Anti-Japanese War, weapons designer at Fengtian Arsenal

"If I can't punish the Punishment Army, I can't punish you either!"

Duomen Jiro shouted like this. He felt that if he couldn't take down the high ground of the Punishment Army, it would be the same to repel the Northeast Army. When the time comes, he will report the record of defeating the Northeast Army and add some Spring and Autumn style writing about the loss of the heavy artillery. Wouldn't this hurdle be overcome?

Under the guidance of this idea, the Japanese began to plan to cross the river. First, they had to do some written work, still the same old routine, either soldiers were lost or the railway was broken and needed to be repaired. Because a lot of soldiers had been lost on the Punishment Army Heights, this time the Japanese chose the excuse of repairing the railway.

A Japanese squad led by a captain walked onto the Nenjiang Bridge. At the end of the bridge was the position of the Northeast Army. The Northeast Army had built simple fortifications on the bridge with sandbags and set up a Maxim heavy machine gun behind the fortifications. More than 30 Northeast Army soldiers were guarding the bridge.

The Japanese captain led his men to about 100 meters in front of the Northeast Army's machine gun, and then received a warning from the Northeast Army soldiers.

"Stop, I'll shoot if you get any closer!"

The Northeast Army soldiers pointed their guns at this group of devils. There was no cover on the bridge, so if they wanted to, they could kill this squad of devils in an instant.

The Japanese captain swallowed his saliva. He bet that the Northeast Army on the opposite side would not dare to open fire. The cowardly Chinese were afraid of war and had a fluke mentality about war, so they kept giving in. He hoped that these Chinese in front of him were also cowards, so that he could rush over and seize the bridgehead, providing a foothold for the attacking troops behind.

"We are soldiers of the Empire of Japan! The Tao-Ang Railway is our country's property and is now severely damaged. Our army wants to cross the bridge to repair the railway. Please get out of the way!"

The Northeast Army soldiers looked at the "railway" that was dug up by the Punishment Army, leaving only rubble and not even sleepers. They fell into deep thought. According to the scout cavalry, the Punishment Army has been digging up the railway these days. Starting from the Nenjiang Bridge, more than 10 kilometers of railway have been dug up. Don't you have plenty of space to build a railway? Why do you have to run to the other side?

The Northeast Army soldiers murmured in refusal.

"The area ahead is our military exercise area. You can't enter. As for the railway repair, those behind you will take several months to complete. The other side of the bridge is protected by our army. The railway is intact, so you won't have to worry about it."

Seeing that his words did not scare the other party, the Japanese captain continued: "The railway of our Great Japanese Empire has been destroyed. We need to cross the river to investigate! Get out of the way quickly! Otherwise, you are shielding criminals! You are trying to provoke disputes! You are the enemy of our Great Japanese Empire!"

The Northeast Army soldiers were silent for another while, and then one sentence broke the Japanese defense.

"The people who are destroying the railway are on the high ground opposite. They are shouting with a loud speaker that they want to plant the high ground that your ancestors eight times their size have. I saw with my own eyes that they used a bulldozer to destroy your railway. Go find them."

The Japanese captain was completely enraged, and he shouted "Baga!" and ordered his men to charge and try to take the bridgehead. He was betting that the other side would not dare to shoot and escalate the situation.

But he made a wrong bet. The moment he ordered the charge, the Maxim gun on the opposite side opened fire. The bridgehead was instantly covered by machine gun fire. There was no place to hide on the bridge. A dozen Japanese soldiers fell down before they could even hold out for 10 seconds.

The Japanese captain's abdomen was hit by heavy bullets continuously, and a big hole was punched in his stomach. His intestines all flowed out. He crawled on the ground and wailed madly. At this time, in addition to pain, he was also horrified. How dare the Northeast Army shoot directly! ?

As he was dying from excessive blood loss, he heard the words of the machine gunner on the opposite machine gun position.

"I received orders to shoot the devils as soon as we see them. If I hadn't thought you were here to negotiate, I would have killed you long ago!"

The Northeastern Army took the initiative to open fire and caught the Japanese off guard. Jiro Domon was very angry. The Northeastern Army, which was supposed to be cowardly, also became tough, which made him feel confused. He immediately roared and launched the arrangements made in advance and began to attack the Nenjiang Bridge.

The Japanese artillery bombarded the Northeast Army's positions across the Nenjiang River. Three tanks drove onto the bridge and destroyed the machine gun positions on the opposite side of the bridge in a few hits. The Japanese soldiers began to force a crossing. They threw the rafts that had been prepared long ago into the river and rushed towards the opposite bank while shooting.

The Japanese attack was extremely fierce, the artillery fire never stopped, and heavy machine guns were pulled directly to the side to carry out suppressive fire. The Japanese soldiers took out all the frustration they had accumulated on the Punishment Army on the Northeast Army.

Seven bombers flew low, and a large number of bombs fell on the Northeast Army’s positions, blowing up handfuls of soil.

"assault!!"

A Japanese captain at the bridge head shouted and led his soldiers across the bridge under the cover of tanks and armored vehicles and successfully ran to the Northeast Army's position.

When the Japanese frontline commander Noguchi Ikki saw that the Northeast Army's position had been taken, he was overjoyed and immediately ordered the officers around him: "Follow-up troops cross the bridge! Set up a bridgehead! Seize the enemy's position!"

Some of the soldiers under Noguchi Ikki were killed by the mortars of the Punishment Army, but the organization was intact and had the strongest combat effectiveness, so Jiro Tamon gave him the main attack mission.

In order to increase the combat effectiveness of Noguchi Ikki's troops, Jiro Togata also put more than 1000 task forces under his command, expanding the number of Noguchi Ikki's troops to 4000.

Noguchi Ikki believed that this was a sign of his superiors' appreciation of him, and he must seize the opportunity to contribute to his military career. When he saw that the Northeastern Army's positions were showing signs of instability under the artillery fire, he immediately went all in and pushed a combat force of more than 4000 people to the north bank of the river, determined to defeat the Northeastern Army in one fell swoop!

"The front troops continue to attack the Northeast Army's positions. The follow-up troops quickly follow up. The artillery and heavy machine guns should not stop. Clean up the Northeast Army!"

Noguchi Ikki's face flushed with excitement. Orders were issued one after another from the command post. At this time, a staff officer said with some concern: "Sir, so many troops must cross the river by bridge, but the Nenjiang Bridge is within the artillery range of the Punitive Army. If the Punishment Army fires artillery when the soldiers are crossing the river..."

"Don't worry about this. Just give the order and send all the troops to the north bank. You have to do it quickly!"

It seems that Ono Ikki ignored the artillery fire of the Punishment Army, but before launching this operation, they carried out a wave of operations against the Punishment Army.

Jiro Tamon's staff analyzed that it would be unlikely to capture the Punishment Army Hill before having larger caliber heavy artillery. The location of the Punishment Army Hill was very important. The artillery could control the Nenjiang Bridge, which would make the troops attacking the Northeast Army attacked from both sides.

Jiro Tamon doesn't have much time left. If he doesn't want to be impeached, he must gain sufficient merit on the battlefield to cover up the mistake of losing the heavy artillery.

When he didn't know what to do, a staff officer in charge of intelligence suggested that they could use a psychological warfare strategy against the punitive troops.

The punitive army claimed to be from the civilian population and was not under the jurisdiction of the Nationalist government. The people of the Nationalist government had ill intentions towards the punitive army.

Intelligence agencies analyzed that the Punitive Army, an army that does not belong to any political force, is very dangerous in the eyes of the Nationalist government. It is easier for an army without any force to become any force. As long as it is won over by a warlord, the Punitive Army is likely to become a running dog of the warlord.

What's more, the Punitive Army now has a great reputation among the people of the Republic of China. Various newspapers, large and small, keep printing news about the Punitive Army. Such a strong public opinion makes the government of the Republic of China feel uneasy, and it feels that a new warlord is about to rise.

The Japanese intelligence staff also found several orders issued by the Nationalist government. These were confidential intelligence provided by agents and traitors hidden in the Nationalist government. One of them ordered the Northeast Army of Ma Zhanshan to confiscate the weapons and equipment of the Punitive Army and detain officers above the company level, defining the Punishment Army as an illegal armed force.

The intelligence officer suggested showing the contents of this document to the Punishment Army, which might help stir up conflict between the Punishment Army and the Northeastern Army. After all, they had been attacking the Punishment Army for so long, but the Northeastern Army had not fired a single shot. Doesn't this prove that the relationship between the two sides was not harmonious?

Jiro Tamon adopted this suggestion and sent someone to deliver the order of the Nationalist government to the punitive army.

However, not long after the delivery team set out, a Japanese soldier reported that the messenger had been killed before he even reached the high ground. Jiro Domon was so angry that he had no choice but to call in a bomber to drop leaflets to deliver the letter to the high ground.

The leaflet detailed the attitude of the Nationalist government towards the punitive army, mentioning that the Northeast Army should disarm them. If the punitive army was willing, the Kwantung Army was willing to accept them and give each soldier 10 oceans, each officer above the platoon level 500 oceans, Li Jianfeng 5 oceans, and Li Weiguo 10 oceans.

Ono Ikki didn't know whether these leaflets had any effect, but all of his troops of more than 4000 people crossed the bridge and quickly seized the bridgehead and established a bridgehead. The punitive army still did not open fire.

Ono Ikki felt that the matter was settled and that the punitive army had been fooled. He immediately ordered the logistics troops to drive mules and horses across the river to deliver supplies and heavy machine guns to continue the attack.

So were the Punishment Army really provoked by the devils? Of course not. When the devils dropped leaflets with bombers, Li Weiguo guessed that the devils were going to attack the Northeast Army positions. At that time, Li Weiguo came up with a bold plan to send the devil's attacking troops to the other side of the river, close the door and beat the dog, and eat them all!

This plan made Li Weiguo very excited. It is better to break one finger than to hurt five fingers. If the Japanese attacking force can be annihilated, the 2-strong Japanese army may collapse directly!

However, there are two key points in the plan of closing the door and beating the dog: can the door be closed? Is the stick for beating the dog hard?

The door can definitely be closed. The Punishment Army has more than 10 artillery pieces aimed at the Nenjiang Bridge. Together with four heavy artillery pieces, they can blow the bridge deck into a bombing zone!

But the question is whether the stick can really kill the dog, and whether the person wielding the stick is willing to do so?

The Northeast Army's combat effectiveness and willingness to fight are too volatile. Although Ma Zhanshan had achieved perfect results in his previous life, now they propose to corner the Japs and beat them. If the Japs find themselves in a desperate situation, they will probably burst out with unimaginable combat effectiveness.

Fighting this kind of war, even with advance preparation, will result in heavy losses. The ancients knew that when attacking a city, one should be surrounded on three sides and one should be left open, that is, not to let the defenders in the city have the determination to die. If the Northeast Army knew that the Punishment Army had set up such a big mine for them to dismantle, would they have any objections? Will the devil's instigation come true?

Li Weiguo felt that his wild thoughts were useless, so he decided to send Li Jianfeng to quietly cross the river to negotiate with Ma Zhanshan. If the Northeast Army was unwilling, then forget it.

Li Jianfeng has appeared in the reporters' cameras many times. He also holds the rank of major designed by the Punitive Army itself. It is speculated by the outside world that he is the second-in-command of the Punitive Army. Sending him there is definitely enough weight.

After Ma Zhanshan heard Li Jianfeng's plan, he was silent for a long time. The Japanese were strong in combat. Once they were put in a desperate situation, they would burst out with several times their combat power in order to survive, and the Northeast Army would probably suffer heavy casualties.

Li Jianfeng whispered, "This is just Captain Li's personal opinion. If the Northeastern Army has other deployments, you can ignore them. We will continue to fight according to the original deployment, and the Northeastern Army can also deploy according to the original plan."

This statement was meant to prove that the Punishment Army had no intention of forcing them, but it made Ma Zhanshan glare at him. He slammed the table and stood up, cursing, "Damn it! Are you looking down on me? How can I, Ma Zhanshan, not do such a big business? Let's do it!!"

He immediately began to deploy, drawing soldiers from the position directly opposite the Nenjiang Bridge to create a false illusion so that the Japanese could rush into the preset killing circle. At that time, the Northeast Army soldiers on the position pretended to retreat to the positions on both sides to allow the Japanese follow-up troops to follow up.

This plan is very dangerous. The actual situation is complicated and a false retreat can easily turn into a real retreat. The Nenjiang River is not only a physical defense line, but also a psychological defense line for the Northeast Army soldiers. If the Japanese cross the river, the morale of the Northeast Army soldiers will be damaged, leading to a mass rout.

This is not impossible. Many great defeats in history were caused by the soldiers' own wild imagination. Many awesome tactics, such as feigning a defeat to lure the enemy deep into our territory, or launching an attack from behind enemy lines, were not used by the generals, but because the quality of their soldiers did not allow it. Before they could launch an attack from behind enemy lines, the soldiers would scare themselves into submission.

This issue had to be considered, and Ma Zhanshan's response was to let the soldiers of Xu Baozhen's guard regiment control the bridgehead position and let them act out the defeat.

Xu Baozhen's guard regiment is an elite force. They can fight when they are told to fight and retreat when they are told to retreat. They will not turn a fake retreat into a real one.

Another thing is to strengthen the "lid" to cover it when the Japanese come in, especially the left and right positions, which are most likely to be captured by the Japanese.

Ma Zhanshan ordered the soldiers to modify their positions overnight so that the left and right positions would focus on defending the central position, and set up firing points so that they could fire against the Japanese.

In addition, he also brought the most elite 5th Regiment to control the position on the left. The 5th Regiment was a unit that followed Ma Zhanshan and was capable of fighting tough battles. The positions they controlled were not easy for the Japanese to take over.

Then Xu Baozhen's guard regiment took control of the right position. In addition to guarding the shore to prevent the Japanese from crossing the river, most of the remaining Northeast Army was transferred to block the Japanese's way forward.

This formation was quickly completed. The three positions of the Northeast Army formed a V-shape, and the Japanese attacking forces would be surrounded in the middle of the V-shape through the bridge. When all these arrangements were launched and the Punishment Army bombarded the bridge, the Japanese would have no way to retreat.