Bright Sword's Bloody War of Resistance

Chapter 888 Yamashita Fengwen: We'll know the result tonight

"Brigade Commander, the 11th Regiment is withdrawing!"

"I saw it!" Li Yunlong stood on the city wall of the city wall, with an artillery telescope in front of him, observing the situation on the battlefield.

After a while, the wounded soldiers of the 11th Regiment who were withdrawn from the front-line positions were transported away from the battlefield by the stretcher team.

"Staff Officer Cheng, come with me and take a look!"

The two men climbed down the city wall and came to the open space in the middle of the city wall. Those who needed to be carried on stretchers were seriously injured and soldiers who had already died.

The wounded were groaning in pain and their emotions were very depressed, but when they saw Li Yunlong standing there, the originally noisy environment suddenly became quiet.

"brigadier!"

"brigadier!"

Li Yunlong stepped forward and pressed the wounded who wanted to get up onto the stretcher, cursing, "Just lie still, don't move around!"

Although he was scolded by Li Yunlong, the injured soldier forced a smile on his face.

"Yes, Brigadier!"

"You all must cooperate with the doctor's treatment. If anyone loses his temper, be careful or I will punish you!"

"Yes, I will listen to you, Commander!"

"I listen to the brigade commander too!"

Most of the soldiers withdrawn from the battlefield are emotionally unstable, the scientific name is post-war stress syndrome, which is particularly evident in the wounded.

Among the first batch of wounded soldiers evacuated was a platoon leader whose two legs were blown off by the Japanese artillery shells. The doctor suggested performing an amputation surgery, but the platoon leader disagreed.

While the medical staff were preparing for surgery, the platoon leader shot himself in front of many wounded soldiers.

Li Yunlong was heartbroken when he heard the news, and immediately ordered that all the wounded must remove their weapons before being sent to the hospital.

At the same time, he moved the command center to the tower of the city wall in order to calm the emotions of the wounded as soon as possible. At this time, he remembered the benefits of having a political commissar.

"Brigade Commander, there are 116 casualties and 82 wounded in this batch!" reported Cheng, the brigade's staff officer.

Li Yunlong nodded, his face showing neither joy nor sadness: "How many casualties have the 11th Regiment suffered so far?"

Staff Officer Cheng flipped open the notebook and took a look: "532 casualties, 446 wounded!"

"The 11th Regiment has quite a few casualties. Call Qin Yuezhong over!"

The casualty figures discussed by the two did not include the lightly wounded. The statement that the lightly wounded must not leave the front line was not just talk. On the other hand, the number of casualties increased sharply, and the medical staff assigned to the 16th Brigade were simply unable to cope with it.

The remaining officers and soldiers of the 11th Regiment were all deployed at the second-line position of the 10th Regiment to rest and be on standby, ready to serve as a reserve force at any time.

After receiving the order, Qin Yuezhong rushed to the brigade headquarters, but he looked a little embarrassed, with a bandage on his left hand and blood all over his body.

Seeing Li Yunlong looking him up and down, Qin Yuezhong became a little nervous and explained hurriedly: "Brigade Commander, I am so unlucky!"

"I resolutely carried out the retreat order from the brigade. I thought of letting the political commissar and the soldiers retreat first, and I would lead the guard company to cover the rear. Who knew I would be bitten by a stray bullet?"

"Actually, I'm fine, just a minor injury!"

Qin Yuezhong jumped a few times as he spoke to prove that there was nothing wrong with him.

"How many people are left in your group?"

"Report to the brigade commander, our 11th Regiment still has more than 2000 people, and its combat effectiveness has not been damaged. We are ready to join the battle at any time!"

Li Yunlong glared at him and said, "Bullshit! You reported false information in front of me. I can directly fire you!"

"Your group has at most 1800 people!"

Qin Yuezhong shrank his neck and thought to himself, "Commander, how did you know that?"

"You are so skilled at this and you still want to hide it from me. I can tell the difference as soon as the wounded pass by me!"

Qin Yuezhong glanced at Staff Officer Cheng next to him and knew that the brigade commander had sent someone to keep an eye on him.

"Reporting to the brigade commander, before I came here, I asked the chief of staff to reorganize the remaining personnel. Although there are many casualties, I can guarantee that the combat effectiveness has not been weakened!"

"It's just that the enemy's artillery fire was too fierce. We estimate that more than one-third of our heavy machine guns have been lost. Brigade Commander, can't you add five or six heavy machine guns to our regiment?"

"It doesn't have to be the Maxim rifle, the Japanese Type 92 rifle will do just fine!"

What kind of general you are will lead what kind of soldiers you have. When Li Yunlong was the regiment commander, he always took all the benefits for himself first. Now that he is the brigade commander, he has grown a lot.

Seeing Qin Yuezhong's determination to climb up the ladder, Li Yunlong suddenly remembered that he seemed to be like this in front of his old leader, Brigade Commander Chen.

"Hey, haha!" Li Yunlong's originally stern face suddenly burst into laughter.

"Brigade Commander, I was wrong, please don't scare me!" Qin Yuezhong felt a chill rushing to his head, and he was so scared that he quickly admitted his mistake.

"Okay, stop talking bullshit to me!"

"It's hot now, and the wounds are very likely to get infected. Don't let the lightly wounded lose their lives because of this. It's not worth it. Do you understand?"

"I understand, Brigade Commander!" Qin Yuezhong responded happily.

Before Zhou Weihan went north from Shangqiu to Yucheng, he specially left a group of medical staff for the 16th Brigade to form a temporary field hospital.

In addition, the 16th Brigade has varying numbers of medical personnel at all levels of its subordinate organizations, who can stop bleeding, bandage and disinfect the wounded on the battlefield first. This has reduced the number of casualties in the 16th Brigade.

"I called you here because I want you to tell me what you think about fighting all day today. You are a front-line commander, and the information you get on the battlefield is more intuitive than those of us who stay in the command center!" Li Yunlong said.

Qin Yuezhong was solemn when he heard this: "Commander, even if you didn't come to me, I would still come to report!"

"The enemy's combat effectiveness is not weak, and the commander is quite capable. In the battle yesterday afternoon, the enemy didn't understand our situation, and the attacking enemy had a rigid tactic, which caused the infantry and tanks to be concentrated, so we suffered a great loss!"

"Early this morning, the Japanese launched a dispersed attack at multiple points. According to the information obtained from the battlefield, there are more than 3000 infantry and about 40 tanks!"

"The enemy also used tanks as the vanguard, but the enemy's tanks were dispersed, often in groups of three or four, to cover the infantry charge and provide fire suppression!"

"From time to time, it was used as a fixed-point artillery, which greatly destroyed the firepower points and fortifications of our regiment. Most of the casualties were caused by this!" Li Yunlong nodded when he heard this: "According to intelligence, there is a gun battle vehicle among the Japanese tanks, equipped with a 105-caliber tank gun. You should have tasted its power!"

The defeat in last night's battle did not shake the Japanese army's determination to attack Shangqiu. At around four o'clock in the morning, the forward reconnaissance post of the 11th Regiment reported movement in the opposite Japanese position.

Less than half an hour later, more than 24 Japanese troops from the 12rd Regiment of the Imperial Guards Division, together with part of the th Regiment of the Tank Training Brigade and the th Mechanized Infantry Regiment, launched an attack.

As Qin Yuezhong reported, the Japanese army changed its previous tactics of focusing on breakthroughs and adopted a tactic of dispersed attacks to address the shortcoming of the 11th Regiment's too long defense line. However, since the Japanese attacking forces had a lot of troops this time, they were able to suppress the 11th Regiment everywhere.

The enemy and our side fought fiercely for seven hours, repeatedly fighting for the front-line positions of the 11th Regiment's defense, and both sides suffered heavy casualties.

During this period, infantry artillery assigned to regimental-level firepower played a significant role.

"The Japanese artillery has also become smarter. The artillery battalion reports that the Japanese artillery is also used in a dispersed manner. Although the effect of the shelling has been weakened, our army has not been able to cause any casualties to them!" said Li Yunlong.

Qin Yuezhong asked: "Brigade Commander, how long do you expect this battle to last? What is the current situation outside?"

"Hey, the Japanese army is in a bad situation right now. Last night, the 13th Brigade wiped out 14 Japanese soldiers in one fell swoop. The Japanese army that was confronting the 14th Brigade was defeated, and the th Brigade captured a lot of prisoners!"

"The Japanese army sent a reinforcement force last night, but because the battle ended too quickly, this Japanese force did not play a role!"

"Early this morning, the reconnaissance plane sent by the ** reported that the Japanese reinforcements have arrived at Gushu Town near Xianghe from Matou Village, Xiayi!"

Qin Yuezhong was shocked when he heard this. The joy he had felt at hearing about the victory of the brother troops suddenly disappeared, and he immediately looked at the sand table beside him.

The flag representing the cavalry regiment was hoisted in Dahou Township, and Gushu Town, where the Japanese reinforcements were located, was located southwest of Dahou Township, less than 30 miles away from the southern suburbs of Shangqiu.

The reason why the cavalry regiment was divided into two groups was to be able to detect the movements of the Japanese army at any time.

"Doesn't that mean that the Japanese have bypassed the cavalry regiment's blockade on the north side and are planning to launch a surprise attack on our southern position?"

Li Yunlong laughed and said, "The Japanese army has a good idea. They want to launch a sneak attack. But it depends on whether I agree or not!"

"I asked you to come here for this matter. Your regiment must be ready to reinforce the 12th Regiment in the south at any time!"

Yamashita was ordered to send reinforcements to flank the 14th Brigade, but the battle plan was not implemented because it was discovered in advance. Later, the order was transmitted through a radio communication vehicle, and Kojima Fumio's troops took advantage of the cover of night to move south of Shangqiu.

Kojima Fumio replied by telephone to express his willingness to obey the order, but he was worried about being ambushed by the Eighth Route Army at night, so he took the initiative to rest in Matouzhai.

After daybreak, the Japanese troops set out by car, but their tracks were discovered by the Eighth Route Army's reconnaissance plane. Kojima Fumio knew that his whereabouts had been exposed, but he did not report it to his superiors.

Japanese Second Front Army Headquarters.

"Commander, General Kojima sent another telegram asking when we will launch the attack on the Eighth Route Army?"

Listening to the adjutant's report, Yamashita Tomoyuki frowned, feeling very puzzled. This guy was a little abnormal.

"Contact Kojima Fumio using the radio!"

The microphone was handed to Yamashita Fengwen: "Moximoxi, I'm Yamashita Fengwen!"

"Commander, I'm Kojima Fumio!"

"Where is your department now?"

"Commander, our troops are hiding in a dense forest in the mountainous area of ​​Gushu Town. The Imperial Army soldiers have blocked the area all around, and the Chinese have not found anything unusual!"

"Hey, Kojima-kun, you have to be patient and don't rush for quick success. You are my special force and I will use you tonight. You must not expose yourself!"

"Hey, I understand!" On the other end, Fumio Kojima's head was covered in sweat, perhaps because of the heat or fear.

This guy knew that the whereabouts of his troops would definitely be exposed, so he had no choice but to send a telegram to Yamashita Tomoyuki, requesting that they launch the attack in daylight so that he would have an excuse to speak up.

The reason for using the radio to contact was that he was worried that his tone might be unusual when using the radio and might be noticed by Yamashita Tomoyuki. Unexpectedly, Yamashita Tomoyuki took the initiative to use the radio to contact.

Yamashita Tomoyuki, whose communication was interrupted, had a very complacent expression on his face and was slowly wiping his command knife. A temporary defeat was not enough to shake his will.

"We'll find out tonight!"

On the other hand, the Japanese troops that fought a bloody battle with the 11th Regiment included the Imperial Guards Division and the Tank Training Brigade, but it was the 11rd Regiment of the Imperial Guards Division that actually engaged in close combat with the th Regiment and repeatedly fought for positions.

"Bakayarō, the Chinese position was captured by our Imperial Guards Division. Why should the 57th Division take over the rest of the battle?"

The commander of the 3rd Regiment of the Imperial Guards Division, who led his troops to launch the attack, was extremely dissatisfied with the arrangements made by his superiors, and even believed that those above him were intentionally depriving them of the credit that should belong to them.

"Sir, the division commander agreed and specifically reminded us on the phone that the upcoming battle will not be easy, so it is better for our troops to withdraw!" the adjutant on the side advised.

"Baga, order a retreat!"

The Japanese troops of the 52nd Regiment of the th Division took over the position. The two Japanese troops met in the communication trench. Compared with the high-morale Japanese troops of the th Division, many of the retreating Japanese troops of the Guards Division were injured.

"Damn it!" The commander of the 52nd Regiment, Keisuke Yokoyama, did not enter the position. He looked at the number of Japanese soldiers from the Guards Division who withdrew from the position, and anger immediately surged in his heart.

"The Imperial Guards Division was so stupid that they didn't even leave any soldiers behind to take over. If that guy launches a counterattack, we will suffer!"

Little did he know that this was a deliberate arrangement by the commander of the Imperial Guards Division, who wanted to cause trouble for these people who were trying to take advantage of the situation.

Keisuke Yokoyama led a group of officers to patrol along the communication trench, but the next scene left him dumbfounded.

When the 16th Brigade was building its positions, it focused its main efforts on the positions east of Shangqiu, and the 10th Regiment's second-line positions were more complete than the 11th Regiment's first-line positions.

Although the Japanese army occupied the front-line positions of the 11th Regiment, the trenches in the front-line positions were one-way defenses, and the height was built according to the height of the Chinese, so they were able to repeatedly fight for the positions with the Japanese army.

Of course, the Japanese army was not without advantages. After all, the depth of the trenches was enough to give the dwarfs a sense of security.

"Damn it!" Keisuke Yokoyama looked at the trench that was like a wall, which was less than a meter higher than him. He couldn't even see what the ground above was like.

"Sir, the Chinese are extremely cunning. They attack and retreat through the well-connected communication trenches. They don't need to risk encountering our firepower at all!"

"I think this is exactly why the Chinese were able to fight for positions with the Imperial Guards Division so many times. It's just that we came a little early. The trench closest to the Chinese was just occupied by the Imperial Guards Division and they haven't had time to renovate it yet!"

Keisuke Yokoyama suddenly felt something was wrong. While watching the battle from behind, he mocked the Imperial Guards Division for being unable to hold the occupied positions. However, after being there in person, he realized that it was far from as simple as he saw.

After the retreat, the commander of the 11th Regiment, Qin Yuezhong, ordered the destruction of several communication trenches leading to the second-line positions. If the Japanese army did not want to launch an attack from the ground, it would take a lot of time to recover.

Even if the communication trench was restored, it would easily be blocked by the Eighth Route Army soldiers guarding the opening.