[Anti-Japanese Iron Blood King] Chapter 385: Xinghe Defense Battle (Ask for subscriptions, ask for monthly passes, ask for everything!) ）

Not long ago, he received a telegram from the Chengde Garrison Headquarters, saying that the reinforcements from Sawada Shigeru's department had arrived, and that Ma Zheng's so-called reinforcements from the Fourth Division were completely fabricated, and he also said that the defenders in the city would cooperate with the reinforcements to defeat the troops in front of the Zhina in front of them in order to relieve the danger of Chengde.

But just when Sugiyama Yuan was full of joy and waiting for the good news to come, he received the news that Chengde City had been breached, which was simply a bolt from the blue!

When he learned that Ma Zheng's unit had successfully deceived the defenders of the Second Division in a chariot marked with the imperial emblem, thus breaking through the defense line outside the city and attacking the city, Sugiyama Moto's heart was cold. He suddenly realized that the news that Ma Zheng had announced to the public before was likely to be true, and it was very likely that Sawada Shigeru's department had been completely wiped out by Ma Zheng's department, otherwise how could the chariot troops belonging to the Fourth Division appear in the hands of the Zhina people.

Thinking of these Sugiyama Yuan generals, he knew that things were big, once Chengde City was breached, the situation in the entire Rehe would be completely eroded, and the Fourth Division and the puppet North China Security Army that coordinated the defense also suffered extremely heavy losses this time, and the total number of available troops in the entire Rehe and eastern Hebei was less than 5,000 people, and they were also divided into more than 30 counties, with an average of 1200 people in each county.

In fact, Sugiyama Yuan was already late at this time, and when Ma Zheng's troops attacked Chengde City, the fourth column of the Eighth Route Army commanded by Song Shilun and Deng Hua quickly attacked, and more than 20,000 troops launched a comprehensive attack on Zunhua, Qian'an, Xinglong, Yingshou Mining Area, Yutian and other areas at the same time. Due to the emptiness of troops in these places, almost all of them went down in a war.

The anti-Japanese armed forces in Lulong, Luanxian and other places also moved when they heard the wind and launched attacks on the local Japanese puppet institutions, and in just one day, the eastern Hebei region, which had been silent for a long time, seemed to be alive again.

What worries Sugiyama even more is that Rehe was the first province to be occupied by the Japanese, which was captured by the Japanese as early as 1933 and assigned to the puppet state of Manchukuo. As a result, Rehe was also one of the provinces with the largest concentration of Japanese expatriates, with at least tens of thousands of imperial subjects in Chengde.

With the habits and temper of that odious general of China, it was impossible for him to spare the innocent civilians, and when the time came, he would have to exchange prisoners of war with them, as he had done before.

But the problem is that there are not many prisoners of war in the hands of the imperial army now, after all, the mines and other enterprises in Manchuria all need prisoners of war, and the formation of the Imperial Allied Army also requires a large number of prisoners of war, plus Ma Zheng's department will take 50,000 or 60,000 prisoners of war in a few transactions, so there are not many prisoners of war in the hands of the North China Front.

Thinking of this, Sugiyama Yuan knew that he had to find a way to remedy it immediately, otherwise when the people of China really took Chengde City completely, they would be passive. Immediately, Sugiyama Mototo thought of the battle situation on the front line of Xinghe, which was the only place where the Imperial Japanese Army could achieve a breakthrough in a short period of time.

Now Sugiyama Gen also has no ambition at the beginning of the war, and he doesn't want to draw Ma Zheng's department in a fight, what he is thinking about now is how to win back a game. This battle has been fought for 11 days, and when Ma Zheng's troops swept thousands of troops in Rehe, their tens of thousands of troops were blocked from the defense area of the Suicha Military Region, and they could not explain it anyway.

Therefore, soon a worded telegram was sent to the temporary headquarters of the 16th Division, and General Sugiyama Mototo ordered the Japanese troops on the Xinghe front to take the county town of Xinghe at all costs, with a time limit of 24 hours, otherwise the commander-in-chief, Fujie Keipu, and the ordinary officers would be severely punished by the front army. Even Sugiyama Gen directly hinted that the troops on the front line could use special cigarettes when necessary.

After receiving the telegram from Commander Sugiyama Moto, Lieutenant General Fujie Meguga, who was on the front line, dared to slack off, and immediately called a meeting of several senior officers in charge of front-line command. The content of the meeting was very simple, that is, to read the telegram of General Sugiyama Moto, and then told the troops on the front line to take the county seat of Xinghe before dark, no matter what method they used, otherwise all the officers above the captain of the brigade were ready to apologize.

In fact, Fujie Keipu himself felt that this battle was extremely poor, and it had been a full nine days since he received the order for the front army to counterattack, and in these nine days, the 16th Division, the most powerful division in the empire, under his command, had not taken a single county town, which was simply a shame. Compared to his predecessor, Lieutenant General Nakajima Isaago, who commanded this force to capture the capital of China, he felt that he was a clown.

Xinghe. Back River.

It belongs to a part of Xinghe County, the two rivers that cross the county town divide Xinghe County into two, the east bank is the Hou River, and the west bank of the river is Chengguan. This originally quiet town has rarely experienced war since its founding, despite its strategic location as a transportation hub connecting Chahar, Shanxi and Suiyuan.

But it was too poor and the terrain was too remote to reach it in the previous wars, and even bandits were reluctant to come. I think that when the Japanese captured this place, there were only a dozen Japanese soldiers, which was only equivalent to a rifle crew.

However, since the Eighth Route Army regained this place last year, the gunpowder smoke here has begun to thicken, and the most direct feeling of the common people is that there are more garrisons here. Originally, there was only one security regiment with less than 100 people in Xinghe County, which was the garrison of Xinghe County during the period of the Nationalist Government, and after the Japanese captured Xinghe, only a dissatisfied infantry squadron was stationed, and the total strength added up to 80 or 90 people, which could be regarded as a reinforced squad at most.

However, after the Eighth Route Army was stationed in Xinghe County, the common people found that there were many troops like small crucian carp in the Erdao River, and they could often see large troops of thousands of people building fortifications or training inside and outside the city. Fortunately, the people are still at ease, since the army entered Xinghe County, the little devils and the second devils have never come back, and everyone's life is quite stable.

But just a few days ago, the cadres of the county suddenly announced that the little devils would attack Xinghe County on a large scale, and this time tens of thousands of people came, and the county town would soon become a battlefield, so the county demanded that the people in the city immediately evacuate the county seat.

Sure enough, not long after all the people evacuated, a large number of little devils and two devils appeared outside Xinghe City. In the next few days, the gunfire in the direction of the county town has been continuous, and it has not stopped for four or five days, when will this Japanese devil be able to withdraw.

This question is not only the voice of the common people, but also the answer that Jiang Hao, the second commander of the 275th Brigade stationed in Houhe, wants to know, because the Japanese army's attack for four days and five nights not only caused heavy casualties to the second regiment, but also made the troops extremely tired by the continuous attack. If the fight continues like this, the second regiment is likely to be all handed over here. However, he also knew that it was too late to withdraw now, and the two divisions of the little devil had already surrounded Xinghe County, and there was no hope of breaking through.

Fortunately, everyone knows that even the division commander is also in the city and everyone is defending the city, so the morale of the troops is not bad. The most important thing is that today's commander sent good news on the Rehe front, saying that more than 20,000 puppet troops have been annihilated, and as soon as the war over there is over, the army will return to help Xinghe, and then it will be time for the little devil to flee for his life.

The gunfire outside, which had been sounding for more than an hour, gradually fell silent, and Jiang Hao knew that another attack by the little devil was over.

Sure enough, as soon as this thought sounded, the chief of staff hurriedly came in and said: "Regiment commander, the first battalion repelled the attack of the little devils at one time, but the commander of the first battalion was seriously injured and one leg was blown off, which may be useless." ”

"It's a pity, what about the casualties of the troops?" Jiang Hao immediately asked.

"48 killed and 89 wounded in battle, which means that a company has lost its combat effectiveness!"

"Well, the casualties are not small, but they are still within the range of bearing. However, counting the casualties of the previous few days, I am afraid that there are not many people left in the first battalion! Jiang Hao said in a deep voice.

"There are less than 100 people who can move, and there are more than 100 lightly wounded, and the remaining 300 people are all killed! The first battalion basically lost its combat effectiveness! Counting the three companies that have been emptied, now we still have the strength to fight only the second battalion. ”

"Well, immediately pass my order to let Yellowbeard's second battalion replace the first battalion, and tell Yellowbeard that even if he fills it with human lives, he has to give Lao Tzu two days."

"Yes!"

"In addition, the regimental headquarters guard company and engineer company will be concentrated as a reserve and ready to reinforce the second battalion at any time."

"Yes!"

(To be continued.) )