Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 184 Retreat is Difficult

Through Kotobuki's binoculars, the tactics of the Chinese army were simply insane.

One after another, 20mm high-explosive (HE) or high-explosive incendiary (HEI) bombs exploded on the mountainside.

The shells no longer left small craters like machine gun bullets, but instead exploded into clusters of death flowers, a mixture of fire, black smoke, and mud.

Every Japanese soldier hit by a bullet was accompanied by a horrific scene of limbs being torn apart and dirt and rocks flying everywhere.

Whether the bullets exploded upon impact or formed fragmentation storms in the air, they inflicted fatal damage on Japanese soldiers.

The hail-like barrage of bullets was like an invisible and enormous flaming scythe, tearing, breaking, and shattering the yellowish-brown waves wherever it passed! The dense charging formation was instantly riddled with holes, and screams were drowned out by the continuous roar of artillery.

"We can't keep fighting like this." Li Dengxing felt a pang of heartache watching the soldiers advance inch by inch under heavy artillery fire. Those were the elite of the 77th Regiment.

How can he not feel sorry for these soldiers struggling like cheap ants under the fire of the Chinese army?
He told his chief of staff: "Immediately order the bugle to sound and begin the retreat... retreat..."

For someone known for his composure, the fact that he said "turn forward" twice in a row shows just how anxious he was.

The chief of staff hesitated for a moment and asked, "Commander, shouldn't we consult with the brigade commander?"

"No need to ask for instructions. I'll take responsibility for any problems," Li Dengxing said firmly.

"Hai!" Seeing that his own regimental commander had already put it this way, what else could the chief of staff say? He quickly ordered the communications soldier to sound the horn.

Soon, mournful bugle calls rang out on the battlefield. The soldiers of the 77th Regiment, who were struggling to advance under artillery fire, were stunned for a moment when they heard the retreat bugle call. They then quickly began to retreat in shifts as if granted a pardon.

But as the old saying goes, it's easy to advance but hard to retreat. How could Su Yaoyang, who had a clear view from halfway up the mountain, let the Japanese army retreat so easily?

He immediately ordered all artillery to begin shelling from the mountainside to the foot of the mountain. In an instant, various artillery pieces, including 60mm mortars, 107mm heavy artillery, and M2 75mm howitzers, began to bombard the Japanese troops, and the entire valley was filled with smoke and dust.

After the 77th Regiment had all withdrawn, Li Dengxing almost fainted from anger after counting the number of people.

"Casualties... 1,267 casualties?"

"Yes," the chief of staff replied in a low voice, barely suppressing his shock.

The 77th Regiment was a standard infantry regiment, with a full complement of 3820 men.

Before launching the attack today, their unit, while not at full strength, still numbered around 3,300. Now, in just half a day, they have lost 1,267 men.

In other words, only a little over two thousand men in the 77th Regiment are still capable of fighting.

Such a loss can only be described as crippling.

"By the way, how is the 78th Regiment doing now?" Kotoko suddenly remembered something and quickly asked his chief of staff.

"Commander, right after you ordered the retreat, Colonel Tsuneo Kobayashi also ordered the retreat to begin."

"That's good." Li Dengxing breathed a long sigh of relief. As the old saying goes, the law does not punish the masses. Since Kobayashi Tsuneo has made the same choice as him, even if he is punished, it will be lighter. At least he has someone with him.

"Commander, Brigade Commander Takagi requests your presence at the brigade headquarters!" The communications officer quickly relayed the order from the brigade commander.

With the withdrawal of the two infantry regiments, the offensive of the 39th Brigade came to a complete halt. Koichi Koto and Tsuneo Kobayashi happened to meet in front of the brigade's command post.

The two looked at each other and saw the bitterness in each other's eyes.

Neither of them spoke, and they silently walked in one after the other.

Upon entering, the two immediately felt the oppressive atmosphere of the command post.

Although all the staff officers were busy, the entire command post was eerily silent except for the beeping of the radio transmitter.

Brigade Commander Yoshito Takagi stood quietly in front of the sand table, staring at it without saying a word, his tense face appearing particularly serious.

The two approached Takagi Yoshito, saluted, and loudly proclaimed, "Brigade Commander, Kobayashi Tsuneo (Kotobuki Koichi) has come to report for duty."

Takagi Yoshito was silent for a moment before finally raising his head to look at them. His sharp eyes were fixed on the two of them as he slowly said, "Koi-kun, Kobayashi-kun, do you two have anything to say?"

The two men immediately tensed up, knowing that if they gave the wrong answer, the military police might very well be the ones coming in.

But they also knew that any attempt to justify themselves at this point would be pointless and would only invite ridicule.

Li Dengxing shook his head and said, "Brigade Commander, I have nothing to say. It was I who ordered the troops to cease their attack."

Takagi Yoshito stared intently at him: "Do you know the consequences of ordering a troop retreat without my permission?"

“I know!” Li Dengxingyi said frankly, “Article 35 of the Army Criminal Code stipulates that the crime of disobeying orders in front of the enemy... is punishable by death.”

"Knowing that you still dared to retreat without authorization?" Takagi Yoshito was furious. "Do you know that because of your unauthorized retreat, the 39th Brigade's decades of honor has been ruined in your hands? Can you bear such consequences?"
Once this news reaches your homeland, your family will be disgraced!

The Japanese army imposed extremely severe penalties on unauthorized retreats, with consequences far exceeding the scope of general military discipline.

There are generally five methods: the first is execution by firing squad on the spot, the second is trial by a military court.

The third is systemic humiliation and guilt by association, such as depriving military families of their pensions and hanging signs at their homes in the country that read "Home of a Non-Citizen" (Home of a Traitor), which constitutes social death.

The fourth is forced suicide (a form of suicide), which is being ordered to disembowel oneself.

The fifth case is an extreme one, also known as medical experimentation punishment or forced labor to death.

For example, Unit 731 of the Kwantung Army once received "disobedient soldiers" under the guise of treating their wounds, but in reality they were used for live experiments (as confirmed by declassified archives).

The Japanese government and military leadership attempted to use such brutal methods to intimidate or suppress disobedience and unauthorized retreats by lower-ranking officers and soldiers.

Faced with Takagi Yoshito's furious outburst, Koi Tokiyuki was mentally prepared. He calmly said, "Brigade Commander, I have said that I will take full responsibility for my actions."

I only hope you will allow me to commit suicide with this Bushido sword in my hand, to give me a final moment of dignity.

“Brigade Commander, the same goes for me,” Kobayashi Tsuneo stepped forward and said.

(End of this chapter)