The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 375 Feint gunshot!

It was not the first time that Kitaro Tsuchishi felt this inexplicable uneasiness and irritability tonight. On a summer night in Songhu a year ago, he also felt the same uneasiness and irritability as he did tonight and at this moment.

At that time, Kitaro Tsuchi had just served as the captain of the 10th Battalion of the Japanese Navy's Songhu Special Marine Corps. He had transformed himself from a gunnery chief of a naval battleship into a commander of the Marine Corps. He hurriedly led his troops to land on the beach of Songhu. After entering the urban area of ​​Songhu, he received a notice from the superior headquarters that the Chinese army was about to launch a large-scale attack on the urban area of ​​Songhu.

The situation faced by Kitaro Tsuchi at that time was extremely dangerous. Compared with the Chinese army that was about to launch a large-scale attack on the urban area of ​​​​Songhu, the Japanese army's ground combat force in Songhu was very limited, and there was not even any army stationed in the Songhu area. As a last resort, it could only draw marines and sailors on warships to fight on land. Even male Japanese expatriates in Songhu who had served in the army were hastily recruited and thrown into the defense line.

The situation was extremely dangerous. Facing the precarious situation, Tsuchiji Kitaro was as uneasy, irritable and even frightened as he was tonight.

Compared with the Battle of Shanghai, the situation that Kitaro Tsuchi was facing at this time was actually much better. At least, he now had more than 2,000 elite Marines with a Marine infantry battalion as the core combat force, and he also had strong fortifications that were urgently transformed from the positions left by the Chinese army. He had sufficient ammunition, manpower and firepower. The cards in his hand were much better than those in the Battle of Shanghai a year ago.

Therefore, Tsuchi Kitaro naturally began to comfort himself with the glorious final results and great victory of the Battle of Shanghai a year ago, trying to eliminate the uneasiness and anxiety in his heart.

Kitaro Tsuchi tried his best to recall the battles he had experienced during the Battle of Shanghai, whether it was the repulsion of the elite "German-equipped Division" of the Central Army of the Chinese Army that attacked the urban area of ​​Shanghai, or the scene of the so-called 800 heroes of the Chinese army attacking the Sihang Warehouse and forcing them into the concession, or the highlight scene of him being awarded medals for his military exploits after the Battle of Shanghai. All of these were replayed in Kitaro Tsuchi's mind over and over again like a movie, hoping to use the victory at that time to calm his mind.

But no matter how he repeated it or how he recalled it, the strange emotions such as irritability and uneasiness in his heart continued to surge up.

"Ugh."

Kitaro Tsuchishi lowered his head and stopped looking up at the night sky. He rubbed his slightly sore neck and let out an imperceptible sigh.

Suddenly, there was a sound of hurried footsteps in the communication trench. An officer hurriedly ran to Kitaro Tsuchi and reported in a low voice: "Report to the commander, it has been three hours, and Major Tadokoro still has not contacted the main position."

The news from the officer made Kitaro Tsuchiji feel as if his heart was hit by a dull piece of wood. His already restless mood instantly became even more tense. Major Tansho was the captain of the tank squadron under Kitaro Tsuchiji, and also the commander of the infantry and tank coordinated vanguard search team he sent out.

After commanding the main force to occupy the positions left by the 18th Division, Kitaro Tsuchiji immediately sent out this vanguard search team as the vanguard and combat outpost, hoping that this combat outpost could play a role in rapid vigilance and reconnaissance, and promptly scout the movements of the Chinese army for the defenders of the main position and give advance warnings.

Before this combat outpost set out, Tsuchi Kitaro gave an order to Major Tanosho, requiring him to regularly and proactively send telegrams to the main position to report on the reconnaissance and search situation, regardless of whether he encountered the enemy or not.

But just a few hours ago, this forward search team equipped with a radio suddenly stopped communicating with the main position, and there has been no news of them until now, as if they had suddenly disappeared.

If the loss of contact was short-term, it might be due to special circumstances, but it was already late at night and there was still no news from the vanguard search team, no telegram reply, and no return report from the infantry messenger.

The vanguard search team lost contact so suddenly and for such a long time, that Kitaro Tsuchiji could not help but speculate the worst. He was afraid that he would never receive the telegram from Major Tanosho, and that the vanguard search team was in great danger, and might have been severely damaged or even wiped out by the Chinese army.

What made Kitaro Tsuchiji feel even more chilled was that if the vanguard search team had really suffered heavy losses or even all of its members had been killed, wouldn't that mean that the Chinese army had successfully crossed the Fuchi River and regained a foothold on the west bank of the Fuchi River?
The Chinese army that was able to severely damage or completely annihilate this vanguard search team equipped with tanks must be no ordinary force. Its combat effectiveness must be extraordinary. At least it is definitely impossible for the 18th Division of the Chinese Army, which was easily defeated by them last night, to do it.

Considering the disastrous defeat of the 4th Special Marine Corps in today's river crossing attack, Kitaro Tsuchi had reason to suspect that the Chinese army that crossed the Fuchi River and attacked the vanguard search team was most likely the same Chinese army that had dealt a devastating blow to the 4th Special Marine Corps in today's river crossing operation.

Thinking about the enemy's situation, Tsuchi Kitaro's vigilance suddenly increased. With a serious expression, he ordered the officers around him: "Order all troops to strengthen their vigilance, turn on the searchlights, and search carefully around. The Chinese army may have appeared on the west bank of Fuchikou."

The officer hesitated and said, "Yes!"

"and many more!"

Tsuchi Kitaro stopped the officer who was running to pass the message and added, "Tell the sentries of each unit and the bunkers and machine gun nests that if they find any abnormal situation near the position, they can launch a fire attack on the suspected enemy when necessary. They must be extra careful. In addition, order the baggage troops to prepare for battle and distribute the Chinese army weapons seized by our army last night to the baggage troops, and ask them to enter the position to strengthen the defense!"

"Yes!"

After watching the messenger officer leave in a hurry, Tsuchi Kitaro turned around, bowed from afar in the direction of the Eastern Emperor's Palace, and murmured, "May His Majesty the Emperor bless us with long-lasting military fortunes."

Just when Kitaro Tsuchiji sensed the crisis and felt uneasy, he made various improvisations and ordered his troops to be on high alert. At that time, the danger he had anticipated had quietly arrived.

Not long after Kitaro Tsuchiji's various orders to strengthen vigilance were conveyed, He Wei's vanguard troops, the special forces company directly under the assault corps, had arrived at the position where the main force of the Japanese army was stationed.

The starting point of He Wei's troops' forced march was actually only 20 kilometers away from the position guarded by the main force of the Japanese Marine Corps. This distance was not far for a troop on a forced march.

Generally speaking, the speed of a normal marching unit is 4 to 5 kilometers per hour, with a daily distance of 30 to 40 kilometers. The speed of an accelerated march is about 10 kilometers per hour, and the speed of a forced march is generally more than 50 kilometers per day.

However, since the temporary battle group commanded by He Wei had many artillery and mule and horse supply units, and was not a pure infantry unit marching on foot, and the march was at night, the main force of the temporary battle group commanded by He Wei could not reach a forced marching speed of 10 kilometers per hour.

Of course, under the supervision of He Wei and the excellent combat qualities of the officers and soldiers of the assault corps, the marching speed of the troops was almost the same as the theoretical forced march speed, and the advancement speed was also quite fast.

In order to reach the remaining positions of the 18th Brigade of the 54th Division as quickly as possible and capture the main force of the Japanese army, He Wei once again gave Yang Biao's assault corps' special forces company the special task of opening the way and conducting reconnaissance and search.

He Wei ordered the commander of the special forces company, Yang Biao, to lead the special forces company to advance as fast as possible to the positions of the 18th Brigade of the 54th Division, surpassing the main force. If they encountered direct attacks from the Japanese army along the way, they should quickly determine whether the positions of the 18th Brigade of the 54th Division had been occupied and used by the Japanese army as inferred by He Wei after arriving at the remaining positions of the 54th Brigade of the th Division. If the special forces company found that there were no Japanese troops in the positions, and unfortunately they had come up empty-handed, they would immediately turn back and merge with the main force, and report to He Wei that they had not captured any traces of the main force of the Japanese army.

If you find Japanese troops deployed in the position, do not be polite to them. Choose an opportunity as soon as possible to open fire on the Japanese position to carry out a tactical feint, so as to induce the Japanese to expose the defensive deployment and troop and firepower configuration in their position, so as to explore the actual situation of the Japanese position for the main force.

The original function of the special forces company directly under the assault corps was to serve as the guard force of the corps headquarters. However, since the special forces company was composed entirely of veterans with the best combat qualities, and the circumstances of this operation were rather special, He Wei directly used the special forces company as a special elite vanguard force.

Therefore, the special forces company was always at the forefront as the vanguard during the daytime marches, searches and encounters, shouldering the heaviest tasks and suffering the greatest casualties. Moreover, one of the original three platoons of the special forces company was withdrawn to serve as the guard at the river crossing point, so the organization was not complete and the battle was very difficult.

However, after receiving He Wei's order to march and attack the positions where the main forces of the Japanese army might be deployed, the veterans of the special forces company who had followed He Wei all the way from Jinling and even Xinkou did not complain at all, but executed He Wei's order 18%, and exerted their tactical qualities and excellent training level to the extreme. The entire special forces company marched in the dark at a speed much higher than the forced march speed, and rushed all the way to the remaining positions of the 54th Brigade of the th Division. In the end, it took less than two hours for the special forces company to successfully arrive in front of the Japanese position.

When the special forces company reached the remaining positions of the 18th Brigade of the 54th Division, the Japanese defenders in the positions had entered a high state of combat readiness under the strict order of Kitaro Tsuchi. There was a commotion in the positions, and many large-caliber searchlights were lit up, shooting dazzling beams of light around the positions.

After seeing the noisy scene and the searchlight beams sweeping everywhere in the remaining positions of the 18th Division, the officers and soldiers of the special forces company, who had been marching urgently for nearly two hours, were delighted. The noise and lights were clear evidence that there were Japanese troops stationed in the positions.

The presence of Japanese troops stationed in the position meant that He Wei's judgment was absolutely correct, and the special forces company's night march was not in vain. It also meant that as soon as the main force led by He Wei arrived, they could launch a fierce attack on the Japanese troops in the position.

However, before the main force arrived and launched the attack, the officers and soldiers of the special forces company had to continue to carry out the exploratory feint attack mission assigned by He Wei, and fight a few moves with the Japanese troops guarding in the strong positions to test the defense level and firepower equipment of the Japanese positions.

In a ravine 1.5 kilometers away from the front of the Japanese army's position, the special forces company commander Yang Biao, the first platoon second lieutenant platoon leader Liu Yonggui and the second platoon second lieutenant platoon leader Ou Yuxiang were vigilantly looking through the gap at the top of the ravine, using the light from the Japanese searchlights to look at the Japanese army's position.

"Damn it, this Japanese position is really a fuss. I'm afraid it will be a tough nut to crack."

Yang Biao looked at the light that flickered under the searchlight, and cursed in a low voice with an embarrassed look on his face.

Liu Yonggui and Ou Yuxiang, who were standing by, also had gloomy faces when they looked at the Japanese positions. They, along with the officers and soldiers of the special forces company, finally approached the Japanese positions along the gullies and ditches in the fields, and planned to observe the situation of the Japanese positions before launching a feint attack.

You don't know until you see it. When you see it, you will be shocked. Several people didn't even look closely. They just glanced at the Japanese positions with the help of the light of the Japanese searchlight. They were immediately shocked by the completeness of the Japanese positions.

There were dense obstacles such as barbed wire and stakes everywhere in front of the Japanese positions. There were also a considerable number of bunkers and machine gun nests deployed in the positions. Near the obstacles in front of the positions, long outer trenches could be vaguely seen. From inside to outside, all kinds of fortifications were available.

With just a cursory glance, the three men knew that the Japanese positions were built extremely solidly. For such positions, if the special forces company with only two infantry platoons rashly launched an attack on it, even if it was a feint attack, there would be great risks. With the existing manpower and firepower of the special forces company, if they rashly launched an attack directly on the Japanese positions in front of them, once something went wrong, the consequences would be truly unimaginable.

Suddenly, a beam of searchlight shone towards the gully where the special forces company was hiding. Yang Biao quickly lowered his head and retreated into the gully. He whispered to Liu Yonggui and Ou Yuxiang, "This damned position looks difficult to attack, but the captain asked us to attack the enemy's position to find out their strength. We definitely can't just sit back and wait. One of you is a military academy student, and the other is a veteran. You both have your own ideas. Come on, give me some advice. Do you have any good tactics?"

Platoon leader Liu Yonggui came from the military and had rich combat experience. He also had his own way of fighting, but his methods were mostly effective in head-on battles and main and actual offensive battles. "Technical work" such as feint attacks was not his forte.

Although Liu Yonggui also had some ideas about how to feint an attack and how to attract the Japanese troops in the position to expose their firepower, he was really not sure and did not dare to make any suggestions at this time, so Liu Yonggui simply kept silent and cast his gaze on Ou Yuxiang, the platoon leader of the second row.

Second Platoon Leader Ou Yuxiang gave an immediate reply, saying, "Captain, I learned the art of feinting in military school. Considering the situation of the Japanese army in front of us, I think we can do this. We will send out a platoon to launch a tentative attack on the Japanese position, and the rest of the brothers will use the most intense firepower to cover the brothers launching the feint attack, and shout loudly to create a real attack to attract the Japanese troops in the position to open fire. During the battle, we can use the Japanese searchlights to draw a descriptive picture of the Japanese position to record the fortifications and firepower of the Japanese position."

Hearing Ou Yuxiang's clear and logical explanation, Yang Biao's eyes lit up and he continued, "Platoon Leader Ou, can you tell me in detail how you did it?"

Immediately, Ou Yuxiang told Yang Biao the envisioned exploratory attack plan and general tactics.

The so-called combat feint is essentially a tentative attack to lure the enemy hidden in a strong position to concentrate all their firepower to open fire, so as to learn the approximate number of firearms equipped in the position, as well as the location of the main position, obstacles, the location of side defense mechanisms and firepower points, the location of artillery positions and reserves, etc.

Based on what he had learned in the military academy and the actual situation of the Japanese positions in front of him, Ou Yuxiang quickly came up with a plan for a feint attack. According to Ou Yuxiang's plan, he intended to use a row of troops from the special forces company to gradually approach the Japanese positions by taking advantage of the terrain and features as much as possible. After choosing the retreat route and order, he would spread out and leap forward to attack the main position of the Japanese army, making a "fake charge."

When this feint attack platoon rushed to a position about 60 meters in front of the Japanese position, the rest of the special forces company concentrated all their firepower and fired fiercely at the Japanese position. Whether it was 34mm mortars, MG general-purpose machine guns, rifles, submachine guns, or even pistols, they all had to be concentrated to fire at the Japanese position to form the greatest firepower deterrent, inducing the Japanese to expose all their firepower. As for whether they could kill the enemy, it was not important. The first priority was to make the firepower fierce and the noise loud, so as to scare the Japanese position into opening fire and expose the defense and firepower configuration of the entire position!

While carrying out the feint attack on the Japanese positions, the special forces company also sent out a group of observation posts to advance to the nearby commanding heights or even climb up large trees. During the feint attack, they observed the situation of the Japanese positions, the location of the firepower points, etc., and while observing, they drew pictures of the Japanese positions' defense configuration, firepower equipment, and support point deployment in the form of hand drawings, forming a "scenery map" of the Japanese positions.

After successfully luring the enemy and completing the descriptive map of the Japanese positions, the platoon responsible for the feint attack immediately and quickly left the battlefield along the previously selected retreat route, thus ending the feint attack.

The plan proposed by Ou Yuxiang was quickly recognized by the company commander of the special forces company, Yang Biao, and the platoon leader of the first platoon, Liu Yonggui. After discussion, Yang Biao decided to have Liu Yonggui command his first platoon as the feint attack platoon, while the rest of the special forces company would be under the command of Yang Biao, concentrating all firepower to provide fire cover for the feint attack platoon and maximizing the momentum to lure the Japanese army into exposing their firepower.

As for Ou Yuxiang, the platoon leader who graduated from the Whampoa Military Academy, he naturally took on the task of drawing a descriptive picture of the Japanese army's positions. Ou Yuxiang graduated from a professional school and received complete training in drawing and marking at the military academy. Yang Biao and Liu Yonggui were both officers who were veterans and could not even recognize a few big characters. Therefore, the drawing job must and could only be done by Ou Yuxiang.

After the three platoon leaders of the special forces company made the division of labor, the entire company quickly took action and completed the preparations for the feint attack.

Half an hour after the special forces company arrived at the Japanese position, a gunshot rang out suddenly in front of the Japanese position, shocking the surrounding wilderness and also alarming the Japanese troops guarding the position.

(End of this chapter)