12dz Chapter 349: Shanxi Battle
Chapter 349: Shanxi Battle
Wang Meng couldn't sleep at night, so he simply got up and looked at the map of Taiyuan. The original plan was to first clear the fortifications in the east and south, then turn to Niutuzhai in the northeast, capture it, and then push westward.
Because Taiyuan's Dongshan area is the most important natural barrier, 15 kilometers wide from north to south and 30 kilometers long from east to west. The main peak, Luoshan, is 500 meters above the city wall and overlooks the entire urban area.
In history, whether it was Li Zicheng's peasant army or the Japanese invaders who attacked Taiyuan, they first occupied the main peak of Dongshan Mountain and then pushed westward.
Therefore, Yoshio Shinozuka was no pushover. He firmly believed that "once Dongshan was lost, Taiyuan would be lost too", so he built Xiao'anshan, Da'anshan, Xiaoyaotou and Niutuzhai fortresses here.
Among them, Niutuzhai is the most important. The terrain here is narrow, the mountains are stacked, and there are many steep slopes and cliffs. There are 10 main bunkers on a few commanding heights, and the surrounding bunkers and firepower points are densely distributed, forming a horn with each other.
However, now that problems have arisen between Li Yunlong and Yangquan, he will not have so much time to proceed according to plan.
They had to take a risky move and split their troops into two steps, with one armored division going to attack Niutuzhai and the other armored division going directly to attack Taiyuan.
"Alas, the Japs really know how to choose a place. The mountains here are steep, and the armored division is completely useless!"
Wang Meng shook his head helplessly. He could only hope that nothing would go wrong with Li Yunlong, otherwise he would have only one way out, to attack by force!
The artillery division was completely transferred to the Xiaoyaotou position overnight, and Ding Wei's 4th Armored Division also moved to the bottom of the Niutuzhai position, preparing for an attack early the next morning.
At this time, Yoshio Shinozuka was also awake. He was waiting for news from Shijiazhuang. If Okamura Yasuji's plan could succeed, they could solve the big problem of the Independent Column in one fell swoop.
However, the risks are huge. If any link goes wrong, they will lose everything.
Now it depends on which side the goddess of luck is on.
At dawn the next day, Xing Zhiguo's Sixth Armored Division had arrived at the south side of Taiyuan City and began to build fortifications. No one knew how long this battle would last.
Wang Meng also called on the aviation division to bomb the 10 main forts of Niuniuzhou, and then as usual, they bombarded them with 150mm howitzers.
Wang Meng and Ding Wei looked at the mountains and hills of Niutou Village and the ten main forts standing tall, and their faces were filled with worry.
According to intelligence, these main forts could use hundreds of tons of reinforced concrete, and it was said that even howitzers would only leave a white dot when firing at them.
When the smoke cleared, Wang Meng and Ding Wei still felt a pang in their hearts. Although it was not as exaggerated as the legend said, after the bombing and shelling, only two of the ten main forts were destroyed.
Infantry must be used for a strong attack. Considering the safety of the soldiers, the impact point and scale of the artillery cover must be controlled to prevent accidental injuries.
The Japanese main fort can then pour ammunition down the steep slope without restraint. Once an exchange of fire occurs, they can only advance and cannot retreat, otherwise it will be a one-sided massacre.
"Old Ding, how confident are we in attacking Niutuo Village?"
"It's not easy to fight, I guess I have a 50% chance of winning!"
Wang Meng nodded. A 50% chance of success was already high. The heavy firepower was not enough. The Japanese had the geographical advantage and the independent column had the advantage of light weapons. It seemed that they were back to the same starting line. What mattered in the end was the will of the officers and soldiers.
The officers and soldiers of the Independent Column are absolutely confident of victory.
But the Japanese were not bad either. Once they lost Niutuo Village, Taiyuan City would be like an egg without any protection, which would break at the first blow. Therefore, they would definitely do their best to defend.
"Is there any news from Commander Li?"
"I just received a telegram. Shen Quan personally led a regiment to support them, but the situation is not good!"
Wang Meng opened the telegram and found out that the reason why Okamura Neiji was not making any move was not because he had given up Taiyuan and Yangquan, but because he was preparing to launch a Shanxi Campaign.
He mobilized the 59th Independent Mixed Brigade from Qingdao and the th Division from Jinan.
The commander of the 59th Division was Lieutenant General Yasutada Hosokawa, and it was stationed in Jinan, Shandong.
It has two infantry brigades:
步兵第53旅团：独立步兵第41、42、43、44大队。
步兵第54旅团：独立步兵第45、109、110、111大队。
Engineer Corps, Communications Corps, Light and Heavy Corps, Field Hospital, and Sick Horse Farm.
The commander of the 5th Independent Mixed Brigade is Major General Ginnosuke Uchida, and it is stationed in Qingdao, Shandong.
下辖：独立步兵第16、17、18、19、20大队、炮兵队、工兵队。
The three brigades of Japanese invaders plus the puppet troops, totaling more than 50,000 people, were marching out from Shijiazhuang and heading towards Yangquan.
"No wonder Lao Li said that all the underground personnel in Shijiazhuang were killed. It seems that the Japanese are going to make a big move and have cleared out the so-called suspicious personnel in advance!"
Lao Ding took over the conversation.
"Chief of Staff, we are stuck in a stalemate right now. If we withdraw troops to reinforce, our efforts over the past four days will be in vain. However, if we ignore the safety of Yangquan, the Eastern Front Corps will be in danger!"
Wang Meng was in a dilemma. If the battle could be resolved within a day, with the mobility of the armored division, they could quickly move to Niangzi Pass and block the Japanese reinforcements.
"Chief of Staff, telegram!"
The signalman handed the telegram to Wang Meng with a frown. When Wang Meng saw it, his face turned purple.
"what happened?"
Ding Wei asked anxiously.
"The 26th Division of Datong is also preparing to march south!"
The commander of the 26th Division is Lieutenant General Fumio Saeki, stationed in Datong area.
Under the jurisdiction:
第26步兵团：独立步兵第11、12、13联队。独立野炮兵第11联队、工兵第26联队、轻重兵第26联队、师团搜索队、通信队、兵器勤务队、第1、第2野战医院、病马厂。
Wang Meng now calculated that, including a brigade in Yangquan, the number of Japanese invaders and puppet troops approaching Yangquan and Taiyuan reached 70,000, almost the same as the number of six armored divisions.
Moreover, the Japanese came well prepared this time. They might use ordinary people as human shields or use poison gas bombs.
"I don't know how Lao Li is doing. I think Lao Li is aware of the current situation. Let's ask him for his opinion!"
"Yes!"
In less than ten minutes, Li Yunlong called back, saying that he was fine and told the Western Front Corps not to feel pressured and to quickly capture Taiyuan, as they could hold on!
And Wang Meng's guess was correct. Among the Japanese troops coming from Shijiazhuang, there were many Chinese people who were captured and forced to serve as laborers.
Air bombing and large-scale artillery bombardment are no longer realistic, and we can only rely on light weapons and small-scale precision artillery bombardment to attack the Japanese.
On Langwo Mountain, an armored infantry regiment led by Li Yunlong and Shen Quan was building fortifications...