Sword: Heart of Iron

Chapter 247 Prelude
Inside the command post.

Wang Feng switched to an overhead view.

The Second Battalion's operation was a success. Yuan Yelin led the cavalry company in a rapid pursuit. The Japanese Sixth Division Commander, Inaba Shiro, was seriously injured, and it was still unknown whether he could be saved.

But now, regarding the situation in the war...

Whether that old Japanese devil is dead or alive is not important.

The rear infantry moved very quickly. After all the Japanese soldiers defending the camp were killed in battle, the remaining staff officers and clerks, knowing they had no way to escape, picked up their guns and rushed to the front line, hoping to "die in battle."

remarkably brave.

But it's of no use.

Faced with thousands of soldiers, such little resistance was nothing, not even enough to cause a ripple. The main force of the Second Battalion swiftly ended the battle within ten minutes.

This is the end.

The command center of the 6th Division was completely destroyed.

Wang Feng: "Fang Yuan, go and send a telegram in plain text stating that the command post of the Japanese 6th Division has been annihilated and its commander, Inaba Shiro, has been captured."

Zhao Fangyuan was taken aback: "Sir, there's no definite news from the front lines yet. What if something goes wrong with this hasty action?"

He didn't have an overhead view, so he naturally didn't know that the Second Battalion had already succeeded.

Wang Feng casually brushed it off: "As the saying goes, in the art of war, winning hearts and minds is the best strategy, while attacking cities is the worst. Psychological warfare is superior to physical warfare!"

"Although there is no specific news from the front-line troops yet, as long as we can arouse the suspicion of the Japanese, we will have achieved our goal. Besides, Zhang Hu's side may not be able to hold out. At this critical moment, we must not make any mistakes."

Zhao Fangyuan nodded: "Understood, I'll go right away!"

After saying that, he turned and jogged to the communications room next door.

Wang Feng breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, I had an overhead view.
While the Second Battalion of the First Column was making rapid progress behind enemy lines, the battle on the Qianshan front was encountering obstacles.

The 6th Division launched a desperate assault on the position, disregarding casualties. A company was pulled up, and after less than 30 minutes of fighting, two-thirds of its soldiers had been killed or wounded when they withdrew.

The price is high.

But it was surprisingly effective.

The First Column had two infantry battalions in the direction of Qianshan. One battalion was to destroy the command post of the Sixth Division, while the other battalion was responsible for dealing with the reserve forces that came to support them in time.

The frontal defense at the breach was held up by the 84th Army.

The Guangxi Army was a formidable fighting force, even considered one of the best among local armies.

However, facing the elite Japanese Class A divisions' relentless attacks, they couldn't hold out for long.

not to mention.

The 84th Army was broken up into many parts and distributed across various battlefields, and is not currently at full strength.

If we wait for the Second Battalion to send a message before sending a clear telegram to the Japanese army, the Qianshan defense line will probably have already contracted by then.

Some key positions, once lost, are very difficult to regain.

------

The 6th Division, which includes the 11th Brigade.

Brigade Commander Shimada Zen looked at the strategic map: "How's it going? Have you made contact with the division command post?"

The chief of staff walked over from the telegraph machine: "Still calling."

Shimada Zen was anxious and paced back and forth on the ground.

Requesting fire support from a field artillery regiment requires approval from the divisional staff. Now that the division and brigade have lost contact, the next phase of the offensive cannot proceed.

Shimada Zen: "How many more battalions are on the way?"

The Kuroda Battalion's defeat was too sudden; the 11th Brigade had no time to react and could only hastily transfer troops from various places to the area. However, the troops needed time to move, and in addition, Chinese troops frequently blocked their advance from various fronts.

The time it takes for reinforcements to arrive increases exponentially.

Chief of Staff: "There are still three units left, Your Excellency. The losses at the front are too heavy. Should we postpone the offensive?"

Half of the brigade has now been deployed to the front lines, and fighting is taking place everywhere. According to the battle report sent by the participating battalion, at least 1,500 soldiers have been killed in just two hours.

The number of people injured, both seriously and lightly, is countless.

Don't be fooled by the small number, just over a thousand people; this is only the battle report from the past two hours. Since its inception, the 11th Brigade has never experienced a battle with such a high rate of casualties.

At this moment on the front lines, human lives are as worthless as grass, even less valuable than a single artillery shell.

Shimada Zen was a little unsure of what to do.

He felt a pang of sadness when he thought of the soldiers who had sacrificed their lives on the front lines. The "incident" had lasted for more than a year, and many elite divisions of various Class A units had died.

The proportion of well-trained veterans is declining rapidly. They're like disposable commodities; every one that dies is one less available.

The new recruits, while of decent quality, were still not quite up to par with the veterans who had been training since before the war.

A decline in the quality of soldiers inevitably means a weakening of the army's combat effectiveness.

The situation in the 6th Division is relatively good, with at least 80% of its soldiers being elite veterans.

In Shimada Zen's view, there was absolutely no need to waste all the elite troops here.

However, the order to retake the position at all costs was issued by the division command, and any attempt to slow down the offensive required the division command's approval.

The problem is that the 11th Brigade is now completely out of contact with the division.

Shimada Zen gritted his teeth: "Continue the attack, send more supervisory teams, and no one is allowed to withdraw without orders from the divisional staff!"

The chief of staff was also helpless: "Hai!"

"Didi-di-!"

Inside the command post, the telegraph machine kept beeping.

A communications soldier translated the telegram and his expression immediately changed: "General, we have intercepted a Chinese army telegram in plain text!"

Shimada Zen was taken aback.

Chinese army?

Plain text telegram?

"Bring it here quickly!" He had a bad feeling.

Under normal circumstances, when two armies are facing off, unless they've lost their minds, how could they so openly communicate using plain text telegrams?

There must be something wrong here.

The chief of staff went up, took the telegram, and glanced at it. The text was only one line long, and there was no need to read it carefully. He could understand all the information at a glance.

"Your Excellency, you should take a look for yourself."

The chief of staff looked puzzled. He handed over the telegram.

Shimada Zen's brows furrowed even more. He took the telegram and glanced at it: "What?!"
"The division commander has been captured?"

Chief of Staff: "I suspect it's a Chinese scheme to mislead us."

He wasn't entirely sure when he said that.

In the past, he would have assumed that receiving such a telegram in plain text was just a trick played by the Chinese.

The division command post was located far in the rear, out of reach of both infantry and large-caliber artillery. How could it possibly be attacked?

But now it's different.

The division command post has lost contact.
Shimada Zen held the telegram, his face expressionless, but his mind was far from at peace.

This can't be a coincidence!
Something must have gone wrong at the division command post!
Chief of Staff: "Sir... if this is true, what should we do?"

Shimada Zen: "Continue calling the division command post and order the front-line troops to continue the attack for another half hour. Once the time is up, unless there are special orders, immediately slow down the offensive."

Now that things have come to this, he has no better options and can only resort to this compromise.

"We can't just rely on radio calls to send a cavalry squad to scout; we need to be quick!"

The chief of staff bowed slightly: "Hai!"

--------

ten minutes later.

Zhang Hu received the telegram from Yuan Yelin and immediately beamed with joy.

A combat staff officer walked over and asked, "Sir, what's the good news?"
"Did the Second Battalion succeed?"

Zhang Hu nodded: "Yes, how's the situation at the front?"

The operations staff officer truthfully stated, "Although we are facing the reserves of the 6th Division, the Japanese soldiers' will to resist is extremely strong. Right now, we have no artillery support, and it will probably take at least two days to end the battle."

Zhang Hu: "Two days?"
"By the time we wait two days, the daylilies will probably be too cold!"

Operations staff officer: "Sir, I heard that the 6th Division is a unit on par with the 2nd Division, the elite of the Japanese army, a tough nut to crack. Now that I see it, it is indeed very difficult to chew."

Zhang Hu: "To hell with elite troops! According to you, the Second Division is also elite, but what happened?"
"During the Battle of Linyi, weren't we defeated by them too?"
"I'm all about tough nuts to crack. Back in Xuzhou, I didn't get to fight as hard as the Second Division!"

Operations staff officer: "Just now, the headquarters sent a telegram in plain text, stating that the commander of the 6th Division, Shiro Inaba, has been captured alive by our army. I estimate that the Japanese army has received this news, and their morale will surely be severely damaged. Perhaps we can launch a counter-offensive."

Zhang Hu: "Go and ask the 84th Army how they are doing. We have fewer troops. The Second Battalion has already completed its mission. Now they are the real protagonists."

The operations staff officer nodded: "Understood!"

(End of this chapter)