I'm killing enemies with my sword and exploding equipment

Huangping Town battlefield.

When it was just daybreak, the soldiers of the special forces regiment had their breakfast.

The white flour cakes were cooked in hot water into a thick paste, and salt and wild vegetables were added. They ate until sweat broke out on their foreheads and their whole bodies felt comfortable.

I wish I could pick up my gun right away and have a big fight with the Japanese to vent all my energy.

When it was daybreak, without any orders from Yang Yuanshan, Gao Yuanzhi and Wang Gensheng ordered their artillery to launch a frenzied bombardment of the Japanese artillery positions.

"Bang bang bang... bang bang..."

The sound of dense artillery shells being fired filled the air.

Two artillery battalions, with a total of more than 60 heavy artillery pieces, fired at the same time, immediately stunning the Japanese who were still struggling to exchange defense zones.

On the open road, amid the "boom boom boom" sound of artillery fire, the Japanese soldiers were blown to pieces and blood splattered everywhere.

Everyone was terrified and wanted to flee to the mountain ridges on both sides of the road.

However, some brave Japanese officers stood up and shouted:

"Baga! Artillery fire! Get out of the way quickly--"

However, what good are their shouts?
Under this level of heavy artillery bombardment, the Japanese soldiers who had no trenches or anti-artillery holes for cover would still be killed by the shock wave of the explosion even if they lay on the ground with their heads in their arms, or hid under the mountain walls on both sides of the road!

……

The commander of the 1st Division, Saburo Nakazawa, is having breakfast at this moment.

He planned to hand over the command center to Honda Masazo after finishing his meal.

However, he didn't expect that his opponent wouldn't even give him time to eat in peace!
The bombing began as soon as daybreak.

He was so angry that he threw the aluminum lunch box in his hand to the ground and roared:
"Baga! Why do the Eighth Route Army have so many heavy artillery?

Didn’t that bastard Masahiko Imai say that he destroyed a large number of their artillery?
Could it be that the Tubalu can also produce heavy artillery?"

At this time, his chief of staff, Takahashi Mantang, rushed in and shouted to him:
"Your Excellency, the situation is not good!
The density of the Eighth Route Army's artillery fire now is comparable to the simultaneous fire of our two field artillery regiments!
There seem to be a lot of 120mm heavy artillery among them!"

"What? Two artillery regiments???"

Saburo Nakazawa suddenly began to doubt his life.

Is this the number of artillery pieces a regimental unit should have?
But when he heard the earth-shaking sound of artillery fire outside, he realized that Takahashi Mantang was not kidding him!

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but roar loudly:
“Bagya Road!
This idiot Masahiko Imai simply falsely reported the results of the battle yesterday!

The Tubalu's artillery suffered no losses at all!"

"Your Excellency, Division Commander, now is not the time to assign blame, our artillery must counterattack immediately!
Otherwise, the warriors will suffer heavy casualties!"

Takahashi Mantang reminded urgently.

After hearing what he said, Saburo Nakazawa also reacted and realized that he could not count on the opponent's lack of artillery shells and stop the shelling himself.

We must respond immediately!
So he shouted and ordered:

"Hurry up, order Imai Masahiko to counterattack immediately!"

"Your Excellency, the division commander, Imai-kun and his men only have nine guns left. There is no way they can fight against the Tubalu's fifty or sixty heavy guns.

I suggest that the artillery units of the 8th Division open fire immediately!"

Takahashi Mantang suggested anxiously.

"Yoshi! Hurry up, move!"

Saburo Nakazawa was already in a state of confusion, so he followed suit.

Seeing that he agreed, Takahashi Mantang immediately called two messengers and asked them to find Masahiko Imai and Masazai Honda respectively.

At the same time, he ordered all personnel in this command center to pack up their things, carry Saburo Nakazawa on their backs, and begin to retreat eastward.

After all, the intensive explosions outside the valley were really scary.

It seemed that their valley could be blown down at any time.

……

At this time, the telegraph operator who was about to pack up the radio station suddenly received a telegram. He stood up excitedly and said to the hurried Nakazawa Saburo:
"Your Excellency, the Commander sent a telegram saying that he has mobilized the 7th Independent Mixed Brigade to attack the key city in the hinterland of northwest Shanxi, Heyuan County, along the path of Tianqing Valley and Xianling Mountain.

Let us hold the front line steady and wait for changes to occur in the rear of the Tubalu!"

Hearing this, Saburo Nakazawa was immediately surprised.

He hadn't received any good news for a long time, and now finally there was some.

It's like a blessing from heaven.

He couldn't help but exclaim in admiration:

“Yoshi!
Commander, this move is just like an antelope hanging its horns, it is absolutely brilliant!

Once Heyuan County is lost, the Eighth Route Army in Huangping Town will have no choice but to retreat in disgrace!"

He then asked the telegraph operator:
"Have you arranged a transport team to bring us food, Commander?"

The telegraph operator nodded:
"Hey! The commander's telegram said that he has arranged a large group of troops to escort a large amount of food to our side. It is expected that they will arrive in 2 to 3 days at most!"

"Yoshi! That's great!
Commander, you still remember the friendship we had when we fought side by side! "

Saburo Nakazawa was a little complacent and accidentally let the cat out of the bag.

Hearing what he said, Gao Qiao Mantang next to him couldn't help but ask curiously:

"Mr. Division Commander, were you and the Commander-in-Chief a colleague?"

He has been following Saburo Nakazawa for more than a year, but he never knew that this guy actually had an unusually close relationship with Ji Ning Okamura!
"That's right!
We were colleagues in the same squad during the Russo-Japanese War."

Now that the secret has been revealed, Saburo Nakazawa will no longer hide it.

Just show off.

The so-called Russo-Japanese War was the war between the Japanese and Russians in 1904.

After hearing what he said, Takahashi Mantang immediately understood why this guy, who had very poor command ability in battle, could serve as the commander of the 1st Division.

These qualifications and connections are really impressive!

After quickly praising the other party, he urged everyone present to pack up and prepare to evacuate.

……

Soon, everything in the temporary command center was packed up.

Takahashi Mando arranged for a strong soldier to carry Nakazawa Saburo, who had an injured right foot and was unable to walk on his own, on his back, and he led the way and rushed out of the valley.

Then he, along with the guards, telegraph operators, military doctors and others, followed them and rushed out frantically.

……

It is said that Saburo Nakazawa was being led out of the valley on the backs of soldiers riding ox-horses. Then he heard a deafening "whoosh, whoosh, whoosh" sound.

Looking up, I saw huge black spots flying in the sky and exploding when they landed.

The entire road was filled with potholes and dust.

Suddenly I couldn't help but exclaimed loudly:
“Bagya Road!
Are the Tubalu artillerymen wasting shells so wantonly?"

For the Japanese, large-caliber artillery shells are also quite precious.

Usually they would only use it to bombard important targets, and rarely attack random infantry targets. So at this moment, when he saw the artillery shells of the special forces regiment were completely aimed at such a long road, covering it with firepower at random, he had such doubts.

When Takahashi Mantang heard his exclamation, he was speechless.

I thought to myself: What the hell time is it now, and you still have the mood to care whether others waste artillery shells or not!
Do you know that saving your life is important?!
He's a veteran who participated in the Russo-Japanese War, and that's it?

He was about to urge Nakazawa Saburo to stop talking and think of other ways to resist the enemy's crazy bombardment, when suddenly a huge 120mm mortar shell suddenly fell on the road more than meters in front of them with the momentum of Mars hitting the Earth.

"boom!"

After a deafening bang, dozens of them were all swept into the air by the shock wave of the explosion.

Blood spurted out of his mouth!

There were also countless shrapnel that shot their bodies into sieves!

Let them return home without any pain.

The entire command structure of the First Division is destroyed!

……

On the Japanese side, the commander of the 1st Field Artillery Regiment, Masahiko Imai, did not know that his division commander and division chief of staff had been killed by the special forces regiment's artillery fire.

When he discovered that he was under bombardment, he ordered the only nine remaining artillery pieces under his command to start counterattacking under the fire.

After all, at this moment, their position was where the most shells fell.

If we don't fight back and just wait foolishly for orders from our superiors, we are just waiting to die, which is extremely stupid.

But at this moment, they were in a hurry and did not have time to send observers to observe the location of the special forces regiment's artillery position.

Therefore, Imai Masahiko did not waste time adjusting the bombardment parameters and directly gave the order:
"Everyone open fire. No need to adjust the firing parameters or calibrate the firing. Just fire with all your strength!"

Last night, Saburo Nakazawa sent someone to bring them the location of the special forces regiment's artillery positions as detected by the Army Aviation reconnaissance aircraft. They had already adjusted the firing parameters of each artillery piece and were ready for the firing.

……

Seeing his flag commands, the gunners, who were suppressed by the flying shrapnel and could not even raise their heads, immediately pulled the gun ropes.

Then, several artillery shells were fired towards Huangping Town.

……

In addition to their artillery, Honda Masaaki of the 8th Division was also stunned by the sudden and violent artillery fire from the Special Forces Regiment.

While ordering the infantry to disperse and avoid the artillery, he also ordered all the mountain artillery, field artillery, and howitzers in his division to fire back with all their might.

At this time, the division staff officer, Keihito Nagakubo, could not help but come close to him and whispered:

"Your Excellency, the Division Commander, how come the Eighth Route Army still has so many heavy artillery?

Didn’t Commander Nakazawa say that they had basically destroyed the Eighth Route Army’s heavy artillery yesterday?
It's impossible that the other side had a large number of reinforcements arrive last night, right?"

He almost said directly: Saburo Nakazawa was a jerk. He lied to them about military intelligence and dragged their 8th Division into the water.

Fortunately, when the words were on the tip of his tongue, he still remembered the other party's status and position. He was much higher than himself, and a mere colonel like him was not qualified to insult him.

So I forced myself to restrain myself.

Of course Honda Masakai understood what he meant.

But for things like this, without evidence, it's pointless to expose them.

What's more, Saburo Nakazawa nominally has the authority to command his Eighth Division.

So, he could only shake his head and sigh:
"Kubo-kun, there is no point in exploring these things now.

We must act now and launch an attack on the Eighth Route Army!
Otherwise, if we continue to passively take the bombing like this, we will suffer heavy losses!"

Kubo Keijin nodded, rolled his eyes, and suggested:

"Your Excellency, the terrain we are in now is unfavorable.

I suggest that we send a regiment to advance along the ridges on both sides of the road to seize the commanding heights, and then order the cavalry regiment to charge forward and use their mobility to rush into the positions of the Tubalu and interrupt their artillery fire.

"idiot!
The road is narrow. Wouldn't it be foolish to let the cavalry regiment charge?
Moreover, our artillery can immediately open fire to counterattack. If our cavalry rushes to the Tubalu, they may suffer accidental injuries!"

Honda Masashi looked at Kubo Keihito with a look on his face as if he was a fool.

He knew that yesterday the tank regiment of the 1st Division tried to charge and was almost wiped out on this narrow road!

"Your Excellency, the artillery fire of the Eighth Route Army is too terrible!

I am worried...I am worried that the artillery regiment may not be able to gain the upper hand!"

Kubo Keijin is certainly not a fool, and he hurried to explain.

Hearing what he said, Honda Masazai's expression also became serious.

Of course, he could also see that the opponent had at least fifty or sixty heavy artillery pieces!

Moreover, the shells seemed to be wasted at will.

There is indeed a great possibility that our 8th Field Artillery Regiment will not be able to suppress the enemy in such a hurry.

However, cavalry is also a very valuable technical force for the Japanese.

He would rather lose infantry than cavalry.

So after a moment's hesitation, he decisively gave the order:
"Immediately order the 5th and 31st Infantry Regiments to advance along the ridges on both sides of the road!
Once you encounter an obstruction by the Eighth Route Army, you can send troops to attack the flank of the Eighth Route Army's defense line!

The 17th and 32nd Regiments, advance quickly along the mountain walls on both sides of the road!"

Hearing his order, Kubo Keijin quickly stopped him:

"Your Excellency, the enemy's artillery fire is fierce now. Is it unnecessary to let the 17th and 32nd Regiments advance and suffer losses in vain?
Instead, they should withdraw one after another out of the range of the enemy's artillery?
Wait until our artillery has significant results before considering a frontal attack?"

"The infantry can withdraw, but what about the baggage troops?

Our food supply is already insufficient. If we abandon it now, the warriors will go hungry tonight!"

Honda Masashi roared.

After hearing what he said, Kubo Keijin had to admit that this consideration made sense.

But he still wanted to struggle one last time:
"Your Excellency, as long as our troops are not lost, we can send people to the nearby villages to raid for food!"

"Baga! Kubo-kun!
I am the commander of the Eighth Division!

Execute the order immediately!"

Honda Masazai was too lazy to talk nonsense with him and directly used his authority as the division commander.

He didn't bother to explain to the other side: retreating under such circumstances would cause a complete collapse of his own military's morale.

If the enemy pursues them closely, not only will their Eighth Division be doomed, but the First Division, which has already lost 80% of its power, will also be destroyed.

By then, the overall situation in northern Hebei might become precarious.

It would be better to give it a try now while we still have strength.

Although the opponent is very strong, Honda Masazai feels that as a Class A division, he is no pushover!

Seeing his firm attitude, Kubo Keijin could only bow:

"Hi!"

...(End of chapter)