The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 189 Reinforcement of the th Squadron

Just as the secret service battalion and the 956th Regiment were preparing to weave a large net, Toyama Nosuke, captain of the 3rd Infantry Battalion of the 9th Regiment, also saw Arakawa Sochang who had hurriedly withdrawn. Toyama Nosuke was even more shocked. It was the news brought back by Captain Arakawa that the 7th Infantry Squadron may have been besieged and a signal for help was sent out!

After learning the news, Toyamanosuke was shocked and immediately ordered the Third Infantry Battalion to stop marching and be on the spot. Although he had had a premonition, when he heard the news reported by Arakawa Souchang himself, Toyamanosuke still felt A trace of panic.

There is no other reason. Since the beginning of the Songhu pursuit battle, the Third Battalion has been fighting with the wind. More importantly, according to Arakawa Souchang's description, they were attacked by fierce machine gun fire from the Chinese army on the way forward in search. The 7th Squadron's distress signal appeared from behind the Chinese army's position, which means that the 7th Squadron has now been surrounded and besieged by the Chinese army!

During the months of fighting in Songhu, although the Chinese army did not have an organized system to eat up the Japanese infantry brigade, many infantry squadrons were wiped out and completely wiped out. This was reflected in the battles in North China and Songhu. Toyama Nosuke knew it well, and the 7th Infantry Squadron was the vanguard. The firepower strengthened by the brigade was only a small group of Type 92 heavy machine guns, which was unable to form a superior firepower against the Chinese army.

The 7th Squadron is in danger!

"Sir, this is the situation. The enemy's firepower was very fierce. When I was retreating, I happened to see two red and one green flares. I'm not sure if it was the signal for help sent by the 7th Squadron, but it was definitely two red and one green flares. Flare."

Looking at the deep-thinking captain in front of him, the panting Arakawa Sochang once again repeated the request for help he had witnessed to Toyamanosuke. Toyamanosuke nodded and made up his mind to rescue the 7th Squadron.

"Thank you for your hard work. Go down and rest. Someone, come here, command the squad leader and summon the officers of each squadron!"

Toyama Nosuke quickly summoned the officers of the Third Infantry Battalion. It has to be said that although the Third Infantry Battalion was indeed what Wei said, two out of three were killed. One of the three infantry squadrons as its basic infantry combat force had been killed. , but its remaining strength cannot be underestimated. Even if it loses a complete infantry squadron and a heavy machine gun squad, its total strength still exceeds a thousand people.

Lieutenant Onizuka, captain of the 8th Infantry Squadron, Lieutenant Yokoi, captain of the 9th Infantry Squadron, Captain Ichito, captain of the 3rd Heavy Machine Gun Squadron, as well as the attached squad leader of the artillery squad and the officers of the communications squad, all surrounded Toyama Nosuke By his side, the most anxious officer among them was Second Lieutenant Toshiaki Mukai, captain of the infantry artillery squad of the Third Infantry Battalion.

The 7th Infantry Squadron was being encircled by the Chinese army. News of being besieged by the Chinese army had spread. After learning the news, Mukai Toshiaki was anxious and worried. He was not anxious because the 7th Infantry Squadron was under siege. He was worried. It was Takeshi Noda, the adjutant of the brigade with whom he had a killing competition. Although the two had not known each other for a long time, they felt like old friends at first sight and felt sympathy for each other. Although they had a competitive relationship, they both believed that the other was a true samurai and hero.

However, the so-called bravery of heroes and warriors is mostly based on killing unarmed prisoners and weak and helpless people.

"Captain, we should rescue the 7th Squadron immediately."

Before Toyama Nosuke could speak, Mukai Toshiaki spoke anxiously first. After he started, other Japanese officers also responded one after another, saying that the 7th Infantry Squadron should be rescued immediately. These people almost didn't speak when they spoke. If you think about it too much, it goes without saying that the reason is that an infantry brigade of the Japanese army, especially one that has been strengthened, is almost invincible against the Chinese army.

This invincibility does not mean that it will not be defeated or defeated, but its powerful offensive power and self-protection ability in an attack situation. Moreover, what they are about to face now is not an attack on solid trenches that is more beneficial to the Chinese army. Combat is a completely face-to-face field battle. Japanese military officers are very confident in their own field combat capabilities.

If the battle pattern were changed to that of Songhu, where villages and key points were fought for and attacked, these Japanese officers would definitely not be so excited. But what they are facing now is a field attack and defense separated from the trenches, a face-to-face field assault and assault. Close-range hand-to-hand assassinations were the Japanese army's "speciality."

Moreover, the strength of the Third Battalion is also quite impressive. After being reinforced by an artillery squadron from the artillery squadron directly under the Ninth Regiment, its subordinate artillery is two Type 41 mountain cannons and two Type 92 infantry cannons. It is a great threat to the Chinese army with poor firepower. In fact, throughout the Anti-Japanese War, it was difficult for the Chinese army down to division-level units to have equivalent firearms to deal with the Type 41 mountain gun.

The advantages in equipment and combat form made most of the officers of the Third Battalion red-faced and clamoring to rush forward to reinforce the Seventh Infantry Squadron. Of course, in this one-sided wave, some objections could still be heard. sound.

Two officers raised objections on the grounds that since the 7th Infantry Squadron was under siege, did Captain Arakawa, who went to conduct reconnaissance, hear any violent gunfire? Since the signal flares were very close, did you hear the shouts of killing or see the teams on both sides of the road fighting fiercely?

As soon as these officers raised their objections, Toyama Nosuke also noticed something was wrong. After summoning Captain Arakawa to ask these questions one by one, the answers he received were all negative. Captain Arakawa neither heard the cry of killing. There were fierce gunfire, and no scenes of fierce fighting or skirmishers were seen between the two sides. Apart from the two red and one green flares, in fact, Arakawa Souchang did not find any other evidence to prove that the 7th Squadron was under siege.

If No. 7 Squadron was not under siege, what happened to the flare? So what's the deal with the powerful blocking of the Chinese army on the highway?

Toyamanosuke thought for a moment and suddenly thought of another possibility. Cold sweat broke out in his back. At this time, the excited officers kept asking Toyamanosuke to move forward and rescue the 7th Infantry Squadron. , and Toyama Nosuke himself may not want to admit the existence of that other possibility.

Therefore, the vague fears and worries were suppressed.

Without further ado, Toyama Nosuke quickly issued a battle order to rescue the 7th Infantry Squadron for his militants. Toyama Nosuke was also a captain who fought from the hells of North China and Songhu, and still remained in the battle order. Mixed in with the consideration of another ending of the 7th Squadron.

"The 8th Infantry Squadron and the 9th Infantry Squadron deployed in battle formations and quickly pursued and searched forward. All the backpacks and baggage were handed over to the baggage train. Once we encounter the Chinese army, we must engage in battle and defeat it as soon as possible. Therefore, the artillery squadron of the wing The infantry and artillery squads should change their pack loads to traction, and the machine guns of the heavy machine gun squadrons should also be assembled, and the strongest horses should be used to carry them. The weapons captured from the soldiers are distributed to the gunless artillery and baggage troops, and everyone must be ready to fight on the front line."

"Yes, Captain."

The Japanese officers of the Third Battalion stood at attention and bowed with red eyes, roaring and accepting Toyamanosuke's battle order. Just as everyone dispersed to prepare for the attack, Toyamanosuke called in the communications officer and issued another additional order.

"Send a telegram to the wing headquarters to report the current situation of our brigade to the wing commander, request the wing captain to speed up the march, and hope to request air support."

The communications officer stood at attention and quickly left to execute the order. After all his subordinates left, Toyama Nosuke breathed a sigh of relief. So far, he is still not sure about the current situation of the 7th Squadron, and the various abnormal situations encountered by Arakawa Souchang. It shows that the 7th Squadron is definitely not just besieged, it may even have been eaten!

However, reinforcements and assaults must also be carried out. In order to avoid unexpected situations, Toyama Zai on the one hand contacted the main force of the rear regiment, and on the other hand armed all the soldiers in the brigade who could participate in the battle to reduce the current strength of the 3rd Infantry Battalion. Maximize combat effectiveness.

Combat orders were passed on one after another, and the huge team of the Third Brigade instantly became chaotic.

"Everyone, take off your combat backpacks."

"Assemble the regiment's artillery, control the horsemen quickly, and put the artillery on the artillery carriage."

The soldiers of the two infantry squadrons on both sides of the road took off their backpacks and equipment that would not be used in the battle. The squad leader of the wing artillery team directed his soldiers to remove the disassembled two four-guns. The parts of a 75mm mountain gun were disassembled and assembled from the war horse, and the saddle used to tow the artillery was unfolded. The entire regiment's artillery team quickly converted from a piggyback state to a towing state.

The same goes for the Type 92 Infantry Artillery Squadron of the Third Battalion, and the soldiers of the Heavy Machine Gun Squadron are similar. They shout slogans to assemble the disassembled Type 92 Heavy Machine Gun, and then assemble the machine gun carried by multiple horses. Then it was tied to the saddle of a single military horse, and the heavy machine gun pressed many military horses to the point of neighing. For a time, people shouted "Ma Ming", and a tense fighting atmosphere filled the ranks of the Third Battalion. A Japanese infantry brigade then transformed into an emergency combat state with extremely fast speed and extremely high efficiency.

In this tense atmosphere, there was a group of people who seemed out of place. Near the last baggage column of the Third Brigade's march, more than fifty baggage agents were busy around the baggage train in a panic. These baggage agents were busy. Most of them are reserve soldiers who are old and in poor physical condition. Their service time in peacetime is only a few months. They will only be drafted into the army for long-term service when war breaks out.

The baggage agents have always been looked down upon by the officers and soldiers of the combat units in the Japanese army, and are not even regarded as soldiers. It can be said that they are at the bottom of the contempt chain within the Japanese army.

Under the command of a lieutenant in his forties, more than fifty baggage agents were unloading boxes of ammunition from the baggage truck, and then carrying the ammunition to various squadrons for replenishment.

"Special baggage agent, you bastard, come here and move things quickly."

"Asshole, bastard, come on, you losers."

Just when the baggage agents were busy in full swing, several captains of the infantry squadron ran onto the road and were extremely rude and bossy to the baggage agents. One infantry lieutenant in his twenties even shouted at the baggage agents. The 40-year-old lieutenant who led the army raised his fist. The lieutenant knew that he was inferior, so he had no choice but to respond with a smile.

The baggage agents immediately went to each infantry squadron with humility, picked up the backpacks of the Japanese infantry, and loaded them on the baggage vehicles. It took a while to finish packing the Japanese infantry's scattered luggage.

After finishing the work on the infantry, the leading officer of the baggage agents directed the baggage agents to several baggage trucks covered with green curtains. When these curtains were lifted, the contents of the baggage trucks were also exposed. His true face.

It is just bundles of blood-stained firearms, and these firearms are not the standard firearms of the Japanese army, but the weapons and equipment of the Chinese army, from the latest German-made Mauser standard short rifles and medium-sized rifles, to the Chinese army The Hubei-made Hanyang rifles with the largest number of equipment, as well as Fengtian-made Liao Type 13 rifles, Mauser Type 1898 rifles, and even the Chishui-made Wuzi rifles produced in Guizhou, are all types of Chinese military equipment.

In addition to these rifles, there were even several Czech light machine guns and a Jinling-made Type 24 Maxim heavy machine gun whose cooling water tank was damaged.

The 16th Division pursued all the way from Songhu to Nanjing. Fierce battles continued along the way, and a lot of weapons and equipment were seized from the Chinese army. Most of these trucks of Chinese firearms came from the defeated Chinese troops encountered along the way. Although most of the weapons and equipment of the Chinese army are looked down upon by the Japanese, they have great merits in terms of firearms.

Among other things, the Czech-style light machine guns equipped by the Chinese army are very good. They are much easier to use than the Taisho 11-year-old crooked light machine guns equipped by the Japanese army. Therefore, it is not uncommon for the Japanese army to retain them, and the amount of loot captured is also One of the important criteria for measuring military merit, so the Third Brigade collected all the weapons and equipment captured from the Chinese army, but they came in handy at this time.

The officer leading the baggage agent organized the soldiers to take apart the seized weapons and began to distribute them immediately. Although the baggage agents were very reluctant, they all received weapons, some of which were medium-sized and formal, and some of which were made in Hanyang. , and some had Czech-style light machine guns, and all of them had sad faces. Everyone knew what it meant to equip the baggage troops and artillery with weapons.

The artillery units and baggage troops of the Japanese army are generally rarely equipped with basic infantry weapons such as rifles. The artillery is better. Some squad leaders are equipped with pistols. The baggage troops are simply not equipped with guns. Even if they are equipped with guns, they only have two or three guns. Each person uses a rifle, and the weapon in the hands of most of the baggage agents is only a Type 30 bayonet, and they are not even equipped with a helmet.

On the Songhu battlefield, once the troops were insufficient for use, the Japanese army would move the baggage troops to the front line to do infantry work when they were pressed. The same was true for the baggage agents, although the training of these baggage agents was very poor. , far inferior to infantry, but they have also learned basic rifle use and basic stabbing techniques, so they can play some role on the battlefield.

The purpose of Toyama Nosuke letting the baggage agents and artillerymen have guns was to increase the number of infantry in the army and the number of cannon fodder that could be pulled up to fight.

And the effect is indeed good. After arming a regiment artillery squad, an infantry artillery squad, and more than fifty special agents, the number of infantry that the third brigade can put into battle is actually the same as that of a full infantry. The teams are almost the same.

"Come on, come on, each man has a rifle and a bayonet."

"Use this gun, it's a good gun."

The top commander of the baggage agents of the Third Infantry Brigade, the lieutenant officer who had just been bossed around and kicked by the second lieutenant of the infantry squadron, directed his subordinates to distribute weapons. After fighting so many battles with the Chinese army, the baggage agents also learned a lot. Little knowledge of weapons, knowing which weapons are good and which weapons are bad.

This group of people is also very smart. They are all rushing to get German standard rifles and medium-sized rifles. Anyone who is a soldier will understand that easy-to-use weapons can save lives.

This batch of guns is not only distributed to the baggage troops, but also to the regiment artillery squad and the infantry artillery squad. Whoever gets the good guns first will take advantage.

However, a shout stopped the looting of the baggage agents.

"Baga, Baga, stop you losers and give those good guns to our infantry artillery team. You losers are not worthy of using good weapons."

Toshiaki Mukai, the captain of the infantry artillery squad of the Third Battalion, came with a dozen aggressive soldiers. When he saw that the baggage agents had already obtained their guns, he immediately became furious. After rushing over, he kicked down several baggage agents. , and then brandished his family heirloom sword, slashing left and right. The dozen soldiers following him also came up to punch and kick the baggage agents, and began to snatch the good guns from the baggage agents.

The baggage agents did not dare to fight back and could only be beaten. The lieutenant who led the team also came to Mukai Toshiaki and apologized repeatedly, and finally stopped the violent behavior of Mukai Toshiaki and others. He kept bowing and watching the infantry artillery team carry the troops. He walked away with those good guns.

When Toshiaki Mukai and the infantry artillery squad officers and soldiers walked away, the lieutenant officer of the special baggage agent looked at Toshiaki Mukai's retreating back, a trace of anger and fierceness flashed in his eyes, and the more than fifty special agents behind him also In this way, of course, Toshiaki Mukai, who was walking away at this time, would not notice, let alone care about the anger and reaction of these special agents who were regarded as ants.

Mukai Toshiaki would not have thought that bullying the special agents carrying baggage before going to the battlefield, which was a common behavior in peacetime, would bring him much trouble in the battle in the near future.

(End of this chapter)