20demayo Chapter 445 Counterattack Conditions Achieved
Chapter 445 Counterattack Conditions Achieved
445 Counterattack Conditions Achieved
On May 1st, in the mountains south of Xiaoshan, Zheng Quezi's group was trudging along the rugged mountain road.
"Uncle Sun, how far is it to reach Heshang Town?"
Zheng Quezi, riding on his horse, asked an old man who was sitting on a donkey next to him.
This Mr. Sun was met by Zheng Quezi when he led his troops westward and passed through a mountain village.
Zheng Quezi used ten kilograms of flour to find a guide who was familiar with the road to Xishan.
"Sir, we are almost there in about ten miles.
We'll be almost there once we get over the next two hills."
Grandpa Sun pointed to a not-too-high mountain in front of them and said to Zheng Quezi.
"That's good."
Zheng Quezi nodded and breathed a sigh of relief.
It’s finally here.
After walking on the mountain road for three consecutive days, I felt that the road was endless and would never end.
Finally, I'm going to make it through.
Zheng Quezi's regiment's target of this westward infiltration is Heshang Town, an important node on the Japanese's transportation line.
In this battle, the Japanese had two transportation lines to support the front-line battlefield.
One is the only road that goes south from Xiaoshan, through more than 300 miles of mountainous areas, to the Pujiang area.
It is also the only transportation line of the Japanese 40th Division in the Dachen River Valley.
Another transportation line of the Japanese was from Shaoxing to Shengzhou.
That transport line is in the east, and the 208rd Regiment of the th Division should have arrived the day before yesterday.
In fact, the battle over there has already ended.
The only difference is that the westernmost supply line, which supplies the Japanese 40th Division, is at the westernmost end and the farthest away.
Zhou Pingkou gave this most difficult task to Zheng Quezi's regiment.
And cutting off the supply lines of the Japanese army was the ultimate mission that Ye Qingshan gave to the 208th Division in this adventure to bypass and infiltrate the enemy's rear.
The Japanese wanted to wipe out Ye Qingshan’s 209th and 76th Divisions.
Ye Qingshan also wanted to wipe out the Japanese 40th and 21st Divisions.
As for letting Zhou Pingkou's 208th Division attack Hangzhou, Ye Qingshan had never considered it.
Compared to liberating a city, Ye Qingshan prefers to destroy the enemy's manpower.
If the people are lost but the land remains, both the people and the land are lost; if the land is lost but the people remain, both the people and the land are preserved.
Ye Qingshan still knows this truth.
As long as we annihilate these two Japanese divisions, we will have a chance to go north and recover Hangzhou, or even Suzhou.
Otherwise, even if Hangzhou is recovered briefly, it will soon be handed over.
Just like the last time Ye Qingshan bombed the Japanese airport and briefly liberated Hangzhou, it was meaningless.
Along the way, Zheng Quezi's group took a big detour, first going to the Xiaoshan area in the north, and then turning back south before they could reach Heshang Town.
The roads of this era will naturally not be as numerous and developed as those in later generations.
Originally, you only needed to climb over a mountain to get there.
Now, their army needs to take a long detour.
For three days, Zheng Quezi's regiment of soldiers only had a short rest during the day when they hid from the Japanese reconnaissance planes.
The rest of the time, I am constantly on the road.
Fortunately, they were lucky and the Japanese reconnaissance planes never discovered them.
It was because they did not encounter any bombing by the Japanese that they were able to reach Heshang Town so quickly.
In the evening, Zheng Quezi's group of soldiers were lying on a hillside, looking at a small town a few miles below.
Watching the Japanese packhorses constantly coming in and out of this riverside town.
Zheng Quezi laughed!
"Damn it, I finally found you.
Luo Ying, send a telegram to the division commander.
Tell the division commander that we have arrived at Ha Sang Town and will launch the attack tonight."
"Yes!"
"besides!"
Adjutant Luo Ying was about to leave when Zheng Quezi stopped him and reminded him, "Leave one company to guard, and the other soldiers should eat and sleep.
Don't eat too much.
After waking up, it's time for us to attack.
Let’s capture Heshang Town tonight and have meat.”
Luoying smiled and replied, "Yes."
Soon, the open space behind the mountain was filled with a group of soldiers lying down.
After three days of traveling, they were very tired.
It was impossible to launch an immediate attack on Ha Sang Town.
Fortunately, the Japanese soldiers stationed in Heshang Town were still unaware of their arrival, which gave them time to rest.
At this time, Zhou Pingkou's command center was located in Changtang Town, south of Shangyu.
"Master, there's a call from a group."
At this time, the chief of staff rushed in excitedly and shouted to Zhou Pingkou.
"How is Yituan? Tell me quickly."
What Zhou Pingkou was most concerned about at this moment was Zheng Quezi's group.
Asked anxiously.
“Captain Zheng has led his troops to Heshang Town and has not encountered any bombing by the Japanese along the way.
They will attack tonight."
"Haha, ok, ok!
God bless you!
Zhou Pingkou was extremely excited.
In the past three days, some of the regiments and battalions he sent out to disperse westward brought good news, while others brought bad news.
The good news is that on the Japanese eastern front, the transportation supply line to the Japanese 21st Division has been cut off.
The battle ended yesterday.
The Third Regiment and the Engineering Regiment captured several key locations on the Japanese supply route to Shengzhou.
They also ambushed a Japanese transport team and seized a lot of Japanese supplies.
At this point, the Japanese have no choice but to find a way to reopen this transportation line.
Otherwise, the 21st Division, which was still on the Shengzhou front line fighting two Kuomintang armies, would not be able to obtain subsequent supplies.
As a result, the Japanese 21st Division was destined not to be able to fight for long.
However, compared to the Japanese transportation line in Shengzhou, the distance is closer.
Cut it off easily.
On the Western Front, the transportation supply line leading to the Japanese 40th Division was too far away, and the difficulty of cutting it off increased several times.
In particular, Zhou Pingkou underestimated the difficulty of the mountain roads in this area.
The straight-line distance is about 200 miles. If it is a plain area, it can be reached in one day and one night of forced march.
However, when they changed to the mountain road, it took them three and a half days to walk.
It took one day longer than Zhou Pingkou estimated.
After all, the actual marching situation is more complicated, and it is not something that the staff officers at the division headquarters can accurately predict simply by drawing on a map with a pen.
"Commander, we are still lucky.
The second group was in trouble.
After encountering two waves of bombing by the Japanese, we can only split into small groups consisting of companies and advance in different directions.
It will probably take another two days for the second group to reach their destination."
The chief of staff next to him sighed and said helplessly.
In addition to Zheng Quezi's regiment, Wei Yong's second regiment was also sent by Zhou Pingkou to cut off the Japanese's western supply line.
It’s a pity that the second group had much worse luck.
It was discovered by the Japanese reconnaissance plane and then bombed by the Japanese air force.
“Perhaps it was because the Second Regiment was discovered by the Japanese reconnaissance planes that it attracted the bombing of the Japanese air force.
Only then did the group escape.
Since the first group has already arrived in Heshang Town, the second group can arrive later.
We don't need to completely seize the Japanese's transportation lines.
Just cutting off one point is enough to paralyze the enemy's entire supply line."
"Commander, should we tell the commander-in-chief this good news?"
The Chief of Staff suggested.
Zhou Pingkou said nothing.
According to Zhou Pingkou's previous personality, he likes to finish things first before talking about them.
But this time, the situation is different.
Taking into account the pressure from Ye Qingshan, the good news was delivered an hour earlier.
For Ye Qingshan and the soldiers of the 209th Division in the encirclement, this will be a timely relief.
"Ok.
Send a telegram to the commander-in-chief and tell him.
After tonight, the two supply lines of the Japanese will be cut off by our division."
More than ten minutes later, Ye Qingshan looked at the telegram sent by Zhou Pingkou and laughed happily, attracting the attention of many staff officers in the command center.
"Haha, it's done, it's done!
Lao Zhou is still great and didn't let me down. "
This was the second good news that Ye Qingshan received after taking over the mess left by Gu Zhutong, which was enough to reverse the subsequent course of the war.
The first good news, of course, is the arrival of the 25th and 73rd Armies.
"Now, the reinforcements have arrived, and the Japs' retreat has been cut off.
All conditions for counterattack have been met.
It’s time to end this war.”
Ye Qingshan looked at the map excitedly.
"If the counterattack goes well, the Japanese 40th and 21st Divisions may be able to stay.
Even if we can't keep them, we must destroy most of their manpower.
After this battle, I will make sure that the Japanese will never be able to get their hands on southern Zhejiang again.
I want to make the Japanese turn pale when they talk about southern Zhejiang.
You old devil Matsui Iwane, you fucking ran away at the very end of the last battle in Nanjing.
This time, I won't give you a chance to escape."
Ye Qingshan already knew that the Japanese commander in this battle was the old Japanese named Matsui Iwane.
The last time, they fought each other during the battle in Jinling.
Unfortunately, in the end he had to give in to the old Japanese and command most of the Japanese troops to withdraw safely.
But this time, Ye Qingshan took a more ruthless approach and directly cut off the transportation line of the Japanese front-line troops.
Fighting in a mountainous area like southern Zhejiang without supplies would be extremely deadly.
"Xiao Wusheng, how are the 25th and 73rd Armies resting?"
Ye Qingshan asked the young martial artist standing next to him.
“Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, they have already rested for a day.
Ammunition was adequately supplied, and rations were issued to them for a week.
In addition, we also gave them the 60 mm small steel cannons and rocket launchers that we had just transported from the rear.
The two army commanders expressed their gratitude to the Commander-in-Chief.
And he said that he could set out to the north to fight the Japanese at any time. "
The young martial artist replied.
At this time, the 25th Army and the 73rd Army were resting outside the city.
These two armies will be the main force for Ye Qingshan to counterattack the Japanese.
For this reason, Ye Qingshan was generous enough to help them.
"Notify the 25th and 73rd Armies that they will set out tonight.
First take back Yiwu County.
Then, the 25th Army attacked along the west side of the valley, targeting the Japanese 12th Mixed Brigade on the other side of Wuzhi Mountain.
The 73rd Army went north from the mountain behind the temple and attacked the two regiments of the Japanese 39th Division, first rescuing Zhang Fa's 209th Division and 76th Division.
They’ve really reached their limit.”
The young martial artist was recording Ye Qingshan's orders on the side.
"Send a telegram to tell Zhang Fa that reinforcements will arrive tomorrow.
By then, they can break out and retreat.
They worked hard in this battle."
Ye Qingshan said heavily.