Bright Sword's Bloody War of Resistance

Chapter 693
Strictly speaking, this is the third time that the 35th Division fought against 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, the head of the infantry regiment of the 35th Division, received an order from the North China Dispatch Army Command to send the 35th Division northward for reinforcements.

As a result, one part of the 221st Regiment stationed in Kaifeng and one part of the 219th Regiment stationed in Xinxiang went north from Xinxiang on a military column, and were finally wiped out by independent detachments on both sides of the Zhang River.

The second time, Okamura Ningji mobilized more than 27 Japanese troops from the Kwantung Army to enter the pass, trying to attack the Changzhi area where the 35th Army was stationed. Fighting in the Lingchuan area first defeated Sun Dianying's New Fifth Army, and was later annihilated by the Eighth Route Army, the Central Army and the Sichuan Army in the Lingchuan area.

The two battles with the 35th Division caused heavy damage to it. Although a lot of troops were added in the follow-up, the large number of new recruits caused the combat effectiveness of the 35th Division to decline rapidly.

This time the 35th Division was dispatched mainly by the 220th Regiment and the two mountain artillery brigades stationed around Zheng County for a long time. Except for the main force, the later period has been in the stage of recuperation.

As soon as the two sides fought, Jing Dagang felt that the Japanese army's offensive was weak and lacked organization. He tried several times to break through a temporary defense line, but was driven back. At the same time, a group of troops on both sides began to actively shrink the defense line. Semi-encircled 35 Japanese troops from the [-]th Division.

"Commissioner, it seems that this group of little devils are tired from running. After waiting for a long time, they turned out to be soft persimmons. If you ask me, we can clean up this group of devils by ourselves!" said the combat staff officer of the regiment headquarters.

"Hmph, you guys, all of you have eyes above your head!" Jing Dagang put down the binoculars, and then said to the combat staff officer beside him, "Zhang Xiaonian, if I remember correctly, you were originally an educated youth. After graduating from the cadre school, you directly To the regiment headquarters as a combat staff officer, right?"

"Commissioner, do you remember this?" Zhang Xiaonian was a little surprised when he heard this.

The Fifth Company Commander's unintentional words deeply stimulated Harada Kumayoshi, his chest heaved continuously, and the blood flowed into his throat, blocking the trachea, and finally choked to death.

For a moment, the Garand rifles and light machine guns in the hands of the soldiers of the fifth company were fully fired, shooting at the little devils running around.

Harada Xiongji was wiping the command knife in his hand as a last-ditch effort when suddenly a group of Eighth Route Army came out from the bushes opposite.

After the battle at Houjiazhai was over, Dong Jiang handed over the work of cleaning the battlefield to the Xinyi Regiment, and the entire assault regiment was divided into two groups. past.

At this time, Harada Kumayoshi and his group 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 in their hearts: "Perhaps it was a mistake to order the soldiers and wounded who were left behind. I should have organized the imperial army to counterattack on the spot, and the warriors of the imperial army should have a decent way to die, instead of collapsing again and again!"

"The [-]th Division lost contact in the dark. I have sent the left-behind personnel in Shangqiu to contact them. There is a high probability that they will be wiped out in Cao County by the Eighth Route Army!"

I saw Harada Kumayoshi spread out on the ground, holding the blade in his left hand and the hilt in his right. The entire commanding saber had just been pulled out a little bit, in a dying state, his eyes were wide open, and a look of unwillingness appeared on his face.

"Did you see clearly?"

"The current battle situation is very favorable to us. The Japanese army has been fleeing for a long time, and the various ministries have lost contact. The organizational structure is scattered and the people are in panic. If we take the initiative to attack at this time, it is indeed easy to obtain results!"

The fighting did not subside until dawn.

"Escape?" A sneer appeared on Harada Xiongkichi's face: "The imperial army should have a decent way to die. After destroying all the confidential documents, all the personnel of the division and regiment took up weapons and fought against the Eighth Route Army to the last moment!"

The 36rd Regiment, 29th Regiment, [-]th Regiment, [-]th Regiment, and even the [-]st Regiment that was originally stationed on the defense line had sent their men. Thousands of people were carefully searching for something on the battlefield.

"As long as you talk too much, go, bring a few people, and check if there are any survivors?" The fifth company commander said with a glare.

"Notify me, be careful when fighting, and not kill the little devil's high-ranking officer!" The fifth company commander ordered.

Originally, Harada Kumayoshi wanted to have a one-on-one duel with the Eighth Route Army, but after all the little devils in the division headquarters discovered the Eighth Route Army, they subconsciously wanted to protect Harada Kumayoshi, which also led to Harada Kumayoshi blocking the attack during the shooting. A lot of bullets.

"Comrade, you have been chasing all night, you must be tired, go back and rest, rest assured that these weapons and equipment have been ordered by our communists a long time ago, and none of them will be left, all of them will be left to you!" An old man in the first regiment said the squad leader.

"Commissioner, what else? You haven't said anything yet!"

"That's weird, it's been almost two hours, it shouldn't be!" Jing Dagang wondered.

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 put down their weapons and surrender.

The fifth company commander made a gesture, and more than a hundred soldiers divided into two groups to surround the group of little devils in front of them.

After some searching, a soldier shouted in surprise: "Company commander, big fish, two gold stars, are the division commanders of the devils!"

"The only fortunate thing is that the main force of the Eighth Route Army was attracted by our troops in the territory of Dongming. If the 21st and 32nd Divisions can get rid of the Eighth Route Army and capture the Heze area where the defense forces in their base areas are empty, there is still a chance to wipe out its command organization. The possibility of reversing the defeat, the general can urge one or two!"

"Hey, devil, you should be able to understand Chinese at your age. Do you know Tian Dao Shengwu? He is also two stars like you, but he died more decently than you. It seems that he died one-on-one, not like you. Useless!"

Dozens of little devils subconsciously approached Harada Kumakichi as if they were frightened.

"Company commander, maybe the little devil can't understand our Chinese!" The soldier on the side reminded him kindly.

At this moment, outside the grove where Harada Xiongji and others were hiding, a small unit of the Eighth Route Army approached.

Harada Xiongji looked around at the dozens of personnel from the division and regiment 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!"

"Every graduate from a cadre school, especially those of you who are educated youths, our Communist Party members are very concerned about it. Every time we hold a meeting, we will repeatedly ask us that if the staff at all levels arrives, they must serve as deputy positions at the grassroots level. Do you know why you can take up a full-time job only after you have enough experience?" Jing Dagang asked back.

"After I broke through the Eighth Route Army's defense line on the old course of the Yellow River, I rashly divided my troops and was caught by the Eighth Route Army. It was a wrong decision. Now my 35th Division is being pursued by the Eighth Route Army. I am extremely regretful, and it is my responsibility to cause the defeat of our 35th Division today!"

"Division commander, look, the Eighth Route Army has appeared ahead, and the vanguard has been stopped. What should we do?" The adjutant pointed to the battlefield ahead and said.

Hearing this, the Fifth Company Commander didn't care that he hadn't finished checking the survivors, so he ran to Harada Kumayoshi in three steps at a time.

"Well, this is just one of them. When this battle is over, let's go to the company to train!" Jing Dagang originally kept Zhang Xiaonian by his side in order to take him with him more, but suddenly he had the idea of ​​sending him away.

When the 35th Division voluntarily retreated southward from the west of Heze, there were originally 3000 artillery units, but under the pursuit of the Eighth Route Army and the Third Route Army, the Japanese troops running behind were constantly killed and eaten, which led to the Harada Kumakichi came up with the idea of ​​a strong man breaking his wrist, and ordered all the Japanese troops to abandon unnecessary baggage, abandon the soldiers who fell behind, and just retreat all the way south.

"However, remember, the order issued by the Communist Party members is to wipe out all the Japanese troops in the 35th Division. This group of Japanese troops in front of you is not all of them. At least the division commander of the Japanese Army is not among them. Otherwise, the attack will never be as chaotic as it is now. , fighting each other, once we take the initiative to attack, do you know what it means?"

"Don't move, whoever moves will be killed!" the soldiers shouted.

After Zhang Xiaonian left, Jing Dagang suddenly remembered Dong Jiang, and asked the guards beside him, "Is there any news from the assault group?"

The little devils in the division headquarters are all civilians, they don't have heavy weapons, and they are all equipped with Nanfang [-]-style pistols. How can they organize an effective counterattack at this time.

"This? The Communists are worried that we don't have enough experience in actual combat and will only talk on paper?" Zhang Xiaonian scratched his head, but he got it right.

The scene in front of me can only be regarded as a small episode of the entire battle. The entire battlefield is full of scenes of the Eighth Route Army chasing the little devil.

"The general's words in Kaifeng are kept in mind. 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 against the Eighth Route Army in the future. The only way is to strengthen the blockade along the railway line to protect ourselves!" After finishing speaking, Kumakichi Harada waved his hand, signaling the telegraph operator to send this telegram as soon as possible.

"I told you not to move, why is everyone disobedient?" The Fifth Company Commander's originally tense face suddenly showed a smile.

The situation on the battlefield was changing rapidly, and Harada Kumakichi did not expect that he 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 much so that he forgot the consequences of blindly fleeing.

"Yes!" The telegraph operator on the side took out a pen and paper and responded.

"You kid is really lucky. The little devil burns confidential documents. He will do this at the last moment of every battle. The person who carries the confidential documents with him is at least the headquarters of the little devil's brigade, or even higher!" Assault The commander of the second battalion and fifth company of the regiment also couldn't hide the excitement on his face.

"Telegrapher, in my own name, send electricity to General Gangcun!"

This decision completely caused the Japanese army to run away, each of them only caring about themselves, and even the guards of the division and regiment headquarters disappeared.

Before dawn, the soldiers of the fifth company walked through the woods one by one with their waists bent. It was strange that there was no warning post near the headquarters of the 35th division.

"The last one seems to be Tian Dao Shengwu from the 41st Division of the Little Devil, and he is also a lieutenant general!"

The fifth company of the Assault Regiment was selected by the 279th Regiment, and it also participated in the final annihilation battle against the 41st Division.

"Division Commander, even if the Eighth Route Army has encircled our department, this place is only a plain area, there must be omissions, there is hope for escape!" the adjutant advised.

Harada Xiongji was silent for a long time before he opened his mouth and said: "General Gangcun is here, and Harada Xiongji is here. Our department will cooperate with the Sixteenth Division, the 21st Division, and the 32nd Division to attack the Eighth Route Army on the 21st. The Henan base area launched an offensive, and the progress of our troops was extremely unfavorable in the early stage. We were blocked by the Eighth Route Army south of the old course of the Yellow River and could not advance an inch, and our troops suffered a lot of casualties!"

"It's almost like this. Commanders at every level are responsible for keeping their comrades alive. You are the staff officer of the regiment headquarters. The casualties reported by combat units at all levels are just a list and a number for you. , but for the platoon at the grassroots level, what they lost was their comrades-in-arms who got along day and night, and for every family, what they lost was the pillar, the son, and the husband!"

"Go, talk to the heavy mortar company, don't extend the artillery fire too long, don't hurt the brother troops!"

"Remember, your skill in drawing is deep enough, and your memory is also good!"

"Looking at his age, he is really the commander of the little devil's division. How old is this?" The fifth company commander reached out to take the command knife in Harada Kumayoshi's hand, but was tightly grasped.

"Company commander, I see clearly. I was here to solve the problem just now. There was a fire in the woods, and there was no fighting. How could there be a fire? I went inside and saw dozens of little devils hiding inside. A few little devils are burning things, maybe it's a big fish!" The soldier said excitedly.

"No, neither telegram nor walkie-talkie!"

"Our defense line is too long, and we divide our troops to take the initiative to attack. Once the little devil on the opposite side has a backbone, it is easy to concentrate our troops to break through our defense line!" Zhang Xiaonian responded quickly.

"How could he, Zhou Weihan, give him a chance? It is clear that the first army was intercepting, and the third army was chasing in three directions. The imperial army was defeated, and the Japanese Empire was defeated!" Harada Kumayoshi said disheartened.

"Division commander, let's break out to the west, reinforcements are on their way, maybe there is still a chance!"

"Comrade, you belong to the first regiment, right? I belong to the third regiment. Our Communist Party members have also ordered. No matter how hard and tiring we are, we can't tire the brother troops. We appreciate your kindness. Let's go back!" The squad leader of the third regiment smiled. road.

"Okay, you guys are busy, let's go to the other side to find it!"

The two groups of soldiers looked at each other, knowing what the other was looking for.

When the soldiers from the first regiment walked away, the squad leader of the third regiment said: "Don't find a regiment here, you must search all over here, let's go to the west!"

(End of this chapter)