Chapter 67: Pincer Attack (Part 1)

  The intense battle that had been going on for almost two days within the county seat of Guangfu had slightly eased the minds of the civilians.

  At least the shells of the Japanese army never hit inside the county seat.

  A small number of ordinary people have also begun to live normal lives, without paying attention to the fierce battles outside.

  Some kind-hearted civilians sent hot meals they had prepared themselves to the front lines through the city's garrison soldiers.

  It was already afternoon, but the Japanese army's attack had not stopped at all.

  Whether it was the Japanese 16th Brigade on the flank or the Japanese 4th Brigade in front.

  They were all on the offensive, and it seemed that they had to take down the position before nightfall.

  In the first journey's travel department, Fang Hanqin held up a telescope and continuously observed the Japanese army in front.

  It is clear that since the 31st Division was withdrawn, the Japanese Fourth Brigade's offensive has weakened significantly.

  The fifth fleet has been in charge of attacking all along, but there have been quite a few casualties.

  In the medical team behind, almost half of them were wounded soldiers from the Fifth United Team.

  "Sit down, how did you get here? This place is extremely dangerous." Kang Lianqin said with a smoky face, holding a rifle and walking in.

  Fang Hanqin revealed a hint of a smile and said to Kang Lianqin, "You're doing well here. I came over to take a look. The number of Japanese troops seems to be small. Why doesn't your regiment launch a countercharge with the Third Regiment against the Japanese?"

  Kang Lianqin held a cup and took several big gulps of water, saying: "Wait till tonight, I still want to report to you. Tonight we plan to launch a night attack on the Third Battalion with the little devils. Their forces seem to have decreased by a lot, and their attacks on us have always been around 1,000 people or so."

  Fang Hanchen furrowed his brow and stared at the map intently.

  "Colonel, the enemy has already controlled the Japanese army's retreat route and is currently in a standoff with over 2,000 devils." A staff officer ran over, sweating profusely, to report to Fang Hanqin.

  Fang Hanqin took over the telegram and looked at it. He said to Kang Lianqin beside him, "I'll report your situation to the commander and see what he thinks."

  Kang Lianqin nodded and walked out with his rifle.

  On the battlefield, Yang Junran looked at the Japanese army's position in the distance, a faint smile on his face.

  These Japanese troops have already begun building fortifications and seem to be preparing for a long-term standoff with themselves.

  In this way, one has grasped the initiative.

  After all, I still have a cavalry regiment and an armored regiment in my hands.

  "Telegram from headquarters, sir." A communication soldier ran over and said to Yang Junran.

  Yang Junran took over the telegram and looked at it, then quickly raised his binoculars.

  "Orderly, immediately notify Qin Litian Brigade Commander, Liang Fei Regimental Commander and Zhang Junzhe Regimental Commander to come here for a meeting." Yang Junran put down the telegram and said to the orderly beside him.

  The orderly saluted and ran out.

  In a short while, the three people who received the order appeared in Yang Junran's line of sight.

  Squatting in the trenches, Yang Junran unfolded the map.

  Pointing at a small red dot on the map representing the Japanese army's flank, he said: "There should be a Japanese brigade here, currently engaged in fierce battle with three regiments led by Jin Mingcheng."

  Three people looked at Yang Junran with confusion, not understanding what he meant.

  Yang Junran smiled and said to the three of them, "The pressure on the First Regiment's front line is not very great. There are at most 3,000 Japanese officers and soldiers there. Including the Japanese army that we are facing off against, there are more than 5,000 Japanese troops here. Adding in the artillery and other branches of the military, their strength should not exceed 10,000 people."

  Qin Litian understood Yang Junran's meaning, furrowing his brow and saying: "Shifu, judging from the Japanese army's strength, I'm afraid we can't swallow these Japanese officers and soldiers."

  "You're the Third Battalion of Deng Ziyong's troops, a guard battalion, an armored regiment, and a cavalry regiment. With so many troops, you can't even finish off these Japanese soldiers? I think you'd be better off going home to hug your children. Besides, our equipment isn't bad either. If we take out these Japanese soldiers, it'll do us a lot of good." Yang Junran said sternly to Qin Litian.

  Qin Litian lowered his head and fell silent.

  The sun outside has slowly begun to set.

  The gunfire all around had also stopped.

  The four people in the trench were still discussing.

  "With Zhang Junzhe's tank regiment as the main assault force, we must tear open a gap in the Japanese army's position. The cavalry regiment will follow behind the tanks, disrupting all of the Japanese deployments and pinning down their light and heavy machine gun firing points. Then the infantry will follow, using bayonets to directly resolve the battle. Before the action, each brigade's artillery will fire twenty rounds." Yang Junran looked at everyone and announced his plan.

  "Damn it, I don't believe these little devils can resist the attack of tanks and cavalry." Liang Fei was the first to express his attitude.

  Zhang Junzhe hesitated for a moment and said to Yang Junran: "Master, after the tank breaks in, should we respond to Deng Ziyong's third brigade?"

  "After rushing in, act at your own discretion, as long as you inflict heavy casualties on the Japanese army, it will be considered a completed mission." Yang Junran said quickly.

  "We will absolutely complete our mission." Zhang Junzhe said immediately.

  Qin Litian saw that the other two had spoken, and he naturally wouldn't have any different opinions.

  Yang Junran patted the shoulders of the three people and smiled: "Don't worry, I also want to live a few more years, this time it will definitely be successful."

  The three of them smiled awkwardly and went their separate ways to prepare.

  "Signalman, immediately send a telegram to Chief of Staff Fang Hanqin, with the First Brigade attached to the Fourth Brigade's two infantry regiments, pinning down the Japanese army's flank actions. The Third Brigade will launch an attack immediately after our action. The artillery regiment will fire half of its ammunition to strike the Japanese position. The remaining troops of the Fourth Brigade will quickly leave the city and serve as the general reserve." Yang Junran said to the signalman after the three men left.

  After finishing the communication with the soldiers, he immediately ran towards the radio station.

  The sky gradually revealed a hint of darkness, and the Japanese military position was very quiet.

  Most of the Japanese military personnel have started having dinner.

  In the 8th Division headquarters, Maeda Toshiya furrowed his brow and paced back and forth inside.

  In Changchun, the commander of the Kwantung Army, Ueda Kenji, also sensed something and sent a telegram stating that he would dispatch some bombers to support the battle of Maeda Toshinari early tomorrow morning.

  At this time, the Japanese army would never believe that Chinese troops had the ability to wipe out an entire division of their own.

  As for withstanding the attack of a Japanese army division, this was also within everyone's expectations.

  After all, being able to wipe out a mixed brigade of Chinese troops is still some fighting power.

  But whoever it was thought that annihilating this Chinese unit was just a matter of time.

  "Commander, once the planes arrive, our attack will go much more smoothly." The chief of staff said as he walked up to Lieutenant General Toshimasu.

  Maeda Toshiie nodded and his complexion also relaxed a lot.

  Although there is no smile, there is also no anger anymore.

  The Japanese army has good infantry, accurate artillery and excellent air bombing.

  Nationalist army units often suffered heavy casualties after being bombarded by artillery and aircraft, followed by fierce infantry charges. Even if the position was not lost, the troops would still suffer severe losses.

  The Japanese army also believed that aircraft and artillery were the best way to deal with Chinese troops, after all, Chinese troops did not have advanced artillery and aircraft.

  On the Chinese position, the soldiers who received the order were all busy in a hurry.

  The first troops have quietly moved towards the flank.

  The troops of the third division quickly gathered together, waiting for the order to attack.

  The forty-four guns of the artillery regiment were all aimed at the Japanese army's position, waiting for the order to fire.

  For a time, the outer positions were busy.

  The fourth brigade in the city received orders and marched swiftly out of the city under Xu Da's leadership.

  In the division headquarters of the advancing troops, all logistics personnel have been equipped with firearms and temporarily take on the defense of the city.

  "What are these people going to do, do they really want to fight the Japanese army to the death?" Director Hua Shuyi walked up to Cui Zhengming and asked.

  Choi Jeong-myeong shook his head, he didn't understand what Yang Jun-ran wanted either.

  "It seems that Yang Junran will not easily give up here, you make good preparations, as soon as the Japanese army breaks through the position, we will immediately transfer." Cui Zhengming said to Hua Shuyi beside him.

  Hua Shuyi nodded and walked out towards the outside.

  At night, at 7 o'clock.

  The artillery regiment had forty-four guns of various calibers, two brigades had twenty mountain guns, twenty-four Type 97 90mm mortars and twenty-four Type 92 infantry guns.

  All had already aimed at the Japanese army's position, counting on the tank corps' seventy-five tanks' cannons, a total of nearly two hundred large-caliber artillery pieces, suddenly began firing shells.

  All kinds of shells heavily pounded on the Japanese army's position, and for a moment, the earth seemed to have shaken.

  The pitch-black night has been illuminated by a string of fireballs.

  There were violent explosions everywhere, and the entire Japanese military position was engulfed in a sea of flames.

  This time the tank gun was fired for the first time, and each tank only had a hundred rounds of ammunition, which would be gone after being shot.

  Skilled gunner, loading one by one grenade into tank cannon, quickly firing them out.

  In a short period of time, Yang Junran issued an order to fire twenty rounds of artillery shells, and the tank had already completed it.

  As the tanks finished firing their cannons, tank after tank formed a neat triangle and launched an attack on the Japanese army's position.

  The shells were still firing while the tank's speed was getting faster and faster.

  The Japanese army, in their confusion, seemed to be unaware of the potential danger.

  The commander of the 31st Brigade, Colonel Anagawa Saburō, had not yet had time to organize his troops into position.

  The distant tank sound had already reached Colonel Anagawa's ears.

  "Hakka, are the tank troops behind the Chinese troops?" Anagawa Sanro was unaware that the Chinese army had a powerful tank troop.

  They would never have thought that Yang Junran could expand the tanks captured several times into a tank force.