Age of Rebirth

On the southern line of Linghai City on the north bank of the Daling River, the Kwantung Army’s Ninth Army No.18 Division Headquarters, Lieutenant General Watanabe, the division commander, sat in the underground headquarters in a daze. The casualties caused to the No.18 Division far exceeded his expectations.

The exact number of casualties of soldiers has not yet been calculated, but according to the estimation of the chief of staff of the division, almost all the soldiers on the front line were killed or injured, and more than one-third of the soldiers on the second line were killed or injured. The three field artillery regiments , the entire army was almost wiped out, and the No.18 Division only had two positions!

What makes Lieutenant General Watanabe painful is the casualties of commanders at all levels. Now it has been reported that three regiment captains were killed, two were seriously injured, and three others were also injured. The eight regiment leaders were either dead or injured. The attached Third Mixed Brigade, brigade commander Major General Yoshio Kawada, and the three regiment captains under his command were all killed. Too many, almost dead!

A unit without officers is a mess. According to Lieutenant General Watanabe, the defense line on the north bank of the Daling River cannot be defended no matter what. The best way now is for the Ninth Army to retreat immediately and break away from the independent division The offensive spearhead of the entire army, and then organize the second defensive front. Also, the troops on the second defensive line that have not retreated must stop retreating, turn around, and invest in the battle to counterattack the independent division troops!

Only in this way, there is still a glimmer of hope for the defense of the Daling River. Lieutenant General Watanabe is dictating a message to the communications officer, preparing to send it to Lieutenant General Gu Cang, the commander of the Ninth Army.Strongly expressing his opinions, Lieutenant General Watanabe did not hide his anger in the telegram.And the anger and doubts of Lieutenant General Grann, the commander of the army.

Lieutenant General Watanabe believed that, as the commander of the Ninth Army, Lieutenant General Gu Cang should explain the actual situation of the Daling River defense line to General Umezu Yoshijiro, the commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army. On the second line of defense, a part of the reserve force was left for the Ninth Army.However, Lieutenant General Grann obeyed General Meijin's orders.Did not dare to raise objections.

In the telegram, Lieutenant General Watanabe even used some harsh words, with the meaning of questioning, regarding this point.He wasn't worried about reprisals from Lieutenant General Barn.As determined by the organizational structure of the Imperial Army, divisions are the highest level of combat units, and the appointment, dismissal and transfer of division heads must be approved by His Majesty the Emperor himself, and the military command organizations are mostly temporarily set up. , The commander of the army is also served by a senior officer of the lieutenant general level.

Formed before the war, canceled after the war.Depending on the battlefield situation, it has a great temporary color.Therefore, in the Imperial Army, most of the division heads who hold real power are rebellious and rebellious, and most of them don't buy it for the first-level commanders of the army. Due to your order of command, it's normal for you not to be a bird, that is to say, even if he pointed at the barn lieutenant general's nose and scolded him, he didn't dare to do anything to him.

Under normal circumstances, the commander of the army maintains considerable respect and politeness towards officers at the division commander level, or in other words, is jealous, but Lieutenant General Watanabe thinks that he is a well-educated imperial general and cannot act like a shrew. He scolded the street a lot, but it didn't prevent him from expressing his inner dissatisfaction with fierce language in the telegram!

A telegram full of resentment hadn't been dictated yet. The staff officer sent an order from Lieutenant General Gu Cang, the commander of the army. The telegram was broken, and he cursed angrily: "Baga! This is the most stupid order I have ever seen. This is to completely destroy the lives of tens of thousands of imperial soldiers from the Ninth Army!"

But Lieutenant General Watanabe has nothing to do, because Lieutenant General Gu Cang has stated in the order that the Ninth Army will not pay any price, and the order to stick to the Daling River defense line was issued by General Umezu Yoshijiro, the commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army The order, I am just conveying the order of the Commander-in-Chief, if you refuse to implement it, everyone will have nothing to eat, no matter how arrogant Lieutenant General Watanabe is, he will not dare to compete with the top Kwantung Army leader!

After tearing the telegram from Lieutenant General of the Barn to pieces, he picked up the telegram he had just dictated and tore it up one by one, as if he was tearing up the last hope of the No. 18 Division, "Convey my order, Division All the troops of the regiment should immediately block the breach, and even the last remaining soldier will fall on the position of the breach!" He said in a hoarse voice, and the pain in his eyes could not be suppressed.

At this moment, in the underground headquarters, the ground tremor was suddenly felt, and the tremor became more and more violent, but no explosion was heard. Lieutenant General Watanabe listened suspiciously. A major officer, even He ran in scrambling, and reported in a panic: "Division commander, tanks! The tanks of the independent division have already arrived in front of the division headquarters, and there are thousands of them!"

"Haney?" Lieutenant General Watanabe exclaimed, and rushed to the lookout hole. In the dark night, against the afterglow of the battlefield, giants with dark figures, with their bright headlights, rolled around. Come on, dazzling light beams cut through the night sky like sharp swords, the "cracking" sound of crawlers crushing gravel and mud stimulated the eardrums, the ground was trembling, and the roar of rumbling engines resounded through the night sky!

"Haney? Could it be that the soldiers on the two positions were all killed? The tanks of the Independent Division advanced as if they had entered an uninhabited territory, but it was impossible. Just ten minutes ago, I was still alive. Several regimental leaders sent telegrams, why did the tanks of the independent division arrive in front of us ten minutes later?" The head of the division head Watanabe asked questions, the trembling of the ground became more and more intense, and the soil on the top of the bunker of the underground command headquarters, It fell down in a "rustle".

Amidst the overwhelming roar of the independent division's armored clusters, the head of the division Watanabe could vaguely hear the sound of guns and artillery from the frontline positions. He suddenly understood that the soldiers of the No.18 division had not all been broken. , is still fighting, and the breakthrough is still being fought for. Then, the purpose of the tank group of the independent division, desperately advancing deep into its own position, is clearly revealed, it is to raid Linghai City!

In Linghai City, there is only one brigade of the No.18 Division, and it is still a second-rate supply unit. The rest is the division hospital and logistics agencies. Linghai City is equivalent to an empty city. "Clear tactics, a large number of tanks A quick assault, quickly capture Ling Hai, and then chase the retreating imperial troops, what a good way!" Division Chief Watanabe said to himself.

At this moment, the head of the Watanabe division calmed down instead. It was a kind of calmness in despair. The No. 18 division's underground headquarters was strong and concealed. And the infantry accompanying the attack may not be able to discover that a dozen meters underground is the headquarters of a division of the Kwantung Army.

Lieutenant General Watanabe hid here and had a great chance of not being discovered. However, he made a completely opposite decision. He said to the captain of the guard: "Call all the officers and soldiers of the division and regiment headquarters immediately, and take Pick up your weapons, get out of the shelter, and block and blow up the tanks of the Independent Division!"

The captain of the guard, who had followed Lieutenant General Watanabe for many years, turned pale with fright, and cried out in a tearful tone: "Your Excellency, Division Commander, please think twice! Most of the command staff are civilian officers with little combat experience, and the weapons are all They are rifles and pistols, not even grenades, we can’t stop the tanks of the Independent Division when we go out!”

"Eight Ga!" Lieutenant General Watanabe was furious, "What are you saying? You can't stop the enemy's tanks, cowards! Cowards! Although we don't have effective weapons, we have the heroic spirit of the Japanese Empire, and we are not afraid of death. Bushido spirit, if we look at the tanks of the Independent Division and look at them from the front without making any counterattacks, we are not worthy of being an imperial soldier, let alone the title of warrior!"

Lieutenant General Watanabe knew that there was absolutely no possibility of surviving. He died on the land of Manchuria, which was an inevitable outcome. He cannot be captured by the soldiers of the Independent Division, and beheaded by soldiers of inferior ethnic groups in the midst of endless humiliation.

Lieutenant General Watanabe, who was ashamed and desperate for death, didn't even have the mood to write a suicide note, so he picked up the command knife with a gold steel handle, wiped it carefully, and strode out of the underground bunker. Behind him, mechanically followed More than 100 officers and soldiers of the No.18 Division Headquarters, all of them had numb expressions on their faces, and headed towards the torrent of tanks of the Independent Division.

Battelle commanded hundreds of tanks in the first echelon, and, throwing off the sound of guns and artillery on the battlefield at the Daling River breakthrough, headed straight for Linghai City at the fastest speed. It is the best time to seize it if the number is extremely low. Once the soldiers of the Kwantung Army on the north bank of the Daling River retreat and enter Linghai City, I am afraid that there will be another fierce battle at that time.

In order not to waste time, he ordered the soldiers of the First Brigade of the Niangziguan Garrison Corps who accompanied the attack to sit on top of the tank. The tank carried the infantry, almost flying. Such a steel monster climbed the slope and passed the Kaner like walking on flat ground. , Let the soldiers who usually smashed the car, excited and nervous, let out bursts of shouting and laughter.

If it was on the European battlefield, Battelle would never do this. On the battlefield, the tanks on both sides are the main targets for the artillery to destroy. Bringing the infantry, wouldn't it be a way of courting death? The infantry on board will also be blown to nothing.

But now it is different. The Kwantung Army is concentrated along the Daling River and is being divided and surrounded. From the north bank to Linghai City, there will be no resistance, but he still asks the commanders to remind the infantry outside to be ready to fight at any time.

"Boom!" With loud noises, Battelle immediately became alert. Through the observation hole of the tank, he saw that two tanks were on fire, and the infantry on them jumped down with flames all over their bodies.

(to be continued) (to be continued...)