"There are only two options now..." Lieutenant General Sakuragi replied calmly.
"Either take Chenjiazhuang, defend it and wait for reinforcements, and cooperate with the left and right mopping up troops to eliminate the main force of the Eighth Route Army gathered here."
"Either withdraw our troops now and end this sweep."
"Your Majesty the Commander will definitely not allow us to withdraw, so the attacking troops must capture Chenjiazhuang."
"But we can't pin all our hopes on the offensive forces."
"A way out must be considered."
"If the attack fails, how can the troops wait for reinforcements without Chenjiazhuang?
Lieutenant General Sakuragi said while holding up the telescope and looking around.
Soon he was eyeing a hilly area more than 2,000 meters behind him, and immediately ordered: "Artillery and baggage troops, prepare to move immediately."
"In case the attacking troops fail to capture Chenjiazhuang, the troops will immediately move back and we will go to the hilly area to wait for reinforcements."
After saying that, he turned his attention to Chenjiazhuang again.
The sound of fighting in the village did not diminish at all.
The Eighth Route Army seemed to have endless fights. They kept coming out of the tunnels and sneaking up on the attacking troops everywhere.
"Division Commander..."
A messenger suddenly rushed out of Chenjiazhuang and brought back the latest battle situation in the village.
"The Eighth Route Army's blocking troops in the village suddenly increased to a reinforced battalion. They were hiding and we were doing it openly... The offensive troops were always passively taking orders, and the losses were very heavy. Our captain wanted to withdraw from the battle and let the artillery and aviation bomb again.
Chenjiazhuang.”
Lieutenant General Sakuragi wanted to call him a coward, but he swallowed it back.
The Eighth Route Army had tunnels to support the attack, and there were tunnel entrances and exits everywhere in the village. Even if you were allowed to direct the attack, it would be difficult to gain any advantage.
Although retreating is a bit embarrassing, it is the best way to reduce troop casualties.
Besides, the middle route mopping up troops had been consumed by the Eighth Route Army in large numbers, suffered heavy losses, and could be surrounded and annihilated at any time.
If a few more squadrons were lost in Chenjiazhuang, the troops would have a greater chance of being wiped out by the Eighth Route Army after being besieged.
Therefore, retreating from the battlefield can relatively increase the self-protection ability of the troops.
Thinking of this, Lieutenant General Sakuragi had already made up his mind to retreat.
But retreating back to retreat, he did not intend to continue to endure with the Eighth Route Army here.
There is a tunnel in the village, which is very large.
Unless the subsequent artillery fire coverage can completely destroy those tunnels, once the Eighth Route Army hides in the tunnels, no matter how the artillery and aviation attack, they will not be able to hurt a few Eighth Route Army troops.
When the shelling ended and the Eighth Route Army emerged from the tunnel, a bloody battle awaited the attacking troops.
In this case, it is better to give up attacking Chenjiazhuang.
Leave the troops to stay in the hilly areas and wait for reinforcements.
There are no tunnels there. When the troops are fighting, they don't have to worry about an Eighth Route Army suddenly appearing underground. They can concentrate all their forces and firepower to deal with the Eighth Route Army's besieging troops, and they don't have to worry about the safety of their backs.
Immediately ordered: "Let the attacking troops withdraw from the battle immediately...the whole army retreats two kilometers back, and we go to the hilly area to wait for reinforcements. We must be fast."
"If the Eighth Route Army encircles us now and blocks our retreat, the troops will not even have a chance to defend the hills."
Street fighting is not an ordinary battle. Both sides are fighting together. We are among the enemy and you are among us. The enemy cannot retreat just because he wants to.
If the Third Battalion of the Duer Regiment was unwilling, they would insist on holding on to the Japanese attacking troops and not let go.
If they want to evacuate Chenjiazhuang, they must cut off their strong men and lose a large number of troops.
Lieutenant General Sakuragi stared at the battlefield anxiously, preparing to move to the hills as soon as the attacking troops left Chenjiazhuang.
As a result, before the attacking troops evacuated the village, there was a fierce exchange of fire from behind the troops, and even mortars were used.
"Division commander..." The orderly soldier ran over to report with panic on his face.
"A regiment of the Eighth Route Army suddenly inserted itself behind us and launched an attack at the same time."
"An infantry squadron in charge of the rear suffered heavy losses and is about to be unable to withstand it."
"Our captain arranged two squadrons of supplementary troops to reinforce the battlefield, but they will definitely not last long. We requested artillery support and used artillery shells to crush the Eighth Route Army's offensive."
"One regiment of the Eighth Route Army, are you correct?" Lieutenant General Sakuragi was so frightened that he almost fell to the ground, staring at the messenger with disbelief on his face and asking back.
"The humble position is certain..." the ordering soldier replied firmly.
"They were equipped with more than 20 mortars alone. When they came up, they fired three rounds of artillery fire at the rear troops."
"A strengthened squadron suffered more than half casualties without even seeing the opponent's shadow."
"After the attack started, the Eighth Route Army was everywhere around the rear troops. It was visually estimated that there were at least 2,000 people..."
"Your Excellency, Division Commander..." Just when Lieutenant General Sakuragi wanted to continue asking, another messenger ran towards him panting heavily, reporting in a hurry before he could stand still.
"The rear troops have been wiped out by the Eighth Route Army, and the reinforcements failed to arrive on the battlefield in time."
"The Eighth Route Army quickly spread out after taking over the rear troops, forming a fighting formation and heading towards the main force."
"Our brigade is resisting step by step as a squadron unit. Please ask the division commander to immediately send people to establish a new line of defense to block the Eighth Route Army's offensive."
"So fast……"
After hearing this, Lieutenant General Sakuragi was completely convinced that the rear troops were attacked by a group of Eighth Route Army, otherwise they would not have been wiped out so quickly.
He raised his eyebrows and began to issue orders: "The supplementary troops will establish a defense line on the spot, and move faster."
"The artillery immediately detached a field artillery brigade to support the supplementary regiment..."
"Be sure to block the Eighth Route Army's offensive momentum."
After finishing speaking, he raised the telescope again, with a clear goal. He looked directly towards the two wings of the team, hoping to reach a breakthrough and bypass the Eighth Route Army intercepting troops, and continue to move to the hilly area to wait for reinforcements.
Before he could figure out what was going on, another messenger ran towards him and reported in a panic: "Division commander..."
"The Eighth Route Army in the village was too ruthless, biting our attacking troops and preventing them from retreating."
"If a strong man breaks his wrist, the attacking force will lose at least three infantry squadrons."
Lieutenant General Sakuragi didn't put down the telescope he held in his hand, and directly ordered: "Then what are you waiting for? Let the strong man cut off his wrist..."
"It is better to lose three infantry squadrons than to destroy the entire attacking force."
"Let them retreat immediately and bring out a squadron if they can."
Lieutenant General Sakuragi has been driven crazy by the heavy casualties of the mopping up troops. In order not to become a piece of fat, he persists until the reinforcements arrive. Every squadron he can save is a squadron.
But he would not let the Eighth Route Army eat three of his infantry squadrons in street fighting.
A murderous look quickly flashed across his solemn face, and he clenched his fists and continued to order: "Inform the artillery that Chenjiazhuang will be covered by artillery fire in three minutes."
"The aviation force is also involved..."
"I want the Eighth Route Army defending Chenjiazhuang to be buried with three squadrons of the attacking force."
"The Eighth Route Army in Yizhong can use offensive and defensive warfare and street fighting to consume our troops, and we can also use artillery fire to cover and consume their troops."
"The greater their losses, the less defensive pressure we will have as we wait for reinforcements."
