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The fallen Nationalist soldier died before he could finish speaking, but his comrades were all red-eyed. Their eldest uncle had died in battle; how could they face their elders when they returned home?
Shouts echoed across the battlefield. The soldiers of the 27th Division were all related by blood or marriage, and if one of them died, the rest would all go into a frenzy.
On the brutal battlefield, every soldier of the National Defense Army fought to the death, and even when they fell, they died with smiles on their faces, because as long as they died here, their families would receive 100 acres of land tax-free for 30 years!
The Japanese soldiers received no special treatment. They were conscripted into the war for a two-cent stamp, relying entirely on their loyalty to the Emperor and the indoctrination of Bushido. After their deaths, the Japanese government would at most provide them with an urn and a small amount of compensation. As for actual land, they could forget about it!
The experience gained from the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 was completely ineffective. The Chinese army on the other side was not only unafraid of bayonet fighting, but also enthusiastic about it!
Now it was the Japanese's turn to break down, but they could only grit their teeth and persevere.
For a full half hour, no gunshots rang out on the entire Longyuanli battlefield. The silent battlefield had completely transformed into the era of cold weapons, with the sounds of blades piercing flesh and the groans of the dying everywhere.
The Japanese army's Banzai charge was severely hampered. The National Defense Army, attacking from below, killed more than 3,000 Japanese soldiers. The morale of the Japanese army completely collapsed, and even the spirit of Bushido was useless, because the National Defense Army on the other side was even more Bushido than they were!
The Japanese troops, in a moment of folly, actually retreated and fled back into their defensive lines, which were destined to be their doom. The National Defense Army pursued them relentlessly, stabbing the Japanese soldiers who had their backs to them to death with merciless blows.
In close-quarters combat, if you're afraid and turn your back on the enemy to run away, you're destined to die.
Even with their bayonets bent from the bloodlust, the National Defense Army soldiers continued to charge, swinging their rifle butts, biting with their teeth, and punching with their fists, leaving no enemy soldier alive.
The division headquarters, which had been closely monitoring the situation from the rear, were very satisfied with this, believing that the frontline officers' decision to fight with bayonets instead of firing their guns was not wrong at all, but rather an excellent demonstration of the fighting spirit of the National Defense Army.
Only the German advisors watching from the sidelines were terrified. What kind of operation was this, where soldiers had guns but chose to fight with bayonets instead? Was this some kind of mysterious Eastern art of warfare?
After watching his soldiers charge onto the enemy's position, Division Commander Liu Zhaocheng knew that the outcome of the battle was no longer in doubt; the complete annihilation of the Sixth Division was a foregone conclusion.
After this battle, the Führer insisted on giving the 27th Division a permanent elite division status. In the past, those elite permanent divisions often boasted about how many times they had defeated the Beiyang Army in trench warfare and hand-to-hand combat during the Central Plains War.
Now they are launching a frontal assault, defeating the Japanese army with bayonet fighting! This achievement is enough to place the 27th Division among the elite, or even ace, units!
"The leader said that the troops that dare to fight to the death are the true elites!" Liu Zhaocheng said with a smug look on his face!
"Nonsense! They don't believe what they should believe, but they wholeheartedly believe what they shouldn't!"
"Equip them with light machine guns at the squad and platoon level, so they can fire away. Why fight with bayonets?"
Inside the rear command post, Zhao Yan, having received the "good news," was hysterically furious. In a fierce bayonet battle at Longyuanli, two divisions suffered more than 1,700 casualties in half an hour, while more than 3,000 Japanese soldiers were killed.
The casualties were even more severe than during the Crossing the Yangtze River Campaign, but both division commanders shamelessly sent over "good news" and reports of victory, which made Zhao Yan's forehead veins bulge!
Back then, bayonet fighting was only possible because of difficult conditions and a shortage of guns and ammunition. We had to rely on hand-to-hand combat as our trump card. But now that we've never been short of ammunition, why bother with bayonet fighting?
Zhao Yan deeply regretted that he had said something like "the troops that dare to fight to the death are the real elites" when he was training the revolutionary army!
"Those lands for emotional compensation payments still have tax exemptions, so you commanders don't need to pay out of your own pockets, right?" Zhao Yan was furious. Wang Chongshan, who was standing to the side, could only try to persuade him, as he didn't think it was wrong to do so.
The Japanese have even fixed bayonets to provoke us. Any Chinese man would find it unacceptable. If word gets out that Chinese people are afraid to fight with bayonets, even if we win the battle, it will be a loss of face!
No matter how angry Zhao Yan was, the battle was over, and he couldn't possibly reprimand the troops severely after winning. He could only issue an order: "This battle was brave and decisive, earning the reputation of the National Defense Army for its courage and bravery! But it is not advisable to use this tactic again in the future. We should focus on using firepower to annihilate the enemy!"
When the instructions were relayed to the front lines, the commanders all focused on understanding the first half of the sentence, ignoring the second half.
Everyone believed that the Führer personally praised the "blood and courage" of the 1st and 27th Divisions!
This battle solidified the reputation of the 1st Division of the National Defense Army as an elite force, leaving no one in doubt. The 27th Division also became a recognized elite force, making other units green with envy!
Chapter 95 The Disgusting Third Division
On June 11, the Japanese 3rd Division only received news three days after the annihilation of the 6th Division at Longyuanli that the target they needed to rescue was gone!
They left Pyongyang and headed north against the current at great risk, but in the end, they found no one to rescue.
Meanwhile, the 28th Division of the National Defense Army, which was engaged in fierce field combat with them, was launching a desperate counterattack, and bad news kept coming from both flanks that the National Defense Army was flanking and penetrating their lines.
Therefore, the Third Division made a decision that disgusted Zhao Yan the most: to fortify Lipingchuan on the spot, with more than 15,000 troops stationed there to defend the area, and then wait for the National Defense Army to encircle them, completely abandoning the plan to win in the field and retreat in the face of the enemy.
Lieutenant General Takeshi Yokotani, commander of the Japanese 3rd Division, chose the decision that disgusted and upset Zhao Yan the most among many options.
Whether it was the Japanese Third Division's arrogant choice to engage in field battle with the superior forces of the National Defense Army, or their retreat to Pyongyang and subsequent pursuit by the National Defense Army, these were all outcomes Zhao Yan hoped to see.
The only outcome Zhao Yan least wanted to see was to hold out and wait for death. In this respect, Japanese Lieutenant General Yokotani Takeshi had grasped the only fatal weakness of the National Defense Army!
Most people believed that after receiving news that the 6th Division had been annihilated while holding out for reinforcements, the 3rd Division would not repeat the same mistake.
Even if the 3rd Division were to retreat and be pursued, it would be impossible for it to be completely annihilated. In fact, if Pyongyang were abandoned, there was a high probability that the main force could be withdrawn back to Seoul.
But Yokotani Takeshi chose that dead end and walked down it. This dead end was certain for the 3rd Division, but not for the overall situation on the Korean Peninsula.
Yokotani Takeshi astutely discovered the only fatal weakness of the National Defense Force: the time difference!
Yokotani Takeshi, a seasoned army general who participated in the First Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War, was one of the very few generals in the Japanese army's high command who was clear-headed and had a strategic vision. He never focused on a small corner of the country.
From the start of the war until now, twelve days have passed. Relying on the limited intelligence at hand, he analyzed the core objective of Zhao Yan's first phase of the war in Korea, which was to gain a time advantage!
Before the Japanese army could react, they should try to capture Seoul and push their army across the Han River.
Knowing his opponent's purpose, Yokotani Takeshi immediately and resolutely chose to prevent his opponent from achieving it.
Yokotani Takeshi scoffed at the order from General Headquarters to rescue the 6th Division, but he was still happy to leave Pyongyang.
The 6th Division's forces were simply insufficient to defend the Pyongyang area. The area was too large, and the enemy's superior forces were too strong. Defending Pyongyang would be a death sentence, and the most worthless kind of death at that.
Pyongyang can be bypassed. Only one or two divisions need to be left to suppress the Third Division, while the rest of the main Chinese army can bypass Pyongyang and continue south.
However, the Ripyongcheon outside Pyongyang is a fatal juncture that cannot be bypassed, because the geographical location of Ripyongcheon is self-evident from its name: Ripyongcheon, ...
"Pyeong" means that this place is a flat and open area, while "chon" means that a river flows through it. In North Korean place names, places with "li" in their names are located in strategic locations with mountains and rivers, while places with "chon" or "won" in their names are strategically important locations.
Pyongyang is too big, so there are many roads to choose from and you can go around it, but there is only one main road leading south through Ipyeongchon, which blocks the way and the National Defense Army cannot get around it at all.
There's no way to get around it, and there's no way to surround it without attacking; all we can do is waste time fighting to the death!
Before the Western Route Army completely eliminated the Third Division, it was impossible for it to move south to support the Central Route Army's advance. The Central Route Army would not be unable to fight without the support of the Western Route Army, but its progress would be slower.
After all, the combined forces of the two armies, with fifteen divisions advancing together, were much more powerful and faster than the central army's own nine divisions.
Why such a rapid advance? Because a large number of Japanese reinforcements had arrived at Busan Port!
"What? The 3rd Division is holding out at Ripingchuan and waiting to die??"
"The 3rd, 28th, and 32nd Divisions have already surrounded Lipingchuan?"
Upon receiving the latest battle report, Zhao Yan's face turned extremely grim. He shouted, "Quickly bring me the intelligence on Lipingchuan! We need everything!"
The officers in the headquarters were all smiles; yet another Japanese division had courted its own doom. However, they were puzzled by the sudden change in the leader's expression, wondering why his face had turned so grim when it was clearly good news.
Zhao Yan pounced on the map, holding the terrain data of Lipingchuan sent by the intelligence officer. After studying it for a full five minutes, he said helplessly, "I underestimated the heroes of the world. Not all the Japanese are fools!"
Wang Chongshan was completely bewildered by these words. He opened his innocent and clear eyes wide and looked at Zhao Yan: "Why is the leader like this? This is clearly just a fool who is courting death!"
"You're the fool! Open your eyes and take a good look! What position is Ripingchuan?! From one corner of the chessboard, Ripingchuan is a death trap for the Japanese army, but open your eyes and look carefully from the overall perspective. Isn't it still a death trap?"
Zhao Yan's angry rebuke made everyone lose their smiles and begin to seriously examine the map, expanding their focus from the western route army's territory to the entire Korean situation.
"Hiss~" Many people immediately gasped.
That damned Third Division chose the perfect location, right in the heart of the Western Route Army's midsection, and it just so happens to be the only passage on the main road south.
The idiots in the 6th Division found Longyuanli and held their ground, waiting for reinforcements. The main force had all gone up the mountain. The most important reason for the 6th Division's annihilation was that, in addition to lacking guns and ammunition, they also lacked water!
However, Lipingchuan is a completely flat plain with a small river running alongside it, so it has no shortage of water. Furthermore, its defenses are concentrated there, so it doesn't have the risk of being defeated piecemeal like Longyuanli.
The National Defense Forces could not allow a Japanese division to be stuck in their midst; they had to spend time annihilating them.
But what they lack most right now is time, because the core strategy of the entire first phase of the operation is to exploit time differences.
The retreat of the Japanese army is better for the National Defense Army than being annihilated while they are still on the spot. The National Defense Army cannot afford to waste any more time now.
For every day the Third Division holds out, the Western Route Army will be delayed. If one step is slow, the rest will be slow!
"Yokotani Takeshi of the Third Division is truly a ruthless man. He actually used his own desperate situation to save the entire situation. Is this what they mean by 'the way'?" Wang Chongshan exclaimed.
Zhao Yan nodded: "This is the tactic of sacrificing pawns. Our enemy is not stupid!"
After saying that, Zhao Yan looked at Wang Chongshan meaningfully, his words implying that if the Third Division wasn't stupid, then who was?
Zhao Yan composed himself. The situation was beyond redemption, and he could only do his best to turn the tide: "Pass on my orders: the First Division and the Twenty-Seventh Division shall immediately head south to join the encirclement and annihilation battle at Lipingchuan, and the Thirty-Second Division shall continue south to join the Central Route Army!"
"Appoint Colonel Du Zihua, commander of the First Division, as the overall commander of the Lipingchuan encirclement and annihilation battle. Tell him that I am only giving him four days. The Third Division must be eliminated before noon on the 15th!"
Four days is the limit for the frontline military supplies to be consumed. Before that, it is necessary to capture Lipingchuan and open up the main road to the south.
Currently, after the National Defense Forces entered the Korean War, their greatest reliance on logistics is the North Korean official road that winds its way south from the Uiju region, passing through various county seats and finally connecting to Seoul.
Other places can be bypassed, but the Third Division specifically chose this Lipingchuan route and couldn't get around it!
Although the official roads in Korea were also rough and uneven rammed earth roads, they were at least main roads. Only such roads could support the army's combat consumption. Relying on those small roads and mountain roads to transport the army's logistics and supplies would be suicidal.
In the early stages of the campaign, you can seize time by launching infiltration operations and plundering the North Koreans for whatever you need. However, this method is only a temporary measure and cannot be sustained. You can take some supplies along the way during mobile warfare, but if the battle becomes stalemated, are you going to suddenly disperse and go to the countryside to plunder food halfway through the battle?
More importantly, the ammunition, military equipment, and heavy equipment in the rear can only be transported via main roads. Small roads are simply impassable, and even if they were to be made accessible, the time cost would be too high for Zhao Yan to afford.
They raced against time, but in the end, their opponents managed to stop them. Lipingchuan was blocked, and Zhao Yan immediately began to adjust the logistics route. After significantly increasing the difficulty, he modified the logistics supply line leading to the front line.
The difference between taking the main road and the side road is too great, but the central army, which is rushing towards Seoul, does not have time to wait for the western army to capture Ipyeongcheon.
The logistics line, which was already incredibly difficult, has become even more challenging due to the Third Division's disruption.
The fifteen divisions currently engaged in fierce frontline operations, totaling nearly 300,000 troops, require massive amounts of military supplies and equipment daily. This cannot be solved by any shortcuts; they can only be transported directly from China.
A large amount of military equipment and supplies had to be concentrated in Wuhan first, and then transported via the Beijing-Hankou Railway through Beijing, then transferred to the Beijing-Shenyang Railway to reach the key city of Shenyang. The journey before that was relatively efficient.
But starting from Shenyang, the difficulty becomes hellish. The difficulty of delivering military supplies from Shenyang to the Yalu River increases dramatically. It seems like only 200 kilometers from Shenyang to Andong, and once you leave Shenyang, it's all plains.
But now it's not the Great Northern Granary, it's the Great Northern Wilderness. The route is densely covered with swamps and wetlands. Continuing south leads into the Changbai Mountains. The only roads there are the old post roads from the Qing Dynasty. There aren't even any official roads.
The Manchu Qing dynasty built the Willow Palisade in Northeast China, but for over a century, no decent infrastructure was built. Many roads were constructed during the Ming-Qing wars, and after years of neglect, their current state is beyond question.
Neither the Chinese Eastern Railway nor the South Manchurian Railway has a direct railway line from Shenyang to the Yalu River, at least not yet. There are also no railways within North Korea.
In the past, during the era of cold weapons, people could make do with those rough roads, but in the era of firearms, they are truly deadly.
Zhao Yan claimed to have a million-strong army, but in reality, only three or four hundred thousand could actually be deployed to the battlefield. The rest were all armed logistics soldiers. Without any armed supplies, the bandits along the way would be laughing all the way to the bank!
The already strained logistical pressure has been further compounded by the Third Division. If this delay lasts for seven, eight, or even ten days, the Central Army's plan to advance on Seoul will be ruined!
Chapter 96 The Weak's Strongest Attack
The encirclement and annihilation battle at Longyuanli had just ended when the encirclement and annihilation battle at Lipingchuan immediately followed.
Apart from the 32nd Division of the Western Route Army continuing south to join the Central Route Army, the remaining five divisions all gathered at Lipingchuan. Under the command of Colonel Du Zihua, commander of the 1st Division, they completed the encirclement of the 3rd Division at 11:00 a.m. on the 12th and immediately launched a strong attack.
Compared to the Longyuanli encirclement and annihilation battle, the Lipingchuan encirclement and annihilation battle was much more difficult.
During the encirclement and annihilation battle at Longyuanli, the 6th Division lost almost all of its supplies and was trapped in Longyuanli, relying on several high grounds for defense. Lacking guns and ammunition and without water, it was quickly defeated piecemeal.
However, the 3rd Division came with supplies, and there was a water source right behind them. The supplies they carried were prepared for a seven-day campaign mission. If they used them sparingly, they could last for ten days or so.
But the National Defense Forces don't have more than ten days to spare. They can't even afford to waste seven or eight days, let alone ten days.
Thirteen days have passed since the start of the war, and even the slow-witted Japanese army has finally caught up. Currently, three divisions of troops have been transported across the strait to Busan Port in North Korea, and follow-up troops are accelerating their progress to cross the strait and reach North Korea.
Japan can now be considered a basic industrialized country, although it is not as fully industrialized as it was after World War I, but at least it has shed its status as an agricultural country.
Their mobilization and maritime capabilities were quite strong, and with the great help of the British, their shipping capacity was further enhanced.
The window of opportunity left for the National Defense Forces is getting smaller and smaller; it's no longer being calculated in days, but in hours.
This is also the significance of the 3rd Division's voluntary placement in a desperate situation. Lieutenant General Yokotani Takeshi did not even believe that this was a dead end. He believed that as long as the main force of the Japanese army was assembled on the Korean Peninsula, and he could hold out until that day, the Chinese army would inevitably retreat because they could not afford the consequences of the center of the enemy's forces being scattered.
Despite his wisdom and strategic vision, Lieutenant General Takeshi Yokotani was still misled by information asymmetry.
Yokotani Takeshi unilaterally believes that the annihilation of the 6th Division was a result of a combination of factors, including the hasty attack by the Chinese army and the incompetence of the 6th Division itself.
Yokotani Takeshi believed that his 3rd Division's main force, carrying supplies and occupying open terrain and water sources, was able to leverage its firepower advantage and hold the position.
The National Defense Force's entry into North Korea was too fast and too sudden. Yokotani Takeshi has only briefly clashed with the National Defense Force's infiltrated Class B units so far, and simply believes that these are the elite of the National Defense Force.
Yokotani Takeshi was unaware that the heavy firepower units of the National Defense Army, which had been lagging behind, had begun to arrive at the front lines one after another, and that two standing divisions of the National Defense Army had also joined the battle.
Next, a full five divisions will besiege him. Yokotani Takeshi still judges the current national defense army based on the standard he is most familiar with: the Qing Dynasty's Beiyang Six Divisions.
He had previously encountered National Defense Forces that were exhausted from days and nights of marching, but he had never met a National Defense Force that was bloodthirsty.
On the morning of the 12th, Yokotani Takeshi was surprised by the National Defense Army's swift and decisive encirclement. At 1 p.m., the 1st Division, which had not had time to rest, immediately launched a fierce attack on Ripingchuan, while the 27th Division also launched an attack in coordination.
The artillery units that arrived at the front line one after another assembled 25 105mm howitzers and began to bombard Lipingchuan. The Japanese mountain artillery positions were not far enough to reach the howitzers of the National Defense Army, and could only passively endure the bombing.
The overwhelming pressure dealt a heavy blow to the 3rd Division. Yokotani Takeshi immediately realized that things were not going well. This time, it was very likely that they would be destroyed here. It turned out that it was not that the 6th Division was too weak, but that the Chinese army was completely different.
The attack that afternoon was, in Yokotani Takeshi's view, very fierce, comparable to the Russian offensive.
But this was merely a probing attack launched by the exhausted National Defense Forces. After more than ten days of continuous combat, the personnel of all participating units were nearing their limits.
Colonel Du Zihua, the commander of the encirclement and annihilation battle, halted the attack after nightfall that day. Under Zhao Yan's strict orders, Du Zihua risked great danger to allow the participating troops a precious period of rest.
The soldiers of the National Defense Army are not made of iron. Since the forced crossing of the Yalu River, they have been engaged in continuous raids and battles. Even the most resilient soldiers are exhausted by now.