Sword: Heart of Iron

Chapter 63 Stalemate Stage
The soldier on guard shouted loudly: "Company commander! The Japs are coming!"

The Japanese squadron leader had received news of the hangar attack.

A squadron of troops was stationed at Yangmingbao Airport, and they were usually able to bully the guerrillas spontaneously formed by the villagers.

However, when faced with a mass assault launched by more than a thousand Shanxi-Suiyuan troops, they seemed a little stretched.

The one who got beaten only cared about his head but not his butt
"Quick, destroy the plane!"

“It all exploded!”

"Fourth Company, follow me!"

The fourth company commander, holding a Mauser pistol, led his soldiers to build a defense line.

The fifth company was responsible for destroying the aircraft.

The soldiers gradually figured out some tricks, and more and more planes exploded and caught fire.

Flames shot up into the sky, illuminating the pitch-black night.

On the frontal defensive position.

The Japanese squadron leader turned his head and looked towards the hangar.

The fiery red light reflected in the sky made him feel depressed.

Done
The burning of one plane is not enough to light up the entire sky.

It can be like this.

Most of the planes must have been destroyed.

Things have come to this point. As the chief officer of the airport garrison, he cannot escape blame no matter what the final result is.
The Japanese squadron leader raised his bayonet high, his expression almost crazy:
"Onboard!"

"Kill him!"

Since we can't survive anyway, let's die together.
The first battalion launched a group charge relying on its numerical advantage.

The Japanese army was already at a disadvantage in terms of numbers, and the machine gun fire points were cut off, so the soldiers quickly broke through the Japanese army's sparse firepower network.

The cold and sharp eyes of the soldiers in the first battalion and the shouts of killing were getting closer and closer to his ears, and the squadron leader's heart suddenly shuddered.

"Onboard!"

"Charge! For His Majesty the Emperor!"

puff!

The sound of gunfire on the battlefield was replaced by the dull sound of knives hitting flesh, and the two sides engaged in a one-sided hand-to-hand combat.

If the shooting was at medium or long range, the Japanese army could still put up a desperate fight with their super-high precision marksmanship, but in close combat, the disadvantage of smaller numbers was infinitely magnified.

Snapped!
The battalion commander took out his pistol and easily killed two Japanese soldiers who tried to rush over.

"Quick! If you can use a gun, use it to resolve the battle!"

The Japanese troops in Yangmingbao Town may have already received the news. This is behind enemy lines. Once they are entangled and the surrounding Japanese troops surround them, it will be difficult to escape.

The equipment of the Third Regiment was relatively backward. Most of them were equipped with Type 65 rifles made in Shanxi. Although they were imitations of the Japanese Type 38 rifles, their penetrating power was not as great.

When the enemy is at a slightly greater distance, you can shoot.

The battle lasted for an hour.

After destroying all the planes, the 4th and 5th companies immediately ran to join the 1st Battalion. Under the attack of the two forces, all the Japanese troops were wiped out.

The battalion commander gasped: "Retreat quickly!"

"The Second Battalion has encountered the enemy!"

The captains of the 4th and 5th companies nodded and said, "Retreat!"

Nanhuaihua Village.

Wang Feng was the first to receive the news of the great victory at Yangmingbao.

"You fought well. While the Japanese are replenishing their fighter squadrons, we must consume as much of the enemy's manpower as possible."

Sergei scratched his head: "Sir, but from my observation, the defense of Xinkou is shrinking."

"I don't understand what these army commanders are thinking!"

Wang Feng turned around and faced Sergei: "Since the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, the Chinese army has fought in various places and all units are exhausted."

"The Xinkou front will be in a strategic stalemate for a long time to come."

The data on the system panel is clear at a glance. The friendly forces' organizational recovery rate, wounded demobilization rate, and supply rate are far behind those of the Japanese army.

It’s hard to imagine that this is still the situation when fighting on home soil.

In comparison, the data of the Temporary First Brigade is much better.

When the Japanese army is fighting in another country, the standard organizational recovery rate of a Type A division infantry regiment is '1.5'.

That is, 1.5 points of organization can be restored every hour.

It may seem like a small amount, but in one day you can increase your organization by 36 points.

Wang Feng initially thought that it was nothing when presented with panel data, but then he changed his mind.

36 points of organization
In other words, it only takes one day to reorganize the combat effectiveness of an army with broken morale and extremely cowardly spirit.

The recovery rate of the temporary 1.7st Brigade and st Regiment is '', which is even better than that of the Japanese army.

Ordinary Jinsui Army infantry regiments rarely have a recovery rate of '0.8'.

And this is just the organizational aspect.

For the current Chinese military, organization is the easiest thing to restore. After all, it is difficult to find a physical entity for military morale, and winning a battle can completely reverse the situation.

The supply rate and injury recovery rate are the weakest.

Even if the Taiyuan Arsenal worked at full capacity and produced day and night, it would be difficult to supply the front-line troops.

The medical conditions were even more rudimentary. If an ordinary soldier was seriously injured, he would basically be sentenced to death.

This is why, even if the battle situation is improving, Wei Lihuang has to retreat into the defense line.

Sergei nodded. As a Soviet, he could relate to the strategic depth: "China has a fairly generous air and ground depth. If the two sides engage in a strategic stalemate, the one that will suffer the most will be Japan!"

"The Battle of Shanghai has completely shattered Japan's fantasy of destroying China in three months."

As a European, Sergei was obviously more interested in super-large battles involving millions of people than guerrilla warfare and mobile warfare behind enemy lines.

Speaking of the Battle of Songhu, Wang Feng couldn't help but feel a little regretful: "Our supreme commander made a strategic mistake."

Compared with Shanxi, the Battle of Shanghai is currently the largest battlefield in the country.

In order to save Shanghai, Chiang Kai-shek tried his best and put all his elite troops on it.

The training corps, the German-equipped adjustment division and other elite troops all suffered heavy losses here. "The mistake was that we shouldn't have used the country's superior forces to make a desperate bet in the Songhu area!"

"In a long-term battle, you must not exhaust all resources and waste your own strength. You must ensure that you have enough manpower."

"We have a vast strategic depth. What a difference it makes if we defend one more day or one less day!"

Wang Feng sighed more and more as he spoke.

When Songhu was no longer worth defending, Chiang Kai-shek repeatedly asked the frontline troops to hold their ground and not retreat, and lost many elite troops for this.
Sergei: "If you think about it this way, General Wei Lihuang is very smart compared to China's supreme commander!"

"Once we launch a large-scale counterattack, both sides will suffer losses, which is not conducive to long-term combat."

Wang Feng corrected him, “There is another point. From a macro-strategic perspective, if the Japanese want to invade North China, Shanxi is an indispensable link.”

"Geographically speaking, Shanxi is higher than the North China Plain. From a military perspective, it is a good place."

"If the Japanese army ignores Shanxi and continues to move south to central China, we can advance to northern China to cut off the Japanese army's transportation lines, or retreat to the mountains and hold on to the dangerous areas."

"It always felt like a thorn in the side of the Japanese army."

"This is also the reason why the old devil Itagaki Seishirō repeatedly emphasized the importance of Shanxi."

"Shanxi's resistance exceeded everyone's expectations. The main force of the Fifth Division was almost completely destroyed. The Japanese General Staff will not sit idly by and will definitely make strategic adjustments."

Looking at the battle map in front of him, a hint of worry flashed in Wang Feng's eyes.

Shanxi is so important that the Japanese army will definitely seize it at all costs.

When the Fifth Division withdraws from the battlefield, it will certainly draw troops from other areas.

Real war is not playing house, let alone playing a game, where all values are set and remain unchanged for thousands of years.

It is an established fact that the Japanese army increased its troops in Shanxi.

It depends on whether Yan Laoxi and Wei Lihuang can continue to hold on.

Wang Feng called the signalman and handed over the telegram: "Send a message to the 14th Army Headquarters."

Signalman: “Yes!”

The noisy children get candies, but if you win a great victory but just keep the candy in your hands and say nothing, you are losing out.

It’s hard to say about Mr. Yan.

But according to Wei Lihuang's character, relying on his military merit in destroying the Japanese airport, at least military aid and supplies are indispensable.

In this regard, Wei Lihuang is much stronger than big warlords such as Yan Laoxi and Chang Kaishen.

The current situation of the Chinese military is very complicated.

Chiang Kai-shek wanted to eliminate the so-called miscellaneous troops in the name of the War of Resistance.

Subject to this.

Those so-called ragtag army generals, feeling that the country and nation were at a critical moment of life and death, wanted to save the country from collapse and fight a decisive battle with the Japanese army.

On the other hand, they were worried that after the troops suffered heavy losses, they would not be able to receive replenishment of military equipment and manpower from the central government.

They will also be accused of ineffective combat, demoted and investigated, and even unable to make a living or be directly punished by military law.

It would be strange if we could fight well with such a heavy and fearful mood.

Old Xi Yan is of the same kind, but his performance is not particularly obvious.

Wang Feng turned his head and said: "All troops gather their weapons and set out for Xinkou in four hours!"

"Bring Kunisaki Noboru's body with you."

Sergey nodded: "Yes!"

Kunisaki Toru had lost a lot of blood and his internal organs were severely damaged, so he was definitely not going to survive.

Fortunately, Wang Feng called a military reporter to take several photos of Kunisaki Tou's desperate struggle before his death.

In this way, Kunisaki Noboru was not considered to have been killed in battle, but was captured alive by the Temporary 1st Brigade.

They may seem similar, but their meanings are worlds apart.

After the counterattack, Wei Lihuang withdrew his defense line and no longer took the initiative to attack.

After suffering huge losses, Itagaki Seishirō also slowed down his offensive.

Both sides stopped fighting at the same time, and the entire Xinkou line was as peaceful as if nothing had happened.

The rear was in an uproar.

"The 9th Army Group severely damaged the Japanese th Brigade and wiped out more than enemies!"

"Great victory, great victory at Xinkou!"

"Really? Let me see!"

In all major cities, people began to scramble for today's newspapers.

"I said, how could Japan, a tiny country, destroy China?"

"We annihilated 4,000 enemies. It's not as great as the previous victory at Pingxingguan, but it's also a rare victory!"

"and many more!"

"Look at this!"

"what?"

"The Temporary 9st Brigade drove straight in, seized the key high ground in the Xinkou area, and raided the th Brigade headquarters during the counterattack, capturing the Japanese Lieutenant General and Innkeeper Kunisaki Noboru alive!"

"No, I read that right!"

The person reading the newspaper rubbed his eyes, somewhat unable to believe the news in the newspaper.

But the pictures accompanying the video dispelled people's doubts.

When taking the photo, Wang Feng deliberately removed Kunisaki Noboru's lieutenant general's collar badge and deliberately placed it in front of the camera for display.

Ordinary people could not recognize what Kunisaki Noboru looked like, but the authentic Japanese lieutenant general’s collar insignia was right there, which made people believe it!

"Another temporary brigade! Heroes are born young."

The people recalled the report of the Pingxingguan victory many days ago. For a time, words like Wang Feng and the Temporary 1st Brigade became the topic of conversation among the people after dinner.

"I'm not exaggerating. When the Temporary Brigade came to our house to recruit soldiers, Commander Wang personally delivered the letter to me. Guess what happened in the end?"

“In the end I didn’t go!”

"Stop bragging, they are from Shanxi, what does it have to do with you?"

People were talking about this matter on the streets, and the good news also reached the Nanjing Military Commission.

(End of this chapter)