Age of Rebirth

The nearly [-] Japanese army suddenly counterattacked the Liaodong Peninsula and achieved initial victory by relying on special weapons. It was the best time to take advantage of the victory and pursue it. The three brigades of the Marine Corps of the Independent Division, carrying tens of thousands of poisoned wounded, hurriedly withdrew from their positions and marched slowly. However, the Japanese commander has no worries about not being able to catch up with these exhausted soldiers. Indeed, if the Japanese army is given a few more hours, they will be able to bite the retreating independent division troops.

However, the air force of the Independent Division suddenly appeared and fired a net of fire on the way of the Japanese pursuit, forcing the tens of thousands of Japanese troops in full swing to suspend their pursuit. choice.

To chase or not to chase?The two decisions were repeatedly circling in the mind of General Meizu, but General Meijin did not hesitate for long. Soon, he made a decision and said to Lieutenant General Matsuda, the chief of staff of the headquarters: "Matsuda-kun, convey my order, The [-]th Division, [-]th Division, and the affiliated Kwantung Army units continue to pursue the retreating independent division remnants in depth, and the troops can use all air defense methods, so be sure to maintain the speed of the pursuit!"

Chief of Staff Matsuda reminded: "Commander-in-Chief, the air force of the Independent Division is too much of a threat to the imperial army, especially during the daytime, when our soldiers are exposed to broad daylight, they will suffer great losses. Please consider carefully what you just did. The command!"

General Meijin shook his head, and said firmly: "Matsuda-kun, I have fully considered your concerns. Because of this, I ordered the troops to continue to pursue. The Chinese devil dispatched aviation to cover the retreating troops. Doesn't it mean that he There are no soldiers available in the Liaodong Peninsula, otherwise, relying on Anton and Gaizhou to block the attack. Supplemented by air firepower, it can also cause us a lot of trouble!"

"Moreover, this is our only chance to recover the Liaodong Peninsula. The longer the delay, the worse it will be for us. When the reinforcements from other directions of the Independent Division arrive at the battlefield of the Liaodong Peninsula one after another, we will be forced to stop attacking and worry about being killed." Cut off the back road, and by then, everything will be over, and only by taking advantage of the current opportunity and hitting Lushunkou in one go, can the situation in Manchuria be completely changed!"

"I believe that it is impossible for the Air Force of the Independent Division to have combat aircraft in the sky every minute. For example, at night, it is the world of our imperial soldiers. In addition, I have already requested the headquarters to mobilize a joint air force from the local air defense command. The air force of the independent division is fighting for air supremacy. In at most three days, the air force of our empire will appear in the sky of Manchuria, Matsuda-kun. Now is the time to rush. The next two divisions of the third army will soon arrive in Liaoyang and join as the second echelon Liaodong Peninsula battlefield!"

Now that the commander-in-chief has made up his mind.And with the follow-up careful arrangements, as the Chief of Staff, he can only follow the execution. Although Chief of Staff Matsuda is full of worries and worries about the decision of Commander-in-Chief Umezu, he still accurately conveyed the order.

The commander of the pursuit force on the Eastern Front, Lieutenant General Shinyuemon, the head of the [-]th Division, was quite surprised when he received the order from the headquarters. The fighters and bombers of the division, the rumbling sound of bomb explosions, reverberated in the field, and smoke columns rose from time to time, among which were mixed with the broken limbs of imperial soldiers. Regardless of the bombing, they continued to pursue. The [-]th division will have to pay Great casualties.

Although the distance from Anton is only more than [-] kilometers away, this distance is full of dangers. If the troops suffer too many casualties, how can they still have the ability to attack Anton?

The head of the Shinyouemon division was a little dissatisfied with the orders from the headquarters, but he was not a simple-minded soldier. After calming down and thinking about it for a while, he understood the intentions of Commander-in-Chief Umezu. The three brigades of the independent division suffered heavy losses and took advantage of the situation to recover the Liaodong Peninsula in one go. For this, it is worth paying the price. Your Excellency the Commander-in-Chief considers the issue of the campaign from the perspective of the overall situation, while he is only standing on the battlefield The angle, the vision is superior!

The head of the Shinyuemon Division, who had figured it out, immediately put it into action. Of course, he would not order the troops recklessly to march swaggeringly under the eyes of the planes of the Independent Division. He ordered the [-]th Division and The affiliated Kwantung Army troops, taking the brigade as a unit, dispersed into countless small units, marching from any opponent that could pass through, and all the scattered marching troops had only one goal-Anton City.

He also ordered light and heavy machine guns to form a number of anti-aircraft firepower groups. It is not required to shoot down many aircraft of independent divisions, but only to reduce the bombing accuracy of the ground troops to play a role in interference. As for the tanks and artillery units, they should be concealed during the day. , Marching at night, so tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers, like locusts spreading across the land of the Liaodong Peninsula, regardless of the bullets and bombs that were fired at any time from the sky, rushed towards Andong desperately!

The actions of the Japanese army and the change of the way of marching were immediately reported to Liu Cuigang, the commander of the Northern Aviation Group of the Independent Division Aviation Group in Incheon. Liu Cuigang was not surprised by this at all. The Japanese commander is not a fool. In the way of intensive pursuit by large forces, his order to the fleet was, "Don't consider the Japanese army changing the way of marching, continue to slow down the Japanese army's movement speed, and mainly target important intersections and bridges, and carry out key bombing and blockade!"

In the case of independent division air forces taking turns to attack, it is impossible for the Japanese army to speed up their pursuit. Moreover, every kilometer advanced has to pay a corresponding price, but in the eyes of General Umezu Yoshijiro and Lieutenant General Shinyuemon, the troops After all, they were continuing to penetrate the southern direction of the Liaodong Peninsula. In Liu Cuigang's view, the goal of slowing down the Japanese army's pursuit and covering the smooth retreat of the three marine brigades was achieved. Such a result satisfied both parties, which is really strange!

From the moment he received the telegram from the Incheon Joint Air Command of the Aviation Corps, Major General Jiang Xianliang, the commander of the Sixth Brigade, was completely relieved. When the Aviation Corps took action, one of his regiment commanders and more than 6000 soldiers did not fight desperately, and all died on the battlefield. Possibly, more than 1 soldiers who were poisoned and injured could safely retreat to the Zhuanghe area. Give yourself a few months, and the Sixth Brigade is another vigorous force.

"Chief of staff, the division commander sees the whole situation, let me just say, the division commander will not watch us and be chased and beaten by the little devils! No, the aviation unit has taken action!" Jiang Xianliang squinted his eyes and looked at the flying in the air. The fleet, said with emotion to the chief of staff, Colonel Huo Shoushan.

Huo Shoushan also smiled relaxedly, and said: "Brigade Commander, I was really worried just now. If our more than 1 wounded were caught up by the Japanese army, it would be a tragedy! We have reached Anton ahead, you should go down Take a break in the car!"

Jiang Xianliang suddenly remembered something, straightened his back, and asked, "By the way, do you have any news about Meng Jianzhu and the others? It stands to reason that they should be withdrawn!"

Huo Shoushan shook his head, and replied: "So far, the brigade headquarters has not received a telegram from Comrade Meng, but I guess that Commander Meng and the others are now on their way to catch up with us!"

Jiang Xianliang was still worried. Just now in the car, he heard the earth-shattering explosion from behind. At that time, the aviation plane had not yet arrived. Obviously, Meng Jianzhu and the blocking force must have fought against the little devil. Just as he was about to tell Huo Shoushan to contact Meng Jianzhu quickly, at least knowing their current situation, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a person coming towards his truck, and his face immediately became uncomfortable.

Huo Shoushan was waiting for the brigade commander to speak. When he saw his expression, he was puzzled. Immediately, when he saw Song Geping, the mayor of Anton City, walking with two staff members, he understood in his heart at that moment, and hurriedly stopped the truck. , jumped out of the car to say hello, "It's Mayor Song, didn't you evacuate with the city government?"

Song Geping explained: "Head Liu of the Northeast Working Group sent an order to the Andong City Government. Before the wounded troops evacuated from Andong, the heads of all the agencies of the Andong City Government could not withdraw from Andong before the troops, and properly Do a good job of transporting the wounded, I am the mayor, can I go first!"

While Song Geping answered Huo Shoushan's words, he looked at Jiang Xianliang in the car with his eyes half leaning against the carriage, his eyes closed, his face was pale, and he looked very haggard. Huo Shoushan hurriedly explained: "Mayor Song, our brigade commander is on the front line. , was poisoned by the little devil, from the Phoenix Mountain position to Anton, and never recovered!"

Song Geping withdrew his gaze and said sincerely: "Chief of Staff Huo, I'm really sorry for the troops. The Anton City Government tried its best, but failed to raise more motor vehicles. Many wounded in our troops, Having to sit on animal-drawn carts and stretchers, the soldiers are suffering, I have reported this situation to the headquarters, I believe the headquarters will have a solution!"

"In addition, the city government has mobilized doctors from all hospitals and private clinics in Anton to follow the retreating troops and treat the wounded at any time. I have handed over these doctors and nurses, as well as medicines and medical equipment, to the field hospital of your brigade. It’s been a long time, and I hope it can save the lives of more soldiers!”

After hearing Song Geping's words, Jiang Xianliang, who pretended to close his eyes in the carriage and didn't want to deal with people he hated, was moved. He didn't expect that Song Geping would say these words. Ruthless words, "Without your reinforced concrete, Mayor Song, my Sixth Brigade can still protect Anton's safety!"

With the words still in my ears, the Sixth Brigade was beaten by the little devils and retreated in embarrassment, and the wounded were everywhere.Didn’t he slap himself in the mouth? Jiang Xianliang thought embarrassingly, but he could no longer pretend to be deaf and dumb, so he sat upright reluctantly and motioned to the guards to help him get out of the car.

Jiang Xianliang and Song Geping, two military and political officials who were at odds with each other and had quarreled several times, stood face to face in such a situation. Neither of them knew how to speak, and the atmosphere was very embarrassing.

(to be continued) (to be continued...)