I'm killing enemies with my sword and exploding equipment

In the temporary headquarters of the Japanese Eighth Division.

Seeing Kitagawa Ryoki hurried away, the division staff officer Nagakubo Keijin hurriedly said:
"Your Excellency, the division commander, the artillery has moved back, what about our two infantry brigades?
Without artillery cover, if the Eighth Route Army's heavy artillery turned its guns and fired at them, their casualties would be very heavy!"

Honda Masashi was in a very bad mood, and even had a splitting headache, and immediately responded:
"idiot!
You are the division chief of staff, please come up with a solution instead of always asking me what to do!!!"

Seeing that Honda Masazai, who was as close to him as a brother before, suddenly turned against him, Kubo Keihito was a little confused.

I thought to myself: Are you born in the year of the dog?

Changing one's attitude is faster than turning the pages of a book!

After a moment, he came back to his senses, took the initiative to understand the other party's bad mood after receiving bad news, and said without showing any dissatisfaction:

"Your Excellency the Division Commander is right, and I have failed in my duty.

I suggest that the infantry units in the front be ordered to turn back immediately to avoid being exposed to the heavy artillery fire of the Eighth Route Army.

After our artillery shells arrive and the artillery can continue to provide fire cover, we will launch the attack again!

To avoid too many casualties!"

He is used to being a dog and is accustomed to self-PUA.

Unfortunately, Honda Masazai was not interested in his suggestion.

With the anger still raging in his heart, he immediately continued to roar at him:

"idiot!
Yoshiyuki Tsuchiya and Nobuhiro Fujita are both trash!
After more than two hours, they still couldn't break into the Eighth Route Army's position. What on earth were they doing?
Are they trying to show me how hard they are fighting???"

Kubo Keijin was sprayed with foul-smelling saliva in his face, and he felt so disgusted.

I thought to myself: I don’t give a f*ck about your bad attitude, you’re not done yet, are you?

It’s none of my business if these two capable men under you are not competent!
What are you spraying at me?
How long has it been since you brushed your teeth? You don’t mind your bad breath, do you?

Bageya Road!!!

Even though he was complaining madly in his heart, he didn't dare to show it on his face.

He had already seen that Honda Masazai didn't want to order the infantry to retreat at all!

So I could only bite the bullet and continue to suggest:

"Mr. Division Commander, if you don't want them to retreat, why don't you order Mr. Yano from the First Division to lead his troops into battle?
Didn’t they just send someone to report that they had assembled a regiment-sized force?
With a new regiment of soldiers joining the battle, the Tubalu's defense line should collapse, right?"

When Honda Masashi heard this idea, his eyes suddenly lit up and he nodded immediately:

"Yoshi! Kubo-kun, send someone to give orders to Yano Masao immediately!

Order them to charge into the Eighth Route Army position at all costs!
I absolutely do not believe that the Eighth Route Army’s heavy artillery can continue firing!
Even if they have enough shells, the gun barrels will definitely be broken after more than two hours of continuous shelling!"

For him, letting the remnants of the 1st Division die was not a psychological burden at all.

Anyway, so many people in the First Division are dead, so it won’t be a big deal if a few thousand more are dead, right?
Anyway, don’t they still have a 57th Regiment in Ji Zhong?

No matter what happens, the army will not be completely wiped out and the organization will not be lost.

If Saburo Nakazawa was in hell and saw this scene, he would probably want to jump out and strangle him to death.

By the way, yell at him: You bastard!
You don't feel bad when your son sells your father's land, right?
My First Division is in such a miserable state, and you still won’t let it go!!!
It’s a waste. I was embarrassed to let your Eighth Division go in the front and take the blame!

I regret it!!!

……

Kubo Keijin was speechless when he saw that Honda Masazai was determined to stick to his path.

I muttered to myself: You clearly saw the miserable state of Saburo Nakazawa, why do you want to repeat the same mistake now?

It is obvious that this group of local guerrillas is not easy to deal with!

Wouldn't it be better to take a step back?
He naturally didn't know that what Honda Masazai was thinking in his heart was that he had now deployed almost all of his combat troops, and the losses must have been considerable.

If he retreated now, it would almost mean the end of his military career!

After all, even though they have strong soldiers and horses at the beginning, they are still unable to defeat the enemy. No matter how they reorganize the army later, it is impossible to restore the combat effectiveness of their heyday.

As a result, the two Class A divisions' westward advance was futile and suffered heavy losses.

And so many heavy artillery pieces were lost, it was a truly appalling defeat!
Saburo Nakazawa died heroically on the battlefield and will not be blamed.

But although he was a talented person, he could not escape the fate of being transferred to the reserve force and even being loyal to His Majesty Tian Huang!
……

After receiving the order from Honda Masazai, Masao Yano, who had already retreated to the east side of the battlefield and watched the 8th Division being beaten by the Special Forces Regiment, suddenly became so angry that he wanted to hit someone.

I cursed in my heart: Bastard Honda Masashi!
Do you fucking think that I can't see that your Eighth Division is already in decline?
Now you ask the last blood and bones of our First Division to attack. This is asking us to die!
Bageya Road!!!

Damn bastard!
But the Japanese's battlefield discipline is still quite strict.

Although he was a major general in the army, he did not dare to openly disobey the enemy's orders on the battlefield.

Even though he was extremely reluctant, he had no choice but to rush westward with his 3000 or so soldiers who were barely able to fight.

However, the speed of this charge is not much faster than a turtle's crawling.

He was not afraid that Honda Masazai would send someone to question him again about why the speed was so slow.

Because he was prepared, and when the time came he would retort to the other side with confidence: There are so many wounded in my troops, and the current speed is that the warriors are already disregarding their lives!
What else do you want?

……

The Japanese artillery was basically destroyed, and the two artillery battalions of the special forces regiment were not in a good situation at the moment.

After more than two hours of fierce fighting, most of their artillery had been destroyed.

And many gunners also died.

However, Gao Yuanzhi and Wang Gensheng had not given up. They gritted their teeth and persevered, commanding the soldiers to continue firing.

There were not many experienced old gunners, so they ordered the new recruits who were originally serving as ammunition handlers to operate the artillery.

Anyway, we only need fire coverage, not precision strikes, so it doesn't matter if the craftsmanship is a little rough.

If you participate in a few more battles, you will become an experienced gunner.

……

At the position of the 1st Artillery Battalion, the remaining soldiers, under the command of Gao Yuanzhi, continued to fire at the Japanese while sweating profusely.

Suddenly, gunners reported to him one after another:

"Captain, our gun barrels are all red and about to explode. We can't fire anymore!"

Gao Yuanzhi heard this and gave the order without hesitation:

"Water immediately, replace the barrel, and keep firing!

The Japanese can't stop firing, so we can't stop!"

Upon hearing this, the gunners could only grit their teeth and agree. Then, ignoring the flying shrapnel, they desperately poured water on the gun barrel that could be used to roast meat. Then they wrapped the still hot gun barrel with their military uniforms and worked hard to dismantle and replace the gun barrel.

As soon as the gun barrel was replaced, they continued to fire shells frantically at the Japanese positions.

……

During the desperate battle, Gao Yuanzhi gradually discovered that the Japanese artillery counterattack was becoming weaker and weaker.

He immediately shouted excitedly:
"Comrades, the Japs' artillery is almost finished!

If we work harder, we can kill them all!"

Hearing the shout, the soldiers, who were already exhausted and exhausted, instantly regained some strength. They shouted and operated the remaining ten or so artillery pieces, continuing to fire wildly at the Japanese.

The continuously falling shell casings formed a mountain on their position.

The ammunition handlers had to push the shell casings away at the risk of getting burned to avoid interfering with the artillery's continued firing.

……

After about ten minutes, no more shells came from the Japanese side. Gao Yuanzhi shouted excitedly:

"Comrades, the Japs' artillery is finished!
We won!!!! "Hearing this, the surviving soldiers on the battlefield immediately jumped three feet high and burst into earth-shaking cheers:

"We won! We won! We won!"

Today's artillery battle was an unprecedented fierce battle for them!
Hearing the news of victory, everyone was naturally excited and unable to control themselves.

……

Just as the soldiers of the First Artillery Battalion were shouting in unison, Wang Gensheng from the Second Artillery Battalion also discovered that the Japanese had stopped firing shells.

He also jumped up with excitement.

He announced the good news loudly to the soldiers, causing a round of cheers.

……

To the west of Huangping Town, Miao Sanmu, the company commander of the self-propelled howitzer company, did not have the quick reaction of Gao Yuanzhi and Wang Gensheng.

He was still leading his four self-propelled howitzers to continue firing shells at the Japanese.

However, at this moment, the section of road where they were located had been blasted with huge craters by the Japanese heavy artillery.

This made the movement of their artillery not as smooth as before.

The speed of the artillery fire also slowed down a lot.

……

Gao Yuanzhi and Wang Gensheng, as the battalion commanders of the artillery battalion, were only excited for less than a minute before they calmed down.

Knowing that the war is not over yet, we must not get carried away.

So he immediately arranged for a telegraph operator to send a message to Yang Yuanshan to report the situation.

Then he arranged his soldiers to rescue the wounded, and ordered the gunners to clean the gun barrels and continue firing at the Japanese infantry artillery positions scattered everywhere!
Now that the soldiers were free from the pressure of enemy artillery bombardment, they were all in high spirits, chatting and laughing while they were busy.

Soon, the heavy artillery on the position continued to roar, making the Japanese soldiers suffer terribly.

……

In the temporary command post of the special forces regiment.

Yang Yuanshan received a report that all the Japanese heavy artillery had misfired.

I was suddenly excited.

I couldn't help but say to Zhan Haishan and Han Yang:
"Haishan, Hanyang, we won this battle!"

Zhan Haishan frowned:
"Captain, isn't it too early for you to say this?
Even if the Japs have lost their heavy artillery, they still have infantry artillery, cavalry, tanks, and 10,000 to 20,000 infantry, right? "

Han Yang chuckled:
"Old Zhan, now that the Japanese have lost their heavy artillery, no matter how many other soldiers they have, they are still a piece of cake for us, right?
The leader said we won, and that's absolutely right!"

Yang Yuanshan nodded and explained with a smile on his face:
"That's right!
Haishan, no matter how many infantry units the Japs have, they can't withstand the bombardment of our remaining heavy artillery.

They didn't prepare trenches or anti-gun holes in advance, so they were bombed into pulp by our artillery fire. Even rats would be blown into pulp!"

"But Commander, what if the Japanese choose to retreat immediately?
They only have so many soldiers left. If they run away, we won’t be able to catch up with them!"

Zhan Haishan said again.

"So we can't scare the devils away now."

Yang Yuanshan pondered.

Then he immediately ordered:

"Han Yang, immediately arrange for someone to give orders to Gao Yuanzhi, Wang Gensheng, and Miao Sanmu, and have them immediately stop the shelling and retreat to Damai Valley!"

"Ah - Captain, are we retreating now?
Isn't it necessary?

Why don't we continue fighting and wipe out these two divisions?"

Han Yang was somewhat puzzled by his decision.

"We ordered the artillery to withdraw to Damai Valley, but we didn't say we would let the Japanese go.

Their artillery had a long enough range that they could still bombard the Japanese even if they retreated to Damai Valley.

Besides, we have built so many trenches in Huangping Town, we must make use of them!"

Yang Yuanshan replied with a smile.

After he said this, Zhan and Han immediately understood what he meant. He wanted to let the Japanese into Huangping Town and deal with them slowly.

Han Yang nodded quickly, and then arranged for someone to pass the order to the artillery unit.

But Zhan Haishan was still a little worried.

After thinking for a while, he reminded:
“Captain, there is no problem in luring the enemy deep into our territory, but we cannot just rush them away. We have to fight and retreat at the same time. We can let the second battalion retreat into the town first. The first and third battalions are at the commanding heights and can retreat slowly.

In addition, our wounded and the ammunition temporarily stored in the western valley must also be transported away first."

The battle had made such progress on the second day, and naturally there were still a lot of supplies and ammunition left that the Special Forces Regiment had prepared in advance.

"Well, of course."

Yang Yuanshan nodded.

……

At this time, a telegraph operator suddenly stood up and reported to Yang Yuanshan:
"Captain, the first battalion called and said they only have less than 500 soldiers left who can fight, and many of them are wounded!"

Upon hearing the news, Zhan Haishan and Han Yang's faces instantly turned very ugly.

The original smile is gone.

A main infantry battalion has less than 500 people left, which is almost a complete loss of its organization!

However, Yang Yuanshan was not too surprised.

Among the three battalions on the front line, the first battalion has been fighting since yesterday and has suffered the greatest losses. It is now unable to hold on, which is very reasonable.

So he immediately issued four orders:

"Order Li Dahe to lead the Fourth Battalion to replace the First Battalion and continue to hold the position!"

"Order Zhao Tietou to lead the fifth battalion to replace the third battalion!"

"Order He Yunfu to lead the Second Battalion to fight and retreat, and lure the Japanese into Huangping Town. Don't let them escape!"

"Order Wang Xikui to lead the sniper company to the east of the town to cover the Second Battalion and shoot down the Japanese."

"Yes!"

……

After giving these orders, Yang Yuanshan arranged for Han Yang to say:

"Han Yang, you are responsible for leading the team to transport our unused supplies and ammunition to the direction of Barley Valley!"

"it is good!"

At this time, Zhan Haishan remembered something and asked quickly:
"Commander, is Captain Feng's anti-aircraft artillery battalion also going to retreat?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Yuanshan suddenly felt a little sympathy for Feng Shuanglin.

This guy went to great lengths to set up artillery positions for air defense, but he didn't even get to fight.

At least Guo Youqing's Second Anti-aircraft Artillery Battalion helped the First and Third Infantry Battalions to fire and deal with the Japanese infantry!
But there is nothing we can do about it. Who made the Japanese bombers so cowardly that they didn't dare to come to Huangping Town to seek death?
He could only nod with regret:
“They have to retreat.

Otherwise, if the Japanese discovered their position, they would be in danger of being surrounded.

Haishan, send a telegram to Shuanglin.

As for Lao Guo's 2nd Anti-aircraft Artillery Battalion, have them withdraw to the west of Huangping Town and deploy their machine guns to prepare to cover the retreat of the various troops."

"Yes!"

...(End of chapter)