"It would be nice if we had more troops." At this time, he finally started to worry about not having enough troops.
It is unrealistic to ask the division commander to mobilize the baggage regiment for support. Now the baggage regiment is not only responsible for supplying the Xifengkou and Lengkou attack troops, maintaining communication lines, but also protecting the safety of the division headquarters. There cannot be any redundant ones.
Troops can be mobilized.
The entire cavalry regiment has been wiped out, leaving only the engineering regiment with the worst combat effectiveness.
Wait...suddenly he remembered that the 7th Brigade of the Manchurian Army had been transferred by the Division Commander.
If the Manchurian Army and the Engineer Regiment are allowed to directly press across from the east, and thousands of people spread out to this area, constantly compressing the activity space of this Chinese army, or directly bite them into a state of hand-to-hand combat, I will be
Should we send troops to flank or directly attack the western front of the Great Wall? Wouldn't this revitalize the whole country?
"Wonderful! Fortunately, the division commander has foresight and mobilized the Manchurian army. Then let these Manchurians fight to the death with the Chinese people. It is not necessary to destroy the Chinese army, as long as it can be delayed."
As for whether the 7th Brigade of the Manchurian Army was an opponent of the Chinese army, Yamada Guiura would not consider it, as long as those who died were not imperial warriors.
Thinking of this, Yamada Guiura immediately picked up the phone on the table.
…
At this time, Colonel Kawatani Jiro, the division chief of staff who was ordered to command the Engineer Regiment and the 7th Manchurian Army Brigade, based on the mentality of not seeking merit but seeking no faults, led by more than 4,000 Manchurian troops of the 7th Brigade.
More than 700 Japanese troops leading the engineering regiment pressed back. When they reached Qinglong Pass, they stopped and ordered their men to establish defensive positions on the spot.
In his opinion, he only needs to ensure the safety of the division headquarters in the west. As for going to clear out the Chinese troops that annihilated the Kuroda Cavalry Brigade in just ten minutes, he should not have such dissatisfaction.
A realistic fantasy.
Even if he and the commander of the 7th Brigade of the Manchurian Army named Cui Xinwu joined forces, Colonel Kawatani Jiro did not think he had any hope of victory.
Jiro Kawatani, who graduated from the Imperial Continent and went to Germany for a year to inspect and study, had a clear understanding of the mysterious Chinese army.
This Chinese army cannot be viewed from a conventional perspective, and it is very possible to even raise the assessment of their combat effectiveness to a level that far exceeds that of the imperial army.
Moreover, Kawatani Jiro also has his own background and channels. Although the young radicals he belongs to have conflicts with the conservative faction of the division commander, and he usually receives some cold looks and difficulties from the division commander. But he still uses the upper-level channels.
I learned about the existence of a special unit in the Chinese army.
During the Songhu Incident last year, he also carefully studied the several defeats of the imperial army at that time, and when he thought about the annihilation process of the Mishan Brigade, the 14th Mixed Brigade and the Kuroda Cavalry Regiment, he felt inconvenient to tell others.
conjecture.
That is, the so-called Shanxi Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army of the Central Party Headquarters, which once made the imperial army suffer a lot in Yunzaobang and Miaohang in Shanghai, and finally completely annihilated the 24th Brigade, is very similar to the mysterious Chinese force in front of us.
.
They are equally well-trained, have the same powerful firepower, they also like to use ambush and sneak attack tactics, and they also have an extremely keen sense of battlefield. They can do nothing without moving and can kill with one blow.
Jiro Kawatani also compared it secretly. If he led a brigade to compete with this Chinese force of similar size, the outcome would not be much better than that of the Yoneyama brigade. If he led two brigade, he might be able to compete with one or two, but he could only
If you adopt a defensive posture and lead three brigades, you may be able to repel it. But if you want to completely eliminate it, you may need ten times the number of troops to surround it layer by layer, and a little bit of luck.
Therefore, it was impossible for him to just lead these thousands of people to the door when he was unfamiliar with the terrain and unknown to the enemy.
What's more, Jiro Kawatani didn't like the combat effectiveness of the 7th Manchurian Army Brigade at all, and he didn't think that their large number was an advantage. He might have been hit hard by others, causing the entire army to collapse, and instead lead his own army.
The engineer wing was exposed to enemy fire.
However, near noon today, after he received the latest order from the division headquarters, he felt bad all over.
Really worried, the division commander ordered him to quickly lead the engineer regiment and the 7th Brigade of the Puppet Manchukuo Army to search and suppress the Chinese troops who were harassing the 24th Regiment.
Moreover, the tone of the order was very strict. Sakamoto Masaemon first expressed his dissatisfaction with his action of standing still when he arrived at Qingryu Mountain, and then ordered him to start taking action quickly and strive to reach the right wing of the 24th Regiment this afternoon.
Expel and eliminate the Chinese troops lurking in that area.
After reading this telegram, Jiro Kawatani knew that the 24th Regiment was in decline.
He had previously scorned the 12th Brigade Yamada Guipo's strategy of dividing troops to bypass the western front.
If the Chinese defenders have no troops on the outside, you are right to do this.
However, now that there is an elite Chinese force on the outside that can annihilate the Kuroda Cavalry Regiment in ten minutes, it is equivalent to a tiger looking for an opportunity to move from the side. You actually dare to divide your troops and send them forward, to use an old Chinese saying.
To put it bluntly, it's called: The old man hangs himself - he's too impatient to live.
If he was still on the staff of the division headquarters, he would definitely have persuaded Masaemon Sakamoto immediately not to allow the 12th Brigade to split up its troops, but he had no choice but to be sent to the border area, with no way to serve the country!
However, Jiro Kawatani also knows that the only way to solve the situation now is the nearly 5,000 troops he has here. Although there are many people, the fact that these troops together can have the combat effectiveness of a regular Japanese army brigade is already considered high.
Fragrant.
So, as soon as he rolled his eyes, he took advantage of it.
The method is also very simple, just let the 7th Brigade go up and touch the Chinese troops first. As long as they can entangle them for a day and a half, the mission will be completed.
As for the follow-up plan to flank the Chinese force with the 24th Regiment and completely eliminate it, he could only chuckle in his mind and didn't take it to heart.
Therefore, he immediately gave the order to the 7th Brigade, which was building a position in front, to search and advance in the southwest direction, and claimed that he would lead the engineer regiment to follow up.
In fact, an hour after the 7th Brigade had set off, the engineer regiment he led was still preparing lunch, and it was not too late to leave after lunch.
It can be seen how wary and cautious Kawatani Jiro is about the mercenary group now.
However, the smug Commander Cui Xinwu of the 7th Brigade of the Puppet Manchu Army had no worries in this regard. He felt that now that he had finally gained the appreciation of his master, it was time for him to perform well.
