Chapter 217 Killing Kenzo Harada
The 358th Regiment can be said to be Chu Yunfei's army, and most of its officers were not promoted by Chu Yunfei himself.
In particular, the three battalion commanders of the Second Battalion, the Third Battalion, and the Fourth Battalion were definitely Chu Yunfei's confidants.
Sun Ming, the commander of the security company, also serves as Chu Yunfei's adjutant.
That time they took advantage of Chen Ziyun to hold a combat meeting and directly proposed Chen Ziyun to issue a combat order to Dongda.
Do they know the fighting situation in Xinxian County? They are worried that Chu Yunfei will be in danger, so they want to ask for help quickly.
Chen Ziyun could understand their feelings, but as the leader of the 358th Regiment, he must maintain his own dignity.
"I don't dare to do this in a humble position."
Facing Chen Ziyun's inquiry, the officers lowered their heads and answered softly.
Is Chen Ziyun the most famous person in the 48th Independent Brigade like Chu Yunfei? Does he have high prestige?
Many people secretly regard Chen Ziyun and Fang Ligong as Chu Yunfei's right-hand men!
They had the courage to make suggestions, but if they really wanted to coerce Chen Ziyun, they couldn't do such a thing.
What's more, they also knew that the brigade headquarters' combat plan was not drawn up by Chen Ziyun, and they would definitely obey orders.
Please tell me if their proposal led to the failure of the battle, and they cannot bear the responsibility.
"This battle is of great importance, and the brigade and the counselor will not hesitate to personally take the risk in the county seat to take command."
"The brigade headquarters is directly under the field artillery battalion, and the guard company has been strengthened. They are expected to undertake heavy combat tasks."
"He can understand our mood, but war is nothing but a piece of cake."
"This incident is no exception!"
"Of course he can tell us clearly that if the brigade headquarters is really in danger, then he will definitely rush to the rescue at all costs."
Chen Ziyun looked at the officers and said with a serious expression on his face.
During the battle in Xin County, Li Yunlong's new regiment was initially defeated, and now Chu Yunfei's troops are besieged in the county by the Yue puppet army.
None of this was part of Chen Ziyun's plan. What they wanted to do was to mobilize the puppet troops from the hilly areas.
Thousands of months of puppet troops are nothing but fat in their mouths, and they will definitely want to eat them in one bite.
Li Yunlong commanded the New Regiment to fight against the transport troops. After the Yue puppet troops attacked, Chen Ziyun immediately put forward operational suggestions.
After Chu Yunfei and Fang Ligong discussed it, they directly adopted it and quickly sent messengers to contact Li Yunlong.
The two sides communicated and clearly defined the battle plan.
Now the main force of the Yue puppet army originally stationed in the hills has been dispatched, and they have all come to the county seat of Xin County to fight.
But how do they know if there are three regiments of the 358th Regiment, the New Regiment, and the Independent Regiment in the periphery at this time?
The strength of those three regiments can be increased at any time, directly creating a counter-encirclement for the Yue puppet army.
Chen Ziyun is currently holding his troops back, but is actually waiting for the initial few troops to attack in the hilly area.
Just ask the more than a thousand Japs commanded by Harada Kenzo to attack. The 358th Regiment can decisively carry out annihilation operations against them, and then quickly advance towards the county seat.
Chen Ziyun, who has lived in two lifetimes, had a very simple idea when he arrived there.
Blood debts must be paid with blood. The little devils committed countless crimes there, so they must bear the punishment they deserve.
What he can do is to command the troops and kill those Yue puppet troops who have committed unpardonable crimes.
Chen Ziyun asked them to know if there was no place where they could run wild.
Therefore, Chen Ziyun will not let go of any of the thousands of puppet troops in Xin County.
"Master, I understand that I have made a mistake and if I have offended, I would like to ask you to forgive me in person."
Sun Ming and other officers looked at Chen Ziyun and immediately admitted their mistake.
Were they too worried about Chu Yunfei's safety, that's why they acted like that?
Chen Ziyun will naturally not be unreasonable, and he will not pursue the matter to the east.
After all, they are not in the same boat. If there is a stalemate, there will be no benefit to Chen Ziyun.
"Can the more than a thousand little Japs in the hills keep their composure? So far they have been holding back."
"Then let's add fire to them and see how they react."
"Zhang Wu, I command the cavalry battalion to quickly advance towards the county seat and take action to support the county seat."
"Let's see how they react. If they still stand still, then we will prepare to attack by force."
"Before heading to the county seat, we must resolve our worries at all costs."
Chen Ziyun pointed at the map, opened his mouth and gave the battle order.
He arranged for the cavalry battalion to advance toward the county seat, Li Yang Artillery Battalion, and Liang Guoping Field Artillery Battalion to build artillery positions.
The guard company and reconnaissance platoon secretly advanced towards the hilly area and prepared for a strong attack.
After all, the more than a thousand little Japs continue to stick to the hilly area, and it won't have any impact if they come to the east to encircle and annihilate them.
If you can solve them in advance, then the subsequent battle will become much easier.
"No, regimental seat." The officers saluted and immediately replied.
More than 500 cavalrymen from the Zhangwu Cavalry Battalion quickly assembled and then advanced toward the county seat in a mighty manner.
Other troops launched operations secretly, and they were ready to storm the hilly areas.
It was at that time that Li Yunlong's new group, which had entered Yuanping City, began to return secretly.
The independent regiment deployed in the highlands west of Xin County is also gradually advancing towards the Tongpu Railway, preparing to join the new regiment.
Of course, those two regiments acted covertly and tried their best to hide their whereabouts to avoid being noticed by the Moon puppet army.
It was at that time, in the hilly area, where Harada Kenzo's headquarters was.
News began to come in one after another, and even the headquarters of the First Army sent a message.
A regiment from the 8th Route of the Zhengtai Railway quickly rushed towards Xin County for reinforcements!
In the area south of the hills, hundreds of cavalrymen from the Jinsui Army quickly advanced toward the county seat!
The troops commanded by Tsuda Mitake have invaded outside the county town!
According to reliable information, the headquarters of the 48th Independent Brigade is just outside Xinxian County!
After the news was passed on, Harada Kenzo was completely unable to leave.
Mitake Tsuda had not sent a message before, requesting four Liao-made field guns from the artillery squadron to rush to the county seat to fight quickly.
Could it be that Kenzo Harada didn't agree that time and instead forcibly left them here?
"Bagaya Road, you really didn't expect that the troops of the Jinsui Army are completely vulnerable."
"Their main force has been completely wiped out, and Leftong's troops have almost no combat effectiveness."
"If he had known this earlier, he should have personally commanded the troops in the battle."
"The results of defeating the 48th Independent Brigade and killing Chu Yunfei were enough to offset any mistakes in the defeat."
"The troops were ordered to assemble quickly, and they also requested to quickly go to Xinxian County to fight."
Harada Kenzo had a serious expression on his face and without any hesitation, he decisively issued the battle order.
He believed that the 48th Independent Brigade was bound to be defeated, and Mitake Tsuda could not obtain such military exploits alone.
Taking advantage of the fact that the battle is still not completely over, Harada Kenzo wants to go over to join the battle quickly.
The hilly second independent infantry brigade, field artillery squadron, and heavy baggage troops quickly assembled.
The troops of 1,500 people quickly advanced towards Xinkou Town. They were preparing to pass through the south east of Xinkou Town and advance to the county seat to fight.
The path chosen by Kenzo Harada was rather prudent.
The 358th Regiment and other troops are currently concentrated in the area south of the hills. They are advancing directly to the east, completely avoiding those troops.
Starting at nine o'clock, more than a thousand Japs stationed in the hills began to advance eastward.
Chen Ziyun immediately received the news. After understanding the situation, Chen Ziyun did not hesitate and decisively issued the combat order.
Li Yang Artillery Battalion, attached to Chu Yu's 7th Battalion, quickly entered the hilly area and cut off the retreat of the Japanese troops.
The guard company and reconnaissance platoon followed quietly and immediately launched a combat strike after the Japs troops left the hilly area.
The troops of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Battalions immediately marched toward Xinkou Town, striving to reach Xinkou Town before the Moon Army troops.
Otherwise, Liang Guoping's field artillery battalion quickly advanced to the county seat to cooperate with the cavalry battalion in combat.
After receiving the combat order, various ministries mobilized quickly.
It was not until around 10 o'clock in the morning that gunfire started to be heard in the area west of Xinkou Town.
Then Sun Ming's security company and Wei Monk's reconnaissance team launched a combat attack.
The eastern machine gun platoon of the guard company, with two heavy machine guns and two mortars, took the lead in firing.
Otherwise, four infantry platoons must assemble twelve grenade launchers to launch grenades.
Twelve light machine guns, forty-eight assault rifles, and dozens of rifles fired simultaneously.
For a time, dense grenades and bullets were fired at the Japs one after another. The Japs troops marching towards Xinkou Town began to suffer casualties.
They quickly deployed firepower to counterattack, and four Liao-made 77MM field guns were also prepared to be quickly set up.
But at that time, the reconnaissance platoon quickly launched an assault.
The five combat groups alternately cooperated with each other, and each Czech semi-automatic rifle continued to fire.
Behind them, there are two light machine guns, two 60MM mortars, and eight Mauser sniper rifles for cover.
Their mission was to attack the Lunar Army artillery units with all their strength and prevent them from launching artillery attacks on the guard companies.
Both the guard company and the reconnaissance platoon are elite troops created by Chen Ziyun, and they have strong combat capabilities.
Facing their sudden attack, the little Japanese troops fell into chaos for a while.
The Major General of the Moon Army, Harada Kenzo, looked around at the situation with a solemn expression on his face.
"Yes, what about the elite troops of the Shanxi-Sui Army? They have a large number of submachine guns and are very powerful in combat."
"Bagaya Road, they are completely fooled. Are the Jinsui Army and the Eighth Route Army deliberately retreating to attract them to leave the hilly area?"
"Quickly withdraw towards the hilly area and hold on to the hilly area with all your strength!"
Kenzo Harada realized something was wrong, and he woke up instantly.
He wanted to ask the commanding troops to withdraw quickly towards the hilly area, but it was already too late.
Because of Li Yang Artillery Battalion, Chu Yu's 7th Battalion has quickly moved into the hilly area.
The artillery battalion's six Bofors mountain guns and six Type 94 mountain guns immediately established an artillery position.
The guard company has begun to fire illumination bombs, guiding the artillery to clearly observe the position of the Moon Army.
Not long after, twelve mountain cannons immediately started bombarding.
Dense artillery shells were fired at the Moon Army, and deafening explosions continued to sound.
The 7th Battalion's machine gun company also started shooting. Four heavy machine guns and two mortars launched fire suppressing fire against the little Japanese.
Harada Kenzo couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat when he saw such a fire attack.
"Quickly move towards Xinkou Town and hold on to Xinkou Town with all your strength. At the same time, quickly contact Mitake Tsuda and ask him to command the troops to withdraw quickly."
"Damn it, they are cheating. The main force of the Jinsui Army is there. Are they asking them to carry out annihilation operations?"
"That idiot Mitake Tsuda, if he had stood his ground and not attacked, there wouldn't have been such a crisis."
Harada Kenzo's face was solemn, and he hurried to Dongda to give orders.
The Japanese troops began to move towards Xinkou Town with all their strength, but they were constantly attacked by fire.
Twelve mountain artillery pieces from the Li Yang and Sun Xiong artillery battalions launched fire strikes one after another, causing the Japanese troops to suffer a certain amount of casualties.
At midnight, the Japs had just arrived at Xinkou Town, but they were immediately met with firepower.
Rifles, light machine guns, submachine guns, and grenade launchers fired one after another.
Then the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 358th Regiment and the light infantry deployed in April were stationed in the Xinkou Town area in advance.
Harada Kenzo did not dare to stop at all and quickly moved towards the north.
At this time, after continuous attacks, their combat strength reached more than a thousand people.
And the heavy baggage soldiers accompanying them were forced to discard a large amount of supplies.
"Damn the Jinsui Army, they are so cunning."
"Bagaya Road, quickly give up fighting in Xin County and quickly move towards Yuanping City."
"Ignore that idiot Mitake Tsuda and leave the battlefield!"
Whether Harada Kenzo planned to flee the battlefield quickly, but at that time, Chen Ziyun decisively issued the order to attack.
Each department directly launched a pursuit and launched an all-out combat attack against the little Japanese army.
At one o'clock in the morning in September and April, more than 2,000 troops of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Battalions launched an attack from the south.
The seventh battalion, guard company, and reconnaissance platoon have about a thousand troops, otherwise they will attack directly from the west.
The Li Yang and Sun Xiong artillery battalions, based on the guidance of front-line infantry flares and signal flares, carried out continuous artillery bombardments to support operations.
Ten minutes later, Li Yunlong commanded a new regiment and the independent regiment came to the battlefield.
They met with the Japs who were evacuating to the north. Li Yunlong was not polite at all and quickly ordered all units to start fighting.
Kong Jie commanded the independent regiment to build a defensive position on the spot. Li Yunlong took the shell gun and directly led the troops to attack.
For a time, the little Japanese troops were caught in a three-sided attack, and they were under great pressure.
Harada Kenzo wanted to command the troops to evacuate to the east, but could it be that the little Japs were completely unable to move now?
Fire strikes from three sides left the little devil with almost no ability to fight back.
Now they are being moved to different bunkers and conducting defensive operations on the spot.
If I move towards the east, I will definitely be treated as a living target.
Fierce gunfire continued, and various ministries continued to launch attacks.
Normally, the Jinsui Army and the Eighth Route Army would hardly shut up, but now they can cooperate fully.
After all, when it comes to fighting Japanese invaders, any army is extremely reckless.
Especially now that the two armies are fighting together, they will inevitably have the idea of competition.
Both the Eighth Route Army and the Shanxi-Sui Army troops wanted to obtain the greatest results in order to prove their strength to the other side.
At around two o'clock in the morning, the Kong Jiexin Second Regiment also began to engage in combat.
Harada Kenzo was forced to command the troops to defend on the spot. At the same time, he kept urging for power generation and contacted Mitake Tsuda.
At this time, the only one who could support them was the main force of the puppet army commanded by Mitake Tsuda.
Now that Mitake Tsuda has commanded the troops to fight outside the county town, does he have any ideas of his own?
As early as a few hours ago, Harada Kenzo sent a message telling him whether it was a trap.
Tsuda Mitake ignored it. He commanded his troops to attack with all their strength and prepare to retake the county seat.
"The third and fourth field battalions entered the battle outside the city and continued to launch fierce attacks to ensure that the county seat was quickly recaptured."
"The First Independent Infantry Battalion and puppet Mongolian troops are defending south of the county and maintaining contact with the troops outside the city."
"The artillery units set up positions and are ready to support operations, and the cavalry units are responsible for battlefield security."
"At the same time, contact the commander of the regiment, Major General Kenzo Harada, and tell them to stay where they are and wait. After they finish fighting there, they will rush to support them quickly."
Mitake Tsuda had a serious expression on his face as he began to give battle orders.
The nearby messengers and communication soldiers received the order and quickly began to deliver it.
The main force of the puppet army began to gather south of the county seat, and they could not break through from there to launch an attack.
Of course, can they maintain contact between various departments and adopt an all-offensive and all-defensive defense strategy?
If Bu Nao does this, will the other three sides of the county be completely open?
Chu Yunfei immediately made adjustments, and the main force of the supplementary regiment outside the city quickly entered the city to launch defense.
Replenish the regiment and reserve the 11th regiment to build a defensive position outside the city and hold on to it, layer upon layer of Japanese troops to block the attack.
They want to start street fighting to eliminate the little Japanese troops as much as possible.
The cavalry battalion and field artillery battalion will fight outside the city to fully support the defensive operations outside the city.
"Every soldier must hold his position until the end of the battle, and each unit must not evacuate the position without authorization."
"Now the 358th Regiment, the main force of the brigade, is actively fighting in Xinkou Town. After solving the Yue army over there, they can rush over quickly for reinforcements."
"Success or failure depends on this one move. They must not miss that opportunity. The puppet troops outside Xin County, please completely annihilate them."
Chu Yunfei had a serious expression on his face. He personally contacted the battalion officers and directly issued combat orders.
The troops from both sides continued to engage in fierce battles in Xinxian County. At this time, the little Japanese had more than 2,000 troops deployed outside the city.
But are there two regiments with more than 4,000 troops? Do they have a certain strength advantage?
And there are cavalry and field artillery camps on the outskirts.
There are six Liao-made 75MM field guns and four Liao-made 77MM field guns in the field artillery camp.
After constructing artillery positions, they continued to launch artillery attacks to harass the Japanese artillery troops.
Although the Japs have an advantage in the number of artillery pieces, they do not have any advantage in the range of their artillery.
Eight Liao-made 75MM field guns, eight Yue-type 75MM field guns, four 100MM howitzers, and three 94-type mountain guns.
Their maximum range is 8,300 meters, but there is also a 77MM field gun in the east of the artillery battalion, which has a range of more than 10,000 meters.
Those four field guns can carry out bombardment without restraint, and there is no need to consider the counterattack of the Japanese artillery.
In this way, the Japanese artillery unit will not be able to effectively support operations outside the city.
At four o'clock in the morning, in the area north of Xinkou Town, various ministries launched active encirclement and annihilation operations.
The Second Independent Infantry Battalion, the Field Artillery Squadron, and the heavy supply troops commanded by Kenzo Harada suffered heavy losses.
The four Liao-made 77MM field guns of the field artillery squadron can be said to be successful. The new regiment, the 358th regiment, and the independent regiment successively dispatched troops to attack.
The New Regiment transferred one battalion and one unit under the command of Zhang Dabiao.
Kong Jie of the independent regiment even mobilized the entire regiment's elite to form a commando team, commanded by the fourth battalion commander.
Chen Ziyun ordered the guard company and reconnaissance platoon to advance quickly to attack the Moon Army artillery unit.
The Xiaojiazi Field Artillery Squadron continued to be attacked, and the troops protecting them suffered heavy casualties.
At half past four, about a hundred Japs from the field artillery squadron were completely eliminated.
The Independent Regiment and the New Regiment each took away one field cannon, and the guard company and reconnaissance platoon took away two field cannons.
The Japanese troops continued to be attacked by various battalions, and they suffered heavy losses.
Harada Kenzo commanded 1,500 Japs to leave the hilly area, but by now they didn't even have half of their strength.
They only have about 600 troops left, and they are in a state of being divided.
All ministries actively carried out annihilation operations against them. It was only a matter of time before the little devils were completely annihilated.
As early as five o'clock, Wei Monk's reconnaissance platoon directly discovered Yue Army Major General Harada Kenzo when they broke into the attack operation.
They immediately launched a fire attack, and ten minutes later, Harada Kenzo was shot dead on the spot.
The reconnaissance platoon began to quickly transport Harada Kenzo's body away. After receiving the news, Chen Ziyun immediately began to assemble the troops.
Kenzo Harada was killed, so there was no need for the 358th Regiment to continue fighting there.
The remaining Japs troops in the east can be completely dealt with by the new regiment, the independent regiment.
The Japs are currently attacking fiercely in the county town, and Chen Ziyun needs help as soon as possible.
Moreover, Chen Ziyun was satisfied with getting two 77MM field guns. Shandong's weapons and equipment were directly given to Li Yunlong and Kong Jie.
After all, the 48th Independent Brigade currently has no shortage of weapons and ammunition, and they want to easily replenish it.
As early as six o'clock, the troops of the 358th Regiment began to advance toward the county seat in a mighty manner.
After Li Yunlong and Kong Jie discovered that the Jinsui Army had withdrawn, they immediately mobilized their troops and actively launched an annihilation operation.
Of course, they also knew in their hearts that this was a deliberate benefit given to them by the Jinsui Army.
After all, if they deal with those little devils, will they be able to gain a lot of loot?
The battle in Xinxian County was continuing, and outside Buluo City the little Japanese encountered a relatively strong resistance.
Wu Ziqiang commanded the 11th Reserve Regiment to defend residential areas and repelled the attacks of the Japanese troops time and time again.
The artillery units outside the city were constrained and unable to provide support. The Japs continued to attack fiercely, but made little progress.
Mitake Tsuda showed an angry expression on his face, and he kept in touch with the captain who commanded the battle on the front line to learn more about the situation.
"Brigade Commander Ge Dong, what's wrong, the cavalry troops reported that a large number of Shanxi-Sui Army troops in Xinkou Town have begun fighting in the southeast."
"Moreover, they repeatedly contacted Major General Kenzo Harada Gakutō, but never received any response."
"They...they were annihilated in Keke, Xinkou Town. Now that the Shanxi-Sui Army troops are coming, Keke begged them to counterattack."
A captain quickly came to Tsuda Mitake and reported in a panic.
(End of chapter)
This chapter has been completed!