Chapter 10 Conclusion (Part 1)
Under the pincer movement, the Japanese still made a desperate resistance, but this desperate struggle of the Japanese was nothing more than adding a small number of casualties to the Chinese military. Under the impact of the cavalry who were waiting for labor, the devils who had been severely wounded and completely disrupted their formation could only withstand one blow. Under the sharp war knife of the cavalry, the fighting will of the Japanese army collapsed within twenty minutes, and large numbers of Japanese soldiers fell under the war knife of the Chinese cavalry who came from behind. Only a small number of fast-legged men were able to form a small combat unit in a small broken temple outside the village under the command of Lieutenant General Mu Xia. The Japanese did not dare to break through directly, as dawn was approaching, and in this plain area, the seven or eight Japanese soldiers who were already exhausted could not escape the net laid by the Chinese cavalry, let alone that after nearly five hours of fierce battle, there were not many bullets left in the Japanese guns, even the hand grenades that could be used to launch a suicidal attack had been basically consumed. Otherwise, they would not have been killed in large numbers under the cavalry's sword. It is almost impossible to use bayonets to resist the cavalry's swords in the plains area. If the Japanese army could form a battle array in time, it would be better, but relying on those scattered infantrymen in the plain village to fight against the cavalry was simply a slaughter.
"Yamada-kun, how many more people?"
Just now when the cavalry charged, the vanguard of the Japanese army was almost annihilated by the Chinese cavalry. The noble Lieutenant Naito also went missing. Only a few people, including Lieutenant-Colonel Yamaki, who had been stabbed in the abdomen by the Chinese cavalry, managed to escape from the furious Chinese cavalry. They happened to meet at the front of this mountain temple, and Lieutenant-Colonel Yamaki took the lead, opening the way with his own troops' remnants, allowing Lieutenant-Colonel Yamada to survive.
After the two groups of Japanese troops "won the meeting", they didn't even have time to say a few words, and the Chinese cavalry regiment came after Shan Tian's unit. The Japanese army could only temporarily retreat into this mountain temple to defend themselves. However, the Chinese cavalry outside the temple did not want to take risks and charge in because the Japanese had already found a place to rely on, in order to avoid too many casualties. In the eyes of the Chinese, these Japanese devils were already trapped, and as long as they waited until dawn, they wouldn't be afraid that they would escape into thin air.
Perhaps because he was the deputy director of the police department in Changchun, the capital of Manchukuo in Northeast China for several years, there was not much of the inherent cruelty and arrogance of the Japanese military on this Japanese regular army officer who graduated from a military academy. This 28-year-old Japanese army captain had a strong profession-specific character of being soft on the weak and afraid of the strong, typical of small-time police officers.
Of course, this character not only makes his comrades look down on him in the squad, but also has its great advantages. That is, in terms of observing the situation, Yamada's opening as a team leader can be considered one of the few strong players in the entire Fifth Division. As it happens, the other two teams that were also fighting in the Zhuangkou bloodbath have been completely annihilated, but Yamada was able to lead his team with more than half of its remaining forces to miraculously escape, which is not something an ordinary person can achieve. This achievement can be greatly rewarded by the Field Army Commander.
"Commander, I've taken stock. In this temple, our battalion has a total of 82 personnel, including 46 lightly wounded soldiers, 58 rifles, 12 handguns, 2 light machine guns, and 1 grenade launcher. Also, Commander, would you like to have something to eat? We still have some military canned beef and clear wine."
This is another one of Yamada's strengths as a company commander, because he used to be in charge of household registration statistics, he was very sensitive to numbers. In those days in Changchun, even if residents wanted to raise a cat, they had to register it and specify its sex.
Of course, being able to flatter his superiors like this also showed that he was a diligent person. As for why the Japanese army didn't have any seriously wounded soldiers, it's very simple: all the seriously wounded soldiers were killed by the Chinese troops who were chasing them while they were retreating.
"How much ammunition is left? Bring some food and water, and let all the soldiers finish their military rations and drink all the clean water!" Although Yamaki was not very fond of his subordinate, who he thought had been heavily influenced by Chinese urban habits, and didn't take Yamada's flattery seriously, at this moment, Yamada still spoke to him in such a way that it couldn't help but move Lieutenant Colonel Yamaki's heart, and his attitude towards Yamada also improved greatly.
"I've already counted, the pistol bullets are less than thirty rounds per gun, the rifle bullets are about twenty rounds, and the ammunition for machine guns and grenade launchers is also running out. There are only eight hand grenades left." Although the two men were serious and polite in their questioning, they both knew that these people didn't have much time left to survive in this world. This time, the Shanmu detachment was originally a lone army deep in enemy territory, sandwiched between tens of thousands of Chinese troops, and the battle had become like this, with no possibility of survival at all. The reason they still maintained their superior-inferior etiquette now was just the inertial effect of the Japanese army's strict hierarchical system.
Outside the temple of the mountain god, Cheng Jiaji looked at Jiang Feng who had just dismounted and saluted him with a military salute, holding a human head in his hand, and was speechless for a moment.
As for this young lieutenant under his command, Cheng Jiaji was not very familiar with him, only occasionally seeing him a few times and nodding in passing. Now thinking back, at the time he just thought that this young man was a bit introverted and didn't like to talk much. But today, this 21-year-old lieutenant's actions had deeply impressed Cheng Jiaji.
Although the cavalry regiment's participation in the war ultimately locked in a stalemate, with no one knowing who would emerge victorious, when Cheng Jiaji learned that the cavalry had been observing from a distance of less than two miles for nearly two hours, he was furious and demanded an explanation from Jiang Fengxing, who led the cavalry regiment into battle.
But when Jiang Feng showed him the most powerful evidence to prove his innocence, Cheng Jiaji was shocked by the ruthlessness of this small lieutenant.
What Jiang Feng was holding in his hand was the head of Ji Minzhong, the former commander of the cavalry regiment who he said had retreated and abandoned him at the critical moment.
Originally, retreating in the face of danger, refusing to rescue those in peril, and fearing the enemy like a tiger - these crimes are enough to sentence Ji Minzhong to death twice over. Even if Jiang Feng were to bring Ji Minzhong alive before Cheng Jiaxi's face, Ji Minzhong would still be unable to escape death. However, as one of Ji Minzhong's subordinates, not only did they kill their superior officer, but they also cut off his head and displayed it to the crowd. This ancient scenario of "beheading a general and seizing the army" has appeared in the 1930s with an extremely shocking impact. Not to mention that our Cheng Liu Shao is after all a civilized person from the initial stage of socialism.
