Chapter 283 Internal Disputes in Nara United Please subscribe
Seven o'clock in the morning on August 24, 1940.
Noisy sounds came from the Japanese camp outside Tunliu Castle. The commanders and sergeants of each squadron under the Nara Regiment opened the tents one after another and drove out the sleeping Japanese soldiers.
The Japanese army arrived at Tunliu at around three o'clock in the morning, and then set up camp, sleeping for at most three hours.
After experiencing successive battles, Japanese soldiers generally lacked sleep and looked drowsy.
"Have you heard? The other squadrons that went to pursue the Eighth Route Army yesterday have all come back, but the Shangcun Squadron and the Hebian Squadron have not come back yet!" said a soldier holding a lunch box.
Another soldier sat aside, quite surprised: "Nani? He hasn't come back yet? He couldn't have been captured by the Eighth Route Army..."
"It's very possible, otherwise we would have come back a long time ago!" the Japanese soldier said with hope.
"Silence!" An officer walked over with bow-legged steps and kicked the lunch box from the soldier's hand.
The two soldiers stood up quickly, nodding and apologizing.
After the Japanese commander Cao left, the sergeant of the small team comforted him: "Shimamura-kun, Toyoda-kun, our squadron suffered a lot of casualties yesterday, so Captain Tian was very angry. This matter is over here, don't talk about it anymore.
I heard that the officers have been meeting to discuss the next step!"
"Hi!" The two nodded.
The Tanaka Squadron where the two men belonged was one of the infantry squadrons that fought with the 358th Regiment yesterday. One squadron suffered heavy casualties.
The Japanese soldiers finished their meal, packed their bags, and quickly gathered.
At this time, the gate of Tunliu County opened, and the Japanese military commander Masahiko Nara came out of the county with a group of officers.
"Kojima-kun, thank you for your hospitality, please stay!" Masahiko Nara forced himself to stay sleepy and said to Ichiro Kojima, the top commander of the Japanese army stationed behind him.
"Your Majesty, Lord Zuo, can't you really leave some troops to support Tunliu?" Ichiro Kojima asked sincerely.
"Sorry, General Shinozuka sent a telegram yesterday. The reinforcements of the 35th Division were completely wiped out by the Eighth Route Army near the Zhanghe River. Our unit has experienced successive battles and suffered heavy casualties. It is impossible to divide our troops to support you!" Masahiko Nara's eyes flashed.
A moment of helplessness.
"Hi!" Ichiro Kojima nodded.
After the Nara regiment was stationed in Tunli, it turned on the radio to report the battle situation and whereabouts to the division headquarters. After the two sides exchanged telegrams, they learned that the reinforcements on the southern front had been annihilated.
Masahiko Nara was horrified, thinking that after his troops set out from Linfen, they were blocked everywhere along the way. They only reached Tunliu, and just over halfway through the journey, the troops suffered nearly a thousand casualties.
The whereabouts of the two squadrons sent out in pursuit last night are still unknown.
Nara Masahiko was afraid of ending up in the same fate, so he decided to stay near Changzhi and wait until the situation became clear before heading to Handan.
Unexpectedly, not long after, Shinozuka Yoshio's First Army headquarters bypassed the 41st Division Division Headquarters and sent a report directly to the Nara Regiment.
After sternly rejecting Nara Masahiko's request, Shinozuka Yoshio scolded him more in the telegram and urged the Nara regiment to march quickly.
Nara Masahiko had no choice but to order the troops to prepare for departure early in the morning.
"Gentlemen, during this reinforcement, the Eighth Route Army encountered many obstacles along the way, and many soldiers suffered casualties. Ohara-kun, please send some soldiers to escort the wounded soldiers to the hospital in Changji for treatment!" Masahiko Nara said.
"Hi!" Captain Junichiro Ohara nodded.
"I'm going to send a squadron as a vanguard force. What do you think?" Masahiko Nara asked in a slightly questioning tone.
Many Japanese officers present agreed, but no one expressed their willingness to lead their soldiers first.
After repeated battles, many Japanese soldiers were tired and war-weary, and each squadron leader did not want his soldiers to die in vain.
A flash of anger flashed in Nara Masahiko's eyes when he saw this. After graduating from mainland China, he had been working in the General Staff Headquarters. Not long ago, he was transferred to the field division as a regiment captain by virtue of his family connections, intending to rely on his military exploits in the Central Plains Battle in the future.
Move the position higher.
Unexpectedly, the arrogant generals within the regiment have always been at odds with the staff system, so Nara Masahiko has not yet been able to subdue these arrogant generals.
"Uehara-kun, lead the soldiers under your command to clear the way in front!" Nara Masahiko directly named a subordinate who usually acted erratically.
After hearing this, Yosuke Uehara did not hide his emotions, and a look of dissatisfaction suddenly appeared on his face.
Most of the many officers nearby showed expressions of watching the fun.
"Yosuke Uehara, do you know what will happen if you disobey military orders? Do you want to go to a military court?" Junichiro Ohara asked repeatedly.
Just when Yosuke Uehara was about to say something, he saw another officer with a middle-left rank next to Masahiko Nara nodding towards him.
Then he suppressed the raging anger in his heart, nodded and responded: "Hi! I will gather the soldiers and set off!"
Nara Masahiko nodded, waved his hand, and the officers walked towards the camp outside the city.
The Nara Regiment has three infantry brigades, the captains of which are Keiji Kotani, Yoshihara Ishikawa, and Junichiro Ohara.
After the previous co-captain resigned, the original co-captain position was chosen from among three people.
Two of them have the greatest hopes. One of the candidates, Keiji Kotani, has outstanding military exploits and is also a graduate of the University of Mainland China. His qualifications and military exploits meet the requirements.
The second candidate, Ishikawa Yoshihiro, is a son of a certain Japanese aristocrat, and has always regarded the position of captain as a piece of cake.
As for Junichiro Ohara, he was a civilian and had never expected to ascend to the position of captain. The rank of center-left military officer was already the limit for him who came from a civilian background.
Unexpectedly, something unexpected happened. A regimental commander parachuted from the staff headquarters, causing both their hopes to be ruined.
After Masahiko Nara took office, Keiji Kotani and Yoshihiro Ishikawa, who had not dealt with him at first, joined forces with the intention of squeezing him away.
On the contrary, it was Junichiro Ohara who took the lead to join the team, allowing Masahiko Nara to have some say within the team.
Taking into account the internal disunity, Nara Masahiko thought of taking a short break in Changji. After a night of discussion, no agreement was reached. In the end, it was Shinozuka Yoshio's telegram that made the final decision.
The one who fought against the 358th Brigade yesterday was the Ohara Brigade, and the one who fought against the 386th Brigade was the Otani Brigade and the Ishikawa Brigade. Both brigades suffered heavy losses.
Keiji Kotani and Yoshihara Ishikawa even believed that the commander of the regiment deliberately sent troops to pursue him, so they had quite a disagreement.
The main force of the Japanese army moved out one after another, leaving behind a group of wounded soldiers and more than 60 Japanese soldiers from the Tanaka Squadron under the Ohara Brigade.
"Yusi, I finally don't have to fight with the Eighth Route Army anymore. My nerves are a little weak now, and I react violently to any slightest disturbance!" After hearing this, Jiro Shimamura no longer had to march with the large army, and he felt relaxed.
"Shimamura-kun, according to what you said, you are more suitable for investigation work!"
"Bage Yalu, I don't want to be cannon fodder!"
Soon after, five trucks and a temporarily recruited carriage set off from Tunliu and headed for Changzhi.