mtlumby2d Chapter 538: Battle of Jinzhou (2)
Chapter 538: Battle of Jinzhou (2)
Yi County is located 45 kilometers north of Jinzhou. It is the gateway to Jinzhou and the only way to attack Jinzhou. It is also the transportation hub of the Jinzhou-Chengde and Xinlitun railways. It has important strategic value and is an important defensive stronghold of the Kuomintang army.
If you want to take Jinzhou, you must first capture Yixian!
However, Wang Shigao, commander of the 20th Temporary Division of the defending army, was full of confidence. Not only were the troops under his command equipped with half American weapons, but they had also received military training from the US Army Advisory Group, so their combat effectiveness was not bad!
Moreover, Yi County is less than two hours away from Jinzhou and is connected by railway. Once attacked, the garrison in Jinzhou can quickly come to reinforce!
Another point is that Yi County’s city defense is also very strong!
Because the ancient city wall of Yi County is 10 meters high and 4 meters thick, there is a wide and deep moat under the city; plus various permanent and semi-permanent fortifications built here in recent years, it is easy to defend but difficult to attack.
In addition, the ancient city of Yixian faces water on one side and has open terrain on three sides, making it difficult for attacking troops to approach unless they are willing to suffer huge casualties!
Temporary 20th Division Headquarters,
Wang Shigao was holding the microphone and reporting proudly,
"Report to the commander, no trace of the Communist army has been found in Yi County! Even if they come, they will definitely not be able to do anything to Yi County!"
"Don't underestimate the enemy. The Communist army is currently launching a massive attack on the Bac Ninh Line. It seems that there is some conspiracy hidden behind it!"
On the other end of the phone, Fan Hanjie, the highest commander stationed in Jinzhou and deputy commander of the Northeast Bandit Suppression Headquarters, also had a gloomy look on his face, and he was always a little uneasy in his heart!
The Bac Ninh Line is the former Jingfeng Railway, which runs from Beijing to Shenyang, Liaoning. Once this railway is cut off, the Kuomintang army in the Northeast will only have the option of sea transportation if they want to retreat to the interior!
Wang Shigao said,
"Commander, I promise you that if the Communist army can capture Yi County, I will no longer be named Wang!"
I just hung up the phone.
Chief of Staff Zhou Gujun rushed in and said,
"Commander, something terrible has happened. Many Communist tanks have appeared in the east of the city!"
Wang Shigao frowned and said unhappily,
"Are your eyes blurry?"
"It was discovered by the 2st Battalion of the 1nd Regiment. They are very close to the city wall!"
Wang Shigao picked up his American wide-brimmed hat and couldn't help feeling a little nervous. How many tanks did the Communist army still have?
"Let's go and take a look together!"
The two men got in an American jeep and rushed straight to the East Gate. Along the way, they heard the rumbling sound of cannons coming from the East Gate!
As soon as we arrived at the East Gate, we saw that the city wall was filled with smoke and a gap of more than 30 meters long had been blown down in the city gate.
The 2nd Regiment Commander Wang Canjing was commanding his troops to set up machine guns to block the opening.
Although the city wall had collapsed, the shelling outside the city did not stop, and shells continued to hit the city wall.
When Wang Canjing saw the teacher, he immediately said with a sad face,
"Commander, there are tanks everywhere outside the city. It seems the Communist Army has sent all its strongest forces!"
Wang Shigao picked up the telescope and looked through the gap.
One kilometer away from the city wall, there were more than 20 tanks parked in a row, with flames spurting out of their muzzles.
Wang Canjing reported,
"When this group of Communist troops arrived, they didn't say a word, and instead of attacking the city, they just bombarded the city walls..."
As he was speaking,
With a loud crash, a large section of the city wall collapsed again, making a thunderous roar. The dust raised covered the sky and the sun, shrouding everything around in chaos.
In the dust and fog, hundreds of Kuomintang soldiers were seen with horrified faces, almost frightened out of their wits. Seeing that their vision was blurred, they immediately ran away in all directions!
Outside the city, Tang Junping, commander of the 1st Armored Regiment of the 1st Battle Group, was commanding the regiment's two Grizzlies assault guns, and 2 Type 24 assault guns continued to fiercely bombard the city wall.
There were already five gaps in the entire east gate! Some of them were about to be connected together!
There was a sudden buzzing sound in the sky, and an AR96 reconnaissance plane flew over Yi County!
In the 1st Battle Group Headquarters, a voice came from Ding Shan's walkie-talkie microphone.
"Calling the 1st Battle Group, Reconnaissance Squadron No. 03 is currently conducting reconnaissance in the air and has found no signs of enemy withdrawal! Over!"
"Received! Please continue scouting!" Ding Shan said into the microphone!
Yin Xinjun directly copied the high-power voice instant communication equipment of the B24 bomber and not only installed it on other aircraft, but also equipped each regimental-level and above command organization with one!
The instant communication distance of this high-power device can reach up to 200 kilometers!
Listening to the clear voice, Ding Shan couldn't help but feel happy. With this thing, what commanding heights do I need to occupy in the future? The plane is my commanding height!
The reason why he arranged Tang Junping to bombard continuously was to force the defenders to leave the city. No matter which direction they came from, his armored group would pounce on them as quickly as hungry wolves!
Ding Shan continued to give instructions into the microphone.
"Pass on my order, the self-propelled artillery battalion will join the bombardment of the east gate!"
With heavy artillery and armored forces, the current battle mode seems to be getting simpler and simpler. You don't want to run? Then wait for the shells to hit you. Anyway, I have plenty of shells!
The majestic 150mm Hornet heavy artillery stood tall. At the command of the artillery battalion commander, a dazzling fire burst out from the muzzle instantly, accompanied by a deafening roar, and the shells whizzed out like lightning.
The shell streaked across the sky, carrying endless power and fury, rushing towards the fortifications of the East Gate. The moment it approached the target, a huge and blazing fireball erupted, like the sun exploding in an instant.
The strong shock wave spread wildly around the point where the shell landed, raising dust and gravel all over the sky, as if the earth was being torn apart by an invisible giant hand. Under this violent force, bunkers, bunkers, and fortifications instantly collapsed, concrete fragments and steel components flew everywhere, and the originally solid defense line instantly turned into ruins.
Wang Shigao was dumbfounded. The East Gate fortifications he had spent half a year building had all been reduced to rubble in less than 30 minutes. The 2nd Regiment defending the East Gate had suffered over a thousand casualties. His proud defensive assets were instantly shattered! And they hadn't even seen a hair of the Communist Army!
Putting down the telescope, Chief of Staff Zhou Gujun's face had lost all color and turned as pale as paper. His eyes were wide open, and his eyeballs seemed to be about to pop out of their sockets, his eyes were full of fear and despair.
He said with difficulty,
"Commander, let's retreat quickly! If we don't, our entire division will be destroyed here!"
Wang Shigao closed his eyes in pain and let out a long sigh!
On Dingshan's side, the pilot's anxious voice came from the microphone again.
"We have discovered that the enemy has already set out from the south gate and is fleeing towards Jinzhou. There are more than 40 trucks and three armored vehicles, and the rest are on horseback or on foot!"
"Got it, thank you!"
Ding Shan turned around and ordered,
"Turn to intercom frequency 17!"
This type of communication equipment has more than fifty frequencies to choose from. In order to avoid being eavesdropped and leaking secrets, it is necessary to change channels frequently during war!
"Attention, all regiments! The enemy has already left the south gate. Outflank them, surround them and annihilate them!"