Chapter 1073: Real extraction of teeth from the tiger’s mouth
Major Kamikawa had just escaped the pocket formation prepared for them by the Sixteenth Regiment.
At this moment, he was leading his more than 1,500 soldiers on a rapid march towards Shijiazhuang.
The adjutant walked beside him, reporting the good news he had just received.
"Sir..."
"Not only did we successfully bypass the Eighth Route Army's pocket formation, we also traveled three kilometers before they could react."
"The Eighth Route Army that ambushed us had to walk at least 11 kilometers further than us if they wanted to catch up with us."
"We are still 16 kilometers away from Shijiazhuang. The current marching speed is five kilometers per hour. We can retreat into Shijiazhuang in about three hours."
"The Eighth Route Army wants to catch up with us before we enter the city. They have to cover at least nine kilometers per hour."
"Unless they use cars to travel, they will never be able to march nine kilometers per hour."
"But now it's useless even if they have cars."
"We are walking on a small road, not a highway. Cars are completely impassable."
The adjutant's analysis put Major Kamikawa in a good mood, and he happily replied: "Your Excellency, General, is still more powerful."
"Although it is a pity that we lost the baggage, ammunition and heavy weapons, as long as everyone evacuates to Shijiazhuang alive, we can easily replenish those equipment and ammunition with the weapons, ammunition and food reserves in Shijiazhuang."
"By then, everyone will be able to rely on Shijiazhuang's solid fortifications to kill a few more Eighth Route Army troops."
"Instead of being ambushed by the Eighth Route Army on the march, many soldiers were killed without even seeing who their opponents were. There is no meaning in dying in battle."
"Immediately send a telegram to the Shijiazhuang headquarters. Our department has bypassed the Eighth Route Army ambush battlefield and is on the march to retreat to Shijiazhuang. Please prepare for the response from the Shijiazhuang garrison."
…………
Japanese Army Shijiazhuang Garrison Headquarters.
For the first time in two days, the chief of staff smiled.
He walked quickly to Major General Fujita and reported: "General..."
"The method you proposed is useful."
"Some troops have already abandoned their baggage, ammunition and heavy weapons, taken small roads to bypass the Eighth Route Army ambush battlefield, and made a hasty march to Shijiazhuang."
"There are 1,500 people in this unit. As long as they enter Shijiazhuang and face the attack of the independent brigade of the Eighth Route Army in Yizhong, we can hold on for at least two more days and kill more than a thousand more Eighth Route Army troops."
Although Major General Fujita is very confident in his method, no one knows whether it will be effective in actual implementation.
After listening to the chief of staff's report, his face suddenly became expectant.
After receiving the telegram, I glanced at ten lines and read it in a few seconds.
He strode to the sand table and found the location of the returning reinforcements and the ambush site of the Eighth Route Army. The smile on his face grew stronger and he said confidently.
"The Eighth Route Army's ambush force was at least ten kilometers away from the returning reinforcements. The returning reinforcements could retreat into Shijiazhuang in three hours at most. No matter how fast the Eighth Route Army ran, it was impossible to catch up ten kilometers in three hours, unless they had hot wheels growing under their feet."
"Let the Dongmen City Defense be prepared to respond."
"When you see the returning troops, open the city gate and let them enter the city as quickly as possible."
"But we must be on guard, with all machine gunners and gunners on standby to prevent the Eighth Route Army from following us into Shijiazhuang."
"If we discover the Eighth Route Army troops, as long as they enter the effective range, no matter whether there are many or few, we will directly bombard them with artillery and shoot them with light and heavy machine guns."
"We are guarding such a large arsenal in Shijiazhuang. We can fight hard on the battlefield. The ammunition is enough for us to consume for a month."
"As long as it can severely damage the Eighth Route Army's offensive troops and consume a large amount of their troops, I won't feel bad if the city defense troops use up more ammunition."
…………
More than two hours flew by in a blink of an eye.
Just when Major General Fujita and Major Kawa thought that the more than a thousand puppet troops on the path could successfully withdraw into Shijiazhuang.
Panting heavily, Captain Wang finally arrived three kilometers away from Shijiazhuang.
However, the more than 1,000 Japanese puppet troops who had been deployed during the return period were still four kilometers away.
"We caught up..." After learning that no Japanese and puppet troops had entered Shijiazhuang through here just now, Commander Wang breathed a sigh of relief.
Looking at the company platoon commander beside him who was breathing heavily and his face was red from rushing on the road, Captain Wang, although he couldn't bear it, still gave the order ruthlessly in order to kill a few more Japanese.
"Let comrades hold on a little longer."
"We don't have to rush as quickly as we did just now. The troops can just keep marching normally."
"The first battalion goes to the south gate of Shijiazhuang and is on standby to attack all Japanese and puppet troops who want to enter the city. Don't be afraid of spending ammunition."
"How many bullets and cannon shells were fired during the battle, I will replenish it for you after the battle is over."
"The second battalion goes to the west gate, the third battalion goes to the north gate, and the troops directly under the regiment stay with me at the east gate."
After saying that, he focused his attention on several company commanders and continued to order: "Next, we will fight under the noses of the Japanese and puppet troops, truly pulling out the tiger's teeth."
"Although the Japanese and puppet troops returning to Shijiazhuang have lost all their heavy weapons and ammunition, the Japanese and puppet troops defending Shijiazhuang are still equipped with many heavy weapons and can still attack us from a distance."
"Everyone must remember one key point in the next battle."
"No matter how much advantage the participating troops gain over the Japanese and puppet troops, the combat time in one place cannot exceed half a minute."
"When the time comes, even if you have completely suppressed the Japanese and puppet troops with firepower, you must end the battle and quickly evacuate the battlefield."
"The mountain artillery equipped by the Japanese army is not a fire stick, and their gunners are not vegetarians."
"In case of being hit by a cannonball, a few mountain artillery shells can wipe out one of our infantry platoons."
"I don't want everyone to die here just to eliminate a few more Japanese and puppet soldiers."
"Only by living well can we eliminate a few more Japanese and puppet troops under the eyes of the Shijiazhuang garrison."
"I also need to arrange for a few soldiers to keep an eye on all the city gates of Shijiazhuang to prevent the Japanese and puppet troops from sending troops out of the city and sneaking up on us from behind."
"The soldiers monitoring the city gate brought flare guns. When they saw the Japanese troops leaving the city, they fired two red flares into the sky."
"The troops who saw the signal flares immediately withdrew from the battle to prevent being attacked from both front and rear by the Japanese and puppet troops."
"That's all. The troops will deploy immediately and prepare for action."
"Prepare another big gift for the Japanese and puppet troops before entering the city."
…………
Because of the continuous rush, Major Kamikawa was panting from exhaustion and his face turned red.
But when I thought that Shijiazhuang was only three or four kilometers away, the tired expression on my face suddenly disappeared, my feet became stronger, and I wanted to fly directly into Shijiazhuang.
"Sir, you can see the city wall of Shijiazhuang over the ridge in front..." the adjutant introduced as he walked beside Major Kamikawa.
"Yoshi..." Major Kamikawa was very satisfied with the order.
"The troops maintain their marching speed and prepare to enter the city...dong dong dong..."
Before Major Kamikawa finished speaking, the dull sound of light and heavy machine gun fire sounded on the ridge. The smile on his face instantly solidified, as if someone had slapped him in the face, and his already red face suddenly turned redder.
