Chapter 5 Those Who Survive

The surviving devils of the Fifth Brigade were reorganizing the bombed-out defenses of Pingluo Village.

Having finally eaten their roasted meat, they had some strength to work.

Ono Shiji, the sole surviving captain of the Fourth Cavalry Brigade, received the same treatment as the other devils: a piece of charred meat.

The moment he tasted it, he recognized it. He knew this flavor all too well; it was the meat he had survived on these past few days.

Looking around at the devils happily devouring their portions, Ono Shiji ultimately said nothing.

He simply ate his fill and silently returned to repairing the fortifications.

The Fourth Cavalry Brigade had constructed defenses at Pingluo Village before.

But after the Special Brigade's fierce bombardment that night, the Fourth Cavalry Brigade scattered, and the fortifications had been useless.

Ono Shiji felt a pang of emotion as he rebuilt them.

That feeling was quickly replaced by exhaustion. It wasn’t just Ono Shiji who felt tired; the entire Fifth Infantry Brigade was weary.

They had been bombarded since before dawn, and the whole day had been spent either being bombed or running away.

Without a moment's rest, they finally had a break. Every devil wanted to rest.

Instead, they were forced to dig through existing fortifications. The devils were not only physically exhausted but mentally drained as well.

Especially the devils from the Third Engineering Regiment and the Third Field Artillery Regiment, digging fortifications was the engineers' job, so they had no choice but to work hard.

The devils of the Third Field Artillery Regiment had lost all their cannons. Although there was no time to assign blame, were they still artillerymen without cannons?

So they were used as engineers: waste utilization!

After all, artillerymen without cannons had no weapons, and their function on the battlefield was inferior to that of the engineers.

Brigadier General Katayama Riichiro convened a military meeting of commanders at the battalion level and above at the temporary headquarters.

There was only one topic on the agenda: how to hold Pingluo Village for three days.

He had already sent a telegram to the division commander, reporting the current situation of the Fifth Brigade. The division commander replied that the Sixteenth Infantry Division had been dispatched to reinforce them and encircle the Special Brigade.

Brigadier General Katayama Riichiro believed that reinforcements would arrive on the battlefield in three days, based on their marching speed.

Colonel Ito Kaisen, commander of the Sixty-eighth Infantry Regiment, spoke up: "Brigadier General! Pingluo Village is next to the Bai River and has the defenses left by the cavalry brigade. Holding it for three days is no problem at all."

His infantry regiment had not performed well in the day's battle. The entire regiment of nearly five thousand devils was ordered to break through towards Tanghe.

As a result, the entire regiment collapsed after the vanguard battalion, led by Ishiguro Reo, was blocked.

It could be said that the collapse of the Fifth Infantry Brigade at Xingwan was mainly the responsibility of the Sixty-eighth Regiment.

On the road from Xingwan to Pingluo Village, Colonel Ito Kaisen had gathered more than two thousand devils, giving his regiment some strength again.

That was the basis of his statement.

Colonel Kuranaga Tatsuji, commander of the Sixth Infantry Regiment, remained silent. His regiment had suffered heavy casualties in the morning's bombardment.

As a result, the entire regiment was unable to play a significant role in the subsequent battles.

Although, in the defense of Xingwan, the Third Battalion of the Infantry, led by Asaka Tomoya, blocked the attacking Special Brigade for two hours with hastily repaired fortifications.

But ultimately, it was unable to turn the tide and was defeated.

Most importantly, the Sixth Infantry Regiment now had only a little over a thousand devils left from the four battalions, equivalent to the strength of one infantry battalion.

Brigadier General Katayama Riichiro looked intently at Kuranaga Tatsuji, his meaning clear: he wanted him to speak.

Colonel Kuranaga Tatsuji could only stand up and say, "Brigadier General! We face many difficulties: insufficient troops, my regiment only has a thousand devils left.

Insufficient heavy weapons, the entire regiment does not have a single heavy machine gun, no mortars, no infantry guns.

Insufficient ammunition supply, the entire regiment only has the basic ammunition carried by the soldiers.

Even with this basic amount of ammunition, the soldiers have already used a lot in the day's fighting, and how much is left is unknown.

Insufficient food supply!"

Kuranaga Tatsuji listed a series of shortages and then sat down, saying nothing more.

Brigadier General Katayama Riichiro heard so many shortages and asked, "What is your solution?"

Colonel Kuranaga Tatsuji said, "The problem of insufficient combat personnel can be solved by reorganizing all non-combat personnel.

They can be added to the combat battalions.

For the shortage of weapons, ammunition, and food, I request the Group Army Headquarters to immediately provide support with an airlift.

Only in this way can we possibly hold out for three days."

Brigadier General Katayama Riichiro recalled the attacks suffered during the day and had to admit that Colonel Ito Kaisen's words were harsh, but they seemed to be the truth.

He immediately said, "After the meeting, immediately add all engineers, logistics soldiers, and field artillerymen to the various combat battalions.

Send a telegram immediately requesting the Group Army to airdrop weapons, ammunition, and food.

But gentlemen, how exactly should we defend?"

The brigadier general had already lowered himself so much, so Colonel Kuranaga Tatsuji had no choice but to continue his suggestion: "Brigadier General!

We have a total of eight thousand men here.

The two regiments can be evenly divided to replenish the troops. Each regiment will have three thousand men, which can then be evenly distributed to the four infantry battalions, giving each infantry battalion seven hundred and fifty men.

The brigadier general can keep two thousand men as a reserve to be used at critical moments.

We will set up two concentric defensive lines outside Pingluo Village. The Sixty-eighth Infantry Regiment will defend the east and north directions, and the Sixth Infantry Regiment will defend the west and south directions.

There must be communication trenches connecting the two concentric defensive lines so that troops on the second line can quickly reinforce the first line during combat.

Air-raid shelters must be built on the first line of defense to prevent bombing by the Chinese army's planes and artillery.

As long as we defend against their artillery, we will definitely be able to hold out for three days."

Everyone present agreed with what he said.

They had suffered too much from the Special Brigade's planes and artillery. If it weren't for those planes, the devils would not have collapsed so quickly during the day.

Brigadier General Katayama Riichiro was also satisfied and gratified that Colonel Kuranaga Tatsuji was still considering leaving two thousand men for himself as a reserve at this time:

This regimental commander was still doing his duty.

He drew a circle around Pingluo Village on the map and assigned the two regiments' defense lines according to Colonel Kuranaga Tatsuji's suggestion.

After this division, the defense became very easy to assign. Each battalion was assigned to defend each line in each direction.

The eight infantry battalion commanders each received their orders.

Next was the matter of replenishing the troops in the various infantry battalions. The Sixty-eighth Infantry Regiment was one thousand men short of the standard of three thousand devils.

The Third Field Artillery Regiment and some miscellaneous soldiers were added to it.

The Sixth Infantry Regiment had a larger shortfall, and all the remaining engineer and logistics soldiers were added to the Sixth Infantry Regiment.

Looking at the devils under his command becoming plentiful again, Colonel Kuranaga Tatsuji did not allocate seven hundred and fifty soldiers to each of the four battalions.

He only gave each battalion an allocation of six hundred devils, leaving six hundred devils under his direct command at the regimental headquarters to serve as the regiment's reserve.

This was basic combat procedure. Battles without a reserve could only be occasional, and it was impossible to fight like that every time.

Colonel Ito Kaisen of the Sixty-eighth Regiment did the same.

But the airdrop made Okamura Neiji really embarrassed.

If it were on another battlefield, he would have sent aircraft to assist without Brigadier General Katayama Riichiro actively requesting it.

But Katayama Riichiro's Fifth Brigade was fighting against the Special Brigade, which made it difficult.

Because the area where the Special Brigade operated was a no-fly zone for devils' planes!