xymnovel Chapter 240 Iida Sadako's Plot: The Void Rear Defense
Chapter 240 Iida Sadako's Plot: The Void Rear Defense
Upon hearing this, Nishio Toshizo's face instantly turned indignant, and he slammed his fist on the map.
"Those two cowards, Iida Sadako and Shinotsuka Yoshio! Send them a telegram immediately!"
"It is now completely certain that the force attacking their lines was merely a small enemy unit bluffing!"
"Order them to immediately lead their main force to launch an attack on Fenshuiting Township and Quanhepu Town!"
"If they can achieve a breakthrough on the western front, the enemy forces west of the Shi River will inevitably be hesitant to act rashly!"
"At that point, the pincer attack on the Sixth and Tenth Divisions will naturally crumble on its own!"
At this point, he looked up at the gradually brightening sky outside the window and added again.
"At the same time, send a telegram to the air force units, ordering them to take off immediately and continue their bombing mission!"
"Without air support, ground troops alone simply cannot withstand the armored assault of the Third Column!"
Upon hearing the words "air force," Naosaburo Okabe's tense expression finally relaxed slightly.
"In any case, although the air force suffered some losses yesterday, it also destroyed a lot of enemy air defense positions in the fierce battle."
"I think the air defense capabilities of the third column on the other side have been significantly reduced."
"Today's air raid mission will surely be carried out successfully, inflicting a devastating blow on the enemy."
According to Naosaburo Okabe, the core reason why yesterday's counterattack failed miserably was that the air raids were thwarted.
The enemy's air defense forces caused great trouble and losses to their aircraft.
According to the battle report sent by the air force yesterday, they destroyed at least two-thirds of the enemy's air defense positions.
Today, the enemy's threat to the air will be greatly reduced, and the air strike will certainly achieve the desired results.
The order was quickly transmitted via radio to the command posts of the Imperial Guard Division and the 13th Division south of Huainan.
Iida Sadako and Shinotsuka Yoshio looked at the telegram with expressions of shame and indignation on their faces.
By this point, they were completely certain.
The armored unit that had been attacking their lines all this time was just bluffing and trying to scare them.
"Damn it! We were actually scared by these Chinese! We shouldn't have, we really shouldn't have!"
Yoshio Shinotsuka slammed his fist on the table in anger, his face full of frustration and resentment.
Standing to the side, Iida Sadako was much calmer than him and slowly spoke.
There is an old Chinese saying: "It's never too late to mend the fence after the sheep are lost."
"Fortunately, the main forces of the 6th and 10th Divisions are still intact, and we can still make it north to provide support in time."
As he spoke, his gaze slowly fell on the battle map on the table, and a calculating smile appeared on his lips.
"I have a pretty good battle plan now, would you like to hear it?"
Upon hearing this, Yoshio Shinotsuka immediately leaned forward and hurriedly asked, "What plan?"
Iida Sadaharu didn't speak, but the smile on his lips deepened.
He stretched out his finger and gently tapped it on the map, on the west bank of the Shi River, at Gushi County.
Upon seeing this, Yoshio Shinotsuka instantly understood what Sadako Iida meant, and his expression became quite interesting.
"Yoshi! Great idea!"
"The main forces of the Central Army and the Northwest Army have been transferred to the east bank of the Shi River and are intensifying their siege of Seibu Hei's Eighth Brigade."
"If we attack Gushi County now, where defenses are weak, we can cut off their retreat and supply lines!"
"At that time, the main enemy force that has already crossed the river will inevitably be thrown into chaos!"
Iida Sadaharu nodded smugly, quite pleased with his plan.
"When the enemy's formation is thrown into disarray, our main force will advance north to attack and encircle the enemy's main force trapped on the east bank of the Shi River."
"When that time comes, if these enemies want to escape, they'll have no choice but to jump into the Huai River and swim to the other side!"
The two hit it off immediately and began to allocate troops and formulate a detailed battle plan.
On the surface, they had their main force march north in a grand manner, making it appear as if they were going to support Huoqiu County.
At the same time, a portion of the troops were left behind to tie down the opposing Third Motorized Infantry Detachment and prevent the enemy from noticing anything unusual.
Secretly, they selected an elite brigade and added an extra field artillery regiment to form a special task force.
Under the cover of the main force's feigned movement, the special task force secretly crossed the Shi River to the west bank.
The plan was to head north, launch a surprise attack on Gushi County, and completely cut off the retreat route of the main force of the National Revolutionary Army.
Without a doubt, if this operation is successfully completed, it will take at most three days.
The Northwest Army and the Central Army on the east bank would fall into complete chaos because their supply lines would be cut off and their supplies would be exhausted.
Because Gushi County is their core material reserve base, all their ammunition and food are stockpiled here.
The number of troops remaining in Gushi County was indeed not large, consisting only of some Northwest Army and Central Army troops.
All in all, there were only a little over four thousand men, facing a surprise attack from more than ten thousand elite Japanese troops.
Holding onto Gushi County is no easy task.
Most importantly, the main forces of the Japanese 13th Division and the Imperial Guard Division will then head directly north.
They launched a full-scale attack on the Nationalist troops on the west bank, completely tying down their forces and preventing them from returning to reinforce Gushi.
The person left behind in Gushi County at this moment was none other than General Zhang Zizhong of the 27th Army Corps.
Tens of thousands of elite soldiers from the entire 27th Army Corps had long been transferred to the east bank of the Shi River to participate in the siege of the Japanese army.
Moreover, large quantities of guns, ammunition, food, and medicine were also being transported via the pontoon bridge over the Shi River.
They were continuously transported to the front lines in Fenshuiting Township and Quanhepu Town, supporting the offensive at the front.
Even Hu Zongnan's First Army headquarters had moved forward to Fenshuiting Township.
He planned to use this place as a forward command post to direct the troops to completely wipe out the Eighth Brigade.
Then, by joining forces with Li Jianghe's Third Column, they wiped out the Japanese Sixth and Tenth Divisions in one fell swoop.
This completely reversed the situation on the Huainan battlefield and drove the Japanese army out of western Anhui.
On the city wall of Gushi County, Zhang Zizhong, wearing a military overcoat, faced the cold morning wind and looked towards the east bank of the Shi River.
His fingers tapped lightly on the city bricks, his gaze sharp, showing no sign of relaxation even though the county town was sparsely defended.
He knew better than anyone that the more victories were achieved on the front lines, the more vigilant they had to be against the Japanese army's desperate measures.
A conspiracy surrounding Gushi County is quietly brewing, and the battle on the Huainan battlefield is far from over.
At 10:00 a.m., the vanguard of the Japanese 13th Division and the Imperial Guard Division began their northward advance along the highway, with their target being Fenshuiting Township.
This Japanese unit was large in scale and made almost no attempt to conceal its movements, intending to launch an attack in a high-profile manner.
With a tap of the finger, one is instantly transported to Chapter 240, "Iida Sadako's Conspiracy: A Wonderful World with an Empty Rear Defense."