Chapter 70 The most important thing to do is not self-criticism
Because he believed that although he had very few troops left on hand and faced the Japanese and puppet troops attacking from two directions without the firepower of any squad machine gun, he could still rely on the automatic weapon in his hand. With the rifle and the combat effectiveness of his own troops, even if he died, he would bite off a large piece of meat from the Japanese and puppet troops in front of him, and it would be enough meat to make them fatal.
As long as the political commissar moves quickly enough to capture the outpost of Majiatun to the west of Taolaizhao before the Japanese reinforcements arrive, even if there are solid fortifications to rely on, the defenders, who have very few troops left at this time, will not be able to survive. No matter what kind of power is used for defense, even if everyone on his side is sacrificed, Tao Laizhao will still be his in the end.
He Fangren on this side was ready for the last fight. On the other side, Major Keiji Seto, who broke away from the strong fortifications of Taurai Shouchi for the first time since the battle started and rushed to the front in person to take command. After an exploratory attack, he discovered that the opponent was on the other side. After the counterattack firepower on the anti-alliance positions was sparse, they seemed quite confident.
This time, he was so confident that he had long forgotten the lesson he learned last time. He waved his hand to indicate that the troops behind him had regrouped and were ready for a last-ditch effort. This time, he would strive to defeat the resistance in front of him in one fell swoop. He was so overconfident that he had already finished a telegram in his mind to report the victory to the division commander.
Compared with the confident Major Keiji Seto, the former army captain Miura Munta next to him is much calmer. The opposite side is just a strengthened company of anti-alliance troops. Now the casualties of the defenders in Tauraishunai have almost Nearly half, and we don’t know when follow-up reinforcements will arrive.
According to the current battle situation, even if the remaining troops can be eaten up, the already weakened defenders may be bitten back. Once the reinforcements of the Anti-Alliance Army arrive first, Tao Laizhaoshou, who is greatly weakened, will be defeated. What else can the army do to compete with the reinforcements from the Anti-Japanese Alliance?
It was just his suggestion to shrink the troops that Major Seto Keiji, who was now full of confidence, could listen to. His suggestion of being more prudent was forcefully rejected by Major Seto on the spot, and even his words were not heard. After he finished speaking, he was interrupted by the somewhat impatient Major Seto Keiji.
Just when Major Seto Keiji was preparing for a full-scale attack, a whooshing sound that was unfamiliar but familiar to him suddenly came over. Before he could react, he found that a dense burst of shells had already hit him behind him. After the assembly was completed, the troops who were about to launch an attack were tightly covered. Before he could wake up from the shells fired from unknown sources, intensive gunshots and shouts of death came from behind.
Hearing the shouts of death and gunfire from behind, Major Seto Keiji immediately understood that reinforcements from the other side had arrived, and judging from the artillery fire from the other side, he knew that the number of reinforcements was probably quite large, because He knew that this kind of artillery with smoke coming out of the back was only equipped at the first level of the Anti-Union Division.
The fire coverage just now, according to his understanding of the Anti-Alliance organization, the opponent has at least one regiment of reinforcements, and here he only has two half-disabled railway police squadrons, and a Japanese squadron, although it does not count It is less, but compared with the strength of the opponent's regiment, there is no way to compare.
Although Seto Keiji can be arrogant at times, most of the time this guy's head is still turning very fast. He knows very well what the result of a confrontation with a regiment with this small force on this bare plain will be. He knows , with only one and a half squadrons in his hands, plus the unreliable Manchuria Railway Police, it won't take long for him to be swallowed up to the point where not even his bones and dregs are left.
Thinking of this, the Major didn't even care about the troops behind him or his own horse. He made a 90-degree turn on the spot, turned around and ran all the way in the direction of Tao Laizhao. His speed was so fast that even the most powerful soldiers in Japan could Famous sprinters felt ashamed when they saw him.
It was a pity that at this moment he remembered that it was already too late to run back. Just when this guy had rushed out a distance of 70 or 80 meters in just three or two minutes, a sound came from behind and the whole battlefield was in front of him. The sound of continuous weapon firing everywhere was not covered up, and the sound of gunfire seemed a bit special, which made him run wildly and was fixed there, never getting up again.
Faced with the sudden anti-resistance reinforcements and artillery attacks, the Japanese and puppet troops were already in chaos when they were attacked from two sides. No one noticed the man who was the first to abandon his troops and run away after discovering the enemy reinforcements and shelling. Major Seto Keiji fell to the ground at this time.
Seeing the Japanese and puppet troops in chaos at this time, and hearing the familiar sound of volleys of 107 rocket launchers, I knew that He Fangren, who had arrived with reinforcements, would miss this opportunity, even though there were not many troops left on hand. However, he still immediately commanded the entire army to attack, and formed a two-sided flanking attack with the reinforcements on the enemy in front of him.
Major Keiji Seto was killed in battle, and the senior police officer Miura did not get any benefits. The first wave of rocket launchers directly covered his position. The former Kwantung Army captain and a Japanese squadron leader and Among Tao Laizhao's several squadron commanders, he was the only surviving squadron commander who completely disappeared, and their subordinates didn't even have to collect the corpse.
Whether it was the Kwantung Army or the Puppet Manchukuo Railway Guards, the death of two commanders and the heavy casualties in the sudden attack caused the remaining Japanese and puppet troops to become a mess while their morale plummeted. The Kwantung Army organized under the Eighteenth Division is better. After all, it is an elite regular division of the Kwantung Army, and the momentum in its bones is still there.
Although the resistance of the Japanese army is very weak, after all, they are still passively fighting under the command of the only second lieutenant and several commanders among all the current officers. The performance of the Puppet Manchukuo Railway Guard Force is much worse. , after all, they are not regular troops. Although their military quality is not too bad, their fighting will is much worse. Their resistance collapsed within a few minutes.
Over there, He Fangren saw that only the Japanese troops were still resisting. He did not want to pay too many casualties, so he ordered the artillerymen who followed him to use artillery fire to destroy the Japanese troops who were still resisting. As for the reinforcements that came over, they were divided into two. He personally led the attack on Tao Laizhao all the way, bypassing Tao Laizhao and heading straight to the Songhua River Railway Bridge south of Tao Laizhao.
At this time, there was only a Japanese squad left in the Taolaizhao defenders, plus some anti-aircraft artillery and artillery units with few guns. There was no match for these wolf-like reinforcements. After only half an hour of fighting, the entire Taolaizhao area was completely destroyed. The Japanese troops were completely wiped out.
Especially after the squadron of the railway police guarding the Torayaki Songhua River was transferred to the front-line position by Major Keiji Seto, the Japanese anti-aircraft artillery squadron left behind did not even have ten rifles on hand and wanted to blow up the bridge. But it was discovered that no explosives had been placed on the bridge.
When the dedicated anti-aircraft artillery squadron leader wants to immediately move explosives from the warehouse to blow up the bridge, his opponent will give him the opportunity to calmly blow up the bridge under his nose. Suddenly, a burst of intensive machine gun fire forced the panicked anti-aircraft artillery squadron leader and his men to give up their efforts and retreat all the way to the south of the bridge.
He Fangren, who had received reinforcements, not only captured Taolaizhao, but also took advantage of the fact that the Japanese army had not had time to plant explosives on the bridge to capture the Taolaizhao Railway Bridge almost intact. He even sent a company to guard half of the railway south of the bridge. The squadron broke up and seized the Gaojiadian front line controlling the south of Qiaodong.
After the battle, He Fangren, whose head was scratched by a stray bullet, felt a little ashamed when he saw his political commissar who personally led the reinforcements. If he had listened to Cao Hui's advice and concentrated the entire army southward, he might have led the army southward. This route would not have suffered such heavy losses. A reinforced company now only has less than a platoon of troops left.
Seeing the embarrassment on He Fangren's face, Cao Hui shook his head and said: "Commander, don't get angry. You may not have thought that the combat effectiveness of these Puppet Manchukuo railway police guards is as good as the previous Puppet Manchukuo military police." In comparison, it’s almost a world of difference. If I could have thought of it earlier, I probably wouldn’t have made such a determination.”
"On our side, it was only after the battle in Xinyuan ended that we discovered through interrogation of the prisoners that these Puppet Manchukuo railway police guards were very different from the previous ones. All the Chinese people inside had been replaced by Koreans recruited by the Japanese army, and The number of Japanese veterans inside has also greatly increased compared to before."
"The current Puppet Manchukuo railway police force is no longer what it used to be. Not only is its equipment far superior to other puppet armies, its combat effectiveness can no longer even be called a puppet army. It is almost equal to the Japanese army. In terms of intelligence, there are some Inaccuracy is the reason why we are so passive."
Cao Hui's words made He Fanggen's face turn redder, and he nodded slightly: "Old Cao, you are right, I underestimated the enemy a little too much, and that's why I fought so passively. If you hadn't arrived in time, , I’m afraid the losses on my side will be even greater, and the entire army may even be destroyed.”
In response to He Fangnen's words, Cao Hui waved his hand and said: "Lao He, what we should do most now is not to review, but to adjust our deployment immediately. This place is only across a river from the Japanese troops in Dehui and Nong'an. There is such a big movement here. , the Japanese and puppet troops over there were alarmed even if they were dead. The Japanese and puppet troops in Jiangnan have probably begun to mobilize to prepare for a counterattack. What we should do most now is to adjust our troops and equipment to prepare for defense based on our current situation. .”
"Through the interrogation of a Japanese team leader in Xinyuan, although the deployment of Japanese troops in Jiangnan is not very clear, I still have a certain grasp of the deployment of the puppet Manchukuo police force in Jiangnan. This puppet army was on the Dehui train Station, and an armored train is also deployed."
"I have encountered this kind of train when we were fighting in the pass. It brought us a lot of difficulties during the battle. We must pay attention to the fact that the Japanese have stored a lot of explosives in Taolaizhao. Although I don't know how to blast. , but I can see that if these explosives detonate, they will be enough to blow up the railway bridge in front of us."
"This Songhua River Railway Bridge is the only railway bridge on the surrounding river. As long as this bridge is blown up, the Japanese army will have to cross it if they want to counterattack. Now the Songhua River is in the flood season. Not only is the river very wide, but the water volume is also very large. Big, under such circumstances it is not easy for the Japanese army to force the crossing."
"Blowing up this railway bridge will cut off the most advantageous and convenient way for the Japanese army to counterattack Jiangbei. It will be very beneficial to our defense in Jiangbei. Lao He, please see if we can blow up this bridge before the Japanese army mobilizes its troops. By blowing up the bridge, we can save a lot of troops for mobile defense, which will be more beneficial to our next battle."