GBP Chapter 681 Coward?
Chapter 681 Coward?
The Japanese army did not seem to have any intention of re-occupying Lianyungang. They did not send warships for retaliatory bombing, nor did they send ground troops. They only sent two reconnaissance planes to circle Lianyungang several times.
Seeing that the Japanese army had not moved, the 3rd and 2nd Regiments began to encroach southwards, using Suqian as a node. They would not garrison the city once they took it, nor would they allow the Japanese army to garrison it.
In the Penicillin Corridor, the Guards Regiment and the First Regiment launched an attack on the invading Japanese troops. The two Type-B divisions had no intention of engaging with the Yimeng guerrillas. Their mission was to defend the important areas of the Central Plains. When passing through the Penicillin Corridor, they were attacked by artillery fire from the Guards Regiment in Lixin County, northeast of Buyang. The artillery was basically lost. The two Type-B divisions were angry and decided not to leave. They stayed in Buyang, intending to cut off some corridor of the Guards Regiment.
The Guards Regiment and the First Regiment naturally would not be polite to this group of ignorant Japanese devils. They did not choose positional warfare. The Japanese planes could arrive at any time during the day. Although there was no shortage of anti-aircraft firepower, the planes' desperate dives could always cause a lot of damage.
They would avoid the enemy during the day and beat them up at night. Although they had no heavy firepower, the Japanese army had none either. In terms of light firepower, the Guards Regiment and the 42st Regiment had an overwhelming advantage, with large-caliber mortars, Type 38 mortars, Shenlong rocket launchers, large-caliber heavy machine guns, MG anti-aircraft machine guns, sniper rifles, and the lowest-level ones were the AK- and MP submachine guns.
In one night, the Japanese army lost three regiments. Without trenches in the field, they were completely unable to stop the firepower of the Yimeng guerrillas. Mortars could eliminate a large part of the enemy's attack, machine guns could cut off the front and rear, and submachine guns could block the direction of the breakthrough. The Japanese army was completely powerless to resist.
At daybreak, the large Japanese army was looking for the Guards Regiment and the 1st Regiment for a decisive battle. The Guards Regiment and the 1st Regiment had already retreated to thirty miles away. When the enemy came, we retreated; when the enemy retreated, we advanced. Relying on the reconnaissance of the special forces and the use of walkie-talkies, we kept a distance of thirty miles from the main force of the Japanese army. We ate well, drank well and rested well. We would work again after dark. Please close your eyes when the moon is dark and the wind is strong. It will be over soon.
At 4:30 in the afternoon, the Japanese army turned around and retreated to Buyang City. It was too unsafe to stay outside the city at night, so they had to rely on the city defense to rest in peace.
The guard regiment followed and observed all the way, paying special attention to the situation of the civilians nearby. If the Japanese dared to act recklessly, they would have to deal a fatal blow to them even at the risk of suffering losses. Fortunately, the Japanese were not stupid and knew that the people on the opposite side were the Yimeng guerrillas. If they were really provoked, they might lose their heads quickly, so the civilians would never dare to provoke them.
In Buyang City, the commanders of two Type B divisions were discussing countermeasures, and Commander Kiyota Nobunaga had a worried look on his face.
"Mr. Chishan, shouldn't we stay?"
Akayama Yutani had a gloomy look on his face.
"Mr. Qingtian, we shouldn't have set up camp in Lixin County last night. I regret not following your advice. I'm very sorry."
Kiyota Nobunaga felt a little relieved when he saw that Akayama Yutani had surrendered.
"As an old Chinese saying goes, it's never too late to mend. Mr. Chishan, we still have to find a way to deal with it! It seems difficult to pose a threat to the Yimeng guerrillas now."
"What should we do? Should we retreat? If we leave now, we will be labeled as cowards."
Kiyota Nobunaga sneered:
"Coward? Starting from the spring of 1938, anyone who has had to deal with cold guns and is not a coward has already had grass overgrown on his grave! Mr. Chishan, do you think it is more important for us to admit that we are cowards and be ashamed, or to save the soldiers of the two divisions? We still have nearly 30,000 troops now"!
Chishan Yougu lowered his head and said nothing. Yes! The order he received was clearly to go to Xuchang for support. He just borrowed a passage and quickly passed through. Maybe the guards would not take action. Why should he pretend now? The consequences of pretending are very serious!
"Mr. Kiyota, you have a lot of ideas. What do you think we should do now?"
"Leave the city at daybreak and rush westwards towards Xuchang City. Ask for cover from the aviation team. I don't think the guards regiment will pursue you closely."
Akayama Yutani nodded. There was really no other way. The sneak attack last night made them despair. If they could not encircle the two divisions, it would be hard to predict what the outcome would be.
The Fifth War Zone, upon learning that two Type B divisions had been stopped by the Guard Regiment and nearly a quarter of their forces had been wiped out in a surprise attack, Li Zongren, commander-in-chief of the Fifth War Zone, felt less pressured.
Since leaving the Nanyang Basin, the battle has not been going well. The difficulty of the siege war is completely beyond the results of the staff's deduction. It took a heavy price to capture several cities south of Xuchang. I am still hesitating whether to attack Xuchang. The Japanese reinforcements are coming. I can't just occupy the territory and then retreat! Li Zongren decided to suspend the attack on the periphery of Xuchang and concentrate troops to defend it.
"Report"!
"Come in"!
"Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, Captain Lengqiang of the Yimeng Guerrillas called and said that two Japanese divisions suddenly left Buyang City this morning and are advancing towards Xuchang. The Japanese army sent more than 20 aircraft to escort them. The Guard Regiment and the 1st Regiment had no chance to take action. Captain Lengqiang reminded us to be prepared."
It’s coming, what was supposed to come has come, but the two divisions are finally a little relieved without their artillery regiments.
"I will send an order to the 49th and 79th armies to deploy defenses in Zhoukou and the east of Zhumadian, and to defend the area with all their might. Don't worry about the Japanese troops taking a detour to the north to Xuchang, but if they dare to attack our defense line, we must resist."
The communicator saluted and left. Li Zongren felt a little bitter. He was frightened by the two toothless Type B divisions and had to run wildly early in the morning and call for aircraft escort. Why did he need two armies to defend his place? It was tears in his eyes just talking about it!
The two divisions fled with their tails between their legs. On the surface, they said they had no time to engage in a fight with the Yimeng guerrillas and wanted to quickly support Xuchang, but anyone with a discerning eye understood what was going on.
The Japanese army did not directly attack the defense lines of the 39th and 59th Armies. Instead, they took a detour from the north of Zhoukou and entered Xuchang directly. This move shocked the Fifth War Zone. It seemed that they were not the only ones who were nervous!
The Guards Regiment and the First Regiment turned a deaf ear to what was happening outside the corridor and continued to operate the Penicillin Corridor. The two Type B divisions were helpless. The Japanese troops in the cities near the corridor seemed to have accepted their fate and would not easily get involved. The transportation of supplies and equipment would be carried out in broad daylight, and they would call for aircraft cover to leave no chance for the Guards Regiment.
The Penicillin Corridor was considered stable, but a strange scene appeared in the heart of the Central Plains. A buffer zone thousands of kilometers long and twenty to thirty kilometers wide appeared in the middle of the Japanese-occupied area. The key point was that the Japanese side actually acquiesced.
The addition of three and a half divisions made the Japanese army stronger in the Zhengzhou area. The Fifth War Zone did not continue the attack. The recovered area was large and the troops suffered heavy losses, so it needed some time to clean up and rest.