strictlysupreme Chapter 123 Defeat the 3rd Army
Chapter 123 Defeat the 3rd Army
The chief of staff agreed with the division commander's suggestion, saying that their division had done its best in this battle.
Besides, the commanders of the 33rd and 32nd Divisions were not Zeng He’s confidants. Zeng He’s most trusted subordinate was the commander of the 31st Division.
The two of them could barely be considered as Yuan Shiting's camp, so they were naturally separated from Zeng He. Moreover, Li Bingqing's prestige would surely be greatly reduced in this battle, so they didn't need to fight too hard.
After making up his mind, the commander of the 31st Division put on a smile and said, "Herald, go to the military headquarters and pass on the order."
"The right wing battlefield is in urgent need of support. All three regiments of our army have been dispatched and are no longer able to support the right wing battlefield."
"Yes, the division commander." The messenger did not dare to delay and immediately rushed to the military headquarters.
On the wall of the north gate of Yanping City, Fang Guoxuan was holding a telescope and keeping an eye on the battlefield situation. Seeing that both wings of the battlefield had made good progress, he couldn't help but smile.
However, facing the stalemate on the front battlefield, he frowned again.
It is not Fang Weiguo's fault that the front battlefield could not break through. In these battles, the 102nd Regiment suffered the greatest losses, shouldered the most difficult tasks, and also faced the most enemies on the front line.
Although the 32nd Division was bombarded by the 102st Division's artillery fire during this period and lost more than soldiers, it still had more than soldiers left, which was twice the strength of the nd Regiment.
"Haven't the remaining two battalions of the 101st Regiment and the team troops arrived in Yanping yet?" Fang Guoxuan turned to look at the staff officer and asked.
The staff officer immediately reported: "The troops directly under the 101st Regiment have entered the city, and their first and third battalions are still on the way."
"Let Fang Weian lead the 101nd Battalion of the 102st Regiment, the troops directly under the regiment headquarters, and the special forces battalion directly under the division to support the nd Regiment on the front battlefield."
Ten minutes after the Chief of Staff conveyed the order, the 101st Regiment and the Special Service Battalion completed their assembly outside the north city and rushed towards the front battlefield.
The Third Army Headquarters of the Northern Army received a request for support from the 33rd Division. After Zeng He dismissed the officer who requested assistance, he said to the Chief of Staff: "The Southern Army's combat effectiveness is not weak. I plan to move the headquarters back."
"Why not move the headquarters to the county seat of Gui County, Linjiang City?" The chief of staff nodded, strongly agreeing with the idea of moving the headquarters back.
Zeng He had no objection to this. The main reason why they did not withdraw from Yanping County before was that the instructions from above were to let them stay where they were, and it was not easy to openly disobey the order.
It is different now. If the enemy counterattacks, it is reasonable for the troops to retreat.
All friendly forces have withdrawn and no reinforcements have been sent. We can't just let them fight to the death here.
With all sorts of thoughts running through his mind, Zeng He gave the order: "Send a message to the 33rd Division to move its position and resist the enemy's attack."
"The military department will collect the documents immediately and evacuate in half an hour."
When the commander of the 33rd Division received the order from the military messenger to relocate his division headquarters, he wanted to curse.
There are only a thousand combat troops directly under their division headquarters, and the remaining thousand are non-combat personnel such as logistics and civilian staff.
"Pass the order, move the division headquarters forward, and issue weapons to all non-combat personnel." Although he was angry, the commander of the 33rd Division still gritted his teeth and gave the order.
Whether it is the Northern Army, the Southern New Army, or the Nanshan Army, non-combat personnel will also undergo rigorous military training, and their military qualities are not much different from those of combat soldiers.
When the 33rd Division headquarters moved forward to the right wing, most of the positions on the right wing had been destroyed by the 103rd Regiment, and only a few places on the position were still resisting.
Faced with the reinforcements of the 33rd Division, Fang Weian decisively left a small group of troops to finish off the attack, while he led the majority of his troops to charge towards the 33rd Division.
The guard battalion and military police battalion of the 33rd Division were both very powerful. As soon as they joined the battlefield, they were able to stabilize their position.
But as time went on, the 103rd Regiment, with its powerful firepower advantage, defeated the 33rd Division without any chance to fight back.
The fighting continued until 33 a.m., when the chief of staff came to the commander of the rd Division and advised, "Commander, retreat. We don't even know where the military headquarters has retreated to."
"Zeng He, you bastard." Hearing the chief of staff mention the military headquarters, the commander of the 33rd Division couldn't help but curse out loud.
There are still nearly 8,000 people in the military. If Zeng He can put all of these 8,000 people into the battlefield and defeat the enemy in front of him, it is very likely.
Of course, this was just the wishful thinking of the commander of the 33rd Division. The headquarters of the rd Army was bombed many times by the st Division, and the troops lost more than men, and the losses were all combat-capable troops.
Moreover, even if they could repel the Nanshan Army's attack, they would still have to face the constant bombardment. If they dragged on here, they would be doomed sooner or later.
At this time, on the main battlefield, with the arrival of more than 101 reinforcements from the 32st Regiment, the nd Division no longer had its troop advantage and could only resist with difficulty.
When the 101st and 32rd Battalions of the st Regiment arrived in Yanping and entered the battlefield, the nd Division completely collapsed.
Looking at the Nanshan Army that continued to rush into the battlefield, the commander of the 32nd Division sighed helplessly and said, "Retreat."
"Division Commander, the soldiers are already entangled with the enemy on the battlefield, and I'm afraid it will be difficult for them to withdraw." The chief of staff said with a serious expression.
The division commander's face darkened and he said unhappily, "Withdraw as many as you can. This battle has already been lost. If you continue to stay here, you will only be wiped out by the enemy."
Eventually, the commander and chief of staff of the 32nd Division withdrew from the battlefield with more than remaining soldiers.
At the same time, the battlefields on both wings were broken through by the 104th and 103rd Regiments respectively, and the commander of the 33rd Division evacuated with only a hundred people. Most of the North Army on the position was divided and surrounded, and was eliminated bit by bit by the South Mountain Army.
The entire battle was not over until two o'clock in the afternoon.
"Order Fang Tianming to collect the prisoners, count the casualties, and take stock of the results of the battle." Fang Guoxuan breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the entire enemy position had been captured.
After the messenger went to convey the order, Fang Guoxuan also returned to the command center in the city to wait for news.
Not long after, Fang Tianming came to report: "Division Commander, in this battle, we killed 5574 enemies and captured 6576. We also seized 108 Taisho 24-style box guns, 492 heavy machine guns, and light machine guns."
Fang Guoxuan nodded, the spoils must include the weapons collected by the Northern Army soldiers who were killed before.
"What about the troop losses?" Fang Guoxuan was most concerned about the troop casualties.
Fang Tianming said solemnly: "The troops suffered heavy losses, with a total of 1232 people killed in the battle."
“其中101团98人，102团312人，103团427人，104团348人，特务营47人。”
Hearing the casualty figures, Fang Guoxuan looked a little heavy.
It seems that more than 1 Union troops were killed here, but don't forget that the First Division also launched an artillery attack. Minus the casualties caused by the artillery attack, the casualty ratio between the First Division and the Union Army was about 3 to .
Fang Guoxuan suppressed his emotions and ordered: "Send a telegram to the commander, reporting the results of the battle and casualties."
"Rescue the wounded, collect the remains of the dead soldiers and send them to the Martyrs' Hall. In the evening, take out the prepared bacon and give it to the soldiers as a snack."
In preparation for this attack, the soldiers had breakfast at around six in the morning and only had dry food at noon. Fang Guoxuan prepared a good meal for the soldiers.
As orders were issued one after another, Yanping County became busy again.
Fang Jian was very happy to receive Fang Guoxuan's telegram. He instructed Zhang Sheng: "Send some of the anti-tank guns, 82 mortars, mountain guns, field guns and shells produced by the military factory to the First Division."
"When the truck returns, the prisoners and captured weapons will be transported to Nanling."