War of Resistance: Glory of the Beasts

Chapter 172 He gave me a decent way to live

"Return!"

"The devils are retreating!"

At the front line, when the remaining tanks and armored vehicles formed an inverted L-shaped team and retreated, in addition to the corpses left on the battlefield, they also took away a lot of Japanese soldiers.

The fire support provided by Xu Chaoyang's flanking firepower to Xiao Jieji prevented the Japanese from concentrating on organizing a frontal attack, and the minefields on the flanks made it impossible for the Japanese to approach and take the position in a short time. This resulted in the Japanese infantry in the center of the battlefield having to fight under crossfire, which was a situation that no commander would allow.

Once all the infantry rushing up are killed, the tanks and armored vehicles will be isolated and helpless. In this situation, it would be an unwise choice to face the selfless fighting of the Northeast Army in the trenches.

They had no choice but to retreat, otherwise the mechanized troops would have to face endless suicidal attacks in the foxholes. Even if they broke through the 'Dragon Teeth' formation, they could not afford the losses of large-scale damage to the mechanized troops.

But Xu Chaoyang frowned as he watched the retreating Japanese.

"Everyone, take all necessary equipment, abandon all burdens, and immediately rush to the artillery position to help the artillery retreat to Xiaojieji, quickly!!!"

He felt that the flank line he had built was finished. Not only the flank line was finished, but even the minefields around the line and the artillery positions on his side were in danger; even the foxholes and dragon tooth formations set up by Dao Wenbin were about to be completely destroyed by the artillery fire.

"Chaoyang!"

Chang Zhan came close to Xu Chaoyang. Before the joy of seeing the Japanese retreat had faded from his face, he came over and asked worriedly, "We just beat back the Japanese. Why are you retreating?"

"If you were a Japanese commander, what would you do when the guns were at a sufficient distance and the infantry and tanks could not attack in coordination?"

Before Chang Zhan could finish the sentence, "Blow the hell up...", he turned around and walked out, waving his whip: "Quick, everyone help the artillery move their positions!"

He knew why Xu Chaoyang was so anxious. If he was the Japanese commander, when there were plenty of artillery shells and they could not attack, he would never waste even a minute with his opponent. He would order the artillery to destroy all his artillery in anger!

Then, what is the use of the minefield on the flank? If the minefield is gone, can this flank still be saved?

No matter how well you dig the trenches and arrange the machine gun firing ranges, without the protection of mines and the cover of dragon teeth, what can you do when the mechanized troops push forward?

He could only abandon the flank front and let the soldiers help half of the artillery battalion move quickly!
In fact, it was not just this flank firepower, everything on the battlefield that the Japanese hated was almost within the scope of this Japanese bombing...

As long as the second large-scale artillery bombardment is launched, Dao Wenbin will actually no longer need to hold on to the small street.

The Haneda Regiment is not capable of delivering this kind of bombing firepower, and the front of the Eighth Division does not have this kind of firepower, unless the Eighth Division arrives.

"quick!"

All the soldiers of the first company rushed out of the trenches and ran quickly towards the artillery position. With the help of the first company, the entire cavalry platoon dismounted and used people and horses to push and pull to move all the artillery pieces in the artillery position. However, the speed of movement was still shockingly slow.

Xu Chaoyang couldn't wait any longer, so he grabbed a warhorse, left Yang Jingyu here to command, and rushed to the small street alone.

He needed to know the Fifth Military Region's next strategic deployment. For a company-level commander, even if Xu Chaoyang had already fully understood the battlefield in front of him, without sufficient information exchange, he would be like a deaf and blind person.

"drive!"

As he rode his horse and whipped the whip, Xu Chaoyang let the sandstorm from Inner Mongolia hit his body. He once again rushed into Xiaojieji as if he was heading from Qi City to Bingcheng through the wind and snow, and stopped his horse in front of the brigade office of Xiaojieji.

But at that moment, Dao Wenbin was not thinking about the battlefield with a frown behind the map. He sat on the steps in front of the door, holding a cigarette in his mouth, and looking up at the sky with his fingers yellowed by the cigarette.

"Sir!"

Xu Chaoyang rushed over directly after getting off his horse, but Dao Wenbin forced a smile at that second, but he said without any joy on his face: "You fought well."

He actually said that he played well...

"How much did we lose from the artillery bombardment and the coordinated attacks of the Japanese infantry and tanks?" Xu Chaoyang asked tentatively.

Dao Wenbin looked at him seriously and slowly extended a palm.

Xu Chaoyang's heart skipped a beat!
This is a force that cannot be replenished...it is Dao Wenbin’s last asset.

If Dao Wenbin's slap meant that half a regiment was lost in the artillery bombardment, how could we fight the rest of the battle?
Dao Wenbin then gave the answer: "This does not include the civilians who were killed or injured in the bombing in Xiaojieji."

Then Dao Wenbin's expression became more complicated, and he said: "But we achieved the best casualty ratio in the entire Tongliao battlefield at Xiaojieji. We achieved a 1:1 ratio with the Japanese through the coordination of flanking firepower and the front of the position!"

When Xu Chaoyang saw Dao Wenbin's appearance, it reminded him of the time when he was a kid and saw his classmate getting beaten up and bruised all over his face and then being called a "waste" by his parents. Then he retorted, "I called him a scumbag!"

"Just now..." Xu Chaoyang asked distressedly: "I didn't hear the gunfire from the front line."

“It was bombed.”

Dao Wenbin said lightly.

But after this sentence, the 1:1 casualty ratio will no longer have any meaning, because you won’t be able to fight the next battle!

"report!"

The scout rushed into the brigade headquarters and stood beside Dao Wenbin. He said excitedly, "The cavalry company has safely sent back half of the artillery battalion on the flank position. Now they have reached the outside of the small street."

Dao Wenbin quickly turned his head to look at Xu Chaoyang and asked loudly: "Did you save that half of the artillery battalion?"

Xu Chaoyang nodded. He had saved half of the artillery battalion, but the outcome of the battle was no longer decided by the artillery battalion.

Dao Wenbin stood up from the steps, still with his hands behind his back: "If everyone in my Northeast Army was like you, how dare the devils be so rampant!"

Xu Chaoyang, however, poured a basin of cold water on his head and said, "Retreat, as long as the green mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood."

When he said this, he was suddenly stunned.

Once, in countless patriotic movies, Xu Chaoyang hated this kind of people the most!
Such people often pour cold water on the critical moment of the war, and in the movie, the whole war situation will be completely reversed because of such people...

But now, Xu Chaoyang has become such a person and understands such people. Sometimes, even if the two sides are evenly matched in a battle, the outcome is actually already decided. Retreat is the only standard answer to preserve strength.

"Where can I retreat to?" Dao Wenbin did not blame Xu Chaoyang for disrupting his army's morale. He pointed to the south and said, "Shebotu is lost. The Haneda United is right above my head."

"If I step back, the Eighth Division in front of me will immediately rush over and attack Kailu together with the Haneda Regiment."

"Can that little broken city stop the Eighth Division?"

He smiled bitterly. Now the map of the entire Mengdong seemed to have been engraved in his mind and he could describe it clearly without even looking at it.

"Then where to retreat?"

"Return to the interior?"

He was not talking about a retreat, but a soldier's honor and disgrace.

Dao Wenbin led five regiments out of the interior with high spirits with the idea of ​​​​clearing the reputation of the Northeast Army. The attention he aroused in the battle of Tongliao was nationwide. How could he retreat at this time?

The Northeast Army has no way out. Does Dao Wenbin want to make things worse?
In addition, from a military perspective, as soon as Dao Wenbin retreats, the Japanese army will surely grab the trouser legs of the entire Fifth Military Region like a mad dog and start biting it. At that time, the low morale and defeated mood will lead to one defeat after another.

Dao Wenbin not only saw everything on the battlefield, he even saw everything after the retreat from Xiaojieji.

Let me ask you, as a soldier, how should he retreat?

But he will not retreat. Once the Haneda Corps launches a surprise attack on Kailu from Shebutu, it will be equivalent to blocking the entire Fifth Military Region's return route. At that time, it will be impossible for you to retreat.

"You go."

Dao Wenbin knew that the most important thing for a commander was to make decisions promptly, but at this critical moment of dilemma, who could make a choice quickly?

He is Dao Wenbin, he is Dao Wenbin who can enter Xiao Liuzi’s office!
He is not you, Xu Chaoyang, not an unknown nobody like you.

Xu Chaoyang once again felt the protection that history had given him when he was an unknown person. If he were Dao Wenbin, he might also be unable to make a decision at this moment.

"report!"

Outside the brigade headquarters, a scout jumped off his horse again, rushed in, stood beside Xu Chaoyang and Dao Wenbin and said, "Report, Li Haidan and Liu Zhenyu have entered Tongliao!"

At this second, Dao Wenbin and Xu Chaoyang both looked over with hope.

"After the Mongolian cavalry entered Tongliao, they cut through the barbed wire on the wall of Ma Daoyin's mansion with their swords, climbed into Ma Daoyin's mansion and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy, killing countless Japanese soldiers. The shouts of killing in Tongliao city shook the sky!"

Dao Wenbin took a step forward like a gambler who saw hope, and got closer to the scout; while Xu Chaoyang took a step back, the two of them formed a sharp contrast.

"Later, a large number of Japanese reinforcements arrived. Li Haidan and Liu Zhenyu's troops were unable to resist and had to withdraw from Tongliao..."

At that moment, Dao Wenbin, who had already taken a step forward, looked back at Xu Chaoyang. Although there was a flat ground in the courtyard behind him, it was a cliff to him. As long as he dared to cross it, the Northeast Army, which had no reputation left, would be drowned in the spit of people all over the country. When Xu Chaoyang raised his head and looked at Dao Wenbin, it was as if he and Dao Wenbin were looking at each other across a cliff. There was a battlefield in front of him where it was difficult to advance an inch, but behind him, there was a smooth road.

"Give me the order!"

"Order the cavalry to enter the pass and urge the delivery of strategic materials as soon as possible in preparation for the Fifth Military Region's decisive battle with the Japanese army..."

Dao Wenbin's words gave Xu Chaoyang a way to withdraw from the battlefield with dignity. At this moment, Dao Wenbin really showed his determination to die. Seeing this moment, Xu Chaoyang was controlled by his emotions and rushed into the house. He picked up paper and pen and kept drawing on the table.

He just wanted to reduce the number of casualties among the soldiers of the Fifth Military Region, so he drew the "double-position U-shaped trench" which had the best anti-artillery effect;
He just wanted this group of Northeastern troops to kill more Japanese soldiers, so he drew the "U-shaped trench firing range" that he was familiar with on paper;
But as he was drawing, his vision began to blur. Dao Wenbin had all these things on his desk. Although they were not as specific as what he drew, they were generally similar.

The generals in this land are not all useless, and much of what Xu Chaoyang knows is knowledge that has been used on the battlefields of World War I and is still in use today, but with slight modifications.

At that moment, a big hand rested on his shoulder...

"That's enough. You are not my man, Dao Wenbin, so there is no need for you to live and die with me. "

"With your understanding of the Japanese, your spirit and military achievements on the battlefield, go back to the frontier and become a higher official."

Dao Wenbin leaned closer and said, "Remember, being an official is not for getting rich. It's only when you have enough people under your control..." He picked up the paper that Xu Chaoyang was writing on and said, "You can only use these main shooting ranges, secondary shooting ranges, and cross shooting ranges."

"If it's any later, I, Dao Wenbin, won't be able to send you away even if I want to..."

Xu Chaoyang heard nothing of these words. All he heard was an old saying, which read: "When a man is about to die, his words are good."

(End of this chapter)