binnovel Chapter 446 New Mission
Chapter 446 New Mission
When Zhang Wenwu and Ouyang Heng arrived at the pontoon bridge, the entire battlefield had been cleaned up. The officers and soldiers of the new 100th Division were also carrying the bodies of the Japanese soldiers on the pontoon bridge, preparing to dig a large pit to bury all the Japanese soldiers to prevent the spread of plague.
"Division Commander, Chief of Staff, we have completely wiped out this Japanese unit. I have sent a battalion to the other side of the river to set up positions. When we were cleaning up the battlefield, we found that a colonel regiment commander and two majors battalion commanders were killed." Li Zhengying quickly ran to Zhang Wenwu and Ouyang Heng, saluted, and reported excitedly.
This time, Li Zhengying felt that his journey was not in vain. He killed a Japanese regiment commander, two battalion commanders, and eliminated so many Japanese troops. This was a great achievement.
"Well, Captain Li, your special forces battalion and the suicide squad fought beautifully this time. After the war, the division commander and I will definitely report your achievement to the military. Now you quickly command the troops to clean up the pontoon bridge. The army commander will come with the new 210th and 211th divisions soon. They will use the pontoon bridge to pursue the main force of the Japanese army. You must ensure that our troops can pass the pontoon bridge smoothly and safely. Do you understand?" Ouyang Heng first praised Li Zhengying, and then quickly talked about the next task.
Zhang Wenwu boarded the pontoon bridge, checked its condition, and said, "Yes, the pontoon bridge built by the Japanese is really solid. When the commander and his men come over, the troops can pass through quickly. I can see that even a tank can pass through the pontoon bridge without any problem."
Ouyang Heng stood beside Zhang Wenwu and also carefully inspected the pontoon bridge. After hearing what Zhang Wenwu said, he nodded in agreement. Now their troubles would be much easier. The task received by their new 100th Division was to eliminate this group of Japanese troops and then build a pontoon bridge on the Miluo River to ensure the smooth advance of the follow-up troops.
According to previous estimates, the Japanese army was likely to blow up the floating bridge on the Miluo River during their retreat in order to avoid pursuit. Now it seems that Lieutenant General Shiro Inaba, commander of the Japanese 6th Division, was still very conscientious. He did not choose to blow up the floating bridge, but left a retreat route for the advancing Japanese army.
Fortunately, the suicide squad arrived here when the Japanese army was about to cross the bridge, blocking the only retreat of the Japanese army. Otherwise, after the Japanese army successfully crossed the bridge, they would definitely destroy the pontoon bridge, which would cause great trouble to the pursuit of subsequent troops. Just rebuilding the pontoon bridge would be a very time-consuming task.
Thirty minutes later, the troops of the new 210th Division arrived at the Miluo River. Without any stop, they went directly northward across the pontoon bridge to continue pursuing the Japanese army. Following closely behind were the new 211th Division and the headquarters of the new nd Army.
After Commander Huang and Chief of Staff Zhao Dong brought the military headquarters to the pontoon bridge, they also had a brief meeting with Zhang Wenwu and Ouyang Heng who were waiting on the bridge. Commander Huang spoke highly of the new 100th Division for its timely discovery of the enemy situation and subsequent pursuit operations.
However, considering that the officers and soldiers of the New 100th Division were now very tired and the troops had suffered considerable losses, Commander Huang ordered Zhang Wenwu to lead the New 100th Division to ensure the security of the supply routes of the New nd Army and they did not need to participate in subsequent pursuit operations.
After watching Commander Huang walk onto the pontoon bridge, Zhang Wenwu felt relieved. His new 100th Division would have no problems. However, he was not very optimistic about whether they could catch up with the Japanese th Division. After all, the flanking troops on both wings would not be able to reach the front of the Japanese army in time to block the retreat route.
However, for the Japanese army, the retreat route from Miluo River to Xinqiang River is not so easy to travel. The heavy equipment of the Japanese army will greatly slow down their retreat speed. This pursuit operation will have some gains. For the Ninth War Zone of China, although the ending is not so satisfactory, it is still very acceptable overall.
The troops of the Japanese 6th Division are now halfway through their retreat. With the efforts of the entire division's officers and soldiers, the heavy equipment is also moving slowly. The division commander, Lieutenant General Inaba Shiro, now has a lot of mud on his uniform, which would never have happened in the past.
The division chief of staff, Major General Nozaki Sadatsumi, also had mud on his uniform. He walked to the division commander, Lieutenant General Inaba Shiro, with muddy feet, and said anxiously, "Your Excellency, the 11th Army Headquarters sent a telegram saying that the Air Force sent planes to scout our two wings. Currently, the Chinese troops on the two wings are quickly moving northward. Behind us, there are at least two divisions of Chinese troops pursuing us."
The division commander, Lieutenant General Inaba Shiro, frowned and looked at the troops that were slowly advancing on the road, then asked: "Nozaki-kun, how far are the Chinese troops in these three directions from us now, and when will they catch up with us?"
After hearing the question from the division commander, Lieutenant General Inaba Shiro, the division chief of staff, Major General Nozaki Sadatsumi, did some calculations in his mind and replied, "Mr. Division Commander, if we follow our current retreat speed, the Chinese troops behind us are expected to make contact with our rear guard within four hours. As for the Chinese troops on both wings, they are expected to reach the Xinqiang River line tonight."
After listening to the prediction of the Chief of Staff, Major General Nozaki Sadatsumi, the division commander, Lieutenant General Inaba Shiro, frowned even more and said, "Mr. Nozaki, you mean that at the current retreat speed, our troops will definitely not be able to withdraw to the north of the Xinqiang River before the Chinese army arrives, right?"
When Chief of Staff Major General Sadatsumi Nozaki heard the division commander, Lieutenant General Inaba Shiro, speak so bluntly, he nodded awkwardly. His original intention was to speak more tactfully so that the division commander could understand. But you have to know that the division commander is in a very bad mood right now. It is better to say this bad news in a tactful way, which will also make the division commander feel a little more comfortable.
"It seems that we need to stop the pursuit of the Chinese army behind us first. Nozaki-kun, order the commander of the 24th Regiment, Colonel Ikuro Kawakatsu, to lead his troops to stop the pursuit of the Chinese army behind us. Let the commander of the regiment, Colonel Ikuro Kawakatsu, lead his troops to fight and retreat at the same time, and try to slow down the pursuit speed of the Chinese army." The division commander, Lieutenant General Shiro Inaba, also directly issued the combat order.
The division commander, Lieutenant General Shiro Inaba, knew that the Chinese troops behind him were the fastest pursuers. As long as he could delay the pursuing Chinese troops, his division's retreat would be guaranteed. As for the Chinese troops that were flanking from both wings, even if they reached the Xinqiang River, they would still need to defeat his defensive forces near the Xinqiang River pontoon bridge.