Kuroda Yuzo was furious and put the blame on Chida Hanbei.
Chida Hanbei covered his face and hesitated. No matter how much resentment he had in his heart, he did not dare to express it. This angered Kuroda Yuzo. He was afraid that he would die at the hands of Kuroda Yuzo first instead of being killed by the Eighth Route Army.
At this time, a Japanese officer walked over quickly and reported: "Your Majesty Colonel, the Yoshimura Squadron was ambushed by the Eighth Route Army at Shiqiao and suffered heavy losses. Please ask for tactical guidance!"
After Kuroda Yuzo heard the news, he felt a chill rush straight to his head, and cold sweat broke out on his face.
Originally, Kuroda Yuzo planned to wait until the infantry squadron sent out to launch an attack on the rear of the Eighth Route Army on the north bank of the Zhang River, and then he was ready to make a desperate move to organize troops to forcefully cross the river again.
Unexpectedly, the plan failed. Kuroda Yuzo even predicted his future end. Suicide by caesarean section was the best end. At least his family would not be affected.
"Order Yoshimura Squadron to retreat immediately and not to get entangled with the Eighth Route Army!" Kuroda Yuzo said sternly.
"Hi!"
, the Japanese troops retreating from the river bank gathered in twos and threes. This group of Japanese troops was formed in Japan in February 1939 and arrived in China in April. After experiencing the winter operations of the East Henan Campaign and the security intensification war in Jincheng, the combat effectiveness was quite strong.
Previously, they had watched helplessly as their companions were unilaterally massacred by the Eighth Route Army. Most of the Japanese soldiers who escaped by hiding on the shore had a look of horror on their faces, and their previous arrogance and arrogance had been wiped out.
North bank of Zhanghe River.
The soldiers of the 1st Regiment and the 28th Regiment who withdrew from the first position quickly merged into the second position.
A batch of machine gun ammunition was transported from the rear, and the machine gunner who had just withdrawn immediately replenished the ammunition.
"Damn, this battle was really fun. This is our independent detachment, and the bullets are very powerful. If it were another brother's unit, this style of fighting would have caused diarrhea long ago!" Shi Desheng scratched the side of his face.
With his beard, he immediately turned to Erbangzi and said: "Erbangzi, get more bullets, you will have a great time!"
After Erbangzi heard this, his skinny body picked up two boxes of ammunition in one breath and ran over.
The retreating movement of the independent detachment could be seen from an observation post left by the Japanese army.
"Senior, why did the Eighth Route Army retreat?" asked a Japanese soldier with a slightly immature face.
Next to him, an elderly Japanese army commander was lying in the grass, looking at the other side of the river with a telescope. He was also confused about the actions of the Eighth Route Army.
"Jiro, just stare here and don't show your head!" Hiromi Shida handed the binoculars to Jiro, then patted him on the shoulder and said.
"Hey, senior, please rest assured, I will definitely be careful!" Jiro nodded heavily.
Shida Jiro is a junior from Shida Hiromi's hometown. He has only been in the army for half a year. Shida Hiromi takes good care of him on weekdays.
Hiromi Shida slowly moved back seven or eight meters, then hunched over and ran towards the rear.
"Your Majesty Colonel, the Eighth Route Army on the opposite side has retreated!" Hiromi Shida jogged for nearly a kilometer before he saw Kuroda Yuzo's large army.
"Nani?" Yuzo Kuroda was startled after hearing this. He was ready to sink the boat into a deadlock with the Eighth Route Army on the opposite side.
The same is true of death. As an officer of the Imperial Japanese Empire, Kuroda Yuzo would rather die in battle than commit suicide.
"Are you sure the Eighth Route Army has retreated?" Yuzo Kuroda grabbed Shida Hiromi's collar and said excitedly.
"Your Majesty Colonel, I personally saw the Eighth Route Army retreating from its position!"
After Kuroda Yuzo received confirmation again, he regained his usual calmness and looked at Chida Hanbei, signaling him to express his opinion after the fact.
Chida Hanbei moved slightly to the side for two steps and said: "Your Excellency Colonel, the Eighth Route Army must be luring the enemy deeper into the enemy's territory by abandoning a position in front so that our army can continue to penetrate deeper!"
Chida Hanbei said that he had the idea of withdrawing his troops. It was not his mission to go north to support. In the final analysis, he was just helping to reinforce the Japanese army across the river, and he wished he could leave this bloody battlefield as soon as possible.
Kuroda Yuzo saw the timid look on Chida Hanbei's face, and then looked at the other Japanese officers.
Several Japanese officers surrounding Yuzo Kuroda included a lieutenant commander, two infantry squadron captains, two machine gun squadron captains, and two transport squadron captains.
"Your Majesty, Colonel, with all due respect, we were originally ordered to go to Handan for support, but unexpectedly we were ambushed by the Eighth Route Army. This group of Eighth Route Army is most likely the same Eighth Route Army that attacked Handan City. This is our last chance to make up for our mistakes! If
If you miss this opportunity, the division commander and even Gangcun Commander will definitely be held accountable!" the Japanese lieutenant colonel said with a pale face.
The rest of the people nodded one after another. The long-term rigid dogma within the Japanese army was like a sharp sword hanging over their heads. The few people present did not dare to have the slightest delusion.
Seeing that everyone present reached an agreement, Kuroda Yuzo said unceremoniously: "Chida Hanbei, lead your people to gather the ships immediately, and you will take the lead next!"
"Hi!" Chida Hanbei responded bravely.
Chida Hanbei led his men along the Zhang River downstream to collect the ships, not to mention it.
On the other side, behind the independent detachment position.
The tank company was on a corner trail hidden under the mountain forest under the command of Dong Jiang.
Since the war was going well, it was time for the tank company to take action. Zhou Weihan personally came to the location of the tank company.
The soldiers gathered around and were listening to Dong Jiang teach the key points of Bu-tan coordination. When they saw Zhou Weihan coming, the soldiers immediately stood up.
"Dong Jiang, it's your turn!" Zhou Weihan said with a smile.
"Commander of the detachment, just take a look!" Dong Jiang showed no signs of nervousness at all and looked like a general.
Dong Jiang was not nervous, but Zhou Weihan became nervous: "I'm telling you, the Japanese army may still have Type 92 infantry artillery, so be careful!"
The armor of the main parts of the Type 95 light tank is 12 mm, while the armor of the Type 95 armored vehicle is only 8 mm.
The Japanese Army's Type 92 heavy machine gun can penetrate 12 mm steel plates with armor-piercing projectiles at 200 meters and 8 mm steel plates at 500 meters.
Although the Japanese army is unlikely to carry armor-piercing projectiles, the Japanese have Type 92 infantry artillery, so Zhou Weihan had to guard against it.
It's about four o'clock in the afternoon.
The Japanese troops on the south bank of the Zhang River once again organized manpower to cross the river.
There was less than a small group of Japanese troops in Chida Hanbei, and more than 70 puppet troops, led by Chida Hanbei, began to cross the river anxiously.
The crossing of the river went so smoothly that Chida Hanbei could not believe that he could step onto the river beach on the north bank so smoothly.
Chida Hanbei waved his hand, and the two Japanese soldiers drove the puppet soldiers up the slope of the river beach.
Climbing to the ground, the group of Japanese and puppet soldiers lay on the ground in unison, slowly moving forward until they reached the first trench of the independent detachment.
"The Eighth Route Army has really withdrawn!" The puppet army officer who took the lead rolled into the trench, slowly leaned out of the trench, and continued to observe the rear with his binoculars.
"Taijun, there are weeds on the opposite side. You can't see clearly. The Eighth Route Army must still be ambushing!" the puppet army officer whispered.
Chida Hanbei was overjoyed after receiving the news and immediately ordered his flag soldiers to deliver the news to the Japanese troops in the rear.
Then he took the remaining men and continued to climb up along the traces that the puppet troops had crawled before.
South bank of Zhanghe River.
Seeing the news delivered by the flag soldiers, Kuroda Yuzo's gloomy face finally showed a smile: "Yo Xi, cross the river immediately!"
Under Kuroda Yuzo's order, except for a transport squadron left to guard the wounded and supplies, the rest of the Japanese troops immediately gathered and crossed the river in batches.
Due to the severe damage to the ships caused by the previous battle, it took more than an hour for the Japanese troops crossing the river to cross the Zhang River.
"Spread it!" Yuzo Kuroda pulled out his command sword and shouted loudly.
In his eyes, in the previous battles, the Eighth Route Army only relied on the advantage of the Zhang River to gain the upper hand. Now all the warriors of the Japanese Empire have crossed the river.
Although there were only about 700 soldiers left, Kuroda Yuzo was confident of defeating the more than 1,000 Eighth Route Army soldiers blocking the front.
More than 700 Japanese troops were divided into two groups. After one group of more than 100 Japanese troops landed ashore, they quickly circled eastward, intending to attack from the side.
The remaining Japanese troops occupied the first trench. The Japanese troops of the two heavy machine gun squadrons quickly deployed the Type 92 heavy machine guns, and the Japanese infantry formed a skirmish line and launched a pig charge.
"Don't worry, put it in and then fight!" Ding Wei, who was on the second line of defense, ordered the cat.
"Bang!" gunshot signal.
The light and heavy machine guns on the second line of defense opened fire together, mixed with thousands of rifles.
The Japanese puppet troops under Chida Hanbei who were serving as cannon fodder in the front were immediately swept away. The Japanese troops behind them reacted very quickly and immediately lay down on the ground to fight back.
Behind the independent detachment's position, the roar of engines sounded, and thick black smoke rose from the tanks.
Two Type 95 light tanks took the lead, and four Type 95 armored vehicles lined up behind, slowly moving forward.
The commando soldiers responsible for the escort followed the tank in groups.
The tank company quickly crossed the third line of defense and rushed towards the second line of defense.
"Quickly, make way for the chariot. These are all raw melons and eggs. Don't let your own people get hurt!" Ding Weiwei shouted.
After crossing the second line of defense, the tank company began to speed up and was completely exposed to the Japanese army.
"Nani? The Eighth Route Army actually has tanks?" Kuroda Yuzo said in disbelief as he looked at the tanks charging towards him.