In the temporary headquarters of the Matsuura Division stationed in a small mountain village, the guards had lit candles for lighting, but the room with earthen walls was still dark.
From time to time, rumbling explosions came from the distant night, and the flashes of explosions illuminated the dark and rolling mountains.
Although night has fallen, the battles are still going on. Some battles are happening nearby, and some battles are far away. The night makes the battlefield with no visible edges full of dangers.
"chief of staff!"
The guard at the door raised his hand and saluted the division chief of staff, Colonel Yoshitaka Akiyama, who was hurriedly approaching.
"Has the general fallen asleep?" Akiyama Yoshitaka asked.
The guard snapped to attention and replied: "Not yet."
"But the division commander may be in a bad mood..." the guard added hesitantly.
Colonel Akiyama Yoshitaka nodded, indicating that he understood, and opened the creaking wooden door.
Akiyama Yoshitaka walked into the dim room and looked around. When he saw the silent division commander Matsuura Junrokuro sitting on a chair facing the door, holding a saber, he was startled.
With the help of the dim lights in the room, it was confirmed that Matsuura Junrokuro had not committed suicide by rupturing his belly. Colonel Akiyama Yoshitaka finally came to his senses. If something happened to the division commander, their division would undoubtedly be in trouble.
"Akiyama-san, what's the matter?"
Matsuura Junrokuro's voice sounded in the room, full of exhaustion.
Colonel Akiyama Yoshitaka recovered his thoughts, stepped forward and reported in a low voice: "General, Commander Aoki Brigade and the others fought bloody battles for a day and failed to break through the Chinese Army's defense line in the direction of Changling-Zhanggu Mountain..."
The Changling-Zhanggushan line is their only way to survive now, but facing the tenaciously guarded Chinese troops, no matter how hard they attack, they just can't take it down, which makes them extremely depressed and depressed.
Matsuura Junrokuro walked to the candlelight with a sullen face, stared at Colonel Akiyama Yoshitaka and said: "Call to Commander Aoki Brigade, officers who are unfavorable in combat must be severely punished! We must tear apart the Shina Army's defense line and break out, otherwise our 106th Division
The regiment will have its designation wiped off, did you know?! You and I will become sinners of the empire when we join! Unforgivable!"
The unkempt Junrokuro Matsuura suddenly roared, and his irritable state made the guards at the door shudder.
As the war went unfavorable, the temper of the division commander Matsuura Junrokuro, who used to be calm and calm, became increasingly bad. An hour ago, he slapped a staff officer who came in without knocking on the door.
Seeing the furious Matsuura Junrokuro, the chief of staff, Colonel Yoshitaka Akiyama, could only hang his hands and say nothing, waiting for Matsuura Junrokuro to vent.
Seeing Akiyama Yoshitaka with his head lowered and his hands lowered, Matsuura Junrokuro vented his anger and felt that he had lost his composure. He turned around and sat back in his chair dejectedly.
"Sit down and talk." Matsuura Junrokuro ordered.
"Thank you, General." Akiyama Yoshitaka sat down.
Matsuura Junrokuro had to bring the topic back: "What is the specific situation with the Aoki Brigade? Why was it not possible to tear through the Shina Army's defense line?"
Akiyama Yoshitaka sat upright and sighed and said: "General, the Aoki Brigade has actually tried its best. It has been attacking for a whole day without stopping today. It has also fought hand-to-hand with the Chinese army several times. The number of soldiers killed in the entire brigade has reached more than 3,000.
, the grassroots officers suffered heavy losses, not because they did not try their best, but because the Chinese army was too strong..."
Matsuura Junrokuro also knew the situation of his troops. Except for the officers, most of the soldiers were composed of reserve supplementary troops.
Although the combat effectiveness of their division was not as good as those of the powerful old divisions, the fact that the battle was fought like this still made him feel a little angry.
But it's useless to be angry now, we have to keep fighting, otherwise it will only lead to destruction.
"Can the Aoki Brigade continue to fight?"
Matsuura Junrokuro asked, rubbing his tired temples. More than 3,000 people were killed in just one day. They had never experienced such heavy casualties.
"The commander of the Aoki Brigade sent a message saying that they have lost all their officers at the grassroots level. Many squad and squadron officers have been almost wiped out. The troops have almost lost their combat effectiveness. If they want to regain their combat effectiveness, they now urgently need a group of officers to supplement their command at the grassroots level."
Matsuura Junrokuro was also shocked when he heard that the battle was so tragic. The Chinese army had never become so powerful, and they were beaten to the point of losing their combat effectiveness.
"Send a group of officers from the troops directly under the division and tell the commander of the Aoki Brigade that he must regroup and organize an attack tomorrow, otherwise our division will be finished."
"Hiyi!"
The unfavorable outcome of the war made both of them gloomy and gloomy. They rushed over aggressively, but they didn't expect to fall into this trap.
If he had known that he would encounter the current predicament, Matsuura Junrokuro would not have been so ignorant of the information at the beginning, and he would have led his troops to Wanjialing in a hurry.
"General, the army's artillery shells have been used up, and there are not many bullets left. Look..."
Although bad news came one after another, Akiyama Yoshitaka, as the chief of staff, had to report it to Matsuura Junrokuro so that he could be mentally prepared.
Matsuura Junrokuro waved his hand and said: "The commander has called. They are mobilizing supplies and ammunition. They will be airdropped as soon as tomorrow morning. Please be sure to provide ground guidance for the airdrop."
When he heard that the airdrop supplies would arrive tomorrow, Yoshitaka Akiyama, who was looking gloomy, finally had a hint of joy on his face.
"Tell all the soldiers of the Imperial Army that the difficulty is short-lived and that they must stick to their fighting positions. The 27th, 101st, 9th, and 6th Divisions are attacking with all their strength from the outside. We will be able to join them soon. When the time comes,
We can wipe out the Chinese army in one fell swoop."
Having said this, Matsuura Junrokuro became energetic again, as if they could really break out.
But Akiyama Yoshitaka was not so optimistic. This time, the combat effectiveness and military strength of the Chinese Army were beyond imagination. Can it really join forces with friendly forces? He was confused.
"Snapped!"
While Akiyama Yoshitaka and Matsuura Junrokuro were talking in the house, gunfire suddenly rang out outside.
Immediately, countless shouts and chaotic footsteps were heard, and chaos suddenly broke out outside.
Akiyama Yoshitaka hurriedly pulled out the Nanbu pistol from his waist and ran to the door: "Where to shoot?!"
The guard also took off his rifle from his shoulder and looked outside the village, his face full of vigilance.
"Go and have a look -" Colonel Akiyama Yoshitaka stood guard at the door and ordered a guard.
"Hiyi!"
The guard quickly grabbed his gun and ran into the darkness outside the village.
After waiting for a few minutes, the guard hurried back and reported the situation to Akiyama Yoshitaka. It turned out that a group of hungry soldiers had shot and killed the packhorse accompanying the army.
These pack horses were used by the baggage train to carry supplies and mountain artillery. How could they be shot and killed so easily?
Chief of Staff Akiyama Yoshitaka and division commander Matsuura Junrokuro calmly prepared to find out.
But when they walked outside the village, they saw unkempt soldiers hurriedly throwing large pieces of hairless horse meat into the pot under the light of the fire. Many hungry Japanese even held the raw meat in their hands.
He was chewing it, making his mouth full of horse blood.
Further away, a large group of soldiers were confronting the soldiers of the baggage regiment with guns in hand. Their eyes were glowing green, staring at the pack horses like a group of wild beasts.
Just when Colonel Yoshitaka Akiyama was about to step forward and scold them for stopping them from eating the packhorses of the baggage regiment, division commander Matsuura Junrokuro stopped him.
"Slaughter all the pack horses and let the soldiers have a full meal." Matsuura Junrokuro ordered.
The dry food they carried for six days had been eaten up long ago. Seeing these tired and hungry soldiers who had been hungry for several days, Junroku Matsuura knew that if they did not solve their stomach problems and could not wait for the airdrop of supplies tomorrow, they would have to go into chaos.
position.
It was precisely because of Matsuura Junrokuro's order that the soldiers of the 106th Division finally ate a meal of boiled horse meat without salt...