kingnovel Chapter 441: The Mule and Donkey Division is advancing at full speed
Chapter 441: The Mule and Donkey Division is advancing at full speed
The 441st Mule and Donkey Division is advancing
Boom boom boom!
Near Huangyanwu in the north, on several low mountains, the 209rd Regiment of the 40th Division was relying on the terrain to block the attack of the Japanese search team of the th Regiment.
"Quick, go ask the engineering battalion if their minefields have been laid out."
A battalion commander of the third regiment pulled a soldier over and shouted loudly.
The soldiers of the engineering battalion in the rear are laying mines.
"Okay, tell the second battalion commander that they can withdraw.
Ask them to be careful when they retreat and follow the marked route we have made.
Don't step on the mines we set."
Soon, the battalion on the front line that was resisting the Japanese attack immediately retreated after receiving the news from the engineering battalion.
The Japs' firepower was extremely fierce. The mountains they occupied were only a hundred meters high.
Not a good place to hold a defensive position.
Therefore, this is not the Third Regiment’s most important blocking position near Huangyanwu on the northern front.
The main blocking position of the Third Regiment was still five miles away in the south.
However, the soldiers of the Third Regiment did not want to see the Japanese advance five miles south so easily.
After all, the 209th and 76th Divisions did not have many deep positions at that time.
It would take the Japanese a day to push the five-mile field.
At the same time, it bought time for the main force of the Third Regiment to build solid fortifications in the main blocking position in the rear.
Boom boom!
As the blocking Kuomintang soldiers retreated, the Japanese immediately caught up with them.
As a result, they soon ran into a minefield and killed more than 20 Japanese soldiers.
Forced the Japanese pursuit troops to stop.
"Damn, this is a minefield set up by the Chinese."
The leader of the Japanese squadron had a very unhappy look on his face.
What they hate to encounter most at this time is the minefield.
They would rather encounter an attack from the soldiers of the 209th Division.
The truth is, mine clearance is too troublesome and time-consuming.
Unfortunately, the Japanese large-caliber artillery had not caught up yet, so they were unable to use artillery fire to clear mines on a large scale.
The Type 92 infantry guns or mortars they carried were very ineffective in bombarding minefields and clearing mines.
It is easy to leave residual mines.
If there were large-caliber artillery here, directly bombarding the minefield would not only detonate the mines.
At the same time, the bomb crater is also the safest passage.
"Send the engineers over to clear the mines!"
The Japanese squadron leader had a gloomy face and gave orders.
Two Japanese engineers came out and started the mine clearance work.
Whoosh!
boom!
As a result, the two Japanese engineers were shot in the head before they took two steps.
"Baga, a Chinese sniper.
Team one and team two searched and attacked the hillsides on both sides.
Find these China pigs!"
The Japanese squadron leader was furious.
Immediately, a small group of Japanese soldiers rushed towards the hillsides on both sides of the minefield.
"beat!"
There were Kuomintang soldiers lying in ambush on the hillside. When they saw the Japanese squad being attracted over, they immediately began to attack.
The battle lasted for an hour, and the Japanese squadron was blocked here and could not move forward.
However, with the cover of the attacking Japanese squads on both sides, the Japanese engineers were about to complete the mine clearance on the road.
"Okay, our mission is accomplished.
withdraw! "
The company commander of the 209th Division looked at the time and immediately led his soldiers to retreat.
Rush to the next minefield to delay the Japanese attack.
It took the Japanese a full day and a half to walk the five-mile distance before they finally reached the main blocking position of the Third Regiment.
This is the case on the northern line, and the same is true on the southern line.
Lin Fengtian, acting commander of the 76th Division, also commanded the 76th Division, relying on the road into the mountainous area.
They were blocking the two regiments of the Japanese 39th Division that were coming from Yiwu County.
Compared with the northern line, the southern line defended by the 76th Division actually has more advantageous terrain.
Because the terrain becomes increasingly rugged from Yiwu to the north.
The 76th Division now occupies the main passage into the mountains and river valleys in the north.
Several high mountains in the north were all under the control of the 76th Division.
Allowing them to block the enemy from a high position.
The two regiments of the Japanese 39th Division fought for two days but failed to break through.
"Baga, what the hell is going on.
When did the Chinese Army become so powerful? "
Jiro Okuma, commander of the 39st Regiment of the 231th Division, shouted in annoyance as he watched his regiment being blocked here.
After all, this guy was transferred from North China.
They had never encountered such a thing before when they fought in North China.
"Sir, we are here without the cover of the air force and heavy artillery.
The Chinese army still relies on mountain defense, so it is destined to be difficult to defeat.
I feel that the headquarters underestimated the difficulty of our front-line operations.
We have to report this to headquarters."
A Japanese lieutenant colonel next to him also said helplessly.
In the past, these devils were accustomed to bombarding from the sky and using artillery, and they could basically destroy most of the national army’s defensive positions.
Then, they just need to send in their infantry to push forward.
It would be easy to capture the national army's defensive positions.
However, in the continuous mountainous areas of southern Zhejiang, the Japanese tactics that worked on the plains failed to work.
First of all, the Japanese heavy artillery could not come in, and at most they could bring in some field artillery.
In terms of artillery fire, the advantage was greatly reduced.
In addition, the most important bombing by sky bombers was completely eliminated here.
After losing these two major firepower advantages, the Japanese attacking infantry suddenly found that the battle was very difficult.
In just two days of attack, they lost more than 300 Japanese soldiers.
But he just couldn't get in.
This greatly undermined the morale of the Japanese, but it allowed the 76th Division to regain their confidence.
"Haha, just fight like that!
The Japanese still want to eat up my 209th Division, this time I will definitely break their teeth. "
Ye Qingshan was also very happy after receiving Zhang Fa’s latest telegram.
"Where are the troops of the 19th Army now?
How long will it take to arrive?"
Ye Qingshan asked Xiao Shanling.
“Commander-in-Chief, the two armies of the 19th Army Group have not yet crossed Wuyi Mountain.
They said it would take half a month to arrive."
"What? Half a month?
Are you kidding me? Didn't we order them to arrive within a week?"
When Ye Qingshan heard what Xiao Shanling said, he immediately became angry.
Half a month later, the cucumber dishes had gone cold.
“Commander-in-Chief, the two armies of the 19th Army Group are also unlucky.
There have been heavy rains in the northwest Fujian region recently.
This caused a landslide, blocking their way north.
They can only take a detour.”
Xiao Shanling also shook his head helplessly.
He was also a little depressed when he first received the news.
"Damn it."
Ye Qingshan's face turned pale.
But half a month was too long, and he was worried that Zhang Fa's 209th Division could not hold on that long.
These two armies of the 19th Group Army were used by Ye Qingshan to launch a counterattack.
Only if they arrive earlier can they relieve the huge pressure on the 209th and 76th Divisions.
"Send a telegram to the 25th and 73rd Armies and tell them.
I will give them ten days at most, and after ten days, we must see their troops at the front line.
If you fail to do so, you will be subject to military court.”
Ye Qingshan issued a death order.
But Ye Qingshan also knew their difficulties and continued, "Tell them to leave the baggage train behind for the time being.
Move forward lightly and bring the main force to the front first.
Then, let them resupply supplies in Quzhou.
The large amount of military supplies left by Commander Gu are now all in Quzhou, right on the road they must pass through."
“This is a good idea.
In this way, the 25th Army and the 73rd Army should be able to arrive within ten days."
Xiao Shanling also agreed with Ye Qingshan's approach.
"Where are Zhou Pingkou and the others now?"
After asking about the reinforcements sent by the 19th Army, Ye Qingshan asked about the current situation of the 208th Division, which he was most concerned about.
“This morning, Commander Zhou and his team crossed the Ling River and arrived in Linhai County.
By now, they should have set out northwards, heading towards Ninghai County."
Xiao Shanling replied.
*
*
On the 19th, on a winding mountain road in the continuous mountainous area east of Tiantai Mountain.
A huge army stretching for dozens of miles is marching.
It was Zhou Pingkou’s 208th Division.
"Everyone, hurry up. We must get out of this mountain road before dark."
Zhou Pingkou rode on his horse and shouted loudly to the national army soldiers on the road.
Then, the sound of soldiers whipping mules and horses and the neighing of mules and horses could be heard.
At this time, every ten or so meters on the road, you could see Kuomintang soldiers driving mules and donkeys carrying supplies.
The main means of transportation for the baggage train at the rear is now mule carts or donkey carts.
These mule and donkey carts were carrying heavy ammunition, heavy machine guns, mortars, rocket launchers and other weapons.
At first glance, there were a lot of mules and donkeys carrying supplies on this mountain road.
It is precisely because of these mule carts and donkey carts to help transport heavy weapons and ammunition that the Kuomintang soldiers of the 208th Division can march lightly.
This greatly increased their marching speed.
On such a rugged mountain road, their army of nearly 20,000 people could advance hundreds of miles in a day.
On such a mountain road, these mule carts and donkey carts can advance faster than the Japanese mechanized troops.
This is also the case after Ye Qingshan and his friends came to southern Zhejiang for such a long time.
Summarized experience.
The Japanese mechanized and motorized troops can only show off their power on the plains.
When they arrived in southern Zhejiang, a terrain full of gullies and mountains, the Japanese mechanized troops became a burden.
Tanks and armored vehicles simply cannot pass through.
On the contrary, these mules and horses became the most convenient means of transportation.
The Japs actually realized this.
Therefore, the troops sent by the Japanese to southern Zhejiang this time rarely saw tanks and armored vehicles.
Instead, there were more pack horses.
The logistics supply team that crossed the mountains was entirely transported by packhorses.
Unfortunately, Ye Qingshan was not as wealthy as the Japanese and could not get so many pack horses.
Fortunately, the local donkeys and mules have good transport capacity and are more hardworking.
Before this, Ye Qingshan had been buying up horses, mules and donkeys from the people in southern Zhejiang.
However, there are not many horses among the people, but there are many mules and donkeys.
In the end, Ye Qingshan had no choice but to purchase a large number of mules and donkeys to form a transport fleet.
This time, Ye Qingshan wanted to enable Zhou Pingkou's 208th Division to complete the combat goal of quickly advancing northward.
Almost all the remaining mule carts and donkey carts in the base were handed over to Zhou Pingkou.
They simply gathered more than 208 mules and donkeys to carry the th Division all the way north!
It took only two days to travel more than 200 miles along the uneven mountain road and reach Ninghai County.
Zhou Pingkou even said self-deprecatingly: "The devils have a packhorse division, and now we can also call it a mule and donkey division."