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

Chapter 115 The Japanese reinforced their troops with a division

When the Japanese headquarters received the telegram from the 237th Regiment in Taiyuan, they could hardly believe it.

"How come this morning you reported that you were advancing with unstoppable momentum, but then you encountered fierce resistance from the Eighth Route Army and requested air support?"

"Now you're telling me that the headquarters of the 237th Regiment was wiped out by the Eighth Route Army, and that the two battalions below it even fought each other due to a misunderstanding, suffering heavy losses?"

The commander of the Japanese 41st Division asked incredulously.

It hasn't been long, and an entire regiment has been decimated, leaving only a little over two thousand men (this figure was underreported). A full battalion and a half of soldiers have been lost.

Even the regimental headquarters was destroyed, and the regimental commander, Okabe, was killed.

The stark contrast before and after left the commander of the 41st Division somewhat dazed.

His division was a Class A division, and the 237th Regiment was the core regiment of their division, with formidable combat power.

They were not afraid of even a single corps of the Nationalist army, and dared to challenge even a single corps.

How did we suffer such a great loss at the hands of the Eighth Route Army?
Yoshio Shinotsuka felt conflicted as he observed the reaction of the commander of the 41st Division.

There was a sense of satisfaction in the fact that many people disobeyed orders, disregarded his authority, and privately ordered their troops to advance recklessly and underestimate the enemy, resulting in heavy losses for the advancing troops.

At the same time, there was also the anger of his own elite troops suffering heavy losses at the hands of the Independent Detachment, his mortal enemy.

The 41st Division and the 237th Regiment suffered such heavy losses because they disobeyed their orders and underestimated the enemy.

However, since the enemy was still in the First Army's combat sequence, and they suffered heavy losses, we also bear some responsibility.

Moreover, the 237th Regiment's offensive has been half-crippled, and its remaining forces are insufficient to support the next sweeping operation against the Independent Detachment.

To deal with the Independent Detachment, we would have to continue to send troops to fill the gap left by the 237th Regiment. Only then would it be possible to eliminate the Independent Detachment.

“Alright, the most crucial thing now is how to proceed with the sweep of the Independent Detachment. The matter of the 237th Regiment is already a fait accompli, so we can discuss it later,” Yoshio Shinotsuka said.

Upon hearing Yoshio Shinotsuka's words, the commander of the 41st Division fell silent, too ashamed to continue speaking.

The more arrogant he was before, the more humiliated he is now.

“The Independent Detachment must be eliminated; we have no choice but to do so,” Yoshio Shinotsuka continued.

"Shinotsuka-kun, I think it would be better to withdraw the 237th Regiment first and then transfer troops from other directions to continue the encirclement and suppression of the Independent Detachment," the Japanese chief of staff said.

“I have no objection,” the commander of the 41st Division said.

According to the information sent back by the 237th Regiment, they still have more than two thousand men.

But it's perfectly normal for the Japanese to know their own affairs, to conceal, delay, or retroactively report them.

He believed that the 237th Regiment had suffered heavy losses, otherwise they would usually have taken the position of the stubbornly resisting Eighth Route Army first before reporting back.

This way, I can save some face and not lose too much dignity.

It's utterly shameful that a regiment couldn't even take down a position held by 800 men.

Since the subordinates reported directly that the telegram did not mention capturing the enemy's position, it means that the situation of the 237th Regiment is now quite dire.

Perhaps the Eighth Route Army reinforcements were about to arrive, or perhaps it was already night, and they were worried about being ambushed by the Eighth Route Army, or that the losses would be too heavy and continuing the attack would result in even greater casualties.

In conclusion, Team 237 is now unable to continue its offensive.

In order to preserve their strength and prevent the 237th Regiment from being completely annihilated by the Eighth Route Army, the commander of the 41st Division finally spoke.

With the strength of an independent detachment that annihilated the main force of an independent mixed brigade, if the enemy really went all out, they might launch a night attack on the 237th Regiment, which had lost its military commander, at any cost.

The 237th Regiment may really be in danger.

If the 237th Regiment were annihilated by the Eighth Route Army, the 41st Division would never be able to hold its head high within the Japanese army again.

Next, the other Japanese officers spoke up.

There was only one issue: which unit to allocate, and how many to allocate, to encircle and suppress the independent detachment.

Ultimately, after discussion, the First Army Headquarters decided to draw upon the 36th Division, which was tasked with sweeping through the Beijing-Hebei-Shandong Military Region.

They were ordered to immediately move north and participate in the sweep of the Fourth Military Sub-district.

At the same time, the 41st Division will send another regiment to fill the vacancy of the 237th Regiment.

As for the 237th Regiment, they returned to their base for rest and reorganization.

With the addition of a division, Yoshio Shinotsuka did not believe that the independent detachment could escape from the encirclement.

The three armies compressed the independent detachment's operational space from three directions, forcing the independent detachment to engage in a decisive battle with them.

Even if the Independent Detachment doesn't engage in a decisive battle and chooses to break through and retreat eastward, Yoshio Shinotsuka is not afraid.

If the Independent Detachment were to retreat further east from its current location, it would leave the mountainous area and enter the North China Plain.

The Independent Detachment won so many battles precisely because of the terrain advantage of the mountainous area, which prevented the Japanese mechanized forces from exerting their full strength.

In the plains, relying on the Japanese army's high mobility, Yoshio Shinotsuka believed that he could control the Independent Detachment however he wanted.

At the garrison of the Japanese 237th Regiment, the remaining two Japanese battalion commanders tightened their defenses and held their ground.

Neither of the two Japanese battalion commanders dared to continue the attack, and the morale of the troops was extremely low, with a waning will to fight.

Especially after the mix-up, the two teams no longer trust each other.

Many of their relatives, friends, and comrades-in-arms had been killed by the enemy. If the two battalions were to cooperate in combat, the two battalion commanders were worried that their troops might engage in sniping on the battlefield.

They could only tighten their defenses, appease the soldiers, and await orders from headquarters. After two days of fierce fighting, coupled with tonight's blunder, the 1st Battalion of the 237th Regiment was annihilated.

The remaining troops also suffered heavy losses.

Of the 3800 troops, 2,300 were lost, leaving only a little over 1,500.

Since the Independent Detachment annihilated the First Battalion, which had underestimated the enemy and advanced recklessly, it proved that the enemy had the capability to annihilate a battalion.

The remaining 1,500 men were demoralized and disunited; if they continued to fight the Eighth Route Army, they would likely suffer heavy losses.

Finally, after waiting, the remaining two battalion commanders received the order to advance from headquarters.

Command of the 237th Regiment was handed over to the commander of the Second Battalion.

That's how the military works. It reveres the strong. When both sides make mistakes, the winner laughs and gets scolded, while the loser cries and is punished.

The second battalion commander won the blunder, proving that he was a better commander than the third battalion commander, so he took over command.

After gaining command of the troops, the commander of the Second Battalion immediately ordered the troops to retreat in shifts and return to the rear for rest and reorganization.

They needed to withdraw before the main force of the independent detachment arrived.

Otherwise, the losses would be huge once the enemy's main force arrives.

"The Japanese devils have run away! The Japanese devils have run away!"

The soldiers on the first battalion's position shouted with joy when they saw the Japanese soldiers preparing to flee.

They successfully withstood the fierce attack of a Japanese regiment, completed their mission, and bought time for the main force to fight a decisive battle and cover the retreat of civilians.

"Battalion Commander, we won! We drove the Japanese devils away and held our position. The company commander and the others did not sacrifice in vain!" a deputy platoon leader shouted, his eyes red and tears streaming down his face.

Their company was responsible for defending the first line of defense and encountered the first fierce attack from the Japanese army.

Airplanes, tanks, and artillery were deployed in turn.

Their company had a total of 150 soldiers, but they were decimated after only two hours of fighting. The company commander and political instructor were both killed.

Of all the officers above the platoon level, only he was the deputy platoon leader left, and the entire company was reduced to just 18 soldiers.

It was undeniably tragic.

"Yes, we won." Luo Jian smiled, but his smile was full of bitterness.

This battle was the worst they had ever suffered.

The main force of 800 men has been reduced to just over 200 soldiers, a casualty rate of over 70%, which has crippled them.

Fortunately, they held out until the main force annihilated the Japanese battalion, and the special forces destroyed the Japanese command post.

They won this battle!
At this moment, Chen Ming also arrived with a large force, watching the Japanese soldiers flee in panic.

"What should we do? Should we eat these escaped Japanese soldiers?" Chief of Staff Wang Dafei asked.

The Japanese commander has been eliminated, and due to a mix-up, the distrust between the Japanese soldiers is evident even in their retreat formation.

Now is undoubtedly the best time to strike, and there is a high probability of achieving great results.

Political Commissar Zhang Zhengze was also somewhat tempted. If they could eliminate the remaining Japanese soldiers, the Independent Detachment would once again become famous.

"As long as you give the order, the soldiers of our First Battalion will absolutely not let the Japanese devils escape unscathed," said He Jianxin, the captain of the First Battalion, to Chen Ming.

Listening to everyone's words, Chen Ming knew that the cruelty of war would make everyone lose their composure.

However, as the military commander of the troops, he must not be blinded by the war and must always remain calm.

Looking at the retreating Japanese troops, Chen Ming finally decided not to fight!

"The Japanese still have more than 1,500 men. Their retreat formation is not in disarray, and the area they are retreating to is not conducive to our army continuing to fight a decisive battle."

"The soldiers fought for a day and a night, and they were exhausted. The troops had also suffered heavy losses. If we continued to fight, we would only hurt the enemy a thousand times and ourselves eight hundred times."

"The war against the Japanese invaders is a long and protracted one; there is no need to rush it."

Chen Ming spoke up.

After a day and a night of fighting, the soldiers of the Independent Detachment were exhausted.

Besides physical limitations, the military also has a large number of wounded soldiers who do not require resettlement.

The Japanese were, after all, an elite force. Even after their retreat, their formation remained orderly, and their defensive capabilities were not weak.

If the attack continues, even if we manage to capture all the Japanese soldiers, the Independent Detachment will suffer heavy losses.

Even if the Japanese are wiped out, they can still replenish their reserves and quickly rebuild their army. But if Chen Ming's old forces are all wiped out, then they are truly all gone.

The War of Resistance Against Japan was a protracted war, and we could not act rashly.

The other commanders and soldiers calmed down a bit after hearing Chen Ming's words.

Seeing the soldiers' hands and legs trembling slightly from exhaustion, they understood that continuing the fight would result in too many casualties.

“I agree with the commander’s opinion,” Zhang Zhengze said.

After the political commissar and Chen Ming reached a consensus, the other officers and soldiers had no further objections.

However, even if the final battle is not continued, Chen Ming does not intend to let these fleeing Japanese soldiers go.

These Japanese soldiers want to withdraw, but they'll have to see if he agrees!
Chen Ming immediately gave the order:
(End of this chapter)