diymy Chapter 289 Zhang Kewei's jaw dropped: A war can be fought like this!
Chapter 289 Zhang Kewei's jaw dropped: A war can be fought like this!
The next chapter is even more exciting: Chapter 289 Zhang Kewei's jaw dropped: Battles can be fought like this, looking forward to your visit.
"He said he hoped we would send reinforcements as soon as possible to clear the road to Huangkan Village, otherwise the Third Division would be in danger of being completely annihilated."
Upon hearing this, Okamura Neiji dared not delay for a moment and quickened his pace toward the operations room.
The operations room was in complete chaos, brightly lit, with telephones ringing incessantly.
Staff officers rushed back and forth, carrying folders or telegram drafts, their faces showing tension and anxiety.
Some people were shouting loudly, while others were talking in hushed tones. The cacophony of sounds blended together like a pot of boiling porridge.
Upon seeing Okamura Yasuji return, Kawabe Torashiro, the Chief of Staff of the Central China Expeditionary Army, turned around, his face ashen.
"The situation is not good," he said, his voice low and hoarse. "The enemy's attack was very sudden, giving us almost no time to react."
As he spoke, he pointed to the large battle map hanging on the wall, which had been marked with new red and blue pencil marks.
A considerable area was recaptured by Li Jianghe's Third Column, and those blue arrows pierced the Japanese army's defenses like sharp knives.
This included large swathes of ground in the southern part of Minshan Township, as well as the crucial Huangkan Village—the lifeline of the Third Division.
Okamura Neiji walked over, placed his hands on the edge of the table, and stared at the map for a long time.
His brow furrowed, and his eyes darted back and forth among the arrows.
"Could it be that the enemy on the other side has been luring us deeper all along?" he muttered to himself, as if asking himself, or perhaps asking the riverbank.
"That's very likely the case," Kawabe Torashiro nodded, his short, stocky body trembling slightly with emotion.
"Yu Chuanxiang called just now and said that they are under immense pressure, and at the same time, a large number of artillery positions have been attacked by the enemy."
"Those artillery positions were taken down almost simultaneously, resulting in extremely heavy losses."
Clearly, the people by the river had no idea that this was a carefully laid trap.
They were like a pack of wild beasts lured into a cage, and now the cage door is slowly closing.
Okamura Neiji closed his eyes slightly, his fingers tapping lightly on the table, as if he were calculating something.
After thinking for a moment, he opened his eyes and his gaze returned to the map.
"No matter what, let the 107th Division go there to provide support and defeat the enemy forces in Huangkan Village."
"The enemy's offensive may seem fierce, but in fact, the greatest threat is the enemy in Huangkan Village, which is the key to the entire encirclement."
Kawabe Torashiro nodded in agreement: "That's right. Once this passage is opened, the enemy's attacks, whether from the front or the flanks, will be greatly reduced in effectiveness."
"The Third Division can also withdraw from Minshan Township, preserving its main force from being completely annihilated."
Okamura Neiji then said...
"In fact, this may not be a bad thing."
"The fact that Li Jianghe's Third Column was able to launch such a large-scale counterattack shows that they have gone all out without holding back."
"In that case, let's fight them to the death in this area and see who gives up first."
That same evening, the Japanese 107th Division received orders to move south to reinforce the 3rd Division and launch a fierce attack on Huangkan Village.
Inside the command post of Li Jianghe's Third Column, reports of the counterattacks from various directions were coming in one after another.
The telegraph machine beeped incessantly, like a hurried battle hymn.
Regiment Commander Zhang Kewei stood in front of the map, looking at the markings, his mouth slightly open, unable to close it for a long time.
The areas occupied by the Japanese army are being recovered rapidly, as quickly as erasing pencil marks with an eraser.
"Report: The Japanese positions in the southern part of Minshan Township have been completely breached. Our troops have switched to street fighting and are now fighting house by house!"
"Report: The Japanese battalion in Huangkan Village has been defeated. Our troops are constructing a defensive line, which is expected to be completed within two hours!"
"Report: The surprise attack on the Japanese artillery positions was a great success, destroying at least thirty enemy artillery pieces!"
"Report! Our troops on the flank ambushed a Japanese battalion attempting to reinforce Huangkan Village. After two hours of fierce fighting, we annihilated over 600 Japanese soldiers!"
The telegrams kept coming in, and the cumulative number of enemy troops killed in them was shocking.
That one night, Zhang Kewei roughly calculated that Li Jianghe's third column had killed at least three thousand Japanese soldiers.
This is just a preliminary count, and the number will definitely increase further, at least to over four thousand.
For Zhang Kewei, this was almost unimaginable, like a fairy tale.
His First Army Corps fought fiercely against the Japanese 7th and 106th Divisions for several days.
The total number of Japanese soldiers killed in the previous and subsequent battles combined was less than this number, and tens of thousands of our brothers lost their lives.
What he found even more incredible was the speed of Li Jianghe's third column's advance.
From the moment he heard the first cannon shot to the moment he recaptured large swathes of lost territory, only five or six hours had passed.
From the moment he heard the first cannon shot to the moment he recaptured large swathes of lost territory, only five or six hours had passed.
If this had been the First Army Corps, it would have required at least a week of back-and-forth fighting with the Japanese.
Only through repeated battles and assaults could these areas be barely recaptured.
There was even a possibility that the Japanese army would push them back, causing all their efforts to be in vain.
What formidable fighting power! Those troublesome Japanese troops were as fragile as paper in front of Li Jianghe's Third Column.
Zhang Kewei recalled his past experiences fighting against the Japanese army, and his heart was filled with mixed feelings.
"Commander Zhang, what's wrong?" Seeing Zhang Kewei standing there in a daze, Li Jianghe brought over a cup of tea and asked.
The tea in the cup was steaming, and the tea leaves were slowly unfurling in the boiling water, releasing a faint fragrance.
Zhang Kewei hurriedly accepted the cup of tea with both hands, feeling flattered. He then looked at the map, his tone filled with awe.
"Sir, this...this armored force's advance is so rapid? I've never seen this kind of fighting before."
Looking at the map, Li Jianghe thought to himself that it was no wonder he asked that question; such an attack speed was indeed beyond their comprehension.
"It's alright," he said calmly, appearing completely unfazed. "Actually, it's mainly due to the limitations of the terrain."
"We couldn't deploy all our forces, otherwise it would have been faster, maybe three hours would have been enough."
Zhang Kewei took a deep breath, as if he was trying to digest what Li Jianghe had said.
When he looked at the map again, there was something different in his eyes.
"No wonder...no wonder you said we should launch a counterattack and wipe out these Japanese devils," he said sincerely.
"The Third Column truly lives up to its reputation. Today has been an eye-opening experience; I've never seen a battle like this in my entire life."
He wasn't flattering anyone; he was genuinely impressed. He'd never seen a battle fought like this before.