People are shining their swords, secretly helping the Iron Triangle in Northwest Shanxi

Chapter 332 Lao Li’s counterattack (please subscribe)
The Second Division of the Imperial Association Army began to storm Yuanqu City from the west. They used artillery cover to launch attacks one after another.

The 21st Division of the Little Devils was on the alert. Their main force was fully assembled, but they did not participate in the battle.

However, their artillery regiment continued to conduct artillery bombardments to support the puppet troops in their operations.

Fierce gunfire continued, and the casualties of Sun Yu's first field supplementary regiment continued to increase.

At ten o'clock in the morning, the three independent puppet army brigades assigned to the 33rd Division also began to engage in offensive operations.

These three independent brigades of puppet troops fought one after another and suffered heavy casualties, but they were still able to piece together a force of nearly 1 people.

More than 9000 puppet troops began to attack from the northeast of Yuanqu City and directly attacked Yuanqu City.

Originally, the first field supplementary regiment was already under great pressure when facing the attack of the second division of the Imperial Association Army.

But now more than 9000 puppet troops have appeared on the battlefield again, and the first field supplementary regiment is almost completely collapsed.

Sun Yu continued to command his troops to defend with all their strength, but the positions were breached one after another.

At this time, the 27th Division was already heading south along Jiangcheng and directly launched a combat attack on Hengling Pass.

After Chu Yunfei received the battle report here in Yuanqu City, a solemn expression appeared on his face.

At present, there are not many troops that he can mobilize.

The first brigade was stationed at Hengling Pass, the third brigade was stationed at Lishan, and the independent detachment was stationed at Xicheng Mountain.

The second field supplementary regiment is responsible for the connection between Yuanqu City and Hengling Pass. They are the only troops that can be mobilized.

However, the 21st and 33rd Infantry Divisions are still standing still at this time. If anything goes wrong, the consequences will be very serious.

Of course, once Yuanqu City is lost, the Japanese and puppet troops will be able to take the initiative.

After careful consideration, Chu Yunfei began to issue orders. He deployed Lin Zhiqiang to supplement the second regiment in the field and rushed to support Yuanqu City in the battle.

He asked the two field supplementary regiments to defend Yuanqu City with all their strength to block the attack of the Japanese and puppet troops.

Lin Zhiqiang's field supplementary second regiment began to rush to support Yuanqu City in the battle. They quickly entered the city to assist in the defense.

With a regiment rushing to help, Yuanqu City was temporarily defended.

However, there was a defensive loophole in the connection between Yuanqu City and Hengling Pass. Their encirclement of the 33rd Division was completely disrupted.

It was at this time that after the North China Front received a report from the front line, Okamura Neji issued a combat order.

The 21st Division and the 33rd Division launched attacks from the southwest and southeast of Hengling Pass respectively.

After receiving the combat order, these two divisions quickly advanced towards Hengling Pass.

At around ten o'clock, the first brigade at Henglingguan was attacked by three Japanese divisions.

The first brigade, attached to the field artillery regiment, launched an all-out defense, but the little Japanese troops had an absolute advantage.

The 27th Division attacked from the north, the 21st Division attacked from the west and south, and the 33rd Division attacked from the east.

A large number of artillery shells continued to hit Hengling Pass. At 10:30, the aviation troops came to the sky above Hengling Pass to conduct bombing.

For a time, Hengling Pass and Yuanqu City were in danger, and they might be captured at any time.

The troops stationed here may also be annihilated.

If Okamura Neji doesn't take action, then it's his ultimate move.

Four infantry regiments and one field artillery regiment of the 201st Division were in crisis.

Even Chu Yunfei's division headquarters was surrounded at this time and might be attacked at any time.

It was at this time that the Japanese and puppet cavalry troops had already tightly surrounded Huaiqing City.

Sakuma Shigemori, the major general commander of the Japanese Fourth Cavalry Brigade, naturally wanted to unified command the troops for combat.

This time he has more than 1 cavalry troops and sufficient artillery.

Therefore, even though he knew that the cavalry troops were not good at attacking fortresses, he immediately organized artillery to conduct repeated bombardments on Huaiqing City.

Japanese-style field artillery and Fengxian field artillery shelled Huaiqing City one after another, while the Japanese and puppet cavalry repeatedly maneuvered around the periphery.

They surrounded Huaiqing City tightly and prepared to use shelling to force the troops inside the city to attack for a decisive battle.

Of course, Chen Ziyun and Hao Shiwen saw such a large number of cavalry troops. If they went out now, it would be the same as committing suicide.

So they stuck to the defense inside the city and had no plan to attack at all.

The Japanese and puppet cavalry troops continued to launch artillery attacks. At about ten o'clock, they could no longer stand it.

Hundreds of puppet cavalry began to dismount and fight on foot. They wanted to see if they could enter the city and fight.

But the result is obvious, these puppet troops never come back.

Under Chen Ziyun's personal command, hundreds of puppet cavalry were all annihilated.

After solving more than 1000 puppet troops in Huaiqing City, their firepower has been enhanced.

In particular, a large amount of Japanese ammunition was replenished, and the second brigade had sufficient ammunition to carry out operations.

When Sakuma Shigemori saw this scene, he hurriedly stopped arranging cavalry troops for offensive operations.

He quickly contacted the front army headquarters, hoping to obtain aviation units for support operations.

However, at this time, there was no way to implement Okamura Neiji's combat orders in the northern Henan region, and the 35th Division did not dispatch troops to participate in the war.

Originally, according to Okamura Neiji's wishes, the 35th Division was to dispatch a regiment to cross the river to participate in the battle.

But after the first theater troops received the battle order from the capital, they did not dare to neglect it at all.

They organized troops to launch a diversionary attack on eastern Henan. The 35th Division was hit and there were no extra troops to deploy.

Even under the attack of superior forces in the first theater, some of their troops fell into very passive combat.

There was no infantry coming to help. Although there were more than 1 cavalry troops in the northern Henan region, they still had no way to deal with the second brigade that was defending the county seat.

After all, the cavalry are tall and powerful. As long as they charge, they will be a living target.

The second brigade has a lot of heavy weapons. If these cavalry forcefully attack and fight, they will definitely be beaten into pieces.

After the North China Front Army Headquarters received the telegram report, they just called back and asked them to continue to contain the enemy troops in the northern Henan region.

Now the aviation force has received orders that Japanese aircraft will specifically bomb Hengling Pass and Yuanqu City.

The 201st Division troops here are currently completely surrounded, and they may be annihilated at any time.

Therefore, the little devil wants to use the superiority of the aviation force to rush to the rescue, so as to completely annihilate the 201st Division troops here.

After Sakuma Shigemori received the report, he could only arrange troops to blockade them on the spot.

A large number of cavalry are on standby in different areas. As long as the troops here in Huaiqing City have the possibility of breaking through, they will quickly swarm up and annihilate them.

However, here in Hanoi County, the puppet troops that were restraining Li Yunlong's new regiment were in a not very good situation at this time.

After Zhao Gang brought the new regiment and mountain artillery regiment to the vicinity of Hanoi County.

Li Yang made detailed observations and immediately set up artillery positions.

Twelve Type [-] mountain guns and twelve Bofors mountain guns have been deployed.

The new regiment of 1000 men set up defensive positions around the artillery positions.

Zhao Gang secretly contacted Li Yunlong and explained the situation in detail.

After Li Yunlong knew that the mountain artillery regiment was coming, he immediately made arrangements with Xing Zhiguo.

Li Yunlong has now disrupted the establishment of each battalion. He has transferred some cadres and veterans and arranged them directly into the field supplementary battalion.

The two field supplementary battalions were also given the designations of the 11th Battalion and the [-]th Battalion.

At [-]:[-], Li Yunlong organized his troops to launch a counterattack.

The eight Feng-made field guns assigned to them carried out shelling under the command of Sun Xiong, deputy commander of the mountain artillery regiment, and the mortar company and other units directly under the regiment also fired.

Deputy commander Xing Zhiguo commanded the second battalion, and the third battalion attacked directly from the front.

Li Yunlong commanded the 11th Battalion, and the [-]th Battalion detoured to the north to attack.

As for Zhang Dabiao, he led a battalion and advanced directly towards the puppet army from the south.

Suddenly fierce gunfire began to sound, and the 20th and 21st puppet divisions were attacked.

Faced with the counterattack by Li Yunlong's troops, Liu Lan, commander of the 21st Puppet Division, remained calm.

After all, he believed that his troops had a strength advantage, and they were not idlers.

During this time, they also built a position. With the strength they currently have, they can block the attack of Li Yunlong's troops by staying in place.

But after the troops from both sides fought fiercely, Liu Lan gradually realized that something was wrong.

"Boom boom boom."

On the high ground on the north side, the mountain artillery regiment was fully firing, and the 24 artillery pieces were unreserved.

Grenades were fired one after another at the puppet troops, directly supporting the operations.

The exposed firepower points of the puppet troops were knocked out by mountain artillery one after another.

As for the puppet army's positions, they were hit hard, and the artillery was unable to fire at all. "Commander Li, there is the artillery unit of the Jinsui Army on the north side. They are launching artillery fire on the high ground, which is a fatal threat to us."

"The infantry of the Jinsui Army are mainly surrounded by Taijun's cavalry in Huaiqing City. Their artillery troops in the north will not have many defensive troops."

"I will allocate a thousand troops to you, plus your remaining troops, to quickly raid the artillery positions and deal with the artillery units of the Jinsui Army."

"When you finish the artillery unit of the Jinsui Army, our troops will gradually move towards the high ground. We will rely on the high ground for defense."

"Then there will definitely be no problem in blocking these Tubal counterattacks."

Liu Lan quickly found Li Tiejian, the commander of the 20th Puppet Division, and he said with a serious expression on his face.

Li Tiejian agreed immediately without any hesitation.

At this time, they are all grasshoppers on the same rope, and naturally they have to completely unite to fight.

More than 1000 puppet troops quickly evacuated from the east side, and then made a detour, preparing to raid the mountain artillery regiment's position.

However, after the departure of more than 1000 puppet troops, the defense of the 21st puppet division weakened.

Facing the attack of the five infantry battalions of the new regiment, they were obviously a little overwhelmed.

Especially the first battalion that raided on the south side. Under the command of Zhang Dabiao, they rampaged and advanced directly in depth.

After Li Yunlong received the report, he did not hesitate and assigned all the troops directly under the regiment to the first battalion for combat.

At around 82 o'clock, the new regiment was directly under six [-]MM mortars and six Type [-] infantry guns to support the first battalion in the battle.

At the same time, Huzi's special agent company also advanced rapidly and assigned a battalion for attack operations.

There are eight field guns here in Hanoi County and 24 mountain guns on the high ground on the north side, which are constantly bombarding.

The 21st Division of the Puppet Army suffered increasing casualties and their positions were breached one after another.

At 11:30, more than 1000 puppet troops attempted to attack the mountain artillery regiment position.

However, they were attacked by the new corps. At the same time, Li Yang quickly dispatched twelve [-]-type mountain cannons to assist.

Grenades were fired one after another at the puppet troops, and the security troops of each company of the mountain artillery regiment also began to participate in the battle and defense.

"Master, the defense here is not weak, and there are many heavy weapons."

"There are more than 1000 people, and more than 300 casualties have been lost in the blink of an eye. Master, we cannot continue to fight."

"It's better to retreat first. Evacuate the battlefield quickly to preserve our little strength."

"If all our troops are used up in the end, we will have nothing."

A puppet army officer came to Li Tiejian and said with a solemn expression on his face.

Li Tiejian raised the telescope and took a look, with a thoughtful expression on his face.

Seeing the increasing casualties and losses of his troops, he gradually wanted to give up the battle.

Especially seeing that the 21st Division of the puppet army continued to be attacked, and even some troops were about to attack Liu Lan's division headquarters.

"Organize the troops to evacuate the battlefield quickly. Let's evacuate towards Huaiqing City."

"Did you see that Tubal Road and the Jinsui Army are connected? Their purpose is obvious, which is to eat these troops."

"Liu Lan still wants to hold on to his position. This is not asking for death. We have to leave quickly, otherwise we will be in trouble."

Li Tiejian decisively gave the order and he took the lead in starting the transfer.

Dozens of people followed Li Tiejian to move, but their actions here were quickly seen by the artillery observation station.

Groups of Zhu Yuan began to pass on, and the mountain artillery regiment got to shoot Zhu Yuan and immediately launched a bombardment.

The grenades were fired one after another, and a deafening explosion sounded.

The shrapnel quickly spread in all directions, and Li Tiejian, who was moving, was directly hit by the shrapnel and was killed on the spot.

Li Tiejian was eliminated by the mountain artillery regiment. When the puppet troops got the news, they were completely in chaos.

Now let alone continue the attack, it is almost impossible for the troops to maintain order.

The mountain artillery regiment continued the shelling, and the new regiment launched a direct counterattack.

Many puppet troops threw away their weapons in a panic and hurriedly fled around.

Of course, some puppet troops simply raised their hands and chose to surrender.

At twelve o'clock at noon, the puppet army was almost completely defeated.

Seeing that the troops could not resist, Liu Lan, the commander of the 21st Puppet Division, hurriedly ordered the troops to withdraw from the battlefield.

But it was basically impossible for them to evacuate at this time.

The battalions of the New Regiment launched an all-out attack, and the artillery units fired with all their might.

A large number of puppet soldiers were either killed or fell to the ground, seriously injured and wailing in pain.

Here in Huaiqing City, here is the brigade headquarters of the Fourth Cavalry Brigade of the Japanese Army.

Sakuma Shigemori walked back and forth. He glanced at the map from time to time and frowned tightly.

He had already received a report from the puppet troops, and also knew that the puppet troops had suffered heavy casualties.

However, Sakuma Shigemori did not dare to mobilize his troops easily. After all, once he dispersed the cavalry troops in Huaiqing City, there might be casualties.

What he can do now is to pull back the puppet troops with all his strength, so as to preserve enough strength.

However, no news has been conveyed to the puppet troops for a long time, which made Sakuma Shigemori very worried.

"Your Excellency, Brigade Commander, this is the news that our reconnaissance force has received. The Imperial Alliance Army has been defeated across the board."

"The artillery units of the Shanxi-Sui Army returned to Hanoi County to fight. They cooperated with the Eighth Route Army to launch an annihilation strike against the Imperial Alliance Army."

"The Imperial Association Army has always been in passive combat, and now they have completely lost their combat capabilities."

"A large number of troops abandoned their weapons and ammunition and fled the battlefield. Many people also gave up fighting and chose to surrender."

"The enemy troops here in Hanoi County have more than 6000 troops. They have strong combat capabilities."

"Your Excellency, Brigade Commander, the Imperial Army's troops are probably going to be completely defeated..."

"Now the enemy troops are very likely to attack us from a flank. With their heavy weapons, they will definitely pose a threat to us."

"We still have to make plans early, otherwise, we will definitely suffer."

The Lieutenant Colonel and Chief of Staff of the Fourth Cavalry Brigade came to Sakuma Shigemori and reported in a solemn tone.

Sakuma Shigemori stopped. He stood in front of the map, looking at it with a solemn expression on his face.

When the Sakuma Corps was organized, it had the fourth cavalry brigade and three divisions of the Imperial Association Army under its jurisdiction.

Their total strength exceeds 3 people. However, up to now, after continuous fighting, almost all three divisions of the Imperial Association Army have been annihilated one after another.

It was difficult for Sakuma Shigemori to cope with such a heavy loss.

After looking at the map and thinking for a long time, he made a decision directly, that is, to gather all the Japanese and puppet cavalry units in the area east of Huaiqing City.

He did not dare to continue deploying the cavalry in the area west of Huaiqing City, why would he be attacked from a flank.

Now if the troops continue to suffer casualties, it will not be something Sakuma Shigemori can bear.

In the battle in the northern Henan region, Li Yunlong's side won a victory, and the infantry unit of the Imperial Association Army was almost completely disintegrated.

But here in Zhongtiao Mountain, fierce fighting continues.

Here in Yuanqu City, facing an attack by about [-] puppet troops, two field supplementary regiments tenaciously carried out defensive operations.

Their 6000-strong force had about 2000 casualties at this time.

The 4000 troops defended their position and showed a relatively tenacious fighting will.

And as the combat continues, they become more and more experienced and know how to better demonstrate combat strikes.

The troops from both sides started a fierce battle, but the puppet troops lost the support of Japanese artillery, and their combat effectiveness was also weakened.

As for the battle here at Hengling Pass, it is a life and death battle.

The little devils assembled three divisions to attack from all sides, and a large number of artillery and aviation forces continued to bombard and bombard the enemy.

The [-]st Brigade was assigned a field artillery regiment to hold its position, and they relied on high ground for defense one after another.

There were originally more than 8000 troops, but now only more than 5000 people were beaten.

The average strength of each of the two regiments is only 2000.

If Hengling Pass were not on high ground, these troops might have suffered greater casualties.

"Master, the various units of the First Brigade have suffered heavy losses. Should we consider abandoning Hengling Pass?"

"Or we can adjust our deployment from other directions to support the Hengling Pass operation."

Here at the headquarters of the 201st Division, Chief of Staff Fang Ligong quickly came to Chu Yunfei and asked.

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(End of this chapter)