Chapter 145 The arrogant Colonel Harada
The Sato detachment suffered a severe blow, which made Yoshio Shinozuka doubt whether the independent 48th Brigade attack force had other outstanding officers to assist in its command.
After all, for him, Chen Ziyun, who was born in artillery, may be very capable in commanding artillery, but he is definitely lacking in commanding infantry.
He did not believe that Chen Ziyun was capable of commanding infantry and other arms. In fact, there was nothing Shinozuka Yoshio did not want to see.
After all, Chen Ziyun's command of artillery has already posed a great threat to the Moon Army. If he can command infantry and other arms in combat, it would be a nightmare for the Moon Army.
In view of the combat situation in the Suohe Town area, Yoshio Shinozuka chose the wrong confrontation instead of continuing the battle.
Operation orders from the First Army Headquarters began to be transmitted, and at this time, they were in the southwest area of Yuanping City, at Jinshan Highlands.
The Harada detachment has begun to move the detachment headquarters there, and is conducting observations from Jinshan Highlands to see if it can overlook Suohe Town from its high position in the east.
At this time, hundreds of engineering troops from the engineering brigade assigned to the Harada detachment began to build position fortifications to ensure that it could become a strong fortress.
As for the detachment headquarters, it has not been specially reinforced, let alone mortars. Even if the mountain artillery and field artillery hit it directly, it will not be destroyed.
Whether the Moon Army has strict rules or not, the rigid Moon Army will fully implement those rules.
Even if they stop for a short time on the marching route, the first thing the Lunar Army will do is immediately build position bunkers to prevent being attacked.
Not to mention the detachment headquarters, the wing headquarters, even the group headquarters, will be reinforced to ensure the absolute safety of the group leader.
"Nani?"
"The commander of the First Army, Ge Dong, actually begged them to confront the Shanxi-Sui Army troops in Suohe Town!"
"They did not come to fight with them that time. If there was a confrontation with them, other troops could be arranged to carry out the operation."
"Could it be that just because they brought casualties to the Sato detachment, the First Army Headquarters thought they would not deny their wrong leg?"
"Don't forget, their 26th Division is a field division, but it can't be compared to the security garrison divisions of the First Army East!"
After Colonel Harada received the message from the First Army Headquarters, his face showed an expression of extreme dissatisfaction.
He frowned and looked at the map coldly, his eyes exuding a strong fighting spirit.
The 26th Division was one of the first three regiments formed by the Lunar Army to form a field division. They have strong combat effectiveness.
Its predecessor was not a mixed brigade established outside the Customs in 1934, which was also a field force.
They continued to fight outside the customs and had strong combat capabilities.
After the all-out operation began, the Kwantung Army organized and dispatched its corps to participate in the battle, but did they send the main force of the corps?
They performed very well in the attacks on Cha Province and Jin Province, so they were qualified to expand into the 26th Division.
Colonel Harada was full of confidence in that battle. Did he intend to use that battle to gain military exploits?
After all, he had stayed in the position of colonel for many years, so it was inevitable that he would want to be promoted through military exploits.
Can the rank of Colonel of the Moon Army reach the threshold of Major General? And can those Colonel officers wear the rank of Major General as early as possible? They are very crazy.
As a staff officer, the colonel officer will constantly plan battles and formulate battle plans to gain credit.
As for the captain of the Colonel-General who has military power, will he command the troops to continuously attack the city and destroy the troops to gain military exploits?
It was rare for Colonel Harada to find such an opportunity, and he was not willing to miss it.
"Detachment leader Ge Dong and more than 4,000 troops from Sato's detachment fought fiercely with the Jinsui Army and other troops in Suohe Town, and they themselves suffered 2,000 losses."
"They were forced to retreat to the fortresses and artillery towers along the railway line to save their troops. The Shanxi-Sui Army they faced was a very elite force."
"The unit number is the 48th Independent Brigade, and its core is the 358th Regiment. This regiment has achieved great results in Cangyunling and Yangcun Zhai Land Field."
"The regiment flag of the elite mobile combat ace third regiment directly under the First Army was captured by the 358th Regiment."
"Based on the current situation, is it the best option for them to confront them and prevent them from attacking the railway?"
"At this time, they occupy the high ground. If they attack forcefully, it will be difficult to achieve victory."
A major staff officer standing nearby hesitated for a while, then came to the map and analyzed it directly.
Colonel Harada became even more angry when he heard what the major staff officer said.
He looked at the major staff officer coldly and began to roar loudly.
"Do I think that the Harada detachment, organized as the 13th Independent Infantry Regiment, is not the wrong leg of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army at all?"
"Don't forget, those of the Jinsui Army were the worst in combat effectiveness. They just used wooden sticks to beat their helmets."
"What's more, their legs are not just wooden sticks, but sophisticated weapons and equipment!"
"Don't think he doesn't know their situation. Their most elite force is nothing more than the artillery unit."
"Then it's just right that our two mountain artillery brigades can compete with them to see whose artillery is more powerful!"
Colonel Harada kept clamoring, even if Chen Ziyun's troops achieved victory, even if the 48th Independent Brigade had glorious military exploits.
Could it be that he still didn't take the Jin-Sui army seriously? Did he think that his troops were completely capable of winning?
Of course, Colonel Harada is not a brainless person, otherwise he would not be able to hold the position of Captain of the Colonel Alliance.
He was so eager to start the battle because his eastern troops were more elite.
Moreover, the division headquarters personally arranged the 13th Independent Infantry Regiment that time, which was not the opportunity given to him by the division commander Kuroda Shigenori.
Kuroda Shigenori once served as the major general commander of the 26th Infantry Regiment of the 26th Division, and Colonel Harada's immediate boss was in the division.
Shigetoku Kuroda went round and round and returned to the 26th Division as Lieutenant General Division Commander, and Colonel Harada did not deny the position of Co-Captain.
As Colonel Harada's senior officer, Shigenori Kuroda arranged for Colonel Harada to command the troops to attack. The reason is very simple.
Did he want to take advantage of that opportunity to win over Colonel Harada?
I asked Colonel Harada to obtain military exploits. With his qualifications, Kuroda Shigenori would report to him and make some operations, and he would naturally be promoted to a higher position.
Colonel Harada wanted to seize that opportunity, and he firmly believed that his troops could defeat Chen Ziyun's troops.
Because the 13th Independent Infantry Regiment of which he serves as the regimental commander, whether to strengthen the regiment.
That regiment has three infantry brigades and one artillery brigades in the east.
The artillery brigade is equipped with twelve Type 41 75MM mountain guns, which are difficult to see in other infantry regiments.
In addition, the Harada detachment has the reinforced first mountain artillery brigade of the mountain artillery wing directly under the division, equipped with twelve Type 94 75MM mountain artillery.
The Yue Army Type 41 mountain artillery was produced in the same era as the Type 38 field artillery.
By the 1930s, the Yuan Army considered that the Type 41 mountain cannon had a range of more than 6,000 meters, so they began to develop the Type 94 mountain cannon.
The Type 94 mountain cannon has excellent performance and is of high quality and low price. It can directly replace the Type 41 mountain cannon.
Of course, the little devil's resources are limited, and the Type 41 mountain cannon was replaced, but it was not eliminated.
The Type 94 mountain artillery became a division-level support mountain artillery, while the Type 41 mountain artillery became a regiment-level support artillery.
Basically, each regiment will be equipped with an artillery squadron equipped with four Type 41 mountain guns.
The 26th Division belongs to the Mongolian Army, and the Mongolian Army can be said to be a weak force compared to the Japanese Army-level troops.
To the east it belongs to a cavalry group, the 26th Division, which is independently mixed into the Second Brigade, with a total strength of just over 30,000 people.
I would like to know that after a series of reinforcements during the battle, some of the standing divisions of the Little Devils will have a combat strength of more than 30,000 people.
As an army, with more than 30,000 troops, it was indeed very overwhelmed.
The area in charge of the Mongolian Army is also very broad, including Cha Province, Sui Province, northern Shanxi and other areas.
Therefore, under such circumstances, as the only field division, the 26th Division and the three infantry regiments under it cannot have independent combat capabilities.
The artillery units directly under the three infantry regiments have all been strengthened and have an artillery battalion.
In this way, each infantry regiment has three infantry brigades and one artillery battalion, and it is completely impossible to independently carry out offensive and defensive operations on a certain scale.
The Harada detachment currently has two artillery brigades with a total of twenty-four mountain cannons of two types. This is also the source of Colonel Harada's confidence.
I want to know that up to this point in the war, even if it is not the Central Army, an artillery regiment cannot muster twenty-four artillery pieces.
Many artillery regiments only have a dozen or so artillery pieces.
Chu Yunfei's 358th Regiment is an artillery battalion with only eight orogenic guns.
In fact, eight Jin orogenic guns are equivalent to two artillery batteries.
Osaka Harada is mastering so many mountain cannons, and he also wants to gain military exploits.
Now that the First Army Headquarters asked him to maintain a wrong stance and stand still, he would definitely not be able to accept it.
It's like a person who has been hungry for several days and is holding a chicken leg to beg for a big meal. At that time, if someone begs to take the chicken leg away, that person will definitely go completely crazy.
Colonel Harada roared angrily. He stood in front of the map with a gloomy expression.
At that time, Sato Nakazano of the Sato detachment came there immediately.
The Sato detachment has been severely damaged, its overall strength has been greatly affected, and its morale is also very low.
That time Lieutenant Colonel Sato came over and asked if he could discuss taking Donglai into combat operations.
"Grandmaster Harada's military command east of the headquarters begged them to maintain their confrontation with the Shanxi-Sui Army, but also support them in carrying out appropriate night attacks."
"At present, the overall casualties of their detachment are very high, so he hopes that the two detachments can coordinate defense and engage in a staggered confrontation with the Shanxi-Sui Army in front of them."
"Just ask them to build a defense line along the Tongpu Railway, then the Shanxi-Sui Army troops may not have the courage to attack."
"The battle in southern Shanxi is currently progressing very smoothly. As long as the battle there ends, the Shanxi-Sui Army will retreat to its base in embarrassment."
"In that case, their mission has been completed, and they can communicate directly with the military headquarters."
When Lieutenant Colonel Sato saw Colonel Harada, he saluted directly.
His meaning is very obvious, then he should stand still and directly confront the Jin-Sui army.
When the battle in the Zhongtiao Mountain area is over, they can finish their errands.
Even though the First Army mentioned that it could launch a night attack, Lieutenant Colonel Sato was not willing to let his troops continue to take risks.
After all, there are only more than 2,000 people in his group. If he pays for the casualties again, he will certainly be held accountable.
Colonel Harada glanced at Lieutenant Commander Sato with a very cold expression.
Nakasa Sato can be said to be the one who doesn’t pick up the pot!
"Kiteng-kun, am I so frightened by those Jin-Sui troops that I no longer have the courage to even carry out a small-scale night attack?"
"Don't forget, they defeated them easily and took over most of the towns in Jin Province."
"Now that the more than 2,000 Jinsui troops want to contain thousands of their troops, that is simply the greatest shame for their imperial troops!"
"If you pay them wrongly, they will need to send a small number of troops to conduct a night attack, and you can completely defeat them."
"Did I remind him whether the military headquarters can support them in launching night attacks?"
Colonel Harada had a serious expression on his face and said with a sneer at the corner of his mouth.
"There are more than 2,000 Shanxi-Sui Army troops in the Suohe Town area east of Dazuo Ge, but they are not very elite troops."
"They are well-equipped with weapons and equipment, and their combat effectiveness is very strong. Especially since they have two small troops, they have super combat effectiveness."
"And their artillery combat capabilities are very strong, and they are fully capable of hitting targets accurately."
"What's more, in the area south of the battlefield, there are more than a thousand Eighth Route Army troops supporting the operation."
"If they launch an attack blindly, they may fail and return. Now they are standing still and confronting them is the best option."
"If they take the initiative to attack, they can also use the existing fortifications, which will cause them heavy casualties."
Sato Nakasa frowned slightly and argued directly.
Is there a difference in military rank between the two of them? I wonder if a lieutenant colonel in the field force would not have the guts to directly challenge the powerful colonel captain.
But Lieutenant Colonel Sato is different. He is the Lieutenant Colonel and Staff Officer of the First Army Headquarters, and has been around the Army Commander and Army Chief of Staff for a long time.
As the saying goes, there are seven ranks of officials in front of the prime minister.
What's more, Lieutenant Colonel Sato is not the advisor to Lieutenant Colonel, so he naturally has a sense of arrogance.
Harada Osaka glanced at Lieutenant Colonel Sato coldly, and he also knew the identity of Lieutenant Colonel Sato.
The lieutenant colonel of the field force, Colonel Harada, was slapped long ago.
However, if Naka Sato is the staff officer of the Army Headquarters, slapping him would be equivalent to slapping the First Army Commander Yoshio Shinozuka.
Although Colonel Harada was angry, he remained calm. He knew that there were some things that could be done and some things that should not be done.
"In that case, Sato-kun, please ask our detachment to stay where we are." Colonel Harada said with a sarcastic tone.
Without waiting for Lieutenant Colonel Sato to say anything else, Colonel Harada directly made a gesture with his legs to see off the guests.
Lieutenant Colonel Sato walked out helplessly. After he left, Colonel Harada immediately summoned the Major Captain to make arrangements.
Did he seize the loophole in the message from the First Army Headquarters, and he prepared to use the night raid to launch a large-scale attack.
"The ministries are actively preparing when they go back. In that battle, they will definitely want to completely annihilate the Shanxi-Sui Army in the Suohe Town area overnight."
"They have more than 2,000 people and no more than ten artillery pieces. Their troops and artillery numbers are more than twice as many as theirs."
"Then during this attack, they must completely annihilate them and let the First Army see the strength of their troops stationed in Mongolia!"
After the officers arrived, Colonel Harada said with a serious expression on his face.
"Hi, detachment leader Ge Dong." Majors and captains stood up one after another and immediately saluted and agreed to come.
(End of chapter)
This chapter has been completed!