Chapter 17: Thunderbolt (Part 1)

  In the next two or three hours in the afternoon, the Japanese who were beaten to half-dead had no strength to launch a large-scale attack.

  The Japanese army only occasionally dispatched a few squadrons to conduct several weak and exploratory attacks on the Chinese army's positions, and as soon as they encountered strong resistance from the Chinese army, they quickly retreated. This cautious and timid combat posture is completely different from their usual fierce and violent fighting style. To discerning people, this kind of advance-and-retreat attack seems more like a self-consolation for the already weak Japanese rather than an active offensive.

  It was the Japanese aircraft that frequently visited the Chinese army's position at this time, but with the powerful cover of the complex terrain of Taitzuohuang, although some people were also killed by the Japanese aircraft, the loss was not very serious.

  The battle was fought in a seesaw manner until dusk, and both sides achieved their own goals.

  The Japanese army, after receiving complaints from several mid-level officers of the 40th Brigade about Major General Nagano's serious mistakes in command, immediately stripped Major General Nagano of his military power and transferred him back to the division headquarters as a senior staff officer. It is said that the division commander had already prepared a return ticket for Nagano. At the same time, the Japanese army's 10th Division Headquarters also withdrew a temporarily formed special battalion from other battle lines to support the 40th Brigade, which had been completely disabled by the Chinese military. This special battalion of over 400 people entered Tai'erzhuang at dusk.

  As for the Chinese army, Cheng Jiaji secretly brought in two fully-staffed main force regiments and an independent 100th brigade from outside Zhuangzi, all of whom were capable of carrying guns, had arrived on the scene. Moreover, under the coordination of the high-ranking officials, the Chinese troops inside Zhuangzi finally unified their command.

  In a village, there are two different troops with different systems of organization. If the command is not unified, then there will be problems in tactical coordination. Although today's daytime battle against the Japanese army's strong pressure, the Independent 100th Regiment and the 31st Division can still support each other, but if something goes wrong later, it would be very bad. It must be known that the current Tai'erzhuang is the core battlefield of the war between China and Japan with millions of troops on both sides, where not a single mistake can be made.

  Based on this point, the war zone commander's office decided to set up a command center to unify the command of the troops in Zhuangzi. The only problem was that the selection of the commander-in-chief was somewhat troublesome.

  This commander-in-chief is the most convenient between two battalion commanders in Zhuangzi, and generally it is handled this way. It's just that the situation in Zhuangzi is a bit special now. Neither of the two battalion commanders is suitable to oversee the overall situation.

  If according to the size of the military post and the depth of the official rank, it should be the responsibility of the 31st Division Commander Chi to command all Chinese troops in Zhuangzi. However, at present, the 31st Division has been severely damaged, with less than 500 combatants left. With the current strength of the 31st Division, it is impossible for them to serve as the main force for counterattacks, and even whether they can defend their own positions depends on how much support they receive from the Independent 100th Brigade. It is not appropriate for Commander Chi, an empty-headed commander, to command Colonel Cheng Jiaqi, who leads a strong and powerful independent brigade directly under the War Zone Command, which is far stronger than the 31st Division. If Colonel Cheng's troops do not listen to orders at critical moments, it may delay important military decisions and affect the entire battle situation. It would be better not to establish this command center and maintain the current cooperative combat situation.

  For the same consideration, Cheng Jiaji with too little seniority also cannot serve as the highest commander of the Taiyuan front. The question of who should take on this role has caused the bigwigs in the war zone headquarters to rack their brains.

  It was finally decided to dispatch a general officer from the war zone command to take charge of the Chinese army in Taierzhuang. The selection of this person was also not easy. This person must be familiar with military affairs and cannot be an outsider, but also have sufficient seniority to suppress the array foot, most importantly, the commanders of the two troops in Zhuangzi must have some connections, so as to better coordinate the combat actions between the two troops.

  The big shots in the government department chose and chose, but in the end they sent an old acquaintance from the Cheng family to Jia Qi.

  At 6:00 pm on May 5th, Major General Xie Hong, the senior staff officer of the War Zone Commander-in-Chief's office, arrived in Taierzhuang as the highest commander of the Chinese army inside Taierzhuang.

  Thank you, General Xie. Now he should be addressed as Commander-in-Chief Xie. He led a group of staff officers into Taierzhuang when the fighting inside the town had almost stopped.

  In any battle that has reached a stalemate where neither side can gain the upper hand, it is generally the case that both Chinese and Japanese forces will observe an unwritten ceasefire at dusk.

  During this time, both sides will do a big thing, which is to collect the bodies of the dead.

  In the minds of Easterners, the dead are more important than the living. This is a consensus among all civilized races. (Although the Japanese have not fully civilized to this day, for example, the very serious ** problem among the Japanese is a typical one, but they always pretend to be civilized.)

  Especially as a party of the Japanese military fighting in a foreign land, they placed great importance on the bodies of those who died in battle and would not abandon them under any circumstances.

  Here, apart from ethical considerations, the reality of the battlefield also necessitates that both sides often tacitly allow each other's unarmed personnel to enter their own positions to collect the bodies of fallen soldiers.

  Unlike the magnificent knightly duels depicted in some war movies, real battlefields are often bloody, cruel and unsanitary. After intense fighting, the most troublesome thing is the corpses of the dead left behind by both sides. If they are not buried, it will not only affect morale (except in fictional stories, there are few people who can fight and survive with a straight face next to corpses all day and night), but also pose a great danger from a health perspective. Except in the icy cold winter, unburied corpses in other seasons are the most fertile breeding ground for bacteria. Not to mention that it's late spring now, if an epidemic breaks out in the army, there's no need to fight this battle, and the military camp can be converted into a hospital directly. If so, it may not necessarily be a bad thing.

  Commander Xie was inspecting the battlefield at dusk, when most of the bodies had already been removed. Looking at the sunset-lit battlefield and the unarmed personnel from both sides clearing the battlefield, Xie Hong, who had not seen a battlefield in many years, couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia and wanted to recite some Tang poetry, but fearing it was not suitable for the moment, he forced himself to swallow the words back down, which made him feel quite uncomfortable.

  "Hao Ran, you still insist on that night raid plan." Xie Hong, although nominally in command as the commander-in-chief, having spent many years in the military and once held the power to kill, understood that his role was merely one of coordination and liaison between the top and bottom. The battle in this village would depend on Cheng Jiaji's troops to fight, and he, the nominal superior, was just a leisurely nobleman who came up with ideas.

  If it weren't for the commander-in-chief's personal appointment, Xie Hong would never have been willing to take on this task of winning little credit and shouldering all the blame in defeat as the chief commander.

  Since he has taken the job, Xie Hong still hopes to do it well and win this battle. At present, among the thousands of people in Zhuangzi, eight or nine out of ten are under Cheng Jiaji's command, so communicating with Cheng Jiaji is naturally the most urgent task for Commander-in-Chief Xie after taking office. Sure enough, as soon as Commander-in-Chief Xie took office, he brought Cheng Jiaji to inspect the battlefield.

  He asked Cheng Jiaji this sentence just to break the ice. Xie Zong would not know that Cheng Jiaji had been insisting on using a surprise attack at night to drive the Japanese Tenth Regiment out of Zhuangzi.

  "Brother Junchen, I think this plan is no longer suitable for the current battlefield situation. I've made another plan, please help me get it approved by the war zone officials." After finishing speaking, Cheng Jiaji handed Xie Hong a palm-sized piece of paper filled with pen-written words. (Sorry, Cheng Jiaji's handwriting was really bad, can't bear to show it.)

  Cheng Jiaji had a clear idea that, having fought to this point, the actual commander of the Taierzhuang area, the most critical battlefield in the war zone, was already under the direct control of the War Zone Headquarters. This can be seen from the fact that the newly established Taierzhuang Front Command was directly under the War Zone Headquarters, while the Second Army Group, which was responsible for the entire Taierzhuang defense line, could not even manage its own main battlefield within its jurisdiction.

  If he wanted to get the approval of the war zone commander's office for this somewhat fanciful plan, Xie Hong's support was indispensable. Cheng Jiaji knew that whether as the nominal highest commander in Taiwan at the time or as the eyes and ears of the War Zone Commander's Office in Taiwan, Xie Hong's support or not would be crucial to whether his plan could pass or not.

  "Hao Ran, this plan is too big!" As soon as he took a look at the battle plan made by Zou Jia, Xie Hong couldn't help but take in a cold breath.

  In the first part of Cheng Jiaji's battle plan, the main force of the Taierzhuang garrison, which is the Independent 100th Brigade, will launch a comprehensive attack on the Japanese 40th Regiment tonight. The combat goal has also changed from driving the Japanese out of the village to annihilating or largely annihilating the Japanese 40th Regiment, which is a significant increase in the original plan. However, what makes Xie Hong feel unbelievable is still the second half of Cheng Jiaji's battle plan. In this part of the plan, the Independent 100th Brigade will concentrate more than half of its forces with cavalry regiments as vanguards to conduct large-scale infiltration operations deep into the Japanese 10th Division's positions. This is not the most headache for Commander-in-Chief Xie. What really gives him a headache is that in this battle plan, the Independent 100th Brigade actually requests that the air force dispatch several fighter planes to provide support and cover during the large-scale infiltration operations.

  Looking at the battle plan called "Thunderbolt" in his hand, Xie Hong would rather let the Japanese shoot him now, as long as he doesn't die, so that he can avoid Cheng Jiaji and this somewhat crazy plan.