mesbooks Chapter 279: Two-front Operation (2)
Chapter 279: Two-front Operation (2)
In the middle of the night,
Kiyotaro Kamimura received another piece of confirmed bad news: the 46th Regiment had gathered only more than 500 defeated soldiers!
Then, he received another piece of bad news: the 48nd Battalion of the 2th Regiment was almost completely wiped out in the Zhigou area! Only 16 people escaped from the entire battalion!
Bad news comes one after another.
This made him unable to sit still.
He immediately sent a telegram to Lieutenant General Iimura Tadashi, Chief of Staff of the Kwantung Army, the commander-in-chief of the front line, reporting the deteriorating situation on the northern front and strongly suggesting that the expedition be abandoned before reinforcements arrived!
Yin Xinjun defeated the Japanese troops in Guanyingou and Zhigou, and seized a field artillery battalion and the equipment of an infantry battalion.
It was almost dawn, so he stopped and started running towards Dunhua!
There shouldn't be any problems on the northern front at least in the short term. Let Kang Huaifu's troops and the Second Army continue to practice tunnel warfare. Maybe they can play a huge role on the Korean battlefield in the future!
Now is the time to consider striking the enemy on the southern front!
On the way back, snowflakes started falling from the sky. This was the first snow of this winter. However, this snow should be fatal to the Japanese troops on the northern front!
Mengjiang County, Laoyaling.
In the evening, the afterglow of the setting sun gradually disappeared and the sky gradually darkened.
The biting cold wind blew like a knife, fine snowflakes began to fall, and the vision became blurred.
A team of hundreds of people walked on the mountain path.
Leading the way were several police officers.
They stared at the snow ahead, with serious and nervous expressions on their faces, and their bodies trembled slightly, trying to resist the cold.
"Captain, when I was urinating, I found a pile of firewood in the woods next to me!" A policeman trotted over to several police officers.
"Let's go and take a look!" Cheng Bin said in surprise.
Sure enough, they found a pile of ashes!
"Captain, we found corn kernels on the ground!"
Suddenly, a policeman who was squatting on the ground checking shouted.
After hearing the sound, Cheng Bin immediately walked over quickly. He bent down and carefully observed the pile of extinguished ashes on the ground. Around the ashes, there were several black particles scattered, which were corn kernels.
Cheng Bin took two roasted corn kernels with a look of surprise in his eyes. These corn kernels were of great significance to him, because they were one of the staple foods of the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces fighters.
He blew away the dust on it, put it in his mouth and chewed it slowly, and all the memories from the past suddenly emerged in his mind!
"Captain, does this mean that we are about to find the whereabouts of the Anti-Japanese United Army?" a policeman asked excitedly.
Cheng Bin sighed heavily, nodded, and a determined smile appeared on his face: "Yes, after many days, we finally found the traces of the Anti-Japanese United Army again! We must not let them get away this time!"
He turned to the other police officers and said, "Everyone continue to search the area to see if there are any other clues. Stay alert and be ready to respond to emergencies at any time."
The police dispersed and continued to search for more clues in the snow. Cheng Bin tightly held the corn kernels in his hand, his heart full of hope and determination. He knew that as long as they followed these clues, they might be able to find the hiding place of the Anti-Japanese United Army and catch them all in one fell swoop.
As a traitor of the Anti-Japanese United Army, he knew the Anti-Japanese United Army's activities very well. In the extremely cold winter, when the Anti-Japanese United Army was marching, they often chose to hide during the day and move out at night.
Because it was too cold at night, the temperature dropped directly to minus 30 degrees Celsius. With such a low temperature, people would often freeze to death if they slept outdoors!
When you sleep in the daytime, the temperature is high and you can get some sun. Sometimes you can even make a small fire to dry your clothes and food, and it’s not easy to be discovered!
Cheng Bin touched the ashes with his hand and found that there was still a trace of residual warmth!
He looked at the endless mountains around him and couldn't help muttering to himself,
"My commander, where are you?"
Cheng Bin waved and called two policemen over.
"Old Song, you lead some people to go through the road on the left. Captain Sun, you lead the people to go north. The rest of you follow me. Remember, if you find the Anti-Japanese United Army, you must not shoot unless it is absolutely necessary. Just follow quietly!"
"Yes, Captain!"
Cheng Bin's heart began to swell, as if he had seen wealth and glory. The corners of his mouth lifted up, revealing a sinister smile!
"Send a telegram to Director Kishitani and tell him that my police brigade has discovered traces of the Anti-Japanese Bandits. Tomorrow morning, request a plane to conduct reconnaissance to the north and west of Laoyaling in Mengjiang County!"
"Yes!"
On the way, we received several more telegrams. Kang Huaifu and the Second Route Army emphasized that the sacrifices were too great.
This gave Yin Xinjun a headache, as the troops he had were still seriously insufficient.
Although a lot of new soldiers have been recruited in Dunhua, the casualties on the northern front were heavy in this rotation of battle, and the new recruits could not keep up with the consumption!
Yin Xinjun originally preferred to fight a war of attrition with the Japanese army in Pingdingshan, but the current huge losses made him anxious because he knew nothing about the losses on the Japanese side.
From his point of view, he still can't beat the Japanese in a war of attrition!
He parked the tank in a field and ate his rations while reviewing his fighting style.
When he came back, he didn't take the main road, but followed the country path. Sometimes when there was no road, he would go directly through the fields, and when he encountered a river, he would take a boat across!
At 6 o'clock in the evening, Yin Xinjun took out the radio again, and he received a piece of news that made him extremely excited!
The enemy troops on the northern front actually retreated!
Retreat to the Ning'an County area!
Although the retreat was not far, the fighting on the northern front stopped!
Although Yin Xinjun was somewhat puzzled, he quickly guessed that the Japanese army probably did this because of the snowfall.
Without railways, the efficiency of relying on road supplies is much lower! The daily consumption of ammunition and food for so many troops is a huge number!
In fact, there was a more important reason that he did not guess. The Japanese troops on the northern front suffered too many casualties and were simply unable to fight any further!
So the Japanese army had no choice but to retreat and choose to besiege the base!
However, no matter what, Yin Xinjun was excited because he could now concentrate on dealing with the enemy on the southern front!
When he arrived at Jiapigou, it was already past 10 o'clock in the evening! It was snowing, so the pace was slow!
He came to the small separate room that Ding Shan had prepared for him. It was warm inside and the thoughtful Ding Shan had already lit the kang!
There was a bowl of egg noodles on the table, but it was cold.
Yin Xinjun took out the map of South Manchuria, hung it on the wall, stared at the map intently, thinking about his next strategy in his mind.
He now has two choices.
One is to eat up the enemy in Dunhua before leaving, but the current strength is not enough, and it is estimated that it will be a relatively long process! The severe cold and snowfall have brought difficulties to both sides!
The second option is to go directly south and look for a supporting army!
At 12 o'clock in the middle of the night, Liu Aiwu from the Fifth Squadron forwarded a telegram from the Second Route Army.
According to intelligence from local organizations, the Japanese Second Division has withdrawn to the Hailin County area, most of the 12th Division has withdrawn to Mudanjiang, and two battalions are left behind in Ning'an County!
Due to the limitation of communication distance, telegrams sent by the Second Route Army and Kang Huaifu’s troops were often forwarded by Liu Aiwu at the southernmost end of Jingpo Lake!
From this perspective, the Japanese army did retreat.
Yin Xinjun continued to stare at the map, and soon he made up his mind! He no longer had to fight with the enemy in Dunhua. The temperature was dropping day by day, so it was more important to find an army!
In response to this southward campaign, Yin Xinjun immediately began editing a new code book.
He was busy until after three o'clock in the morning!