Rise from eight hundred.

Chapter 1434 Take a chance and turn a motorcycle into a bicycle!

1:23 am on January 5!

Standing in the valley and looking at the lined-up imperial officers and soldiers, the usually strong Major General Yiyuan Jingu burst into tears.

Of the 7000-man detachment that was originally strong and powerful, only 1400 people could stand before him, with an additional 600 wounded soldiers, totaling no more than 2000 people.

There were 5000 men, and after yesterday’s battle, all of them remained in front of the Chinese high ground.

When the battle ended yesterday evening, Yiyuan Jingu already knew that it was impossible for him to capture the Chinese heights, even though he had a feeling that at least several of the Chinese heights were already shaky, and he would definitely be able to take them as long as he invested a certain amount of troops.

But no matter how angry he was, he knew that he couldn't do that. The result of doing so would only be the annihilation of the entire detachment in this unknown valley.

This was also the most wise decision made by Jingu Yiyuan on the Sifang Bay battlefield. Under the desperate attack of the Jingu Detachment, although Commander Tang had already dispatched two infantry companies of the 4th Battalion, he had not yet dispatched the guard company, the last reserve. Once these 200 elite soldiers were dispatched, the last 1400 people of the Jingu Detachment would not be enough to fill in.

"Although we lost this battle, our detachment also caused heavy losses to the enemy unit, making it unable to support the Shipai central battlefield. For the sake of the lives of the detachment's seriously injured officers and soldiers, our detachment will temporarily withdraw from the battlefield to rest and regroup. We will find an opportunity to fight the remnants of the enemy here another day and will definitely destroy them!" In the dawn light, the Japanese Army Major General wiped the tears from his face and finally calmed down, cheering up the remnants of his detachment.

It was a great defeat, but was downplayed by a Japanese Army Major General as a failure. The evacuation was not because they could not win the battle, but to keep 600 seriously wounded soldiers alive.

This reason is actually still tenable. Just yesterday, half of the seriously wounded soldiers on the front line died, and nearly 500 wounded soldiers stopped breathing amid the deafening sound of gunfire due to lack of hemostatic drugs.

The Chinese bombardment of the baggage train not only affected the problem of food, but also destroyed most of the stored medicines. Only less than one-third of the more than a thousand wounded soldiers received timely treatment.

The Japanese infantrymen standing in a row in the valley had humiliation on their faces, but deep in their eyes there was a sense of relief.

They all knew that although they had lost the battle, the major general commander was finally going to withdraw his troops. At least they were still alive, unlike their colleagues who were still lying dead on the enemy's heights.

The Japanese Army originally had the habit of collecting debris on the battlefield, but the Chinese, who were also bloodthirsty, would not allow it. If they wanted to pull back a body, they would often have to pay the price of one or even several lives. After trying several times, commanders at all levels, including Hariya Itsuhara, gave up this "stupid" behavior.

We can only wait until the Battle of Shipai, when the Imperial Army has won the overall victory, to come and collect the remains!

Under the order of Itsuhara Hariya, the Japanese infantry abandoned most of their baggage except for one day's rations and necessary ammunition.

Although the five remaining mountain cannons were dismantled into several pieces and transported by pack horses, there were only less than 5 shells left. The damaged heavy machine guns were all abandoned. Even the few pack horses had towels tied around their hooves and noses to prevent them from neighing and making hoof noises.

To put it bluntly, this has nothing to do with the so-called evacuation. The main purpose is to escape quietly.

There is still 12 kilometers of mountain road from the Sifangwan battlefield to the flank of the Zhujiaping battlefield where they took a detour. If they march as heavily as they did the previous time, it would probably take most of the day to travel. Moreover, there are more than 600 seriously wounded soldiers who need to be carried back on stretchers.

Jingu Yiyuan did not waste too much time. After briefly encouraging the remaining soldiers, at 5:35 in the morning, the remnants of the Jingu detachment quietly left the col in an orderly manner and returned along the original route.

The scene was absolutely miserable. Not to mention the contrast with the strong soldiers and horses when they came, there were 1400 people, including nearly a thousand people carrying a wounded soldier on a stretcher in groups of two, and those with less serious injuries were hung in cloth bags on the backs of pack horses. Even if the wounds were painful from the bumpy ride on the mountain road, the wounded soldiers bit towels in their mouths to prevent themselves from making any sound.

The Zhengu Detachment had already used up all their blood and courage yesterday. At this moment, they just wanted to be a quiet scumbag who ran away.

If it were any other Chinese unit, they would have been lucky to hold their positions under such a terrifying attack. How could they have bothered to fight against the remnants of the Japanese army?

But unfortunately, the Jingu Detachment encountered the Four-Line Regiment. Even more unfortunate was that there was a Chinese commander whose soul came from the future. No matter who they let go, they would never let go of the beast that committed the massacre.

In the dense forest hundreds of meters away from the escape route of the Shingu Detachment, there were at least 20 pairs of eyes staring at them.

As for the 2000 remnants of the Xigu Detachment, Commander Tang never thought of letting them go. Moreover, the bait was so tempting that he didn't believe that the Japanese would be willing to let these 2000 Japanese soldiers fend for themselves, especially with the extremely proud personality of Yokoyama Isamu.

"According to the original plan, the 4th Battalion will block the Japanese troops on the high ground along the way. The 1st Battalion will dispatch three platoons, the Guard Company will dispatch two platoons, and the Special Service Battalion, Engineer Battalion, and Quartermaster Battalion will each dispatch a platoon to serve as a reserve force. We will trap the Jingu Detachment in this mountainous area." Tang Dao stared at the sand table, his eyes full of hostility.

"Everyone, remember this. Do not attack without my order. I'm going to save some bullets this time and starve these bastards to death in this mountain!"

The Jingu Detachment had traveled less than five kilometers when it encountered the first wave of attacks. Two Chinese infantry squads occupying a mountain peak more than 400 meters above sea level blocked the mountain road with rifles and machine guns.

In order to avoid being entangled by the Chinese, Yiyuan Jingu decisively left about 120 infantrymen to fight with the Chinese soldiers. The main force, led by the reconnaissance scouts, crossed the mountains and took a detour.

At this time, the Japanese infantrymen were still grateful for the decisiveness of their major general detachment commander, who abandoned a large amount of baggage and traveled light, so that they did not have to fight hard with the Chinese soldiers who had the geographical advantage because they had to take the mountain roads.

Although it is hard, staying alive is the most important thing at the moment.

Sadly, however, the Chinese forest was not so easy to enter, and they encountered a minefield deep in the dense forest.

  That was the masterpiece of the reconnaissance platoon to which Shen Laoliu belonged!

As early as yesterday when the battle ended, Tang Dao judged that the remnants of the Japanese army would inevitably flee. Shen Laoliu judged based on the terrain that if the Japanese army encountered an attack at the corner of this mountain road, they would inevitably choose to give up the attack and take a detour, and crossing the mountain became their first choice.

He led his brothers in the reconnaissance platoon to bury more than 60 anti-personnel mines in the forest overnight.

The Jingu Detachment originally carried several metal-detecting mine detectors, but Jingu Yiyuan ordered all unnecessary baggage to be abandoned, and the engineers who were responsible for carrying the wounded would not carry these things.

When the first anti-personnel mine blew two Japanese soldiers to the ground in the grass, the subsequent Japanese soldiers closed their eyes in collective pain.

  The Chinese are so vicious that they even plant mines in the mountains and forests where they live. Don’t they want to walk through these mountains and forests in the future?

Don’t you think human nature is ridiculous? When they win, the Japanese will say that the Chinese are not worthy of owning this fertile land. When they fail, they start to complain that the Chinese have no martial ethics and even lay vicious minefields on their own land.

For China today, wherever there are Japanese, there is a battlefield. Since it is a battlefield, there is no need to consider the future. The first thing to do is to kill the enemy.

  In the future, only the winners deserve to enjoy it!

"I need the Imperial Warriors to clear a way out for the entire detachment!" Major General Hariya Itsuhara, who rushed to the edge of the minefield, was so decisive that it made the Japanese army shudder.

The sudden appearance of ambush and minefield gave Jingu Yiyuan a strong sense of crisis. He had reason to infer that the Chinese were slowing down his march, and the intention of slowing down the march was almost obvious.

After the intensity of firepower demonstrated by the Chinese side in yesterday's battle, Yiyuan Jingu has completely lost confidence in breaking through the opponent's position by force, even though the opponent may not have particularly complete fortifications.

Itsuhara Hariya cannot let the Hariya Detachment become the first unit in the Imperial Expeditionary Force to be completely wiped out at a detachment level, as that would be a shame for the entire Imperial Army.

So, he needs to sacrifice a few to save the majority.

Fortunately, there was no shortage of brave men in the Japanese army. Under the earnest gaze of Major General Hariya Itsuhara, nearly ten idiots bravely stood up.

"I will tell your families about your heroic deeds, and the empire will never forget your sacrifice." Jingu Yiyuan was rarely moved, with tears in his eyes as he encouraged his ten subordinates with cannons in their heads who were about to die.

"Long live the empire!" A Japanese soldier shouted slogans and ran forward bravely.

After running wildly for more than 20 meters in the bushes in one breath, there was no explosion as imagined. The Japanese infantry stopped, panting but with a look of joy on his face, and looked back at his colleagues lying on the ground. He waved his hands excitedly and was about to shout something.

"Boom!" There was a loud noise. After the smoke cleared, the Japanese infantrymen, whose legs were broken below the knees, howled in pain.

If he had not been so excited that he moved 20 centimeters to the side, the small anti-personnel mine might not have been triggered.

But apparently, his luck ended there.

"Bang!" A gunshot rang out, and the Japanese soldier who was howling in pain trembled all over. The sound gradually turned from high to low, and finally fell completely silent.

"Go on!" The Japanese Army major general, who had a warm look on his face just now but now waved his hand coldly and ordered the guards around him to open fire, had a look of hostility in his eyes.

He knew that if this continued, the morale of his thousand-odd men would completely collapse even without the Chinese surrounding them, and a defeat could occur at any time.

In the mountains with such a complex environment, defeat means death.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" Under the 'eager' gaze of Yiyuan Jingu, the Japanese soldiers walked towards the minefield with tears in their eyes.

There were no survivors because all the Japanese infantrymen whose legs were blown off were shot to death by the guards around Hariya Itsuhara with precise marksmanship.

He couldn't let the howls that echoed through the mountains and forests undermine the morale of the army again. Anyway, the seriously injured soldiers would not be able to survive in such an environment.

However, everyone knows the truth, but as the saying goes, when the rabbit dies, the fox mourns. Seeing how the captain treated the imperial warriors who risked their lives, the morale of the Japanese infantry inevitably fell to the bottom.

If an army appeared at this time, even if it was just an infantry company, and launched an assault on this army of more than a thousand people whose morale had already reached its lowest point, there is a great possibility that they would be completely defeated.

However, this does not conform to Tang Tuanzuo's style. He wants to maximize his interests.

Not only did he have to surround and kill these 2000 Japanese invaders, he also had to let the Japanese troops on the periphery know that there were 2000 Japanese here, and whether to rescue them or not was up to their decision.

"The Japs are quite cruel. They even used the human bomb tactic!" Shen Laoliu, who was lying in the grass 600 meters away, was also shocked by the Japanese army's actions.

The order he received was to try his best to slow down the Japanese army's march. After much thought, he felt that laying mines was the most convenient way. Unexpectedly, Zhen Gu Yiyuan used this trick to destroy the area he had painstakingly designed and his hard work for most of the night.

"The Japs have started marching again. Platoon leader, do you want to gather all the brothers in the platoon to beat them to death? The company commander just informed us that the brothers from the guard company and the engineering company are urgently building fortifications 1000 meters ahead. Should we buy them some time?" Cao Yingchong came over quietly and asked.

"You still have the mindset of those guys in the infantry battalion. You always gather a large group of people to do something. Who are we? We are the reconnaissance company. Our job is to stab people and hit them with clubs." Shen Laoliu grinned and "taught" his deputy platoon leader a lesson.

"Tell the brothers to follow the previous reconnaissance team organization. If you can kill the Japanese with one shot, then kill them all at once. Don't fight to the death. Run away when you get the upper hand. Snipers, aim at the Japanese officers and shoot them. It doesn't matter if the Japanese officers are not wearing woolen coats. As long as there are many Japanese soldiers around him, he is an officer. Shoot him."

The Jingu Detachment, which had finally gotten out of the minefield at the cost of 16 men, encountered another group of "scoundrels".

The Chinese were hiding in the corners of the mountains and forests at least 400 meters away from their marching route. They would either shoot you once or fire a long burst of fire from a machine gun. By the time you fired a blast with a grenade launcher, they would have already slipped away.

Although the loss is not that big, it is scary!

Especially the Japanese officers at all levels, they were even more frightened at this moment.

Even though they were required by military orders to all change into the same uniforms as ordinary infantrymen, wearing heavy cowhide boots, white gloves, command sabers and riding boots, the Chinese seemed to recognize them. In this march of less than a mile, six officers were shot dead in a dozen attacks launched by the Chinese. One of them was a major-level captain, and he was shot accurately in the ribs even though he was protected by six guards. He struggled in pain for more than ten minutes before he finally died.

"The Chinese should be identified by the number of guards around them, not their uniforms. All officers and guards should be kept at a distance and maintain a normal march." Jingu Yiyuan's brain was quite capable. After receiving reports of several consecutive officers being accurately shot, he responded quickly.

However, it is easier said than done. Knowing that there are Chinese hiding in the mountains and forests to attack from a distance, and there is no one around to block the bullets, who would dare to do it? The higher the official, the less likely they are to walk alone. For them, without guards, what is the difference between walking naked in the snow?

Not only are they afraid of death but they also don't want to be targeted. There seems to be no other way except to send more scouts to guard the periphery of the march.

Although Jingu Yiyuan was so anxious that two boils appeared on his mouth, the marching speed could not be increased. However, it took the Jingu Detachment, carrying the wounded, a full hour and a half to walk a thousand meters.

In addition to the extreme difficulty of marching in the mountains and forests, the attacks of more than 20 reconnaissance teams deployed by Shen Laoliu in the surrounding mountains played a key role.

Then, the tragic Jingu Detachment reached Mopanling, which was called "the last place for the Jingu Detachment to look up" after the war.

This is a mountain that is not very high in altitude but extremely steep. The Zhengu Detachment passed through here when they arrived at Sifang Bay. The mountain road winds under the ridge. For the people on Mopanling, even if there is a mouse on the mountain road, they can see it clearly.

If you want to pass through here, except for that mountain road, you have to turn into a monkey and climb up the cliff with a slope of nearly 80 degrees to the 420-meter-high mountain.

But obviously, not to mention that humans cannot turn into monkeys, even if they were real monkeys, they would have no chance against the 160 Chinese soldiers armed with live ammunition who suddenly appeared on Mopanling.

When the Hariya Detachment hurriedly set foot on this path, four MG4 machine guns from the mountains suddenly opened fire, and more than 42 Japanese soldiers who had set out first were instantly thrown to the ground.

As the four tongues of fire swept back and forth, the once ferocious Japanese infantry were like newborn babies, being shot to death one by one on the mountain road with almost no resistance.

Looking at the tragic scene before him, Yiyuan Jingu was stunned. It was not until more than ten seconds later that he gave the order for the entire army to evacuate.

At this point, Itsuhara Hariya already knew that the Hariya Detachment had completely lost the ability to escape on its own, and he had to ask for help from Kisaku Murakami and Isamu Yokoyama.

"Order Lieutenant General Murakami Ikisaku to devote all his efforts to the battle for the central position of Shipai, and quickly defeat the enemy's 18th Division of the 11th Army to relieve the siege of the Jingu Detachment; order the 231st Regiment and the Nogou Detachment to transfer a certain amount of troops to reinforce the Jingu Detachment; and also order the Jingu Detachment to stay where it is and wait for reinforcements!"

After receiving the telegram for help from Hariya Itsuhara, the gloomy-faced Yokoyama Isamu angrily smashed the small table on which his beloved teacup was placed with a knife. After venting his anger, the commander of the Japanese 11th Army finally regained his composure. He knew that no matter how much he wanted to kill the idiot Hariya Itsuhara, it would be useless. If he wanted to avoid the tragedy of an entire detachment being wiped out by the Chinese, he could only do everything he could.

  Back then, the 106th Division was annihilated by his old rival. He knew very well the consequences of the death of a lieutenant general of the Imperial Army. If it were not so, how could he have had a chance to ascend to the throne?

He couldn't let the Battle of Shipai, which he had been planning for nearly a year, turn into his Waterloo. He could only fight, regardless of whether the bicycle could be transformed into a motorcycle.

Little did people know that it was precisely because of this military order from Isamu Yokoyama that the meat grinder mode of the Shipai central position was launched ahead of schedule.

With the reinforcements, the combat strength of the infantry under Murakami's command reached more than 9000, but what he faced was no longer the 11th Division that had to be divided, but the 6th Division in its prime with 11 infantry regiments, and two regiments of the 6th Temporary Division as reserves.

The six elite infantry regiments lost nearly 6 people in the previous two days of fighting, and still had 3000 people capable of fighting.

9000vs13000, China has a complete advantage of terrain, and in terms of heavy firepower, although China does not have naval guns, it has 12 mountain guns promised by the Four-Line Regiment for fire support, which means there are 75 36mm mountain guns in total. Not to mention surpassing the Japanese army, but almost on par with them.

In the air, the Chinese Air Force, having tasted success, has decided to provide full support to Shipai. Aircraft fleets at the other six airports in Sichuan Province have already been on 24-hour standby, ready to support Shipai at any time.

Trying to achieve victory by force of attack would only result in throwing the soldiers into this artificial meat grinder.

(End of this chapter)