Chapter 115 The Plight of the Hino Harada Battalion

The Hino Harada Battalion, having already received orders to withdraw from Xinye, was now in a very awkward situation: its forces to the west and south of Xinye were both entangled by the Special Operations Brigade.

The only troops capable of retreating were the infantry company serving as the reserve, along with the supply, engineering, and communication units.

The battalion commander, Hino Harada, felt somewhat unwilling to bring back only one company, the most important combat force in the entire battalion.

The supply and engineering units, which had little combat capability, had already received orders to retreat first.

Battalion Commander Hino Harada kept calling to inquire about the combat situation at the front lines, hoping for good news.

He hoped to hear that the attacking forces had slowed down, even just a little, so he could withdraw his troops.

The Special Operations Brigade's offensive never ceased from the beginning. This forced Battalion Commander Hino to order: "A small team from the front line will stay behind as a rearguard, and the rest of the troops will immediately retreat from the east of the city toward Nanyang."

That was what hot-blooded students dreamed of. For such an ideal, he had voluntarily enlisted in the Japanese army.

Although the battles in the past few days had not been as good as he had imagined, they had been winning victories all along, and they could rush into the villages they passed by to show off their power.

Grabbing a few women and burning a few houses would not be investigated, which greatly satisfied Oto Kiritani's psychology.

But today was different. The battle had just begun, and people were dying all over the defensive line.

He himself had injured an arm. Ordinarily, such a minor injury would allow him to retreat with the main force, as it didn't affect his ability to walk.

This was different from Squad Leader Sato's injury, who needed two Japanese soldiers to carry him in order to retreat. For some reason, Company Commander Morita had left Oto Kiritani behind.

Knowing that he couldn't retreat, Oto Kiritani understood that he was going to die here today.

He had planned so much, but he had never planned to die on the battlefield so young.

He hadn't expected to die on the battlefield so soon, he was still young!

Lin Fan received Zhu Qingmao's report, learning that the Japanese troops were retreating along the Baihe River towards Nanyang.

He immediately ordered Su Ruifeng's Eighth Regiment to dispatch five infantry companies to pursue the fleeing Japanese soldiers.

At the same time, he ordered the Sixth and Seventh Regiments to speed up their attack and defeat the stubborn Japanese soldiers as soon as possible. After capturing Xinye, the Seventh Regiment would cooperate with the Eighth Regiment to pursue and kill the Japanese soldiers, while the Sixth Regiment would clean up the battlefield.

At this time, the Japanese soldiers of the Hino Harada Battalion were withdrawing their effective forces from each defensive line. All the Japanese soldiers who could run left their heavy weapons behind and retreated with the company commander.

The remaining Japanese soldiers were no longer as high-spirited as they had been at the start of the battle. They were now filled with resentment.

Their combat power had declined by more than one level, while the attacking forces became more and more courageous. New recruits like Lu Bohong had matured.

They charged into Xinye at the same time that Squad Leader Sato died. He had heard about the Special Operations Brigade's style of fighting. Seeing that the defensive line could not be held, he immediately shot himself.

His action stunned Private First Class Oto Kiritani beside him. He never imagined that a squad leader would commit suicide on the battlefield.

Even if he failed, couldn't he become a prisoner of war? Although it wouldn't sound good, at least he could survive.

Company Commander Morita had asked them to stay behind because they were wounded and could receive treatment, right?

He had already thrown his gun far away, and he had no weapons on him.

He just sat on the ground in a daze, seeing a group of soldiers rushing up. Before he could say anything, a bayonet had been thrust into his chest, and he felt his heart break.

The soldier who stabbed him didn't stop there. He added another stab to the throat. Private First Class Oto Kiritani, unable to inhale a breath of fresh air no matter how hard he tried to cover his throat with his hands, finally understood that he was too young and didn't know that dying like Squad Leader Sato was also a kind of happiness.

The world's fortune and misfortune are relative. Whether fortunate or unfortunate, Oto Kiritani struggled for a while before dying.

According to the brigade commander's orders, the Seventh and Eighth Regiments continued to pursue and kill the fleeing Japanese soldiers, while the Sixth Regiment cleaned up the battlefield.

If they could find a strong Nationalist army to cooperate, they could really annihilate the Japanese 18th Regiment.

The only teams that could be called strong were Zhang Zizhong's 59th Army and Tang Enbo's 31st Army Group.

Without hesitation or choice, Li Zongren decided, "Get General Zhang on the phone."

Li Zongren was only a local warlord. Even as the commander of the Fifth War Area, he often could not command Tang Enbo's 31st Army Group.

This was not only because the 31st Army Group was a direct descendant of the Central Army, but also because Tang Enbo's combat thinking was different from Li Zongren's.

Commander Tang never let the hawk out of his hand until he saw the rabbit. He would not risk his main force to fight desperately unless he was 80 or 90 percent sure of victory.

This often delayed his team's chances, but his main force did not suffer significant losses, and he also implemented Chiang Kai-shek's operational guidelines, so he was never punished for this kind of thing.

"Better a dead friend than a dead me!" This was Tang Enbo's most typical personality.

However, his team was the strongest in the Nationalist army. This time, his team was specially transferred from the south bank of the Yangtze River for the April Offensive.

However, the 31st Army Group had not yet begun to act when it was targeted by the Japanese. Tang Enbo was also unambiguous and retreated immediately.

Zhang Zizhong was different. He was originally the commander of the 37th Division of the 29th Army. He misjudged the situation in the July 7th Incident and the Battle of Beiping-Tianjin.

Or perhaps he harbored some selfish motives, squeezing out his old superior, Song Zheyuan, the commander of the 29th Army, and chose to negotiate with the Japanese, hoping to make some concessions to stop the war.

But the Japanese appetite was something he could not satisfy at all, and he could only escape from Beiping in disgrace. With such a blemish, he had personally led the front lines in every battle since the start of the war, completing the tasks assigned to him with diligence and dedication.

Today, he received a call from Li Zongren, hearing that the Special Operations Brigade had defeated a Japanese battalion in Xinye and was pursuing them along the Baihe River.

At the same time, Nanyang was also occupied by the Fifth War Area.

The Japanese 18th Infantry Regiment was marching towards Xinye, and now this force was within the encirclement of the Fifth War Area.

The headquarters decided to encircle and annihilate this force around Luying Town. There were already three regiments of the Special Operations Brigade in the south, and a strong force was needed in the north to stop the Japanese from escaping.

Zhang Zizhong immediately checked the map and quickly replied, "The 59th Army is nearby, seventy *li* from Luying Town.

If possible, I will personally lead the 59th Army to go there."

Having obtained Zhang Zizhong's consent, Li Zongren then sent a telegram to Lin Fan, explaining the situation.

Lin Fan had no objections to this plan at all. He was all for it.

The plan was decided. The 59th Army was under the command of the 38th Division, the 180th Division, and the 13th Cavalry Brigade. This was Zhang Zizhong's foundation.

Upon receiving the subsequent operational plan, he immediately ordered the entire army to take action, ordering his team to march sixty *li* overnight to reach Mazhuang and Zhangzhuang.

At this time, Regiment Commander Ishii Kaho did not know that a plan to encircle and annihilate him was being implemented, but even if he knew the plan, he would not care.

For the Japanese, they were often surrounded on all sides by the Nationalist army, and then they could always break through easily.

What he was most concerned about now was whether the Hino Harada Battalion had withdrawn from Xinye and how many Japanese soldiers they could withdraw.

Regiment Commander Ishii Kaho also understood the Special Operations Brigade's style of combat very well: they would not let go of a single Japanese soldier who had been targeted by them.

While the regiment commander was concerned, Battalion Commander Hino Harada did not receive any news. At this time, he was eagerly waiting for the darkness to come, for the sky to darken quickly.

The Special Operations Brigade launched their offensive at six o'clock in the afternoon, but the sky was still not dark, which gave the planes in the air a sight distance that was not very good, but still able to barely spot these Japanese soldiers on the ground.

They had finally escaped from Xinye, only to be strafed by these planes. Initially, the planes strafing overhead were fighters.

Before long, they became double-engine ground attack aircraft, which were equipped with four machine guns and flew at a slow speed.

Being chased and beaten by them was really uncomfortable.

The supply and engineering units that had retreated out of the city first had now completely collapsed.

These Japanese soldiers had no choice but to disperse, otherwise, they would suffer even more severe blows.

At dusk, the sky was a little dark, and it was not easy for one or two Japanese soldiers quietly moving in the mountains and forests to attract the attention of the planes overhead.

If there were more than a dozen Japanese soldiers walking together, they would definitely not escape if they were discovered.

Not to mention the livestock pulling carts in the supply unit, in order to escape.

The Japanese soldiers of the supply unit had abandoned all the livestock.

But even so, they were still subjected to heavy strafing by the planes. Not only that, but the infantry company retreating behind them did not fare any better.