When the Northern Jiangsu Corps held a grand commendation meeting and military parade in Jieshou, the Japanese in Gaoyou were not happy.
The "Wolf" plan formulated by the Japanese's former detachment leader Sano Taro ended in failure. In addition to re-occupying Nantong through sneak attacks, several other troops either fell short or were ambushed.
The worst thing was that the Pingshan Brigade, which was preparing to sneak attack on the leader of the sector to the north, ended up being completely wiped out.
It would be excusable if we accidentally lost a brigade during a confrontation with a heavy squadron on a frontal battlefield.
Jiangsu is now considered an occupied area by the Japs, but a brigade was lost in the occupied area. This cannot be explained.
The Japanese's former detachment leader, Taro Sano, was also a wise man. He took the initiative to take all the responsibilities and committed suicide by breaking his stomach to apologize. This finally allowed the Japanese commander in central China, Shunroku Hata, to survive the questioning at the base camp.
However, after such a defeat at Jieshou, neither the Japanese soldiers in Gaoyou nor the Japanese commander in central China, Shunroku Hata, were unwilling to accept it.
Therefore, soon, the Japanese commander Shouichi Watanabe who was on the front line in Jiujiang was transferred back and took over as the detachment leader, responsible for clearing out the Chinese troops in Jiangsu.
The Japanese Colonel Watanabe did not dare to neglect his craftsmanship, and rushed from the Jiujiang front line to Gaoyou to receive the troops almost non-stop.
But what awaited him was more than just a mess. Because of the encouragement of the Northern Jiangsu Corps, those Chinese regular troops and local troops who had previously not dared to fight the Japanese launched attacks and raids against the Japanese.
In just one week, more than 300 Japanese soldiers were killed in various places, and countless others were injured.
Therefore, when the new Japanese detachment leader Watanabe Shouichi arrived in Gaoyou, he faced a situation where morale was low and the camp was full of wounded soldiers.
Faced with the mess left by his predecessor, if scolding him is useful, the devil Osaka Watanabe Juichi has scolded him countless times.
But now that he is the new detachment leader, facing the siege and low morale of the squadrons everywhere, he has no time to seek revenge from Yang Ling and the others, but has to start reorganizing the troops.
With the arrival of Shouichi Watanabe in Gaoyou, the name of the Japanese detachment was also changed to Watanabe Detachment.
Watanabe Shouichi led his troops to confront the main force of the Chinese Army on the frontal battlefield, and he was known for his ferocity and bloodthirsty.
This is also the reason why the Japanese commander in central China, Shunroku Hata, transferred him to Jiangsu, because now there is an urgent need for someone who can control the situation.
And Watanabe Juichi did not disappoint the Japanese commander in central China, Shunroku Hata. On the first day he arrived in Gaoyou, he went on a killing spree.
Of course, those killed were not Chinese civilians or prisoners of war, but their own people. The Japanese Gaoyou Gendarmerie attacked everywhere and arrested more than 20 soldiers in a row who violated military discipline, drank and caused trouble.
The composition of the officers and soldiers under the Watanabe detachment is extremely complex. In addition to the supplementary troops, which are mostly from the mainland, most of the heavy troops are recruited from the Korean Peninsula.
These soldiers and devils do not dare to use them with confidence. They are usually placed in the supply troops as hard labor. However, now that the troops are stretched thin, they have to be temporarily incorporated into the army.
However, the military discipline of these soldiers was extremely poor, so as soon as Touya Watanabe arrived in Gaoyou, in order to rectify the military discipline of the detachment and improve combat effectiveness, he ordered more than 20 soldiers to be shot on the first day.
And those captains who thought that Watanabe Shouichi was just a captain and did not take him seriously saw that Watanabe Shouichi acted so violently and decisively, and they all restrained themselves and did not dare to make mistakes again.
His Majesty Watanabe dealt ruthlessly with his own people as soon as he arrived, and finally calmed down the situation. He immediately notified officers above the level of each brigade to hold a military meeting in Gaoyou to find a solution to the corrupt situation.
Because they had already witnessed Watanabe Shouichi's ruthlessness, all the officers who were notified attended the meeting.
The Japanese commanders and staff wearing the rank of Major and Lieutenant Colonel sat upright on both sides of the long table in the conference room, and the entire conference room was silent.
"Currently, the first and third regiments of the China Sulu Guerrilla Corps are launching an attack on Dongtai."
"The first unit of China's 117th Division is encroaching on our defense area in the northeast of Gaoyou."
"The China and Jiangsu Northern Corps sent a large number of skirmishers to infiltrate our peripheral defense line. The Gaoqiao Brigade on the periphery of Tai County is fighting the enemy's Marine Police Force..."
"Baoying's troops have been besieged for five weeks and are about to run out of ammunition and food."
...
The officers in the conference room sat attentively, listening carefully to the Japanese intelligence staff as they read out the battle situation everywhere.
Now, in addition to Gaoyou, the 12th independent mixed brigade in the north is fighting with the Chinese 89th Army in the Yancheng area, which can relieve some of the pressure on them.
But in the areas near Gaoyou, the situation is not optimistic. Now not only regular troops and guerrillas are attacking them, but also the self-defense armed forces of those villages and towns are attacking and ambushing their transport teams.
Now the Japanese officers feel like they are surrounded by enemies. However, due to the poor combat effectiveness of their troops, several counterattacks have had little effect. However, the local guerrilla troops are familiar with the terrain and can always find their weak points to attack.
Following the briefing from the intelligence staff, every Japanese officer looked solemn and felt bitter in his heart. This battle could not be fought at all.
Although the Japanese detachment leader Watanabe Shouichi knew the situation was serious, he did not expect it to be so serious.
"Why didn't you carry out an effective counterattack in the face of the large-scale attack by the Chinese Army? Has the Imperial Japanese Army become helpless?!"
After listening to the intelligence staff's report, the Japanese detachment leader Watanabe Shouichi coldly snorted, his cold eyes swept over the officers who were sitting at attention, and asked coldly.
"Your Excellency, the detachment leader, does not know that the Chinese army is extremely cunning. They take advantage of the local operations to sometimes gather and sometimes disperse. Our troops have attacked more than ten times, but all failed..." Gao Qiao, the Japanese captain
He stood up and argued.
"You not only returned without success, but also killed more than a hundred outstanding soldiers of the empire! You have brought shame to the Japanese Empire!" Detachment Captain Watanabe Shouichi mercilessly revealed the scars of Captain Takahashi.
"Hey Yi!" Faced with such an accusation, Captain Takahashi couldn't explain it at all and could only bow his head heavily, because it was the truth.
"Your incompetence has led to the corruption of the war situation and continued losses to the Empire's soldiers. You should be like Captain Sano and commit suicide to apologize to His Majesty the Emperor!" Watanabe Shouichi roared loudly.
Although these are all facts, upon hearing such merciless criticism, the captains' faces turned red with shame and anger, and their hatred for the guerrilla troops deepened even more.
If it weren't for those cunning guerrilla troops, how could they have lost the battle and suffered such humiliation?
Seeing these shameful and angry captains, detachment leader Hisashi Watanabe paused and continued.
"I came here under the assignment of your Excellency the Commander this time, just to give you a chance to wash away your shame. If this time you are as weak as before in fighting against the Chinese Army, I will personally remove you and then send you
Court martial! Do you understand?!"
"Hiyi!"
The Japanese officers all stood up and bowed their heads, determined to wash away their shame.