Chapter 914: There are traitors around the emperor
The bombardment stopped abruptly after lasting for about three minutes. The 1st Regiment rushed to stabilize the gap and wiped out the Japanese troops in front of them. The 1st and 2nd Battalions circled to both sides, trying to flank the Japanese troops on the second line with the 2nd and 3rd Regiments.
The third battalion continued to penetrate deeper and was responsible for finding the location of the Japanese headquarters and artillery.
"Captain, I didn't see anyone alive, they were all dead, and the bodies were nowhere to be found!"
The soldier responsible for searching for traces of commandos among the dead had a droopy face and a cry in his words.
"Impossible, not one of the three hundred members of the commando team is alive? Where is Tang Siyi? I want to see people alive, and I want to see corpses when I die!"
Hou Zhenye, leader of the 1st Regiment, could not believe this cruel fact. At least half of the 300 members of the commando were selected from the 1st Regiment, and Tang Siyi was his guard company commander.
Commandos are not selected casually. They are required to have extremely high combat qualities, be familiar with the tactics of a three-person team, and be well versed in the coordination of infantry and artillery.
When the brigade headquarters issued the order for the 1st Regiment to temporarily attack and wait for the artillery bombardment, Hou Zhenye, the commander of the 1st Regiment, was extremely opposed to it, but an order was an order.
"Commander, six wounded commandos were found in the trenches!"
Just when the commanders and fighters of the 13th Brigade launched an all-out offensive against the Japanese army, the Japanese army command headquarters was already in chaos.
"Order the artillery to hold their position and wait for the headquarters to move closer to them. They must hold on to the end. Reinforcements will arrive in half an hour!"
The Eighth Route Army advanced at a speed beyond the imagination of the Japanese colonel. He did not dare to admit why the Eighth Route Army on the opposite side could break through two lines of defense in just twenty minutes.
The situation has deteriorated to this point. Except for the artillery unit, there are really no extra troops to deploy. We can only transfer the headquarters to move closer to the artillery in an attempt to make the final fight against the trapped beast.
At this moment, there was loud gunfire outside the headquarters, and a Japanese soldier on guard ran in covered in blood.
"Sir, a small force from the Eighth Route Army is coming. We can't resist it!"
"Baga!" The Japanese commander suddenly stood up, opened the tent door curtain, and just leaned out, a series of bullets hit him, and he was knocked to the ground immediately.
Three commandos appeared, two were on guard, and the other threw three melon grenades into the tent. After the explosion, there was no movement inside.
"The Japanese are a colonel, this is definitely the Japanese military headquarters!"
"Great, quickly eliminate the remaining enemies!"
This small force consisted of more than 20 commandos who broke out from the encirclement, passed by the Japanese Fourth Battalion that went for reinforcements, and then searched for the location of the Japanese headquarters.
When the Japanese army was fighting abroad, they usually carried generators to ensure the smooth flow of electricity. When the commandos saw a lighted place in front of them, they went straight to the Japanese army headquarters.
At this time, the Japanese army seemed to have become meat on the chopping block. The third and fourth brigades of the Japanese army in the second-line position were gradually being divided, and gunshots became increasingly sparse on the battlefield.
"Sir, the contact with the command center has been interrupted, and no one is answering the phone!"
"Nani?" The Japanese artillery battalion captain was shocked when he heard this. He instinctively realized that something was wrong, and sent two groups of personnel to contact him, but there was no reply.
It was at this time that the Japanese artillery really panicked. Without the cover of the infantry, the ill-equipped artillery was not as effective as heavy equipment in terms of combat effectiveness.
"Comrades, charge forward and kill the Japanese artillery!"
In the blink of an eye, soldiers from the third battalion of a regiment rushed into the Japanese artillery position. The Japanese artillery had less than 700 people. Only some officers were equipped with Southern Type 14 pistols, and the rest of the Japanese soldiers only had a bayonet for self-defense.
The battle was a one-sided massacre from the beginning. The 13th Brigade made a clear announcement before the battle that the enemy on the opposite side was the division of the Japanese Kwantung Army. During the battle, they must not be merciful and try to minimize unnecessary casualties.
At the 13th Brigade Headquarters, when Jing Dagang learned that the Japanese second-line position had been breached by a regiment, he understood that the overall situation had been decided, and immediately contacted Wu Qin's 14th Brigade through the radio.
The enemy on the opposite side of the 14th Brigade was the 6th Regiment of the Guards Division, which also mixed together a 4th Battalion, but instead of equipping an artillery brigade, it strengthened 12 tanks.
During the daytime battle, Wu Qin keenly noticed that the Japanese troops on the opposite side did not have high fighting will and were lazy in style. When both sides turned off their guns, many Japanese generals took off their uniforms and hung them on their rifles to dry.
This surprised the soldiers of the 14th Brigade. However, the Japanese officers on the opposite side did not stop this behavior, which seemed to be commonplace.
The 14th Brigade also used the commandos to act as sharp knives. After the commandos broke through the front-line positions of the Guards Division, the main force of the following 14th Brigade had just caught up and had not yet engaged the Japanese army.
An astonishing scene occurred. The Japanese troops in the first-line positions retreated in full. The huge momentum caused a chain reaction. The Japanese troops in the second-line positions who did not know the situation directly rubbed oil on the soles of their feet, fearing that they would be one step behind.
The two sides were chasing each other, and the ones running at the back were actually 12 tanks. The soldiers of the 14th Brigade effortlessly picked up 12 tanks for nothing.
At the headquarters of the 14th Brigade, everyone looked at each other in shock when they learned of the battle report coming from the front.
Political Commissar Wang Lin was puzzled: "This battle was fought inexplicably. The Japanese troops were not damaged, so why did they suddenly retreat? Those who didn't know better thought they were puppet troops on the other side."
"This Guards Division has quite a reputation. I guess they are a group of veteran soldiers. We will interrogate the captured prisoners later," Wu Qin said.
Not long after, the frontline troops sent over a group of prisoners, about a hundred or so, including a major and a dozen lieutenants.
When Wu Qin walked out of the brigade headquarters, he saw that all the good guys were naked, squatting on the ground with their heads in their hands, looking like pigs with their hair shed.
"what happened?"
"Brigadier, these Japs are really weird. They had to take off their shirts because it was too hot, but they were quite cooperative along the way."
Speaking of which, the 14th Brigade has captured many Japanese prisoners. I have seen some with hard bones and some with soft bones, but I have never seen such well-behaved ones.
"Raise your head!" The brigade clerk translated Wu Qin's words.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "You, name, age, unit number, and position held!" Wu Qin pointed at the Japanese major among the prisoners.
The Japanese major still didn't understand his situation, so he immediately stood up and saluted: "Reporting to the commander, Ishida Hisaku, a humble officer, 27 years old, from Tokyo, graduated from Army University, currently the deputy commander of the 9th Battalion of the 6th Regiment of the Guards Division
team leader."
"How old do you have to be to be promoted to the rank of Major?"
The Japanese army has a strict promotion system. With the war that lasted for many years, the promotion system has collapsed. However, in any case, a 27-year-old Japanese major is a rarity, let alone a combat unit.
Wu Qin guessed that this guy came to fight for the gold plate: "What does your father do?"
"Sir, my father is a lecturer at the Army University. However, after I joined the army, I did not rely on my father's connections. I only relied on my own efforts to achieve what I have achieved today!"
Wu Qin raised his eyebrows and nodded: "You are right, I can see it!"
Among these Japanese prisoners, Hisaku Ishida is the oldest, and the youngest is only 16 years old. However, without exception, they are all from Tokyo, and some of them were students in school before joining the army.
After inquiries, I learned that the Guards Division was newly organized into the Fifth and Sixth Regiments last year. After two months of training, the Guards Division was immediately transferred to fight in Southeast Asia.
The expansion of the Japanese army is often based on an elite force. The officers and non-commissioned officers at the grassroots level are all veterans with combat experience. However, the Guards Division only added a small number of backbones, and the rest were all new recruits.
Seemingly sensing Wu Qin's doubts, Ishida Hisaku explained directly: "Sir, as a soldier, it is a great shame and humiliation to be captured on the battlefield!"
"Our division was originally ordered to return from Southeast Asia, but the military intercepted the warship in Haizhou. In recent days, there have been many rumors in the military, but there are treacherous officials around the emperor, who intend to destroy our division through war!"
Wu Qin waved his hand and asked people to take the prisoners away. Before leaving, Ishida Jiuzaku shouted: "Sir, please implement the Geneva Convention!"
When Wang Lin saw this scene, he couldn't help but muttered: "Are these Japanese soldiers all stupid?"
"Hey, the Communist Party members are right. There is a big chaos in Japan, and they are the victims of the political struggle!" Wu Qin shook his head: "In the past few years, in our Chinese terms, they are all sons of good families. It stands to reason that they are the sons of good families.
Is the group that the Emperor of Japan relies on most important just now?"
"Pass my order. The 4th Regiment must maintain its formation and be alert at all times to Japanese reinforcements. The 5th and 6th Regiments will do their best to drive away the fleeing Japanese troops and attack the Japanese defense line on the Longhai Railway!"
The battle reports from the front were quickly transmitted to the column headquarters, and the first one came was the battle report of the 13th Brigade.
"The 13th Brigade fought well. It only took 40 minutes to wipe out more than 5,000 people of the 57th Division. This time the Japanese army should know that they are afraid!" Zhao Bingzhang said with a smile.
Zhou Weihan put the telegram on the table, glanced at the time, and asked: "No news from the 14th Brigade?"
"Not yet, but the communications staff are waiting in front of the radio station!"
About ten minutes later, the telegram from the 14th Brigade arrived belatedly.
"Hehe, the 14th Brigade got a big deal, maybe let Wu Qin give it a try!" Zhou Weihan asked everyone.
"I think it is okay. There is no problem in releasing the Japanese prisoners, but they should be carefully screened. Keeping the hard-line elements among them and releasing the rest may have miraculous effects!" Luo Benzhong said.
Luo Benzhong was originally supposed to preside over work in northern Anhui, but he was specially transferred back by Zhou Weihan before the war. The current 14th Brigade in northern Anhui is mainly concentrated in Xiayi, and the other counties are only guarded by newly formed local armed forces.
Zhou Weihan nodded: "Call back to the 13th and 14th brigades. The number of Japanese reinforcements is unknown. All ministries should stick to the original plan and do not engage in unauthorized battles with the Japanese before dawn!"
"When the situation is clear, the ministries can continue to advance towards the Longhai Line, but they can only stay and rest. Without orders from the headquarters, they are not allowed to attack the Japanese troops stationed on the Longhai Line!"
"I want to see Yamashita Fengfumi's reaction?"
The main forces of both sides gathered around Shangqiu. The war had just begun. The two Japanese partial divisions responsible for guarding had lost more than 10,000 men. The 13th and 14th brigades could only wait for dawn before heading towards the Longhai line.
As long as Zhou Weihan gives the order, the Japanese supply line can be cut off at any time.