[Anti-Japanese Iron Blood King] Chapter 168: Shigeichi Harata's thoughts

July 25, Xintang front.

The Hatian detachment carried out a two-day attack on the small town of Xintang, and suffered heavy casualties, but it was never able to take Xintang.

However, even so, the Japanese army still did not give up the plan to occupy Xintang, because Xintang is the gateway to Ruichang, as long as Xintang is taken, the next stop is Ruichang City. The capture of Ruichang City means that Jiujiang, the eastern important town of Wuhan, has been completely captured, so that the Japanese army can drive straight into Wuhan and directly attack the city of Wuhan.

On an unnamed hill outside the town of Xintang, the temporary headquarters of the Potian detachment. The sweltering heat of midsummer made it difficult for most people, including the Japanese army who had just invaded the Yangtze River region. However, these were not a problem for the soldiers of the Potian detachment living in Taiwan, and after dinner, under the compulsory order of the officer, most of the Japanese soldiers took the initiative to enter the barracks to rest.

Until now, the overwhelming majority of the Chinese defenders on the front line did not know exactly who this sudden appearance of the Potian detachment was, and they had never heard of such a unit before.

As a matter of fact, the vast majority of the soldiers of the Hatian detachment are from Taiwan, and it is a mixed Sino-Japanese unit, and the establishment of the unit is at the brigade and regiment level. Although this unit is very tenacious in combat and has strong combat effectiveness, it has a very fatal loophole, that is, there is a great disunity within the unit, and the local soldiers in Taiwan are often bullied by the purebred Japanese, and they are very resentful.

Moreover, the vast majority of Taiwanese soldiers were forced by the Japanese authorities, and the families of these soldiers were hostages in the hands of the Japanese, and once these soldiers made mistakes on the battlefield, not only the soldiers themselves would be punished, but also the families of the soldiers would be implicated. Although this method can arouse the combat effectiveness of the Japanese soldiers, it cannot really arouse the troops' desire to fight and survive.

It's not that Shigeichi Harata doesn't know this. It's just that he doesn't care, in his opinion, it is their honor for these second-class citizens of Taiwan to be able to join the Imperial Japanese Army. If it weren't for the fact that the Empire was now engaged in a Great East Asian Holy War, they would not have had any chance of becoming a member of the glorious Imperial Army, let alone serving His Majesty the Emperor.

In the temporary headquarters, Harata Shigeichi kept his eyes on the military map in his hand, and his feet in leather boots kept pacing the ground. The five or six adjutant officers in the headquarters did not dare to take a breath, bowed their heads respectfully, and waited for Ha Tian to give a lecture.

To be honest, Hakuda Shigeichi was very dissatisfied with the two-day battle, thinking that it took less than three days for his powerful detachment to capture Jiujiang, but he didn't expect to attack a small Xintang and not fight for two days, what a shame!

"Yamazaki, have you found out, what kind of troops are stationed in Xintang? Who is the commander? Shigeichi Harata asked suddenly.

"Report to Your Excellency Commander, the opposite branch of the China Army was originally the 13th Division of China, which belonged to the 72nd Army of the 30th Group Army of China, and the commander Liu Ruobi, but this division suffered heavy losses after being attacked by the imperial army yesterday, and the Second Army of China sent two divisions of the 13th Army to support, so the enemy in front of our army should be three divisions of China, and the commander is Wang Zhonglian, commander of the 13th Army of China." Yamazaki Nakasa replied immediately.

"The 13th Army? Why does this army sound so familiar? Shigeichi Harata asked with a frown.

"Report to Your Excellency the Commander. This 13th Army was subordinate to the 31st Group Army of China and was a descendant of Chiang. The 89th Division under its jurisdiction is the so-called German armament division of the Chinese government, and its combat effectiveness is extremely strong, which can be called the elite of the Chinese army. Yamazaki replied.

"It turned out to be this unit, I said it was so familiar!" Shigeichi Harata looked suddenly enlightened.

"Your Excellency Commander knows about this army?" Yamazaki Nakasa immediately asked.

"You know, the main force of this army is the German armor division you just mentioned, one of the most elite units in the Chinese army. Songhu Raiders, Nanjing Raiders. It played a huge role in the Songhu Raiders. I didn't expect to be here now, and things will be difficult to do. Hatada said in a deep voice.

"Your Excellency, according to the information we have received, there are at least 20,000 Chinese troops in front of us, and our troops are now available for the offensive less than 4,000 men. It is difficult to break through for a while, and if you can, you can wait for the arrival of the 101st Division, and then the combat strength of our two armies will definitely be able to defeat the enemy in front of you! Yamazaki Nakasachi.

"Yamazaki, you have to remember that we are just a mixed brigade, and once we cooperate with other divisional and regimental units, we will become a complete subsidiary force, and we have nothing to do with no matter how much we have achieved! And since basically three-quarters of our soldiers come from Taiwan, such troops are cannon fodder in the eyes of others, do you understand? Hatashige said in a deep voice.

"Hay! Humble duty understands! ”

"It's good to understand, so we can't wait for the arrival of the 101st Division, we must find a way to defeat the enemy in front of us!" Hatada said in a loud voice.

"But our strength can't defeat the Shina army in front of us in a short period of time!"

Shigeichi Harata frowned and suddenly asked, "Where is the Third Fleet now?" ”

"The Third Fleet has just gone to Nanjing to deliver supplies a few days ago, and is on its way back, and is expected to arrive in Xunyang tonight." Yamazaki Nakasa replied.

"Then how is the progress of His Excellency Inaba Shiro's Sixth Division, and has the Dabie Mountain barrier been opened?" Shigeichi Harata asked again.

"Your Excellency, according to the battle report issued by the front army, after the 6th Division on the north bank of the Yangtze River captured Qianshan, it rested there for more than a month, during which more than 2,000 people were reduced due to malaria. Five days ago, His Excellency Inaba commanded the main force of the Sixth Division to attack from Qianshan to Taihu, Susong, and Huangmei in the southwest. In the Jiangbei area, Li Pinxian's division of the Fourth Corps of China, as well as Wang Zhanxu's 29th Group Army, Xu Yuanquan's 26th Group Army, and Liao Lei's 21st Group Army were all deployed at the southern foot of Dabie Mountain, relying on Dabie Mountain to prevent the Sixth Division from moving south. ”

Yamazaki Nakasa then continued: "After the 11th Brigade under the command of Major General Imamura of the 6th Division set out from Hetoupu and Taoxiya west of Qianshan, it was met with repeated resistance from the troops of the 5th Theater of China deployed there at Huangpu, Taohuapu, Koike, and Liushanpu along the way. Three days earlier, the division had arrived at Taihu Lake and had begun a large-scale counterattack with the Li Pinxian division of China in the pavilion position southwest of Taihu City and in the nearby mountains. After the fierce battle began, both sides successively deployed additional troops into the battlefield, fighting for a hill and a village in close combat, and after 3 days and 3 nights of counterattack, the 6th Division defeated Li Pinxian's division after paying a considerable price. ”

"Where has the 6th Division arrived now?"

"We have arrived in Huangmei County, but due to too many casualties, the Sixth Division will suspend the attack in Huangmei to replenish!" Yamazaki Nakasa replied.

Hatada Shigeichi thought for a while and said, "Now it is difficult for our troops to break through the resistance of the enemy in front of them, let alone capture Ruichang City, so we must find a way to ask for assistance. And at present, in addition to waiting for the arrival of the 101st Division, we can also request the 6th Division to carry out support operations! ”

"Sixth Division?" Yamazaki asked puzzled.

"Yes, it's the Sixth Division! The Sixth Division was resting in Huangmei at this time, and Huangmei was not far from Jiujiang. We can ask His Excellency Inaba to requisition a wing of troops to go south, and then take a boat to land in the empty space behind Ruichang, and when the time comes, we will definitely be able to defeat the will of the Ruichang defenders. "Harata Shigeichi.

"The commander's idea is good, but we have nothing to do with the Sixth Division, will they help us?" Yamazaki Nakasa asked in a deep voice.

"Your Excellency Inaba and I used to be classmates at the Non-commissioned Officer School, both graduated from the 18th class of Lu Shi, and we had a good relationship during our school years! I've been in touch since then, and he'll definitely help if I send him a report myself. Moreover, the purpose of their Sixth Division going south this time was also to cooperate with the Eleventh Army to seize Wuhan, so they could completely explain to the front army and did not need to take any risks! "Harata Shigeichi.

"I didn't expect His Excellency Commander and His Excellency Inaba to be classmates, if that's the case, then you can give it a try!" Yamazaki Nakasado Road. (To be continued.) )