The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 537: I'm Going to Be Made into Dumplings
At the command post of the assault corps, the tank battalion commander Zhao Huzhen and the commanding officer of the assault corps' search company Zhao Zhanhai, who had just arrived, looked solemnly at the baton sliding back and forth on the battle map, their hearts filled with shock at the current battle situation.

"This is the current situation. The enemy has landed a new force in the direction of Beihai and defeated our garrison in Beihai overnight. Now not only do we not know the enemy situation very well, but even the friendly forces in Qinzhou are completely unclear about the situation. According to the Japanese army's advance, if they pursue the victory after capturing Beihai, they can either attempt to capture Qinzhou or attack in the direction of Qisha. No matter where the enemy attacks, it will be extremely disadvantageous to us."

As soon as He Wei finished speaking, Zhao Zhanhai, the commander of the search company, said anxiously: "According to this situation, we may be surrounded at any time."

He Wei nodded slightly and said, "Indeed, if the Japanese army attacks from the Beihai direction to Qisha, it can form a flanking attack on our Qisha defenders. Both our corps and the friendly new 19th Division will face the danger of being flanked by the Japanese army."

"If the Japanese troops landing in Qisha take advantage of the situation and launch an attack, we will face simultaneous attacks from the front and flanks, and the situation will be very critical."

Wang Yuanling added, and as he spoke, he drew a large encirclement from Qisha to Beihai on the map. Seeing the encirclement that included the assault corps and the entire new 19th Division, Zhao Zhanhai and Zhao Huzhen both felt a chill.

"So we have to take action first. The friendly 46th Army is clueless and can't provide any intelligence help. We can only rely on ourselves. I asked you two to come here to prepare to send an advance search force to search and advance in the direction of Beihai to scout the enemy situation from Beihai to Qinzhou."

He Wei said.

Zhao Huzhen and Zhao Zhanhai both said at the same time: "Understood!"

He Wei nodded and continued, "Pull out all the search companies. The tank battalion doesn't need to be fully mobilized. Captain Zhao, you just need to pull out a tank company to cooperate with the search company. According to reports from friendly forces, the Japanese troops landing in Beihai are equipped with tanks and armored vehicles. You must be prepared to deal with the Japanese tanks."

"As for specific command, Captain Zhao, you must consult with the captain of the tank company in advance before departure, unify command, unify thoughts, and make plans. In addition, report the situation to the headquarters by telegram every half an hour. It is best to find a way to capture a few prisoners alive and extract some intelligence from them. I will hand over the special forces of the General Staff Office to you, and let the surrendered members of the special forces cooperate with you."

Zhao Zhanhai nodded: "Captain, I understand. I will complete the task!"

He Wei patted Zhao Zhanhai on the shoulder, looked at the tank battalion commander Zhao Huzhen, and said, "Okay, get ready as soon as possible. Director Wang will coordinate with the Rangers. The situation is very critical this time. The success or failure of our team depends on you."

The two men quickly left the command post to organize the troops, and He Wei issued several more orders.

Although the friendly forces had no idea of ​​the situation, He Wei was deducing the current situation from the worst-case scenario. The so-called worst-case scenario was that the Japanese troops landing in the North Sea would coordinate their attack with the Japanese troops in front of them and defeat themselves.

In other words, He Wei's troops and the friendly 19th Division were in danger of being surrounded or even annihilated by the Japanese army at any time. This was by no means an exaggeration. The Japanese troops landing in Beihai were even equipped with tanks, and their manpower and firepower were definitely not inferior to those of the Japanese troops in Qisha.

The only Nationalist troops in Qisha were the Assault Corps and its attached troops under He Wei and a new 19th Division. The enemy forces in front of them alone had a Fifth Division and a Guards Mixed Brigade. The Japanese army had far more troops than the Nationalist troops in Qisha. Add to that the Japanese troops that were encircling from the North Sea. Once the Japanese encirclement was formed, it would definitely be enough to give He Wei a hard time.
Faced with this possibility, He Wei did not dare to be negligent at all, let alone sit and wait for death, so he immediately decided to send out a search team to take the initiative to search.

Therefore, he dispatched the assault corps' direct search company and a tank company to carry out the search. The assault corps' direct search company implemented mule and horse and motorized mobility at the beginning of its establishment, but after the assault corps was supplemented with a large number of trucks, the company was completely motorized. The entire company used trucks and motorcycles as mobility tools and had strong mobility. Together with a tank company, it was enough to deal with possible Japanese tanks and complete reconnaissance and search missions.

In fact, He Wei had a whole battalion of trucks at his disposal, and could have sent out an infantry battalion to search, but he did not dare to send out too many troops at once.

After all, there is a large Japanese army lurking in front of their position in the direction of Qisha. If they send out a large force to carry out the search mission, and the Japanese army in front of Qisha suddenly launches a fierce attack, they will be attacked from both inside and outside and completely annihilate them. They will be in a very passive position at that time.

Therefore, after weighing all the factors, he still felt that sending out a search company and a tank company was the most appropriate. After issuing the order to attack the search force, He Wei ordered the assault corps and the tank battalion and other attached troops to prepare for retreat. Each battalion should withdraw ammunition and equipment, reorganize officers and soldiers, and load all the baggage, ammunition, large luggage, wounded soldiers with limited mobility, and weapons and equipment captured in recent days of fighting onto the trucks of the motor battalion assigned to the assault corps. The three battalion-affiliated mortar companies and the direct anti-aircraft artillery company were also withdrawn.

He also did not miss the friendly New 19th Division. Both the supreme commander of the frontline garrison, the commander of the 56th Regiment, Yang Tian, ​​and the commander of the New 19th Division, Huang Gu, who was as anxious as an ant on hot pan and even more anxious than He Wei, received He Wei's report. Although He Wei was still unclear about the situation, he explained to them the urgency of the current situation and the possibility that the Japanese army might adopt a roundabout encirclement tactic, and advised them to be prepared to retreat.

In short, He Wei was ready to escape, and notifying friendly forces was also to inform them in advance so that they could also prepare to retreat.

Although the new 19th Division is a subordinate unit of the 46th Army, it knows nothing about the situation in the North Sea and the current status of the 46th Army.

The division commander Huang Gu was shocked when he received He Wei's call. Without even thinking, he assured He Wei on the phone that he would immediately gather the troops and prepare for retreat. He also said a lot of good things to He Wei, hoping that He Wei could keep in touch with the new 19th Division and must notify the new 19th Division when retreating. He also stated in a very humble manner that once the assault corps retreated, the new 19th Division would cooperate with the assault corps in its actions.

A division commander told Colonel He Wei that one of his infantry divisions would cooperate with the assault corps. This meant that since He Wei's troops were strong and well-equipped with cars and tanks, he hoped that they could help the new 19th Division when the time came.

He Wei readily agreed to this. Although the new 19th Division was a Gui army unit, He Wei had no factional prejudices, nor was he the kind of person who would betray his allies. He was happy to lend a hand to his allies, and naturally promised to take care of the new 19th Division during the retreat.

In the continuous orders, contacts and communications, He Wei finally completed a series of arrangements and made the Kuomintang troops in the Qisha direction ready to retreat. Now all he had to do was wait for the report from the search team.

Outside Qinzhou, the sound of artillery fire and the smoke of gunpowder filled the sky
In the wilderness, thousands of soldiers of the 175th Division wearing British plum blossom steel helmets were fleeing in chaos and disorder. The sounds of various gunfire and wailing echoed repeatedly. The thousands of fleeing soldiers of the 175th Division were sparse and chaotic, and their appearance fully demonstrated what it meant to be defeated like a landslide.

In the team, some soldiers were carrying weapons, while others simply threw away their weapons and became unarmed soldiers. Among them were some officers fleeing on horseback, ruthlessly crashing into the fleeing soldiers in the team. The fleeing soldiers who were running around were scolding and cursing, and the wounded soldiers who could not keep up with the team were wailing and begging. Ammunition boxes, weapons, and baggage were thrown everywhere.

The fleeing soldiers seemed exhausted and kept falling behind. However, when they heard the gunshots coming from behind them, all the exhausted soldiers could only run with all their might.

Behind the fleeing troops, lines of fire were fired one after another, and bullets flew everywhere, constantly sweeping and attacking the fleeing troops.

Hundreds of Japanese cavalrymen shouted and galloped on their horses, following in pursuit and continuously shooting at the fleeing soldiers in front with their carbines. Some of the Japanese cavalrymen accelerated forward from time to time, waving their sharp sabers to chop down the fleeing Nationalist soldiers who had fallen behind.

Around the flanks of the Japanese cavalry, more than 30 Type 94 light armored vehicles also accelerated their advance, chasing the fleeing soldiers, and the vehicle-mounted machine guns on the turrets spewed out strings of flames.

Whips of fire and rain of bullets shot into the fleeing troops of the 175th Division, and the scene was extremely tragic.

Last night's battle was an extremely successful landing attack for the Japanese troops that landed in the direction of the North Sea. After landing, the Japanese army easily defeated two regiments of the 175th Division. After defeating these two regiments, the Japanese army pursued the victory and quickly defeated another regiment of the 175th Division that served as a reserve, and then directly defeated the entire 175th Division.

After the defeat, the Japanese army did not cautiously stop the attack, but launched a frantic pursuit overnight. The commander of the second landing force of the Japanese army, General Hisanazu of the 18th Division, faithfully carried out Ando Toshiyoshi's order and mobilized the 18th Cavalry Regiment directly under the 18th Division and two light armored vehicle squadrons from the mixed tank brigade to form a pursuit team. Relying on the rapid mobility of cavalry and light armored vehicles, they launched a fierce pursuit of the defeated troops of the 175th Division.

Overnight, the Japanese army's pursuit began at night and has continued until now. An entire cavalry regiment and two light armored vehicle squadrons have been chasing and fighting the defeated troops of the 175th Division all the way, until the command system of the entire 175th Division at all levels was completely paralyzed. Although the defeated 175th Division troops lost their command, all units chose the same retreat direction - Qinzhou.

(End of this chapter)