The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 528: The Japanese 21st Army

After the bloody battle, the Chinese and Japanese armies that were attacking and defending the second line of defense around Qisha fell silent again. The Assault Corps and the 46th Army of the Gui Army, which had just won a victory, reorganized on the spot in preparation for another battle.

The 46th Army was naturally very excited about this new victory, but the price it paid was not small. More than half of the participating 19th Division's Field Replacement Regiment and the 56th Regiment suffered casualties, and both regiments were crippled and had to rest.

The assault corps suffered few casualties, and was even fully capable of launching a large-scale tactical counterattack against the Japanese army. However, He Wei, who had already raised his vision to the overall situation, was trying every means to stir up the overall situation by lying about military intelligence. He did not even have the idea of ​​launching a small-scale harassment against the Japanese army, so the assault corps reorganized on the spot and remained alert.

Not to mention the Japanese army. The tragic experience of losing an infantry regiment in just one day's attack made them dare not advance any further. The two sides once again entered a stalemate.

Qisha's first line of defense, temporary command post of the Japanese landing troops
The highest commander of the Japanese landing force, also the commander of the 21st Army, Ando Toshiyoshi, paced anxiously in the command post. This army commander, who was always known for his calmness and composure, no longer had any composure or spirit at this moment. The great defeat just now had completely destroyed Ando Toshiyoshi's composure.

Needless to say, the 42nd Regiment suffered a disastrous defeat. A complete, elite field infantry regiment was almost completely wiped out within a single day. The entire regiment's available combat force was reduced to only a few hundred people. All heavy and automatic weapons were lost. Combined with the 21st Regiment which had suffered heavy losses before, the combat effectiveness of the entire 21st Brigade was reduced by more than half. The existing combat strength of a brigade is not even enough for a complete infantry regiment.

Such losses, such heavy losses, were something that Ando Toshiyoshi had never seen before on the Chinese battlefield. The heavy casualties of the 21st Brigade not only looked shocking, but also made him feel heartbroken.

Before he was promoted to commander of the 21st Army, he was the commander of the 5th Division. Those elite officers and soldiers on the casualty list were all the apples and oranges of Ando Rikichi's eye. It was these brave and skilled officers and soldiers who, under his command, easily captured Guangzhou, defeated countless Chinese troops, and achieved countless merits and honors.

But even such elite officers and soldiers were defeated here!
What frightened him even more was the appearance of the elite Chinese army that had never been found - the Chinese Army Assault Corps.

Previously, through his compatriots in the intelligence department, Ando Rikichi learned that the Chinese Army Assault Corps had entered Guangxi, but he was never sure whether the enemy he was fighting against was this unit.

The news brought back by the surviving officers and soldiers of the 42nd Regiment finally confirmed this news.

In this regard, Ando Rikichi first had a sense of certainty that the shoe had dropped, but then came worry and panic.

There is no need to elaborate on the previous combat achievements of this Chinese Army Assault Corps. It inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese army in the Battle of Nanjing and the Battle of Wuhan. After personally fighting with the Assault Corps, Toshiyoshi Ando had a more realistic understanding of the true combat effectiveness of this unit.

Whether it was the heavy losses of the 21st Regiment in Qisha's first line of defense, or the disastrous defeat of the 42nd Regiment in attacking Qisha's second line of defense, the tactics adopted by this Chinese Army Assault Corps were to plan before taking action. They would first use other troops to wear down the Japanese army's morale to the lowest point in a brutal positional battle and then launch a large-scale counterattack to inflict large-scale casualties on the Japanese army.

This kind of fighting style can be described as autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves. The commander's moves were fast, steady, accurate and ruthless. The combat efficiency of the assault corps also shocked Ando Rikichi. The 42nd Regiment was almost wiped out in just one day of fighting, and the 21st Regiment's combat time on the first line of defense in Qisha was not long. Such combat killing efficiency was really terrifying. All in all, his landing army did not take long to set foot on the beach, but the combat effectiveness of a brigade was almost completely reduced.

According to this killing efficiency calculation, by the time he leads his troops to Nanning, it would be a big question how many of his troops would be able to participate in the battle.

After the disastrous defeat of the 42nd Regiment, Ando Rikichi had nightmares for the past few days, and what lingered in his dreams was always the Chinese Army Assault Corps.

"Alas! I didn't expect that this Chinese Army Commando Corps would be so difficult to deal with."

Ando Rikichi sighed and complained silently in his heart. Suddenly, a major general officer hurried into the command post, handed him a telegram, and said, "Commander, there is a telegram from the Guangdong Army Headquarters."

The major general officer was none other than Major General Nemoto Hiroshi, the chief of staff of the 21st Army of the Japanese Army. Ando Rikichi took the telegram and quickly read it. Nemoto Hiroshi continued, "At present, the 18th Division has completed the landing combat training and can be transported by sea at any time."

A ray of light finally appeared on Ando Rikichi's gloomy face. After hearing the news that the 18th Division had completed its training and could be sent over by sea as reinforcement, he finally felt more confident in his troubled mood.

He Wei was anxiously looking forward to his superiors sending reinforcements to Guangxi. After suffering a series of setbacks and witnessing the powerful combat effectiveness of the Assault Corps, Ando Rikichi no longer expected to continue relying on his Fifth Division and the Guards Mixed Brigade to achieve the strategic plan of attacking Nanning and sweeping across Guangxi. According to the intensity of the battle and the speed of troop consumption, if he wanted to continue attacking Nanning, he would have to increase the troops and deploy reinforcements.

Therefore, in the past few days, Ando Rikichi has sent several telegrams to Guangzhou, requesting the remaining troops of the 21st Army stationed in Guangdong to report the available troops. Now he has finally received a reply, with at least one fully equipped 18th Division available for deployment.

"The 18th Division must be transferred here, and also some of the army's artillery, tanks and other special forces must be transferred here. The enemy we are facing has tanks, so we also need tank troops."

Ando Rikichi murmured.

Nemoto Hiroshi agreed and nodded, "Most of our army's direct troops currently have no combat missions. As for the tank troops, our army's three independent light armored vehicle squadrons and direct tank battalions can be deployed at any time. We should also deploy other direct troops, such as artillery and independent heavy machine gun troops, as well as siege heavy artillery troops, which will be useful when we attack Nanning."

安藤利吉微微颔首，第21军建制内的部队不仅仅有几个陆军野战步兵师团，还有庞大的军直属部队，包括包括独立机枪第3、6、21大队、独立轻装甲车第11、51、52中队、山炮第111联队、独立山炮第10联队、迫击炮第2、21大队、独立攻城重炮第11大队、独立臼炮第1、2大队、独立气球第1中队、独立工兵第15联队等，可谓是规模强大。

According to the original tactical anticipation and tactical planning of the 21st Army, there was no need to use these direct troops in the landing operation in Guangxi. The landing Fifth Division and the Guards Mixed Brigade would be enough to defeat and capture the Chinese troops in Guangxi. However, the existence of the assault corps ruthlessly shattered the Japanese army's dream.

Now, not only does Ando Rikichi need to transfer the Army Field Division to reinforce Guangxi, but even the special forces directly under the army must be dispatched there in large numbers.

After pondering for a moment, Ando Rikichi looked at Nemoto Hiroshi and said, "In addition to the 18th Division, the 6th Independent Machine Gun Battalion, the 10th Independent Mountain Artillery Regiment, the 11th Independent Siege Heavy Artillery Battalion, the Army Direct Tank Battalion, and the 11th and 52nd Independent Light Armored Vehicle Squadrons will be withdrawn, and the 11th and 52nd Independent Light Armored Vehicle Squadrons will be placed under the command and combat sequence of the Army Direct Tank Battalion to form the Army Direct Mixed Tank Battalion."

"The above-mentioned troops and the 18th Division will assemble as soon as possible, set out, and be transported to the southern part of Guangxi by sea."

Ando Rikichi looked at the series of troop numbers on the telegram and added, "In addition, another 1,000 reinforcements will be dispatched to accompany them."

A field division, an independent heavy machine gun battalion, an independent mountain artillery regiment, a siege heavy artillery battalion, a mixed tank battalion, plus a thousand reinforcements. These reinforcements drawn by Ando Toshiyoshi can be added together to form an independent strategic corps. This shows the strength of Ando Toshiyoshi's troop reinforcements.

Nemoto Hiroshi nodded, called the accompanying staff officer to record Ando Rikichi's orders one by one, and then asked: "Commander, our attack after landing in Qisha was not smooth, should we change the landing attack location of the second batch of reinforcements to other directions?"

(End of this chapter)