"Ono-kun, immediately order the division guard brigade to assist the division headquarters in the breakout... The 136th Infantry Regiment, under the cover of the aircraft, must attack the Eighth Route Army's defensive positions with lightning speed in the shortest possible time.
Go up and tear a breach. Then, hold on to the breach and cover the troops for the breakout... The 119th Regiment is the vanguard, the division headquarters follows, and the remaining troops follow closely behind the headquarters, and now they start to break out..." Watching leaving
The communications staff officer, division commander Lieutenant General Shigehou Yamaoka, loudly ordered to the guard captain at the door. Then, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.
"Boom, boom, boom..." Because the entire army's anti-aircraft firepower was deployed around each artillery position. Therefore, a bombing squadron of 12 bombers reinforced by the Japanese army faced the enemy without any scruples after not being hit by anti-aircraft fire.
The infantry was preparing to break out of the encirclement and began to carry out crazy bombing. Within a few minutes, the Eighth Route Army position in the direction of the breakout was plunged into a sea of fire...
Subsequently, more than a thousand Japanese troops, under the cover of continuous strafing from aircraft, launched a desperate charge towards the position that had been plunged into a sea of flames... Within a few minutes, a main battalion of the Eighth Route Army in front of the Japanese army was bombarded by Japanese aircraft.
And under the double blow of the infantry charge, they suffered all losses. At the same time, the breakthrough point for the Japanese army to break out was immediately completely opened...
"Kill..." Immediately, groups of small Japanese troops, no matter what their organization was. Under the cover of the aircraft, they quickly rushed out of the encirclement along the breakthrough less than a hundred meters wide... Only a few
Some Japanese troops were abandoned by the main force of the Japanese army due to the entanglement of the soldiers who broke into the Japanese positions, and were used as bait to block the pursuit of the Eighth Route Army troops...
"Report to the Commander, the Japs broke out from the position of the Third Battalion of the Dusan Regiment. According to statistics, the number of Japanese troops who broke out was at least 9,000. However, these Japanese troops gave up all their supplies in order to break through quickly.
We just slacked on infantry light weapons..." With more than 9,000 Japanese troops, under the leadership of the division commander, they broke out of the encirclement of the Eighth Route Army. After receiving the news, political commissar Chen Dazhong rushed into the headquarters to report, hoping that the commander would make the right decision sooner.
decision.
"What, the little Japs have broken through. What did the Third Battalion Commander of the Third Regiment of the Japanese Army do? How could the Japanese army break through? I want to shoot him..." After hearing that more than 9,000 little Japs successfully broke through, Commander Gao Yuan
I couldn't help but feel surprised and cursed loudly. Because as long as the Japanese army successfully broke through the encirclement, it would completely break the plan I made to annihilate the enemy...
What's more important is that almost all of the tens of thousands of troops in his hands are concentrated here. On the periphery, that is, on the way for the little devils to break through, there is no main force at all. If the Japanese army breaks out of the encirclement, they will be completely annihilated.
Basically something impossible to accomplish.
"Commander, this cannot be blamed on the Third Battalion of the Dusan Regiment. The bombing by Japanese aircraft was too fierce, and they specifically bombed the positions of the Third Battalion... After the Japanese army broke through, almost all the positions of the Third Battalion were plunged into a sea of flames.
Among them. According to statistics, there are less than ten people left in the entire third battalion of 563, and they are all seriously injured. Even the commander of the third battalion died in the enemy's bombing..." Looking at the angry face in front of him.
Commander Gao Yuan, the political commissar hurriedly persuaded, and at the same time, gave the reason.
"Old Chen, I'm sorry, but we don't know the situation. Now that the Japs have broken through, our encirclement has no effect. However, the Japanese army has penetrated into Shanxi for several days. Even if they break through, they are still in the same position as us.
surrounded by others. Don't worry, I will never let these little devils leave Shanxi Province intact. I will avenge the sacrifice of the soldiers of the Third Battalion..." Gao Yuan's clenched fist hit the table in front of him hard.
superior.
"Commander, please give the order..." After receiving the news, the chief of staff rushed into the headquarters with an angry face and said to the plateau in front of him.
"Chief of Staff, order to destroy three regiments and form three new regiments to eliminate the remaining Japanese forces on the battlefield, and then be responsible for cleaning the battlefield. Directly under the third column brigade, the guard brigade immediately joined the ranks of chasing the remaining enemies. Ordered the divisional cavalry
Regiment, sent troops to constantly harass the Japanese breakout troops along the way. At the same time, cavalry correspondents were sent to notify all villages along the way to clear the country. Didn’t the little devils give up all their baggage? I will starve these little devils to death. Also, order the soldiers everywhere
Militia troops, lay mines on the road for me. In a word, use every method to slow down the march of the little devils. Eat the remaining 9,000 little devils bit by bit. Even if you can't eat them all.
, we must also tire them out and drag them to death..." Gao Yuan ordered loudly.
"Yes, Commander. I will go and deliver the order right away..." The Chief of Staff turned and left the headquarters...
Immediately, the more than 20,000 Eighth Route Army troops assembled on the battlefield were quickly divided into two parts at the command of the headquarters. One part remained on the battlefield, continuing to eliminate the remaining troops left by the Japanese army, cleaning up and collecting information when the Japanese army broke out.
, leaving behind a large amount of baggage supplies. At the same time, another part of the troops quickly assembled on the battlefield and joined the pursuit in regiment units.
As for the divisional cavalry regiment entrusted with important tasks by the headquarters, more than 900 cavalrymen, under the command of the regiment leader He Guanghua, immediately pursued the Japanese army in the direction of escape. At the same time, a cavalry company of nearly 100 cavalrymen approached
On the road, he quickly ran in front of the little Japanese and notified local troops along the way to clear the country. In addition, a large number of landmines were laid on the road to slow down the march of the Japanese army...
"Your Excellency, the division commander, there is an urgent call from the rear guard..." Just as the division commander, escorted by the guard troops, and like the surrounding troops, rode forward quickly on their horses. Chief of Staff Colonel Kurashige rode on his fast horse
The horse quickly caught up and reported loudly.
"Kuramo-kun, what time is it now? Don't pay attention to these military salutes. If anything happens, report it immediately..." the division leader replied loudly. However, the war horse under his crotch did not have any trouble because of his words.
stopped, but still kept running forward.
"Hi, Your Excellency, Division Commander. The Air Force reconnaissance plane reported that behind us, at least 10,000 Eighth Route Army troops are quickly pursuing our headquarters..." the Chief of Staff quickly replied.
"Baga, does the Eighth Route Army really want to annihilate our 109th Division...Cang Maojun, send a message to the Commander, requesting reinforcements from the Air Force. Use planes to slow down the pursuit of the Eighth Route Army behind us. No matter what, we must pull away.
The marching distance of the two armies." The division commander, Lieutenant General Yamaoka Shigehou, ordered loudly without even thinking about it.
"But, Your Excellency Commander, there is still an hour left and it will be dark. According to Your Excellency the Commander's order, there will not be any air reinforcements before dawn tomorrow. Everything must rely on ourselves...
"The words of the chief of staff immediately negated the order of the division commander just now.
"Nani, there are no air reinforcements.../? Baga, how could this be? Chief of Staff, order the rearguard to leave a large group of troops behind. They must block the main force of the Eighth Route Army for at least an hour. Go and convey the order..."
After hearing what the chief of staff said, the division commander was surprised and quickly ordered...
"Hi, your Excellency, division commander..." Chief of Staff Colonel Kurashige loudly accepted the order and left. However, what Lieutenant General Yamaoka Shigehou did not expect was that a brigade responsible for blocking the Eighth Route Army was under fierce attack by the pursuing troops equipped with tanks and anti-aircraft machine guns.
Under the attack, it only lasted less than half an hour. Under the combined attack of the Eighth Route Army's detours on both wings and the frontal attack, the entire army was wiped out, which became a feat in the hands of the pursuing troops...
More importantly, at this moment, a cavalry company that had arrived in front of the Japanese army, with the cooperation of the local militia, had laid a large number of earth-made mines on the road that the little devil must take, waiting for the little devil.
s arrival.
"Boom..." As he spoke, less than 500 meters in front of the division commander, a huge plume of black smoke suddenly rose. Dozens of little Japs walking at the front of the entire breakout force, made of clay,
When landmines, more than ten kilograms of black powder, and a large pack of iron nails exploded at the same time, they fell into a pool of blood and were unable to continue marching...
With the sound of explosions, the entire march suddenly stopped. In less than half a minute, the road stretching for several kilometers was crowded with Japanese soldiers. Even the division commander who was heavily protected
Lieutenant General Yamaoka Shigehou was also squeezed to both sides of the road under the crowd of soldiers...
"Your Excellency, the division commander, the vanguard troops stepped on the mines placed by the Eighth Route Army on the road. At least one small group of imperial soldiers were affected to varying degrees and were unable to continue to participate in the battle..." Finally, under the heavy pressure of the mountain, the division commander
While the general was waiting anxiously, a staff officer hurried up to him and reported loudly.
"Baga, such a small thing caused the troops to stop advancing. Tell Colonel Matsui, the captain of the vanguard wing, that there are more than 10,000 Eighth Route Army pursuers behind us. If you don't want the entire 109th Division to be wiped out,
Don't let the troops stop because of these minor casualties. Otherwise, he will be the sinner of our 109th Division..." Hearing the explosion of just one landmine, the vanguard troops stopped. Looking at the densely packed imperial troops on the road around them,
Army troops, the division commander ordered with an angry look on his face.
"Hi, your Excellency, division commander..." In the voice of the division commander's order, Colonel Matsui, captain of the vanguard wing, could only carry the half-dead imperial soldiers to the roadside and let them fend for themselves. Then
, ordered the troops to continue marching... As for the subsequent mine explosion, although his regiment continued to suffer casualties. However, when he thought of the order just given by the division commander, regiment commander Matsui Colonel did not hesitate at all and forcibly ordered the troops
Abandon all the seriously wounded and continue to move forward while stepping on the mines...
Finally, after marching for almost two hours again, the Japanese army, which had been marching hastily for several hours, finally prepared to rest for five minutes under the orders of the division commander due to fatigue to replenish the physical strength they had just consumed. However, at this moment,
Colonel Matsui, the captain of the vanguard wing, could not relax.
Because, during the two-hour night march, my vanguard unit could step on a homemade landmine almost every half minute... The explosion of more than two hundred landmines in total actually caused my own
The avant-garde regiment caused more than a thousand casualties one after another... Our own avant-garde regiment originally had only more than 2,000 people left after a day of fighting. At this moment, it once again lost more than 1,000 people.
, the troops that he can continue to use are less than one infantry brigade...
"Your Excellency, the commander of the division, I have something that needs to be reported immediately..." Looking at the heavy casualties of the troops and seeing the endless road in front of him, the commander was helpless and could only give up his last hope.
to the division commander.
"Matsui-kun, you are not commanding your vanguard unit from the front, why are you here?" Lieutenant General Yamaoka Shigetsu, the division commander, asked dissatisfiedly when he saw Colonel Matsui standing in front of him with an anxious look on his face.
"Your Excellency, Division Commander, the Vanguard Wing has stepped on at least 200 landmines in the past two hours, causing at least 1,000 casualties to the Vanguard Wing. Now there is only about one brigade left in the Vanguard Wing.
If we continue to maintain this casualty rate, the vanguard unit will be completely exhausted in two hours at most. Please order the division commander to reinforce our unit with engineers..." Looking at the dissatisfied look in the eyes of the division commander
, Wing Commander Matsui Colonel replied loudly without any hesitation.
"Nani, a thousand casualties... Baga, the Eighth Route Army is really cunning. Could it be that this time, our 109th Division of the Great Communist Empire is really going to be ruined at the hands of the Eighth Route Army's *** division..." It has already been
The division commander was in no mood due to the repeated defeats in the war. After hearing such huge casualties, he couldn't help but mutter to himself.
"Matsui-kun, less than 20 kilometers behind us, there are more than 10,000 Eighth Route Army soldiers pursuing us. They are chasing our troops at their fastest pursuit speed. Even if we send all the remaining engineering troops to you
, and there is no extra time for them to carry out demining..." Looking at the disappointed division commander, the chief of staff told Colonel Matsui, who looked surprised in front of him, the reason for not sending out the engineering troops.
"Nani...Chief of Staff, although we cannot send reinforcements, I have a method that can also reduce the casualties of the troops. Please approve it, Division Commander..." After hearing the answer from the Chief of Staff, Colonel Matsui was disappointed.
Continue to ask.
"Matsui-kun, if you have any ideas, just ask. As long as we can bring the remaining troops of our division back safely, I will try my best to meet your request..." the division commander said quickly.
"Hi, Your Excellency, Division Commander, the Eighth Route Army has densely planted mines on the highway. We can completely find something to replace the soldiers to step on the mines. This will not only reduce the casualties of the troops to a certain extent, but at the same time, it will not affect the marching speed of the troops.
..." Looking at the expectant eyes of the division commander in front of him, Colonel Matsui quickly replied.
"Matsui-kun, what is it..." the division leader asked anxiously...
"Hi, Your Excellency, Division Commander. When the troops broke through, they gave up all the carts and mules and horses of the baggage regiment. Therefore, the only ones that can replace the soldiers to step on mines are the few hundred cavalry regiments left.
A war horse..." Colonel Matsui replied in a low voice.
"Yo Xi, just use war horses. As long as we can bring all these soldiers back, without the war horses, the headquarters will definitely consider re-equipping the cavalry regiment. Chief of Staff, I will leave this matter to you. Send the cavalry immediately
Gather all the remaining war horses of the regiment and hand them over to the vanguard regiment. They will go immediately..." The division commander ordered loudly. His eyes, which were still very disappointed just now, slowly regained their luster.
"Hi, Commander, I will go and deliver the order right away..." the chief of staff replied loudly.
In the subsequent march, with the assistance of hundreds of war horses, the casualties of the vanguard unit were almost zero, and the marching speed of the entire army was indeed not affected in any way... However, the only thing affected was being kicked off the war horses.
The cavalry, because every explosion that occurs in the forward position is like a needle, constantly piercing the heart of every cavalry soldier.
In this way, after almost a night of rapid march, the entire army had walked a distance that usually takes two days. As dawn arrived, the little Japanese who had fled all night seemed to see the light of success. Because they knew that as long as
As soon as day breaks, their planes can come for reinforcements. As long as the reinforcement planes arrive, the Eighth Route Army troops following behind them, almost lingering, will stop. And I can also take a good rest to replenish my energy consumption at night.
A lot of physical strength.
"Division commander, did you order the troops to stop and rest for a few hours? The troops marched hard all night without even a sip of water. According to reports from each regiment commander, soldiers have fallen behind. If we don't rest and recuperate,
If so, the troops will fall behind very seriously." Looking at the sun rising in the east, and looking at the ordinary soldiers walking mechanically around him, the chief of staff urged his horse to come to the division commander who was also dazed.
suggested in a low voice.
"Nani..." As he spoke, the division commander raised his head and looked at the exhausted soldiers beside him, then nodded and continued: "Kuramo-kun, it's daybreak now. As long as our
As soon as the air reinforcements arrive, order the troops to start resting and recuperating, but it only lasts for five hours. After five hours, the troops must continue to move forward. In addition, during these five hours, in addition to resting and recuperating, you must count the remaining troops.
troops…"
"Hi, please rest assured, Division Commander, I will definitely live up to your expectations and complete the mission..." Chief of Staff Colonel Kurashige replied loudly. Five minutes later, with the arrival of the first wave of 12 reinforcement aircraft, the entire
The few thousand Japanese troops remaining in the 109th Division began to seize the time to rest and recuperate under the orders of the Chief of Staff...