diymy Chapter 50 Zhu Chi's Triumphant Return and His Envy
Chapter 50 Zhu Chi's Triumphant Return and His Envy
Inside the 6th Division headquarters, Tani Hisao and Shimono Kazuho were still sending people to search for the whereabouts of this ghostly Nationalist army.
As a result, a telegram came from the 42nd Regiment.
The command post was attacked by the enemy, and the regimental commander, Sato Masakazu, was killed in action.
"What? Aren't they here? When did they get to the 42nd Regiment's command post?"
Shimono Kazuhiro pointed to the map and said.
But then, considering that the enemies mostly traveled by truck and motorcycle, everything seemed to make sense.
Tani Hisao originally thought that Shimono Kazuho's crushing defeat showed that his command ability was truly worrying.
Now, upon hearing the news, it turns out that the 42nd Regiment was also defeated, and even the regimental commander, Sato Shoichi, was killed in the fierce battle.
Looking at Ichiro Motoyoshi now, one can see that this chief of staff was quite capable; at least he came back alive.
"Which unit is this? Why does it possess such superior mobility? Didn't the Nationalist army lose almost all of its trucks, motorcycles, and other equipment during the Battle of Shanghai?"
Hisao Tani expressed his doubts.
At that moment, Shimono Kazuho seemed to have thought of something.
"I remember there was a report within the Shanghai Expeditionary Army that the artillery regiment of the 9th Division was attacked by enemy mobile forces, the regimental commander was killed in action, and a large number of artillery pieces were destroyed."
"The 9th Division? Yoshizumi Ryosuke's unit? They suffered the same fate?"
Hisao Tani realized that it was very likely the same unit that was fighting tonight.
He adjusted his glasses and then said:
"Send a telegram to the 9th Division to inquire about the characteristics of that unit. If it really is them, then they are truly a major threat to our Imperial Japanese Army."
If Tani Hisao previously thought that the Chinese army was basically vulnerable and would collapse at the first touch, then...
At least the lightning-fast tactics of Li Jianghe's troops—hitting and running, fighting as they ran—definitely left a deep impression on Tani Hisao.
He had never seen any troops fight like this before.
In fact, similar tactics were fully implemented in the subsequent German blitzkrieg against Poland.
However, the blitzkrieg tactics employed by the motorized unit led by Li Jianghe were only a low-end version.
The German blitzkrieg, on the other hand, was the top-of-the-line version, a new form of warfare that involved large-scale armored formations combined with air power to strike enemy defenses as quickly as possible.
Simply put, one is the Youth Edition, and the other is the Pro Max Edition; the difference is significant.
On the Yuhuatai battlefield.
Looking at the trucks returning laden with spoils and the smiles on the soldiers' faces, Zhu Chi knew that the battle had been won, and won decisively at that.
However, he dared not make a fuss, because the order had been given without the knowledge of his division commander, Sun Yuanliang.
Sun Yuanliang did not believe that Li Jianghe could win.
It could even lead to the loss of troops, so Zhu Chi's request was rejected outright, and he was instead instructed to focus his main efforts on strengthening the defense of Yuhuatai.
Therefore, if the two battalions transferred from the 262nd Brigade do not return, Zhu Chi will bear the consequences.
Seeing the triumphant troops, he was both happy and secretly relieved.
Looking at the unloaded weapons and equipment, there were bundles of Type 38 rifles, Type 96 light machine guns, Type 92 heavy machine guns, and even grenade launchers. Zhu Chi was even more excited.
He originally looked down on the Japanese army's weapons, but considering the current shortage of equipment and ammunition, these weapons have become highly sought after.
Just then, several more trucks slowly drove up; they were trucks carrying artillery.
At this moment, Han Xianyuan's eyes lit up, and he pointed to the several howitzers being towed behind the truck, saying:
"Commander, look, it's a howitzer! Its caliber is much larger than the 75mm field guns we used before."
Zhu Chi walked over a few steps and found that it was indeed a 150mm cannon, and there were also 105mm caliber ones. These were all heavy artillery pieces that their 88th Division had never been equipped with.
Just as he was marveling at this, Li Jianghe jumped off a truck and came up to greet Zhu Chi.
"Brigade Commander Zhu, thank you for sending these two battalions. Otherwise, we might have really run into some trouble this time."
Li Jianghe said.
The Japanese reinforcements arrived quickly. It was Hua Pinzhang who led two battalions and held off a Japanese battalion, buying them some more time.
Although they could have escaped without the resistance of these two battalions, they certainly wouldn't have achieved such great results, and might even have been bogged down by the Japanese army.
Zhu Chi smiled modestly and said:
"It was just a small favor; those heavy artillery pieces are..."
He pointed to the large-caliber artillery pieces, still showing more interest in those.
"Oh, it's nothing. We just destroyed one of the Japanese heavy artillery positions and captured a few guns along the way."
There were originally eight gates, but two were destroyed in the battle; otherwise, there wouldn't have been six.
As Li Jianghe said this, he seemed somewhat dissatisfied.
Zhu Chi walked over, stretched out his palm, and stroked the cannon, his eyes filled with envy.
"Wow, this cannon is amazing! The caliber... wow..."
As he spoke, he circled around the 150mm howitzer.
As a professional soldier, he naturally knew that artillery was the king of war.
Why was the Battle of Shanghai lost?
It wasn't that the Japanese had a significant advantage in light weapons over the Nationalist army; the main difference lay in the quantity, quality, and ammunition reserves of their artillery—the latter were worlds apart.
If they were equipped with artillery of the same caliber and quantity as the Japanese army, Zhu Chi did not believe they would lose in the Battle of Shanghai.
Li Jianghe naturally noticed Zhu Chi's envious gaze.
Which Chinese soldier wouldn't want a large, powerful 150mm howitzer?
According to Li Jianghe's recollection, very few Chinese troops were equipped with this type of artillery at that time.
The Central Army only had the 10th Artillery Regiment, the 8th Artillery Regiment, and the 14th Artillery Regiment, which was not yet formed, and a batch of 150mm howitzers.
Local forces, on the other hand, were equipped with some Liaoning Type 14 150mm howitzers by the Northeast Army.
The most elite among them was the 10th Artillery Regiment, which was equipped with original German-made sFH-18 artillery, 150mm caliber, 32-caliber guns.
Its maximum range reaches 15 kilometers, which is two kilometers more than the original sFH-18 artillery purchased by the German army.
This unit was equipped with original German artillery and a number of transport trucks, making it a truly motorized heavy artillery unit.
This artillery regiment played a significant role in the Battle of Shanghai, even sinking a Japanese warship.
Unfortunately, the 8nd Artillery Battalion had to push eight howitzers into the river to destroy them during their retreat from Shanghai, in order to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Japanese army.
Zhu Chi circled the 150mm howitzer several times before finally looking at Li Jianghe with a troubled expression.
"Commander Li, do you have a lot of artillery shells?"
He asked somewhat tentatively.