The casualties were so heavy that the Second Guards Infantry Brigade that went into the attack was almost completely wiped out. Even the Seventh Engineer Regiment that came to help dig trenches suffered a disaster! With the fight like this, the afternoon attack cannot continue no matter what. Morale has been severely damaged. How can we still attack
There was no way, Konoe Shingen could only order to temporarily stop the attack.
By evening, the casualties of the Second Brigade were also counted.
The Second Guards Infantry Brigade had a total of more than 1,100 people, of which more than 800 were killed and more than 200 were seriously injured. The remaining remnants totaled less than 100 people. It can be said that they were basically wiped out!
Seeing the statistics, Konoe Shingen and Sanjo Kyousuke were speechless for a long time. In fact, even if they didn't look at the statistics, they could probably guess this result, because the scenes they saw in the attack positions and trenches were extremely tragic. The sight is enough to explain the problem.
At this time, the adjutant came in and reported that Kunizaki Noboru was looking for them.
The commander summoned them, and the two little devils had no choice but to come to the division headquarters with dark faces.
What comforted Konoe Shingen and Sanjo Kyousuke was that Noboru Kunisaki did not reprimand them harshly, but instead comforted them with kind words.
Kunizaki Noboru really didn't mean to blame.
To be honest, Kunisaki Noboru was surprised when he received a report from Konoe Shingen earlier, saying that tunnels were to be used for blasting, because such an attack method can be said to be very novel, at least in the history of Japanese military operations. , There has never been such a precedent. Kunizaki Noboru is very optimistic about this tactic, so he specially sent the 7th Engineer Regiment under the 7th Division to assist the Guards Regiment in digging trenches.
Then Noboru Kunisaki began to wait for news at the division headquarters.
But I didn't expect that such a result would be expected in the end!
Not only was the Guards Regiment severely damaged, but the 7th Engineer Regiment sent to help was also almost completely destroyed!
Noboru Kunizaki never expected that the Chinese on the opposite side would suddenly be covered by a barrage! It was easy to crack the tunnel digging tactics of the Guards Regiment! Then Noboru Kunisaki learned about the Battle of the Marne and the Battle of the Somme. If it hadn't been for the disastrous defeat of the Guards Regiment today, he really wouldn't have known that heavy machine guns could still be used like this!
Then Kunozaki learned about the Battle of Nantong and knew that Xu Rui had already used such tactics.
Thinking about it carefully, Kunizaki Noboru had actually read the report about the Battle of Nantong in the battle report. But out of his extreme contempt for the Chinese soldiers, he didn't take it to heart at all, and then he forgot about it as time went by. But today, The reality has taught Kunizaki a cruel lesson, and the Chinese really cannot take it lightly!
Because of this, Kunizaki Noboru did not blame Konoe Shingen and Sanjo Kyousuke at all. In a word, it was not that the imperial army did not work hard, but that the opponents were too cunning! Who would have thought that the Chinese army on the opposite side could actually pull off such a trick? He actually discovered the classic tactics from World War I, and it happened to completely defeat the Guards Regiment's tactics!
War tactics have always been complementary to each other, and there has never been one method of war that can conquer the world. When faced with such a complete defeat, being completely abused is the most normal result. Not being completely abused is abnormal. What else is there to say
After a few words of relief, Noboru Kunizaki added: "However, the Wusong Fort must still be taken!"
This was the key point Noboru Kunizaki wanted to say. It didn't matter if he lost the battle. It didn't matter if more people died. Anyway, the people who died were all members of the Guards Division, not their Seventh Division. He didn't care at all. However, Wu Song But the fort must be captured, because if he can capture the Wusong fort, this battle achievement will be recorded on his head.
"Hai!" Konoe Shingen paused and said, "Don't worry, division commander, we will make a serious summary when we get back, innovate our tactics, and we will definitely capture the Wusong Fort within three days!"
"It doesn't take three days!" Sanjo Kyousuke suddenly said, "One day is enough!"
"Nani, one day?" Konoe Shingen turned back suddenly, Sanjo-kun, aren't you crazy? This is simply because the difficulty level is not high enough, so you have opened a super death mode for yourself? Damn it, are you going to fight in an unpleasant way? I am the commander of the 1st Guards Infantry Regiment, and you are the deputy, okay? Do you want to steal my limelight like this
"Is one day enough?!" Kunizaki Noboru frowned and said, "Sanjo-kun, there is no joke in the army!"
"Hai!" Sanjo Kyosuke said with a heavy nod, "Division Commander, I am issuing a military order now! If Fortress Mountain cannot be taken before dark tomorrow, I will commit seppuku to express gratitude to the Emperor!"
Konoe Shingen immediately looked as if he had eaten Xiang, and his face was very embarrassed.
However, I was secretly relieved. Sanjo Kyosuke took care of everything. This matter had nothing to do with him as the captain. Even if he failed to capture Fortress Mountain in the end, it had nothing to do with him.
Suzuki Keiji, the chief of staff of the 7th Division, suddenly said: "Sanjo-kun, are you planning a night attack? If this is really your plan, I advise you to give it up as soon as possible. The Songhu Independent Regiment itself is good at fighting at night. In addition, they are engaged in defensive operations, so you won’t be able to take any advantage at all.”
"Hai." Sanjo Kyousuke paused and said, "Thank you Suzuki-kun for reminding me, but don't worry, I will never be stupid enough to fight a night battle with the Songhu Independent Regiment, because doing so is basically using my own shortcomings to attack the enemy's strong points. Only an idiot would do it!"
"Nani, isn't it a night attack?" Keiji Suzuki asked again, "Then what kind of tactics are you planning to use?"
"It's still the tunnel digging strategy!" Sanjo Kyosuke said solemnly, "However, the strategy needs to be appropriately modified. To be more precise, it is to add a roof to the tunnel! Block the barrage coverage of the China Army!"
"You mean to dig a real closed tunnel?" Suzuki Keiji frowned and said, "But the geographical conditions near Wusong Fort do not allow it at all. The tunnel will collapse as soon as it is dug. How can this be broken?"
Sanjo Kyosuke said: "Suzuki-kun, I have made it very clear just now. I am not digging a real tunnel, but I am just trying to add a roof to the tunnel. To be more precise, I am adding a roof to the top of the tunnel." The steel plate does not need to be very thick, as long as it is four or five millimeters thick, it is enough to cover the Chinese army's cover!"
"Cover with a steel plate!" Noboru Kunisaki's eyes suddenly lit up, he clapped his hands and said, "Why didn't I think of that?"
Suzuki Keiji and Konoe Shingen were also impressed, because this is indeed a good idea, effective, and not expensive! Other supplies are not easy to find, but it is not difficult to find thousands of four- to five-millimeter-thick steel plates. If the number of steel plates is not enough, they can be sourced from nearby Taicang, Kunshan or even Suzhou.
If the steel plate is really not enough, wooden boards are also available, but they are just thicker!
In short, although the Chinese barrage coverage is very powerful and classic, it is not difficult to crack!
"Yoshi! Konoe-kun and Sanjo-kun, you are truly the elites of the imperial army." Kunizaki Noboru did not hesitate to praise the two of them, and continued, "Steel plates, wooden boards and other materials, I will come Find a way, you don’t need to be distracted by this, just focus on preparing for tomorrow’s attack!”
At the same time, Wusong Fortress command room.
Several leaders of the Songhu Independent Regiment, including Xu Rui, Wang Husheng, and Yang Rui, had not yet left. Shi Changqing, the battalion commander who was supposed to be the supreme commander of Wusong Fortress, could only serve tea nearby.
"Captain Shi, please add some more." Wang Husheng motioned to Shi Changqing to give him some more tea, and then said to Xu Rui, "You can add more after the tea is finished, but it's not so easy to add after the soldiers have been beaten." He paused. After a while, Wang Husheng said again, "Old Xu, after suffering such a big loss today, the little devil should have stopped, right?"
"I think so too." Yang Rui also nodded and agreed, "The battlefield of Wusong Fortress is only so wide. The enemy can only place an infantry regiment here at most, which can be deployed directly in front of the battlefield, or even There is only one brigade, if we continue to fight like this, won’t the little devils become a fueling tactic?”
The fueling tactic can be said to be the stupidest tactic.
"Stop?" Xu Rui shook his head and said suddenly, "You two underestimate the tenacity of the Japanese."
"What do you mean?" Wang Husheng said with wide eyes, "You mean, the little devil won't give up?"
"Definitely not." Xu Rui said firmly, "If a kid gives up so easily, then he is not a kid. What's more, this time we are coming from the First Regiment of the Guards Infantry, which is known as the elite of the Japs, so they will not give up. ! If they give up, if they evacuate from Wusong Fort in such a dejected manner, where will they put their faces?"
"That's true." Yang Rui said, "But what else can the little devil do?"
"I really don't know this." Xu Rui said with a smile, "You have to ask the kid."
Yang Rui and Wang Husheng laughed dumbly. They wanted to ask, but that would require the kid to be willing to say it.
While the three of them were joking, Digua suddenly walked in and reported: "The regiment leader, the political commissar, and Director Liu just called from home, saying that the Japs from Taicang, Kunshan and Suzhou are collecting steel plates, wooden boards and other supplies." , Even the door panels of fellow villagers’ houses were not spared, and most of them were taken away by the Japanese.”
In the past few months after the liberation of Shanghai, it was not only the Songhu Independent League that had developed vigorously, but also the underground party organizations under the leadership of the Independent League Party Committee, especially the underground party organizations in the counties and cities surrounding Shanghai. Fast, especially in the past when there were many informants inside the puppet government.
Therefore, every move of the Japanese and puppet troops around Shanghai is under the supervision of the independent regiment.
And Liu Mei is worthy of being a cadre with an old intelligence background. He has a very keen sense of intelligence. There are no less than a thousand pieces of intelligence submitted by underground party organizations in surrounding counties and cities every day, but Liu Mei still chooses this one from them at a glance. , because her intuition told her that there were important clues hidden in this piece of information, which was very likely to be related to the attack and defense of Wusong Fortress.