Quartermasters can also fight the devils

Major Hisatada Oshima of the Second Battalion and all the officers and soldiers of the Second Battalion were stunned by the huge explosion. Everyone stood still and looked at the position not far away as if they were under a spell.

The shock in Major Hisatada Oshima's heart was simply indescribable. He suddenly felt a sense of fear and dread. If his Second Battalion was responsible for the first attack today, he would probably be flying in the sky now.

"Hurry, Major Hisatada Oshima, take all the people from the second battalion to the battlefield to rescue the wounded. I will be there right away with the medical team." Chief of Staff Lieutenant Colonel Sato Hideaki shouted loudly to Major Hisatada Oshima who was in a daze while running towards the medical team.

After hearing the loud shouts of Lieutenant Colonel Sato Hideaki, Chief of Staff, Major Hisatada Oshima was also startled and shouted to all the officers and soldiers: "Quick, come with me to the battlefield, bring me stretchers, hurry up, everyone get on."

The officers and soldiers of the 210st Regiment of the Japanese Army were busy until after : p.m., when they finally cleaned up the garrison positions of the former New th Division that were affected by the explosion.

The commander of the 41st Regiment, Colonel Kan'ichi Okabe, did not wait in the regiment's camp. He brought his men to the position in person. Colonel Kan'ichi Okabe's face was so dark that it was scary. He looked at the big pits formed by the explosion on the position, blaming himself and cursing the troops of the New 22nd Army in his heart.

"Your Excellency the commander, the rescue work of the Third Battalion has been basically completed. I asked Major Hisatada Oshima of the Second Battalion to send a search team towards Shunde City. I hope that the New 22nd Army of the Chinese government has already evacuated from Shunde." Chief of Staff Lieutenant Colonel Sato Hideaki came to the commander of the regiment, Colonel Okabe Kan'ichi, with a tired face and briefly explained the situation.

The regiment commander, Colonel Kan'ichi Okabe, understood why the chief of staff, Lieutenant Colonel Hideaki Sato, wanted the Chinese government's New 22nd Army to withdraw from Shunde City. Because if the Chinese government's New 22nd Army withdrew from Shunde City, then even if his 41st Regiment occupied Shunde City on time, he could explain it to his superiors. It was just that the losses were a bit too great. However, he could just add some exaggeration in the battle report to fool the higher-ups.

But if the New 132nd Army of the Chinese government did not withdraw from Shunde City, then they would be in big trouble, because relying on the current st Regiment's few officers and soldiers, it would be impossible to seize Shunde City from the powerful New nd Army of the Chinese government. The only way was for the commander of the nd Brigade, Major General Goto Juro, to send the nd Regiment behind to attack.

But if that happened, he would be bringing shame to the Fifth Division. Not only had the troops suffered heavy losses, but the combat objectives had not been achieved. He didn't even dare to send the battle report.

"Mr. Sato, how is the situation of the 3rd Battalion? It's okay. I have calmed down a lot now. I can accept any result." The commander of the regiment, Colonel Kanichi Okabe, looked at the officers and soldiers who were still busy on the battlefield in front and asked the chief of staff, Lieutenant Colonel Sato Hideaki beside him.

The Chief of Staff, Lieutenant Colonel Sato Hideaki, glanced at Colonel Okabe Kanichi, the commander of the regiment, who was looking straight ahead, and then whispered, "Your Excellency, the commander of the 3rd Battalion, Major Katsuo Toriumi, has died. There are a total of 450 officers and soldiers in the entire battalion still alive, including 89 seriously injured. The rest are injured and need to rest for a long time. It can be said that the 3rd Battalion is basically gone."

There was no change in the expression of the regiment commander, Colonel Okabe Kan'ichi. He had already made the worst-case plan. Now it depended on whether there were Chinese troops defending Shunde City. Colonel Okabe Kan'ichi thought that he should wait for news from the scouts in Shunde City before sending a battle report to his superiors. Now he was just waiting for news from the front.

"Your Excellency the Regiment Commander, Your Excellency the Chief of Staff, the reconnaissance personnel I sent out reported back that the Chinese army did not defend Shunde City." Major Hisatada Oshima quickly walked to the captain, Colonel Kan'ichi Okabe, and Chief of Staff, Lieutenant Colonel Hideaki Sato, and reported.

Hearing that the Chinese government's new 22nd Army did not defend Shunde City, Colonel Okabe Kan'ichi and Lieutenant Colonel Sato Hideaki both breathed a sigh of relief. They felt a little relieved now. As long as the mission was completed, everything else would be easy to handle.

"Mr. Sato, send a telegram to Major General Goto Juro, commander of the 132nd Brigade. After more than a day of hard fighting, all the officers and soldiers of the st Regiment successfully defeated the defense of the New nd Army of the Chinese Government in Shunde City and caused serious losses to the New nd Army of the Chinese Government. However, our officers and soldiers also suffered heavy losses. In order to complete the combat plan formulated by the headquarters before the war, please transfer the nd Regiment to take over our attack." Colonel Okabe Kan'ichi turned his head and said to Lieutenant Colonel Sato Hideaki.

At this moment, the commander of the Second Battalion, Major Hisatada Oshima, also understood that what the commander of the regiment, Colonel Kan'ichi Okabe said was also for him to hear. This was also to let him keep his words consistent in the future and not let others know the truth of the matter.

Chief of Staff Lieutenant Colonel Sato Hideaki also recorded the order of the regiment commander Colonel Okabe Kan'ichi, and then he looked at Major Oshima Hisatada of the Second Battalion who was looking down at the Chinese soil beside him. He knew that Major Oshima Hisatada also understood the true meaning of the regiment commander's words.

After the commander of the 132nd Brigade of the Japanese Army, Major General Goto Juro, and the chief of staff, Colonel Kawakami Mamoru, read the telegram sent by the st Regiment, Major General Goto Juro threw the telegram on the table contemptuously and said, "Kawakami-kun, what do you think of this telegram from the st Regiment?"

After hearing the question from Major General Goto Juro, the brigade commander, Chief of Staff Kawakami Mamoru said with a smile: "This telegram from the 41st Regiment may be useful to fool the staff of the 21st Army Headquarters, but for us, it is simply a waste of time and has no meaning at all. In my opinion, it is obvious that the 41st Regiment suffered a great loss at the hands of the New 22nd Army of the Chinese Government, and the New 22nd Army of the Chinese Government itself was only engaged in a defensive operation mainly to delay time. It is estimated that the New 22nd Army of the Chinese Government took the initiative to retreat, which allowed the 41st Regiment to successfully occupy Shunde."

After listening to the explanation of the Chief of Staff, Colonel Kawakami Mamoru, the brigade commander, Major General Goto Juro, also smiled and said, "Kawakami-kun, I think the situation is as you analyzed. We have fought against the troops of the New 22nd Army of the Chinese government. Their defensive combat power is extremely strong. If the 41st Regiment can defeat the defensive positions of the New 22nd Army of the Chinese government in more than a day, it seems impossible to me. Moreover, according to the character of the arrogant guys in the 5th Division, they will definitely not send such a telegram to actively request other troops to take over their attack unless they are forced into a desperate situation. It seems that the losses of the 41st Regiment must be very huge."

The Chief of Staff, Colonel Kawakami Mamoru, also nodded, and then he asked, "Then, Your Excellency, Brigade Commander, should we dispatch the 42nd Regiment to take over the attack from the 41st Regiment?"

"Of course we have to send the 42nd Regiment to attack. We must carry out the tasks assigned by the headquarters. Moreover, it will be beneficial for us to let the troops of the Fifth Division fight against the New 22nd Army of the Chinese government. Look, isn't the 41st Regiment setting a good example now? Haha." The brigade commander, Major General Goto Juro, is in a very good mood now. Now when he makes a summary after the war, he will have the help of the Fifth Division.

After taking a sip of water, Major General Goto Juro ordered the Chief of Staff Colonel Kawakami Mamoru, "Kawakami-kun, send a telegram to the 21st Army Headquarters to tell them that we have successfully occupied Shunde. Most of the other troops of the 5th Division have already landed. They are probably anxious to make a detour. We can't spoil the interest of the 5th Division. As for the battle report from Shunde City, write it according to the telegram sent by the 41st Regiment. Don't change a single word."

Chief of Staff Colonel Mamoru Kawakami understood very well what the brigade commander, Major General Goto Juro, was thinking, but doing so would be beneficial to the entire 104th Division, and he personally agreed with it.

When the 132st Army Headquarters received the news that the nd Brigade had successfully captured Shunde, everyone was happy. Although Shunde City was captured on the last day of the combat plan formulated before the war, it didn't matter because part of the th Division's troops that were making a detour had not yet completed their landing, so the timing was still suitable.

The only thing that worries everyone is that the 132st Regiment suffered heavy losses after a hard battle. It can be said that the st Regiment will not be assigned any combat tasks in the future and can only do city garrison work. In this case, the nd Brigade nominally has three regiments of troops, but in fact, only the nd Regiment still has the ability to conduct offensive operations, and the other two regiments have been crippled by the New nd Army of the Chinese government.

"Your Excellency the Commander, isn't this a bit weak in the face of a frontal attack? The New 22nd Army of the Chinese government is really hard to defeat. I don't think it will be easy to break through the last defensive position of the New 22nd Army of the Chinese government in the South China Sea relying solely on the 42nd Regiment. That is the last line of defense of the Chinese army, and the defensive strength and determination are stronger than the previous ones." Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Tanaka Hisaichi did not show any joy. Instead, he became worried as he looked at the map.

Like the Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Tanaka Hisaichi, the commander of the 132st Army, Lieutenant General Furusho Kan'o, had no happy expression at all. What he was concerned about now was that the commander of the nd Brigade, Major General Goto Juro, mentioned in the telegram that the st Regiment had inflicted heavy damage on the New nd Army of the Chinese government. This was the key to whether Shunde could be successfully occupied later.