readytorunbook Chapter 490 Killing Brigade Commander Nakamura Masao
Chapter 490 Killing Brigade Commander Nakamura Masao
After the newly formed 22nd Division blocked the Japanese 21st Brigade for a day at the defensive position in Qitang, it took the initiative to retreat to Batang to block the troops of the Japanese 21st Brigade again. However, in order to allow the commander of the 21st Brigade, Major General Masao Nakamura, to move forward with peace of mind, Division Commander Qiu took great pains to order the troops to only expose half of their strength in Batang, making the Japanese army believe that the defensive forces could no longer hold on and that the casualties of the troops were also very heavy.
When Zheng Tingji, commander of the 3rd Regiment of the 1st Honor Division, which was responsible for the right-wing flanking attack, led his troops to the designated location, Fengzi Qiu of the New 22nd Division ordered his troops to retreat to Jiutang, the last line of defense. This was the last defensive position of the New 22nd Division, because after Jiutang was Kunlun Pass.
Major General Masao Nakamura, commander of the 21st Brigade, felt more at ease when he saw the troops in front of him passing through Batang quickly. Judging from the defensive performance of the Chinese army at Batang today, the Chinese army now does not even have half of its previous combat effectiveness. Even if they continue to block his troops at Jiutang, his troops will be able to break through the Chinese army's defense at Jiutang within a day and reinforce Kunlun Pass.
Colonel Yoshinosuke Miki, commander of the 21st Regiment at the Jieshou position at Kunlun Pass, also had a difficult day. The attack force of the Fifth Army launched a very fierce attack on the Jieshou position today. In particular, the artillery support of the attack force was something that Colonel Yoshinosuke Miki had never experienced before.
What is even more terrifying is that the Chinese army actually had quite a few heavy artillery pieces with a caliber of over 100 mm. Under these heavy attacks, the bunkers on the Jieshou position, which were originally quite solid, were destroyed one by one by the Chinese army's heavy artillery.
The regiment commander, Colonel Yoshinosuke Miki, had previously thought that they could hold out longer by relying on the bunkers and fortifications on the Jieshou position, but after a day of fighting, Colonel Yoshinosuke Miki had completely changed his mind.
Now the 21st Regiment has only more than 700 soldiers who can still participate in the battle at the Jieshou position, and more than half of the defensive bunkers have been destroyed by the heavy artillery of the Chinese army. According to the intensity of the Chinese army's attack, the 21st Regiment can only hold the Jieshou position for one to a day and a half at most, and then the 21st Regiment and the Jieshou position will be completely destroyed by the Chinese army.
However, there is still good news today. The brigade commander, Major General Masao Nakamura, just sent a telegram saying that the troops of the 21st Brigade have broken through the Chinese army's defense line in Batang, and will be able to launch an attack on the Chinese army's last line of defense in Jiutang tomorrow. According to the brigade commander's telegram, reinforcements will arrive at Kunlun Pass in at most one day, and this is also the last time for them to hold the Jieshou position.
At eight o'clock the next morning, the commander of the 21st Brigade, Major General Masao Nakamura, with a bandage on his head, personally came to the west side of Jiutang to command and supervise the battle. In order to enable the troops to break through the Chinese army's defense line in Jiutang as soon as possible today, the brigade commander, Major General Masao Nakamura, also summoned all the middle-level officers in the army to encourage everyone.
After all, the officers and soldiers who had been encouraged and cheered by him before broke through the Chinese army's solid defensive position in Liutang in one go. Now it has come to a very critical moment, and the brigade commander, Major General Masao Nakamura, also wants to replicate his previous good luck.
It has to be said that the commander of the 21st Brigade, Major General Masao Nakamura, was really lucky. When the brigade commander, Major General Masao Nakamura, summoned all the middle-level officers in the army to a meeting, Zheng Tingji, the commander of the 3rd Regiment of the 1st Honor Division, which was responsible for flanking operations, happened to come in person to meet the troops of the 1st Battalion of the 600th Regiment of the 200th Division who were transferred to his command, and prepared to take the troops of the 1st Battalion to the assembly point.
However, when the commander of the Third Regiment, Zheng Tingji, led the officers and soldiers of the First Battalion who had just arrived and were preparing to bypass the Japanese army that was attacking Jiutang from the mountains on the west side of Jiutang, he used a telescope to discover that a large number of Japanese officers were gathering for a meeting on a large flat grassland beside the road in Jiutang.
The commander of the Third Regiment, Zheng Tingji, felt that this was a rare opportunity, so he immediately ordered the First Battalion to gather all light and heavy machine guns and mortars to launch a fierce fire attack on the group of Japanese officers gathered on the side of the road. This would disrupt the Japanese central command system and reduce some pressure on the defense of the New 22nd Division in Jiutang.
After the officers and soldiers of the First Battalion took up firing positions on the hill, the commander of the Third Regiment, Zheng Tingji, gave an order. Suddenly, fierce light and heavy machine gun fire and a large number of mortar shells fell simultaneously into the meeting place of the 21st Brigade of the Japanese Army, which was in session. The commander of the 21st Brigade, Major General Masao Nakamura, was severely injured on the spot.
The commander of the Third Regiment, Zheng Tingji, commanded all the light and heavy weapons of the First Battalion to fire at the meeting place where Japanese officers gathered beside the road. When he saw that the Japanese troops in the distance had reacted in the initial chaos and rushed towards the hill where his troops were, he promptly ordered all the officers and soldiers of the First Battalion to retreat. After observing with a telescope, Zheng Tingji, the commander of the Third Regiment, found that his three-minute fire raid had killed and wounded at least fifty Japanese officers and soldiers. Since he had gained a great advantage and achieved his goal, he decided to retreat quickly. His main battlefield was not here, but in the subsequent battle to cut off the retreat of this Japanese army.
Of course, the commander of the 3rd Regiment, Zheng Tingji, did not know that his kind help would seriously injure the commander of the 21st Brigade, Major General Masao Nakamura, and half of the middle-level officers of the 21st Brigade would be killed on the spot. This could no longer be regarded as alleviating the defensive pressure of the newly formed 22nd Division in Jiutang. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he had crippled the 21st Brigade.
Because, when the brigade commander, Major General Masao Nakamura, was seriously injured by the sudden mortar attack, and so many mid-level officers were killed or injured, the attacking force of the 21st Infantry Brigade of the Japanese Army fell into chaos.
As a result, the 21st Brigade of the Japanese Army was unable to launch an attack on the defensive positions of the New 22nd Division in Jiutang that day. This made the officers and soldiers of the New 22nd Division who were waiting for the Japanese attack in Jiutang very puzzled. Even the division commander, Crazy Qiu, was at a loss.
The injuries of Major General Masao Nakamura, commander of the 21st Brigade, were very serious. Although he was sent to the field hospital for emergency treatment as soon as possible, his injuries were too severe. In the afternoon of the same day, his wounds became seriously infected, causing multiple organ failure and eventually death.
(Thanks to the gift support from Duke Wei who loves beef jerky, Lu Changping who likes green onions, and the crisscrossing Peng family! Thank you all for your support and encouragement!)