Age of Conquest Reborn

The Daqing River is the last natural obstacle before reaching Gaizhou. Major General Wan Lipeng, commander of the 9th Marine Brigade, has dispersed most of the 9th Brigade's troops on key points along the line, and he still has more than 4,000 troops left.

The more than 4,000 people's troops formed the entire force to capture Gaizhou.

The Second Battalion of the Third Regiment had crossed the Daqing River and successfully boarded the river beach. Suddenly, mortar shells screamed down, "Boom! Boom! Boom!" The shells landed in the formation of the Second Battalion and exploded, causing several explosions.

A dozen soldiers of the Second Battalion fell on the river beach amid pillars of mud and water amid the explosion. Immediately, more mortar shells roared in. The Second Battalion, which had just landed, was suddenly bombarded.

Wan Lipeng hurriedly raised his telescope. In the telescope, the shadow of an khaki military uniform appeared on the other side of the river. "Damn! It's a little Jaap!" he said bitterly, "Chief of Staff, order all mortars to be fired immediately.

Conduct a suppressive artillery bombardment against the Little Japanese mortars, the second battalion organizes a defense on the spot, the third battalion immediately crosses the river, and the brigade headquarters temporarily hides in place!"

After being bombarded, the battle-hardened Second Battalion did not panic. Mortars were set up on the spot. The light and heavy machine gunners immediately began to build firepower points. The other soldiers dispersed and hid on the spot and launched a sudden bombardment.

This is a real Japanese army. The soldiers are familiar with the uniforms of the Kwantung Army. Fortunately, the Kwantung Army has only a small number of troops, which is just a little more than a brigade.

"Coming from the direction of Gaizhou, well, I bumped into the muzzle of the gun, which saved me a lot of energy! I didn't have to fight a street fight in Gaizhou!" Wan Lipeng put on his helmet, picked up his submachine gun, and was about to follow.

The soldiers of the third battalion went into the water.

Colonel Xu Lei, the chief of staff, grabbed him and shouted with a pale face: "Brigade commander, you can't cross the river, please stay here and take command, I will go to the other side!" Then, he turned to the commander of the guard company and said:

"Liu Zirong, the safety of the brigade commander is in your hands. If the brigade commander gets hurt even a hair, I will skin you!"

Wan Lipeng didn't dare to force himself. The division commander had strict regulations for officers above the brigade commander level. The commander of the guard company hurriedly ordered more than a dozen guards to protect the brigade commander and hide in a safe place. He took off his helmet in frustration and said desperately

reluctant

Leaving the river bank, he kept muttering, "This Xu Lei, you are ruining my good deeds. The little devil is stupid. After leaving Gaizhou City, it is a good opportunity to annihilate the enemy in the wild. It is impossible to have a happy fight."

, I don’t have this chance to enjoy myself!”

The commander of the security company who was following him with his gun in hand heard the brigade commander's muttering and said with a grin: "Brigade commander, please don't let our security company worry less! If anything goes wrong with you, staff officer

You are going to peel off my skin!"

Wan Lipeng didn't even hear what the commander of the guard company said. His attention was focused on the other side of the Daqing River. The whistling shells fell into the Daqing River, exploding bright white water columns, while the Ninth Brigade's counterattack force

The mortar shells flew towards the rushing Kwantung Army soldiers. Because the distance was still relatively far, neither side fired. Only the explosion of mortar shells was heard on both sides of the Daqing River.

Wan Lipeng was not worried at all about the sudden attack launched by the Kwantung Army. He was certain that this Kwantung Army force came from the direction of Gaizhou, and it should be one of the Kwantung Army's Gaizhou Military Police Brigade or the Garrison Brigade.

It had no artillery and only carried a dozen mortars. Otherwise, the third battalion, which was crossing the river, would have suffered heavy casualties. I don't know how many soldiers were lying dead on the river.

Wan Lipeng's judgment was correct. It was the military police brigade of the Kwantung Army stationed in Gaizhou that rushed to the bank of the Daqing River to block the independent division. There were more than 1,200 troops in total. The captain of the brigade, Major Fukuoka, was with

He came to fight this battle with great ambition.

In more than a day, the Ninth Brigade eliminated the Kwantung Army strongholds east of Gaizhou one by one. The Kwantung Army garrison and military police brigade in Gaizhou City both received the report and were clearly aware that Gaizhou was about to

It is an inevitable target for the independent division troops to attack. The two captains gathered together to discuss countermeasures.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Kato, the captain of the security brigade, the independent division troops came with great momentum and would never give up until they occupied Gaizhou Division. The importance of Gaizhou's location is self-evident. Not only the imperial army retreating in the middle and west routes

The main force of the army has to pass through Gaizhou, and more than 8,000 people from the 107th Division on the East Road have to go in the direction of Gaizhou. If Gaizhou is lost, neither of them will be able to save their heads.

However, the strength of the Kwantung Army in Gaizhou is not enough to ensure that Gaizhou is safe and sound. Therefore, Lieutenant Colonel Kato means: first, report the situation to his superiors immediately and request reinforcements. Second, immediately set up defenses in Gaizhou and defend the imperial army.

Troops retreat

Passage, and finally, he said: "When the retreating 109th Division and the Kwantung Army's First and Second Detachments arrive, if Gaizhou is lost again, it will not be the responsibility of you and me. Therefore, we will strictly guard

That’s it, what do you think, Mr. Fukuoka?”

Major Fukuoka, captain of the Military Police Brigade, fully agreed with Lieutenant Commander Kato's first opinion. Gaizhou's military strength was indeed insufficient, but he scorned the second opinion, "Kato-kun, don't forget, the Imperial Army of the Empire of Japan

The purpose of the attack is to attack, and if the independent division troops want to approach Gaizhou, the Daqing River is a natural obstacle that must be crossed, and the bridges on the river have been demolished!"

"If the soldiers of the Independent Division want to cross the river, they must wade into it. This is the best opportunity for us to annihilate the enemy. In the ancient Chinese art of war, there is such a tactic, 'attack halfway across the river!' Therefore, my opinion is,

All the Kwantung Army troops in the city are dispatched to set up defenses on the west bank of the Daqing River to block the independent division troops. Kato-kun, I didn't expect you to be so cowardly!" The last sentence was filled with ridicule and contempt that could not be concealed.

Lieutenant Colonel Kato was so angry that he was almost fuming, but there was nothing he could do about it. Although his military rank was one level higher than that of this guy from Fukuoka, he couldn't handle the fact that he was a military police major, one level higher than the official officer, and he was also the Gaizhou garrison commander. In name, he was a military police major.

He is still his boss, but this guy from Fukuoka is good at arresting people, shooting a few independent division spies, etc., but when it comes to fighting, he knows nothing about it.

The Kwantung Army troops in Gaizhou plus the Manchukuo National Army troops came out in full force. It was less than six thousand. If the independent division troops fought all the way, the number of troops would be small. With less than six thousand men, they were on the west bank of the Daqing River.

To block the attack, shouldn't we go and fight?

The two people had completely different opinions. Neither of them could convince the other, so they started to quarrel, and almost fired a gun. In the end, the two decided to do their own thing. The security brigade and the Manchukuo Army were responsible for defending Gaizhou and reporting to their superiors.

Requesting reinforcements, the military police brigade rushed to the west bank of the Daqing River to block the independent division.

The dispute between the two people wasted more than an hour. When Major Fukuoka arrived panting with more than 1,200 military police, a battalion of the 9th Brigade had already crossed the Daqing River, but not yet.

After boarding the river embankment, Major Fukuoka immediately ordered the few dozen mortars to bombard the independent division troops. Then the entire military police brigade immediately charged and pushed down the independent division troops that had crossed the river.

Major Fukuoka overestimated the combat effectiveness of his military police brigade, and also held the idea of ​​​​attacking the Independence Division with a "half-crossed attack". More than a thousand Kwantung Army military police rushed up screaming, Wan Lipeng was in the telescope

, saw it clearly, and suddenly became happy, "What a fool you kid! If you launch a charge without strong fire cover, aren't you looking for death?"

As soon as Wan Lipeng finished speaking, the temporary firepower point of the second battalion, with nearly a hundred light and heavy machine guns, suddenly roared together, and dense rain of bullets poured over. The Kwantung Army military police fell in pieces like cut wheat.

Go on, what Colonel Kato said is right, Lieutenant Colonel Fukuoka has indeed never fought in any battles. Judging from his tactical deployment, he is destined to suffer!

The heavy and light machine gun bullets blinded the Kwantung Army military police brigade. Hundreds of corpses fell on the west bank of the Daqing River. The remaining military police were pinned to the ground by the intensive firepower and did not dare to raise their heads.

In terms of numbers, the Independent Division also had a huge advantage. The Kwantung Army's twenty-meter-meter mortars had long been blown into parts. By this time, more than half of the soldiers of the Third Battalion had rushed onto the river beach.

Wan Lipeng laughed and said to the communications staff beside him: "Order the Second and Third Battalions to charge immediately and kill these little devils as soon as possible. Then, immediately launch an attack on Gaizhou. There is no time to delay, and other troops will follow up!"

"

More than an hour later, the brief battle that took place on the west bank of the Daqing River ended. The corpses of more than 1,200 Kwantung Army military policemen were lying bloody on the land on the west bank of the Daqing River. The man who never forgot "Half-crossing"

Major Fukuoka, the captain of the "attack" group, was blown to pieces by several mortar shells that exploded at close range. Even the intact body could not be found. The two battalions of the 9th Brigade also spent more than 300

The cost of human casualties.

On the west bank of the Daqing River, after annihilating a gendarmerie brigade of the Kwantung Army, the commander of the 9th Brigade, Wan Lipeng, commanded the troops without even taking a breath. They divided into four groups and rushed towards Gaizhou like a whirlwind to seize Gaizhou.

Start.

Among the Kwantung Army units in Gaizhou City, the one with real combat effectiveness was a garrison brigade. The captain of the garrison brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Kato, immediately called his superiors after the gendarmerie brigade left the city to the west bank of the Daqing River to intercept the independent division troops.

He asked for reinforcements, but the result made him very disappointed. Instead of agreeing to send reinforcements, his superior reprimanded him severely on the phone, cursed him, and warned him, "If Gaizhou is lost, you will die."

You can’t make up for your mistakes!”

After putting down the phone, Lieutenant Colonel Kato was very frustrated. He had greeted his boss's female relatives countless times in his heart. In fact, he also wrongly blamed his boss. On the front line of the Liaodong Peninsula, the Kwantung Army's troops were unable to make ends meet. Commander-in-chief General Umezu Yoshijiro, even Manchuria

The Chinese army had already been used, and there was no spare force left to reinforce the direction of Gaizhou. The fierce sound of gunfire coming from the Daqing River also made him uneasy.

(To be continued)