"It would be nice if we had more troops." At this time, he finally started to worry about not having enough troops.
It is unrealistic to ask the division commander to mobilize the baggage regiment for support. Now the baggage regiment is not only responsible for supplying the Xifengkou and Lengkou attack troops and maintaining communication lines, but also protecting the safety of the division headquarters. There cannot be any redundant ones. Troops can be mobilized.
The cavalry regiment was completely wiped out, leaving only the engineer regiment with the worst combat effectiveness.
Wait... Suddenly he remembered that the 7th brigade of the Manchurian Army transferred by the division commander was coming.
If the Manchurian Army and the Engineer Regiment are allowed to directly press across from the east, and thousands of people spread out to this area, constantly compressing the activity space of this Chinese army, or directly bite them into a state of hand-to-hand combat, I will be Should we send troops to flank or directly attack the western front of the Great Wall? Wouldn't this revitalize the whole country?
"Wonderful! Fortunately, the division commander has foresight and mobilized the Manchurian army. Then let these Manchurians fight to the death with the Chinese people. It is not necessary to destroy the Chinese army, as long as it can be delayed."
As for whether the 7th Brigade of the Manchurian Army was an opponent of the Chinese army, Yamada Guiura would not consider it. Anyway, the ones who died were not imperial warriors.
Thinking of this, Yamada Guiura immediately picked up the phone on the table.
…
At this time, Colonel Kawatani Jiro, the division chief of staff who was ordered to command the Engineer Regiment and the 7th Manchurian Army Brigade, based on the mentality of not seeking merit but seeking no faults, led by the more than 4,000 Manchurian Army of the 7th Brigade, he More than 700 Japanese troops leading the engineering regiment pressed back. When they reached Qinglong Pass, they stopped and ordered their men to establish defensive positions on the spot.
In his opinion, he only needs to ensure the safety of the division headquarters in the west. As for going to clear out the Chinese troops that annihilated the Kuroda Cavalry Brigade in just ten minutes, he should not have such dissatisfaction. A realistic fantasy.
Even if he and the brigade commander of the 7th Brigade of the Manchurian Army named Cui Xinwu joined forces, Colonel Kawatani Jiro did not think he had any hope of winning.
Jiro Kawatani, who graduated from the Imperial Continent and went to Germany for a year to inspect and study, had a clear understanding of the mysterious Chinese army.
This Chinese force cannot be viewed from a conventional perspective, and it is very possible to even raise the assessment of their combat effectiveness to a level that far exceeds that of the imperial army.
Moreover, Jiro Kawatani also has his own background and channels. Although his young radical faction has conflicts with the conservative faction of the division commander, he usually receives some cold looks and difficulties from the division commander. But he still learned from upper-level channels that there was a special force in the Chinese army.
During the Songhu Incident last year, he also carefully studied the several defeats of the imperial army at that time, and when he thought about the annihilation process of the Mishan Brigade, the Huncheng 14th Brigade and the Kuroda Cavalry Regiment, he felt inconvenient to tell others. conjecture.
That is, the so-called Shanxi Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army of the Central Party Headquarters, which once made the imperial army suffer a lot in Yunzaobang and Miaohang in Shanghai, and finally completely annihilated the 24th Brigade, is very similar to the mysterious Chinese force in front of us. .
The same well-trained soldiers, the same powerful firepower, the same preference for ambush and sneak attack tactics, and the same extremely keen sense of battlefield. If they don't move, they can kill with one blow.
Jiro Kawatani also secretly compared it. If he led a brigade to compete with this Chinese force of similar size, the outcome would not be much better than that of the Yoneyama brigade. If you lead two brigades, you may be able to compete with one or two, and you can only go on the defensive. Leading three large groups might be able to repel it. But if you want to completely eliminate it, I'm afraid it will take ten times the number of troops to surround it layer by layer, and a little bit of luck.
Therefore, it was impossible for him to just lead these thousands of people to the door when the terrain was unfamiliar and the enemy's situation was unknown.
What's more, Jiro Kawatani simply didn't like the combat effectiveness of the 7th Manchurian Army Brigade, and he didn't think that their large number was an advantage. He might have been hit hard in the face by others, causing the whole army to collapse, and instead exposed the engineer regiment he led to the enemy's firepower.
However, near noon today, after he received the latest order from the division headquarters, he felt bad.
Really worried, the division commander ordered him to quickly lead the engineer regiment and the 7th Brigade of the Puppet Manchukuo Army to search and suppress the Chinese troops who were harassing the 24th Regiment.
Moreover, the tone of the order was very strict. Sakamoto Masaemon first expressed his dissatisfaction with his action of standing still when he arrived at Qingryu Mountain, and then ordered him to start taking action quickly and strive to reach the right wing of the 24th Regiment this afternoon. Expel and eliminate the Chinese troops lurking in that area.
After reading this telegram, Jiro Kawatani knew that the 24th Regiment was in decline.
He had previously scorned the 12th Brigade Yamada Guipu's strategy of dividing troops and detouring to the western front.
If the Chinese defenders have no troops on the outside, you are right to do this.
However, now that there is an elite Chinese force on the outside that can completely annihilate the Kuroda Cavalry Regiment in ten minutes, it is equivalent to a tiger looking for an opportunity to move from the side. How dare you divide your troops and send them forward, to use an old Chinese saying? To put it bluntly, it is called: the old man hangs himself - he is too impatient to live.
If he was still on the staff of the division headquarters, he would definitely have persuaded Masaemon Sakamoto immediately not to allow the 12th Brigade to split up its troops, but he had no choice but to be sent to the border area, with no way to serve the country!
However, Jiro Kawatani also knows that the only way to solve the situation now is with his nearly 5,000 troops. Although there are many people, it is a blessing that these people together can have the combat effectiveness of a regular Japanese army brigade.
So, as soon as he rolled his eyes, he took advantage of it.
The method is also very simple, just let the 7th Brigade go up and touch the Chinese troops first. As long as they can entangle them for a day and a half, the mission will be considered completed.
As for the follow-up plan to flank the Chinese force with the 24th Regiment and completely eliminate it, he could only chuckle in his mind and didn't take it to heart.
Therefore, he immediately gave the order to the 7th Brigade, which was building a position in front, to search and advance in the southwest direction, and claimed that he would lead the engineer regiment to follow up.
In fact, an hour after the 7th Brigade had set off, the engineer regiment he led was still preparing lunch, and it was not too late to leave after lunch.
It can be seen how wary and cautious Kawatani Jiro is about the mercenary group now.
However, the smug Commander Cui Xinwu of the 7th Brigade of the Puppet Manchu Army had no worries in this regard. He felt that now that he had finally gained the appreciation of his master, it was time for him to perform well. .
