It's just that although the Japanese puppet army trapped in the defense is not short of ammunition, the more than 1,000 Japanese puppet troops trapped in a small area have become a big problem with drinking water and food. Although the Anti-Japanese Federation did not attack, the lack of food and drink made the Japanese puppet army sit in the city. Several warehouses in the city were lost, and the mountains of grain in the warehouses were naturally lost.

Yang Jicai was only besieged and did not launch an attack. However, the limited food supply must first be ensured for the Japanese army. At the beginning, the puppet army only gave one sorghum flour wowotou a day, and later simply two bowls of sorghum batter a day. And the sorghum batter is getting thinner and thinner. After two bubbles of urine, his stomach was empty again.

Even in addition to a small number of high-ranking officers, the Japanese army could only mix rice and white flour, and ordinary Japanese officers and soldiers could only mix it to the point of eating sorghum noodles. It also caused a large number of puppet soldiers to cross the battle line and surrender to the Anti-Japanese Alliance. After this battle, there was a popular proverb in Taiyuan City: "The little devils eat sorghum noodles, but the rabbit's tail can't grow." ”

However, the Japanese puppet army inside the city was honest, but the 41st Division, which was attacking outside the city, never slowed down. The most important thing is that not only did the Japanese attack in the south of the city become more and more intense, but by April 24, a certain number of Japanese troops had also appeared in the southeast and east of Taiyuan, where the Japanese had not appeared.

With the arrival of Japanese reinforcements one after another, the entire defense line outside Taiyuan City is facing increasing pressure. Especially the Japanese army that appeared in the southeast of the city, as soon as Yang Jicai fought him, he felt that something was wrong. That momentum, as if he had not been beaten at all, was obviously different from those old fritters in North China.

This group of Japanese troops came up to fight fiercely, rampage, and when the charge was blocked, they insisted on fighting to the death on the spot. At first glance, it is the kind of Japanese army that has not suffered major setbacks and exudes arrogance from the bones. And its artillery fire rate is not only surprisingly fast, but also fast and accurate.

It was not until after a day of hard fighting that a prisoner was captured that it was found out that this Japanese army was the main force of the 32nd Division drawn from the Shandong battlefield by Okamura Ninji. After receiving the order, this Japanese division set out from its station, used poison gas to open the way to get rid of the layers of resistance of the troops of the Shandong Military Region, and quickly completed the assembly in the shortest possible time. Take the train through the Shide Railway, which has not yet been bombed by the Anti-Japanese Union, and enter the Zhengtai Line through Shimen.

Under the circumstance that the Zhengtai Railway was damaged by Yan Zòng due to air raids and was no longer usable, after getting off the train from Houlu, he entered the Shanxi battlefield from Niangzi Pass. Relying on a large number of poison gas shells replenished at Shimen and the only two tank squadrons of the 12th Army to open the way, they simply ignored the interception of the troops of the Southern Hebei Military Region who had first reinforced the battlefield in the southeast of Shanxi, and forcibly marched all the way to Taiyuan.

Although the marching speed was a little slower, after all, it was the first time to rush to the Shanxi battlefield. It's just that this division did not follow Okamura Ningji's idea in the end to reinforce the front line of Juyongguan, but was temporarily transferred to Taiyuan. There was no way, Okamura Ningji really didn't dare to risk losing Taiyuan, and stubbornly transferred the 32nd Division to Juyong Pass according to his own plan.

Not to mention that there is also a military headquarters in Taiyuan City, so he can only guarantee Taiyuan first. There is no headquarters of this army, unless he wants to completely abandon Shanxi, the northern route to launch an attack on China's rear, he must relieve the siege of Taiyuan as soon as possible.

Once Taiyuan was lost, the entire Shanxi battlefield was divided into two independent battlefields, southern and northern Shanxi. The so-called base areas of the communist army in Shanxi, such as Jinsui, Jinchaji, and Taihang, were completely connected. Not to mention the territory of Shanxi, even the territory of Hebei and northern Henan, will never be able to live in peace.

Although the troops of the two brigades of the Southern Hebei Military Region, which were the first to rush to the battlefield, with the cooperation of the three regiments of the Taihang Military Region, deployed in a trapezoidal formation along the Niangziguan line on both sides of the Zhengtai Railway, and took advantage of the terrain to intercept the 32nd Division in the area east of Niangziguan.

However, when the Japanese army came up, they used a large amount of poison gas and forcibly opened the way with firepower at the expense of artillery shells. Due to the lack of gas masks and the fact that the firepower was very different from that of the Japanese army, the troops of the Southern Hebei Military Region paid a considerable price, but in the end they failed to intercept this division outside Niangzi Pass as expected.

It only ate some small units of the division, but it did not break the bones of the division. Under the response of the 4th Brigade of the Independent Mixed Brigade and the 1st Brigade to forcibly break through the blockade of the troops of the Taihang Military Region at any cost, the division finally arrived at the outskirts of Taiyuan at the time required by the Japanese North China Front.

Faced with the increasing number of enemy troops in the surrounding area, as well as the continuous evacuation urging of the acting commander of the Jinsui Military Region, Yang Jicai gritted his teeth and insisted on not following the order. After the first five days of intense and busy, including the prisoners, students, and a large number of workers and their families who were evacuated first, the personnel who needed to be evacuated were basically transported.

However, the disassembly and assembly of industrial equipment is progressing unusually slowly. After five days, only the equipment of the Northwest Machinery Plant and the Machinery Repair Plant was dismantled. However, the dismantling of the Northwest Chemical Plant and the Northwest Steelmaking Plant has not made much progress. Especially at the Northwest Steelmaking Plant, it took three days just to wait for the blast furnace to cool down. After five days, only some light equipment was disassembled.

After hesitating for a moment, Yang Jicai transported all the equipment that had been dismantled from the Northwest Machinery Factory and the Machinery Repair Factory that could be transported by truck. As for the light equipment such as motors that have been dismantled from the Northwest Steelmaking Plant and the Northwest Chemical Plant, they were all transported by truck first.

Concentrate all your efforts on dismantling blast furnaces, open-hearth furnaces, and bulky equipment. Dismantled and installed, it was loaded with a freight train that had been parked on the special railway line of the Northwest Steel Mill. In order to speed up the progress, when the mobilization of the people Cheng Dù never met the requirements, Yang Jicai ordered to be invited with a gun. As for salaries, they are all paid at the maximum limit.

At the same time, the prisoners of war from the Eighth Route Army who were rescued from the prisoners of war were to be incorporated into the combat units on the basis of cadres at all levels who had been captured in the original prisoner of war camps, and as long as the party organizations under the camps proved that there was no mutiny. Together with the partially mobilized prisoners of war of the Jin Sui Army and the Central Army, as well as the officers of the basic minority company platoon, they were temporarily organized into several independent battalions.

The weapons issued to the captured Japanese puppet army were all pulled to the front as the second echelon. Even the more than 2,000 puppet soldiers who had been captured were mobilized and incorporated into combat units. In the face of more and more Japanese reinforcements, Yang Jicai could only use the forces that could be mobilized as much as possible to supplement the combat troops.

Yang Jicai is struggling to support here, and the aviation combat units that are responsible for supporting his operations are also dispatched. British-made light bombers, which had just been put into use, also began to be dispatched in large numbers to do their best to provide ground support. The entire Taiyuan City periphery, southwest, south, and southeast directions, all became a sea of fire.

However, the main force of the 41st Division of the Japanese Army in Linfen is also constantly forcibly breaking through the interception of the Taiyue Military Region and is sending reinforcements to the north. The strength of its six infantry squadrons, regardless of air interception. On the same day that the 32nd Division arrived on the outskirts of Taiyuan, it forcibly marched to Taiyuan Wusu Airport and joined up with the 237th Wing of the 41st Division.

The independent mixed fourth brigade stationed in Yangquan is also constantly shrinking its forces to get rid of the constant encirclement and interception of the Taihang Military Region. Abandon part of the stronghold, with a concentrated brigade force forced through the direction of Yuci, towards Taiyuan City. An infantry squadron at the head of it had already advanced to the Shizui line southeast of Taiyuan.

In the vicinity of Taiyuan, the troops of our army, the troops of the Jin-Cha-Ji Fourth Division, which had never been found, finally rushed to the battlefield after discovering the fierce battles that broke out around Taiyuan. However, the strength of only two small regiments could not fundamentally change the progress of the battle. It can only cooperate with the two regiments of the Taihang Military Region that came from the south, and stubbornly entangle the reinforcements of the independent fourth mixed brigade.

However, the main force of the reinforced Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region was intercepted by the 36th Division of the Japanese Army stationed in Changzhi and the 37th Division stationed in Yuncheng, and was desperately intercepted in the area east of Changzhi. Although the first part of the Taihang Military Region, which received the reinforcement order, was making every effort to reinforce the periphery of Taiyuan, it was also making unusually slow progress under the layers of resistance from the Japanese army.

In the face of an increasingly unfavorable situation, in order to curb the Japanese offensive in the south of the city, Yang Jicai concentrated all the tanks that could be drawn out of his hands, plus the two most complete companies in his hands, and a regiment of the Jinsui Military Region that arrived later, to launch a counterattack on the Japanese salient on the front line of Xiaodian. In order to contain the continued assault of the Japanese army on the front line of the Shuangta Temple, the stability of the southern defense line was ensured.

Yang Jicai concentrated all the mobile forces that could be mobilized at hand, and launched this counterattack, although it leveled the salient of the Japanese army. However, as soon as the counterattacking force recaptured Xiaodian, it could not gain a firm foothold, and was counterattacked by the Japanese army by concentrating two infantry brigades at any cost.

After a day and a night of fierce fighting between the two sides, the two companies invested by Yang Jicai were all wiped out. A regiment of the Jinsui Military Region that cooperated with the operation also had to retreat to the front line of Nanheiyao to continue the defense because of its lack of experience in infantry and tan's coordinated operations, and in the face of heavy losses.

A tank reinforcement company that participated in the battle also had only five tanks left. The rest of the tanks were all destroyed by the Japanese army's meat bullet offensive or mountain artillery fire. The complete loss of Xiaodian, a strategic point in the south of Taiyuan City, made Yang Jicai have no choice but to abandon Dicun and Mingqian Town in the east of Xiaodian, and completely blow up Wusu Airport, the only external passage except for the Fenhe Bridge, and withdraw his troops to Mazhuang and Qinxian Village, so as to fully defend the Dongshan-Fenhe corridor.

In the face of the increasing casualties in the Hedong war, the number of available troops is insufficient. Yang Jicai gritted his teeth and ordered most of the defense of the Xishan Jinsui Military Region to withdraw across the Fenhe Bridge, strengthen to the Taiyuan battlefield, and blow up the Fenhe Bridge. Concentrate troops to stick to various key points around Taiyuan City, such as Xindian, Niuhuo Village, Mengjiajing, Mazhuang, and Qinxian Village, to ensure the progress of their own demolition.

And a part of the army withdrew northward, taking Lancun, Xiangyangdian, and Xincheng at the turn of the Fen River as the key points to block the Japanese army from crossing the Fen River and cut off the Tongpu Railway from the west. and to the north to seize Guanmao Mountain on the west side of Shiling Pass in the north of Yangqu, so as to ensure the retreat of the whole army when necessary.

With more and more enemy troops appearing in the surrounding area, Yang Jicai can't help but carefully consider the retreat plan. In his opinion, although there is no enemy situation behind him now, a complete division of the 32nd Division of the Japanese Army has rushed to the periphery of Taiyuan. Judging by the current comparison of the enemy's and our own forces, this division will definitely not simply fight to the death and rush hard, but only attack along the front line of Dongshan.

The tactics of the Japanese army have always been to assault from the front, outflank both flanks, and forcibly detour the flanks if they cannot break through from the front. With three wings of troops, it will never attack simply from the front. What Yang Jicai is most worried about now is that the 32nd Division will seize Niuhuo Village, make a detour to Yangqu Town, outflank his own back road, and completely cut off his northward retreat.

Although the troops of the Southern Hebei Military Region and the Taihang Military Region behind its ass are desperately launching a counterattack against it in an attempt to relieve the pressure under the city of Taiyuan, the number of Japanese troops being contained is limited at present. In addition to leaving six infantry squadrons to protect itself, most of the troops of the 32nd Division were still used under the city of Taiyuan.