The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 82 Dark Night Crisis
Shinohara Corps Headquarters on the Western Front at Xinkou late at night

The commander of the Shinohara Corps, or the commander of the hybrid No. 15 brigade, Seiichiro Shinohara, was sitting in the command post.

Shinohara Seiichiro, Army Major General, was born on May 1884, 5. He graduated from the 11th Infantry Division of the Army Sergeant School in March 1905. He is currently the commander-in-chief of the Japanese Attack Corps on the Xinkou West Front.

Shinohara Seiichiro put down the telegram in his hand with a stern expression and took a sip of sake. Unfortunately, the warm sake could not relieve the sadness on his face. The continuous sound of gunfire on the Xinkou West Front continued. That was his His subordinates were fighting hard in the mountains on the Western Front, but his worried thoughts were not there.

Shinohara drank another glass of sake and looked at the plain area in the direction of Xinkou Daibaishui.

.........

The Mixed Fifteenth Brigade is based on the Fifteenth Brigade of the Second Division. The Second Division was founded in 1873 (Meiji 6th year). It is one of the six earliest towns established by the Japanese Empire. It is called Sendai Zhentai.

In 1886, it was renamed the Second Division. Because the recruitment site was located in Sendai, it was also called the Sendai Division.

The Second Division mainly has four regiments: 4th, 16th, 29th, and 30th.After the establishment of the division, it was the first to participate in the Sino-Japanese War. Within the Shandong Combat Army organization, it was the first to land on Longxu Island in Rongcheng, Shandong Province. It completed the encirclement and annihilation of the Beiyang Navy in Weihaiwei, and then participated in the Russo-Japanese War. In the First Army Within the organization, he participated in the Battle of Liaoyang and the Battle of Shenyang.

Since then, it has been a rotating unit of the Kwantung Army stationed in the Northeast for a long time.

During the September [-]th Incident, the Second Division acted as the main force to attack the Northeastern Army's Beida Camp in Fengtian, and then moved to Changchun, Jilin, Qiqihar and Harbin, and became the vanguard of the Chinese army in the Jiangqiao Anti-Japanese War. It is not an exaggeration to say that the hands are filled with the blood of Chinese people.

In this Shanxi offensive, the Shinohara Corps, composed of the No. 15 Brigade of the Second Division, once again acted as the main force besieging the western front of Xinkou.

.........

"Your Excellency, Brigade Commander, Captain Goto of the No. 16 Regiment has arrived!"

While Shinohara Seiichiro was thinking, a major staff officer suddenly came in to report.

"Please!"

Soon, a colonel officer who was about forty years old walked into the command post. It was Colonel Juro Goto, captain of the 16th Infantry Regiment under the 1894th Brigade. He was a native of Aichi Prefecture, born in 1916, and came from Japan in 20. Graduated from the eighth class of the Army Academy No. 43, he is now [-] years old.

"Your Excellency, Brigade Commander!" Juro Goto stood at attention and saluted.

Shinohara Seiichiro said: "Goto-kun is here, take a look at this telegram!"

Shinohara Seiichiro handed the telegram just now to Goto Juro. A moment later, Goto Juro was shocked and said: "Enemy? The enemy may use chemical weapons." "This telegram was urgently sent by the Tsutsumi detachment. , their enemies were stationed outside a village called Yanzhuang in the plains of the Western Front. Yesterday and today, the Di detachment failed in two attacks. Yesterday it lost an infantry squad, and today it directly lost a reinforced infantry squadron and an infantry squadron. The squadron and a heavy machine gun squad, and many tanks were also destroyed.”

Goto Juro said in shock: "This Chinese army is so powerful. I wonder what kind of army it is?"

"Judging from the number, they are troops of the 80th Division of the Chinese Army. They belong to the same corps as the No. [-] Third Division of the Chinese Army that is fighting with your regiment. Their combat power is indeed impressive, and their firepower is also very powerful. According to the report of the Di Detachment, the enemy The military equipment is equipped with combat artillery, mortars, and today it is suspected that a Levins projectile that can launch chemical weapons was used. It is precisely because the enemy may use chemical weapons that I came to you."

When mentioning chemical weapons, Juro Goto's face became very serious. Seiichiro Shinohara continued: "I don't know what the Chinese army is going to do, but I know very well that although there are international conventions restricting the use of chemical weapons, China has a saying It is well said that dogs can jump over walls when they are anxious. I cannot guarantee that the Chinese army will definitely use chemical weapons in an emergency, but as long as there is even the slightest possibility, we will eliminate this possibility."

"The chemical warfare weapons of the Imperial Army are also very advanced. The Imperial Army only restricts the use of chemical weapons. When necessary, the Imperial Army will not hesitate to use chemical weapons, but we will never allow the Chinese army to use chemical weapons. There is not even the slightest possibility of using chemical weapons. This thing is so powerful and terrifying..."

A trace of fear flashed in the eyes of Shinohara Seiichiro and Goto Juro.

"Your Excellency, Brigade Commander, what do you need me to do?"

Gotojuro asked.

"Prepare to withdraw from the current battle. I am going to move your regiment to the direction of Yanzhuang and cooperate with the dike detachment there to annihilate the Chinese army there. There may be chemical troops of the Chinese army there. Don't be careful, there must be They must be surrounded and eliminated before the Chinese army uses chemical weapons or mobilizes them."

Shinohara Seiichiro said.

"But our regiment is entangled with the Chinese army on the mountains on the west side. It has been attacking for two consecutive days and the fighting is very difficult. Now it has only initially occupied some positions. The front line of our regiment's attack is almost entangled with the Chinese army. Together, the positions of both sides are intertwined. The infantry on the front line can even hear the voices of the Chinese army. On the mountainous terrain, the two sides are completely fighting together. If the troops are rashly withdrawn at this time, the positions that have been obtained may be occupied again. The Chinese army has re-occupied, and even if they have to draw down their troops, they can draw out one or two infantry brigades, but if they directly draw out the entire [-]th Regiment, it will be a waste of time. I wonder..."

Shinohara Seiichiro interrupted Goto Juro, guessed what he was going to say next, and said: "From now on, the mission of your regiment is to annihilate the Chinese defenders in Yanzhuang. The current battle will stop immediately. The existing positions, Conditionally hand it over to No. 30 Regiment and Daquan Detachment. If it is difficult to hand over, then give up. Nothing is more important now than getting rid of the chemical weapons of the Chinese army! The warriors of the Imperial Army can survive in the hail of bullets and the flames of artillery fire. Glorious withering, jade without regrets must not die painfully in the poison of chemical weapons. Eliminating possible chemical weapons of the Chinese army is much more meaningful than capturing a few hilltop positions!"

Shinohara's words were filled with an inexplicable sense of mission, and what Juro Goto wanted to express was also very clear. As the main force in the attack on the western front of Xinkou, the main infantry unit under the Shinohara Corps was actually two There are two infantry regiments, the No. 16 Infantry Regiment and the No. 30 Infantry Regiment. In addition, there are also the Di Detachment and the Daquan Detachment, two units that have strengthened the infantry brigade level. Now let’s take out the No. 16 Regiment and fight Yan. Village, including the Tsutsumi detachment there, it is equivalent to saying that the Shinohara Corps invested half of its infantry force to attack a small village!
The strength of the Chinese army fighting against these two regiments and two brigades is three infantry divisions, and they are all infantry divisions of the Central Army. Under such a comparison of forces between the offensive and defensive sides, half of the infantry strength must be used to fight. In a village, there are indeed some people who are overkill and overkill their talents.

It can be seen that the brigade commander stated that the situation was so serious, Goto Juro could only obey the order.

"Tomorrow, a batch of supplementary troops will be shipped from the mainland. They are all supplementary troops from the Xinfatian area. They will all be supplemented to your regiment. I will reinforce you with a squadron from the Second Field Artillery Regiment. , they are equipped with the new Type [-] [-]mm howitzers, which are very powerful. In Yanzhuang, the strength of the Di detachment is equivalent to a reinforced brigade. Yesterday I reinforced a mountain artillery squadron of the Second Independent Mountain Artillery Regiment for them. , there are dozens of tanks from the Fourth Tank Brigade there, and they will all be under your command when you arrive."

"Your regiment will receive additional troops tomorrow morning, and then receive replenishment of grain and ammunition. Your regiment will have only one day to complete its attack preparations tomorrow. It must launch a full-scale attack on Yanzhuang before eight o'clock the day after tomorrow!"

At this point, maybe Shinohara Seiichiro's words were too sincere and too emotional?Or maybe it was so exaggerated that Juro Goto, the listener, now believed in his heart that there was a [-]% to [-]% chance that the Chinese army would use chemical weapons. In short, Juro Goto realized the seriousness of the matter, stood up and said at attention. :
"Yes! Your Excellency, Brigade Commander! Our regiment will definitely live up to expectations and will definitely be able to capture Yanzhuang and completely annihilate the Chinese army!"

(End of this chapter)