The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 332 Eat boldly
Neither Liu Yonggui nor all the officers and soldiers of the outpost infantry platoon of the advancing column expected that they would actually encounter the Japanese when they went out to search. What they encountered was the forward brigade of the Botian detachment, which was also advancing rapidly.

Due to poor road conditions, the vanguard brigade of the Botian detachment was forced to postpone its march due to poor road conditions, and camped nearby while repairing the road to open up access roads.

In order to ensure an effective search for the Japanese army, the advancing column also chose to search along the road. As a result, the two forward troops of the Japanese army and the national army met unexpectedly and collided together at night.

This night battle between the combat outpost of the advancing column and the guard sentries at the forward camp of the Botian detachment did not last long and was not large in scale. Of course, in terms of results, the advancing column undoubtedly took some advantage.

After withdrawing, Liu Yonggui, the platoon leader of the combat outpost platoon of the advancing column, quickly left with a grenade as cover, and soon took two prisoners to join the main force of the platoon, which was waiting concealed on both sides of the road.

At this time, although the officers and soldiers of the outpost platoon of the advancing column who heard the sound of gunfire did not rush forward rashly, they were all ready for battle. The Czech light machine guns and mg34 general machine guns were all loaded with bullets and set up. The gunners also urgently built two shooting positions in the mud and were ready for firing.

The riflemen and submachine gunners also dug simple lying foxholes on both sides of the road. Opened long-handled grenades were neatly placed beside the foxholes. The entire platoon of officers and soldiers were ready to fight.

After Liu Yonggui led his men back, several squad leaders gathered around him. They saw the sergeant platoon behind Liu Yonggui and several soldiers escorting two Japanese prisoners covered in blood, carrying two 38 rifles and grenade launchers. They were all surprised and asked one after another: "Platoon leader, did you catch your tongue?"

Liu Yonggui gasped and said: "Nonsense, what is this if it's not a tongue?"

A squad leader asked: "Platoon leader, what should we do now? Should we continue to hold on or withdraw?"

Liu Yonggui thought for a while and couldn't make up his mind for a moment. He asked Ou Yuxiang, the second platoon leader next to him, "What do you think, Platoon Leader Ou?"

Ou Yuxiang said: "I have just left the military academy and I don't understand many things. However, since we are carrying out combat outposts and powerful search missions, we cannot withdraw all of them. It is better to leave some brothers to guard on the spot and send a few more people to capture the prisoners." evacuation."

"It makes sense, let's do it like this, attached to the platoon, you stay and command the whole platoon. I will take the orderer, Platoon Leader Ou and Captain Liu back. You can watch carefully here. If the Japanese attack, don't retreat. First Use the firepower in your hands."

The sergeant of the platoon nodded and said: "Don't worry, platoon commander, we have three Czech guns, one general-purpose machine gun and two 60-gun cannons. It's not certain who will suffer if the Japanese attack us."

"it is good!"

Liu Yonggui patted the sergeant's platoon attached's shoulder, gave some instructions, and then led Ou Yuxiang, others, and two prisoners to retreat to the village where the main force of the advancing column was camped.

At this time, the houses in the village where the advancing column was camping and the main roads in the village were full of fully armed infantrymen of the advancing column. Some infantrymen carrying rifles and submachine guns were carrying boxes of ammunition and distributing it everywhere. They were carrying obstacles such as deer villages, horses, and trees, and some were carrying light machine guns and general-purpose machine guns and climbed to the roof to guard.

Waving their sabers and riding horses, the cavalrymen of the advancing column also patrolled and guarded inside and outside the village, showing a high-alert state of war.

The sound of rifle-machine gun fire and the explosion of grenades during the exchange of fire between Liu Yonggui's platoon and the Japanese army were like thunder in the dark night, awakening the officers and soldiers of the advancing column who were resting in the camp.

Zhao Zhanhai, the commander of the advancing column who heard the sound of gunfire, thought it was an encounter between Liu Yonggui's platoon and Japanese troops, so he immediately ordered all officers and soldiers to cancel their rest and enter combat readiness. The officers and soldiers who woke up from their sleep entered various fortifications that had been arranged in advance. and preset positions, and began preparations for various night operations.

In the dark summer night, the village where the advancing column was located was like a silent but ready beast.

In the command post of the advancing column, Captain Zhao Zhanhai, the commander of the advancing column, carrying a twenty-shot pistol and two grenades on his waist, was quietly thinking about the possible situation ahead.

Suddenly, the door of the command post was pushed open, and Yang Biao, the company commander of the mounted infantry company under the advancing column, rushed in and said urgently: "Sir, the combat outpost platoon I sent has returned and captured two prisoners!"

Zhao Zhanhai stood up suddenly and said with joy, "Bring him in."

Soon, Liu Yonggui, leader of the first platoon of the mounted infantry company, Ou Yuxiang, leader of the second platoon, and others brought in two Japanese prisoners covered in blood and tied up.

The first row of orderlies who walked in immediately carried two Type 38 rifles with bayonets and two cowhide bullet belts. Two Japanese Type 90 steel helmets were hung on the bayonet hooks of the Type 38 rifles. There were four Japanese-style Type 91 hand grenades pinned to them, and he was also carrying a Type 89-style 50mm grenade in his hand. Obviously, these bits and pieces on the messenger soldiers were all trophies captured from Japanese prisoners.

Liu Lu and other three Rangers also followed in.

Liu Yonggui saluted Zhao Zhanhai and said: "Sir, after my platoon searched for about two kilometers, I found that there was a situation in a village in front of me. I led people to go there and found that they were Japanese soldiers. I didn't dare to act rashly, so I went up and arrested two people." He had a tongue, something went wrong while arresting someone, and he fought with the Japanese for a while. "

"Are there any casualties?"

"No, the Japs were tricked by us. We didn't lose anything, but we killed many of them. We also recovered two 38-meter caps and a grenade from these two tongues. The Japs were tricked by us. I hit a sap and killed more than a dozen people. They are probably in a daze now and they won’t be able to attack in a short time.”

Liu Yonggui said with a smile.

"Okay, good fight!"

Liu Yonggui pointed to Liu Lu and other three Rangers and said: "Sir, the three of them helped a lot. We captured the Japanese's grenade and couldn't use it. Fortunately, we took the three of them with us and blasted it with the grenade. The Japanese who came over were killed in just a few seconds."

Liu Lu, the captain of the Rangers, shamelessly smiled and approached Zhao Zhanhai and said politely: "Captain Zhao, we are lucky to have lived up to our orders. We used to serve in the Japanese army and now serve in the Chinese army. Why does Captain Weihe serve with the captured weapons?" It is also appropriate for the Japanese army to use weapons to attack the Japanese army. In ancient Chinese terms, this is called using the spear of the son to attack the shield of the son. "

Knowing that Liu Lu and the former Japanese soldiers performed well in the battle just now, Zhao Zhanhai immediately liked these soldiers. Zhao Zhanhai nodded to Liu Lu to show his approval, and then asked Liu Yonggui: "Retreat all your platoons." coming?"

"I didn't withdraw. I asked the sergeant attached to the platoon to take over the command of the platoon and guard it on the spot. I brought a few people back to deliver the prisoners."

Zhao Zhanhai said to Liu Yonggui: "Send those two prisoners over, I want to interrogate them immediately."

Liu Lu, the captain of the Rangers, knew that this was his performance. Before Liu Yonggui could say anything, he immediately asked Zhao Zhanhai for help and said, "Sir Zhao, let us Rangers interrogate him."

Zhao Zhanhai waved his hand and said calmly: "Okay, let me know the number, strength, action route, and firepower equipment of this Japanese army."

"Don't worry, leave it to me!"

Liu Lu immediately led two Rangers to beat and kick the captured prisoners and threw them in the corner. One of the Japanese soldiers who was blinded was very dishonest. Although his mouth was blocked, he kept yelling. , Liu Lu was not polite and kicked the prisoner in the mouth, finally making this guy behave.

Immediately, Liu Lu and the two Rangers began to search the two prisoners carefully, and soon found the identity tags and documents worn by the two Japanese prisoners.

The Japanese Army's identity card is also known as the "knowledge ticket". It is the standard equipment of the Japanese army along with military uniforms and helmets. It is engraved with the wing, squadron, squad and even the unit number and individual soldier to which the wearer belongs. The combat number within the unit has a similar function to the personal identification documents of Japanese officers and soldiers. They are both important physical carriers for recording the unit information, personal information and experiences of Japanese officers and soldiers. The three Rangers were all former Japanese soldiers. Liu Lu was a second lieutenant of the Japanese Army before he joined He Wei. He was very familiar with the various ways of the Japanese army. After seeing the identity cards and documents found, he immediately used them with extremely high efficiency. After sorting out the personal information of the two prisoners, he said to Zhao Zhanhai: "Sir, these two people are the captain and the second-class soldier of the 1st Infantry Squadron of the 1st Infantry Regiment of Taiwan. The one who was blinded was the corps commander, and the other one is Private."

Taiwan Infantry Regiment 1?

Listening to this unfamiliar number, Zhao Zhanhai said: "Taiwan Wing? What kind of unit is this?"

Liu Lu added: "Sir, the Taiwan Infantry Regiment is the Japanese army stationed on Taiwan. The soldiers are transported from Japan to supplement. Before I entered the military service, I received reserve officer education at the Japanese Army Infantry School. I Several classmates were assigned to serve in the troops in Taiwan after training. I remember that the main sources of troops for the Japanese troops in Taiwan were Kumamoto and Kyushu.”

Zhao Zhanhai hummed and said, "Keep asking."

Immediately, Liu Lu began to question the two prisoners in Japanese. Zhao Zhanhai also lit a cigarette and listened carefully.

Unlike Ou Yuxiang, the second platoon leader of the Cavalry Infantry Company who knew a little bit of Japanese during the capture battle, the Northeast Army of the Feng Dynasty had always regarded the Japanese army as its division. Therefore, Zhao Zhanhai had received a lot of training when he attended the martial arts hall within the Northeast Army system in his early years. Under the influence of a large number of Japanese Kwantung Army instructors, his Japanese proficiency is very good, and he has no big problems listening and speaking. The reason why he did not interrogate the two prisoners personally was simply because he was too lazy to talk nonsense with these two guys.

Liu Lu removed the gag leggings from the two prisoners and began to tentatively interrogate him. However, before Liu Lu could say a few words, the Japanese soldier who had been blinded and shot and covered in blood suddenly appeared. Like a flashback, he suddenly rose from the ground and knocked Liu Lu away. After being kicked down again by two other Rangers, he yelled and cursed at the people in the room.

Not only did Liu Lu's face turn red after being scolded, but Zhao Zhanhai, who was smoking, also turned gloomy after hearing the various obscenities shouted by the Japanese corps commander. He looked at the corps commander with disgust and casually said: "This dog He is not only stubborn, but also has a dirty mouth. Come on, give him some color. Don't let him die happily. Let him suffer a little, and scare the other one at the same time."

"Sir, let me do it."

Liu Yonggui, the platoon leader of the first platoon of the mounted infantry company, came out, pulled away from Liu Lu, and pulled the babbling Japanese corps leader over.

One of the captain's eyes had long been smashed, and the eye socket was filled with a mixture of red and white. He was shot in the shoulder, leaving a hole, and blood was gurgling out.

Although the corps commander was kicked violently by two Rangers again and fell to the ground, he was still very stubborn. When he saw Liu Yonggui approaching, the one-eyed corps commander still cursed and raised his upper body with difficulty, and waved tremblingly. The weak fist is about to hit.

Liu Yonggui laughed ferociously, pulled out the 38-cap bayonet carried by the order soldier, kicked away the corps commander's fist in front of everyone, and gouged out the corps commander's other eye with the bayonet. Liu Yonggui was so cruel. This behavior directly frightened another captured Japanese private, his whole body shaking like chaff.

Liu Yonggui has been in the army for many years. He was an officer in the ranks from ordinary soldiers. He has participated in warlord melees. He is well-informed about various killing methods in warlords' troops and the old army. Such veterans have a good understanding of how to make people suffer in pain. And dying in torture is also easy.

And this stubborn Japanese army commander is undoubtedly the best target for him to use these killing techniques, and he is also the only way to scare another Japanese prisoner.

Even Ou Yuxiang, the platoon leader of the second platoon of the horse-mounted infantry company, felt chills running down his spine. He was a student at the Huangpu Military Academy and had never seen such killing methods before. He also had a deeper understanding of Liu Yonggui, the platoon leader of the same company as him. A level of understanding.

Liu Yonggui dropped the blood-stained bayonet and stepped back. Before retreating, he stepped on the bloody hole made by the gun on the shoulder of the team leader and twisted it a few times, leaving the blind Japanese soldier alone. The corps commander lay on the ground and screamed in pain at the top of his lungs.

Zhao Zhanhai looked at another Japanese private who was frightened and turned pale. He nodded with satisfaction and said to Liu Lu, the captain of the Rangers: "Go on, ask this guy, and tell him it's best to tell the truth. If he If he dares to lie to us about military information, I guarantee that he will be tortured ten times or a hundred times worse than having his eyes gouged out."

Obviously, the Japanese private did not have the courage of the Japanese corps commander, and the Japanese bushido spirit could not make every soldier swear allegiance to the emperor regardless of his life. Under the threat of the tragic situation, he quickly confessed everything obediently.

After the inquiry, Liu Lu respectfully reported the information obtained to Zhao Zhanhai: "Captain Zhao, I asked them all. The higher-level designation of their unit is called Botian Detachment. The core force of Botian Detachment is two Taiwanese infantrymen. Regiment and Taidaoshan Artillery Regiment. This detachment just set off from Jiujiang a few days ago and is heading towards the place where we started. What we just encountered in the village in front was the forward troops of this detachment, led by the 1st Taidao Infantry. The two elite infantry squadrons of the wing serve as the backbone, and a wing artillery squadron equipped with four Type mm mountain guns, a temporary engineer squadron composed of officers and soldiers drawn from all over, and a wing equipped with two Type cannons have been strengthened. There are about heavy machine gun squads, as well as some communication units and health corps units.”

"Oh, he also explained that their vanguard force had no mules and horses and relied on cars to move forward. However, because the road conditions nearby were not very good, they were forced to stop moving forward to repair the road. As a last resort, they stopped in the village ahead. Camp.”

The intelligence spit out by this Japanese prisoner made Zhao Zhanhai's eyes light up, and he said happily: "It's interesting. We are the vanguard, and the Japanese stationed in the village in front are also the vanguard. It is a coincidence that the vanguard unit met the vanguard unit."

"Captain Liu, ask this guy about the combat purpose of their bullshit detachment."

After Liu Lu asked a few more sinister questions, he said to Zhao Zhanhai: "Captain Zhao, he said that he didn't know the commander's intention, but it seemed that he was going to attack Tianjia Town and Banbi Mountain."

Zhao Zhanhai stood up and murmured: "It seems that he really came for half the mountain."

Thinking carefully about the information given by the prisoners, Zhao Zhanhai began to think about the current situation and figure out how to deal with the Japanese army in front of him.

In terms of the strength of the Japanese forwards facing them, the enemy had a certain strength advantage over the advancing column. Its backbone was two elite infantry squadrons, as well as an artillery squadron and a heavy machine gun squad to serve as fire support.

In addition, the Japanese forward engineer squadron should not be underestimated. It is also a force with considerable combat effectiveness. However, the advancing column only has one infantry company and one cavalry platoon. The overall strength and firepower are definitely not as good as the Japanese army.

If they were to use harassment tactics, run away immediately, let the Japanese suffer some losses, and then stop, Zhao Zhanhai asked himself that he could definitely do it, but he was really unwilling to just do one thing and leave.

This time he took the initiative to volunteer. The main purpose was to personally lead the troops to defeat the Japanese army on the battlefield, and to inflict heavy damage on the Japanese army as much as possible on the premise of completing the set tasks. If conservative tactics were adopted, wouldn't it be in vain and a waste of this independence? A good opportunity to lead troops in battle?
Zhao Zhanhai also thought that before setting off, He Wei had allowed him to adopt proactive tactics appropriately and even take the initiative to attack when necessary.

As a result, Zhao Zhanhai came up with a very bold, even slightly radical and risky tactical plan.

Soon, Zhao Zhanhai gathered the main officers of the advancing column in the temporary command post, and announced to everyone his next battle order, that is, Zhao Zhanhai was going to eat the Japanese forwards in front of him!

When announcing this order, Zhao Zhanhai was actually prepared to be opposed by his officers.

After all, the Japanese army in front of them had more than 600 infantry engineers and artillery, while the advancing column only had more than 300 people. The main force consisted of an infantry company and a cavalry platoon. The difference in strength was quite different. To attack more with less can be said to be a risky move, and the risks are not small. If the officers under your command raise objections and objections, it is also part of the problem.

But Zhao Zhanhai never thought that except for the cavalry platoon leader under Ma Ji and the lieutenant liaison officer sent by the navy, no one from the assault team raised any objections at all.

Even old people like Yang Biao and Liu Yonggui, who had been following He Wei, not only did not object, but also greatly agreed with Zhao Zhanhai's plan to eat the Japanese soldiers in front of him. They were eager to try it. It was completely the behavior of militants, but Zhao Zhanhai was allowed to prepare it in advance. His words of persuasion were of no use, allowing him to save some words.

Zhao Zhanhai had no idea that old men like Yang Biao and Liu Yonggui, who had followed He Wei all the way from Xinkou and Jinling, had lost their lives in vicious and tough battles.

He even used decapitation tactics such as changing clothes and sneaking in, going deep alone, and taking the head of the Japanese emperor's uncle out of a million soldiers, which had a high probability of never coming back.

In comparison, Zhao Zhanhai's plan to eat the Japanese troops in front of him seemed a bit trivial.

(End of this chapter)