roccoschili Chapter 227 All-Out Offensive, the Panicked Japanese Army
Chapter 227 All-Out Offensive, the Panicked Japanese Army
Hu Zongnan's artillery unit unleashed a roar from dozens of cannons simultaneously, shells whistling through the night sky and slamming into the Japanese positions on the opposite bank.
Standing by the window of the command post, listening to the continuous explosions in the distance, Commander Li finally let out a long sigh of relief.
My heart, which had been hanging in suspense all the way, finally settled down.
At almost the same time, the various units of the Northwest Army along the Shihe River also launched a counter-offensive.
Countless shells rained down on the Japanese positions on the east bank of the Shi River, and shouts of battle shook the night sky. The entire northern foothills of the Dabie Mountains were in an uproar at that moment.
Inside Huainan City, the lights in the temporary command post of the Third Column remained on all night.
Li Jianghe held the telegram sent by Commander Li in his hand, reading it three times over. The weight that had been hanging over him for several hours finally lifted.
In the past few hours, even the usually calm Li Jianghe has been hesitant and uncertain.
He was, after all, a living, breathing human being, not a cold war machine.
Faced with the retreat of his allies and the principal's sudden micro-management, he would feel both anger and hesitation.
He hesitated, wondering if his Third Column could wipe out the Japanese Sixth and Tenth Divisions in one fell swoop.
After all, the opposing side consisted of two Japanese Class A divisions, totaling over 70,000 elite troops. Even if their retreat was cut off, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse.
If his allies remain inactive, his third column will be caught in a desperate situation, attacked from both sides.
Now, Commander Li's telegram undoubtedly reassured him.
Hu Zongnan moved, the Northwest Army moved, and Song Xilian's 71st Army also moved. In this encirclement and annihilation battle, he was no longer fighting alone.
"Commander! Hu Zongnan's troops have begun their forced crossing of the Shi River, the Northwest Army is launching a full-scale counter-offensive, and Song Xilian's 71st Army has also engaged the Japanese forces!"
Yang Ruifu strode in, his face filled with barely concealed excitement and eagerness. "Shouldn't we make our move too?!"
It was already past four in the morning, and the sky outside the window was still shrouded in darkness.
With less than two hours left until dawn, it was the most crucial moment of the night battle and also the moment when the Japanese army's defenses were most relaxed.
Li Jianghe suddenly turned around, strode to the battle map, and scanned the various nodes of Huoqiu, Yeji, and Madian Town.
The commands were uttered with unwavering resolve.
"Order the air defense forces to immediately deploy along the entire perimeter of Huainan. Once Japanese warplanes are detected, concentrate fire immediately!"
"Wang Chengzhu, your artillery units will provide full-scale fire coverage on Japanese positions in the Huoqiu County area in ten minutes!"
"Lin Yongzhi's Second Motorized Infantry Detachment, as the vanguard, will launch a frontal assault on the main Japanese positions after the artillery bombardment!"
"Yang Ruifu's Third Motorized Infantry Detachment, flanking from the south, in coordination with a part of the Baichengshan Tank Detachment, will capture Madian Town west of Huoqiu!"
"Completely sever the connection between the Japanese troops in Gushi and Huoqiu, divide them up, and devour them piece by piece!"
"Wang Dayong's Third Motorized Infantry Detachment, immediately launch a fierce attack on the Japanese Imperial Guard Division and the 13th Division in the direction of Yeji!"
"The offensive must be full-scale, the momentum must be maximized, and these two divisions must be pinned down in place!"
"The main force of the guard detachment, as the general reserve, will hold the Huainan front line and be ready to be deployed to the main battlefield at any time!"
"yes!!!"
All the officers in the command post stood at attention in unison, their voices filled with barely suppressed fighting spirit.
Ten minutes after the order was given, hundreds of cannons on the artillery positions outside Huainan City roared deafeningly at the same time.
75mm field guns and 105mm howitzers fired shells from their barrels, hurling them at the Japanese positions on the outskirts of Huoqiu.
The Japanese positions on the outskirts of Huoqiu County were instantly engulfed by the shockwave of the explosion.
"Boom!!!!!"
The explosions were like thunderclaps from the heavens, shaking the earth violently.
The Japanese fortifications were blown to pieces, and the barbed wire was blown away by the blast wave. The Japanese soldiers hiding in the trenches were torn apart by shrapnel before they could even scream.
In Huoqiu County, the atmosphere at the joint command post of the Japanese 6th and 10th Divisions instantly plummeted to freezing point.
Ogisu Ritsuhei held up his binoculars, looking at the front line completely covered by artillery fire. His face grew increasingly grim, and his hands trembled slightly.
"The main force of the Nationalist army in the Gushi direction has begun its forced crossing of the Shi River! The Third Column has also launched a full-scale offensive on the front!"
He lowered his binoculars, whirled around, and growled at Tani Hisao, "I told you we should have retreated immediately! Now look what's happened, we're completely surrounded!"
Hisao Tani simply smiled calmly, showing no sign of panic, remaining completely unconcerned.
"The fact that the enemy hastily launched a full-scale attack precisely shows that they are the ones who are anxious now, not us."
"The main forces of the Imperial Guard Division and the 13th Division have received orders and are converging on our army at full speed."
"Once the three armies unite, I'll see how these Chinese fight us!"
"Once the three armies unite, I'll see how these Chinese fight us!"
He remained confident, believing that even with their retreat cut off, the elite of two Class A divisions would be far beyond what Li Jianghe's third column could swallow whole.
Upon hearing this, Ogizu Ritsuhei was so angry that the veins on his forehead bulged, and he gritted his teeth and said:
"Sanyuan Town and Changji Town are both heavily guarded by the Third Column's tank units. Do you think they're invisible?!"
"I think the Imperial Guards Division and the 13th Division will most likely be held back by these armored units and won't be able to get through!"
The smile on Tani Hisao's face vanished instantly. He glanced at him coldly and said in a chilling voice:
"Then let's wait and see! What we need to do now is hold the line and wait for reinforcements!"
"Once reinforcements arrive, we will immediately launch a full-scale counter-offensive and completely crush Li Jianghe's Third Column here!"
As he spoke, he turned around again, his gaze fixed on the front lines amidst the raging gunfire, his grip on the military knife making a cracking sound.
Meanwhile, in the direction of Yeji, the joint command post of the Japanese Imperial Guard Division and the 13th Division could also clearly hear the distant rumble of artillery fire.
The sound of artillery fire did not come from the direction of Huoqiu, but from Sanyuan Town, from the front line of their defenses.
Wang Dayong's Third Motorized Infantry Detachment launched a full-scale attack, under the cover of artillery fire, and suddenly attacked the Japanese positions in the direction of Yeji.
At the same time, a tank battalion of the Baichengshan Tank Detachment also launched a surprise attack from the flank, with an unstoppable torrent of armored vehicles rolling in.
Commander Iida Sadako, commander of the Imperial Guard Division, stood in front of the map, his face pale.
He looked urgently at Yoshio Shinotsuka, who had just walked in, and asked urgently, "How's the situation at the front? Can we hold out?"