heard this, he was immediately overjoyed. More than 100 armored vehicles were definitely the main force above the regiment level even in the 88th Army. He immediately ordered the artillery to open fire.
Thus, the mere 520 armored vehicles of the 10st Company of the st Battalion of the th Regiment inexplicably became the main force and took on the artillery fire of an entire regiment of the Japanese enemy.
As a result, the position of the Japanese artillery regiment was exposed.
Only two platoons were used to replace the position of a fully-strength artillery regiment of the Japanese. Logically speaking, this was definitely a huge profit, but for the 88th Army, it was no exaggeration to say that it was a shame.
At 7 o'clock in the evening, a 130mm rocket artillery battalion of the artillery brigade, an artillery battalion of two motorized infantry regiments, and an artillery battalion directly under the 7th Division, the three artillery units were divided into three positions and concentrated their attack on the position of the Japanese artillery regiment in Wuma Village.
In just 10 minutes, thousands of artillery shells were fired, and the entire Wuma Village position became a sea of fire. The flames shot up into the sky, illuminating the sky as if it were daytime.
"Come on!"
The commander of the 520th Regiment, Tan Qiuzong, gave a loud shout and the six motorized infantry battalions that were ready launched a rapid charge towards the Japanese positions.
The people from the 7th Division also wanted to follow, but were stopped by Tan Qiuzong.
It was night and visibility was unclear. The armored vehicles had headlights, so that was not a problem. If the 7th Division had to run on their own two legs, even a stone would trip them up.
The key point is that the Japanese artillery regiment was finished, but there was still an infantry regiment intercepting it at the front position.
The armored vehicles could advance under the Japanese Type 92 heavy machine guns, but the infantrymen's bodies could not.
"Report, the Japanese have anti-tank guns, the Second Battalion's advance is blocked, requesting support!"
After listening to the report, Tan Qiuzong fell into deep thought. In order to stop the 88th Army's advance, the Japanese must have prepared a large amount of ammunition. If they couldn't break through at night, it would be even more difficult during the day.
However, the 520th and 521st Regiments had no tanks, and relying solely on 20mm armored vehicles would certainly not be able to stop the Japanese anti-tank guns.
At this time, the commander of the 7th Division said, "Let us go. I have a cavalry battalion. Cavalrymen are small targets and easy to charge!"
Tan Qiuzong looked at He Weili, the head of the 521st Regiment, and seeing him nod, he said, "Okay, my unit will provide you with firepower cover. In half an hour at most, I will reorganize the troops to attack!"
A moment later, next to the temporary command post, the 7th Division Cavalry Battalion gathered together, and more than 300 war horses neighed from time to time.
"Brothers, our friendly forces have explored the way for us. Now the Japanese have anti-tank guns blocking the way of the armored vehicles. Your mission is to rush to the Japanese positions. Don't worry about anything else. Find the anti-tank guns for me.
As long as the anti-tank guns are gone, we will win this battle!"
Five minutes later, the rocket artillery battalion and the regimental artillery battalion once again concentrated their firepower and fired at the Japanese front-line positions, and the cavalry battalion took advantage of the chaos to charge.
After waiting for 15 minutes, a red flare was seen rising over the Japanese position, which was a signal that the cavalry battalion had been successful.
"Quick, attack!"
The six motorized infantry battalions rushed towards the Japanese positions again. This time there were no anti-tank guns making trouble in secret, and the armored vehicles rushed to the Japanese positions in just five minutes.
Half an hour later, the Wuma Village position was completely broken and the remaining Japanese troops fled to Qinyuan County.
This battle can be said to be the most brutal battle of the day. The two motorized infantry regiments lost more than 20 armored vehicles, half of which were completely destroyed and could not be repaired.
The 7th Division Cavalry Battalion was almost wiped out, with less than 50 soldiers left when the troops were counted.
However, the results of this battle were quite fruitful, as an artillery regiment and a thousand Japanese soldiers were completely wiped out.
The motorized infantry regiment has no tanks, so it is ultimately helpless against the Japanese large-caliber anti-tank artillery. However, if it is equipped with tanks, its mobility in mountain warfare will become very poor, and its combat effectiveness may be counterproductive.
The troops took a brief rest and then continued to head towards Qinyuan County. Tonight was no longer suitable for attacking the city, but a siege was still necessary.