The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 120 Genius Staff Officer: Night Attack Feint!
Yongxing Village, No. 16 Wing Command Post, Di Bujiagui, the captain of the Di Detachment who had been idle for a long time, cleared his throat and drank all the water in the kettle. Just now, Di Bujiagui spent an hour. During the time, he reported all the combat experiences and specific details of the Tsutsumi detachment since the beginning of the war to Harada Jiro.

Harada Jiro rubbed his sore eyes and recorded all the important information provided by Tsubuukaki. He smiled and nodded to Tsubuukaki to signal the end of the interview. After learning that the interview was over, Tsubuuka Gui hurriedly stood up and bowed to Harada Jiro. In the Japanese army, the officer who served as chief of staff had a transcendent status, and Harada Jiro came with assistance and full authority to designate the battle plan. Therefore, he was stationed in Yongxing Village. Every Japanese military officer respects Jiro Harada very much.

When Jiro Harada arrived at Yongxing Village with a staff of staff, the first thing he did was to ask questions, from the highest-ranking Infantry No. 16 Regiment Captain Goto Juro to those who were directly involved in the attack. Terada Akizo, the captain of the 16st Battalion of the Infantry No. [-] Regiment, Oyama Suketa, the captain of the [-]nd Infantry Battalion, Murai Toshio, the captain of the [-]th Tank Battalion, and Harada Jiro all met in turn and asked about their personal participation in the battle in detail. experiences and personal feelings.

Not only is Jiro Harada doing detailed investigations, but outside the command post, the staff officers brought by Jiro Harada are also doing the same work. The difference is that the scope of their inquiries is wider and the subjects of their inquiries are lower-level , covering the infantry squadron captains who participated in the war, the tank commanders, Cao commanders, and even the lucky survivors of the first-line infantry squadron.

Regarding Harada Jiro's various requests for meetings, Goto Juro, captain of the No. 16 Infantry Regiment, obeyed and responded to all requests. All the colonel and lieutenant officers not only obeyed and respected Harada Jiro and a mere lieutenant, but also treated Harada Jiro's subordinates The major staff officers and the captain staff officers were also very polite, not only because the staff officers had the highest status in the Japanese army, but also in the eyes of these Japanese army officers, any officer who could serve as the chief staff officer was regarded as a genius.

The Japanese army's Army University staff training system is completely inherited from Germany. Of course, the same is true for China's Army University staff education system. The purpose of Germany's staff education is to train talented chiefs of staff.

Moltke, who established the German Army University, reported to the Kaiser that he used the best teachers to train the most talented officers according to Napoleon's standards.If it could hone one or two Napoleons, it would enable Germany to dominate the world.

Even if Napoleon cannot force it, a second-rate genius trained to the highest standards can ensure that the Kaiser is invincible with his troops. Therefore, if a staff officer trained by the Japanese Army University can really serve as a chief staff officer, then the aura of a genius will naturally It can't be run away.

The genius aura of these staff officers is also vividly reflected in the daily tactical operations and decision-making of the Japanese army. The Japanese army's tactical decisions all depend on the applied tactical plan formulated by the chief of staff of the army. The so-called applied tactical plan, that is, the staff Officers write and formulate specific combat plans based on the tactical principles in textbooks and the actual conditions on the battlefield. The format of the tactical plan drawn up based on the principles of applied tactics is fixed and mainly includes three parts: mission, situation judgment and determination.

The specific process is that after the unit receives the combat mission, the chief of staff leads the staff officers to study various conditions on the battlefield, and writes a situation judgment based on the results of the research. Then, the unit chief officer will make a decision based on the situation submitted by the chief of staff. Judgment and determination of combat command, and ultimately, the troops launch various tactical actions against the enemy in accordance with their determination and intentions.

Among these three processes, the most important and core one is the situation judgment submitted by the chief of staff. The situation judgment is not only the chief of staff’s judgment of the battlefield situation, but also the judgment given by the chief of staff to the supreme commander of the unit. Recommendations, generally speaking, need to submit the reasons and reasons one by one for reporting recommendations. However, under the Japanese staff system, which is inherited from the German genius staff system, the operational recommendations in the situation judgment written by the chief of staff are basically There is no need for a reason. The chief of staff will directly give combat suggestions in the most arbitrary and unquestionable manner. The reason lies in the chief of staff system that selects geniuses. What the genius says is unquestionable and correct. of.

Academic master and genius, this is the aura that comes with the Japanese military staff officer.

What Harada Jiro was doing happened to be part of the situation assessment. After leading his troops to Yongxing Village, the first thing he did was to summon all the officers of the participating troops, question them one by one, and take various notes. Recording and basic simple drawing operations are the only way to quickly understand the basic situation of the battlefield. However, this is far from enough.

"Harada-kun, if you need anything else, I will try my best to provide it?"

Seeing that Harada Jiro had ended his several-hour round-robin questioning, Goto Juro, who had been waiting for a long time, asked cautiously.

When Jiro Harada saw it was Goto Juro, he immediately stood up and said respectfully: "Sir, no need. I already know the basic battlefield situation. According to my preliminary inference, there may be one or two enemy commanders. It’s a difficult character to deal with.”

"What do Harada-kun mean by this?" Goto Juro asked.

"Sir, the first one to fight against this Chinese army was the Di Detachment. According to the battle process of the Di Detachment, this Chinese army was first raided by the Di Detachment while advancing towards Yongxing Village, and was beaten and defeated by the Di Detachment. They abandoned their armor and suffered heavy losses. Then, the enemy was able to quickly build sophisticated fortifications and relied on the defensive positions outside Yanzhuang to repeatedly inflict heavy losses on our army. According to the combat effectiveness and spiritual combat power they showed when they were raided by the Di Detachment, Look, the quality of its commander and the combat literacy of its troops are simply not enough to support the enemy's subsequent excellent performance. Therefore, I judge that the enemy may have replaced the commander on the battlefield. This is a difficult guy to deal with. He quickly organized a group of defeated troops and built such excellent fortifications, repeatedly inflicting heavy losses on our army. The enemy commander was difficult to deal with."

"It makes sense. Indeed, I have also asked the captain of the Tsutsumi branch about this matter. If we don't take the paper, what is Harada-kun's suggestion for the next battle?" Goto Juro asked.

"Don't launch a large-scale operation for the time being. The purpose of my visit this time is to find out the details of the Chinese army on the opposite side, provide a more thorough and detailed combat plan, and provide staff advice. The most indispensable point is on-site reconnaissance. The information I have obtained from your oral accounts can only be used as a reference. I will personally investigate the specific situation. Now, I personally hope that your department can dispatch a squadron-level force to attack the enemy's positions. Conduct a nighttime feint attack."

After Harada Jiro finished speaking, Goto Juro's mouth suddenly twitched, and he said with some surprise: "Night...feint attack?"

Harada Jiro nodded and said: "My on-site reconnaissance operations include not only my own forward reconnaissance, but also the troops' feint fire reconnaissance cooperation. Night is the best cover for our army's attack, and it is also easy to cause China's If the army is in panic, then we can make the noise bigger. On the one hand, we can test the firepower configuration of the Chinese army, and on the other hand, we can also cause confusion." Juro Goto thought for a while and dispatched a squadron of troops. There is no problem in launching a feint attack. Now the No. 16 Regiment still has five complete infantry squadrons, which is sufficient in terms of strength. However, now the First Infantry Battalion and the Second Infantry Battalion have lost four infantry squadrons. , once something unexpected happened during the feint attack, he, the commander of the regiment, could not bear it. If the infantry squadron in the feint attack suffered heavy losses, it would be equivalent to the No. 16 regiment losing half of the infantry fighting on the front line. Soldiers, the air of the alliance collapsed.

Goto Juro was thinking about it in his mind, and suddenly, he had an idea to get the best of both worlds.

"It's not a big problem to dispatch one squadron. However, our regiment has already lost four infantry squadrons. If it suffers heavy losses during a feint attack, our regiment will lose half of its combat troops, which will be detrimental to future operations. Di Detachment Now they are also under my command. Although they have lost one squadron, they still have at least two fully equipped infantry squadrons. Harada-kun can order the Tsutsumi detachment to launch a feint attack."

Harada Jiro was able to become the chief staff officer. Not only was he proficient in business, but he was also good in other aspects. I immediately understood what Goto Juro meant. Although Goto Juro's behavior was a bit of a shirk, Harada Jiro did not express any objection. Tsutsumi The predecessor of the detachment was the Kwantung Army Independent Third Garrison, which was a stationed garrison. Goto Juro's Infantry No. 16 Regiment was a serious field force. In contrast, Harada Jiro did not want to use more elite field forces. During the feint attack, Harada Jiro readily sold his favor to Goto Juro and agreed to Goto Juro's request.

Harada Jiro said: "The Tsutsumi detachment is now under your command, and naturally it must be at your disposal. What I need is an infantry squadron and a regiment cannon. As for where this infantry squadron and a regiment cannon come from, I have no right to ask."

Jiro Harada's attitude made Goto Juro very satisfied. Goto Juro said with a kind face: "Please rest assured Harada-kun, an infantry squadron and a regiment artillery will be ready soon, but I don't know Harada-kun's scheduled attack time. When?"

Harada Jiro looked at his watch. He spent almost an entire afternoon questioning the officers of various departments participating in the war. It was now almost five o'clock, and it was almost time for dinner.

"Sir, I propose to have dinner as early as possible so that the dispatched troops can rest early. I would like to launch a feint attack on the enemy's position at midnight. At this time, the enemy should be the most exhausted."

Goto Juro said: "That's good. I'll make arrangements right away. Harada-kun will rest here."

After getting rid of the feint attack, Goto Juro was in a particularly good mood. After giving Harada Jiro a few words, he left the command post to make arrangements for the feint attack.

Harada Jiro also worked with other staff officers at the command post of the Infantry Regiment No. 16 to collect and compile the oral materials of the officers participating in the war. By judging each of the materials, Harada Jiro further confirmed his guess - the enemy. There must be a difficult opponent among the army commanders.

The staff officers under Harada Jiro were also capable people. When Harada Jiro asked the junior officers who participated in the battle, they also asked the subordinate captains, lieutenants, second lieutenants, officers, and even non-commissioned officers and soldiers, and the one who asked about the time The span also goes back from the latest attack battle just now to the Yongxing Village raid battle.

Among the materials asked by the staff, one came from Captain Cao of the Di detachment. This Captain participated in the entire Yongxing Village raid. According to the oral statement of this Captain, on that day, about one battalion The Chinese army swaggered into a marching battle formation and advanced on the plains. They did not send out cavalry or spearmen to search, and just marched on the plains as if there was no one around.

Then, the Tsutsumi detachment used armored vehicles and light and heavy machine gun firepower to easily defeat the Chinese army in this battalion, with almost zero casualties. From this battle, Harada Jiro could conclude that the command ability of the Chinese army commander in this battalion-level unit was The level is really unsightly.

An infantry battalion does not conduct reconnaissance and search or prepare for combat marches during the attack. It advances leisurely with heavy machine guns and mortars mounted on horses. Such a commander will never be able to carry out the subsequent battles. The Chinese army that inflicted heavy damage on the Japanese army at the position outside Yanzhuang is the same army that was raided and dispersed outside Yongxing Village.

Various signs can only show that the Chinese army must have replaced a new commander.

It has to be said that Harada Jiro was worthy of being a capable staff officer of the Japanese army. He actually guessed that the 57nd Battalion of the [-]th Regiment opposite had changed its commander. However, Harada Jiro probably did not expect that this so-called capable commander was actually just a lieutenant platoon leader. , was a second lieutenant just a few days ago. Applying the Japanese Army's officer system, He Wei can only be regarded as a trainee squad leader who has just graduated from the non-commissioned officer school!
. . . . . . . . . .
While Harada Jiro and his staff continued to assess the situation, Goto Juro successfully achieved his goal. The Tsutsumi detachment originally had a lot of troops, with four infantry squadrons alone, even though one infantry squadron had been destroyed by someone else. Wei was completely wiped out, and the other three infantry squadrons were also strong and almost fully equipped. Juro Goto directly found Tsutsumi Bukaki, and with an unquestionable command tone, he removed the most complete infantry squadron of Tsutsumi's detachment. Even the regiment artillery that Harada Jiro needed was drawn from the artillery squadron of the Tsutsumi detachment.

In this way, the night feint attack force required by Harada Jiro was quickly organized, and a night feint attack led by a staff officer was about to begin.

(End of this chapter)