Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Changjin Lake, a Hundred Battles, a Hundred Victories

Chapter 110 My department is unimpeded!
Unlike the Japanese and puppet troops from Guoxian and Yangquan, the 237th Regiment from central Hebei advanced with unstoppable momentum.

Within three days, they directly penetrated the heart of the fourth division.

They encountered little resistance along the way.

Even if the Eighth Route Army had gathered a large number of troops, they would be routed by the powerful offensive of the 237th Regiment.

Colonel Okabe, commander of the 237th Regiment, looked at the location of his unit on the map and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"Those useless members of the Independent Mixed Fourth Brigade wasted a lot of the Empire's resources, yet they were surrounded and annihilated in the mountains by a local Eighth Route Army unit."

"Now that this band of Eighth Route Army soldiers has encountered our elite Okabe Regiment, they are being beaten like rats and running away with their tails between their legs."

Colonel Okabe openly insulted the Independent Mixed 4th Brigade, believing that their complete annihilation had disgraced the Empire.

It's utterly ridiculous that their main force was completely wiped out by a local Eighth Route Army unit.

"That's right. This local Eighth Route Army unit is a bully who picks on the weak and fears the strong. They dare to fight the weak Fourth Brigade, but when they encounter our regiment, they are driven away."

One of the Japanese officers chimed in.

There was a hierarchy of contempt within the Japanese army.

Class A divisions look down on Class B divisions, and field troops look down on security forces.

There was even regional discrimination; troops from Kyoto discriminated against troops from outside Kyoto.

Troops in big cities discriminate against troops in small cities.

"Send a telegram to headquarters: Our 237th Regiment has advanced to a point 30 kilometers east of Wutai County. During this time, we encountered three large-scale resistance attacks from Chinese troops, but they were easily defeated by our troops."

"Our reconnaissance units have not detected any more Chinese troops, and our operations are unimpeded!"

"Urge the troops in Guoxian and Yangquan to speed up their advance and encircle the Independent Fourth Military Sub-district of the Chinese Army."

Colonel Okabe spoke to the officer beside him.

"Hai!"

The officer immediately carried out the order.

The other two columns marched at a snail's pace, while their 237th Regiment could be described as having an unimpeded route.

Doesn't this prove the elite status of their Class A division regiment?
Only through comparison can the strength of their troops be highlighted.

Headquarters of the Japanese First Army in Taiyuan.

All the Japanese officers were in the meeting room.

Yoshio Shinotsuka was among them, but compared to before, he had lost his former vigor and appeared listless.

During his tenure, the observation group was attacked, the main force of the Independent Mixed 4th Brigade was annihilated, and the Yamamoto Ichiki Special Forces were completely wiped out.

During his term, two major generals were killed in action, and a brigade was annihilated by the Eighth Route Army, which had a very significant impact.

Originally, he was given a chance to redeem himself by virtue of his seniority and the efforts of the people behind him, so that he could stay in office for a little longer and be transferred back to China next August.

But the destruction of the Yamamoto Special Attack Corps and the gruesome death of Yamamoto Ichiki enraged the Yamamoto family behind him.

Suddenly, Yoshio Shinotsuka was under pressure from all sides, and even the people behind him were on the verge of collapse.

Headquarters is already discussing who can replace him, but the order has not yet been issued.

Yoshio Shinotsuka knew that his time was running out.

What he needs to do now is to, while he still has the power, mobilize a large force to annihilate the Independent Fourth Division, this major threat, and kill Chen Ming of the Independent Fourth Division.

In this way, he not only performed a meritorious service and avenged himself, but also avenged Yamamoto Ichiki.

The punishment he receives upon returning to his home country might be lighter, and he might not be shot in the back and have his crime ruled a suicide.

Inside the meeting room, all the officers gathered to discuss the upcoming large-scale mopping-up operation.

"Report, telegram from Okabe Regiment."

Outside the meeting room, a staff officer walked in carrying a telegram.

"Read it," Yoshio Shinotsuka said, waving his hand.

In the past few days, he has received reports from various units that the sweep is not going smoothly.

The enemy in the fourth division was very difficult to deal with, and the troops were moving slowly, failing to achieve the expected results.

Fortunately, the forces mobilized to attack the Fourth Division were large, numbering over 20,000.

As long as we proceed steadily and employ the tactic of encirclement, we can gradually compress the Eighth Route Army's area of ​​operation.

Ultimately, there is still a high chance of complete annihilation.

Upon receiving the order, the Japanese staff officer immediately read out the telegram from the Okamoto Regiment.

After hearing the contents of the telegram, Yoshio Shinotsuka felt a strange sense of familiarity.

This is exactly the situation when the Independent Mixed Brigade was formed back then!

At first, they encountered no significant resistance and easily broke into the heart of the Eighth Route Army's base area, even surrounding one of the Eighth Route Army's main regiments.

The final result was that the main force of a brigade was surrounded and annihilated in the heart of the Eighth Route Army.

Yoshio Shinotsuka's instinctive caution made him doubt the success of the 237th Regiment.

"This may be a conspiracy by the Independent Fourth Division to slow down the 237th Regiment's advance and wait for other units to coordinate their attacks. We must not fall into the Eighth Route Army's ambush."

Yoshio Shinotsuka spoke up. "Shinotsuka-kun, you're being too suspicious. According to the intelligence we've gathered from the Independent Fourth Division, their main force numbers less than ten thousand."

"According to the reconnaissance of the air force, a main force regiment of the Independent Fourth Military Sub-district was active near the Tongpu Railway, harassing our army's logistics line, and another regiment built a defensive line in the southern mountainous area of ​​Wutai, which was far away from the 237th Regiment."

"Now the 237th Regiment is facing at most 5,000 troops from the Eighth Route Army. With the 237th Regiment's combat strength, even if it encounters these Eighth Route Army troops, it will easily defeat them."

The commander of the 41st Division spoke, but his tone lacked some respect.

The 237th Regiment was the core regiment of his division, with formidable combat power, while the 41st Division, as a Class A division, was far more powerful than any independent brigade.

The commander of the 41st Division believed that Yoshio Shinotsuka had lost his edge, and that the mere presence of a local Eighth Route Army's Fourth Division made him doubt that he was no longer suitable to be the commander of the First Army.

Imperial soldiers should attack with courage and fearlessness, and should not be intimidated by the enemy.

Moreover, the news has already spread that Yoshio Shinotsuka will soon be transferred back to the mainland and will no longer serve as the commander of the First Army.

They say that once someone leaves, the tea grows cold. Although Yoshitoshi Shinotsuka hasn't left yet, the tea has already started to get cold.

Yoshio Shinotsuka felt helpless as he listened to the words of the 41st Division Commander.

There was a time when I was so full of vigor and ambition.

But now, even the divisions under the First Army don't really follow orders anymore, and the commander of the 41st Division has almost no respect left.

If I weren't still the commander of the First Army, I might not even be qualified to sit in this position.

The stark contrast between before and after deepened Yoshio Shinotsuka's hatred for the Independent Fourth Division.

Ultimately, at Yoshio Shinotsuka's insistence, the commander of the 41st Division sent a telegram to the 237th Regiment.

However, the content of the telegram differed slightly from Yoshio Shinotsuka's orders.

When Colonel Okabe of the 237th Regiment saw the telegram, he couldn't help but sneer.

"General Shinotsuka has been terrified by the Chinese troops and has actually ordered our regiment to slow down its advance and coordinate with the other two routes of low-level troops."

"The soldiers of the Empire are never afraid of any challenge. The idea of ​​cowering like a coward will never happen in our 237th Regiment."

After saying that, Colonel Okabe crumpled the telegram into a ball and threw it into the road where it was run over by a tank.

He found these telegrams so hard that he couldn't even wipe his backside with them.

After discarding the telegram, Colonel Okabe not only failed to obey the order to slow down the march, but instead ordered the march to speed up.

They're just a bunch of Eighth Route Army soldiers with only five thousand men left. Given the elite status of their Okabe Regiment, defeating them wouldn't be a problem at all.

At that moment, the communications officer at the front brought a message.

"Reporting to the commander, a large force of Chinese troops has been spotted 10 kilometers ahead. The estimated number is around 1,500, and they are carrying a large amount of supplies."

"Yosh! Order the vanguard to advance at full speed, catch up with this band of Eighth Route Army guerrillas, and annihilate them!" Colonel Okabe immediately gave the order.

"Hai!"

After giving the order, Colonel Okabe became even more disdainful of Yoshio Shinotsuka.

If they had slowed their march as ordered, would they still have been able to capture this supply force of the Eighth Route Army?

Given the snail-paced pace of the other two units, by the time they reached their designated battle location, the Eighth Route Army would have long since vanished.

On the battlefield, only those who are brave and fearless will have the scales of victory tip in their favor.

Hesitation leads to defeat!
At the command post of the Independent Fourth Division, Chen Ming immediately took out a map to examine the information relayed by the reconnaissance troops.

The Okabe Regiment was very well organized. As the core regiment of the 41st Division, its weaponry was definitely superior to that of ordinary regiments.

It is organized into three infantry battalions, each with about a thousand men, and an artillery company with a regimental artillery!
A regiment of more than three thousand people would certainly not be crammed together, but rather divided into three parts: front, middle, and rear.

The regimental headquarters was caught in the middle.

The special operations brigade directly under the Independent Fourth Division was no longer at the command post; they were carrying out the combat orders issued by Chen Ming.

With the artillery range of the independent fourth district, it would be difficult to threaten the regimental headquarters sandwiched among the Japanese troops.

Zhou Weiguo was highly skilled in special operations and was also fluent in Japanese.

Therefore, Chen Ming equipped them with Japanese military uniforms, and under Zhou Weiguo's leadership, they planned to seize the opportunity to behead the Japanese regimental headquarters after engaging in battle with the Japanese troops.

It would be extremely difficult for a core regiment of a fully-organized Japanese Class A division to be wiped out in open battle, given the current strength of the Independent Fourth Military Sub-district.

The only chance is to use mobile warfare to break the enemy's forces out of position and expose the regimental headquarters.

Let Zhou Weiguo lead the special forces to carry out a decapitation strike, thus depriving them of their command system and preventing them from coordinating their operations effectively.

We should seize the opportunity to inflict as much damage as possible on this brigade and open a breach in the central Hebei region.

Seize the opportunity to break through.

Chen Ming never imagined that he could wipe out the core regiment of a Japanese Class A division with a force of just over 5,000 men.

The Independent Fourth Division is indeed very strong, but there are also Japanese troops on other sides. Under such circumstances, it would be difficult to take on a regiment head-on.

The Okabe Regiment is not a weak unit like an independent mixed brigade.

Chen Ming was not so arrogant as to think that annihilating a Japanese brigade gave him the confidence to look down on a Japanese regiment.

P.S.: I'm begging for votes! Please shower me with monthly tickets!

(End of this chapter)