Age of Rebirth

Linghai, located more than [-] kilometers north of Jinzhou, is another gateway to the northeast hinterland of the Liaoxi Corridor. Because it is backed by the Daling River and faces the Liaodong Bay, it is named Linghai. It is also a Kwantung Army unit in the western Liaoning area. The independent division occupying Jinzhou City is a tacit military demarcation line.

During the Liaoxi campaign, after the occupation of Jinzhou, Lieutenant General Liu Tiehan, the deputy commander of the Independent Division and the commander-in-chief of the East Command, once suggested to the division commander Tang Qiuli to take advantage of the situation to capture Linghai City, and push the front line to the line from Panshan to Beining, forming a threat Fengtian's situation, according to the situation in the Northeast battlefield at that time, the independent division troops were fully capable of this, but Tang Qiuli considered that the time for a decisive battle with the Kwantung Army was far ripe, and the troops entered the hinterland of the Northeast too deeply, causing the Kwantung Army to rebound massively , Therefore, just occupying Jinzhou City stopped the pace of advancement.

The Daling River originated from Nuluerhu Mountain in the northwestern part of Liaoning Province, and is located between Jinzhou and Linghai. The current Daling River is far more ferocious than the Daling River in later generations. The river is several hundred meters wide. , turbulent waves, turbulent water flow, eddies the size of a pot cover, swirling on the river surface from time to time, rolling all the way to the south, pouring into Liaodong Bay, on the Daling River, there used to be several bridges to communicate the land traffic between Jinzhou and Linghai .

However, after the independent division troops occupied Jinzhou City, the bridges on the Daling River were all destroyed by the Kwantung Army troops. It was precisely because of the Daling River that served as a natural barrier that the Kwantung Army troops in the western Liaoning area were psychologically better. Rely on and comfort, of course, the defensive deployment of the Kwantung Army is also unambiguous, a series of reinforced concrete fortifications along the north bank of the Daling River.It extends south to Liaodong Bay and north to Fuxin.

The fortifications are built like copper walls and iron walls, and are divided into two floors above ground and underground.Bunkers and dark bunkers are densely covered, and various firepower points are dotted in the fortifications. From the front of the fortifications to the Daling River, it is a minefield. Countless mines have turned this area into a place of death.General Nanjiro, the former commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army, devoted a lot of effort and supplies to the Daling River defense line.The Kwantung Army troops guarding this place are even more on alert and on guard day and night. After all, they are facing opponents who have beaten the Kwantung Army so hard that they dare not take the initiative to fight.Who dares to be negligent?

Even more so tonight.Two days ago, the troops of the independent division defending against Jinzhou were attacking the first-line Daling River defense line. After receiving the order from the headquarters to cover the retreat of the main force, all Kwantung Army troops entered a state of first-level combat readiness. The soldiers of the Kwantung Army lived and ate on the ground, and their nerves were tense.In the dark night, countless pairs are tense.With blank eyes, staring at the south bank of the Daling River.

In charge of covering the main force of the Kwantung Army, it was the Ninth Army of the Kwantung Army and three independent mixed brigades attached to it that retreated to Fengtian, with a strength of more than 18 troops. It started from Xinzhuangzi on the north bank of the Daling River, close to Liaodong Bay. , lined up along Linghai to the barracks, and Linghai is the most important defensive support point. In Linghai area, the Kwantung Army deployed a whole division of the No.4 division, plus two independent mixed The brigade is attached to a tank wing and several field artillery wings, with a strength of more than [-] troops.

Lieutenant General Watanabe Shoji, head of the No.18 Division, just put down the phone. He was not at ease. He called the heads of the various regiments at the front and the head of the independent mixed brigade to inquire about the situation of the troops, and Daling Henan. Check whether the independent division troops on the shore have any abnormal behavior.

The answers they got were basically the same, "Our department's defense is frontal, and all of them have found abnormalities, and everything is normal!" My heart tightened again.

Ever since the Commander-in-Chief of the Kwantung Army, General Umezu Yoshijiro, issued the order that the main force of the Kwantung Army retreat to Fengtian and that the Ninth Army be responsible for the cover, there has been an unspoken saying among the Ninth Army, "For the main force to be able to To retreat back to Fengtian smoothly, the Ninth Army must have all the jade pieces!"

The head of the Watanabe division believes this statement. He has been stationed in the north of the Daling River in the western Liaoning Corridor for almost two years. He also has a considerable understanding of the independent division troops on the south bank. There are more than [-] troops, and they are on the other side. For Liu Tiehan, he is the key target of the Kwantung Army's intelligence department. I am no stranger to his information.

This person is the number two figure in the Independent Division, the number one underling of the Chinese Devil Tang Qiuli, with a high position and authority, and the strength of the East Pointing Troop under his command is second to none among all the corps-level combat groups of the Independent Division. The style is brave and staunch, and he is good at confronting frontal battles. The Dongzhi troops are well-equipped and well-trained.

Facing such an opponent, Lieutenant General Watanabe has not had a peaceful night's sleep for more than two years. Half a year ago, Liu Tiehan's troops were transferred to Outer Mongolia, and his replacement was the Niangziguan Garrison Corps of the Independent Division The army, and Major General Feng Jiwu, the commander of the corps, is not an unknown figure. In the files of the intelligence department of the Kwantung Army, there is also a thick pile of information about this person.

The Niangziguan Garrison Corps under Feng Jiwu's command has a strength of nearly 50 people. It is one of the few veteran field corps of the Independent Division. It has fought against the Imperial Army for many years in North China and Shanxi in China. It is said that The fallen and well-known commander-in-chief of the Imperial North China Expeditionary Army, General Ningji Okamura, was in the hands of this man's army. His commanding style was cunning and changeable, but he was equally ferocious. This man also served as the devil of China Tang Qiu. Li's chief of staff, I believe, will learn a lot of intrigues!

Whether it was Liu Tiehan before or Feng Jiwu now, Division Commander Watanabe was terrified. Thinking of this, he sighed. There was no doubt about the fate of all the Ninth Army's jade fragments. First of all, the huge The disparity in the number of troops, 50 versus nearly [-], makes my scalp tingle just thinking about it.

Secondly, there is the issue of air supremacy. Air supremacy is completely in the hands of the Air Force of the Independent Division. Although the head of the Watanabe division is unwilling to admit this, it is an unchangeable fact.

With many factors together, the head of the Watanabe division was not optimistic about this cover mission, but it did not affect his determination. Moreover, he did not have a fluke mentality. The second-line and third-line imperial soldiers began to Retreating, the independent division troops in the direction of Jinzhou did not notice it at all. Lieutenant General Watanabe scoffed at the senior officers of the No.18 Division who held such views and severely reprimanded them with two sentences: "Stupid! Childish!"

"Critical moment! Only to fulfill the duty of the Emperor and the people, to serve His Majesty the Emperor and the Empire of Japan, even if all the members of the No.18 Division are broken, they will die a worthy death!" The head of the Second Division Watanabe looked at the dark Ye Kong thought to himself, although the commanders at all levels of the frontline troops reported that they found no abnormalities, but he could feel that in the dark night, the gathering murderous aura was forming.

Lieutenant General Watanabe picked up the phone again, "Convey my order to the frontline troops. All soldiers must maintain a fighting state at all times. Tonight, a big war may break out!" Of course, the division commander can't go to sleep. He couldn't fall asleep at all, and the feeling of being upset was always lingering in his heart.

The night is getting darker, and the wind is blowing. The sea breeze blowing from Liaodong Bay has a strong salty taste, but it can't blow away the muggy air in the early summer of Liaoxi. Several black shadows appear on the south bank of the Daling River. The dark night Among them, the broad water surface of Daling River was faintly white, and the river was whistling slightly, rolling to the south. The black shadow came to the embankment by the river and set up the instrument. The same scene happened on the south bank of Daling River. Performed in many places, this is the front-line observer of the Artillery Command of the Independent Division, who is responsible for instructing and correcting the artillery target for the artillery group.

Feng Jiwu, who had already rushed to the front line, set up a frontline headquarters on a hill covered with shrubs and pine trees less than ten kilometers away from the Daling River. Here, you can overlook the entire battlefield, with more than a dozen tents, Hidden in the woods in a patchwork manner, at [-]:[-], the temporary headquarters became quiet, and the "tick" sound of the electric keys and the rapid ringing of the telephone could not be heard. Next to all the radio stations and telephones, the staff officer and the communication officer were sitting on the opposite end. soldier.

Feng Jiwu sat on a canvas marching chair with his whole body relaxed, with his eyes slightly closed, as if he was resting his mind. Colonel Zhang Hansheng, Chief of Staff of the Niangziguan Garrison Corps, was staring at the watch on his wrist.

In a place closer to the Daling River, the Artillery Headquarters of the Independent Division is located here. The commander, Major General Zheng Yong, does not have Feng Jiwu's self-cultivation skills, or he does not like the kind of pre-war, making the command The department is very depressing.

With his left foot on the empty shell box and holding the phone, Zheng Yong was yelling, "In ten minutes or so, the fire will start. All the artillery groups are ready. This is the most public appearance of our artillery. Let’s all get up to speed, let’s not talk about unnecessary words, the shells hit them hard, within 10 minutes, we have to finish a base, don’t think about consumption, the shells are enough!”

Backed by the Joint Service Department in the rear of Beiping, the roads are in good condition and supplies are convenient and fast. Zheng Yong has the confidence to put down the phone. Zheng Yong shouted to a staff officer: "Get me a glass of water, but I'm thirsty!"

On the south bank of the Daling River, Major General Battelle, the commander of the armored forces, looked at the luminous watch on his wrist. The hour hand had already pointed to the position of 45:[-]. On the European battlefield, I don’t know how many times, in such an atmosphere, thousands of tanks behind them, silent like beasts, squatted in the night, waiting for the moment when the thunderbolt battle broke out!

Battelle stepped into his chariot and opened the communication channel, "Attention all brigades, the battle is about to begin, and all tanks are ready to activate!"

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