inspire-indiana Chapter 525: Annihilation of the New 5th Army (6)
Chapter 525: Annihilation of the New 5th Army (6)
To the east of the encirclement, twenty miles away is the Liao River!
At this moment on the east bank of the Liaohe River,
There was constant sound of gunfire.
The 1st Column, the 10th Column, the 1st Independent Division, the 2nd Independent Division, the 1st Combat Group led by Ding Shan, Sun Wei's troops, and Tang Junping's troops were fighting a bloody battle at the north and south ferry crossings with the enemy's New 1st Army, New 3rd Army, New 6th Army, 71st Army and other units coming to rescue from the west!
There are two small villages at the ferry in the north.
Mahushan Village and Guanjiadian Village are less than a mile apart!
Tang Junping was stationed in Mahushan Village, and Sun Wei was stationed in Guanjiadian Village.
Ding Shan came here to cooperate with the 1st Column in defensive operations. Originally, they were the strategic reserve of the column. However, after the combat meeting, Ding Shan realized that this time they were going to attack the reinforcements, so he volunteered to join the battle. His reason was very good. His troops were equipped with a large number of tanks, and each tank was a mobile fortress! It could reduce casualties and consumption!
Commander Li of the 1st Column immediately agreed to his request and handed over the most forward and critical crossing to the 1st Battle Group!
At two o'clock in the afternoon, the enemy's vanguard troops had already rushed over, and they were all motorized troops, with more than ten tanks and armored vehicles, followed by dozens of large trucks!
Chen Cheng also issued a death order, requiring the New Fifth Army to hold its ground and the other units to encircle from the outside. He even hoped to use this battle to destroy the main column of the Communist Army!
Mahushan Village,
At the entrance of the quiet village, there is a wide and flat threshing ground.
At this time, a Type 3 assault gun was quietly hiding in a pile of tall haystacks. Its black muzzle was like the bloody mouth of a ferocious beast, slowly and firmly turning, aiming at the convoy slowly moving forward on the winding road on the northeast side.
Suddenly, there was a loud bang, like a thunderbolt from the blue sky. A powerful shell whizzed out of the barrel of the No. 3 assault gun at lightning speed, rushing towards the target like a bolt of lightning.
In an instant, the road was filled with dust and smoke. The majestic Sherman tank leading the charge was instantly hit with a fatal blow. A shocking hole suddenly exploded on its sturdy turret, and raging fire gushed out, accompanied by billowing smoke that soared into the sky.
This sudden attack caused the entire enemy team to fall into extreme panic and chaos. The soldiers ran around in panic, screaming and shouting one after another. However, surprisingly, no one of them could detect where the deadly shell came from.
There was another loud "boom" and then the earth shook. Another shell whizzed out and hit the target accurately.
In an instant, flames shot up into the sky and thick smoke billowed. A poor armored vehicle was instantly overturned into the air by the powerful force of the explosion, as if a giant beast out of control was struggling wildly in the air.
The nickname "San Tuo Zi" is not for nothing! Its reputation is not in vain. Its powerful firepower, accurate shooting and excellent mobility make it an absolute overlord on the battlefield.
Whether it was a solid bunker or a fast-moving armored vehicle, they were vulnerable to the "Three-Spikes". Every shot was a fatal blow to the enemy, plunging them into deep fear and despair.
The enemy troops on the road finally discovered the three-pronged attack on the threshing ground more than 200 meters away, and rushed over with roars!
The ambushing machine guns and submachine guns also began to roar!
At this time, another Type 3 assault gun drove onto the road from the end of the village and fired another shot at the convoy!
The second Sherman tank was destroyed again!
Under the crossfire of the two three-tank tanks, the convoy was destroyed in less than half an hour. More than 7 infantrymen were killed or wounded!
Tang Junping waited in the village for a long time.
The sky has gradually darkened.
But the enemy seemed to have given up the attack. Night fighting was not the Kuomintang army's strong point. Moreover, the outpost troops ran too fast and the ones behind did not catch up for half a day. When they saw the powerful tank forces of the Communist Army, they simply stopped advancing!
Night came,
In the afternoon, the 2nd and 6th columns had launched several attacks.
Since the village was surrounded by open areas and the defenders had strong firepower, the attack was unsuccessful and instead resulted in heavy casualties!
At this time, the 3rd Column, which had rushed to the battlefield from the south, indeed reported to the front and launched an attack overnight, completely destroying the New Fifth Army!
After approval,
The troops of the 3rd Column immediately carried out final preparations before the war!
At 8 pm, after dinner,
Yuan Canhai's 25th Regiment took the lead in attacking Zhoujiatun from the south.
This time, with Tang Yantian's support, he was full of confidence.
The armored infantry company's twelve half-track armored vehicles rushed to the front with their headlights on. The rumbling sound brought a great sense of oppression to the defenders!
The enemy's 583rd Regiment guarding the village was also a direct line of the Central Army. They were very powerful and naturally were not pushovers.
Seeing the armored vehicles coming, several soldiers carrying bazookas went over to meet them.
There were two loud bangs.
Two armored vehicles were hit and caught fire!
However, the soldiers following the armored vehicles swarmed into the village, and the two sides engaged in hand-to-hand combat and began a fierce fight!
The sound of grenade explosions continued to be heard in the village.
In the firelight, the third battalion commander Cao Chuan rushed in almost first with his M3 submachine gun.
The biggest feature of the 25th Regiment is that it dares to charge and fight. Under the leadership of Yuan Canhai, the whole regiment is full of fighting spirit. Now all the weapons have been replaced with automatic weapons. On average, each squad has three automatic rifles and three submachine guns!
The soldiers kept firing and throwing grenades everywhere. The grenades from the Mulan Arsenal were copies of the German long-handled grenades, and their characteristic was that they could be thrown far!
Cao Chuan used the firelight to see a group of dark figures at the north end of the village, running desperately. He immediately led his men to chase after them.
A group of enemy soldiers surrounded a fat officer and were planning to flee to Anfutun, not far away.
Outside the north end, the lights suddenly came on, and two armored vehicles and four trucks turned on their lights at the same time!
It turned out that the soldiers of the 26th Regiment had infiltrated between the two villages, separating the two villages!
Under the light of the car lights, seeing the black holes of gun muzzles everywhere, the fat officer simply threw away his pistol and surrendered with his men!
The 3rd Column's main attacking forces were the two regiments of the 9th Division. The place was not large, and it was difficult to deploy the troops because of their large number. Two hours later, the entire Zhoujiatun was finally completely occupied, and more than 600 prisoners alone were captured!
On the Anfutun side, the three regiments of the 2th Division of the 5nd Column were responsible for the attack, while Gaojiawobao was under the responsibility of the 6th Division of the 17th Column. At dawn, the chaotic fighting gradually subsided. More than 4000 prisoners were captured in these three villages alone!
The soldiers were also worried when they saw the prisoners, as they were all wearing thick cotton-padded jackets, while many cunning officers had already changed their clothes!
These Central Army prisoners were very stubborn and refused to say anything during the interrogation. Since they did not know the whereabouts of Chen Linda and other high-ranking officials, the commander of the 5th Division, Zhong, came up with a good idea.
He asked the soldiers to bring the prisoners in batches to an open snowy area, and asked two soldiers to hold a small red flag and walk 1 kilometer away, and ordered the prisoners to run quickly towards the red flag. Due to the long distance, the prisoners were exhausted and panting, and there was a clear dividing line in the crowd, with some still rushing ahead and some already far behind.
It turned out that the Kuomintang officers were basically people who lived a life of luxury. They were only responsible for commanding in the rear and rarely participated in military training. Therefore, their physical fitness was naturally not as good as that of soldiers who had been training for years to fight, and they naturally fell behind under such fast running.
More than 195 people who fell behind were interrogated individually. As expected, a large number of officers including the commander of the New Fifth Army Chen Linda, the commander of the 11th Division Liu Guangtian, regiment commanders, and others were easily pulled out!