ushernet Chapter 304 Out of sight, out of sight
Chapter 304 Out of sight, out of sight
"Your Excellency the Regiment Commander, the Chinese army has sent a large number of troops to carry out activities around our defensive positions since daybreak. They hid among the weeds and trees and shot at our officers and soldiers exposed outside the positions. This caused considerable psychological panic to the officers and soldiers on the front defensive positions." Major Masaaki Yasukawa, commander of the 1st Battalion, reported to Colonel Tsunahiko Watanabe, the regiment commander, with a worried look on his face.
This harassment tactic of the Chinese army now gave Major Masaaki Yasukawa a headache. The officers and soldiers did suffer considerable casualties in the initial harassment of the Chinese army, but after everyone paid attention to hiding, the casualties caused by this harassment tactic of the Chinese army to the troops were significantly reduced.
But hiding on the position is not a solution for the officers and soldiers now. Now the officers and soldiers on the position dare not look up to observe the situation in front of the position. If the Chinese army sneaks up, the officers and soldiers on the position probably won’t know. Moreover, if this continues, the psychological endurance and sense of oppression of the officers and soldiers on the position will reach a limit, which will make the officers and soldiers feel fear and panic in their hearts. In this case, the morale of the troops will plummet.
After listening to the report from Major Masaaki Yasukawa, the commander of the regiment, Colonel Tsunahiko Watanabe, frowned and thought. He had no good solution for the harassment tactics of the Chinese army. Should he find some soldiers with good marksmanship to fight against the Chinese army? No, he didn't know where the sharpshooters of the Chinese army were hiding, and he didn't know how many there were. If he rashly asked his soldiers with good marksmanship to stick their heads out to look for Chinese soldiers, it would be a pure act of seeking death.
But we can't just sit there and do nothing in this situation. We can't just watch the officers and soldiers remain in tension and fear. The morale of the troops is also declining. How can we resist the attack that the Chinese army may launch at any time?
"Mr. Yasukawa, do you have any good idea?" The commander of the regiment, Colonel Tsunahiko Watanabe, thought for a long time but couldn't come up with a good idea, so he looked at Major Masayoshi Yasukawa who was standing beside him.
"Sir, the commander, this kind of harassment tactics of the Chinese army is very difficult to guard against. Now we don't know whether the Chinese army will continue to harass us like this or launch an attack. If the Chinese army continues to harass us like this, then we don't have to worry about it. Let the officers and soldiers be careful not to expose themselves in the positions. If the Chinese army harasses us and suddenly launches an attack at the same time, it will be more troublesome." Major Masaaki Yasukawa also said a lot of useless words ambiguously.
But the commander of the regiment, Colonel Watanabe Tsunahiko, understood the meaning behind the words of Major Masaaki Yasukawa. He understood that Major Masaaki Yasukawa must have a way to guard against the Chinese army, otherwise he would not come and say so many useless words to him.
"Mr. Yasukawa, please tell me your opinions and solutions. If possible, I will let you be responsible for this matter." Colonel Tsunahiko Watanabe, the commander of the corps, put forward conditions to Major Masayoshi Yasukawa very appropriately.
"Your Excellency the Commander, I don't think the Chinese army will attack us." Major Masaaki Yasukawa also asked the question he had thought of a long time ago.
"Oh? Tell me your basis." The commander of the corps, Colonel Tsunahiko Watanabe, is now a little interested. He wants to hear Major Masayoshi Yasukawa's analysis and judgment.
"Your Excellency the Captain, the Chinese army lacks artillery support in the attack. Last night, the Chinese army used the artillery of the field artillery regiment to bombard the camp. They know that it is difficult for them to drag those heavy artillery to evacuate safely. What they need is to take advantage of rapid movement. Artillery can only slow down their speed of moving back and forth on the battlefield. Now, the Chinese army wants to attack our defensive positions. In the absence of artillery support, how much casualties will they have to pay to achieve certain results? If I were the commander of the Chinese army, I would never launch this attack with such heavy casualties. Therefore, they will continue to harass our officers and soldiers. The purpose is to keep our officers and soldiers in a state of high mental tension and consume their energy and physical strength." Major Masaaki Yasukawa also expressed his views.
The commander of the regiment, Colonel Tsunahiko Watanabe, felt that Major Masaaki Yasukawa's analysis made sense. He had also been thinking about this issue and the results and answers he obtained were similar to those of Major Masaaki Yasukawa. However, if the Chinese army did not attack, he would be happy to see such a result. After all, his own troops had suffered considerable losses.
"Then, Mr. Yasukawa, do you have any way to deal with the current situation?" The commander of the regiment, Colonel Watanabe Tsunahiko, also asked the key point directly. Only by finding a solution can he report to the division commander.
"Your Excellency the Captain, I suggest organizing a mobile reinforcement force. If the Chinese army launches an attack on our position from a certain direction, then this mobile force will reinforce in that direction. The Chinese army's current harassment tactics can only be carried out on the periphery, and the Chinese army can only use stealth to rush into our position. As long as we reinforce in time, this tactic of the Chinese army is unlikely to play a big role, and it is impossible for them to completely occupy our camp and position." Major Masaaki Yasukawa also told him the solution he had thought of.
After listening to Major Masaaki Yasukawa's idea, the regiment commander Colonel Tsunahiko Watanabe also thought about it. Major Masaaki Yasukawa's idea could not be said to be perfect, but it could indeed buy time and space to defend the camp in the most unfavorable situation when the Chinese army attacked the position, and would not allow the Chinese army to rush into the camp all at once to threaten the safety of the division headquarters and the regiment headquarters.
What if the Chinese army rushed into the position from all sides at the same time? Colonel Watanabe Tsunahiko, the commander of the regiment, felt that the Chinese army could not have so many troops. Even if the Chinese army had so many troops, he could concentrate all the troops in the camp for defense. It was absolutely impossible for the Chinese army to quickly eat up all his troops.
"Very good, Mr. Yasukawa, I will let the regiment's escort squadron serve as the mobile reinforcement force, and you will command this mobile force. I hope you can protect the safety of the division commander well." The regiment commander, Colonel Tsunahiko Watanabe, knew what Major Masayoshi Yasukawa wanted.
When Major Masaaki Yasukawa heard that the regiment commander, Colonel Tsunahiko Watanabe, appointed him as the head of the mobile reinforcement force, he was overjoyed. The reason he came up with this idea was to gain command of this mobile force. In this way, he would have a suitable reason to appear in front of the division commander. This would be a great opportunity for the division commander to remember him.
Major Masaaki Yasukawa has analyzed in his mind many times whether the Chinese army will launch an attack. He feels that the Chinese army is very likely not to launch a large-scale attack. Otherwise, the Chinese army should be bombarding its own positions and then launching a large-scale charge instead of just sending some soldiers with good marksmanship to shoot in front of the positions.
You know, the Chinese army has only a limited time to attack. If the Chinese army really wants to attack, it is impossible to waste so much good time.
Therefore, I proposed my own solution based on this basic judgment. In this way, I can show my bravery in front of the division commander without any actual danger. It is simply like being a whore and setting up a saint, and all the benefits are mine.
Major Masaaki Yasukawa's judgment was correct. Zhang Wenwu also observed the Japanese positions through the harassment operations in the morning. Faced with this defensive position of the Japanese army, Zhang Wenwu had to admit that his troops did not have any particularly good chances to break into the Japanese positions.
"Brother Ouyang, send a telegram to the commander, asking the troops in the South China Sea to prepare for retreat. We cannot completely eliminate the Japanese troops in this encirclement in one day. We don't have the skills to do this." After Zhang Wenwu personally ventured to the front to observe the Japanese defensive positions, he finally gave up the idea of launching a night attack.
Zhang Wenwu felt that since the battle could not be ended in a short time, there was no need to waste time here. It would be better to prepare the troops early and retreat westward together. Looking at the Japanese troops in the encirclement but not having time to eat them was simply a torture for him.
"Yes, division commander, I will send a message to the army commander right away. In addition, our division is responsible for the rear guard of the entire army. I have already arranged the rear guard combat marching plan, and we can start the action at any time." Ouyang Heng also responded immediately.
Zhang Wenwu didn't feel much about his unit's responsibility for the rearguard mission, and Ouyang Heng had already completed the plan for the troops to guard against the Japanese pursuit. However, he believed that it was impossible for the Japanese to pursue them. The Japanese flanking force closest to them was now huddled together, and they would never step out of their defensive positions without the arrival of reinforcements. They were also afraid that their side was a fake retreat, and then they would lure them out of their positions and attack them.
As for the Japanese troops on the front battlefield of Nanhai City and the Japanese troops of the 18th Division that came from Yangcheng, their main purpose of attacking here after occupying Nanhai was to rescue this Japanese flanking force that was currently surrounded. By the time they joined up with the Japanese troops here, their own troops would have probably disappeared long ago.
Of course, if the Japanese army really sent troops to pursue me, I would definitely leave an indelible and beautiful memory for this Japanese army.
(Thanks to the director of Longsheng Library, users, Lei Shi who loves to eat beauty porridge, and Di Liwu for their support! Thank you all for your support and encouragement!)