bookrandom Chapter 174: Bridge Defense (8)
Chapter 174: Bridge Defense (8)
Shusaku waved his hand casually, turned to the chief of staff and said, "Kuroki-kun, you are too merciful. These losers of the 115th Division must wash away their shame with their blood!"
Ku Mu said: "After all, they are also soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army. I'm afraid..."
Jiuzuo said, "There are no defeated warriors in the empire!"
A battalion of Japanese troops was exchanged for several front-line positions of Liu Xiao. Ku Mu shook his head. This Jiu Zuo was just stubborn. Didn't he know that the empire's military strength was no longer as strong as when it invaded China? Looking at the soldiers in their forties and teens in the infantry column, Ku Mu felt sad.
Regarding the 87th Regiment's destruction of the division's assigned howitzer battalion, Kumu knew that the ultimate responsibility would fall on him, as he was not a pure Japanese. Kumu was of mixed Japanese and Korean descent, his father being Korean, and his name was a temporary change; his original name was Choi Jung-suk. He was well aware that the 115th Division contained numerous Korean and even Taiwanese colonized people who, like him, wanted to join the Imperial Japanese Army and become a legitimate Japanese citizen.
However, including Ku Mu, these colonized people did not realize how serious the damage was inflicted on their own people and families by the Japanese colonizers. They had received Japanese imperial-style education since childhood and had long forgotten that they were once Koreans and Chinese!
The harm of Japan's imperial education goes far beyond this. In different time and space, until the new century, there are still many people in Taiwan and South Korea who think they are Japanese. They shamelessly call for the spirits of Japanese militarism and shamelessly lick the Japanese's ass.
As a staff officer, Ku Mu could only listen to Jiu Zuo and formulate battle plans according to Jiu Zuo's will. When the remnants of the 115th Division were almost exhausted, the main force of the 87th Regiment, the 1st Battalion, began to join the battle. They launched a fierce attack on Liu Xiao's 1st Battalion position on the front line.
The Japanese army changed its previous "pig rush" tactics that cost a lot of lives, and adopted a group infiltration attack method, with one squad at a time, using machine gun cover, grenade launcher sneak attacks, alternating penetrations, etc., step by step approaching the 1st Battalion. The 87th Regiment was worthy of being the main regiment of the Japanese army. It had a relatively high proportion of veterans. These old devils had accurate shooting and posed a great threat to the front-line defense soldiers. In addition, the 1st Battalion had been fighting fiercely with the remnants of the Japanese 115th Division for several hours, and the consumption of weapons and ammunition was very large, especially a large number of automatic weapons such as submachine guns. The barrels had been shot red, and some machine guns had been running non-stop, and there were no replacement barrels. The soldiers were also very tired. Gradually, they were held down and beaten by the Japanese army, and more and more positions were lost, and the proportion of casualties and injuries continued to rise.
Liu Xiao knew it was time for a rotation. Without hesitation, he deployed the 3rd and 4th Battalions to replace the 1st and 2nd Battalions. Tang Xuesi also sent his rocket artillery battery, a total of four batteries, which inflicted considerable damage on the attacking Japanese troops.
Being beaten back again, Jiuzuo surprisingly wasn't angry at all. He immediately ordered the second battalion leader not to give the guerrillas a chance to rest. After the ground battalion was beaten back, the third battalion leader followed, then the first battalion, and so on.
Liu Xiao also sensed the enemy's plan, but his troops were insufficient. The 87th Regiment of the Japanese Army was a reinforced regiment with 3800 infantrymen alone. Together with the remnants of the previous 115th Division, the infantry strength was nearly 5000. Liu Xiao now had a total strength of only 4500 people, including Tang Xuesi's First Detachment. Up to now, the maximum number of infantrymen that could be deployed was 2500. They needed to defend the east side of the bridge and the surrounding mountains and forests. Although there were other troops providing support, the number of enemies pressing over was increasing.
In the northern forests, special forces, supplemented by various guerrilla units, were already engaging another main force from the 33rd Division, which had bypassed them. Japanese security forces, emerging from Bhamo, east of the bridge, were also confronting two companies of Tang Xuesi's 1st Battalion, forcing Tang Xuesi to deploy his own mortar battery to assist. Along the Bhamo-Nankan highway, elements of Luo Bing's Second Column were also engaged in a series of battles against a regiment from the Japanese 203rd Division. In the southern forests, Wa and other guerrilla groups were already engaged in battle with the Burmese Independence Army. Had it not been for Tang Xuesi's foresight in having his deputy detachment commander provide these ethnic minority guerrillas with some of the weapons seized from the former defenders of Bhamo Bridge, the Burmese Independence Army would likely have already reached the bridge.
It wasn't as if Liu and Tang lacked reinforcements. Just now, American bombers arrived, with over a dozen bombers striking the Japanese 87th Regiment, forcing Sakusaku to suspend his wheel-and-wheel tactics. Qin Shi had already received reports on the battle at Daqiao and was bringing in whatever forces the guerrilla army could muster, including the headquarters' guard battalion. Due to the dense mountainous terrain, they were estimated to arrive at midnight at the earliest.
Jiuzuo returned to the command post in frustration, constantly cursing the incompetence of the ground and air aviation forces. Just as he was about to break through the enemy's defense, the sudden sneak attack and bombing by enemy planes not only caused Jiuzuo to lose a large number of manpower, but also lost the opportunity.
He complained directly to Commander Muta, pointing out the incompetence of the air force, which had cost him a golden opportunity for victory. However, Muta was already overwhelmed. In the direction of Myitkyina, the Indian Army's offensive was unstoppable, forcing the remnants of the 18th Division to retreat to the city, using urban fighting to slow the enemy's advance. The 115th and 33rd Divisions, realizing the situation was dire, began a planned retreat southward. The 33rd Division commander sent an ambiguous telegram to Sakusaku, asking him to act accordingly. In reality, the 33rd Division headquarters had already lost control of the 87th Regiment and even the battalion attacking north of the bridge. The division commander knew that regardless of whether the bridge was captured or destroyed, the chances of these troops linking up with the division were zero.
Watanabe Masao was also very worried. Zheng Guodong's four armies stuck to the 4th Division, giving it no chance to catch its breath. The 56rd Division could not be relied upon either. They were being closely watched by Watanabe Shozo, commander of the Burma Front in Yangon. They had been divided into several groups and were trying their best to carry out offensive operations around the roads. One regiment was already involved in a battle towards Bhamo.
"Commander, I'm afraid this won't work. The 56th Division is the main force ordered by the Imperial Headquarters to defend the mainland. We must not get bogged down in the quagmire of northern Burma!" Matsui Hideji, who had taken over as commander of the 56th Division, walked into Watanabe Masao's office. The two had worked together since they were regimental commanders. When Watanabe Masao served as commander of the 56th Division, Matsui was the main regimental commander. When Watanabe was promoted to commander of the 33rd Army and concurrently commanded the 56th Division, Matsui served as commander of the 56th Division's infantry regiment, and until now, he has taken over as division commander.