kvmb Chapter 232: The 18th Army is destroyed, and the gates to Shanghai are wide open
Chapter 232: The 18th Army is destroyed, and the gates to Shanghai are wide open
"Commander, we can't contact the 36th, 38th, and 68th Divisions. Only the 18th Division is close enough that we can still get through."
Luo Yunfei's heart sank when he heard this. This scene was so similar to the previous Battle of Xunyang.
So he quickly picked up the phone on the table and called the headquarters of the 18th Division.
"Commander, our divisional radio is out of order. We can't send or receive telegrams. We can only contact the troops below through the signalmen."
After the call was connected, the commander of the 18th Division immediately reported the current situation to Luo Yunfei.
Luo Yunfei was not panicked. If he, as the commander-in-chief, was panicked, the people below would be even more chaotic.
"Then pull the telephone line directly to the front line and ensure smooth communication for the frontline troops.
The Restoration Army's attack will begin soon, so your defenses must be well prepared."
"Please rest assured, Commander, we won't lose the direction of Nanjiao River."
In addition to appeasing the 18th Division, Luo Yunfei quickly ordered the communications troops to contact the other three divisions immediately.
The radio cannot be used, which must be the fault of the Fuxing Army. So we can only contact the troops through other means.
Less than ten minutes after the electronic warfare aircraft started to interfere, the artillery units of the 3rd Motorized Infantry Division of the Renaissance Army launched a large-scale artillery attack on the main defense line of Nanjiao River.
As a motorized infantry division, the 3rd Motorized Infantry Division is still equipped with towed artillery.
Although the scale is not as large as before, the firepower is still fierce.
36门M101型105毫米榴弹炮、18门M114型155毫米重型榴弹炮外加24辆122毫米40联装多管轮式火箭炮就是当前摩托化步兵师的标准编制了。
The shells were like dense meteors, streaking across the sky and making a deafening whistling sound.
In a flash, the 18th Division's Nanjiao River position was engulfed in the flames of artillery shells.
Flames from explosions shot up into the sky, and thick smoke billowed, blooming on the battlefield.
The shock wave spread outward in a circular shape like a surging wave. Wherever it went, sandbags and earthworks were ruthlessly blown away.
The barbed wire in front of the position was also torn into pieces in the violent explosion.
In an instant, bomb craters of various sizes were blown out on the position.
Dirt, debris and the bodies of the soldiers of the 18th Division were thrown high into the sky and fell all around like raindrops.
"Whoosh whoosh..."
The wheeled rocket launcher at the rear also roared.
24 wheeled self-propelled rocket launchers fired all 10 rockets in just 40 seconds.
An entire rocket artillery battalion can deliver up to 960 122mm rockets in a single strike.
It is equivalent to delivering a 155mm caliber high-explosive grenade at one time, and its firepower density can be imagined.
The southern suburbs position was like a volcanic eruption, and the sea of fire from the explosion stretched out as if it was going to swallow up the entire earth.
After one round of artillery fire, the 18th Division of the Southern Alliance felt what it felt like the sky was falling and the earth was splitting.
There were only explosions around them, and all the soldiers could only hide in the anti-artillery fortifications in the positions and dared not show their heads.
However, these anti-artillery fortifications may not necessarily be able to defend against 155mm caliber heavy artillery.
Many anti-artillery holes in the positions had been collapsed by artillery shells, burying a large number of soldiers underneath.
"Artillery, where are our artillery? Have them launch a counterattack immediately."
The commander of the 18th Division was also shocked when he saw the fierce firepower of the Fuxing Army, and immediately ordered his own artillery to counterattack.
However, the commander of the artillery regiment called directly.
"Division Commander, our reconnaissance balloons can't take off at all, and our scouts can't penetrate them. We can't find the Restoration Army's artillery positions at all, and we can't launch a counterattack."
No matter which war it is, the Air Force will appear frequently, and this time is no exception.
In the sky, groups of fighter jets rushed over from the airport in the direction of Hongcheng.
The F-100 Super Sabre and F-105 Thunderfighter fighter-bomber were the main force of ground attack, and they suppressed the A-1 Skyraider, a professional ground attack aircraft.
The appearance of the Air Force also directly extinguished the 18th Division's idea of launching a counter-bombardment.
Without air superiority, ground artillery is just a target for fighter planes.
Especially the cannons that are difficult to move.
They are active only at night.
One after another, fighter planes launched dive attacks on the positions.
Aerial rockets, high-explosive bombs, incendiary bombs, etc. continued to fall on the positions.
The purpose of incendiary bombs is not only to kill the enemy, but also to burn some camouflage on the position, revealing the fortifications under the camouflage.
Under the effect of incendiary bombs, some camouflaged anti-tank fortifications were immediately exposed and became targets of fighter planes.
Under the joint air-ground attack, the 18th Division was beaten so hard that it dared not show its head.
At the same time, it also attracted the attention of the entire 18th Army to the Nanjiao River front.
They did not notice that the 24th Air Assault Group had bypassed them and headed straight for Jiashan County.
Jiashan County serves as the hidden logistics base of the 18th Army, where they stationed some logistics troops with a total strength of more than people.
The intelligence gathered by the Air Force is still very accurate.
After the war broke out, the logistics troops of the 18th Army located in Jiashan County also became busy and began to prepare to transport various combat supplies to the front line.
"Plane, the Restoration Army's plane is coming!"
The sentry on guard looked up and saw groups of WZ-1 double-blade attack helicopters rushing towards them.
Two battalions with a total of 80 WZ-1 twin-blade attack helicopters were responsible for carrying out air strikes on the Jiashan County logistics base and disrupting their formation.
The remaining 40 armed helicopters were responsible for covering the landing of large-scale helicopter groups.
A dense group of armed helicopters swooped over, immediately throwing the Jiashan County Logistics Base into chaos.
Some soldiers directly set up Czech light machine guns and fired into the air, some raised their rifles and fired, and others were responsible for transferring supplies, appearing to be in an orderly manner.
From here we can see the difference between elite troops and a mob.
Chen Rui was notoriously strict in his military discipline, but the combat effectiveness of the troops he led was not bad, but what they encountered was the Fuxing Army.
"Whoosh whoosh..."
Facing the counterattack of the enemy on the ground, a number of double-blade armed helicopters also dispersed and launched attacks on the enemy separately.
Rockets poured out from the rocket launcher towards the enemy, directly suppressing the counterattack firepower.
This included a 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun firing into the air.
“Sizzle, sizzle…”
In addition to the rocket launcher, the most powerful weapon of the attack helicopter is the 7.62mm 6-barrel Gatling gun on the nose.
The dense rain of bullets poured down like rain from the sky, directly turning the Southern Alliance soldiers into sieves.
80 double-edged attack helicopters will attack the enemy whenever they encounter it.
Using powerful firepower and high mobility, they directly defeated the logistics force.
They stopped fighting back and began to flee in panic, still being beaten and driven around by the armed helicopters circling overhead.
Another armed helicopter battalion that had completed the cover operation also participated.
Under the suppression of 120 double-blade armed helicopters, they were defeated before the ground troops could attack.
Ten minutes later, formations of air assault troops rushed into this small county town.
When the defeated soldiers of the Southern Alliance saw the fully armed Restoration Army, they simply dropped their weapons and surrendered.
In less than half an hour, the 24th Airborne Division captured Jiashan County, directly cutting off the 18th Army's retreat and taking away all their logistical supplies.
It was not until the 24th Airborne Assault Division had completely taken over Jiashan County that the news here reached the army commander Luo Yunfei.
The news that Jiashan County was attacked and occupied by the Fuxing Army left Luo Yunfei stunned.
Xie Zixuan's new tactics stunned Luo Yunfei, a veteran on the battlefield.
This was his first contact with the Renaissance Army, so he still used the old defensive tactics to deal with the Renaissance Army, so it was not surprising that he was beaten directly.
Luo Yunfei was very clear about how serious the consequences would be if Jiashan County fell.
"Immediately mobilize the 36th Division to launch a counterattack against Jiashan County. We must recapture Jiashan County."
It would be extremely difficult for them to take back Jiashan County.
Not long after the troops of the 36th Division emerged from their hiding place and assembled, they were discovered by the reconnaissance aircraft of the Fuxing Army.
Now that we have found their gathering place, the next thing will be easy.
超过60架F-86K佩刀战斗机、F-100战斗轰炸机、F-105战斗轰炸机向36师发起了狂轰滥炸。
The newly assembled 36th Division was dispersed without firing a single shot.
Not to mention counterattacking Jiashan County, they are in a difficult situation and cannot even save themselves.
As time went on, a number of Hind general-purpose helicopters and Nighthawk medium-sized transport helicopters flew back and forth between Hangzhou and Jiashan County, delivering the airborne assault troops of the 24th Airborne Division and their equipment to Jiashan County.
In just half a day, the 24th Air Assault Division had all its personnel and equipment ready.
Chen Rui, who was in Shanghu, only learned about the current situation in the Jianing direction after he broke through the encirclement at the risk of his life through cavalry and reported the situation.
When Chen Rui heard that Jiashan County was occupied by the Fuxing Army and the 18th Army was caught in a pincer attack and in danger of being destroyed, he was also shocked.
Now he really has no soldiers to withdraw to rescue.
After all, Shanghai cannot be without military defense.
Otherwise, who knows whether the elusive paratroopers of the Fuxing Army will directly airdrop into Shanghai.
"Pass on my order. The entire 18th Army will immediately organize a breakout and rebuild the defense line along the Huangpu River and Liuhe River."
Now Chen Rui can only decisively give up Jianing and retreat to Shanghu.
He could only hope that the 18th Army could successfully break through, otherwise he had no other choice.
Make bricks without straw.
There was no way he would give up on going to Shanghai to rescue his 18th Army.
If he really did that, Wu Zhichang would probably have him executed directly.
But breaking through is not that easy.
After completing the assembly, the 24th Airborne Division launched a rapid assault directly to the rear of the Jianing Defense Line.
The defense line hastily constructed by the 18th Division of the 38th Army was quickly disintegrated by the leapfrog tactics of the 24th Airborne Division.
The so-called leapfrog tactic is to directly use the characteristics of helicopters to skip over the river defense line defended by the 38th Division and launch an attack from their rear.
There is air cover from helicopters and fighter jets, as well as support from ground artillery.
The 38th Division was beaten so badly that it lost its way, and the Fuxing Army was everywhere, appearing and disappearing like ghosts.
By evening, the 18th and 36th Divisions of the 38th Army had been defeated.
Some of the defeated soldiers joined the 18th Division which was defending the Nanjiao River.
Their arrival also brought the news that Jiashan County had fallen and the Fuxing Army had attacked from the rear to the 18th Division's position, which immediately caused chaos within the 18th Division.
They were still fighting in front, but they didn't expect their butts to be stolen.
Moreover, the two divisions that organized the defense line were dispersed.
Now, in the entire Jianing, only their 18th Division is still relatively complete, with more than people.
Including this group of defeated soldiers, there are only a little over 10,000 people in total.
Xie Zixuan also knew the situation in Jianing, so he did not let the troops rest, but launched a fierce attack overnight.
They also organized a commando team to force a river crossing, directly opening a hole in the 18th Division's defense line.
The next day, the 18th Division fought to the death and was completely wiped out. The battle of Jianing came to an end after one day and one night.
Except for the 18th Division in Pinghu, the other three divisions of the 68th Army of the Third Corps were all destroyed on the Jianing front.
The 4th Motorized Infantry Division in Hangzhou has also completed its assembly and is heading towards the Jianing Defense Line.
The destruction of the 18th Army directly left the door to Shanghai wide open.