The Ozawa Regiment

During the Great Wall War of Resistance, General Muto Nobuyoshi, commander of the Japanese Kwantung Army, had personally led the Japanese 6th and 8th Divisions out of Chengde to launch offensives against Gubeikou, Luowenyu, Xifengkou, Lengkou, and other passes along the Great Wall. At that time, the primary defense sector of Song Zheyuan's 29th Army had been the prominent salient of the Great Wall—Xifengkou. The force tasked with attacking Xifengkou was the Suzuki Brigade under the 8th Division, and its vanguard had been none other than the Ozawa Battalion. By now, the Ozawa Battalion had been transferred under the command of the Japanese China Garrison Army Headquarters and expanded to the size of a regiment. The Ozawa Regiment was one of the few full-strength Japanese infantry regiments currently in the Beiping-Tianjin region. It comprised three infantry battalions, an artillery company, and a signal company, totaling more than four thousand men. In terms of firepower, each infantry battalion at full establishment was equipped with over one hundred and fifty light and heavy machine guns, and the regiment possessed no fewer than eight 70 mm Type 92 infantry guns. The headquarters of the Ozawa Regiment was located in Sanhe County on the east bank of the Bai River. Just as dawn broke on July 8, word of the defeat at Fengtai was the first thing to force its way into Ozawa Sen'ichi's sight. Inside the command room, set against a backdrop of twin sun flags, Ozawa Sen'ichi had been awaiting word from the front. But what he had anticipated was news of Wanping being shelled. Just yesterday afternoon, he had received orders from the commander of the China Garrison Army to launch a predawn assault on Wanping. To that end, Ozawa Sen'ichi had ordered the Oshima Battalion, garrisoned northeast of Wanping, to serve as the main assault force, and instructed the Akita Company in the Fengtai area to attack Wanping's East Gate. To ensure complete victory in a single stroke, he had also borrowed two artillery companies from Brigade Commander Suzuki, securing a total of six howitzers and twelve mountain guns to assist in the assault. Taking Wanping and severing the transport lines was an objective Ozawa Sen'ichi was determined to achieve. Yet the first person to step into the command room was regimental staff officer Doi Hane, his expression rather grave. "Commander, a combat report from the front line." Doi held a dark yellow folder in his right hand, his pace somewhat hurried. "What happened?" Ozawa Sen'ichi was quick to detect the troubled look on his staff officer's face. He immediately reexamined his dispositions from last night regarding the assault on Wanping, but saw no flaw in them. "Is the fighting at Wanping not going smoothly?" Doi answered, "Fengtai Station was attacked. The Yamashita Company has been wiped out." "*Nani?*" Ozawa Sen'ichi's doubt instantly turned to fury. Snatching the document, he saw every word of the telegram confirming the intelligence. "Impossible! The 37th Division's communications were severed by our forces long ago. There is no way they could mobilize troops to seize Fengtai right now!" From the Japanese perspective, this logic was sound. From the very beginning, the operational plan to attack Wanping had been approved by China Garrison Army Headquarters. To deal a fatal blow to the 29th Army, the various Japanese units had drawn up meticulous plans. The earliest phase naturally involved manufacturing public outcry, provoking friction, and conducting military maneuvers. These served as the prelude to war, though not to disguise their motive; with the precedent of the September 18 Incident, the Chinese were already hyper-sensitive. Rather, the true Japanese objective was to blur the 29th Army's judgment regarding the timing of the outbreak of hostilities. Maneuvers every three days, drills every five days. What gave Tong Linge a headache was not how to fight once war broke out, but guessing in this delicate climate on which exact day the Japanese would ignite the conflict—it was a gamble in itself. And on this very day, the 7th, with the Ozawa Regiment as the main force, their strategic goal was to take Wanping and outflank Beiping. Stationed in this region was Feng Zhian's 37th Division of the 29th Army. Under cover of the rain, the Japanese severed Division Commander Feng's external communications, turning Wanping into an isolated stronghold. In such extreme confusion and chaos, Ozawa could not fathom how Feng's division could suddenly dispatch a surprise force to raid Fengtai. Furthermore, even though one company had been drawn away from Fengtai, the firepower of the Yamashita Company was such that even if they engaged the main regiment of the 29th Army, they could hardly be swallowed whole. With the words laid out in black and white before his eyes, Ozawa Sen'ichi let out a breath, set the telegram on the desk, and asked instead, "Doi-kun, was Wanping taken?" Before Doi could reply, a signalman came straight inside and handed Ozawa the combat report from Wanping. Ozawa opened the report, glanced at it, and immediately crumpled the paper into a ball, hurling it viciously to the floor. "*Ōshima wa baka da!* That bastard Oshima! He has truly betrayed my trust!" Doi's ears rang slightly from Ozawa's hysterical roar. He bent down, picked up the telegram, and smoothed it out to read. Sure enough, Oshima had failed to take Wanping. The 37th Division's resistance had been extraordinarily stubborn; after several back-and-forth clashes at the East Gate, Wanping remained unbreached. Yet the second half of the telegram detailed Oshima's countermeasure: having failed in the surprise attack on Wanping, he pivoted, raided Longwangmiao along Wanping's northern outskirts, and wiped out an entire battalion of Chinese defenders there. "Commander, failing to take Wanping isn't entirely Oshima's fault. Feng Zhian has always been known for his valor, and according to intelligence, there were signs that the 29th Army was reinforcing Wanping recently. It seems they were already prepared." Doi smoothed things over for Oshima's failure. He worried that if he did not speak up, with Ozawa's temper, he might order Oshima to commit seppuku on the spot. Then who would lead the troops? It would fall right onto him, the staff officer. Ozawa's fury had not subsided. Cursing, "No matter how many they have, they're still a rabble," he left his desk and walked over to the long conference table, furrowing his brows as he studied the military map of the Beiping-Tianjin theater. He muttered to himself: "Doi-kun, if Oshima hadn't even taken Longwangmiao, he really would have to atone to the Emperor with his life." Seeing Ozawa's anger cool slightly, Doi quickly held the map flat and chimed in, "Longwangmiao is a fortress to Wanping's north. With Oshima holding it, our forces can use Longwangmiao as a foothold to strike directly at Lugou Bridge and completely cut off the Chinese army's retreat!" "*Yoshi.*" A faint smile appeared on Ozawa's face. Experienced in battle, he swiftly adjusted his deployment based on the night's outcomes. "Order: The Oshima Battalion is to take Lugou Bridge before the end of today and press toward western Wanping. Order the Watanabe Battalion to conclude its rest and immediately march on Fengtai. They must completely wipe out that Chinese force from last night!" "*Hai!*" Receiving the order, Doi departed. The Watanabe Battalion was garrisoned at Dajing Village, southwest of Beiping. The remnants of the Japanese troops who had survived the night of slaughter by Sun's regiment had fled right there. Upon receiving the order, the battalion commander immediately mustered his troops, preparing to march south to retake Fengtai. Retaking Fengtai was not merely Ozawa seeking revenge for yesterday. Rather, reading between the lines of the tactical situation, he scented a golden opportunity to annihilate the entire 37th Division: As long as they took Fengtai, they could immediately push south of Wanping along the railway. If things went smoothly, Oshima would take Lugou Bridge today and control the western thoroughfare of Wanping, then seal off Wanping's eastern exit along the Ping-Han Railway. Trapping and annihilating the 37th Division inside Wanping would be a far more glorious victory than merely capturing Wanping in a surprise raid last night. At that very moment, other Japanese formations were attacking Nanyuan and Beiyuan in Beiping, and several areas west of the Yongding River were engulfed in flames. Along the entire Beiping-Tianjin line, the Chinese, Japanese, and puppet forces were locked in tangled combat. Meanwhile, the officers and men of Sun's regiment, frantically digging fortifications at Fengtai, were unaware of the outcomes of the other battles. And an elite, full-strength Japanese battalion was advancing toward them at top speed.