Chapter 19: Battle of Lanfeng (IV)
"kill!"
The two armies, shouting slogans that were incomprehensible to each other, suddenly collided with each other. On this battlefield that concerned the survival of the country and nation, there was no possibility of mercy from both sides.
When the bullets in the gun chamber are used up, they fight with bayonets. When the bayonet breaks, they swing the gun like a stick. After the gun falls out of their hands, their teeth and fists can also be weapons of mass destruction. The fighting will not stop until one side completely admits defeat.
"asshole!"
Major Goro Iwaki slapped the captain in front of him hard.
"You are facing the weakest Sichuan Army in the Chinese Army. Facing such an enemy, you actually lost an entire squadron. This is simply a shame for the imperial soldiers."
"Your Mightiness!"
Captain Tanaka Shinzaburo silently endured his superior's brutality until the other party's attitude softened slightly before he explained.
"Sir, the Sichuan Army is indeed very weak, but the enemy's numbers are endless. Although the imperial soldiers are brave and good at fighting, they are still powerless in the face of such an overwhelming enemy."
Captain Tanaka's words revealed part of the truth, that is, although the Japanese army took a large amount of stimulants such as methamphetamine to improve their combat effectiveness, if the temporary frenzy could not be quickly transformed into victory, then the small Japanese troops trapped in the vast ocean would die very ugly.
"Sir, before our integrated brigade set out, there were 4 infantry squadrons, 1 engineer squadron, 1 light and heavy squadron, 1 machine gun squadron, and 2 infantry artillery squadrons, totaling 1,127 officers and soldiers. After defeating the Chinese Army's three regiments, there are less than 600 people left in the entire brigade, including more than 50 seriously injured."
Adjutant Yamanaka standing nearby also gave advice to Goro Iwaki.
"It seems that the combat power has reached its limit. Since the general's order to the commander is only to wipe out the hostile forces south of Luyi, then I think my integrated brigade's mission has been accomplished?"
"What Yamanaka-kun said makes sense. My detachment has been on the offensive for seven days. It is indeed time to return for repairs."
Major Iwaki was also an elite Japanese soldier who graduated from the Army University. He naturally understood that the current situation was unfavorable to him, especially when he found that two armies and three divisions of Chinese troops had appeared in the surrounding areas. He planned to retreat to the rear, but he could not think of what excuse to use to reply to his superiors in Bozhou. Now that he heard the advice of his subordinates, he just went with the flow.
"Tanaka-kun, I will give you another half squadron. When the entire brigade begins to return to Luyi in half an hour, your squadron will be the rear guard for the entire brigade. I hope that by then you can atone for your sins and no longer tarnish the great prestige of the Great Imperial Army."
The muscles on Tanaka's face twitched. It was obvious that Iwaki was abusing his power for personal gain and using someone else's knife to kill someone in order to avenge his failure in love. Although he was furious, the hierarchy in the Japanese army was strict. If he did not agree now, Iwaki could take the opportunity to give him military punishment. He had no choice but to lower his head slightly.
"yes."
"What did you say? Damn it, what does Ma Kang mean? He wants the horse to run but doesn't give it grass to eat. Does he want to use the devil's hand to consume the miscellaneous brands?"
In the Tenth Corps Headquarters at Yangtouji, Xizhuang, Dancheng, Deputy Corps Commander Xia Shouxun was shouting loudly with one hand on his waist and the other pointing his finger.
"Commander, we can't fight this battle. Let's go back to Sichuan."
"Brother Zhong Shi, stop talking!"
Leng Yindong interrupted his deputy coldly and turned to look at the legion quartermaster who was trembling with fear beside him.
"Say it again. The 10th and 11th Corps have finally captured a battalion of Japanese soldiers and are preparing to lead the 110th Division from Luyi and Boxian to Dancheng and Xiangcheng. At this time, the war zone will not agree to allocate additional ammunition to us. Did I hear it wrong?"
The skinny quartermaster knew that Leng Yindong must be furious, so he didn't dare to neglect it and reported honestly: "It's not that we won't allocate ammunition, but we won't pay in full. This time, we applied for 2 million machine rifle bullets, but only 800,000 were approved, and 5,000 artillery shells were only issued 3,000. Only grenades were given according to the actual amount. The theater joint logistics headquarters also said that it's not just the 10th Corps, but other units as well. The main reason is that the inventory is insufficient. We hope that all units can persevere for the time being."
Insufficient inventory? That's right. Although Northwest China now has the largest and most complete military-industrial system in China, it is also a big plate. It not only has to supply the Northwest Army itself, but also the various forces under the command of the Northwest. It even has to sell some weapons to Jiang, Gui, Xiang, and Guangdong in the south to recover funds and ensure the safety of external transportation lines. Therefore, it is normal to be stretched.
Of course, the production of machine rifles, submachine guns, pistols and other firearms is not a big problem. The Northwest, which has completely stopped the production of old-style rifles such as the Hanyang-made imitations, can currently produce about 36,000 machine rifles and anti-aircraft machine guns, about 4,000 submachine guns, and nearly 2,000 pistols of various types per month. As long as the new army is not expanded on a large scale, it can still barely cope with war losses and foreign sales. But the key to the problem lies in the production of artillery and ammunition.
Although Northwest China is currently able to produce artillery of various calibers, from 20mm anti-aircraft guns to 280mm railway guns, its production capacity is mainly concentrated on the production of 155mm howitzers, 105mm field guns, 75mm mountain and field guns, 20/40/88mm anti-aircraft guns, 37mm anti-tank/tank guns, and 120mm and 82mm mortars. Although the 75mm infantry gun and 150mm heavy infantry gun have been successfully imitated, they are almost not produced. The large-caliber 150mm mortars and the 60mm light mortars used to replace grenade launchers and arranged at the platoon level are also insufficiently operated on the existing production lines because of the inconvenience of (large-caliber mortars) for troops to carry, the lack of power (small-caliber mortars) and the squeezing out of the main steel resources for artillery, as well as the increased complexity of ammunition replenishment. Their output is simply not enough to be assigned to combat units as a whole.
But the greater crisis was in the production of ammunition: in several major battles such as Anyang, East Henan, and East Xin, the various units in North China destroyed more than 150 million bullets of various types in the Northwest, and the consumption of large and small artillery shells exceeded 1 million rounds, almost destroying one-eighth of the Northwest's pre-war inventory.
At present, the total number of various machine rifle bullets, pistol bullets, and 12.7-kilometer large-caliber machine gun bullets produced in the Northwest each month will not exceed 30 million, and the total number of various types of artillery shells will not exceed 180,000. These are far from enough to make up for the consumption in daily training and frequent operations against Japan. Coupled with the combat readiness inventory in Mongolia and Xinjiang, it is no wonder that the Joint Logistics Command, which is worried to the point of graying its hair, has implemented a strict policy of restricting supplies to the various departments that have opened their bloody mouths.
“A war zone has its own difficulties.”
Hearing what the quartermaster said, Leng Yindong's expression relaxed. He was shocked when he compared the facts. Although the theater joint logistics command's so-called equal reduction in allocations was just an excuse, any supply would have made it better than the predicament of Shang Zhen and other troops who had to count bullets to survive when fighting in the south.
“But we also have our difficulties.”
But the next moment, Leng Yindong's tone became fierce.
"No matter what, we can't fight the Japanese without bullets. Go to Zheng County immediately and ask the war zone to transfer more ammunition."
The quartermaster retreated timidly, but Xia Shouxun still looked angry: "Brother Xunnan, are we just going to let this go? We are bleeding in the front, but they are trying to cut down the vassal states in the rear. This war is not going to be easy. In my opinion, the northwest doesn't give us supplies, so we should not fight the Japanese brigade heading south, so as to avoid being short of soldiers and ammunition, and ruining our foundation in vain."
"I disagree with the deputy commander's opinion."
Su Huazhou, deputy commander of the 24th Army, who had been listening silently for a long time, spoke up.
"First of all, we went out of Sichuan to fight the Japanese not for the sake of the northwest, but for the people of all China and for our country. Secondly, if we disobey orders and indulge the Japanese, we will not be able to explain to our friendly 11th Corps, and it will also give the war zone an excuse to settle accounts with us. At that time, I am afraid that our old commander will not be able to help us cover up."
"Commander, Deputy Commander, what Brother Jian Hong said is correct."
The Chief of Staff of the 24th Army, Zhao Peisan, also spoke in support of the Soviet Union.
"Isn't Northwest China known for its ability? Only after we beat the Japanese can we have enough confidence to bargain with the Northwest. Otherwise, they will naturally not regard us as human beings."
Leng Yindong nodded. In the final analysis, it was because the 10th Corps' combat power was too weak that they were treated inferiorly. "That's right. Let's just focus on winning this battle and let the Northwest see that our 24th Army is not just for show."
At 11 a.m. on April 23, a part of the attacking force of the 110th Division of the Japanese Army was tightly surrounded by seven regiments of the 10th and 11th Corps of the Sichuan Army on its way back to Luyi. The Japanese army was already exhausted after a long battle and was quickly compressed into small areas such as Dinglou and Mizhuang. Only more than 300 troops were left in the whole force and were in a precarious situation.
Facing their accomplices' cries for help, the Japanese army that captured Luyi quickly dispatched eight infantry, cavalry, engineering, logistics and artillery squadrons to rescue them. However, they were blocked at the Jingou River line by eight regiments from the other three divisions of the Tenth and Eleventh Corps and could not move forward. They watched helplessly as the Iwaki Battalion was isolated and helpless and was wiped out one by one among the ruins by the Chinese army.
Lieutenant General Sumei Kuwagi, commander of the 110th Division, keenly realized that the battle in Lu'nan was not an isolated incident. Combined with the frequent activities of Chinese troops behind enemy lines, he clearly realized that China's counterattack was imminent, so he immediately sent a telegram to Heze, Guide and Peiping to express his views.
After receiving the telegram, Japanese chiefs such as Yamashita Tomoyuki did not dare to neglect it. After analysis, they all agreed with Sangmu's judgment.
After a round of radio communication, the 5th Independent Mixed Brigade of the 12th Army, which was transferred southward, was ordered to turn to Suxian to take over the garrison mission of the 110th Division.
With this, Lieutenant General Sangmu Sumei was able to dispatch seven infantry, artillery, engineering and logistics battalions to reinforce the Bozhou front, and the Nonomura Detachment on the Bozhou front was also able to attack the Lu Nanchuan Army with all its strength.
At this point, the first climax of the Second Battle of East Henan arrived.
