Chapter 54: Alley Battle in Teng County

  After the battle in the outer ring just now, Zhang Mingyu's independent division suffered heavy casualties. At this time, Zhang Biao's 1st Regiment 3rd Battalion had less than half a battalion left, and Lai San's 2nd Regiment lost one-third of its strength. Niu Tianchi's 745th Regiment had only over 400 people left, two battalion commanders were killed, and more than a dozen company and platoon leaders died. It can be said that the 745th Regiment was crippled.

  This time, Zhang Mingyu's independent division suffered such a heavy loss, and Zhang Mingyu's command mistakes should bear a great responsibility. From this battle, it can be seen that Zhang Mingyu, a man of the later generation, although he has ideas that are decades ahead of his time, but in leading troops to fight, especially in fighting array battles, when encountering a master like Seto Kai, there is still a lack of experience. In previous battles, Zhang Mingyu's victories were largely due to luck. Of course, this time Seto Kai also spent several nights with several staff officers planning the battle plan against this cunning fox.

  The Japanese army's plan was to first send out an enhanced squadron to attack, and then the next regiment would quickly attack, occupy the Chinese position, and consolidate. However, it coincided with the independent division and the 745th Regiment changing shifts, encountering the weaker 745th Regiment. Due to the intense artillery fire of the Japanese army, the 745th Regiment retreated to the second line of trenches except for one company that fought a bloody battle against the Japanese. After this company was wiped out by the devils, the soldiers in the second trench did not launch a timely attack, giving the Japanese squadron an opportunity to take advantage of the situation. When Lieutenant Colonel Higuchi discovered that the squadron had charged into the Chinese trenches, he ordered more than 2,000 devils behind him to attack, preparing to seize the position at once.

  Of course, the Japanese army squad rushed into the position Zhang Mingyu also found out, this is the reason why he ordered the whole division to hold on to the outer position at all costs. If the outer position is lost and retreated to Tengxian County, whether Tengxian County can be defended under the enemy's fierce artillery fire is an unknown number.

  When Zhang Mingyu led the independent division to reinforce the 745th Regiment, the cunning Higuchi Morishige withdrew the Japanese army again, attempting to heavily damage the Chinese garrison with dense firepower and aerial bombing. Zhang Mingyu discovered that it was not working and hastily ordered a retreat! However, at least over a thousand soldiers fell under the devils' planes and cannons.

  Zhang Mingyu's independent division, which originally had more than 3,800 people, has now been reduced to less than 2,000. One regiment suffered the most casualties, with a reduction of more than two-thirds of its personnel. The cavalry battalion was next, with over 100 deaths and over 200 injuries. Lai San's second regiment fared slightly better, with only over 300 deaths and a small number of minor injuries. Zhang Mingyu's guard platoon also suffered heavy casualties, with over 30 deaths. Although the cavalry battalion suffered heavy losses, since they were on foot during the battle, more than 600 horses remained intact.

  Zhang Mingyu merged Zhang Biao's cavalry regiment and Wang Tienan's mounted battalion into the 1st Cavalry Regiment, with Zhang Biao as the regimental commander and Wang Tienan as deputy commander. In addition, a dozen or so soldiers were drawn from other units to supplement the guard company. Thus, Zhang Mingyu's independent division was now reduced to just one infantry regiment and one cavalry regiment, both of which were undermanned. This reorganization was somewhat irregular, but it would have to do for the time being.

  Wang Mingchang's 122nd Division had three regiments, namely Liu Tianjie Regiment, Liu Zhihui Regiment and Niu Tianchi Regiment. When they withdrew from Liujiazhuang two days ago, Liu Tianjie Regiment was transferred to Teng County. More than 300 men of Liu Zhihui Regiment also retreated into the city. Niu Tianchi's 745th Regiment suffered more than half casualties in the outer defense positions and also retreated into the city. Wang Mingchang's 122nd Division had less than 3,000 men left, plus Zhang Mingyu's Independent Division had only over 4,000 men left. At this time, the Serigawa Detachment still had a force of 8,000 men.

  Other mixed brigades have cleared the surrounding areas of Tong County, and the troops led by Xie Guan will gather under the city of Tong County. As long as they capture Tong County, they can attack Taierzhuang.

  The Heiguchi detachment assembled, and a tank battalion of over a dozen tanks also arrived at the foot of Tongxian City. At this time, the soldiers of the 122nd Division and the Independent Division inside Tongxian City had also made preparations, and all the soldiers entered each bunker, every firepower point under the houses. The city gate was already sealed off.

  The Japanese army used tanks to bombard Tongxian City, and after several rounds of bombardment, a section of the city wall collapsed.

  The enemy's vanguard charged towards the gap, and after rushing to the collapsed city wall, they still didn't discover the Chinese opening fire. A company commander waved his command sword: "Kill!" The devils charged into Tong County through the gap.

  Street fighting is not unfamiliar to some old soldiers of the Independent Division. In the Nanjing street battle, they withstood the enemy's attack several times their own strength and even broke through the encirclement from the enemy's front line. Most importantly, they eliminated the enemy's command center. That was the honor belonging to every old soldier of the Independent Division, making them proud for life.

  At this time, the Japanese army rushed in from the gap. An old soldier aimed at a devil soldier from a ruin, and as the devil approached, he decisively pulled the trigger. With a "bang" of gunfire, the bullet accurately hit the devil's heart area. The devil fell down with a loud thud.

  The squad leader of the devils immediately ordered everyone to lie down and set up a slanting board, firing fiercely in the direction where the bullets were flying. A grenadier also accurately threw a hand grenade towards the hiding place of the old soldier just now.

  After a burst of gunfire, the devils stopped shooting as there was no movement. More than ten devils stood up and walked towards the collapsed house. As they approached, they used bayonets to pry open the bricks and found nothing moving, signaling safety to the devils behind them. It turned out that the old soldier had long since escaped through a small hole he dug into another house.

  The devils behind knew there was no danger, and they all stood up. The platoon leader waved his hand: "Open the way!" The devils were divided into groups of three and advanced towards the right side of the city. At this time, two more devil platoons rushed in from the gap in the city wall. The leading devil battalion commander drew out his command knife and said: "The first platoon will charge down the main street, the second platoon will search the left side of the city and eliminate the Zhina people."

  "Ah hai!" The two squadron leaders bowed simultaneously.

  The battalion commander ordered again: "Order the third company to advance from the right side of the city and eliminate the Chinese."

  A messenger "Hai" turned around and ran away.

  At this time, the devils had a large team of over 1,000 people, divided into three routes to advance towards the city center. The devils walking on the main street were shot by cold guns from both sides of the road, and there were devils falling to the ground from time to time. After the devils rushed to the houses on both sides, they were greeted with a burst of hand grenades, which blew them into bloody flesh. Some devils' grenade launchers and mortars tried to set up their cannons, but they were killed one by one by snipers who had been eyeing them. When the snipers were fighting in the front line, Zhang Mingyu withdrew them into the city because the devils changed their tactics, and the snipers stayed outside the city would be cannon fodder for the enemy. Only in street fighting could snipers play their due role.

  Due to the close distance, the enemy's artillery could not be deployed, and often before they even set up their guns, they were shot down by bullets coming from unknown places. The soldiers relied on the houses to fiercely shoot at the enemy, all three routes of the enemy's attack suffered this situation, feeling that the Chinese soldiers were like ghosts, unable to be caught or hit.

  After fighting for half a day, the devils advanced less than one kilometer and paid a price of more than 300 casualties.

  In the alley battle, the strong firepower of the devils could not be played. The attack was blocked, and the battalion commander called Higuchi to report: "General, the Shina people are very cunning! They hide in the house and ambush the brave imperial army, we suffered heavy casualties. Unable to advance and request reinforcements!"

  "Mr. Suzuki, your unit still needs to fight bravely," Sekiya replied immediately. "I'll send tanks into the city to reinforce you right now." On the other end of the phone, Commander Suzuki nodded and said, "Hai!"

  Hanging up the phone, Isoroku Takamori ordered more than a dozen tanks outside the city to enter the city and reinforce the attacking troops.