The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 342 Waterway Crisis
Three days later, on the highway outside Banbi Mountain, a mixed marching column of cars and horses consisting of fifty-four trucks and hundreds of horses slowly advanced on the highway. This rather large marching column was the advancing column that had returned from a great victory.

After the Advance Column successfully annihilated the vanguard battalion of the Japanese Hata Detachment, Zhao Zhanhai, who was well aware of the principle of knowing when to quit, immediately sent a telegram to He Wei to report the victory after the battle, and then immediately organized the troops to retreat.

And because he successfully "persuaded" the 54 captured Japanese drivers, Zhao Zhanhai decisively used the captured Japanese vehicles when organizing the advance column to retreat. He drove away 54 of the more than 100 vehicles left by the Japanese army, and for the vehicles that could not be driven away, he took away some spare parts and fuel and set them all on fire.

The advancing column, which originally used war horses to march like mules and horses when attacking, was transformed into a mixed marching unit of cars, mules and horses.

However, although the Advance Column was equipped with cars, on the return march to Banbi Mountain, the officers and soldiers of the Advance Column did not feel much of the convenience of car marching. Instead, they personally experienced the pain of the Japanese vanguard battalion when marching by car.

Since most of the roads along the way had been destroyed by the Chinese army, local government and militia, there was no way to guarantee the effective passage of a large number of vehicles, so the advancing column was almost repairing the roads while advancing, and the marching speed was as slow as a turtle.

If they had marched on horseback, even if they conserved the horsepower and did not resort to forced marches, it would only have taken a day to complete the journey. However, it was dragged to two or three days by more than fifty trucks. It was true that the wheels were not as fast as the horse's hooves.

Moreover, the batch of Japanese trucks seized were all Type 94 trucks produced in Japan. Their overall performance was average. This type of truck was rear-wheel drive, and the rear wheel was a single wheel. Its horsepower and off-road capability were barely acceptable, but the structure of the cab and the rear compartment was very simple, making it extremely uncomfortable to ride. Many officers and soldiers of the Advance Column suffered greatly and complained bitterly.

The officers and soldiers of the Advance Column, who had been looking forward to the car march, were completely annoyed by the constant stopping and starting and repairing bridges and roads along the way. After the novelty wore off, many soldiers said they would rather ride horses than take a car. It can be seen that the officers and soldiers of the Advance Column were really exhausted by the car march.

In response to this, Zhao Zhanhai, commander of the advance column, could only smile bitterly.

After three days of extremely hard and even harsh marching, the advancing column finally retreated to Banbi Mountain after marching all the way.

"Sir, there is a mountain ahead. We have arrived."

In the back compartment of a Japanese Type 94 truck that was moving at a snail's pace, Zhao Zhanhai was awakened by the communications squad leader beside him. He yawned, stretched his back which was sore from the bumpy ride, and when he saw the outline of Banbi Mountain in the distance faintly coming into view, Zhao Zhanhai smiled, as if he had seen the dawn of hope, and immediately ordered the convoy to stop moving forward.

After Zhao Zhanhai handed over all matters related to organizing the troops' advance to the company commander of the mounted infantry company, Yang Biao, and the cavalry platoon leader, he simply pulled a horse over and galloped towards Banbi Mountain.

Zhao Zhanhai, who had been tortured by the bumpy car ride all the way, was eager to return home. When he rushed back to Banbi Mountain after passing through many positions and layers of checkpoints, he saw He Wei had already been waiting at the foot of the mountain with the messenger Tao Heiwa.

Seeing He Wei personally coming to greet him, Zhao Zhanhai immediately dismounted, ran to He Wei, stood at attention and saluted, and reported with a happy face: "Reporting to the commander-in-chief, I have fulfilled my mission and led my advance column to completely wipe out the Japanese army's Hata Detachment Vanguard Battalion of about 600 people. I have now returned to the team with 54 captured Japanese trucks and various ammunition and supplies. Please give me your instructions, commander-in-chief!"

He Wei had already received the victory telegram from Zhao Zhanhai, and was very satisfied with the victory of the assault corps' first battle. The scale of this battle was not large, but it was the first battle after the formation of the assault corps, so it naturally had special significance.

He Wei patted Zhao Zhanhai on the shoulder and said, "I have received the telegram. You fought very well and won the first battle of my assault corps. I have informed the entire corps and other troops under my command of your achievements. The morale of the officers and soldiers of each unit was greatly boosted when they heard about it. This time, I will give you a great credit."

Zhao Zhanhai stood at attention and said, "Thank you, Captain. This time, it is thanks to the officers and soldiers under your command that we were able to achieve this great victory. The brothers of Captain Yang's mounted infantry company and the cavalry platoon of Captain Ma Ji, the friendly army, all fought very hard in the battle."

"Well, of course the brothers also need to be rewarded. I have already informed Director Li Youcai of the Logistics Department that all officers and soldiers of the advancing column will be rewarded. All officers and soldiers will be given an additional month's salary in current dollars according to their current military ranks. The injured officers and soldiers will be given half a month's salary in current dollars as compensation for their injuries. I will also give an additional pension to the brothers who died in the battle after reporting to the Military and Political Department. Those who have made contributions in the battle will also be given priority for promotion in the future."

"Thank you, Captain, brothers on duty."

He Wei nodded. The victory of the Advance Column this time was indeed a good start for the Assault Corps and greatly boosted the morale of all officers and soldiers. He Wei also became more and more satisfied with Zhao Zhanhai.

Zhao Zhanhai was born in the old Northeast Army. He attended the Northeast Military Academy and fought in the September 18th Incident and the Great Wall War of Resistance. He later graduated from the 9th class of the Whampoa Military Academy and the Army University Staff Class. His combat command ability was also quite good in the encirclement and annihilation of the Japanese vanguard. What's more, he was He Wei's fellow villager, so they had a kind of fellow-townsman friendship. He Wei planned to make important use of Zhao Zhanhai.

He Wei could also see that Zhao Zhanhai was not satisfied with his current position as section chief in the staff department of the assault corps, handling combat operations, but wanted to be a troop commander.

He Wei thought for a moment, then said after a pause: "You fought very well this time. I know you want to lead the troops. Don't worry, I will definitely give you this opportunity, but you have to fight this battle well first. You should just focus on being the chief of the combat training section and handle the business at hand."

Hearing that He Wei was going to assign him the real job of leading troops, Zhao Zhanhai immediately became excited and said excitedly: "Thank you, sir!"

He Wei had already read the battle report telegram sent to him by Zhao Zhanhai. After this battle, He Wei realized that the current assault corps actually lacked a powerful fast-mobile reconnaissance and search force in its troop structure, and the role of such a fast-mobile reconnaissance and search force in combat was actually quite important.

At the same time, the maneuvering speed of the Advance Column using horses as a means of maneuver and the excellent performance of the cavalry platoon under the Advance Column in battle also greatly changed He Wei's view of the role of cavalry. So after learning the details of this encirclement and annihilation operation, He Wei had the idea of ​​establishing a reconnaissance and search force mainly composed of cavalry for the Assault Corps.

He Wei's expression was stern. "This battle has made me realize some shortcomings in the organization of this headquarters. We don't have a highly mobile forward reconnaissance and search force, so I plan to set up a search company in this headquarters and let you lead it."

"Thank you, Captain. I will definitely live up to your trust." He Wei waved his hand at the excited Zhao Zhanhai, signaling him to calm down, and said, "This unit will definitely be handed over to you to lead, but not now. Everything must wait until this fierce battle is over. Now that the Advance Column has returned, it will be disbanded immediately. The mounted infantry company with the special forces company directly under the headquarters as the backbone and the friendly cavalry unit will all return to their original organization. You will also continue to lead your combat training department and be a good section chief first. After this battle is over, you will have the opportunity to lead the troops."

"Yes! Captain, please rest assured that I will do my job well."

Zhao Zhanhai certainly knew that it was impossible for He Wei to implement the envisioned search company right now, but He Wei's promise made him feel very excited and motivated. He was very grateful for He Wei's appreciation and was even more determined to do his job well in the next operations and lead his combat training department to handle various matters.

He Wei praised Zhao Zhanhai again and did not mention the great victory of the Advance Column any more.

This encirclement and annihilation battle was indeed well fought, but He Wei was, after all, a commander who had inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese army in various large-scale battles in Xinkou and Jinling. Therefore, he did not take this great victory too seriously. What worried him more now was the overall defense of Banbi Mountain and even Tianjia Town.

The smile on He Wei's face soon disappeared. He patted Zhao Zhanhai on the shoulder and said, "The great victory you won with the Advance Column is only the beginning. The real fierce battle is still to come. As the saying goes, those who are capable should do more work. The current situation is very tense. Your combat training department is also very busy. You have to work hard during this period. You must grasp all combat tasks firmly. I'm afraid that the damn Japanese will start a large-scale attack soon, and most of them will start from the water. When the main force of the Japanese army comes, it will be a real bloody battle!"

As soon as He Wei finished speaking, Zhao Zhanhai asked in surprise: "Captain, by water? Have the Japanese already come up the river to attack us?"

"It's more than a few words. Let's go back to the command post and talk!"

Mentioning the current battle situation, He Wei immediately took Zhao Zhanhai back to the Banbishan Garrison Command Post on the mountain.

For He Wei, the victory of the Advance Column was just a small episode, a contact battle between forwards, not worth his excessive attention.

After the advance column withdrew, complicated matters such as the disbanding of the troops, treatment of the wounded, resettlement of prisoners and counting of captured items were all handled by the assault corps' staff and logistics departments. He Wei did not need to worry about them. All his attention was now focused on the upcoming large-scale battle with the Japanese heavy forces.

During the days when the Advance Column was attacking, He Wei was leading his troops to reorganize the defense while paying attention to the battle situation on the entire front. At present, the Japanese army was fighting fiercely with several armies of the Guangxi troops on the Huangmei and Guangji front outside Tianjia Town. In order to capture Tianjia Town, the Japanese army concentrated heavy troops to launch a fierce attack on Huangmei and Guangji, and the Guangxi troops also fought desperately, not giving up an inch of land on the Huangmei Guangji front with the Japanese army, and fought to the death.

The two sides have been fighting fiercely so far, but the Japanese army has not made any progress. Although several armies of the Guangxi clique have firmly held their positions and controlled the front line, they have also suffered heavy casualties. However, the overall battle situation on the north bank of the Yangtze River still makes He Wei feel at ease. At least the key positions are still controlled by the Chinese army.

He Wei has also made relatively sufficient combat preparations for the south bank defense line where Banbi Mountain is located. He Wei is not worried about how to deal with the Japanese troops attacking along the south bank by land.

He currently has more than 10,000 troops under his command, and the advance column has just dealt a head-on blow to the Japanese Hata Detachment that was attacking along the land route. He Wei is now very confident in fighting against the Japanese troops attacking along the land route.

What really aroused He Wei's vigilance was the waterway.

Just two days ago, Li Yannian, commander of the 11th Corps who commanded the Tianjia Town and Banbishan River Defense, suddenly called He Wei and reminded him to pay special attention to the defense on the Yangtze River.

Less than a day later, the Military Commission suddenly sent a telegram to the Assault Corps. The content of the telegram was similar to the one Li Yannian called, also ordering He Wei to pay close attention to the enemy movements on the Yangtze River along the Banbi Mountain line.

The reason why He Wei received double reminders and notifications from Corps Commander Li Yannian and the Military Commission was that recently, both the Chinese Navy's minelaying units that were carrying out minelaying missions along the river and the Chinese Air Force aircraft that were carrying out bombing and reconnaissance missions along the river had discovered a large number of Japanese warships on the Yangtze River near Jiujiang while on missions. Even the army's reconnaissance posts along the river and the intelligence departments had discovered the same situation.

In short, the reconnaissance results from all aspects showed that a large number of Japanese warships and transport ships were urgently gathering on the Yangtze River near Jiujiang.

All these signs indicate that the Japanese army is very likely to repeat the same trick they did when they captured Anqing, Madang and Jiujiang, and launch a landing surprise attack in Tianjia Town and Banbi Mountain ahead of the attacking forces by water.

Li Yannian's reminder and the telegram from the Military Commission immediately made He Wei highly alert. There was no need to think about the intention of the Japanese army to gather a large number of warships and transport ships on the Yangtze River. It could only be that they wanted to go upstream to attack Banbishan and Tianjia Town, which guarded the last gate to Wuhan on the river.

At this time, the advance column sent by He Wei dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese Hata Detachment advancing along the south bank by land, killing its vanguard. The Hata Detachment suffered such a heavy loss, and it would be extremely cautious in its advance and attack towards Banbi Mountain. Its march and search would also be extremely cautious, and its advance would naturally not be fast.

As a result, the Japanese naval forces going up the river and the Japanese shipping landing forces on the Yangtze River posed a greater threat to the defenders of Tianjia Town and Banbishan.

He Wei also discussed the current situation many times with Chief of Staff Wang Yuanling, and major officers and cadres such as Ma Ji, commander of the 385th Brigade of the friendly army. Finally, they concluded that before the garrison troops in Banbi Mountain engaged in a battle with the main force of the Japanese Army on land, they would most likely first engage in a battle with the Japanese Navy's fleet and the landing troops under the cover of the Japanese Navy on the river.

In other words, the primary crisis facing the Banbishan garrison now is the crisis from the water.

(End of this chapter)