1905: Beer Hall Speaker

"Second Platoon Leader, arrange for sentries to be on guard!"

Lieutenant Luo Ming arranged the various tasks in an orderly manner, while the other soldiers, who were already exhausted, fell asleep in the field.

For Class B divisions that originated from infrastructure troops, sleeping in the open is commonplace. When building roads in the field, they might sleep in tents every day, sleeping wherever the construction is being carried out. In extreme cases, they might even sleep in the mud while it's raining.

The four-hour rest period passed in the blink of an eye. When the whistle sounded to continue the journey, the sleeping soldiers immediately opened their eyes and stood up. After a quick headcount, they immediately continued on their way.

On June 5, the vanguard of the 27th Division arrived at Sunchon, north of Pyongyang, after a 52-hour march of 195 kilometers. It was as if divine soldiers had descended upon Sunchon.

When they arrived at Shunchuan, it was late at night. A company of Japanese troops stationed there were still sleeping in their barracks and had no idea that the Chinese army would attack so quickly.

The war had only been going on for less than six days, and the main force of the 6th Division had not even withdrawn to Sunchon yet. How could the Chinese army possibly have attacked?

The Japanese troops were not awakened until the gunfire broke out, but it was too late. The vanguard of the 27th Division, which rushed into the city, wiped out half of the newly awakened Japanese company in a single round of fire.

The soldiers, eager for credit, resorted to bayonet fighting and stabbed the remaining Japanese soldiers to death. After the vanguard regiment occupied Shunchuan, they discovered that the main force of the Japanese 6th Division had not yet arrived.

The main force of the Japanese 6th Division fought and retreated in a very organized manner, without fleeing in panic. Moreover, they had a lot of baggage, so their marching speed was slow.

After the 27th Division occupied Sunchon, the 6th Division, unaware of the situation, continued its orderly retreat southward, oblivious to the fact that a Chinese division with bloodshot eyes had joined its retreat route.

The 28th Division, which had been following the 27th Division and suffering heavy losses along the way, also seized Pingcheng the next day. After entering the city, both divisions engaged in large-scale looting to replenish their military supplies.

After Meimei took a nap and ate her fill to regain her strength, the 27th Division lost patience and began to charge forward instead of waiting for the Japanese troops to slowly withdraw.

Chapter 93 Let's all get moving!

June 6, west of Suncheon.

After a brief night of rest, the 27th Division reorganized its troops, transforming its forced march from a single-file column into a mobile warfare formation with two main regiments in front and one regiment behind, and took the initiative to rush towards the main force of the Japanese 6th Division.

The retreating Japanese troops were the first to encounter the 27th Division and engage in fierce fighting. The 6th Division was completely stunned, as they never expected that Chinese troops would appear behind them!

The main combat-capable regiments were still retreating in an orderly manner, blocking the 1st Division, which was like a mad dog. Behind them were the supply troops, and after the supply troops were relentlessly pursued by the 27th Division, everything fell into chaos.

With the mad dog-like 1st Division relentlessly pursuing them from the front, and an entire regiment already wiped out in Anju, and the bloodthirsty 27th Division launching a desperate attack from behind, the Japanese 6th Division now has only 12,000 men left, facing a pincer attack from 30,000 to 40,000 enemy troops.

The deployment of the 6th Division was completely disrupted. The division commander ordered the division to occupy Ryongwon-ri and hold out for reinforcements. All the surrounding troops moved towards Ryongwon-ri, while desperately trying to contact the 3rd Division stationed in Pyongyang to come north to reinforce them.

Faced with a life-or-death situation, the 6th Division even abandoned all pretense of decency and contacted the mainland to request naval tactical support, attempting to retreat along the coastline.

But it was all too late. The Third Division, which had dealt with the remaining enemy forces in Anju, had already moved south, and the 28th, 31st, and 32nd Divisions, like hungry wolves, had already left the mountains and entered the battlefield in the plains of the west coast of Korea.

Six divisions of the National Defense Army were deployed to the Pyongyang area to encircle Ryongwon-ri. The Japanese Third Division, unaware of the situation, also quickly left Pyongyang to reinforce the Sixth Division at Ryongwon-ri.

Zhao Yan led his headquarters forward, following behind the advancing divisions and getting left in the dust. Wang Chongshan was completely bewildered; once this kind of mobile warfare started, he was totally at a loss.

The positions of the divisions under the Eastern Route Army changed every day, and the enemy situation reported back to headquarters also changed. Just two days ago, they were still racking their brains about how to quickly deal with the remaining enemy forces in Anzhou City.

Today we're already racking our brains about how to coordinate the encirclement and annihilation operation in Longyuanli. The battlefield situation is changing no longer in days, but in hours.

Wang Chongshan analyzed the battle map for a long time and finally came up with the safest and most likely to win battle strategy.

"Your Excellency, my opinion is that the First Division and the Twenty-Seventh Division should join forces to launch a strong attack on Longyuanli and annihilate the main force of the Sixth Division. The Third Division should move south and quickly occupy the plains, the Twenty-Eighth Division should hold Jiangdong, and the Thirty-One Division should occupy Muyuan."

The 32nd Division will remain in reserve!

"Two divisions will encircle and annihilate the remnants of the 6th Division, three divisions will block reinforcements from Pyongyang, and one division will be left as a reserve."

Zhao Yan gave Wang Chongshan a deep look, his eyes revealing a hint of disappointment, but he didn't show it completely.

Wang Chongshan's plan was the most prudent from the perspective of the local battlefield of the Western Route Army, but it was a failure from the perspective of the occupation of the entire Korean Peninsula.

Either don't fight, or if you do fight, go all out to maximize your combat power and defeat the enemy as quickly as possible. This is not a stalemate, but a mobile war!

The more you try to play it safe, the more opportunities you give the enemy and the more time you waste.

Zhao Yan immediately rejected Wang Chongshan's opinion: "Don't leave any reserves. Smash the 32nd Division into Longyuanli! All three divisions, surround them, and wipe out the Japanese 6th Division as quickly as possible!"

"Don't be afraid of casualties. This is a golden opportunity, a chance to encircle and annihilate an entire Japanese division. If we miss this chance, we'll never have another one."

"Three divisions blocking the Japanese 3rd Division? Do you think our men are just scattered rabble, or that the Japanese are some kind of divine army descending from the sky? Get back to work!"

"Third, Twenty-eighth, and Thirty-first Divisions, keep moving! The Third Division will advance south and continue to approach Pyongyang. The Twenty-eighth Division will block the Japanese Third Division from the front. The Thirty-first Division will continue to outflank and penetrate towards Pyongyang from the east."

Zhao Yan continuously adjusted the deployment on the map, while the staff officer beside him quickly wrote down the contents of the orders.

After reading it, Wang Chongshan was so surprised that he couldn't speak. According to Zhao Yan's plan, wiping out the Sixth Division was just the beginning. As long as the Japanese Third Division dared to leave the city, it would definitely not be able to escape and would immediately fall into the encirclement of the other three divisions.

Zhao Yan's ambition to wipe out two Japanese divisions in one fell swoop, and to launch two encirclement and annihilation battles simultaneously, completely shocked Wang Chongshan.

Wang Chongshan swallowed hard and said, "If we do this, the Western Route Army will be completely without reserves! Are we going to have to draw troops from the Central Route Army?"

The National Defense Forces currently deployed to North Korea comprise a total of twenty-one divisions. Apart from the 33rd Engineer Division, which is specifically responsible for miscellaneous tasks such as repairing bridges and paving roads in the rear, the remaining twenty divisions consist of six from the Western Route Army, nine from the Central Route Army, and five from the Eastern Route Army.

The main task of the Western Route Army was to severely damage or annihilate the Japanese army's manpower, and then capture the Pyongyang line.

The main task of the central army was to advance at the fastest speed, cross the Han River, and capture Seoul before the allied forces could react. Then, they would quickly build a defensive system and wait for the western army to finish its mission and move south to reinforce them.

The most mysterious thing is the Eastern Route Army, which consisted of five divisions. Only two divisions crossed the Yalu River, occupied the Hamgyong Province area, and were then ordered to stop moving. The remaining three divisions were still in Jilin Province and did not move!

Now that the Western Route Army has been completely deployed in one go, and the Central Route Army has not been mobilized, if something goes wrong in the encirclement and annihilation campaign of the Western Route Army, or if the Japanese army accelerates its southward retreat and simply abandons the Sixth Division, then the Central Route Army will be in trouble.

Wang Chongshan could not accept such a risky deployment. His style was to proceed steadily and cautiously. Zhao Yan's previous commands had always prioritized stability. Why was he being so aggressive and reckless now?

Zhao Yan said in a deep voice: "Six divisions, totaling nearly 110,000 troops, annihilated two Japanese divisions and one crippled division, which was just over 30,000 enemy troops."

A three-to-one troop ratio is enough! Why keep reserves? Do you think the Japanese are made of iron?

"A swift and decisive victory is essential. Mobile warfare demands constant movement. If the Japanese want to hold their ground and wait for reinforcements, we mustn't even give them time to build defensive lines. Charge forward, and even if it's a bayonet charge, kill the last Japanese soldier!"

With Zhao Yan's decision finalized, Wang Chongshan had no choice but to relay the order.

The fighting had already broken out on the front lines. When the First Division discovered that the Sixth Division wanted to hold Longyuanli and wait for reinforcements, it did not rest or wait for orders. Instead, it rushed forward and engaged them in a fierce battle.

After receiving orders from headquarters to encircle and annihilate the main force of the Japanese army at Longyuanli, the 27th Division abandoned its attack on the Japanese supply train and handed it over to the 32nd Division, which was the last to arrive on the battlefield, to finish it off. The 27th Division then immediately rushed towards Longyuanli.

Longyuanli is a town in a mountainous and hilly area, surrounded by a string of high mountains extending from east to west. The remnants of the 6th Division, numbering over 8,000, occupied four high grounds and deployed them in a line.

However, the battlefield situation changed too quickly, and they only had a day or two to build their defenses. Ordinary field fortifications could be built, but anything that was truly sturdy was impossible.

Moreover, the 6th Division's supply train was intercepted by the 27th Division, and most of it was annihilated. The Japanese army was short of guns and ammunition, and its most important artillery was almost completely wiped out. They could only rely on a small amount of machine gun fire to defend their positions.

After discovering the Sixth Division's intentions, the First Division launched a strong attack on the same day, organizing four large-scale offensives within 24 hours, forcing the Japanese army to run out of manpower to dig trenches.

The next day, after the 27th Division arrived, the Japanese army was in utter despair. Their southward advance was completely cut off. The arrival of the 27th Division also meant that the supply train, which was moving faster, had been wiped out.

After the artillery of the 1st and 27th Divisions arrived, they immediately began a barrage of bombardment on the high ground along the Longyuanli line. The Japanese army had run out of artillery, but the National Defense Army still had some.

Along the way, the 27th Division captured a considerable amount of artillery and shells from the 6th Division's supply corps, and now they are all being brought up to bombard the Japanese army.

The National Defense Army is not the National Revolutionary Army of decades later in the original timeline, and the Japanese Army is even less the same as the Japanese Army that invaded China decades later. There is a gap in combat capabilities between the two armies now, but it is definitely not a huge difference, only a slight difference.

Zhao Yan spent over a year training the National Defense Force, pouring money into it. The National Defense Force was provided with three full meals a day, plus a meat dish every day, and all the necessary equipment.

There's not much difference in physical fitness or equipment; the only difference is combat experience and the imposing presence of a strong military.

At this moment, 35,000 National Defense Army soldiers were besieging 8,700 Japanese soldiers in Longyuanli. They had superior equipment, numbers, and logistics.

Zhao Yan ordered the battle to end by June 10, but the First Division promised to end the battle before dawn on the 6th!

At this very moment, the 3rd Division in Pyongyang was also frantically approaching Ryongwon-ri, determined to relieve the besieged 6th Division at any cost. The Japanese General Headquarters had given the 3rd Division a strict order to rescue the 6th Division and break out of the encirclement, as the Japanese could not afford the cost of the complete annihilation of a standing division, something that had never happened before in the Russo-Japanese War.

After leaving Pyongyang, the 3rd Division marched forward and ran into the 28th Division of the National Defense Army that same day. The 28th Division was ordered to block, but there was no time to build a defensive line. After the encounter, they immediately began fighting in the field.

If the 3rd Division had aircraft available for reconnaissance at this point, they would have been even more horrified to discover that two more divisions were rapidly encircling them from both flanks.

Even in the more peripheral areas, division after division of the Central Route Army was rapidly advancing south. They had no interest in intervening in the Western Route Army's battlefield; instead, they were desperately heading straight for Seoul.

Zhao Yan's deployment was bold and decisive, without a trace of pettiness. He either didn't move at all, or when he did, he moved with lightning speed.

The first phase of the war was about seizing the time difference, taking advantage of the Allied forces' complacency to create the greatest possible advantage in the short time gap.

If we seize this time difference, the subsequent war will be much easier to fight; if we don't, then...

Chapter 94 Bayonet Battle

January 6, 8 p.m.

The battle to annihilate Longyuanli had reached a fever pitch. The Japanese had run out of ammunition, a hill had been completely lost, and the 6th Division headquarters had sent a final farewell telegram to the Japanese mainland. They then destroyed the expensive British-imported radio station, and the division commander issued the final order of suicide to all troops.

At the same time, the First Division and the Twenty-Seventh Division, which were attacking Longyuanli from both sides, were also preparing for the final wave of the general offensive. As long as Longyuanli was captured and the Sixth Division was completely annihilated, the three silver stars on the shoulders of the First Division commander would turn into a gold star, and the Twenty-Seventh Division would at least be converted into a regular division.

Half an hour later, both divisions fired signal flares simultaneously, launching the final assault on the high ground in Longyuanli.

"Charge forward! The Führer is right behind us, watching us!"

"kill!"

Waves of National Defense Army soldiers rushed out of their bunkers and attacked the high ground in skirmish lines.

"Chirp chirp boom boom!"

Mortar shells continued to fall on the Japanese positions. The National Defense Army was reluctant to use the expensive artillery shells, but it still fired the cheap cast iron mortar shells indiscriminately.

The Japanese army hated this kind of mortar the most. A large part of the reason why the 6th Division retreated so slowly was because of the harassment. Small harassment units of the National Defense Army carried light and flexible 60mm mortars and could fire them from any hillside.

The rapid-fire mortar shells could land a dozen or twenty shells in a single salvo, often forcing the Japanese to switch to a defensive posture, making them mistakenly believe that they were being targeted by the main enemy force, or that at least an artillery battery was shelling them.

In those days, the enemy's main force, at least at the regimental level, would be able to receive artillery cover. Once the shells were used up, it meant that enemy infantry would be attacking.

But after each stop, the Japanese soldiers who had been hit by shells found that no main enemy force was attacking. It took them a long time to discover the secret from the captured mortars.

This lightweight and high-rate-of-fire mortar is a godsend in mountainous terrain. A few soldiers can carry the cannon and shells and run all over the mountains. It is quick to set up, quick to prepare, and has a high rate of fire. It can fire and run away, making it impossible to defend against.

During a frontal assault, the National Defense Army's mortars were a nightmare for the Japanese offensive. Sandbags and earthen walls were of little use because once a mortar shell hit, it was a top-down attack.

"Boom boom"

After the shelling ended, the National Defense Army's attacking troops had climbed to the halfway point of the high ground, but strangely, they were not hit by Japanese fire.

In reality, the Japanese army's ammunition had been exhausted in the previous fierce defensive battles, and the remaining ammunition was for breaking out. All the Japanese troops received the order to fight to the death, which, in plain terms, meant that they had to launch a desperate attack!

Squads of Japanese soldiers rushed out of the trenches, raised their sharp bayonets, and stepped forward.

Upon witnessing this, the attacking troops of the National Defense Army immediately understood: "All men, fix bayonets!"

The National Defense Force was not established for long, and its combat habits still retained many traditional bayonet fighting techniques. Zhao Yan also listed bayonet fighting as a core training item for infantry.

During the initial training of the revolutionary army, which was short of guns and ammunition, the revolutionary army practiced bayonet fighting diligently. Zhao Yan even boasted that "the troops who dare to fight to the death with bayonets are the true elites!"

The Beiyang Army was also terrified by the bayonet attacks of the revolutionary army. During the Central Plains Campaign, the revolutionary army's most famous fighting style was not trench warfare, but fierce and cruel hand-to-hand combat.

Faced with the Japanese army daring to brandish bayonets in provocation, the National Defense Army naturally could no longer tolerate it.

The Japanese army is not most famous for bayonet fighting these days; that's the National Defense Army!

"click"

The National Defense Army's attacking forces began to abandon skirmish formations and form dense ranks, with sharp, cold bayonets being fixed to the muzzles of their rifles.

"Unload the bullets!"

"crash"

The soldiers of the National Defense Force moved in unison to unload the bullets from their guns, their bloodshot eyes filled with both killing intent and respect.

The bullet ejection technique was also popularized by Zhao Yan. He came up with this method from somewhere and incorporated it into the training of the National Defense Army infantry. The generals were impressed but didn't understand it, feeling that it must be a kind of ritual.

The Japanese troops opposite them were stunned. Why were they being forced to become even more ferocious by the enemy's posture? It seemed that bayonet fighting was the fighting style they craved most?

"Hey snail, haha, Banzai!"

The Japanese troops used their high ground to attack from below, with squads leaping out of their bunkers and descending the hillside.

"Long live the Führer!"

The soldiers of the National Defense Army went forward without hesitation, each with an excited and ferocious smile on their face, and then fearlessly charged forward with their bayonets.

On every hilltop, incredibly brutal hand-to-hand combat erupted. The Nationalist soldiers leading the charge were almost all killed within five minutes, their deaths a one-for-one exchange with the Japanese vanguard.

However, the advantage brought by the Japanese troops' high-altitude dive was completely negated, and after the subsequent troops engaged in battle, the Japanese troops immediately cried out that they had been tricked, as the enemy was clearly a trained expert!

More than a decade ago, the Qing army would collapse whenever they encountered a bayonet charge by the Japanese army. Decades ago, the Qing army could withstand volley fire from the British army, but they still broke down when they encountered the bayonet charge of the Lobster Soldiers.

The National Defense Army, as portrayed by Zhao Yan, diligently practiced bayonet skills after the Changsha Uprising, even valuing bayonet tactics more than the Japanese.

This finally proved effective. The Japanese army discovered that the National Defense Army's bayonet fighting tactics also involved coordinated operations in groups of three to five, and that their bayonet techniques were more concise and deadly than theirs. They used only a few movements: parrying left and right, then thrusting; parrying up and down, then thrusting again. If all else failed, they would resort to a one-for-one bayonet exchange.

There aren't many fancy moves; every move is deadly.

If a Japanese soldier gets separated from his unit, he will be attacked by several bayonets at the same time. Even if he flies up, they will still stab him back to the ground!

"Second Uncle!"

One of the National Defense Army soldiers fell to the ground after being stabbed. Then another comrade from the same village immediately went berserk, charged forward with his bayonet, and before the Japanese soldier could withdraw his bayonet, he stabbed him through the heart.

"Worth dying for! Avenge me!"