diymy Chapter 259: Orders from the Fifth War Zone Command to Annihilate 45,000 Japanese Soldiers
Chapter 259: Orders from the Fifth War Zone Command to Annihilate 45,000 Japanese Soldiers
He stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the gray sky over Nanjing.
The clouds hung low, as if they were about to fall, enveloping the entire city in an invisible cauldron.
"The rational choice for them is to engage in peace negotiations with us and end this war in a relatively dignified manner."
Hata Shunroku's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable certainty.
In Hata Shunroku's view, as long as Wuhan is captured and the Nationalist government's determination to resist is completely destroyed, they can be forced to sign the surrender document.
Even if it's not a surrender document, a ceasefire agreement is an acceptable option.
Just like the invasion of Northeast China—first, use force to tear open a breach, and then legitimize the fait accompli through negotiations.
Then, in the same way, they incorporated North China into their territory, gradually assimilating it to prepare for the next war of aggression.
His lips curled up slightly, as if he could already foresee that day coming.
The wind outside the window suddenly picked up, whipping up a few withered yellow leaves from the yard, which swirled in the air.
The leaves floated very high, almost reaching the eaves, but eventually fell back to the ground, shivering against the corner of the wall.
Hata Shunroku stared at the few leaves for a while, then the smile on his face gradually faded.
He turned back to the table, picked up the battle report again, and stared at the words "Tani Hisao killed in battle" for a long time.
In the Huainan direction, the smoke of battle finally began to dissipate.
The offensive by Li Jianghe's Third Column against the Sixth and Tenth Divisions has come to an end.
The sounds of gunfire on the battlefield ceased, replaced by the whistling of the wind across the fields and the occasional sporadic explosions in the distance—the sounds of unexploded ordnance being detonated.
Taking advantage of the situation, the Third Column recaptured several county towns and cities between Shihe and Huainan.
The Chinese flag has now been raised again in the places that were occupied by the Japanese army for several months.
The people emerged from their hiding places. Some stood by the roadside in a daze, some squatted in front of the ruins and wept, and some held the soldiers' hands, unable to speak, just shedding tears.
In addition, the 6th and 10th Divisions were also decimated in the process and have completely lost their ability to continue fighting.
The two once formidable first-class divisions are now reduced to mere remnants, like tigers with their teeth pulled, cowering in a corner licking their wounds.
Moreover, the Japanese 13th Division and the Imperial Guard Division to the south also switched to a defensive posture.
They were as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water over their heads; their previous arrogance vanished instantly, and they cowered in their fortifications, not daring to show their faces.
The atmosphere in the Third Column headquarters was much more relaxed than it had been a few days ago.
Yang Ruifu handed over the compiled battle report, his voice brimming with barely suppressed excitement:
"This time, we killed more Japanese soldiers than ever before—at least 45,000 Japanese soldiers were annihilated by us in Huoqiu and along the Shihe River."
He said "head" instead of "individual," which is an old habit of the Third Column.
In the mouths of the soldiers, those invaders were never human, but beasts in human skin.
This number is not an exaggeration. The Japanese 6th and 10th Divisions, along with additional attached units, did indeed suffer a considerable number of casualties in this area.
This can also be corroborated by the increase in Li Jianghe's merit points.
He glanced down at the numbers on the system panel; the fluctuating numbers looked like stacks of harvested wheat, piled high.
Enjoy reading "You Were Asked to Guard the Sihang Warehouse, But You Developed a German-Equipped Division".
Of course, in this operation, especially in the final assault against the Japanese forces on both the eastern and western fronts, Li Jianghe's Third Column also suffered heavy losses in tanks and soldiers.
Some of those tanks had their armor pierced by anti-tank gunfire and lay paralyzed on the battlefield, emitting black smoke; others had their tracks blown off by landmines and lay crookedly by the roadside like dead armored beetles.
The list of soldiers injured and killed is also very long, and behind each name is a precious life and a broken family.
In order to make greater progress as quickly as possible, Li Jianghe's Third Column completely disregarded casualties and equipment losses.
The frenzied attack completely shattered the Japanese defenses, but it also came at a considerable cost to the attackers.
Some companies had more than a hundred men before the charge, but after the charge, less than half of them remained.
But no one backed down, and no one complained.
Because they knew that killing one more Japanese soldier would bring some solace to the wronged souls in Nanjing.
Even so, after the replenishment, Li Jianghe's merit points still increased significantly, reaching more than 500,000.
He wouldn't have dared to dream of such a number before.
But looking at it now, Li Jianghe felt no emotion.
No amount of merit points can bring back the brothers who sacrificed their lives.
Especially with the expansion of the troop size, this consumption has increased sharply.
Every bullet, every liter of fuel, and every piece of dry rations will be deducted from your merit points.
If a tank breaks down, it needs to be repaired; if it can't be repaired, it needs to be replaced; and replacing it with a new one costs a lot of money.
Li Jianghe was well aware that the composition of his troops in the future could not be limited to fully armored forces; the composition of infantry forces must also be taken into account.
Putting aside other factors, they will also need to face battles on various terrains in the future.
For example, in the densely water-networked Jiangnan region, the operations of mechanized troops would be greatly restricted.
Those crisscrossing rivers and paddy fields made even walking difficult, let alone driving a chariot.
For example, in mountainous and forested areas, although mechanized troops still possess considerable offensive capabilities, they are far less agile than infantry.
Moreover, logistics in mountainous and forested areas is a major problem—supply lines are too long and could be cut off at any time.
"No matter what, killing that executioner, Tani Hisao, is a way of venting my anger."
As Li Jianghe spoke, he pushed a telegram over.
That was a telegram from the Fifth War Zone Command, ordering Li Jianghe to go to the Fifth War Zone Provisional Command Headquarters in Gushi for a meeting that evening.
He tapped the telegram twice with his fingers and added, "The situation in Jiujiang is starting to become unsustainable."
"Jiujiang?"
The eyes of everyone in the command center immediately fell on the large map hanging on the wall.
The battle lines of both sides were marked in red and blue on the map. Several gaps had appeared in the red Nationalist army markings in the Jiujiang area, like a window paper that had been smashed by a stone.
At this very moment, the area where Jiujiang is located is being subjected to repeated attacks by multiple Japanese divisions, as well as surface and air forces.
Japanese gunboats lined up on the Yangtze River, their cannons aimed at the positions on the shore, spitting fire incessantly.
Bombers flew in flocks, darkening the sky like migratory birds, raining tons of bombs down on the Nationalist army.
The Nationalist troops originally stationed in the Jiujiang area have completely retreated.
The area between Tianjia Town and Fuchikou has fallen into the hands of the Japanese army.