Quartermasters can also fight the devils

Chapter 576 The Hope of the 236th Regiment

The 234th Regiment of the Japanese Army knew that the 236th Regiment in Dashantang was on the verge of collapse. After a night and a morning of forced march, the 234th Regiment of the Japanese Army reached the high ground west of Xiangbi Bridge around noon.

The 234th Army of the Ninth War Zone of the Chinese Government saw the 234th Regiment of the Japanese Army attacking, but the troops of the th Army did not retreat. As soon as the th Regiment arrived at the Xiangbi Bridge, it immediately dispatched two battalions of troops to launch a fierce attack on the th Army's defensive positions on the west side of the Xiangbi Bridge.

However, the troops of the 234th Army of the Ninth War Zone of the Chinese government remained calm in the face of the fierce attack of the 234th Regiment of the Japanese Army, and managed to stop the attack of two battalions of the th Regiment of the Japanese Army.

The attack of the 234th Regiment of the Japanese Army was blocked, which made Lieutenant General Seiichi Aoki, the commander of the 236th Division, who received the battle report, anxious, because just now, Colonel Yoshio Kamekawa, the commander of the th Regiment of the Japanese Army, sent another telegram on the battle situation.

Colonel Yoshio Kamekawa, commander of the 236th Regiment, said in a telegram that the defense line of the 236th Regiment was basically calm last night, but since early this morning to dawn, the Chinese army began to attack Shuanghuajian and Xiangudian. The number of officers and soldiers killed in the front line of the 236th Regiment today has reached . Now the ammunition of the troops has been basically consumed. The officers and soldiers can only use rifle bayonets to counterattack the attack of the Chinese army, and only then did they barely hold their positions.

What is even more troublesome is that starting from today, a large-scale Chinese gathering began to attack on the east and west lines of Fulinpu. Chinese troops are also gathering near Mafengzui. In addition, the Chinese army is gradually flanking the two wings of the 236th Regiment's defense line, probably preparing to completely encircle the 236th Regiment.

Lieutenant General Seiichi Aoki, commander of the 234th Division of the Japanese Army, and Major General Mitsuo Hisabo, chief of staff of the division, were anxiously studying the map for ways to break the current impasse. Just when the two of them had no good ideas, Lieutenant Colonel Wei Okuyama, the division operations staff officer in the command center, proposed a plan, which was that the th Regiment could organize a battalion-sized sneak attack force tonight, and break through the defensive positions of the Chinese army at Xiangbi Bridge when the Chinese army was very tired after a day of fierce fighting.

Lieutenant General Seiichi Aoki, commander of the 234th Division of the Japanese Army, had no better solution but to adopt the operational plan of Lieutenant Colonel Okuyama Ei, chief of staff, and ordered Colonel Yoshinao Toda, commander of the 236th Regiment, to organize a night attack force to break through the defensive positions of the Chinese army and establish contact with the troops of the th Regiment.

After receiving the battle plan, Colonel Yoshinao Toda, commander of the 234th Regiment, called Lieutenant Kenjiro Matsumoto, commander of the th Squadron, explained the battle plan to him, and strengthened the th Squadron with two squadrons of troops, as well as artillery and communications arms to form a night attack force.

After receiving the order, Lieutenant Kenjiro Matsumoto, the captain of the 12th Squadron, gathered all the night attack troops and introduced the combat objectives of the night attack to each officer. Then, after the sun set, he took advantage of the cover of night to quietly approach a section of the Chinese army's defensive position on the west side of the Elephant Trunk Bridge.

When the time came to midnight, the artillery of the Japanese night attack force, which had been lurking in front of the Chinese military's defensive position, opened fire first. All of a sudden, this section of the defensive position was immediately covered by fierce Japanese artillery fire. At the same time as the shelling began, Lieutenant Kenjiro Matsumoto, the captain of the 12th Squadron, suddenly drew his command knife and personally led all the night attack troops to launch a charge.

The Chinese army in charge of this section of the defense position had been strengthening and building the defense position under cover of night. What the commander of the Chinese army did not expect was that the Japanese army would launch such a fierce artillery bombardment at this time. Suddenly, the officers and soldiers on the defense position suffered heavy casualties from the Japanese artillery fire, and there was some chaos in the position.

Even more fatal was that the Japanese army took advantage of the chaos caused by the artillery fire and rushed to the defensive position, leaving the Chinese army officers and soldiers on the defensive position no time to prepare for defense. When the captain of the 12th Squadron, Lieutenant Kenjiro Matsumoto, led the Japanese night attack force into the Chinese army's defensive position, the Japanese night attack force opened a gap on the Hu Xia army's side of this section of the defense line.

After Lieutenant Kenjiro Matsumoto, the captain of the 12th Squadron, led the Japanese night attack troops to successfully break through the Chinese army's defense line at Xiangbi Bridge, he did not stop, but left a squadron of troops to guard both sides of the gap, and led the rest of the Japanese night attack troops to quickly rush towards Dashantang.

At two o'clock in the morning, Lieutenant Kenjiro Matsumoto, the captain of the 236th Squadron, finally led his troops to Dashantang and made contact with the remnants of the 236th Regiment of the Japanese Army. Colonel Yoshio Kamekawa, the commander of the th Regiment of the Japanese Army, was extremely excited after receiving the news that reinforcements had arrived.

Colonel Kamekawa Yoshio, commander of the 236th Regiment of the Japanese Army, did not sleep all night, because he knew that Lieutenant General Seiichi Aoki, commander of the 236th Division, would arrange a night attack force to break through the Chinese army's defense line to open a breakthrough and rescue his 236th Regiment. This might be the best chance for the th Regiment to break out.

Therefore, as soon as it got dark, Colonel Kamekawa Yoshio, commander of the 236th Regiment, ordered the troops of the 236th Regiment in various defensive positions to be ready. Once the night attack troops organized by the 234th Regiment outside opened a breakthrough, all the troops must withdraw as quickly as possible.

The current 236th Regiment of the Japanese Army has been reduced from its full wartime strength of more than 236 people to only more than 236 people. What is more difficult is that in the past few days, the officers and soldiers of the th Regiment of the Japanese Army have been suffering from hunger and cold, sleepless nights, and fierce battles with the Chinese army. Under such multiple blows, the entire th Regiment is on the verge of collapse.

The success of the 234th Regiment's night attack made the commander of the 236th Regiment, Colonel Yoshio Kamekawa, so excited that he quickly ordered all officers and soldiers to retreat from their positions and gather at the regiment headquarters, because the division commander had left a big burden for the 236th Regiment, which was the large number of seriously injured soldiers in the field hospital.

At this time, Colonel Kamekawa Yoshio, commander of the 236th Regiment, did not dare to abandon the seriously wounded. First of all, Lieutenant General Aoki Seiichi, commander of the th Division, did not order him to abandon the seriously wounded and retreat. If he dared to abandon the seriously wounded without authorization, what awaited him would be a ticket back home and a bullet awarded by the military court.