Chapter 528 Congratulations on Your Prosperity, Ningji Okamura

"Comrades, Happy New Year!"

On October 3, 1942, the Jiaolai Plain was covered with deep pits at dusk.

Looking down from the sky, these craters are of different sizes and shapes, and look quite like the style of Verdun more than 30 years ago.

If there are knowledgeable people on the scene who observe carefully, it is not difficult to distinguish that they are battle scars left by medium and large caliber mortars, 122mm rocket launchers, 105, 155mm howitzers and high-explosive bombs.

With such crazy firepower cover, only the wealthy Eighth Route Army in Asia can frequently call for it.

"Boom!"

Under the setting sun, the devils who had just finished the battle were in groups of two or three. The engineers of the First Tank Division were silent, just holding the 100-type mine detector to sweep the mines.

After a while, a lucky devil was the first to receive the dinner left by the Fifth Division of the Shandong Provincial Military Region on the battlefield.

There was a crisp sound, followed by an explosion. Hundreds of steel balls and metal fragments gushed out, and no Japanese engineer within a few dozen meters was spared.

Blood mist splashed everywhere, and minced meat flew everywhere.

Although most Japanese were only injured and did not die on the spot. But the wailing of the wounded alone made the morale of the entire engineering regiment visibly weakened.

The unknown is the greatest fear.

The mines scattered in every corner once made the devils look around in fear. But even if their legs and feet couldn't stop trembling, they still had to bite the bullet and continue.

I can only say that militarism is like this.

Ordinary big-headed soldiers just need to devote themselves to the battlefield and honestly clear the way. However, the officers in the rear have too many things to consider.

Looking at the weapons collected by the engineers from the broken positions, Infantry Colonel Taki Yuichiro was so excited that his face flushed, and the corners of his mouth almost stretched to his ears.

"In this battle, our First Tank Division has captured a lot of spoils."

"French rifles, light machine guns, heavy machine guns and corresponding ammunition are not worth much. Even the third-rate garrison divisions do not lack basic infantry equipment."

"But the 13.2mm dual-purpose machine guns, 25mm and 37mm anti-aircraft guns and two caliber anti-tank guns are all weapons urgently needed for the No. 1 operation."

After more than 20 hours of fierce fighting, Taki Yuichiro was tortured by the shortcomings of his own division.

I am the fish.

Due to the lack of sufficient anti-aircraft weapons, his infantry regiment was almost like a lamb to be slaughtered when it encountered the Eighth Route Army Air Force on the plain.

Now that a large number of high-performance equipment has been seized, the old devils have become confident and are determined to compete with the little man in the air for both superiority and life and death.

Hearing the sigh of his own colonel, the lieutenant colonel staff officer beside him nodded subconsciously.

He first forced the Mas35 pistol he had just picked up into his gun bag, and then threw the Type 14 Nambu pistol assigned to the troops to his accompanying adjutant like throwing away garbage.

This kind of despicable imitator with weak firepower and easy to malfunction is even despised by the Japanese Army itself.

If it weren't for the tight budget, the lieutenant colonel would have paid for a self-defense weapon before going on the expedition.

"Mr. Takio, the equipment discarded by the Eighth Route Army is indeed good stuff. It's just that the enemy destroyed most of the ammunition before retreating, and the artillery shells we collected are not even a base number."

"Besides, I don't think our mere infantry regiment can eat so many good things."

"The various types of artillery in front of us can form half an independent artillery regiment. I'm sure the brigade commander, division commander and even General Okamura will come after hearing the news."

As soon as these words came out, Takio Ichiro's old face collapsed.

It is true that their infantry regiment lacks anti-aircraft guns, but the various divisions of the Kwantung Army, the 12th Army and the direct troops of the North China Front Army lack anti-aircraft guns even more.

Especially the several Type B divisions that fought hard with the Eighth Route Army of Henan Province in the central hills. They lacked anti-aircraft and anti-tank means, and they were filling the line with human lives almost every minute and every second.

Otherwise, they would not have been so anxious to attack in the direction of Jiaolai Plain.

"Hey, I got it. Pass my order, leave one squad's share of the high-altitude and anti-aircraft machine guns and anti-aircraft guns that have just been seized, and hand over the rest to the division headquarters for personal distribution by the division commander."

"For anti-tank guns, just leave one squad. After all, we are equipped with a lot of Type 94 37mm rapid-fire guns, and there are not enough guns and people."

"The rest! Search with all your strength! The Eighth Route Army fled in panic, and a lot of high-value items must have been lost. Even if we can't fight to support the war, we must fill our pockets!"

"Hey!"

After receiving the order from their own colonel to dig three feet into the ground and pluck feathers from the passing geese, the devils of the entire infantry regiment started to move.

Although there were still many anti-infantry and anti-tank mines that had not been cleared on the battlefield, they would take their lives if they were not careful.

But the Fifth Division of the Shandong Provincial Military Region deliberately left a lot of property and handicrafts. Under the greed of money, ordinary soldiers who were blinded by money could not stop at all.

You can only earn a few bucks by being a soldier. If you really want to get rich, you have to rely on post-war business. The Osaka Division is the best example.

Half an hour later, a Japanese second-class soldier used a shovel to dig a mortar crater. The moment he turned over the soil, a 90% new Luger P08 and a watch made in Taiyuan immediately came into view.

The little Japanese soldier was overjoyed and quickly put his spoils into his bag.

The thief looked sneaky, obviously afraid that Cheng Yaojin would appear halfway.

"These Eighth Route Army soldiers are really rich. If a German Luger pistol is properly used, it can at least be exchanged for an ugly domestic car in the southern part of the Republic of China."

"This watch is even more heavyweight. It has been in a state of being out of stock since a year ago. If I sell it, the price will definitely not be less than 1,000 yen."

"Komatsu-kun, you are very lucky today. But we have to thank the fleeing Eighth Route Army, otherwise we would not have the opportunity to clean up the battlefield."

It is difficult to prevent thieves from attacking at home.

Just as Komatsu Tatsuto was secretly delighted by his unexpected harvest, his squad leader came to the bomb crater silently. The other party had a sinister smile on his face, obviously preparing to share a piece of the pie.

Seeing this, Komatsu Tatsuto had to accept his fate. It is better to make money than to return empty-handed, not to mention that his captain's connections are indeed more wild.

"Hey! You said it"

Before the devils finished speaking, an anti-infantry mine buried on the edge of the bomb crater suddenly exploded, and the lucky squad leader was directly blown into several large pieces.

As the smoke slowly dissipated, the miserable state of Komatsu Tateto gradually appeared in front of the devils.

The blood-like body was like a silent mockery of the Eighth Route Army, which made the present angry and shocked.

······

In the forward command post of the 1st Tank Division, the face of the division commander Hoshino Toshimoto was full of disbelief.

There was no other reason, just because the losses of this attack were too great, almost crippling the entire 1st Tank Brigade. This outrageous exchange ratio was unacceptable to the old devil, and his heart was bleeding.

It seemed that the atmosphere on the scene was too depressing. A young staff officer couldn't hold back and spoke up first: "According to the battle report sent back from the front line, the anti-tank guns of the Eighth Route Army are too strong. Even the most advanced land warfare weapon of our country, the Type 97 medium tank, can hardly resist direct fire from a thousand meters away." "In addition, the enemy's artillery coverage also played a great deterrent role. Whenever the warriors gain an advantage in a local battlefield, the enemy's artillery fire will follow." "In summary, the division needs to be equipped with more smoke bombs to create enough attack windows for the vanguard troops." "If conditions permit, we'd better use the civilian vehicles and armored vehicles on hand to temporarily modify a batch of self-propelled anti-aircraft vehicles to follow the main armored force." "In this regard, our allies are obviously doing better and worth learning." Although the First Tank Division is the elite of the Kwantung Army, they are essentially a new army established four months ago. In terms of combat experience, they can only repeatedly deduce the old-fashioned Nomonhan Battle, so the devils exposed many problems in the battle just now. A few words from the young staff officer silenced the command center.

No mistakes, one post, one content, one 6, one 9, one book, one bar!

Seeing that his morale was getting weaker and weaker, Hoshino Toshimoto quickly adjusted his mood and encouraged:

"Don't be depressed, everyone. Operation No. 1 has just begun. We just suffered the loss of the first kill. What's more, the sacrifice of the warriors is not meaningless. The troops have broken through the enemy's first line of defense."

"The Eighth Route Army retreated in a hurry, and the heavy weapons must not have been taken away in time. I believe that the infantry and engineers of the division have cleaned up the battlefield."

"Maybe there are anti-tank guns among the captured weapons. As long as we get the real thing, we can test the actual combat data and make targeted response plans."

After a series of psychological construction, Hoshino Toshimoto's mentality has changed a lot.

In the latest offensive draft of the old devils, he has quietly changed the main force of the offensive to the mobile infantry and the infantry of other divisions, and added human reactive armor to the tanks.

Concentrating the use of tank troops can certainly gain a strong breakthrough capability. But the Eighth Route Army in Shandong Province not only has multi-level deep and solid positions, but also has sufficient troops.

If they force their way forward, the manpower of the two tank divisions will be exhausted sooner or later.

Without tanks, what can they use to fight against the enemy's armored forces? Do they have to rely on the death squads holding explosive packs and mines?

As for other divisions that have not been trained in infantry-tank coordination, there may be situations where friendly infantry are crushed to death on the battlefield?

Sorry, I would rather die than die, but I don't want to become a commander without troops.

Just as the old devil was thinking secretly and preparing to submit a tactical report to the commander-in-chief of the operation, the infantry regiment commander and the engineer regiment commander of the division walked into the command post hand in hand.

"Your Excellency Lieutenant General, we have seized a large amount of enemy equipment."

"Although there is a slight shortage of ammunition reserves, our air defense and anti-tank firepower in the next battle will definitely be greatly improved."

Hearing the word "capture", Hoshino Toshimoto immediately became energetic.

Knowing yourself and the enemy will ensure victory in all battles. Only by thoroughly testing the true performance of the Eighth Route Army's anti-tank guns can his remaining Second Tank Brigade achieve the greatest results with the least loss.

"Quick! Start testing immediately!"

"Hurry up and pick a Type 97 medium tank with less damage on the battlefield. You must find out the penetration depth of the enemy's anti-tank guns at 100 to 1000 meters as soon as possible."

"No, the homogeneous armor target plate must also be tested. I will give you one hour. When the time is up, the report must appear on my desk."

"Hi!"

After the order was issued, the staff in the command center performed their duties and began to perform their respective tasks.

The old devil was not idle either. He picked up the combat report sent back by the First Tank Brigade again, trying to find inspiration in the lines of cold text to complete his human reactive armor plan.

However, the scene was not quiet for long, and a rapid phone ring broke the silence.

Seeing this, Hoshino Toshimoto grabbed the receiver.

Soon, Okamura Neiji's laughter like the elder of the Soul Hall sounded in his ears: "Hoshino-kun, I congratulate you on getting rich!"

Even across the telephone line, Hoshino Toshimoto seemed to see the smiling face of the commander-in-chief of the operation.

When the old devil thought that the equipment he had just obtained was already coveted by someone, his back was cold, and he hurriedly argued:

"What kind of wealth, our division suffered heavy losses after a big battle, and we are almost poor. General Okamura, where are the troops you promised to fill the line, quickly replenish my troops."

As the head of the North China Front Army, Okamura Neiji has sufficient experience and is particularly good at dealing with the jokes of his subordinates.

So the old devil was not led astray by Hoshino Toshimoto, but simply laid his cards on the table:

"We'll talk about the casualties of the 1st Tank Division later, let's talk about the captured equipment in this battle now. My staff saw with his own eyes that your engineers pulled back at least half of the regiment's artillery equipment."

"Why, you want to form an independent artillery regiment with one division?"

"Then should my front army put together an independent heavy artillery brigade?"

Adhering to the principle of being shameless and invincible, the old devil took advantage of Hoshino Toshimoto's lack of reaction and added:

"I know the front line is very difficult, and I know it's not easy for you. How about this, I won't take your equipment for nothing, I will exchange it with your division with a brigade of filling troops."

"Don't worry, after the equipment arrives in the rear, I will redistribute it according to demand."

"That's it, no discounts allowed!"

······

Quancheng, Japanese Operation No. 1 Campaign Command.

After hanging up the phone, Okamura Neiji immediately showed a satisfied expression.

The higher the rank, the more powerful it is. It feels really good to bully honest people.

But to be honest, the old devil himself was a little surprised. He didn't even expect that begging would be so smooth. After all, there is no principle in the Japanese army that all captured items must be handed in.

"Hey, my conscience is uneasy."

"Pass my order to add an infantry regiment to the reinforcement list of the 1st Tank Division. There are still many Imperial Army troops in the province. It's time for them to sacrifice themselves for their brother country."

Just as Okamura Neiji was smug and pointed out the situation to his staff. A signalman holding a telegram trotted all the way to the battle command.

"General, there is a call from Nanjing."

"The commander-in-chief of the expeditionary army said, congratulations on your wealth!" (End of this chapter)