Two infantry brigades that originally crossed to cover the retreat were caught in a flanking attack at 3 a.m. Shigenobu Yoshigu, who had already retreated several kilometers away with the main force, took the biggest risk in his life.
Shigenobu Yoshigu personally led more than 1,300 infantrymen back to the battlefield, intending to join the two infantry brigades he had left behind to block the enemy.
This also became the last adventure of this army commander with a steady fighting style.
If only two and a half infantry battalions of the Four Lines Regiment were exhausted in the defensive battle, 3000 vs 3000, not to mention that it would be impossible to completely annihilate the Japanese army with almost similar strength, and they would have to pay a heavy sacrifice.
But among the Japanese troops attacking Zishan now, except for Shigenobu Yoshigu, who is still strictly abiding by Okabe Saburo's military orders and evacuating in an orderly manner, the 5th Infantry Brigade has started running away mode, and the 501st Infantry Regiment is over there.
Then something unexpected happened.
The captain of the 501st Infantry Regiment, Miyauchi Yoshio, is one of the few smart people in the 1st Division. He can think faster than anyone else.
As soon as Saburo Okabe's military order was issued during the day, the captain of the Colonel-General had already guessed that the division commander had made up his mind. Now it was no longer about how to end the Battle of Purple Mountain with dignity, but how to preserve the main force so as not to damage the foundation of the division.
Originally, the First Division belonged to the Kwantung Army, and the North China Front Army was just a borrowed force. Why should everyone in the First Division sacrifice their lives for them?
Therefore, Miyauchi Yoshio decisively transferred the highest command of the front line to his regimental deputy. In the afternoon, he personally led two infantry brigades, two baggage squadrons and two cavalry squads to escort the wounded soldiers away from the main line.
battlefield.
Miyauchi Yoshio had an intuition that if he left any later, he might not be able to leave, and it wasn't because of the Four Elements Group in the Purple Mountain.
He knew very well that during these eight days, the imperial officers and soldiers fought extremely hard and suffered heavy losses. The Four Troops on the defense line were not made of steel. They also suffered huge losses and were close to their mental and physical limits. These Chinese people in the mountains alone were
We are determined not to be able to swallow up the more than 20,000 troops of the empire that are still on this battlefield.
What Miyauchi Yoshio is most worried about is that he knows that the strength of the 502nd Infantry Regiment is about 6 kilometers away from the brigade commander Hattori Akitaro. It is almost the same as the strength of his 501st Infantry Regiment, but it has two tank squadrons.
With the strength of the enemy, the Eightyth Army on the opposite side killed a tank squadron and half an infantry brigade on the first day.
That shows that China is extremely powerful.
There is another point that seems reasonable but is extremely unreasonable. In the two and a half years before this, the Eightyth Army had never dispatched a main force of more than ten thousand people to fight against the imperial army in the field, but this time it happened.
Could it be that the Imperial North China Front was too strong and the reputation of the 1st Division was too weak, which caused the 80th Army to behave in an "irrational" manner by picking on the weak?
This situation may appear in the eyes of a mid-level commander at the infantry brigade level, but it will never appear in the mind of a division commander, especially an outstanding team that can continue to fight on the battlefield for several years without much supplies and equipment.
commander.
Without a mistake in judgment, there was only one possibility. The commander of the Eightyth Army was very sure that the more than 10,000 troops under his command, combined with the Four Lines Regiment, had the ability to fight against the 30,000 troops of the 1st Division.
For two or three days, they had been digging trenches. They seemed to have plans to fight for a long time in this plain. Even if they were bombed by dozens of Imperial fighter planes, they remained unmoved and had no intention of a quick victory.
The good husband in the palace intuitively believed that this elite army of ten thousand people must be planning a big move!
Of course, he is not the only one who knows this. Hattori Akitaro also knows it, but knowing it and how to respond are two different things. Ever since Okabe Saburo ordered the withdrawal, the 1st Division has been passive across the board.
The key point is that tonight, as long as most of the main force can be quietly withdrawn, the 1st Division will at most be defeated in this battle and not be considered a huge defeat.
But the wise man Miyauchi Yoshio would never put his life in the hands of others, so he evacuated decisively first. Of course, before leaving, he also left enough strength for his regimental deputy, and the remaining
The 2,000 imperial infantry and an infantry regiment of security forces remaining on the position were enough to cope with the Chinese attack.
Based on battlefield observations on the night of the 8th, Miyauchi Yoshio has roughly estimated that the Chinese military strength will never exceed 1,600. It can be defended with strong fortifications, but if they want to attack, they may still have insufficient strength.
Yoshio Miyauchi is indeed the famous fortune teller of the 1st Division. He almost correctly predicted 95% of the situation between China and Japan on this battlefield.
He was only wrong by that small five percent, but it was this five percent that caused the 501st Infantry Regiment's defense line to collapse at an extremely fast speed that night.
If Yoshiouchi was here, he would definitely not hand over the extremely important defense line on the flank to the security army infantry regiment.
It’s not that he feels pity and is reluctant to leave less than 2,000 security forces as cannon fodder, but that the good husband in the palace has never trusted the combat effectiveness of the security forces.
When the battle is won, these guys are somewhat useful, just like taking a powerful pill. But once the war goes unfavorably, the security forces are like eggplants beaten by frost, unable to exert one-third of their original combat effectiveness.
In the eyes of the good husband of the palace, this kind of army without faith is not an army at all. If it is asked to maintain the security of the occupied area, the good husband of the palace feels that it is a waste of food.
Unfortunately, the current top commander of the Japanese army in the northwest is no longer the old thief Yoshio Miyauchi, but Lieutenant Colonel Natsuki Hanae who does not have much say in the 501st Infantry Regiment.
Natsuki Hanae is also a veteran officer, with even longer military service than Yoshio Uuchi. However, due to family background, military connections, personal abilities and other factors, she has always lived in the shadow of Yoshio Uuchi.
After all, this guy was still the captain of the infantry battalion before, but when he was promoted to the deputy of the Lieutenant Colonel, he no longer even had the position of captain of the infantry battalion. He was usually just a brick in Miyauchi Yoshio's hand, and he could move it wherever needed, even if this time Miyauchi Yoshio
If he wanted to save himself and run away first, he could only hold his nose and accept the hard work of backing up the main force.
But for the hard-working Natsuki Hanae, although the job at the rear is difficult and may even cost her life if she is not careful, she still has the command of 4,000 people. As long as the command is done properly, she may be able to fall into the hands of the division commander.
Your Excellency, whenever there is a vacancy for a colonel-level officer, you will be the first to fill it.
To put it bluntly, where there are challenges, there are opportunities, and Natsuki Hanae also regards this drudgery as an opportunity.
The Japanese Army Lieutenant Colonel, who also stayed in the army for a long time, also realized the core essence of the withdrawal. Letting more imperial officers and soldiers survive is a success.
Therefore, Natsuki Hanae did not hesitate to redeploy the defense line, replacing the 2nd Infantry Battalion of the wing defense line with two infantry battalions from the Security Army. After dark, about a thousand imperial officers and soldiers quietly evacuated with their equipment.
, if the Chinese do not launch an attack, another infantry brigade will also evacuate, with an infantry battalion of the security army on top. At 3 o'clock in the morning, three infantry battalions of the security army will also be ordered to evacuate.
The layer-by-layer evacuation model is very good, but don’t use it next time. Apart from Zheng Yunqiu, the new commander of the security corps, who else has the biggest resentment against this plan?
Putting aside whether the Chinese would take advantage of the withdrawal of the army to counterattack, as soon as Natsuki Hanae's withdrawal plan came out, in fact, in the eyes of senior security army officers, they had been completely abandoned.
Who is Zheng Yunqiu? In order to survive, he secretly conspired with his opponents to kill the Japanese. How could his fate be arranged by a small lieutenant colonel in the Japanese army? And he was borrowed from the Kwantung Army.
The division will not stay in North China for long.
If you want me to be used as cannon fodder, then I might as well sell you first! Zheng Yunqiu is a ruthless man. He made this ruthless decision in the span of a cigarette after receiving the military order from Huajiang Xia Shu.
Does this guy have a channel to communicate with the secret radio station of the Si Xing Regiment's intelligence department? Before dark, the withdrawal plan of the 501st Infantry Regiment was placed on Ye Chenghuan's desk.
"That guy Zheng Yunqiu said that two infantry battalions of the Security Army were planning to revolt before the war. Is it credible? Is it a fake surrender?" Zhuang Shisan had deep doubts about the personal integrity of the two Japs who were composed of the gangsters of the Security Army.
"Those guys who are willing to sell out their ancestors for their own lives are not surprised at all they do!" Ye Chenghuan frowned slightly.
Tang Dao is not here. He is the supreme commander of the Zishan War Zone. He can only judge such a big matter.
If the surrender of the Security Army Infantry Battalion is true, then the 3rd Battalion can easily eat the 2,000 Japanese who have not had time to evacuate. If it is false, then the 3rd Battalion and part of the escort battalion will suffer the biggest losses since the Zishan War began.
Even if it has been determined that the possibility of the puppet army's surrender being true is higher than 80%, this decision is still not that easy to make.
"Do you want to ask the group members for advice before making a decision?" Zhuang Shisan suggested.
"Commander and the others should have arrived near the expected target now. The field radio will be temporarily shut down and silent. Only me, Chief of Staff Shangguan and you, brother, can make the decision on this matter." Ye Chenghuan shook his head and lit a cigarette.
I took a few deep breaths.
"Zheng Yunqiu is the best at saving lives, and he still has a pigtail in our hands. He knows very well that if he fakes surrender with us and causes damage to the officers and soldiers of our Fourth Army Regiment, it will be a vengeance.
He would never make such a big enmity with us if he had no choice but to do so. I think this matter is highly credible."
"Since Director Ye has made your judgment, I will listen to you and take this rare opportunity to kill these devils." Seeing what Ye Chenghuan said, Master Zhuang no longer hesitated and voted in favor.
Although Tang Dao was not at the headquarters, Tang Dao did not trust the wrong person. Ye Chenghuan, a brilliant general with both civil and military skills, did not hesitate too much on such an important decision and made his decision decisively.
Facts have proved that his choice was correct. It was precisely because these two puppet infantry battalions with a strength of 1,300 people revolted before the war and entered the Japanese flank defense line with more than 400 elite soldiers from the 7th and 8th companies without firing a shot.
It was almost like a magical force descending from the sky to reach the side and rear of the Japanese army's frontal position.
The various fortifications carefully deployed by the Japanese army were the front line of defense. Facing the machine guns, submachine gun bullets and grenades coming from the sides and rear like a downpour, they were almost defenseless.
Especially after the Chinese officers and soldiers entered the trenches, they used Dragon Breath shotguns and MP38 submachine guns to clear the way. The Japanese infantry holding 38-type rifles in the trenches resisted like boiling water and snow. They were not one by one, but piles of them.
Corpse.
When a flaming shotgun is fired, a pitiful howl will be heard in the trench that is more than 20 meters long. This firearm, which was named trench gun from birth, was born for this narrow battlefield.
The steel projectiles ejected with huge kinetic energy can even penetrate the human body and kill another person within a range of tens of meters.
Countless flares were fired into the sky, and the pale faces of the Japanese soldiers were revealed in the bright light.
Even if the Japanese army's fighting will is tenacious enough, facing the bloodshed caused by such terrifying firearms and raindrops of bullets, the tenacity will gradually be worn away.
Finally, 30 minutes after the 3rd Battalion launched the attack, some Japanese troops left their positions regardless and fled into the darkness.
As more and more people escaped, like the Domino being toppled, the Japanese army's last will to resist also dissipated.
The Fourth Army Regiment invested a total of more than 1,400 infantry and some artillery to attack the Japanese defense line of about 2,000 people. From the time of the attack to the time when the Japanese army entered a state of collapse, it took less than an hour, and no heavy artillery was used.
This is definitely a small miracle.
Zheng Yunqiu is definitely a capable person. He and the direct infantry battalion he led did not participate in the pre-war uprising. Instead, when the 7th and 8th companies appeared at the rear of the battlefield, they directly led people 800 meters away from the defense line.
Lieutenant Colonel Natsuki Hanae's command post burst into tears and asked Natsuki Hanae to evacuate immediately.
The one with tears streaming down his face thought he loved Lieutenant Commander Hanae so much. When Lieutenant Commander Hanae was indecisive, he simply ran away carrying the highest commander of the Japanese army in the northwest.
Perhaps feeling the strong muscles on this guy's back, Lieutenant Commander Hanae relented and allowed the infantry commander of the Security Army, who was concerned about the officer's safety, to put him on his horse, and everyone fled together.
It was precisely because of this unspeakable life-saving grace that Lieutenant Colonel Hanae, who had escaped the disaster, took the initiative to take responsibility for the defeat and did not throw all the blame on the Security Army Infantry Regiment.
At this moment, Zheng Yunqiu changed from defecting in front of the formation to being lax in his command, causing two infantry battalions to mutiny in front of the formation, and his punishment was changed from the previous death penalty to being demoted to the rank of battalion commander.
If Lieutenant Colonel Hanae, who had been transferred to reserve duty, knew that nearly 2,000 officers and soldiers of the empire had died because of the guy who had guaranteed his future in the army, he would probably be angry to death without even having the chance to come to Zheng Yunqiu with his samurai sword.
After Zheng Yunqiu saved his life, he turned around and gave a gift to the commander of the 10th Division, Yoshio Shinozuka. The originally angry Japanese had already arrested the family members of the two infantry battalions who mutinied before the war in various places in Handan, and were preparing to find a day for them all.
Kill to intimidate the security forces everywhere.
Use blood to tell these young men that this is the fate of defectors.
But as the beaten and humiliated 1st Division left North China, Duo Tianjun left office, and the new commander Okamura Koji arrived in Pingbei City, the lives and deaths of the family members of these security forces were actually not much.
I asked personally.
It didn't take 3 months for all of them to be released by the 10th Division. After all, the new commander had abandoned the harsh policies of the previous two terms and went the opposite way and started to play the role of 'China-Japan friendship'.
Routines.
Killing thousands of old, weak, women and children in one go is not contrary to the policy of your Excellency the Commander!
According to the two security army battalion commanders and company commanders who surrendered, this was the condition Zheng Yunqiu promised them. If their family members were not held accountable and they themselves did not have to be used as cannon fodder, how could they still work hard for the Japanese and sell their mothers?
!
At this point, Zheng Yunqiu really didn't lie to his subordinates and paid a hundred thousand oceans of gold bars to buy their lives.
Really, even Tang Dao, who knew about Zheng Yunqiu's tricks, was stunned and sighed and commented, "This guy is a talent, but it's a pity that he is too much of a bastard."
The Japanese army in the northwest collapsed at such a fast speed. As a result, more than 1,200 Japanese infantrymen, including a Japanese Army major, were killed on the spot. More than 700 people fled into the darkness, but they were able to survive and return to Handan in the end.
Less than one third of the city.
Many Japanese troops were either killed by the pursuing Chinese infantry, or their misidentification of directions caused them to get further and further away from Handan. They were eventually found by the Chinese cavalry who were sweeping the battlefield and killed like hunting hares.
But this is only the first harm caused by this chain reaction, and the most injured one is Shigenobu Yoshigube.
Colonel Shigenobu Yoshitoshi, who led his troops to fight bravely, had no idea that the battlefield on both his left and right wings would be completely destroyed. When the fierce battle was in full swing, nearly four thousand elite troops attacked from behind his defense line.
This is equivalent to the fact that on this night, poor Colonel Shigenobu Yoshitoshi was fighting the main force of the Four Elements Regiment on his own.
At dawn, Colonel Shigenobu Yoshigu, who had been fighting all night, sadly discovered that he and more than 2,000 remaining soldiers under his command had been heavily surrounded by the Chinese in the hills with an area of less than 5 square kilometers.
Unless a miracle occurs, it will be impossible for him to break through the Chinese encirclement on his own.
After Saburo Okabe, who was already in Handan City, received the news, he did not show any anger. He just leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and let two lines of tears fall down his cheeks, letting Captain Shigenobu Yoshigu's request for help arrive.
Falling to the ground.
At least during the day, he, the division commander, was unable to rescue the army colonel and the 2,000 imperial officers and soldiers.
And this extremely tragic message was already the fourth he had received from night to early morning!
This chapter has been completed!