Age of Rebirth

The Daqing River is the last natural obstacle before reaching Gaizhou. Major General Wan Lipeng, the commander of the Ninth Brigade of the Marine Corps, scattered most of the troops of the Ninth Brigade on the main points along the line. He still has more than 4000 troops left People's troops, that is, more than [-] people, became the entire force to capture Gaizhou.

The Second Battalion of the Third Regiment had already crossed the Daqing River and successfully boarded the river bank. Suddenly, mortar shells screamed and fell, "Boom! Boom! Boom!" In the mud and water pillars, a dozen soldiers from the Second Battalion fell on the river beach amidst the sound of explosions. Immediately, more mortar shells roared in, and the Second Battalion, which had just landed, was suddenly bombarded.

Wan Lipeng hastily raised his binoculars, and in the lens of the binoculars, the shadow of a khaki military uniform appeared on the other side of the river, "Damn it! It's a little devil!" He said bitterly, "Chief of Staff, order all mortars to immediately Suppressive bombardment of the little devil's mortar, the second battalion organized defense on the spot, the third battalion immediately crossed the river, and the brigade headquarters temporarily hid in place!"

After being shelled, the battle-tested second battalion did not panic. The mortars set up artillery positions on the spot, and the light and heavy machine gunners immediately began to build firepower points. The other soldiers scattered and concealed in place, launching a sudden shelling Yes, it is a real Japanese army. The soldiers are not unfamiliar with the Kwantung Army uniform. Fortunately, the Kwantung Army has not many troops, that is, a little more than a brigade.

"Come from the direction of Gaizhou, well, it's considered to have hit the muzzle of the gun, which saved me a lot of energy! Saved me from fighting a street fight in Gaizhou!" Wan Lipeng put on his helmet and picked up his submachine gun.It is necessary to follow the soldiers of the third battalion into the water.

Colonel Xu Lei, the chief of staff, grabbed him and shouted anxiously, "Brigadier, you can't cross the river. Please stay here and take command. I'll go to the other side!" Then he turned his head and said to the commander of the guard company: "Liu Zirong, the brigade commander's safety is entrusted to you. If the brigade commander hurts a hair, I'll take your skin off!"

Wan Lipeng didn't dare to insist.The division pointed out that there are strict regulations for officers above the brigade commander level, and the commander of the guard company hurriedly ordered a dozen guards.Protecting the brigade commander to hide in a safe place, he took off his helmet in frustration, and reluctantly left the river bank, still muttering incessantly. "This is Xu Lei. It's a bad thing for me. The little devil is stupid. Out of Gaizhou City, it's a good opportunity to wipe out the enemy in the wild. If you want to fight hard, you won't be able to do it. There is no chance for this fun!"

With a gun in hand, the commander of the guard company who followed closely behind him heard the muttering of the brigade commander.He grinned and said, "Brigade Commander, don't let our guard company worry about it! If you make any mistakes, the chief of staff will take my skin off!"

What the commander of the guard company said, Wan Lipeng didn't hear at all. His attention was focused on the other side of the Daqing River. The howling shells fell into the Daqing River, blowing up white water jets, while the mortars from the Ninth Brigade fought back. The mortar shells flew towards the Kwantung Army soldiers rushing up. Because the distance was still relatively far, neither side fired. On both sides of the Daqing River, only the explosion of mortar shells was heard.

Wan Lipeng was not at all worried about the Kwantung Army's sudden attack. He was sure that this Kwantung Army unit came from the direction of Gaizhou, and it should be one of the Kwantung Army's Gaizhou Gendarmerie Brigade or the Guard Brigade. There is no artillery, but only a dozen mortars. Otherwise, the third battalion, which is crossing the river, may have suffered heavy casualties now. I don't know how many soldiers died on the river.

Wan Lipeng's judgment was correct. It was the gendarmerie brigade of the Kwantung Army stationed in Gaizhou who rushed to the bank of the Daqing River to stop the independent division. It had a total strength of more than [-] people. Ambitious to fight this battle.

The Ninth Brigade removed the Kwantung Army strongholds to the east of Gaizhou one by one in more than a day. The Kwantung Army Garrison Brigade and Gendarmerie Brigade in Gaizhou City all received reports and were soberly aware that Gaizhou would be It is the inevitable target of the independent division troops. The two captains gathered together to discuss countermeasures.

According to Lieutenant Kato, the captain of the garrison brigade, the independent division troops are coming aggressively, and they will never give up if they do not occupy the Gaizhou division. The importance of the location of Gaizhou is self-evident. The main force of the troops had to go through Gaizhou, and more than 8000 people from the [-]th Division of the East Road had to go in the direction of Gaizhou. If they lost Gaizhou, neither of them could keep their heads.

However, the strength of the Kwantung Army in Gaizhou is not enough to ensure that Gaizhou is safe and sound. Therefore, Lieutenant Kato means, first, report the situation to the superior immediately and ask for reinforcements, and second, immediately deploy defenses in Gaizhou and guard the imperial army Finally, he said: "When the retreated [-]th Division and the first and second detachments of the Kwantung Army arrive, it will not be the responsibility of the two of you if Gaizhou is lost. Therefore, We can strictly abide by it, what do you think Fukuoka-sama will do?"

Major Fukuoka, the captain of the Gendarmerie Battalion, fully agrees with Nakasa Kato's first opinion, that Gaizhou's military strength is indeed insufficient, but he scoffs at the second opinion, "Kato-kun, don't forget, the imperial army of the Great Japanese Empire The purpose is to attack, and if the Independent Division troops want to approach Gaizhou, the Daqing River is a natural obstacle that must be crossed, and the bridge on the river has been demolished!"

"If the soldiers of the Independent Division want to cross the river, they must ford. This is the best time for us to wipe out the enemy. In the ancient Chinese military art, there is such a tactic, 'Halfway and strike!' Therefore, my opinion is that Gai All the Kwantung Army troops in the state city were mobilized to deploy defenses on the west bank of the Daqing River to block the independent division troops, Kato-kun, I didn't expect you to be so timid!" The last sentence was ridiculed and contemptuous.

Lieutenant Kato was so angry that he was almost out of breath, but there was nothing he could do. Although his military rank was one level higher than that of Fukuoka, he couldn't stand him as a military police officer. He was still his own boss, but this guy from Fukuoka was good at arresting people and shooting a few independent division spies and so on, but he didn't know anything about fighting.

The Kwantung Army in Gaizhou plus the Manchurian Army, how many people come out in full strength, less than 6000, and the independent division troops will fight all the way, will the troops be less? With less than [-] people, they will block the attack on the west bank of the Daqing River , didn't you go to fight?

Opinions were completely at odds, and neither of the two could convince the other, so they quarreled and almost shot. In the end, the two decided to go their separate ways. Requesting reinforcements, the Gendarmerie Brigade rushed to the west bank of the Daqing River to block the Independent Division troops.

A dispute between two people.After wasting more than an hour, Major Fukuoka arrived with 1000 or more than [-] gendarmes panting. A battalion of the Ninth Brigade had already crossed the Daqing River, but had not yet boarded the embankment. Fukuoka The Major immediately ordered the only twenty mortars to bombard the Independent Division, and then all the gendarmerie brigade immediately charged to suppress the Independent Division that had already crossed the river.

Major Fukuoka overestimated the combat effectiveness of his gendarmerie brigade, and he also held the idea of ​​"strike halfway through" against the independent division. More than 1000 Kwantung Army gendarmerie rushed up screaming. Wan Lipeng was in the binoculars, Seeing it clearly, "Pu Chi" was amused, "Little devil is stupid! If you charge without strong fire cover, you are courting death!"

As soon as Wan Lipeng finished speaking, nearly a hundred light and heavy machine guns at the temporary firepower point of the Second Battalion suddenly roared wildly. The dense rain of bullets poured over, and the military police of the Kwantung Army fell down in pieces like cut wheat. Going on, Colonel Kato is right, Lieutenant Fukuoka has indeed not fought any battles, it depends on his tactical deployment, it is a disadvantage!

The heavy and light machine gun bullets hit the Kwantung Army Gendarmerie Brigade at once. Hundreds of corpses fell on the west bank of the Daqing River. In terms of numbers, the independent division also had a very large advantage. The Kwantung Army's [-]-meter mortars had long been blown to pieces. At this time, more than half of the soldiers from the third battalion rushed onto the river bank.

Wan Lipeng laughed, and said to the communications staff next to him: "Order the second battalion and third battalion to charge immediately, kill these little devils as soon as possible, and then attack Gaizhou immediately, there is no time to delay, other troops will follow up! "

More than an hour later, the short battle that took place on the west bank of the Daqing River came to an end. The bodies of more than 200 military policemen of the Kwantung Army lay bloodied on the land on the west bank of the Daqing River. Major Fukuoka, the captain of the "Shock" group, was blown to pieces by several mortar shells that exploded at close range, and even the complete body could not be found. The two battalions of the Ninth Brigade also suffered more than 300 casualties the price.

On the west bank of the Daqing River, after annihilating a gendarmerie brigade of the Kwantung Army, Wan Lipeng, the commander of the Ninth Brigade, did not catch his breath. He commanded the troops and divided them into four groups. hit.

The Kwantung Army unit in Gaizhou City has a real combat effectiveness. It is a garrison brigade. The captain of the garrison brigade, Kato Zhongzuo, immediately called his superiors to ask for reinforcements after the gendarmerie brigade went out of the city to the west bank of the Daqing River to block the independent division troops. But the result made him very disappointed. Not only did his boss not agree to send reinforcements, but he reprimanded him severely on the phone, scolded him bloody, and warned him, "If you lose Gaizhou, you will not be able to make up for your mistakes even if you die !"

Putting down the phone, Lieutenant Kato was very frustrated. He greeted his boss's female relatives countless times in his heart. In fact, he also wronged his boss. The ** team had already used it, so how could there be any extra troops to reinforce the direction of Gaizhou, and the fierce gunfire from the Daqing River also made him uneasy.

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