The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 422 Report directly to the Military Commission!

In addition to killing so many Japanese soldiers, the Japanese Assault Corps also captured a lot of prisoners alive. Fifteen uninjured prisoners were captured, twenty-four lightly wounded prisoners were captured, and the most were seriously wounded prisoners, a total of thirty-five.

Wow, they captured more than 70 prisoners in one breath. This number of prisoners is even more than the number captured by the Chinese army in many large-scale battles. The number of Japanese prisoners also shows how badly the Hata Detachment was defeated this time.

However, in the detailed battle report written by Wang Yuanling, the 35 seriously wounded Japanese soldiers were specifically noted as "because our army lacked medicine, all the seriously wounded enemy soldiers captured were seriously injured and died."

Seeing that the seriously injured soldiers died, He Wei understood what was going on. Before, when dealing with captured Japanese soldiers, He Wei always only took in uninjured or lightly injured prisoners, and killed all the seriously injured prisoners. While saving medicine for the assault team, it also gave the seriously injured Japanese soldiers a quick death, which was considered a good deed.

Obviously, Wang Yuanling's handling of the prisoners this time was in line with He Wei's style. The 35 seriously wounded Japanese soldiers were probably either sent to the underworld with bayonets by the soldiers of the assault corps, or buried in pits and became nutrients for fertile fields.

Of course, even if we don’t count these seriously wounded prisoners, the number of uninjured prisoners and lightly wounded prisoners is enough to meet the standard of “a large number of captured enemies”.

After looking at the number of enemies killed or captured, He Wei glanced at the number of seized supplies. He had no time to look closely at the miscellaneous food, supplies, and ammunition. He only glanced at the large items such as seized weapons and equipment.

Among them, a total of 1,440 complete Type 38 rifles were seized, 20 Taisho 11-year Type Type 92 light machine guns, 15 Type 92 heavy machine guns, 37 Type 89 50mm grenade launchers, 16 intact Type 94 75mm mountain cannons, 7 damaged Type 94 75mm mountain cannons, 4 intact Type 41 75mm mountain cannons, and 2 damaged Type 41 75mm mountain cannons.

There were three intact Type 94 37mm rapid-fire guns, one damaged Type 94 37mm rapid-fire gun, twenty-seven usable Japanese Type 94 military trucks, and five jeeps.

The approximate number of weapons and equipment seized was consistent with the number of enemies killed. However, the Japanese machine guns and grenade launchers among the seized weapons and equipment had little appeal to He Wei, and he just glanced at them and passed them by.

After all, the quality and performance of the assault corps' infantry and machine guns, as well as light and heavy machine guns, are better than those of the Japanese army. What's more, He Wei has the support of Minister He of the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs, so he has no worries about the replenishment of light weapons. As an elite force of the Central Army, it is an elite force directly under the Military Commission with Minister He as its backer, so it does have some "arrogance".

Moreover, these captured items were only obtained by the Assault Corps in the attack operation to defeat the Japanese Army's Hata Detachment. In previous battles, the Assault Corps had already seized a considerable number of Japanese weapons and equipment. Therefore, He Wei was already immune to infantry equipment such as rifles, light machine guns, grenade launchers, and heavy machine guns seized from the Japanese.

What really makes He Wei salivate is the batch of Type 94 75mm mountain cannons, some intact and some damaged. The artillery battalion of the assault corps currently has a mountain artillery company equipped with Type 94 mountain cannons captured from the Japanese army. During use, the officers and soldiers have given high praise to this type of mountain cannon, which is light in weight, easy to disassemble, and has a long range. It is a very easy-to-use artillery.

Relatively speaking, the officers and soldiers of the artillery battalion of the assault corps had a much lower opinion of the Soviet-made M1909 76mm mountain gun equipped by another mountain artillery company of the artillery battalion. After all, this improved version of the old mountain gun that was born before World War I and was also a second-hand product used by the Soviet army was definitely not as good as the Type mountain gun, a new mountain gun developed by the Japanese army specifically for the Chinese battlefield.

This time, sixteen intact Type 94 mountain cannons and seven damaged Type 94 mountain cannons were seized. He Wei thought that if he used these captured mountain cannons, plus the assault corps' original mountain cannons and the damaged mountain cannons seized in the warehouse to piece together and supplement them, he could then find Minister He to help with the operational and organization issues.

Wow, it's not a problem at all to use this batch of mountain cannons to create a regimental artillery unit composed entirely of Type 94 mountain cannons.

Moreover, the annihilated Japanese Toshima Mountain Artillery Regiment and Hata Detachment also left behind a large number of military horses on the battlefield, including well-bred Oriental war horses for riding, specially trained pack horses and mules for carrying artillery, and donkeys of various sizes, which were enough to meet the needs of a mule- and horse-based regimental artillery unit.

After looking at the captured items, He Wei turned his attention to the casualties column in the document.

In this battle, the Assault Corps did inflict a severe blow to the Japanese Hata Detachment, but it also suffered considerable casualties. According to the damage statistics reported by Wang Yuanling, since the engagement with the Hata Detachment, the Assault Corps had suffered 378 deaths and 337 injuries.

However, this casualty figure only represents the losses since the exchange of fire with the Hata Detachment. Wang Yuanling also calculated the cumulative casualties after each battle since the Assault Corps was stationed in Banbi Mountain.

If this statistical caliber is adopted, the casualty figure of the Assault Corps will be much higher. According to this calculation method, the Assault Corps has lost more than 630 officers and soldiers so far, and more than 770 people have been injured or injured. This casualty figure is not small for the Assault Corps.

Among these casualties, although ordinary soldiers and sergeants accounted for the majority, the losses of officers at the rank of warrant officer and above were also considerable. The battalion commanders of the three infantry battalions were all safe and sound, with only minor injuries, but the company and platoon cadres under them suffered considerable losses.

Among them, three company commanders were killed and two were seriously injured; eight platoon leaders were killed and four were seriously injured. Moreover, this only included the deaths and serious injuries that directly caused the loss of combat effectiveness and the absence of officers. Those officers who were not killed or seriously injured were also injured.

Overall, although the Japanese Army's Hata Detachment was defeated, the Assault Corps was also "seriously injured", and its overall combat effectiveness must have been affected to a certain extent.

"It seems that our losses are not small. We cannot fill the vacancies of soldiers and sergeants now, but we must arrange for acting personnel to take over the command of the officer positions left by the killed and seriously injured officers as soon as possible."

He Wei sat down with the help of Tao Heiwa, threw the documents on the table, and said to Wang Yuanling.

Wang Yuanling nodded and said, "Captain, rest assured. The replacement of officers has been completed. The vacant company commander positions will be replaced by senior platoon leaders in each company, and the vacant platoon leader positions will be replaced by veteran sergeants in each platoon. Now there are people filling officer positions at all levels, and it will not affect the combat training of the troops."

"To be honest, if the Japanese army really attacks again, we can still continue to fight, but if we continue to fight, it will definitely be much more difficult than before, and the consumption of ammunition will also be high. If we continue to fight, ammunition will also be a problem."

He Wei asked suspiciously, "Are the ammunition losses high? I remember that we have enough ammunition in stock, right?" Wang Yuanling replied, "There are enough machine gun bullets, but we are running out of artillery shells. We don't have enough 60mm mortar shells and 81mm mortar shells, but we have enough mountain artillery shells. The 150mm heavy artillery battalion of the friendly forces also has insufficient artillery shells. Captain Hu told me that the eight guns in his battalion currently have less than 8 rounds per gun on average. In the battle that just ended, we used up too many shells, which is much more than our General Staff Office estimated."

He Wei slapped his head and thought that this was reasonable. The current combat style of the assault corps was completely artillery-oriented. The infantry companies had 60mm mortars and 81mm mortars as cover, and large-scale troop attacks were accompanied by the mountain artillery of the artillery battalion.

Especially in the attack operation that just ended, He Wei mobilized almost all the mountain artillery howitzers and mortars at his disposal, and he was not stingy with the shells at all. It was only natural that the shell stocks were running low.

He Wei frowned and said, "Restock the shells as soon as possible."

"I have contacted Director Li of the Logistics Department to coordinate replenishment as soon as possible. In addition, our headquarters will not have any large-scale contact with the Japanese army in the short term. After my troops defeated the Hata Detachment, the Japanese army will not be able to quickly organize a heavy force to attack the Banbi Mountain line in a short period of time. After all, they suffered too much this time. A detachment of a reinforced brigade was defeated by us. The Japanese army also needs time to adjust and catch their breath. If nothing unexpected happens, our headquarters and our troops near Banbi Mountain will have a relatively peaceful period."

After Wang Yuanling finished speaking, he picked up his baton, stood up and walked to the large wall chart, pointed to the Tianjia Town Fortress opposite Banbi Mountain, and introduced it to He Wei: "The Japanese army's main attention is now on the Tianjia Town Fortress opposite our Banbi Mountain. On the night when we defeated the Japanese Army's Hata Detachment, the Japanese Army's Sixth Division had broken through all the outer defenses of Tianjia Town and began to attack the Tianjia Town Fortress garrison commanded by Li Yannian. The Ninth Division and the Fifty-Seventh Division under Li's command have all been involved in the battle. They are currently fighting fiercely with the Japanese army for several days. The two sides are fighting extremely fiercely. We are on the top of Banbi Mountain with a high-magnification telescope to look at the opposite bank, and we can even see the battlefield where the two sides are fighting."

He Wei nodded slightly. After Wang Yuanling finished his report, he had a basic understanding of the current overall battlefield situation and the basic situation of the assault team.

In general, the Assault Corps also suffered a lot of losses after defeating the Japanese Hata Detachment. Of course, these losses did not cause the Assault Corps to lose its combat effectiveness, and the Assault Corps still maintained the ability to continue fighting.

After the Japanese Hata Detachment was defeated and suffered heavy losses, the Japanese army would no longer be able to launch offensive attacks on Banbi Mountain and the nearby Chinese army's defense lines in a short period of time. The focus of the battlefield is now concentrated on the Tianjia Town fortress area on the opposite side of Banbi Mountain.

In other words, the defenders on the Banbi Mountain line had been fighting fiercely with the Japanese army for some time, and now it was the turn of the defenders of the Tianjia Town Fortress and the Japanese army to fight to the death.

According to Wang Yuanling, the Japanese troops attacking Tianjia Town and even the Sixth Division of the Japanese Army were very familiar with He Wei of this division. During the Battle of Nanjing last year, this division had fought with He Wei and was notorious. Its combat effectiveness was also among the best among the regular divisions of the Japanese Army.

Li Yannian's Corps guarding Tianjia Town, although with the number of a corps, actually had only two infantry divisions, the 9th Division and the 57th Division, under it for actual combat. With two infantry divisions against the 6th Division, He Wei thought that Li Yannian would have a hard time in the future.

He Wei considered the overall situation of the war, thought for a moment, and said, "Pass my order, have all units of this corps defend in the reverse slope shelter on the back side of the Big and Small Bear Mountain according to the original defense plan, and continue to defend the Big and Small Bear Mountain line in coordination with friendly forces according to the predetermined defense plan. The defense of Banbi Mountain will also remain the same. While resting, we must be on high alert and continue to be ready for battle."

"In addition, we must not relax our vigilance and reconnaissance against the Japanese. Inform Commander Ma of the 385th Brigade of our friendly army. Doesn't his brigade have a cavalry company? Consult with him and ask him to send this company out to the Fuchi River line to continue searching and reconnaissance. Once they find anything, report back immediately."

Wang Yuanling nodded and said, "Yes! I will negotiate and arrange it immediately."

He Wei added, "By the way, Brother Yuan Ling, there's a fight going on in Tianjia Town now. We can't just sit back and watch. Commander Li Yannian has been very good to us. He sent us a large amount of ammunition and supplies, and also sent us a heavy artillery battalion. We owe him this favor, and we have to repay it. You order the heavy artillery battalion and the artillery battalion of our corps to go up half of the mountain and use the terrain advantage of the mountain to support Tianjia Town with artillery fire across the river. I'll call Commander Li later. Once Tianjia Town needs military support, my assault corps will also have to send troops across the river to support them. We have to help here!"

"Yes! Please rest assured, Captain. I have already contacted Commander Li Yannian. I have told him that if there is any need, our assault team will be responsible for it. But there is one more thing that needs your personal decision!"

Seeing Wang Yuanling's playful look, He Wei asked curiously, "What's the matter?"

"Captain, this is about my team reporting the results of this battle."

Then, He Wei asked in detail and finally understood what Wang Yuanling meant. After a troop has fought a major battle, it is necessary to count the results and losses and report to the top leaders. The assault corps is no exception.

The assault corps' offensive operation was over. After Wang Yuanling organized people to write a detailed battle report, the next step was to report it to the higher authorities.

At present, the assault corps is within the battle sequence of Li Yannian’s army. Wang Yuanling naturally reported the assault corps’ offensive combat process and battle report against the Hata Detachment to Li Yannian.

However, the 6th Division of the Japanese Army launched a fierce attack on Tianjia Town just when the assault corps' attack operation was about to end. Therefore, both Li Yannian and the command organization directly under Li Yannian's Corps were overwhelmed and busy dealing with the Japanese attack. How could they have time to take care of the affairs of the assault corps?
So, Li Yannian only threw one sentence to Wang Yuanling: The battle situation is urgent now. Although you are under my command now, you are a unit directly under the Military Commission after all. Report the battle report and situation directly to the Military Commission!

With Li Yannian's approval, the assault corps could bypass Li Yannian's army and communicate directly with the Military Commission to report the situation and results of the offensive operation.

Then the key question arises. Although the battle results have been counted, facing the highest command organization of the national army, which is also the military and political agency that holds the highest military command power, how should the assault corps report the existing statistical results and battle reports to the Military Commission in what caliber and what means?

To put it more bluntly, the question is whether to report the existing battle results and situation to the Military Commission truthfully, or to inflate, falsely report, and beautify the existing results and situation before reporting them.

This is the key issue that Wang Yuanling wants He Wei to decide personally!

(End of this chapter)