strictlysupreme Chapter 187 Bombardment of Yunshan Army
Chapter 187 Bombardment of Yunshan Army
The Nanguan River is more than 40 meters wide. The Yunshan Army built three pontoon bridges on it. As more and more Yunshan soldiers crossed the river to the north bank, a Yunshan Army on the north bank marched towards Nanxi County, preparing to occupy Nanxi County first.
Li Weiling was not in a hurry. He deployed a regiment in Nanxi County to block the Yunshan troops from crossing the river.
An hour later, it was estimated that there were more than 13,000 to 14,000 Yunshan troops crossing the river. Li Weiling decisively ordered: "Pass the order, let the artillery fire."
"Yes, commander." The staff officer at the side immediately conveyed the order to fire to the artillery over the phone.
The various divisions of the Nanshan Army were able to communicate with each other on the battlefield. Of course, the communication distance was limited, and the soldiers in the communications department had to temporarily set up telephone lines.
In order to ensure effective coordination among various units in this raid, Li Weiling also installed telephones at the artillery positions.
"Boom, boom, boom..."
As the order was conveyed, the artillery positions of the 7th and 8th Divisions launched artillery bombardments on both sides of the Nanguan River.
The enemy troops on the north bank were in a better condition. After crossing the river, they were relatively dispersed, and each unit was far apart from each other, so they were able to avoid artillery fire much more easily.
The troops on the south bank were concentrated in order to cross the river, and this distance was easier to be targeted by artillery.
Therefore, when the shells fell, the Yunshan Army on the south bank was blown into the air in large numbers, and the remaining soldiers fled in panic.
Yun Zhizhou was standing in the front, and under one artillery shell, his guards and staff suffered heavy casualties, and he himself was also seriously injured.
"General, General." The commander of the guard regiment in the distance, with the soldiers of the guard regiment, rescued some injured senior officers despite the artillery shells.
The soldiers of the Guard Regiment protected Yun Zhizhou and other senior officers and found a relatively low place to temporarily avoid the shelling.
Yun Zhizhou was pierced by shrapnel in the right chest and was bleeding profusely.
The guards treated his wounds simply: "Captain, the bleeding from the warlord's wound has stopped temporarily, but we still need to find a professional doctor to treat him."
The guard commander had a gloomy face. There was no village or shop in this place, and they were under artillery fire from the enemy. Where could they find a doctor?
Adjutant Yun Zhizhou was hit in the head by shrapnel and died on the spot. Two of the four division commanders on the south bank died.
"Commander Liu, what should we do now?" the guard commander asked one of the surviving commanders.
There were two division commanders who survived on the south bank. One was Division Commander Liu, and the other was Division Commander Wang, who, like Yun Zhizhou, was seriously injured and unconscious.
Commander Liu was also injured, but not seriously: "What can we do? Quickly gather the troops and retreat."
"The enemy has clearly set up an ambush. Our troops have been scattered, and the military governor has been seriously injured. We will first retreat to Jiang'an County, treat the military governor's injuries, and gather the scattered troops in Jiang'an."
Commander Liu was frightened by the enemy's artillery bombardment. One artillery shell affected an area of hundreds of meters. After the bombardment, it was unknown how many troops would be left of the expedition to Nanchuan.
The guard regiment commander had no other choice but to agree with Commander Liu's suggestion and prepare to retreat to Jiang'an County.
When the Yunshan Army was under artillery fire, the Eighth Division on the south bank had already taken action.
Three regiments surrounded the Yunshan Army from three directions, and at the same time sent the 804th Regiment to capture Jiang'an County.
Half an hour later, at the Eighth Division headquarters, a staff officer came to report: "Division Commander, the 801st and 802nd Regiments have arrived at the designated location."
"Where is the 803rd Regiment?" Du Feiyun asked.
The 801st, 802nd and 803rd Regiments formed an arc, blocking the plain and firmly blocking the Yunshan Army's retreat.
The staff officer replied: "Reporting to the division commander, there is no news from the 803rd Regiment yet."
The Eighth Division was originally on the left wing, and the 803rd Regiment was farthest from the right wing, so it would take the longest time.
North bank, 7th Division Headquarters.
"Report to the division commander, enemy troops appeared on the 703rd Regiment's position and have been defeated."
"Report to the division commander, enemy troops have also appeared at the 702nd Regiment's position and have been temporarily repelled."
The two officers in front and behind entered the command center to report on the battle situation.
The north bank is different from the south bank. Because the Yunshan Army is on the south bank, the Seventh Division on the north bank made some arrangements early on.
Except for the middle plain, troops were deployed on the left and right wings, namely the 702nd and 703rd Regiments.
Without paying attention to the battle situation on both wings, Li Weiling asked, "Any news from the 701st and 704th Regiments?"
"No news yet." The chief of staff shook his head slightly.
"Just now, a troop of about 2,000 people moved towards Nanxi County. Their target should be Nanxi County."
At this time in Nanxi County, Shu, the head of the 704th Regiment, and his team were assigning tasks to their subordinates.
"The first battalion will temporarily defend Nanxi County. The second and third battalions and the regiment's direct troops will work with me to support the 704th Regiment in the middle."
Several battalion commanders were eager to try, but one was a little dissatisfied: "Commander, our battalion is also the main force, why do you keep us here?"
"Old Li, that's not right. It makes it seem like we are not the main force."
"That's right, Lao Li, this is the task assigned by the regiment commander. Nanxi County is a strategic location, you must defend it well."
The second and third battalion commanders said in unison. You must be kidding. Someone has to stay in the county. If one battalion doesn't stay, another battalion will have to stay. They don't want to be left behind.
Shu Yihang also said in a serious tone: "The first battalion has a difficult task, and we must defend the city."
"Once we go out of the city and encounter the main force of the Yunshan Army, we can still retreat. If Nanxi County is lost, not only our 704th Regiment, but even the th Division will be in a very dangerous situation."
After Shu and his entourage had persuaded him, a battalion commander agreed in a serious tone to stay in Nanxi County.
The remaining troops of the 704th Regiment followed Shu and his party to provide support to the battlefield on the north bank.
After forty minutes of shelling, the 701st Regiment also moved to the designated battlefield, blocked the gap on the north bank, and surrounded most of the Yunshan Army on the north bank plain.
Shu and his entourage led more than 704 officers and soldiers of the th Regiment on their way to the battlefield on the north bank.
A Yunshan army was rushing towards Nanxi County. During the march, the leader raised his hand to signal the troops to stop, and then lay on the ground to listen to the noise.
Half a minute later, the captain stood up and observed the surrounding terrain solemnly.
Seeing a forest on one side, the regiment commander pointed at the forest and said, "All troops, go into the forest and hide, and don't make any noise."
Although they did not understand what the commander was going to do, based on their trust in him, the troops quickly hid in the mountains and forests, concealed their bodies, and did not cause much noise.
Soon, a troop appeared in the sight of the Yunshan Army. They all held their breath and dared not make any sound.
This unit was none other than Shu's 704th Regiment. As they were in a hurry to travel, they did not notice the Yunshan Army in the mountains.
Only after the entire 704th Regiment had passed did the regiment commander lead his troops back to the main road.
A battalion commander couldn't help but admire him and said, "The commander is really amazing. If we hadn't discovered the enemy in advance, we would have had to fight them."
They also felt the artillery fire behind them. The Yunshan Army did not carry any artillery, so it was obvious that it was the enemy that was firing.
This conclusion naturally shocked them, and they did not dare to go back to check the situation.
After some discussion, they decided to stay away from the shelling positions first, so they moved along the mainland towards Nanxi County for some distance.