Chapter 716: The Japanese Lieutenant General is Beheaded
Strictly speaking, this was the third battle between the 35th Division and the Eighth Route Army led by Zhou Weihan.
For the first time, during the Hundred Regiments War, after the independent detachment captured Handan, Taijiro Iida, commander of the Infantry Regiment of the 35th Division, received an order from the North China Expedition Army headquarters, ordering the 35th Division to go north for reinforcements.
Therefore, the first unit of the 221st Regiment stationed in Kaifeng and the first unit of the 219th Regiment in Xinxiang took military columns northward from Xinxiang, and were finally wiped out by independent detachments on both sides of the Zhang River.
The second time, Okamura Ningji mobilized more than 10,000 Japanese troops from the Kwantung Army to enter the country and tried to attack the Changzhi area where the 27th Army was stationed. The 220th Regiment of the 35th Division, together with the puppet army Zhang Lanfeng's troops, acted as a flank.
Xinxiang sent troops to fight in the Lingchuan area. They first defeated Sun Dianying's New Fifth Army, and were later annihilated by the Eighth Route Army, the Central Army, and the Sichuan Army in the Lingchuan area.
Two battles with the Thirty-fifth Division resulted in heavy losses to it. Although a lot of troops were subsequently added, the large number of new recruits caused the Thirty-fifth Division's combat effectiveness to decline rapidly.
The 35th Division dispatched this time was mainly composed of the 220th Regiment and two mountain artillery brigades that had been stationed around Zheng County for a long time. During the long-term confrontation with the Chinese army, this Japanese army was attacked in the Lingchuan area.
Apart from annihilating one of the main forces, the latter period has been in a stage of recuperation.
As soon as the two sides fought, Jing Dagang felt that the offensive of the Japanese army in front of him was weak and lacked organization. He tried several times to break through the temporary defense line arranged by a regiment, but was driven back. At the same time, the troops on both sides of the regiment began to actively shrink the defense line.
Conducted a semi-encirclement of 2,000 Japanese troops of the 35th Division.
"Commander, it seems that this group of little devils are tired of running. After waiting for a long time, they turned out to be weak persimmons. If you ask me, our regiment alone can deal with this group of devils!" said the combat staff of the regiment on the side.
"Huh, you guys, your eyes are all over the top!" Jing Dagang put down the telescope, and then said to the combat staff beside him: "Zhang Xiaonian, if I remember correctly, you were originally an educated youth. After graduating from the cadre school, you directly
When you arrive at the regiment headquarters, you will serve as a combat staff officer, right?"
"Commissioner, do you remember this?" Zhang Xiaonian was slightly surprised after hearing this.
"Remember, you are good at drawing and have a good memory!"
"We Communist Party members are very concerned about everyone who graduates from the cadre school, especially those of you who are educated young people. Every time we hold a meeting, we will repeatedly tell us that if staff officers at all levels arrive, they must serve as deputy positions at the grassroots level and accumulate experience.
Only after sufficient experience can you take up a full-time position, do you know why?" Jing Dagang asked.
"Is this? The *** officer is worried that we lack actual combat experience and can only talk on paper?" Zhang Xiaonian scratched his head, but it was clear to him.
"That's pretty much what it means. Commanders at every level are responsible for keeping their comrades alive. You are the staff officer of the regiment. The casualties reported by combat units at all levels are just a list and a number for you.
, but for the grassroots companies and platoons, what they have lost are their comrades who get along day and night; for every family, what they have lost is their backbone, their son, and their husband!"
"The current war situation is very favorable to us. The Japanese army has been on the run for a long time. All departments have lost contact, the organization is scattered, and people are panicked. If we take the initiative to attack at this time, it will indeed be easy to achieve results!"
"But remember, the order issued by the Communist Party members was to completely annihilate the Japanese army of the 35th Division. The group of Japanese troops in front of you is not all. At least the Japanese division commander is not among them, otherwise it would never be like this.
The attack is chaotic and everyone is fighting independently. Once we take the initiative to attack, do you know what it means?"
"Our defense line is too long, so we have to divide our troops to attack proactively. Once the little Japanese on the opposite side have a backbone, they can easily break through our defense line by concentrating our forces!" Zhang Xiaonian reacted quickly.
"Well, this is just one of them. When this battle is over, let's train the next company!" Jing Dagang originally kept Zhang Xiaonian by his side because he wanted to take care of him more, but now he suddenly had the idea of sending him away.
"Commander, what about the others? You haven't said anything yet!"
"Go and tell the heavy mortar company that the artillery fire should not extend too long, so as not to hurt the brother troops!"
After Zhang Xiaonian left, Jing Dagang suddenly thought of Dong Jiang and asked the guard beside him: "Is there any news from the assault regiment?"
"No, there was no telegram or walkie-talkie!"
"That's weird, it's been almost two hours, it shouldn't be!" Jing Dagang wondered.
The situation on the battlefield was changing rapidly, and Harada Kumakichi did not expect that he had overestimated the organizational strength of the Japanese army today. In other words, Harada Kumakichi had not experienced the feeling of being pursued for a long time, so he forgot the consequences of running away blindly.
"Division commander, look, the Eighth Route Army appears in front, and the leading troops have been stopped. What should we do?" the adjutant said, pointing to the battlefield ahead.
At this time, Harada Xiongyoshi and others were hiding in a small forest. They could only feel the shouts of killing coming from all directions, and suddenly there was a sense of doom and gloom in their hearts: "Perhaps it was a mistake to order the stragglers to be abandoned and the wounded to be abandoned."
It is my decision that I should organize the imperial army to fight back on the spot, and the warriors of the imperial army should have a decent way to die, instead of being defeated again and again!"
"Division commander, let's break out to the west. Reinforcements are on the way. There may be a chance!"
"How could he, Zhou Weihan, give him a chance? It was clear that one army was intercepting the enemy, and three armies were pursuing in three directions. The imperial army was defeated, and the Empire of Japan was defeated!" Harada Xiongji said disheartenedly.
When the 35th Division took the initiative to retreat southward from the west of Heze, it originally had 3,000 artillery troops. However, under the pursuit of the Eighth Route Army's three armies, the Japanese troops running behind were constantly killed and eaten.
This led to Harada Kumonaki's idea of cutting off the wrists of strong men, and ordered all Japanese troops to abandon unnecessary baggage, discard stragglers, and just retreat all the way south.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! This decision completely caused the Japanese army to disperse. Each one only focused on themselves, and even the escort team at the division headquarters disappeared.
Harada Xiongyoshi looked around at the dozens of division personnel who were following him, and said in a deep voice: "All personnel will consume the confidential documents immediately, and they must not be left to the Eighth Route Army!"
"Telegraph operator, in my own name, send a message to General Gangcun!"
"Yes!" the telegraph operator on the side responded, taking out a pen and paper.
Harada Xiongyoshi was silent for a long time before he spoke: "General Okamura is on top, and Harada Xiongyoshi is below. Our department will cooperate with one division each of the 16th Division, the 21st Division, and the 32nd Division on the 21st.
We launched an offensive against the Eighth Route Army's Hebei-Shandong-Henan base area, but our progress was extremely unfavorable in the initial stage. We were blocked by the Eighth Route Army from advancing south of the old Yellow River route, and our troops suffered many casualties!"
"The Sixteenth Division lost contact in the dark. I have sent the personnel left behind in Shangqiu to contact us. There is a high probability that the Eighth Route Army will annihilate them in Caoxian County!"
"After I broke through the Eighth Route Army's defense line at the old Yellow River route, I rashly divided my troops and was seized by the Eighth Route Army. This was a wrong decision. Now our Thirty-fifth Division was defeated like a mountain under the Eighth Route Army's pursuit, and there was no hope of breaking out.
, I feel extremely regretful, and I am responsible for the defeat of our Thirty-fifth Division today!"
"The only good thing is that the main force of the Eighth Route Army was attracted by our troops in Dongming. For example, the 21st Division and the 32nd Division were able to get rid of the Eighth Route Army, capture the Heze area where their base defenses were empty, and annihilate their command organs.
There may be a chance to reverse the defeat, the general can give you some advice!"
"The General's words in Kaifeng will be kept in mind by my subordinates. At this moment, the strength of the Eighth Route Army has exceeded the expectations of the Imperial Army. As the General said, the Imperial Army has suffered heavy losses today and may not be able to carry out heavy encirclement and suppression of the Eighth Route Army again in the future. For now
The only solution is to strengthen the blockade along the railway line in order to protect ourselves!" After Harada Xiongyoshi finished speaking, he waved his hand and signaled the telegraph operator to send the telegram as soon as possible.
"Division commander, even if the Eighth Route Army has surrounded our unit, this area is only a plain area, so there must be some omissions. There is hope of escaping!" the adjutant advised.
"Escape?" A trace of sneer appeared on Harada Xiongji's face: "The Imperial Army should have a dignified death. After destroying all confidential documents, all personnel of the division and regiment took up weapons and fought with the Eighth Route Army until the last moment!"
At this moment, outside the grove where Harada Kumonaki and others were hiding, a small group of Eighth Route Army troops approached.
"Did you see clearly?"
"Company Commander, see clearly. I was just solving a problem here. Suddenly there was a fire in the woods, and there was no fighting. How could there be a fire? I looked inside and saw dozens of little Japs hiding inside.
There are some little devils burning something, maybe it’s a big fish!” the soldier said excitedly.
"You guys are really lucky. The kid burned confidential documents. He will do this every time at the last moment of the battle. Those who carry confidential documents with them are at least the kid brigade, and even the level will be higher!" Assault!
The commander of the fifth company of the regiment's second battalion also couldn't hide the excitement on his face.
After the battle at Houjiazhai, Dong Jiang handed over the task of cleaning the battlefield to the new regiment, and the entire assault regiment was divided into two groups, inserting from the left and right wings of the regiment, that is, the southeast and southwest of the Japanese army.
passed.
"Notice, be careful when the fight breaks out, and don't beat the little Japs to death!" the fifth company commander ordered.
It was still dark, and the soldiers of the 5th Company were walking through the woods with their waists crouched one by one. Strangely, there was no guard post posted near the headquarters of the 35th Division.
The fifth company commander made a gesture, and more than a hundred soldiers divided into two groups to surround the group of Japs in front of them.
Harada Xiongyoshi was wiping the command knife in his hand for a last-ditch effort, when suddenly a group of Eighth Route Army troops emerged from the bushes opposite.
"Don't move, anyone who moves will be killed!" the soldiers shouted.
Dozens of little devils seemed to be frightened, and subconsciously moved closer to the direction of Harada Xiongyoshi.
For a moment, the Garand rifles and light machine guns in the hands of the soldiers of the fifth company were at full fire, and they fired a burst of fire at the scurrying little Japanese.
The little devils at the division headquarters were all civilians. They had no heavy weapons and were equipped with Southern Type 14 pistols. How could they possibly organize an effective counterattack at this time?
"I told you not to move, so why aren't any of them obedient?" The fifth company commander's tense face suddenly showed a smile.
"Company commander, maybe the little devil can't understand our Chinese!" the soldier on the side reminded kindly.
"You talk a lot, go, take a few people, and check if there are any alive?" the fifth company commander said with a glare.
After some searching, a soldier shouted in surprise: "Company commander, big fish, two gold stars, is the Japanese division commander!"
When the fifth company commander heard this, he didn't care that the vital inspection had not yet been completed, and ran to Harada Xiongyoshi in three steps and two steps.
I saw Harada Kumagi lying on the ground, holding the blade in his left hand and the handle in his right hand. The entire command sword had just been pulled out a little, and it was in a dying state. His eyes were wide open, and a look of unwillingness appeared on his face.
Originally, Harada Kumakichi wanted to fight the Eighth Route Army one-on-one. However, after discovering the Eighth Route Army, a group of kidnappers from the division headquarters subconsciously wanted to protect Harada Kumakichi. This also led to Harada Kumakichi blocking Harada during the shooting process.
A lot of bullets were fired.
"Looking at his age, he is really the division commander of the Japs. Who is this?" The fifth company commander reached out for the command knife in Harada Xiongji's hand, but was held tightly.
"The last one seems to be Tian Daoshengwu of the 41st Infantry Division, who is also a lieutenant general!"
The fifth company of the Assault Regiment was selected from the 279th Regiment and also participated in the final annihilation battle against the 41st Division.
"Hey, devil, you should be able to understand Chinese at your age. Do you know Tian Daoshengwu? Like you, he also has two stars, but he died more honorably than you. He seemed to have died one on one, unlike you.
Useless!"
The fifth company commander's unintentional words deeply stimulated Harada Xiongyoshi. His chest kept rising and falling, blood rushed to his throat and blocked his trachea. In the end, he choked to death.
The scene in front of me can only be regarded as a small episode in the entire battle. The entire battlefield was full of scenes of the Eighth Route Army chasing the little Japanese.
In the end, some Japanese recruits who had not been in the army for a long time were very cooperative and took the initiative to lay down their weapons and surrender.
The fighting gradually subsided at dawn.
The 3rd Regiment, the 36th Regiment, the 5th Regiment, the 29th Regiment, and even the regiment originally stationed at the defense line all sent men. Thousands of people were carefully searching for something on the battlefield.
"Comrade, you must be tired after chasing us all night. Go back and rest. Don't worry, our Communist Party members have already ordered these weapons and equipment. Not a single one of them will be left behind. They will all be left to you!"
The monitor said.
"Comrade, you are from the first regiment. I am from the third regiment. Our Communist Party members have also given orders. No matter how hard and tired we are, we cannot burden our brother troops. We appreciate your kindness. Go back!" the squad leader of the third regiment laughed.
road.
"Okay, you're busy, we'll go look for you on the other side!"
The two groups of soldiers looked at each other and knew what the other was looking for.
When the soldiers of the first regiment walked away, the squad leader of the third regiment said: "Don't look here. The regiment must have searched everything here. Let's go to the west!"