diymy Chapter 266 Okamura Neiji Appears, Wanjialing
Chapter 266 Okamura Neiji Appears, Wanjialing
The main force should arrive in two days at most.
When the news reached the Ninth War Zone Command, Chen Cheng was having breakfast.
He put down his chopsticks, took the telegram, read it once, then read it again, and then let out a long sigh.
The breath seemed to have been held in his chest for a long time, and it trembled slightly when he exhaled.
As the saying goes, speed is of the essence in war.
The marching speed of Li Jianghe's troops was truly admirable.
Chen Cheng stood up, walked to the window, and watched as the sky outside gradually brightened.
The distant mountains are faintly visible in the morning mist, like a traditional Chinese ink painting.
He knew that gunfire would soon erupt in those mountains.
This time, however, he felt more confident.
It wasn't because reinforcements had arrived, but because it was Li Jianghe—that young man who never lost a battle.
East of Futu Town lies Yangxin County. Beyond Yangxin County lies the area already occupied by the Japanese army.
The scenery on both sides is completely different, like a painting that has been torn in half—the west side is still in Chinese hands, while the east side has already been planted with the Rising Sun flag.
The atmosphere in the temporary command post of Li Jianghe's Third Column in Futu Town was slightly more relaxed than in the trenches at the front, but not by much.
Long Wenzhang, who had already been assigned to fight here, gave Li Jianghe a solemn military salute.
His movements were as precise as if they were drawn in a textbook, his back ramrod straight and his chin slightly tucked in.
But as soon as the ceremony was over, he immediately put on a grin and casually snatched a pack of cigarettes that Li Jianghe had placed on the table into his own hand, his movements as swift as the wind.
"Clatter!"
A flame shot out from the lighter, and a small orange tongue licked the cigarette butt, causing the smoke to begin to swirl.
Long Wenzhang took a deep breath, squinted his eyes, and looked as if he were savoring some rare delicacy.
Li Jianghe looked at Long Wenzhang and noticed that although he still had a smiling face, his face now bore the marks of the hardships endured on the battlefield.
That kind of vicissitude wasn't wrinkles, but something in his eyes—as if a thin layer of gray had settled over his eyes after witnessing too much life and death.
"How's the game going?"
As Li Jianghe spoke, he lit a cigarette, the light of the match illuminating half of his face.
He now needs to understand the situation on the front lines. Long Wenzhang has been here for some time and naturally knows more about it than anyone else.
Long Wenzhang took another drag of his cigarette, the smoke billowing from his nostrils like two small gray snakes.
He was silent for a few seconds, as if sorting through the jumbled images in his mind, before he spoke:
"Not good. We've lost Tianjia Town and Fuchikou, which means we still have half of the mountain in our hands."
His voice was much lower than usual, and he no longer had that usual nonchalant air about him.
"The Japanese on the front line numbered at least 70,000 to 80,000, with fierce firepower, and the fleet in the Yangtze River was also assisting in the bombardment. As soon as it got light, Japanese planes were constantly dropping bombs overhead—incendiary bombs, high-explosive bombs, poison gas bombs... you name it, they used it all."
As he spoke, he became lost in his memories.
Images flashed through my mind—the mud kicked up by falling shells, limbs blown off, burning positions, and the sight of Nationalist soldiers falling one after another.
Yes, this battle was extremely brutal.
The Nationalist troops stationed in this area were subjected to fierce attacks by the Japanese army almost every day.
The position changed hands repeatedly, like a piece of red-hot iron; whoever held it would get burned.
The Nationalist troops guarding the front lines often found themselves crippled within three days of being thrown in, with only one division remaining, forcing them to be withdrawn.
The soldiers who retreated had blank stares, were covered in blood, and some could barely hold their guns.
Numerous Nationalist troops remained in this area, ranging from the Northwest Army to the Guangxi Clique, the Central Army, and even local security regiments.
However, when facing the Japanese army head-on, they found it extremely difficult to win.
It seems that no matter which unit is assigned, the result is the same—they are scattered, crippled, and driven back.
"In short, it's a tough fight. No wonder the higher-ups wanted to transfer our entire Third Column here."
Long Wenzhang concluded by saying that he had finished the cigarette and stubbed it out between his fingers with a soft "hiss".
Yang Ruifu pushed up his black-rimmed glasses, his eyes behind the lenses showing a thoughtful expression:
"If that's the case, then if we send our third column in, it'll probably be a war of attrition."
His voice wasn't loud, but it touched on the biggest concern in everyone's heart.
Li Jianghe looked at the terrain filled with mountains and rivers, his brows furrowing slightly.
Given this terrain, only infantry can maneuver and infiltrate.
Those steep slopes, narrow valleys, and dense forests were the graveyards of chariots.
Armored units can only travel on main roads, making it too difficult to conduct covert operations.
Moreover, mountains and rivers restrict its mobility, like invisible chains that tether the steel behemoth to the spot.
In plains areas, marching hundreds of miles overnight was as easy as eating for the mechanized Third Column.
However, in mountainous and forested areas, this number is greatly reduced, as if someone has sandbags tied to their legs, making it impossible to run fast no matter how hard they try.
Li Jianghe stared at the battle situation map and fell into deep thought.
The red and blue markings intertwined under the dim light, like an unfinished game of chess.
"Then let's wait, until the Japanese army shows a weakness."
Li Jianghe spoke calmly, as if he were talking about something completely ordinary.
He was gritting his teeth and holding on, and the Japanese soldiers on the other side were doing the same.
War is like an arm wrestling match; whoever gives in first loses.
Necessity is the mother of invention. Okamura Yasuji, the Japanese forward commander in Jiujiang, was also a "master of ideas." He was bound to be dissatisfied with the long-standing stalemate and eager to make changes.
Li Jianghe knew perfectly well that the National Revolutionary Army's "Great Victory at Wanjialing" was achieved because the Japanese army wanted to encircle and annihilate the National Revolutionary Army by sending troops deep into enemy territory, where they were then surrounded and destroyed by Xue Yue.
It was only because the National Revolutionary Army was poorly equipped and lacked ammunition that the Battle of Wanjialing was possible; otherwise, the entire Japanese division could have been wiped out.
Thinking of this, he tapped his fingers lightly twice on the map, as if tapping on some unseen drumbeat.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere in Okamura Yasuji's command post was much more relaxed than that on Li Jianghe's side.
Kawabe Torashiro, as Chief of the General Staff, has personally gone to the front lines.
He was short and stocky, with solid muscles, like a short, stout iron pillar, yet he exuded a sense of oppression when sitting in his chair.
He put down the teacup in his hand, the bottom of the cup hitting the table with a slight "click", and then looked up at Okamura Neiji.
"Okamura-kun, the four divisions drawn from the mainland and Manchuria will arrive at the front lines in the next couple of days."
"His Excellency the Commander is quite dissatisfied with the current stalemate and needs to make some adjustments in the battle to inflict heavy losses on these Nationalist troops."
Upon hearing this, Okamura Neiji seemed to have been waiting for these words, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, revealing a smile.
That smile carried the satisfaction of a hunter about to close the net.
"Previously, we didn't have enough troops to make any risky offensive attempts. Now that four divisions have been dispatched to reinforce the Jiujiang front, our previously planned strategy can finally be put into practice."
As he spoke, his finger landed on a point on the map.
Wanjialing.