When the last gunshot fell on the north bank of the West Liao River, more than 3,000 Japanese troops deployed on the Bayantala battlefield from Baolong Mountain in the west, to Baokang in the northeast, and to the north bank of the West Liao River in the south, except for more than 70 people who were captured, all from the wing commander down to the commander were killed. Although the offensive was delayed, after a hard battle, Chen Hanzhang still cut off one of Chuan Bingmi's arms.

After taking Bayantala, the last Japanese stronghold on the north bank of the West Liao River, in addition to the north bank of the West Liao River in front of Tongliao, relying on the dense artillery fire in Tongliao County on the south bank, the Japanese army also controlled a small triangle as an outpost position. The entire vast area on the north bank of the West Liao River has been completely recovered by the Anti-Japanese Federation.

With only two wings left in the 14th Division and less than one force, it is almost impossible to transfer the remaining Japanese troops out of the fortification group or fight outside the two counties. Even in the next step, this 14th Division may shrink the forces outside the city back to the county seat. If you want to take these two places, I'm afraid this street battle will have to be fought.

After the end of the First Battle of Bayantara, it was no longer possible to control the vast area from the confluence of the Xiliao River and the Dongliao River in the east to the east bank of the Xinkai River in Kailu with the existing strength of the 14th Division. At present, with the strength of the 14th Division, it is the best choice to control the two county towns and the roads between them to ensure that the two county towns of Kailu and Tongliao form an overall defensive posture.

In other words, the next step for the troops is likely to be the Japanese army that is cowering in the two county towns. Siege and street fighting are no longer a choice. Unless Chen Hanzhang chooses to bypass the two county seats, turn around and go east to Changtu and Kangping, or go west to enter the Alukorqin Banner and join Wang Guangyu's department.

And at the risk of being cut off by the waist at the time of the roundabout, or being completely cut off from the rear, forming an absolutely lonely battle, he spared the 14th Division, which also had two infantry wings. It's just that although this can avoid storming the two county towns and avoid casualties among innocent people, it is impossible for any commander to choose.

After being silent for a long time, Chen Hanzhang finally made up his mind and said: "Or do what I just said, recoilless guns and 12-millimeter machine guns should be distributed to the front-line combat companies as much as possible." When dealing with the Japanese army's permanent fortifications, in addition to blasting methods, it is necessary to use more flamethrowers. ”

"Also, distribute all the explosives we have on hand to the troops. The troops made more mine-sweeping tools, and when breaking through the city wall, they used trenches and blasting as much as possible. When blasting, blast the breach as wide as possible. ”

"Lao Liu, you still sent all the flamethrowers equipped by the two divisions' anti-chemical defense companies to the main attack regiment, and found a way to adjust a batch of gasoline needed. At that time, after entering the two county towns, the troops must pay more attention to the use of weapons to avoid casualties to innocent civilians as much as possible. ”

"Especially when using flamethrowers and artillery, be sure to be observant. If there are Chinese civilians who are used as hostages in the Japanese fortifications, they are absolutely not allowed to use them. Didn't each regiment have a company of snipers? Disrupt all sniper companies and equip them with squad-level units. ”

"To ensure that every infantry platoon, there is at least one sniper. The reason why the headquarters trained snipers for each regiment in the first place was not because of the similar situation encountered in the operation the year before. If you don't use it at this time, when are you going to use it? If there are not enough snipers, select some veterans with good marksmanship and use cold gun tactics as sharpshooters to cooperate with the troops to rescue trapped compatriots. ”

"There is also an order for the troops to make use of the captured Japanese weapons and equipment, especially artillery equipment, as much as possible during the battle. The artillery unit should send out some personnel to advance with the synchronous troops, so that the captured Japanese artillery can be converted into our army's combat support artillery on the spot. ”

Speaking of this, Chen Hanzhang looked at Liu Yanlai and Wang Jundao in front of him: "I don't want to compare with Commander Wang Guangyu's side, let alone have any ideas because the speed of progress on our side is lagging behind the battlefield in Linxi. The enemy situation and environment faced by each battlefield are different, and the speed of progress cannot be different. So, there's nothing to compare to. ”

"The Linxi battlefield has the characteristics of the Linxi battlefield, and we have the problems here that we have, and we can't generalize. However, whether our side can take the two county towns of Tongliao and Kailu as much as possible is directly related to the realization of the strategic intention of the headquarters. It is even related to whether this battle can achieve the purpose originally envisaged by the headquarters. ”

"The most important thing is the change in the shape of the entire battle situation, which also forces us not to speed up. Do you really think that this telegram from the third is simply urging us to speed up? We're moving so slowly, and it's true that Meetings 1 and 3 will be a little anxious because of the big picture, but they're not going to force us to speed up for some reason. Especially in the Linxi battlefield, a certain advantage has been achieved so far. ”

"We are under the command of No. 1 and No. 3, and we have not been fighting for a year. When have you ever seen No. 1 and No. 3 force us to fight to the death regardless of the troops, knowing what we are going to do here? No. 1 and No. 3 have never talked about the kind of hard-fought tactics. ”

"This telegram on the third is a disguised reminder that the enemy situation around us is about to change when the headquarters has not yet accurately identified the changes in the enemy situation. I am afraid that the number of Japanese troops that may be besieging us is far greater than what we have seen so far, and what has been exposed. ”

"If we continue to delay, not only will it affect the development of the entire war situation, but even we ourselves will be in trouble. The force we are currently commanding has a large concentration of trucks and tanks and armored vehicles. And the infantry has been replaced with all automatic firearms. ”

"The daily consumption of fuel, ammunition by these troops is astronomical. With the supply lines getting longer and longer, and the 18th Division already inserting into our flanks and rear, we will have to sit idly by once the supply lines are cut off and we can consume the embers of ammunition and supplies ourselves. ”

"For the situation we are facing now, number one and number three are still very clear. I think that at the same time that we received this telegram, headquarters must have adjusted the deployment. Therefore, we must accelerate the progress to match the development of the next phase of the strategic intent of Headquarters. ”

Chen Hanzhang's words can be said to be quite thorough, which is still rare for him, who has always been a little talker. Therefore, although Liu Yanlai hesitated, he finally gave orders to the various troops according to his intentions. As an old comrade-in-arms, Liu Yanlai knew that once Chen Hanzhang made up his mind, even the No. 1 and No. 3 would come in person, and it might not be able to make him change his mind.

In fact, for Liu Yanlai, he still has some hesitation now, not because of other reasons. He was still a little worried that if the troops still used artillery and flamethrowers during the siege of the city, they would bring heavy casualties to the people in the two counties.

After explaining himself, Liu Yanlai still showed hesitation on his face, Chen Hanzhang saw it very clearly, and he also knew what made this old comrade-in-arms from the Second Route Army hesitate. But for Chen Hanzhang now, there is no choice. Because he sensed from this telegram sent by Guo Bingxun that the stage of the real decisive battle of this battle was probably coming.

The development and changes of the entire battle situation will not leave too much time for yourself, nor will it be possible to leave too much time to choose a more stable solution. Only by taking Tongliao and Kailu as much as possible, can his own troops be in a position of more than advance and retreat in the next decisive stage. So even if I was reluctant, I could only fight hard.

After Liu Yanlai gave the latest combat orders to various units according to his own ideas. Turning around and raising the binoculars, Chen Hanzhang, who continued to observe the river crossing of the 18th Division, which was forcibly crossing the Xiliao River, although he had made up his mind, he could only shake his head in his heart and sigh that he could only focus on the overall situation at this time, and whether he would regret it after this battle.

Because he knew that Liu Yanlai's fears were likely to come true. In the two counties with a small area but a very important strategic location, there are more of their own flesh and blood compatriots. The casualties were even greater in the first shot, and those who did not have even the simplest fortifications were the countrymen.

But no matter what awaits him in front of him, Chen Hanzhang knows one thing that he has no way out. In order to speed up, Wang Guangyu almost razed the entire county seat of Linxi to the ground. At the beginning, I secretly complained about him in my heart, and I was a little too ruthless, but now I see that I am still inferior to him.

Are there some things that you can't do now, and you can't avoid them if you want to. No one wants their own flesh and blood compatriots to fall under their own guns. But the development of the whole battle situation is not allowed by any mercy on your part. With the rapid reaction ability of the Japanese army, once you hesitate, you will be unlucky. For the development of the entire battle situation, even if he knew that there was a fire pit inside, he had to jump down.

This may be war, a war that forces you to do it knowing that you will cause eternal regret. And what Chen Hanzhang knows more is that the predicament he is facing now can only be said to be the beginning of the future battle.

With the growing strength of the Anti-Japanese Federation, it is inevitable to fight tough battles in the city. In this kind of situation, the current encounter between himself and Wang Guangyu is just the beginning. With the development of the war situation, the Anti-Japanese Federation will only encounter more similar situations in the future.

The capture of Tongliao and Kailu this time is also an opportunity to ponder how to use tactics in the face of similar situations in the future when attacking urban battles. It's a test, but it's not an opportunity. If you can solve the problem of how to avoid accidental injuries when fighting a tough battle, maybe the outcome of this battle will not be as bad as you imagined.

Chen Hanzhang adjusted his deployment, and after completely opening the breakthrough from the Bayantala line, he avoided the Japanese troops on both flanks and the periphery, and went straight into the two county towns of Kailu and Tongliao, which were in the core area of the Japanese army, and cut off the railway connection between Kailu and Tongliao. This hand did not cause too much trouble to the Japanese army.

Because he was adjusting his deployment, his opponent, Lieutenant General Kawa Nami, was also adjusting his deployment as the battle situation changed. In the face of the deterioration of the battle situation, Lieutenant General Kawanomi reacted quite quickly. This is much faster than his predecessor, Lieutenant General Seiichi Kita.

As Chen Hanzhang judged, after the defenders on the front line of Bayantala were wiped out and the front line of the West Liao River was broken through, Lieutenant General Chuan Hemi, the commander of the 14th Division, quickly adjusted his deployment. With insufficient troops, the 14th Division took the initiative to abandon most of its positions on the periphery.

In addition to leaving three infantry squadrons and all the capable personnel of the baggage wing, one squadron of mountain artillery, and the command of the 59th Infantry Wing, Eguchi Hachiro, to hold the road from Kailu to Tongliao to ensure the connection between the two county towns. The main forces of the rest of the divisions were all reduced to the two county towns of Tongliao and Kailu.