Rise From Eight Hundred

For three days!

The two armies of the entire 108th Division were harassed by the hateful "little mosquitoes" in an uninterrupted and almost stubborn way for three days.

Originally, it was believed that the "dysentery" that lasted for one or two days would be improved after taking medicine, but the effect might be there, but not much.

And later, the reason why those unlucky people with diarrhea did not have much diarrhea was that even the lowest-level Japanese infantry believed that it was because the intestines were emptied, and it was definitely not the effect of any medicine.

The toxicity of this nameless fruit produced in Taihang Mountain for laxatives can be proved by the later battle report of the 108th Division.

Because of this sudden "dysentery" disease, 1,200 pack horses of the 108th Division were extremely weak and could not walk normally during the final evacuation and had to be killed. Horses can be killed, but people cannot be killed with one shot. In the end, nearly a thousand people were carried out of the vast mountains on stretchers by manpower, and half of these soldiers, commonly known as "severely ill" patients, were ordered to retire from active service that year because their intestinal function was permanently damaged, and the food was slightly raw and cold, and diarrhea every three minutes was a daily routine.

In addition, more than a thousand Japanese infantrymen showed psychological abnormalities, specifically, their faces turned pale and their bodies trembled uncontrollably when they smelled bad smells.

In their original words: When you are conscious and your limbs are healthy and can control yourself, but you can't control your anus, whether you are lying, sitting or lying, you can only let the uncontrolled heat flow all over your crotch, stinking, and the people around you, even colleagues who are usually as close as brothers, give you a look of disgust. Do you know how broken your heart is?

The Japanese soldiers may be cruel, but they also need dignity in front of their own people, but the Chinese used an unknown poison to trample their dignity into the dust in front of their compatriots.

No matter how they cleaned afterwards, the stench seemed to never go away, and the feeling of having their buttocks, thighs and even heels covered in feces would accompany them for life.

As a result, the proportion of Japanese soldiers in the 108th Division who surrendered after being captured in future battles was much higher than that of other divisions. The main reason was that they were threatened to be thrown into the cesspool. They really didn't want to repeat that horrible feeling again. Compared with it, forget about the honor of the Imperial Japanese Army!

The definition of a certain regiment commander after knowing this may be simpler and more direct: "Look, the so-called honor of the Imperial Japanese Army is not as good as a pile of shit!"

That's fine, but three consecutive days of lack of sleep completely dragged down the morale of the infantry of the 108th Division. Many soldiers wrote letters home expressing their boredom and dissatisfaction with this battle.

The 108th Division, which originally planned to join forces with the Second Mixed Brigade 40 kilometers away through the mountains to fight a decisive battle with the Chinese, made an incredible but rational decision after losing nearly a thousand people in a battle with two infantry regiments of the Chinese army at a mountain pass 20 kilometers away from Wuxiang.

With the approval of Xia Xiongyuan, the 108th Division, which had lost only more than a thousand people and more than a thousand pack horses, was actually going to withdraw, commonly known as running away.

But Xia Xiongyuan was not Xia Jiba's military order. According to the combat plan of the front army headquarters, the combat mission of the 108th Division was to be responsible for attacking Yushe and Wuxiang, sweeping the core of the 80th Army's garrison, and implementing the "Three Alls Policy" to destroy all personnel, villages, and supplies in the area.

Today, the 108th Division has stayed in Yushe, Wuxiang and other places for more than 5 days, burning more than 70 villages and 15 mountains and forests in total.

Because they couldn't find anyone and to prevent the Chinese from attacking at night, the 25th Infantry Brigade's Major General Nakano Kozo personally ordered to burn the mountains around the camp.

Unfortunately, the mountains in some areas of Taihang Mountain are not small, but the vegetation is not very dense. And now it is May, the bushes and trees are green. After all, this man-made forest fire didn't really burn much, basically just symbolically burning a few pieces black.

However, there is no military merit to write about, and the 108th Division can only include it in the battle report.

What this means is that our division's combat mission has been completed.

Moreover, the 108th Division only carried seven days of baggage. The original plan of fighting to support the war to obtain supplies completely became a bubble after the Chinese retreated like moving. There was a poison that caused dysentery in the water, and food was in short supply. What reason did the 108th Division have not to run?

If they didn't run, would they wait for the Chinese to recover and surround them?

But to be honest, few people know that the real reason that really prompted Xia Xiongyuan to make up his mind to run away with the entire division was that the two infantry regiments that fought hard in the two infantry regiments of the Yamaguchi and the 108th Division were actually the organization of the 921st Division of the 80th Army. The Chinese who harassed the 108th Division for three consecutive days had strong firepower, and their tactics also had the shadow of the Four-Line Regiment.

When Xia Xiongyuan thought of these two old opponents, he felt something was wrong.

The Four-Line Regiment has not appeared since the start of the war, and even the senior spies lurking in the Second War Zone Command in China do not know where the regiment has been transferred to.

They are trying so hard to harass, what are they trying to do? Moreover, the 80th Army is gathering its main force to fight the 16th Division, how come two infantry regiments suddenly appear here?

The Second Mixed Brigade is fighting fiercely, with more than 20,000 Chinese troops and 10,000 elite imperial troops fighting hard. It is said that in just four days, both sides have suffered nearly 3,000 casualties.

The bloody battlefield made the arrogant Major General Yamamoto rarely bypass the telecommunications front headquarters to request sufficient air support.

On the battlefield covering an area of ​​3 square kilometers, the Japanese North China Front Army Air Force dispatched nearly 100 bombers and dropped more than 60 tons of bombs.

This may not be worth mentioning for the density of hundreds of fighter planes on the Western battlefield, but it is extremely rare for the Chinese battlefield. Even the 16th Division did not receive such strong air support.

However, the more lively the Second Mixed Brigade fought, the more guilty Xia Xiongyuan felt.

All this seemed to indicate that the Chinese had some bad ideas about his 108th Division.

For example, making a feint to the east and attacking in the west?

So, after the two sleepy infantry regiments gathered their last strength to attack the defense line where more than 5,000 Chinese soldiers were deployed and were frustrated, Xia Xiongyuan decisively issued a military order for the entire division to retreat first and cooperate with friendly forces after obtaining supplies.

"Mr. Xia Xiong, why did the main force of your 108th Division withdraw? According to the previous battle plan, your division should continue to move eastward and join the 2nd Mixed Brigade to encircle the stubborn enemy with an absolute advantage in force."

This military order made the commander of the Japanese First Army in Lucheng, Xiang Yue Qingshi, furious. He directly called and asked Xia Xiongyuan, who was in Licheng, why he dared to withdraw without authorization.

Although Xiang Yue Qingshi was the highest commander of the Japanese army in southeastern Shanxi, he was only a lieutenant general in the army in terms of military rank, and was at the same level as the commander of the 108th Division, Xia Xiongyuan. The ruthless questioning was the most intense way he could express.

"Mr. Qingshi, the reason why our division temporarily evacuated the area this time is that there is a serious shortage of military rations and even drinking water. In addition, dysentery is rampant, and thousands of imperial officers and soldiers are sick. Many imperial warriors are weak after being sick, but they have to go to the front line with illness, which eventually leads to far more casualties than usual.

Do you know? In the battle yesterday alone, our army suffered 1,600 casualties! As the commander of the division, I can accept the imperial warriors to be loyal to the empire and His Majesty the Emperor, but I cannot accept that they are hungry and drag their seriously ill bodies to do such glorious things.

If, Commander, you think I did something wrong, after the war, I will submit my resignation to the front army headquarters, but I, Xia Xiongyuan, will not admit my mistake."

Although Xia Xiongyuan wanted to spit a mouthful of thick green phlegm at this colleague of the same level who took chicken feathers as a token of authority through the telephone receiver, he still had to give face to General Shanshanyuan who was in charge of Pingbei City, and patiently told this 108th Division about the difficulties it was currently facing.

Of course, as a lieutenant general of the army, Xia Xiongyuan still had the confidence, and he also stated his reasons with reason and evidence. At the same time, he clearly told his colleague of the same level that he could use the authority of the commander to say that he was wrong, but he could also deny it.

But at that time, perhaps it was not the two lieutenant generals of the army who were fighting, but the camps behind them.

The 108th Division was a second-line division, but it also depended on whose second-line division it was. They were the reserve of the 8th Division and were reorganized into the 108th Division before the war and deployed in the Chinese battlefield.

This is a feature of the division numbering of the Japanese invasion of China. For example, the 109th Division was the reserve of the 9th Division, and the 110th Division was the 10th Division. Why was there no 105th Division? That was because Itagaki Shiro's 5th Division was a regular division and a reserve. So why was the 5th Division so powerful? Because the total strength of the 5th Division was close to 60,000 at its highest, which was a Japanese army organization.

This is what Xia Xiongyuan meant. I gave you a reasonable explanation. We are all lieutenant generals and have backers. Xiang Yue Qingshi, don't be shameless.

There are many factions in the Chinese army. During combat, they shirk responsibility and argue with each other. It is common for them to disobey orders and run away. In fact, the Japanese are not much better. They are in the upper hand now. Many contradictions are covered by the halo of victory. If they are beaten to pieces one day, the ugliness of those high-level officials will be blinding.

Jianghu is global, not just unique to China.

Xiang Yue Qingshi, who originally knew the news that the Chinese in the area where the 108th Division arrived were "fortified and cleared the fields", was also somewhat helpless.

The military book says "before the army moves, food and grass go first", which shows the importance of logistics support to an army. For the Japanese army that has completely entered the era of hot weapons, logistics support is more important than ever.

But the Japanese Army did a very poor job in this regard. The logistics support in the Western world has already used ships, cars and even airplanes, but the Imperial Japanese Army still uses a large number of pack horses.

Fortunately, there is the Chinese Army, a poor student at the bottom. Many Chinese armies have few pack horses, not to mention pack horses, and even donkeys for logistics support.

But this lieutenant general overlooked one point. Almost all Chinese soldiers can survive by digging wild vegetables and adding some rice paste to fill their stomachs with potatoes, sweet potatoes, and cornmeal, or even without these. Chinese soldiers bear the shortcomings of their own weak logistics support at the cost of their health.

On the other hand, what about the Japanese army? Not only do they need to fill their stomachs, but they also need enough salt, sugar, tea and other supplies, which are much more expensive than the Chinese. With the same number of troops, the Japanese army's logistics support capabilities must be several times that of the Chinese army.

In the North China Plain or the Southeast China Plain, the Japanese army could barely meet their needs by relying on trains and cars, but when they reached the Taihang Mountains, they were helpless and had to give up a large number of cars and use pack horses instead.

Because it was wartime, the ammunition reserves carried far exceeded the food. Ensuring that the soldiers could eat and drink for ten days was the limit of the Japanese troops entering the mountains to participate in the war.

It was inevitable that the 108th Division consumed more than usual because the soldiers and pack horses had "dysentery". Besides, they also completed the tasks previously set by the front army headquarters. If they accused him of disobeying orders because of this, it would not be justified.

Thinking deeper, if Xiang Yue Qingshi wanted to become the next commander of the front army, didn't he also have to get the support of the commanders of the various divisions? People have said this, and if they pursue it further, it would really offend people.

Of course, these are all secondary. The most important thing is that Lieutenant General Xiang Yue Qingshi has always had an unspeakable thorn in his heart.

Xiang Yueqingshi was named "Snow Melt" in the front army. At the beginning of the campaign, he had heard from internal channels that the division chief of staff Okamoto Saburo was about to be transferred. It was because of the tacit understanding between him and General Shanshan Yuan that the battle plan was quickly formulated and smoothly implemented in the Southeast Shanxi Campaign.

But what made Xiang Yueqingshi very unhappy was that reliable sources said that Yamamoto Wen, the major general brigade commander of the Second Mixed Brigade participating in the battle, was the most likely candidate to replace Okamoto Saburo. In normal times, this would be at most a piece of news, but Yamamoto Wen was ordered to lead the Second Mixed Brigade from its original base in Baoding to participate in the battle in Southeast Shanxi, and the authenticity of this news instantly rose to more than 90%.

If it had been someone else, it would have been fine, but Shan Wenben was extremely arrogant. Before the war, he had been disobeying Xiang Yue Qing Shi, the commander of the garrison army, which made Xiang Yue Qing Shi very angry. Especially after Hu Shi Shou Yi took office, this major general brigade commander directly clung to Hu Shi Shou Yi's thigh, and ignored Xiang Yue Qing Shi, who was no longer his direct superior.

Of course, everyone was over the age of knowing their destiny, and they kept their disdain for each other in their hearts. The conflict between the two did not reach the level of Xiang Yue Qing Shi and Hu Shi Shou Yi, who blushed and argued with each other in the combat meeting.

But during this operation, Shan Wenben bypassed the commander of the "Snow Melt" campaign, Lieutenant General Xiang Yue Qing Shi, and directly asked for help from General Shan Shan Yuan, which completely angered Xiang Yue Qing Shi.

Xia Xiongyuan retreated because he had no choice, and he explained to me, the commander, with a smile. He was still a lieutenant general in the army. You, Yamamoto, are just a major general in the army, but you don't take me seriously. When you become a lieutenant general in the future, you will trample me to death!

The angry Lieutenant General Xiang Yueqingshi didn't even read the battle report sent by the Second Mixed Brigade these days. Anyway, you like to find the commander of the front army, so you can send your battle report directly to the front army headquarters.

What, heavy casualties? That's great, Xiang Yueqingshi even wanted to clap his hands. The worse he was, the lower the probability of being promoted to lieutenant general in the army, and forget about being the chief of staff of the front army.

It was a transitional position, but it didn't mean that any lieutenant general was qualified to be gilded, especially for a defeated general.

You know, up to now, although the 16th Division and the 109th Division have not achieved their previously expected combat objectives, their two divisions have attracted a Chinese army and at least three infantry divisions, which is at least nearly 80,000 troops. Otherwise, how could the 108th Division enter the garrison of the 80th Army in the hinterland of Taihang Mountain so smoothly?

Although the Chinese ran fast and did not kill many Chinese, more than 70 villages were burned down and tens of thousands of Chinese lost their homes. Rebuilding would cost a lot of manpower and material resources, which is also a heavy blow to the Chinese.

This is because there is nothing else in the mountainous area except mountains and trees. Otherwise, if some bridges were blown up, the livelihood system in this area would be basically destroyed.

Fortunately, China is a big agricultural country. Otherwise, there are several factories built in the mountains. Wouldn’t the 108th Division be so proud?

But no matter what, Xiang Yue Qingshi can find military merits for each of his generals, but what about the mountain text that is still struggling with two infantry divisions in the mountains?

Apart from the heavy casualties, it seems that there is no special feature.

The Chinese also suffered at least thousands of casualties. What, you still have the face to fight the Chinese with a one-to-one casualty ratio?

So, Xiang Yue Qingshi agreed to the request of the 108th Division to retreat for supplies and reported it to the front army headquarters for approval.

This retreat was reasonable and legal within the Japanese army.

However, when Yamamoto heard it, he almost fainted.

Well! It turned out that the reinforcements he had been waiting for for several days were gone.

Everyone thought that his more than 10,000 elite soldiers were fully capable of crushing the two Chinese infantry divisions.

But only those who had experienced it personally knew that the two Chinese infantry divisions in front of him were definitely a tough nut to crack.

Strong willpower is one aspect, and their heavy firepower equipment is not as little as some people think.

In the last two days of fighting, the intensity of their artillery fire did not decrease but increased. At most, there were nearly 20 mountain cannons firing, and a large number of 82 mortars.

If it weren't for the help of the planes, the future 'Malaysian Tigers' would even want to give up their so-called military achievements and retreat with their subordinates.

But now, the war has come to this point, what should we do? Should we continue to fight, or run away with thousands of corpses?

The dilemma made Shan Wenwen, who was holding Xiang Yue Qing Shi's telegram, stand in the open space in front of his field headquarters for at least 10 minutes.

In the end, he chose to pull out his pistol and rub it.

"Baka! Baka! Bastards, damn two bastards!"

Shan Wenwen, who was holding a pistol and firing at the sky to vent his anger, wanted to do it most now, not to kill the Chinese, but to kill the two idiots, Xiong Yuan and Xiang Yue Qing Shi.