Chapter 244: The Burnt Sawada Shigeru
Look at the list of seized supplies. Yang Zhen just sighed for a while, then handed the list in his hand to Ma Chunsheng and said: "In addition to supplementing the losses of various parts, the excess will be handed over to Ma Qichang to transport back to Luobei." As for the mountain artillery shells in the shells, all of them were replenished on the spot to the individual units. β
"These tanks are a bit of a nuisance, and no one in our troops can drive them. So, you pick out some drivers from the car battalion, and I'll show them how to drive. Anyway, these treasures have to be brought back first. As for training, we can only talk about it in the future. β
"You send a telegram to Zhang Zhenhua and ask him to transfer all the trucks and drivers. Using the captured Japanese vehicles, all the excess ammunition, food, and gasoline were immediately transported back to the Xingshan area. Although these supplies are not too much, they are enough to support us for a while. β
After explaining the use of the seized materials, Yang Zhen hesitated for a moment, personally drafted a telegram and handed it to Ma Chunsheng, and said, "Let's do it according to your opinion." Du Kaishan and Tao Jingfei were dismissed and retained. After the war is over, I will discuss with the political commissar and the chief of staff before disposing of it. β
Speaking of this, Yang Zhen waved his hand and said, "Okay, this matter is over." This side has been cleared, the prisoners will be evacuated, and our whole army will cross the river and head south. Send a telegram to the Chief of Staff and tell us about the situation here. In addition, he commanded the troops of the 1st Brigade and the 1st Division to find an opportunity to cross the river and capture the counties of Fujin, Tongjiang, and Fuyuan. β
"In addition, tell the chief of staff to pay more attention to the area of Wuergul Mountain, eleven kilometers southeast of Fujin County. There is a hidden and huge fortress built by the Japanese army similar to the Xingshan Fortress. Even if you can't capture the whole territory of Fujin, you must rescue the laborers in this fortress. β
After Ma Chunsheng quickly recorded several orders from Yang Zhen, he suddenly remembered something and said, "Commander, although I didn't catch Sawada Shigeru this time. However, among the captives, Major General Kobayashi Asaburo, commander of the 4th Brigade of the Japanese Army, and Major General Saburo Katayama Province, commander of the 15th Brigade of the 2nd Division, and Takeuchi Yasumi Osa, commander of the 37th Wing, were found.
"Major General Kobayashi Asaburo and Major General Saburo Katayama Province are the only two major general-level officers captured by our army. He is also the highest-ranking officer in the Japanese army that we have captured now. β
"In addition, just last night, our logistics and transportation troops encountered dozens of Japanese troops in the area north of Fuguitun. After an hour of fierce fighting, the escort troops completely annihilated the Japanese troops, and all but one of them were killed. After interrogating the only prisoner of war, it can be determined that this is the regimental headquarters of the 2nd Division of the Japanese Army who escaped from the first line of General Stone. β
"Through the identification of Japanese prisoners, we found the bodies of Lieutenant General Yasui Toji, commander of the 2nd Division of the Japanese Army, and Hakutoku Osa, the 30th Wing of the 2nd Division, in this group of Japanese troops."
"We have caught a lot of big fish in this net. One lieutenant general was killed, two major generals were captured, and one Dazuo was captured. In addition, he killed the former chief of operations of the Kwantung Army, Hattori Takushiro Nakasa, who tried to escape after being captured. Commander, I would like to ask for instructions on what to do with these high-ranking prisoners? β
Hearing Ma Chunsheng's request for instructions on how to deal with several captured Japanese generals, Yang Zhen pondered for a moment and frowned: "Detain these people alone." Sue sΓΉ Gao Yumin, these senior Japanese soldiers must give me life. Also, they must not be allowed to commit suicide. β
Speaking of this, Yang Zhen pondered for a while and then said to Ma Chunsheng: "You go and arrange it personally, isn't there a film crew sent by Jiangbei to shoot battlefield documentaries in the Political Affairs Department?" You let them take all these high-ranking POWs. But the fact that we are using poison gas bombs must not be leaked. β
"The war on the front line of the Lianjiang Estuary must be strictly kept secret, and a number of capable forces will be transferred from the headquarters and the political department to closely monitor these people in Jiangbei. In addition, you go to tell Gao Yumin and ask them to report to the commander-in-chief, and after these films are completed, they will review them personally. Read it carefully for me, when it comes to confidential matters, no matter what the attitude of the people in Jiangbei is, we must resolutely delete it. Two more copies are required. One copy is sent to the center. β
Ma Chunsheng nodded and went to decorate. As for Yang Zhen's proposal to use these captured Japanese phosgene bombs on the front line of the Lianjiang Estuary, Ma Chunsheng was the most staunch supporter. In his opinion, since the Japanese army can do everything in the battle, and the Chinese army, which is one of the biggest victims of the Japanese army's poison gas warfare, why should it learn from Song Xianggong and play with benevolence, righteousness and morality. Even if it is impossible to report flaws, it is necessary to focus on the smallest casualties and the fastest elimination of the Japanese army.
It's just that the results of this battle are so rich, and Ma Chunsheng didn't expect it. Not only did they capture a large number of weapons and equipment, but they also captured two Japanese major generals and a large general. This time it's not just about getting rich. The battle on the battlefield in the Guannai was in full swing, and millions of troops were caught and killed, not to mention the capture of officers at the level of major generals, even if they were killed. This time, I caught two at once, which is not easy. As for how to catch it, why do you care so much?
The only thing that distressed Ma Chunsheng was the war horses of the Second Cavalry Wing and the Fourth Cavalry Brigade of the Japanese Army. Even if these horses are rescued, they are unable to charge the horses because their lungs have been severely damaged. Because their gas-infected lungs are no longer functional enough to support them for long journeys.
The way to deal with these war horses Yang Zhen is very simple. It can also be used as a driving wheel or transport, and it can be transferred to the production and construction troops or left to the logistics troops. All the things that have completely lost their use value have been resolved. It's just that Yang Zhen is somewhat of a pity, the Japanese army's war horses are also castrated, otherwise they can be used as stallions.
These war horses were bred after the Japanese army spent a lot of money to introduce Western horses. The performance is extremely good, whether it is a short sprint or a long run, it is an extremely good war horse. If you don't castrate, you can use it as a horse breed to produce your own war horses.
In fact, including Yang Zhen, they didn't expect that they could achieve such a big result this time, not just betting on the right treasure. This is just one of the reasons. The real reason is that none of them have been trained in chemical warfare, and they have no idea how many poison gas bombs can be used at one time to achieve a properly effective record.
In later generations, Yang Zhen, who was trained in poison gas identification, knew the general performance of phosgene, and knew how to protect it. However, for the ever-changing chemical warfare equipment in later generations, compared with advanced poison gases such as Soman and sarin, phosgene, which has become outdated, is only used as part of daily training to understand the general performance.
Yang Zhen, who didn't know how to use these poisonous gases, for fear that the Japanese prisoner would do something and would not achieve the best effect, simply ordered to shoot out the nearly 1,000 luminous gas shells. Anyway, these things have to be maintained by professionals. In the absence of this condition, it is better to take the opportunity to knock down at one time.
The yield of these phosgene shells, intended exclusively for field artillery of seventy-five mm caliber, was brought together. Coupled with the influence of wind speed, not to mention the thousands of Japanese troops gathered in a group at the mouth of the Lianjiang River, even a full brigade of the Japanese army came, although it may not kill much, but I am afraid it is enough to stun them all.
These nearly 1,000 rounds of poison gas shells produced a high concentration of poison gas that far exceeded the standard for the use of chemical warfare by the Japanese army, causing heavy casualties to thousands of Japanese troops at the Lianjiang Estuary. Within an hour, the acute poisoning mortality rate was as high as 30 percent. Most of the rest were also directly unconscious due to poisoning.
Even if he was lucky enough not to die and did not fall into a coma, he lost his ability to move due to poisoning. I can only watch as my opponent easily captures himself. Yang Zhen was able to easily deal with this Japanese army composed of infantry artillery and chariots, and he helped a lot in the prudence of using these poison gas bombs.
It's just that Yang Zhen didn't expect this at all. After the main force had all crossed the river and headed south and completed the finishing work on the first line of the Lianjiang estuary, Yang Zhen, who had no meaning to continue to stay in Jiangbei, immediately crossed the Songhua River with his front finger at the fastest speed and rushed to Jiamusi, which was in the midst of a fierce battle.
Compared with Yang Zhen, who is relatively easy now, the front-line battle at the Lianjiang Estuary was handed over to Major General Kobayashi Asaburo, but Sawada Shigeru, who was lucky enough to escape, was miserable.
If you want to fight, you don't have many troops under your command. It was the arsenal in Jiamusi City, and after losing it at some point, he didn't have any ammunition to use except for the only ammunition that a brigade defending the city had on hand with an average of only thirty rounds.
If you want to leave, although Jiamusi, which is not big, can not be said to be surrounded by water, it is impossible to say that there is no possibility of breaking through the siege. However, he really could not afford to lose Jiamusi, the most important military and logistical base of the Kwantung Army in the northeast Manchurian region.
Not only is there a large number of weapons and ammunition that the Kwantung Army has re-shipped after the last Battle of Jiamusi. There are also winter clothes that have just been shipped less than a week ago and are ready to be changed to the Japanese puppet army in Hulin, Mishan, Suiyang and other places, and the cotton coats alone have reached more than 100,000 pieces. Lost all at once, he really couldn't afford to take this responsibility.
Although these warehouses that stored the winter materials of the entire Northeast Manchurian and Japanese puppet army were the same as the ammunition depots, I don't know when they were occupied by an extremely strange and exceptionally well-equipped force that had not yet found out how to infiltrate the city. The garrison didn't even say a word, and they were killed silently.
However, when he didn't find out until dawn, several reserve warehouses full of strategic materials had been completely lost. In other words, it is no different whether to lose it or not to lose it.
But even if it's lost, even if it's for show, you have to try to get it back. As long as you stay in the city, the responsibility is much less. Once these materials are discarded, there will be as many as 20,000 of them to reorganize the puppet Manchurian soldiers in the Seventh Military Region, which is the hardest-hit area of banditry, but this responsibility is really not something that he can afford.
Lieutenant General Shigeru Sawada, who is about to be transferred out of this damn Manchuria and promoted to deputy chief of staff in the pass, can finally stay away from this anti-Japanese armed force that has devoured a large number of the elite of the imperial army, and he definitely doesn't want to make any mistakes at this critical juncture.
After several failed attempts to launch counterattacks to recapture the warehouse, Sawada Shigeru no longer dared to risk the only brigade at hand. In addition to mobilizing the puppet Manchu military and police in the city to besiege the opponent to death, the first thing he did was to assemble the troops of the Fourth Division distributed along the Songhua River from Yilan in the west to Tongjiang in the north, and wipe out this indecent force that dared to enter the city to engage in petty theft.
As for the blockade mission, to hell with him. Jiamusi couldn't hold it, and almost all the imperial troops in the entire northeast Manchurian region had to go hungry and suffer from freezing. If you can't eat, you can't wear cotton clothes, what else is there to talk about blockade and non-blockade?
It's just that some days don't go according to people's wishes, in fact, for Sawada Shigeru now, the loss of the material warehouse is just one of the things that troubles him, and of course it is also one of the last unfortunate news for him to know.
In fact, the first blow to him was the unfortunate report that at midnight he received a dense artillery fire in Jiangbei, and the warships on the river in the middle of the river were attacked by Yan zhΓ²ng, and almost all the troops were wiped out.
When he received the report, he rushed to Sawada Shigeru on the only remaining city wall north of Jiamusi, and watched the majestic assistance he assisted in the artillery bombardment of the cavalry harassed by the other side in the north of the river during the day, but now almost all of them were on fire, and the warships on the river, whose tonnage was small and had begun to sink, almost wanted to cry without tears.
However, if you want to cry without tears, you want to cry without tears, but Sawada Shigeru is not too worried about Jiangbei's troops. Coupled with the Second Cavalry Wing that was deducted by himself, as well as his own private super configuration, almost all the artillery of the Fourth Division was exhausted, and the first line of the Lianjiang Estuary in Jiangbei can be said to be complete with infantry and cavalry artillery. The number of combat vehicles alone is as high as more than thirty.
In addition, there is a huge amount of ammunition and food in stockpiles, as well as extremely strong field fortifications that have been urgently repaired. With these capitals, even if the other side concentrates all its forces, it is impossible to eat them in a short time. As long as they can hold out, they will have time to mobilize reinforcements.
Before Sawada Shigeru could recover from the unfortunate news that all the warships on the Songhua River had been wiped out, all the retreat routes of his Jiangbei troops had been cut off. One after another, all the troops in Jiangbei, including wired and wireless, lost contact, and a large number of Jiangbei's anti-Manchu and anti-Japanese forces appeared around Jiamusi, and the blow almost did not collapse on the spot.
The line at the mouth of the Lianjiang River in Jiangbei concentrated almost all the garrisons of the Fourth Division in Jiamusi. In addition to the troops transferred to Jiangbei, the entire city defense force of Jiamusi was patchworked, and the rest was just an infantry brigade. Or a purely infantry brigade that lost almost all of its heavy firearms. Once something happened to Jiamusi, Sawada Shigeru almost didn't dare to report any illusions.
Sure enough, before Sawada Shigeru could find out what was going on in Jiangbei and why he only heard the sound of the other side's shelling, in addition to the ships of the Jiangshang Army, a large number of artillery deployed on the front line of the Lianjiang Estuary, and more than ten artillery positions, except for a few occasional cannon sounds, most of the artillery did not make a sound. The biggest unfortunate news came that the city had been infiltrated by opponents.
When Sawada Shigeru mobilized his forces and tried to squeeze and even eliminate the opponents who had infiltrated the city, he found that he had bitten a stone solidly. The opponent's fierce and accurate fire, which was a perfect tactical coordination, caused heavy casualties to the Japanese troops who launched the counterattack. A squadron was thrown in, and in less than an hour, the embers were killed and wounded.
The huge casualties made Sawada Shigeru only resist the desire to destroy the opponent first, and concentrate all the Japanese puppet army troops in Jiamusi City to trap the opponent first. As for destroying them, wait for the main forces of the division to complete the assembly. To his disappointment, before he could ascertain the situation after dawn, a telegram was sent to mobilize troops, and a large number of anti-Manchu forces appeared around the city, which immediately shocked him.