Not only in Jiading, but also in Qingpu, the Japanese were ready to move again.
Hirohito and Hideki Tojo placed great hopes on germ warfare, but Shun Tada did not.
From the beginning, Shun Tada did not place his hopes on germ warfare. In his view, the only role of germ warfare was to weaken the combat effectiveness of the Songhu Independent Regiment as much as possible. However, no matter how weakened, the Songhu Independent Regiment would not be able to fight. It may self-destruct, so in the end it will definitely have to be solved by military means.
In fact, the Japanese were not completely ready at this time.
Of the five divisions originally scheduled to participate in the Fourth Battle of Songhu, only the Sixth Division, the 104th Division, and the Second Guards Division are already in place. The remaining two divisions have just participated. The Thirteenth Division and the Sixteenth Division, which followed the Zao Battle, were still not in place because they were still resting and recuperating.
However, Tada Shun, an old devil, is still very experienced. Although there are still two divisions that are not in place, the typhoid fever epidemic has completely broken out in Shanghai. At this time, a large number of troops from the Songhu Independent Regiment are used for urban security. , especially the defense of the two concessions takes up a lot of troops, and the defense on the outer line will inevitably become empty.
Therefore, Tada Shun wanted to take this opportunity to make an article. Even if he could not give a decisive blow to the Songhu Independent Regiment, he would still try to remove the two peripheral strongholds of Jiading and Qingpu, so that the Twelfth Army could directly The attack was launched towards downtown Shanghai from Jiading and Qingpu directions.
Tada Shun learned from the lessons of his two predecessors, Itagaki Seishiro and Higashikata Nakihiko, and no longer thought about launching an attack from Liuhe, Baoshan and then Wusong Fort. Attacking along the coastline can certainly obtain naval ships. Artillery support, but it is inevitable to face the strong Wusong Fortress.
More importantly, this line is too narrow and the troops cannot be deployed. Even if ten divisions are mobilized, at most one infantry regiment will be invested in each attack, but even the most elite First Guards Infantry Regiment is in Wusong. The fortress was badly hit, and it was supported by the navy's large-caliber naval gun group and aviation, not to mention other infantry regiments.
Therefore, Tada Shun decisively gave up this offensive line and decided to push all the way eastward from the western suburbs of Shanghai.
The biggest advantage of moving from the western suburbs of Shanghai to the east is that the western suburbs of Shanghai are flat and there is no danger for the defenders to defend, but the attackers can attack everywhere. In this way, the Japanese army's superiority in troops and weapons can be brought into full play. In the end, at this time, the Japanese army no longer talked about their firepower advantage, because they had already experienced the power of the independent regiment's artillery.
By the way, until now, the Japanese have not figured out the secret of the rocket launcher.
But the disadvantage is that before attacking the city, the two outer positions of Jiading and Qingpu must first be eliminated, because Jiading and Qingpu at this time are very different from before.
During the Second Battle of Songhu, the Songhu Independent Regiment even voluntarily abandoned these two county towns before the war began. Before the outbreak of the Third Songhu Battle, the Songhu Independent Regiment began to build fortifications in these two counties. , but did not hold on. Before the Japanese launched a massive attack, the Songhu Independent Regiment once again took the initiative to abandon the perimeter.
However, it is different now. Now the Songhu Independent Regiment has built a large number of fortifications in the peripheral counties of Jiading, Qingpu and Songjiang. Half a month before this, Wang Husheng and hundreds of thousands of people were busy doing this. Not only did they A tunnel was dug to connect the urban area with the three surrounding counties, and almost every house in the surrounding three counties was fortified. Although the three surrounding counties were not fortresses, they were not much different.
Jun Tada discovered this and decided to take this opportunity to conduct a surprise attack.
Tada Shun did not seek to severely damage the Songhu Independent Regiment, but only sought to destroy the outer positions and clear the way for the next attack on the urban area.
From the dawn of May 24, the Japanese Twelfth Army concentrated two field artillery regiments and prepared for two hours of artillery fire on Jiading and Qingpu counties. At the same time, a whole flying regiment was dispatched to attack two Carpet bombing was carried out in the urban area of the county and the fortifications outside the city.
The Japs' bombing was so fierce that the defense fortifications of the Songhu Independent Regiment in Jiading and Qingpu were plowed from beginning to end as if they had been plowed by iron rakes. However, when the iron plows plowed the ground, they turned up soil. , but the flesh and blood of the officers and soldiers of the Songhu Independent Regiment were turned up by the Japanese artillery shells on the fortifications in Jiading and Qingpu counties.
At 10:5 in the morning, Xu Rui arrived at the third battalion headquarters in Jiading County through the tunnel.
The tunnel connecting Jiading County and Shanghai city is hidden deep underground and reinforced with logs and cement, so it can withstand Japanese bombings. The only drawback is that because the terrain of Shanghai is too low, water seeps in some areas. The situation is so serious that water pumps must be used to drain water all the time to keep the tunnel open.
When Xu Rui walked into the headquarters, the third battalion commander Ding Wenbao was losing his temper and cursing because the first line of defense outside the city had fallen five minutes ago. However, this cannot be blamed on the poor defense of the third battalion. It was really because the troops were too thin. Of the four companies of the Third Battalion, only one remained in Jiading City, and the remaining three companies were transferred back to the city to maintain order.
But after seeing Xu Rui, Ding Wenbao immediately lost his temper and quickly stepped forward to salute.
Xu Rui returned the military salute, and then asked expressionlessly: "Battle Commander Ding, what's going on now?"
"Captain, the first line of defense on the outside has been lost. I have just prepared to lead the reserve team to counterattack." Ding Wenbao felt a little worried. This time, after the commander came back from Damei Mountain, he was a different person. He seemed to be unable to smile anymore. No matter what he said or did, his expression was cold. Now everyone was a little afraid of him.
Ding Wenbao was worried that Xu Rui would be angry when he heard the news, but he didn't.
Xu Rui's face was still expressionless, still looking cold.
Xu Rui said: "There is no need to counterattack. Immediately abandon the outer positions and release the Japanese into the county seat."
"Huh?" Ding Wenbao was stunned when he heard this, as if he couldn't believe his ears, "Abandon the periphery?"
"Yes, give up the perimeter." Xu Rui nodded and said in a deep voice, "Hurry and withdraw all the troops to the city."
"Yes!" Although he was a little confused, Ding Wenbao quickly ordered to withdraw the troops outside the city.
Ding Wenbao thought that Xu Rui had other plans, such as showing weakness to the enemy first, waiting for the Japanese to fully deploy outside Jiading City, and then dispatching the Langya Brigade to conduct a beheading battle against them, and then launch a massive counterattack. However, at noon, But it was discovered that Dr. Li came to Jiading from the tunnel with people from the logistics department, and then he realized that something was wrong.
Because Dr. Li and the people from the Logistics Department did not come empty-handed, but brought a large amount of explosives and incendiary materials. As soon as the people from the Logistics Department came up, they began to plant explosives and incendiary materials in Jiading County. Ding Wenbao reacted and the group The commander is planning to destroy Jiading County and the Japs together.
Xu Rui indeed planned to destroy Jiading and Qingpu counties with the Japanese.
At this point in the Battle of Songhu, it has become inevitable to abandon Shanghai, because if it continues to be defended, the Japanese who are eager to jump over the wall may do anything. If the Japanese are really forced to launch a cholera or even plague bacterial attack, Shanghai's navy and civilians will need The price paid was too heavy, and this was definitely not what Xu Rui wanted to see.
Therefore, Xu Rui would rather give up Shanghai than keep these more than three million people.
Chairman Mao once said, if you save the land and lose the people, you will lose both the people and the land. If you save the people and lose the land, you will save the people and the land. Talents are the foundation! As long as these three million Shanghai people are saved, are you afraid that you won't be able to fight back to Shanghai in the future
Well, since giving up Shanghai is inevitable, why stick to Jiading and Qingpu? It would be better to simply take these two county towns and burn them with the Japanese, blowing them up and causing their flesh and blood to fly everywhere! Of course, the miracle in Jiangwan Town is impossible to happen again, because the Songhu Independent Regiment now has no troops to fight a counterattack.
By evening, Li Xiaxiao led the people from the logistics department to place explosives and incendiary materials in Jiading County.
Almost at the same time, another group of people from the Logistics Department also placed explosives and incendiary materials in Qingpu County.
After everything was prepared, Xu Rui immediately ordered the troops stationed in Jiading and Qingpu counties to retreat from the tunnel. Of course, in order to confuse the little devils as much as possible, the defenders could not withdraw all at once, but had to pretend that they could not withstand it. , shrinking back little by little, luring the Japanese to continue entering the center of the city.
Ding Wenbao was the last one to retreat into the tunnel, and then pressed the detonator.
In an instant, thousands of kilograms of high explosives that had been buried in Jiading County exploded immediately. Then, the flames generated by the explosion ignited dozens of tons of incendiary materials. At this time, most residential buildings were made of wood. Structure, the fire quickly spread out of control, and the entire Jiading County was soon engulfed in a sea of flames.
Xu Rui didn't know that Jun Tada was less than five kilometers away from Jiading County at this time.
In order to avoid being beheaded by the Langya Brigade, Tada Shun was forced to disguise and hide his headquarters. He first disguised himself as a wing headquarters and then carried out the necessary concealment. In this way, even if Langya discovered it, Langya might not take action. , because a mere wing headquarters is not worth the risk for Langya to attack.
Because of the close distance, Jun Tada took a direct look at the monstrous fire in Jiading City.
"Baga Yalu!" Looking at the fire that almost reflected the entire night sky, Tada Shun's facial muscles twitched violently. With such a violent explosion and such a huge fire, even with his toes, he could imagine that he had entered Jiading before. In all likelihood, the troops in the county town have encountered unexpected events. Even if the entire army is not destroyed, heavy losses are absolutely unavoidable.
ps: Please vote for me.
:. :