mesbooks Chapter 189: Attacking Longling (1): First, attack the periphery
Chapter 189: Attacking Longling (1): First, attack the periphery
Since the neutrality treaty between Russia and Japan has not been completely broken, the two sides still maintain subtle cooperation in some aspects.
Especially on the issue of the existence of the pseudo-Anju Kingdom, the Russian Bear, which has not completely torn its face with Fuso, still recognizes the legitimacy of the pseudo-Anju Kingdom, which makes it quite inconvenient for the leaders of the Qian Kingdom and the Russian Bear to meet.
Therefore, the originally planned four-nation summit meeting of the Allied camp was forced to be changed into two meetings. The first was a meeting between the leaders of Qian, White Eagle and John, and then the second round of meetings would continue with the leaders of White Eagle, John and Bear.
On November 23, the summit code-named "Sextant" officially began in a holiday garden on the banks of the Nile River in North Afrika.
This meeting will determine the important direction of the future war against Japan, and the atmosphere of the meeting is full of tension and expectation.
Almost all the Allied leaders gathered together and paid close attention to this meeting that could change the entire pattern of the war.
At the same time, in the distant western Yunnan war zone, the smoke of battle was also everywhere.
The vanguard of the 2nd Infantry Division of the Anmin Army had just arrived near Longling. They had no time to rest or wait for the 102nd Artillery Brigade to arrive. At the urging of Zhang Chi and Bai Minghui, commander of the Eastern Route Army, they immediately launched an attack on the outer positions on the west side of Longling without delay.
Due to the appearance of the time traveler Zhang Chi, the time of the Battle of Western Yunnan was advanced by more than half a year. Although the Japanese Southern Army had not yet experienced the tragic losses in the Battle of Imphal, Zhang Chi's efficient combat consumed most of the 56th Division's troops. Therefore, the Japanese defenders in Longling and Tengchong areas were not much more than in history.
This resulted in Lieutenant General Honda Masazai, who was urgently transferred to serve as the battlefield commander, being in great trouble when Bai Minghui's Eastern Army pressed forward from the west side of Longling with overwhelming firepower advantage.
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Inside the command post located inside Songshan Mountain, the sound of distant artillery fire can still be clearly heard even through the thick rock walls.
"Where exactly is the enemy's main attack direction?" Honda Masazai asked himself, his brow furrowed as his gaze swept across the map like a knife. At this moment, his inner anxiety and confusion reached its peak.
"Is it Tengchong, where Wei Junru is fiercely attacking? Or Longling, where Zhang Chi's troops are heading? Or is it the junction of Songshan?"
He muttered to himself, but still couldn't find a clear answer.
The enemy's attack was so fast that he felt confused.
Bai Minghui's Eastern Route Army has advanced all the way from important nodes such as Wanding and Mangshi. More than 1 Japanese soldiers in the Tengchong area have lost contact with the Japanese 55th Division in the Lashio direction and have become a completely isolated force.
Honda Masazai knew very well that the current situation was extremely critical.
The loss of the three final nodes of Tengchong, Longling and Songshan means that the entire war situation in western Yunnan will completely collapse.
This triangle area is their last line of defense. If any node here is conquered, the remaining two will inevitably find it difficult to maintain independent defense capabilities.
"We have no logistical supplies and no reinforcements. All we have left is to hold on."
Honda Masazai knew that both food and ammunition supplies had been cut off, and there was no reinforcement at all. The remaining 10,000 or so Japanese soldiers, including himself, were abandoned pawns left behind by the headquarters.
The significance of this battle was no longer victory, but to delay time as much as possible and buy more time for other defense lines in the Pegu area.
He and his troops have become pawns in this war machine, and the only outcome is annihilation.
But Honda Masazai was not discouraged. As a crazy devil, he and his more than 10,000 crazy devils only wanted to kill more enemy troops before "dying in glory". Therefore, Honda Masazai had to allocate troops carefully and firmly hold the triangle area of Tengchong, Songshan and Longling.
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On the battlefield, the fierce attack of the Eastern Army pressed towards the defense line on the west side of Longling like a tide.
虽然炮兵 102 旅的百多门105，155重炮还在路上，但步 2 师下辖炮兵团的36门白鹰75mm山炮和24门105mm榴弹炮依旧给予了自家步兵兄弟可靠的炮火支援，铺天盖地的高爆弹被投掷向鬼子的阵地。
The artillery roared, dust flew, and the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder.
"Boom--" With a loud bang, the ground shook violently, and the shock wave of the exploding artillery shell swallowed up several Japanese soldiers along with their bunkers.
At this time, the artillery fire was almost overwhelming. Every explosion seemed to announce the coming of death, and every advance brought them closer to victory.
As the artillery fire extended deep into the enemy territory, the attacking forces of the regiments under the 2nd Infantry Division rushed towards the Japanese positions almost following the explosion points of the artillery shells.
The infantry used the lightweight M5A1 and M22 light tanks as their spearhead. Under the suppressive bombardment of the 60mm mortars assigned to the battalion and company, they fully utilized the close combat advantages of automatic weapons, shotguns, and flamethrowers to wantonly reap the lives of the Japanese in the trenches.
In just one morning, they easily tore through the Japanese's outermost line of defense.
At the front-line command post, Honda Masazai and his commanders no longer had time to ponder the complexity of the battle situation. They could only deploy troops based on intuition and experience.
"The positions at Baishuiping, Qingshiling and Shitougang were all lost? So quickly?" Honda Masazai looked incredulous as he looked at the Japanese lieutenant in front of him who had just retreated from the battlefield.
The lieutenant's head was bandaged, his face pale, his eyes filled with fear and despair. "Hey, the enemy's artillery fire was incredibly fierce, almost as powerful as an entire army from the Shancheng Central Army. Dozens of light tanks were leading the charge on the ground, and large aircraft capable of staying aloft for extended periods of time were suppressing our ground firepower points with their machine guns." The lieutenant's voice choked with sobs, his tone filled with resignation. "Over 300 'Locust Nation Warriors' on the battlefield, all of them perished."
Honda Masazai frowned, and the anger on his face had not subsided.
"Baga! Since the enemy's firepower is so strong, why don't you launch a counterattack and engage them in hand-to-hand combat?" He slammed the table fiercely, his tone full of blame and dissatisfaction. "As long as you stay together, the enemy will definitely not dare to use heavy firepower again."
A trace of grievance flashed in the lieutenant's eyes, and the gauze on his head was still oozing blood, but he still responded in a low voice: "Hey, in fact, we attempted a counterattack."
His tone was a little weak. "But the enemy were cowards and mean-spirited men. They didn't dare to engage the Locust Army in hand-to-hand combat. Instead, they responded with pistols and flamethrowers. My counterattack troops suffered heavy losses before they even engaged in hand-to-hand combat."
"What?" The old Japanese soldier Honda Masazai had been fighting in the domestic battlefield of Qian Country before he was transferred to the Southern Army. He participated in the battles of Nankou, Pingxingguan and Xinkou, and was later sent to the Kwantung Army as a division commander. This time he was urgently transferred from the domestic armored headquarters to serve as the commander, so he did not have a clear understanding of the strong firepower of Zhangchi's troops.