Sword: Heart of Iron

Chapter 187 Breakout
Zheng Zhenzhong ran towards the sound of the cannon, and when he saw Wang Feng from afar, he stood up straight and strode towards him:

"Report sir!"

Wang Feng turned around and waved.

Zheng Zhenzhong ran over: "Sir, what happened?"

Wang Feng adjusted the brim of his hat and said, "I don't know. The location of the command post was leaked. I was almost killed by the Japanese artillery shells!"

Zheng Zhenzhong was shocked: "What?"

"Sir, I will send someone to fight back immediately!"

Wang Feng waved his hand: "No need, it's already been solved."

Zheng Zhenzhong smiled apologetically. He had guessed it when he heard the sound of gunfire.

"Sir, any other instructions?"

"I'll immediately have someone vacate my command post for him!"

Wang Feng nodded.

Now that things have come to this, we can only borrow the artillery command post for now.

The fighting on the front line was extremely intense, and it was obviously too late to rebuild a command post.

"Sir, the cause has been investigated!" Zhao Fangyuan walked over with the phone.

Wang Feng raised his eyebrows: "What's going on?"

"Just say it!"

Zhao Fangyuan handed the phone to the guard beside him: "The Japanese army captured a position of the friendly army, and found our army's command post on the map of the command post."

Wang Feng frowned: "What?"

"Are you sure?"

He had just crossed the river, less than four hours earlier, and many friendly troops knew about this, but few knew the specific coordinates of the command post.

Zhao Fangyuan nodded, his face solemn: "The news is confirmed, it is the 71st Army."

"After the Japanese army seized the 36th Division's command post, less than minutes later, Commander Song personally led a death squad and recaptured the position."

"In just a short while, the information was leaked."

After hearing the news, Wang Feng suddenly felt a black screen in front of his eyes.

He originally thought that the 36th Division was a German-equipped division. Although it suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Shanghai and Nanjing, at least its foundation should still be there.

The combat effectiveness is not that weak.

I never thought the reality would be like this.

Zhao Fangyuan continued, "After General Song captured the position, he immediately realized that the intelligence had been leaked and sent a telegram to our unit to inquire."

Wang Feng frowned and asked, "How did the 36th Division fight?"

"We just entered the city not long ago, and the command post was taken over by the Japanese."

Zhao Fangyuan: "The telegram said that the Japanese troops in Lanfeng City suddenly used a large number of poison gas bombs during the attack. In order to avoid too many casualties, Commander Song had to temporarily abandon his command post."

Wang Feng sighed: "Another poison gas bomb, there really is no end to it!"

"Call Song Xilian back. Everything is fine and going according to plan."

"anything else?"

Zhao Fangyuan added: "And more!"

"General Song also said in the telegram that this was a mistake made by the 71st Army and that they owe you a favor."

Wang Feng grinned: "Owe someone a favor?"

"That's a really big favor!"

"Alright, resume command as soon as possible and order all troops to encircle and block the Japanese breakout troops."

Zhao Fangyuan saluted: "Yes!"

Then he picked up the phone beside him.

Fortunately, during the emergency evacuation, the phone and telephone line were taken away.

Otherwise, combat command would be a real problem.

Although the artillery command post is fully equipped with radio, telephone, map, sand table and other equipment, it is not a command center after all.

The coverage range of telephone lines is limited. If you want to contact other troops, you have to transfer multiple times.

--------

On a small road.

Kenji Doihara was riding on his horse, looking back from time to time.

Tadayoshi Sano followed and drove side by side with Kenji Doihara, "Sir, the artillery regiment sent a telegram asking what to do with the heavy artillery!"

Kenji Doihara gripped the reins tightly, gritted his teeth, and asked anxiously, "How is the plan being implemented?"

"Did you make it?"

Sano Tadayoshi: "The artillery fired four rounds, the specific situation remains to be verified!"

The plan that Kenji Doihara mentioned was naturally to bomb the garrison's command post.

After collecting information, the 15th Regiment in Lanfeng City immediately reported it to the division command post.

Kenji Doihara was extremely happy.

An order was immediately issued to mobilize heavy artillery to launch long-range fire strikes on the target.

Let Wang Feng also have a taste of what it feels like to be bombed.

However, the artillery positions were too dispersed and the location of the garrison command post was too tricky, being within the range of only one heavy artillery.

In desperation, they had to use a cannon.

If more than four guns were used, the first wave of salvos alone would probably be enough to cost Wang Feng his life.

Kenji Doihara: "Notify the artillery to search immediately!"

"As for those heavy artillery pieces, blow them up during the evacuation. They must not fall into the hands of the Chinese!"

Sano Tadayoshi sighed.

The resources of the empire were already scarce, and the resources needed to produce one heavy artillery were enough to make many rifles.

He felt somewhat unwilling to see more than a dozen heavy artillery pieces destroyed.

More importantly, in order to equip the 14th Division with these heavy artillery, Seiji Kazuki almost emptied the First Army.

All of them were lost in Lanfeng.

As core members of the decision-making and command team, he and Kenji Doihara cannot escape responsibility.

Even if you can successfully break out, you will inevitably be held accountable.

The loss of more than a dozen heavy artillery pieces is more serious than the death of thousands of soldiers.

But it won’t work if it doesn’t explode.

Once the Chinese army gains control of heavy artillery, it will be an absolute fatal blow to the imperial army.

The performance of the garrison army showed that the 18th Division Commander Ushijima Sadao lost more than a dozen Type 91 howitzers in the Huaibei Campaign and was not even considered a martyr after his death.

Sano Tadayoshi looked down at the time - 17:23
It was getting dark.

"General, the 2nd Regiment has opened up a path ahead. Let's get through it as quickly as possible!"

"On the north bank of the Yellow River, there is a large group of troops to support us!"

Kenji Doihara nodded.

At this point, he had no time to consider Wang Feng's life or death, or to mourn for the heavy artillery that was about to be destroyed.

Save your life first.

"drive!"

The team consisting of staff officers, signalmen, and a small number of infantry began to advance.

------

Kaifeng.

As the fighting on the front lines became increasingly intense, Xue Yue personally arrived at the front line to command the general offensive.

The Chief of Staff of the First War Zone, Dong Yingbin, was also with him.

Both of them graduated from the Baoding Military Academy and got along very well. After fighting side by side, their relationship became even closer.

Xue Yue picked up the baton and pointed on the sand table: "At present, the Doihara Division has been compressed into such a small area by our army. We just need to slowly tighten the pocket and gradually reduce the scope of the battlefield."

"We can completely suffocate an entire division of the Japanese here!"

Dong Yingbin and his adjutant looked at the sand table and nodded.

"Commander Xue, what a good plan! Following the Battle of Xuzhou, our army once again annihilated a Type A division of the Japanese army. This really enhances our military prestige!"

Dong Yingbin laughed out loud. Seeing that victory was within reach, it didn't hurt to say some polite words.

Xue Yue recognized himself very clearly and said hurriedly: "Why do you say that, Chief of Staff Dong?"

"I, Xue, dare not take all the credit for this battle!"

Dong Yingbin: "Commander Xue is too modest. Since the outbreak of the war of resistance, countless Chinese soldiers have fought bravely, but how many of them can truly achieve such feats?"

"Why are you so modest?"

No one knew what Xue Yue was thinking, but his words really touched the heart of the adjutant standing next to him.

For a moment, he couldn't help but hold his head high and a look of pride appeared on his face.

Xue Yue cleared his throat: "The battle situation is still undecided, these are all later matters. The most urgent task is to tighten the pocket and strengthen the defense to prevent the Doihara Division from breaking through!"

"How much ammunition is left at the General Logistics Station?"

The adjutant immediately came to his senses and spoke without hesitation: "We still have about 4.5 million bullets, 500,000 grenades, and more than 7,000 small-sized shells of various types!"

No matter how proud you are, to become Xue Yue's adjutant, you need to have some real skills.

Xue Yue frowned.

So many combat supplies and millions of bullets may sound like astronomical figures, but once they are distributed to a force of more than 100,000, it becomes a bit stretched.

"These weapons and ammunition will be distributed to the 71st and 64th Armies first."

"The rest will be distributed among the troops!"

After a brief thought, Xue Yue made a decision.

The 71st Army and the 64th Army, one is the direct line of the Central Army and the other is the Guangdong Army. They have outstanding combat effectiveness and are currently the backbone of the Henan East Corps.

The adjutant nodded: "Understood!"

"Report to the commander!" A staff officer rushed in from outside, looking hurried and out of breath, "The Japanese army has broken through the 41st Army's defense line, the devils are about to escape!"

Dong Yingbin looked at Xue Yue: "41st Army."

The adjutant reacted: "It's the Sichuan Army, Sun Zhen's troops!"

Xue Yue was so angry that he was almost itching: "This little devil really knows how to pick on the weak!"

Adjutant: "Sir, what should we do?"

Dong Yingbin: "It shouldn't be a big problem. Even if the Japanese army breaks through the encirclement, they still have the Yellow River in the way to retreat to a safe area. It takes time to cross the river. We just need to catch up with them in time."

Xue Yue stared at the sand table and asked, "What's the situation at the north bank ferry?"

The adjutant immediately stood up: "I'll go ask!"

After saying that, he picked up the phone beside him.

"Hey! We need the ferry on the north bank of Lanfeng!"

"Hey! Can you hear me?"

"Hey!"

After yelling into the microphone twice, there was no response from the other party and the adjutant's face turned red with anxiety.

Xue Yue waved his hand and said, "Don't bother. I think the telephone line was blown up."

The adjutant said hurriedly: "I'll send a telegram!"

Xue Yue stopped him and said, "No need to ask, I can already guess the general situation."

No matter which country's army, no matter how poor their combat quality is, they all know one thing - after capturing the target location, they must restore communication with the headquarters as soon as possible.

This is the most basic stuff.

The troops stationed at the Lanfeng North Ferry are the 71st Army, a genuine German-equipped division, so it is impossible for them to forget this.

Currently, communications are blocked, so I can only explain one issue.

The ferry was attacked by the Japanese!
Dong Yingbin: "The ferry is near Lanfeng, where Wang Feng's troops and the 36th Division are located. The Japanese should not cross the river from there."

Xue Yue: "I'm afraid it's a tactic to make a feint to the east and attack in the west!"

There are innumerable large and small ferry crossings along the Yellow River. The reason why the 14th Division launched a mad attack on Lanfeng was because the ferry crossing there was the largest ferry crossing in the entire Lanfeng-Neihuangji line.

The water flow is relatively gentle.

Can carry large weapons across the river.

But it's different now.

The Japanese troops who broke out were all infantrymen, and they carried little supplies, so crossing the river from a small ferry was the wisest option.

As far as he knows.

The 14th Division had a battalion of troops stationed on the north bank of the Yellow River.

It is very likely that a part of the troops will be deployed to attack the Lanfeng Ferry to deceive the enemy and then assist the majority to cross the river from other places.

Dong Yingbin: “This”

He was the theater staff officer, and Cheng Qian did not have much command over the Henan East Corps, so most of the time it was up to Xue Yue to act on his own.

Therefore, the understanding of the battle situation is not very in-depth.

Xue Yue: "Go and see which troop is the closest?"

The adjutant said subconsciously: "It's Commander Wang's garrison, about two thousand people!"

(End of this chapter)