GBP Chapter 105: The Bloody Battle of Taierzhuang
Chapter 105: The Bloody Battle of Taierzhuang
Chen Feng didn't know that his elimination of two spies caused such a big disturbance, and he didn't know that even the backbone of the North China Special High Section was dispatched to deal with the Lone Wolf Commando.
The Lone Wolf Commando was extremely lethal to the Japanese. From a series of raids in the defense of Teng County to the exposure of the Kwantung Army's Epidemic Prevention and Water Supply Department, they caused tons of damage to the Japanese. Of course, they didn't know that the destruction of the Inamura Division was also directly related to the Lone Wolf Commando, otherwise the level of targeting would have to be raised several levels.
The Itagaki Division did not enter the Taierzhuang attack line. They suffered heavy casualties in the Linyi Defense Battle, and deployed a total of 31,000 troops. More than 2,000 of them were buried with Liu Heiqi alone. Although they were all Imperial Army troops with poor combat effectiveness, they were indispensable for maintaining the rear and providing food to the enemy. Only a few hundred people were left, and they were frightened and completely useless.
Of the 28,000 Japanese troops, more than 1,000 were killed in Zhang Zizhong's sneak attack, and more than 2,000 died when attacking Linyi Baishabu defense line and Linyi city wall. This is not a big deal. The main thing is that there are still more than 3,000 wounded soldiers. Linyi is still not peaceful. Without Liu Heiqi's tossing and turning, there are anti-Japanese guerrillas everywhere. The Japanese army is unfamiliar with the terrain and is harassed endlessly all day long. Taierzhuang must be a bloody grinding wheel. Sakagami Seishirō ignored Doihara Kenji's urging and planned to let the lightly wounded recover before setting off.
At the Fifth War Zone Headquarters in Xuzhou, Li Zongren was making final deployments. On the western front, Sun Tongxuan's Third Army was blocking the Japanese army west of Weishan Lake. On the southern front, 100,000 nationalist troops were fighting the Japanese army heading north along the Huaihe River.
The only troops Li Zongren could mobilize were Sun Lianzhong's Second Army, Tang Enbo's 20th Corps, Zhang Zizhong's 59th Army, Lu Han's 60th Army, Pang Bingxun's Third Corps and Sun Zhen's 22nd Army.
Except for Tang Enbo's and Sun Lianzhong's troops who participated in the annihilation battle of the Inamura Division, only the 60th Army of the Yunnan Army led by Lu Han, which came from afar, was still fully staffed. The other troops were incomplete, especially Sun Zhen's 22nd Army, which only had one-third of its strength left. Wang Mingzhang's 122nd Division was still waiting for reinforcements in Xuzhou. Zhang Zizhong's 59th Army and Pang Bingxun's 3rd Army also suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Linyi, and many of their organizations were disbanded.
The Japanese army attacking Taierzhuang was estimated to have 60,000 troops, while the Nationalist army had only 220,000 troops at most, less than four times the Japanese army. This battle was extremely difficult. During a military simulation, one staff officer even suggested that while the Itagaki Division was resting, they could mobilize troops to eliminate the Doihara Division first.
After careful analysis and heated discussions, Li Zongren and the General Staff unanimously agreed to have the Yunnan Army stationed at the forefront, with Tang Enbo and Sun Lianzhong's troops guarding the center line, Pang Bingxun and Zhang Zizhong's troops in the rear, and replenishment at any time based on the battle situation at the front. Sun Zhen's troops would guard Xuzhou and continue to wait for replenishment.
However, this plan was rejected by the commander-in-chief, who believed that Tang Enbo's troops should be placed at the end and let Sun Zhen's Sichuan Army fill in. Li Zongren was very annoyed at the commander-in-chief's selfishness and threatened that if he did not agree with the layout of this battle, then the commander-in-chief would come to command personally. Seeing that Li Zongren was extremely determined, the commander-in-chief finally gave up the idea of preserving his strength.
The order was passed to Taierzhuang, and while the Doihara Division was not making any movement, the troops quickly exchanged positions.
The 60th Yunnan Army's battle was its first since leaving Yunnan. This unit had really traveled across most of China. They left Yunnan to participate in the Battle of Nanjing, but Nanjing fell before the troops arrived. They then went to defend Wuhan, but there was no fighting in Wuhan. They finally moved from Anhui and Henan to the Fifth War Zone, where they finally encountered a major war. Now they were sent to the forefront of the Battle of Xuzhou. The officers and soldiers had no objections. They just felt that the opportunity to fight the Japanese to the death had come, and the morale of the entire army was high.
On April 10, at the urging of the North China Command, the Itagaki Division finally left Linyi City, leaving behind a battalion and two thousand wounded soldiers to guard Linyi. The army of more than 22,000 people marched towards Taierzhuang in a mighty manner.
The atmosphere of war enveloped Taierzhuang. This small city was about to be baptized by blood and fire. The Kuomintang-controlled areas, the occupied areas, the Japanese mainland, and even the world powers all had their eyes on this area.
On April 11, the Japanese army began its attack, with planes leading the way and artillery providing support. The Japanese army launched a group charge along the artillery points, and the start was a decisive battle.
The 60th Army has three divisions. The 182nd Division guards Xinzhuang and Puwang; the 183rd Division guards Chen Wafang and the Wushengtang area; and the 184th Division guards Taochenqiao and Canglang Temple area.
The 183rd Division in the Chen Wafang area braved the Japanese bombing and engaged in a fierce battle with the stormtroopers. Brigade Commander Chen Zhongshu led his troops out of the trenches and engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Unfortunately, he was shot in the head and died that night. Regimental commander Mo Zhaoheng fought bravely but was also shot and fell to the ground. Before he died, he wrote the quatrain "I die before my ambition is fulfilled" in blood in front of the trench.
Battalion commander Yi Guohua defended his position to the death, but was eventually outnumbered and had to fight with the Japanese assault troopers with more than 500 officers and soldiers in the battalion. They died heroically. The 183rd Division had only been fighting for half a day when a quarter of the division's officers and soldiers were killed or wounded.
In order to destroy the tanks that were used to cover the Japanese attack, the soldiers of the 60th Army climbed onto the Japanese tanks in groups, pulled out grenades and stuffed them into the tanks. No matter how many people fell down and were crushed to death, they still climbed up. This heroic fighting spirit frightened the Japanese army, who called them "Southern Barbarians" and "Monkey Army".
The 184th Division guarding Yuwang Mountain, the southeastern barrier of Taierzhuang, was also attacked fiercely by the Japanese army. The Japanese invaders were determined to capture Taierzhuang, and they carried out three-dimensional operations on land and air. Planes bombed in the sky, tanks cleared the way on the ground, and cavalry, artillery, and infantry attacked together.
The 184th Division still insisted on fighting back, not retreating a single step. The artillery battalion blocked the enemy infantry's main attack route with artillery fire, the anti-tank guns controlled the Japanese tanks, and then the infantry brought machine guns and grenades to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy in front of the position. In this way, all the officers and soldiers fought one after another, the company fought the upper battalion, the battalion fought the upper regiment, in short, they did not leave the front line even though they were injured, and finally held on to the important position of Yuwang Mountain.
The 182nd Division suffered as much as the 183rd Division. The Japanese army used the same tactics as before, with tanks clearing the way and infantry charging. They also used incendiary bombs and heavy artillery, leaving corpses all over the battlefield. After a day of fierce fighting, although the position was held, the 182nd Division suffered more than one-third of its casualties.
A day's fighting was over. There was no point in this kind of large-scale group field battle, sneak attack or night battle. As it got dark, both the Chinese and Japanese sides hid in trenches and military camps to lick their wounds, waiting for tomorrow's meat grinder to continue.
The Lone Wolf Commando had no chance. The Japanese defense was too tight. Whether it was an artillery position, a military camp or an arsenal, there were groups of guard troops guarding it tightly. The commandos had no way of getting close and could only watch from afar, waiting for their opportunity.