Bright Sword's Bloody War of Resistance

Chapter 893: Destruction of the 50th Regiment of the th Division

The ground defense system of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan base area was a combination of roads and trenches, which, to some extent, was similar to the cage policy implemented by the Japanese army in North China.

An independent regiment is stationed in each county town, with the regiment headquarters and subordinate teams located in the county town, and the battalions and companies stationed in many towns along the highway. Local armed forces and militia are scattered in the vast rural areas.

As a result, the entire defense system was transformed from a linear structure to a network structure.

The First Battalion of the Shan County Independent Regiment was stationed in Huanggang Town. In order to achieve the goal of central development, Zhou Weihan specially arranged the First Regiment directly under the military region in Huanggang.

"Commander, my idea is that the headquarters should evacuate immediately!"

Luo Benzhong glanced at Chi Fengnian, the leader of the First Regiment, and shook his head decisively: "No!"

"It's not that I have to stay in Huanggang to add pressure to you, but there is no way to evacuate. You are also a veteran of many battles, so it is safest to stay in Huanggang."

"There are a lot of people in the command center. If we retreat along the highway, we will definitely be noticed by the Japanese cavalry. Will the Japanese commander continue to attack Huanggang?"

"If we retreat westward, once the road defenses are breached, the Japanese cavalry can freely scout in all directions. Once they discover that the headquarters has moved, the same principle will apply."

"So the command center can only be in Huanggang!"

Luo Benzhong and Urakawa Michihiro had surprisingly similar perspectives on issues. From the very beginning when he entered Huanggang with his command center, Luo Benzhong had no intention of leaving.

Chi Fengnian nodded helplessly. No subordinate was willing to be with his superior. In addition to the issue of command authority, it also involved the safety of his superior.

The command of the Huanggang battle was in the hands of Chi Fengnian. Since the First Regiment directly under the military region was not familiar with the defensive fortifications on the highway, the First Battalion of the Shanxian Independent Regiment volunteered to deploy its forces on the periphery.

The Japanese army still used the same tactics: artillery bombardment and infantry charge. It seemed rigid, but it was extremely useful on the Chinese battlefield. Ordinary fortifications could not withstand the power of Japanese artillery.

However, as the war progressed to this point, both the National Army and the Eighth Route Army had a deep understanding of the Japanese Army's tactics.

"The Japs are coming!" The soldier who stayed on the position to scout the movements of the Japanese army screamed loudly.

The Hebei, Shandong and Henan plains are not like the Shanxi region. The purpose of highways is to facilitate transportation and prosper commerce, so most of the places where highways pass are plains.

The positions on both sides of the road consisted of bunkers, trenches and anti-artillery holes, and there was an endless open space outside, which meant that the Japanese army had no cover when attacking.

There was only one squad stationed in the area attacked by the Japanese army. It was originally thought that the Japanese squadron leader had lost his ability to resist under the bombardment and was confidently preparing to occupy the position.

Contrary to the Japanese army's expectations, the light machine guns of the Eighth Route Army in the bunker were not destroyed, and the charging Japanese soldiers were constantly knocked down. At the same time, the Eighth Route Army on the north and south sides quickly gathered towards the battle area.

The two attacking Japanese armies retreated one after another. Urakawa Michihiro, who was observing the battle situation in front of him through a telescope, was very confused: "What? Why didn't the heavy artillery destroy the Chinese firepower points?"

The 1940th Division once fought with the National Army on the Longhai Line until it returned to China for rest in , and has since been stationed outside the Great Wall for a long time.

In Michihiro Urakawa's impression, the Chinese army could only rely on its numerical advantage to compete with the Imperial Army, but it was unable to change the outcome of defeat.

"It seems that the Chinese have really made some progress. Our army was too hasty in engaging in battle. We should have conducted a careful reconnaissance before the battle."

The adjutant at the side was using an artillery scope, which gave him a clearer view: "Sir, there is a bunker buried deep underground on the Eighth Route Army's position."

Michihiro Urakawa quickly stood in front of the artillery sight. There was a pile of ammunition boxes in front of him serving as a cover. Only then did he realize that the Eighth Route Army's firing point was more than three meters from the ground.

War promotes the advancement of weapons and also changes tactics. After years of war, simple trenches become ground fortresses and underground bunkers.

The bunker on the position where the Japanese army attacked was located on a slope. The bunker was completely buried underground instead of being half exposed. The upper layer was at least three or four meters thick of loess, and there were three trapezoidal shooting holes on the front.

Because the fortifications were built some time ago, the loess covering them had already become hardened and even had grass growing on them, so unless you looked closely you could not see anything unusual.

"Baga, we must seize a position as soon as possible." Urakawa Michihiro showed an anxious look on his face, and immediately ordered: "The warriors of my 14th Division have already tested the Chinese's firepower deployment, order the soldiers of the Guards Division to take over!"

"Each attacking team must select 300 people, but let them choose for themselves!"

Michihiro Urakawa came up with a vicious plan to cause internal strife among the Japanese troops in the Imperial Guards Division. Not long after, the Japanese army began shelling again.

However, this time the shelling was aimed at the location of the firing point, and shells continued to fall around the bunker. As the shelling ended, the suicide squad composed of the Guards Division was at the forefront of the attacking team, followed closely by the Guards Division's squadron.

"Da da da!" The light machine gun in the bunker opened fire again.

"The Japanese have invested a lot of manpower, but I'm afraid they can't hold out this time. It would be great if they had a heavy machine gun!"

Zhou Weihan once said that the defense line is meant to be broken through. At this time, there were more than 40 soldiers gathered on the position, but the Japanese army had about 500 people.

There was indeed a big gap in the number of people on both sides. Who would have thought that the Japanese soldiers of the Guards Division running in the front suddenly raised their white shirts with their hands, and then suddenly ran towards the defense line far away from Huanggang Town.

This scene not only confused the soldiers on the position, but also caught the 14th Division of the Japanese army behind them off guard, exposing them directly to the shooting range of the Eighth Route Army.

"Baka!" Urakawa Michihiro was furious, but there was nothing he could do.

The Japanese soldiers of the Imperial Guards Division waved their white shirts as they ran, and those who knew some Chinese shouted, "We are here to surrender, don't shoot."

The Eighth Route Army soldiers on the position did not open fire because they found that this group of devils not only held white flags, but also had few weapons in their hands.

"Make way for them!" A group of Japanese soldiers jumped over the position, automatically putting down the weapons they were carrying on the ground, and the officers among them even began to organize into lines.

A bizarre scene appeared. The Japanese soldiers stood in several neat rows on the road. The leading officer said, "We are officers and soldiers of the Imperial Guards Division. We surrendered to your 14th Brigade south of the Longhai Line a few days ago, and we will continue to surrender to your army today."

At the position, a deputy commander was reporting the situation to Chi Fengnian over the phone.

"Captain Chi, these devils avoided the battle area and ran to our company's position. It seems that they are sincerely surrendering."

After the deputy company commander hung up the phone, he immediately ordered two soldiers to send the Japanese troops of the Imperial Guards Division to Huanggang Town.

This situation was not accidental. The Japanese troops from the two Guards Divisions successively broke away from the attacking team and surrendered to the Eighth Route Army. It was obviously a long-planned plan.

The surrender of this group of Japanese troops not only led to disadvantageous secondary offensive, but also brought out detailed information about the Japanese troops.

"According to the surrendered Japanese army, they belonged to the Imperial Guard Division, with a total of about 1400 people. They brought all the weapons with them, and the remaining 800 people had no weapons. In addition, the main force of the Japanese army this time was the 50th Regiment of the 12th Division, an artillery battalion equipped with mountain cannons!"

"The Japanese commander is called Urakawa Michihiro. He intends to use the Japanese troops of the Imperial Guard Division as cannon fodder, so the remaining 800 Japanese troops are also dissatisfied, but they just haven't found an opportunity!"

A combat staff officer from the regiment headquarters reported the summary of the situation one by one.

Luo Benzhong immediately realized the importance of this information. Zhou Weihan had actually never been able to figure out the exact number of people in the 14th Division, so he deployed four regiments on the periphery at once.

After the failure of the third attack, Michihiro Urakawa realized that the Imperial Guards Division was unreliable, and immediately sent reinforcements to the north and south sides of Huanggang Town.

Faced with the numerical advantage of the Japanese army, the officers and soldiers on the position realized that there was no possibility of holding the position. After killing and wounding the Japanese army, they immediately abandoned the bunker and evacuated away from Huanggang.

For safety reasons, Michihiro Urakawa set up his headquarters in a bunker and commanded the Japanese army to encircle Huanggang Town from the north and south.

"Sir, there are a considerable number of Eighth Route Army troops around the highway. They did not want to fight with our army and withdrew after a short fight. The pursuing troops asked if we should continue the pursuit?"

Urakawa Michihiro shook his head: "The most urgent task is to capture Huanggang Town. The Eighth Route Army outside is deliberately dispersing our forces. Don't worry about them!"

In order to capture Huanggang Town as soon as possible, the Japanese army of the 14th Division under Michihiro Urakawa attacked from the north and south sides respectively, and the battle became fierce from the beginning.

"The force is at least 2,000 people, and their weapons and equipment are not weak, equipped with infantry guns and mortars!"

The Japanese army had no idea that such a small town like Huanggang could hide so many Eighth Route Army soldiers. Of course, the combat effectiveness of the 14th Division of the Japanese army should not be underestimated.

The two sides fought until two o'clock in the afternoon. The Japanese army broke through the wall of Huanggang Town, but was immediately pushed out again.

However, worse news came. Urakawa Michihiro had long been worried that the main force of the Eighth Route Army that had fought on the Longhai Line would move north, so he sent cavalry to conduct reconnaissance in the direction of Yucheng.

"Sir, the main force of the Eighth Route Army has indeed been discovered in the direction of Yucheng. This must be a trap set by the Eighth Route Army."

Without the adjutant's reminder, Michihiro Urakawa also discovered something was wrong. Under normal circumstances, there could not be so many defenders in Huanggang Town.

In fact, the two regiments of Jing Dagang's 13th Brigade were only more than an hour later than the Japanese army. The 2nd Regiment secretly moved into the defensive fortifications around the highway, the 1st Regiment was in the southeast of Huanggang, the 11th Regiment of the 10th Brigade was in the east, and the th Regiment was in the northeast.

The four regiments mobilized by Zhou Weihan have already formed a large network outside Huanggang, just waiting for Luo Benzhong in Huanggang to send a signal.

"Order the troops to reunite immediately and retreat along the original route!"

As soon as the Japanese army showed signs of retreat, Luo Benzhong immediately contacted the four outer regiments via walkie-talkie. According to Urakawa Michihiro's order, the Japanese troops on the north and south sides were to meet in the open area outside Huanggang.

However, the Japanese retreat was not smooth. The First Regiment directly under the military region in Huanggang launched a counterattack against the Japanese troops in the north, effectively delaying their retreat.

At the same time, the Japanese troops on the south side, which had already assembled at the designated location, discovered that a large number of Eighth Route Army troops appeared in the surrounding area. The 10th Regiment of the th Brigade quickly reinforced Huanggang and annihilated the Japanese troops on the north side.

The 11th Regiment of the 13th Training Brigade and the 1st and 2nd Regiments of the th Brigade targeted the Japanese troops on the south led by Michihiro Urakawa himself.

Because the Japanese army's retreat was not smooth, the two groups of Japanese troops were successfully divided by the Eighth Route Army. There were only about 1500 Japanese troops on the north side, and about 2500 Japanese troops on the south side.

It was at this time that Michihiro Urakawa realized that he had made a fatal mistake. There was nothing wrong with giving the order to retreat, but now it seemed that the Japanese army had voluntarily given up the positions that could have been defended.

Just as the three regiments were attacking in large numbers, the Imperial Guards Division in the Japanese formation suddenly raised its momentum and disrupted the Japanese formation from within.

"Baga!" Michihiro Urakawa discovered in horror that he seemed to have lost command of his troops.

The Japanese troops of the Imperial Guards Division were extremely experienced. In order to prevent accidental injuries, they decisively lay on the ground. All the standing Japanese troops became the targets of attack by the Eighth Route Army soldiers.

8000 versus 2000, the advantage is mine.

The battle lasted for about an hour. Before his death, Michihiro Urakawa sent a telegram of suicide, burned the regiment flag, and chose to commit suicide by disembowelment.

In this battle, more than 4000 Japanese soldiers of the 1400th Division were wiped out, but most of the Japanese soldiers of the Guards Division survived.

Brothers, please give the new book a try and collect it, and activate the comment section, thank you.