Songhu: Never Give Up

Early October, South Line, Wanjialing
The battle to annihilate the 106th Division had entered its final moments, and Xue Boling was constantly deploying troops, intending to completely annihilate the fat meat that was within his grasp;
This was the first time that the National Army had a good opportunity to encircle and annihilate an entire division of the Japanese invaders. Xue Lao Hu, who had always been arrogant, naturally would not miss it.

The commander of the Central China Front Army, Hata Shunroku, could not accept the cruel reality that an entire division was annihilated by the National Army, and was doing everything he could to rescue them. However, the battle was still confusing and contained countless variables.

At the Ninth War Zone Headquarters, Xue Boling's tiger eyes were fixed on the map, and his gaze never left Wanjialing.

At this time, the command system of the Ninth War Zone had been adjusted. Chen Cixiu no longer served as the commander of the Ninth War Zone, and was replaced by Xue Boling, commander-in-chief of the First Corps.

The National Government also realized that Chen Cixiu was more skilled in politics and was not up to the task of commanding hundreds of thousands of central troops.
The two sides of the Battle of Wuhan had entered the mid-game decisive stage. At this time, they naturally needed a veteran military figure like Xue Boling to take command. Not long after taking office, he surrounded the isolated 106th Division.

This is Xue Boling's battle to restore his reputation, and he wants to use the 106th Division as a sacrifice!
"General, the 66th Army on the northern front, the 74th Army on the southern front, the 4th Army on the eastern front, and the 91st Division and the new 13th Division on the western front are all in place. Shall we launch a general offensive?"

Xue Boling was not in a hurry to make a final decision, but asked:

"Where has Okamura Neiji's reinforcements advanced so far?"

Lieutenant General Xia Sheng, Chief of Staff of the Ninth Theater, quickly replied:
“The 27th Division on Ruiwu Road is storming Kirin Peak, intending to rescue the 106th Division from the west;

The 101st Division on Dexing Road attacked Aikou Street again and tried to break the siege from the east, but was blocked by the 29th Army and could not move forward. The two sides fought and blood flowed like a river, and the 29th Army suffered heavy casualties.

Xue Boling immediately frowned and said:
"No matter how heavy the casualties are, you must hold on. I will replenish whatever is lost. If you dare to let a single Japanese soldier pass Aikou Street, don't blame the military law for being ruthless!"

Xia Sheng continued:
“刚刚接到最新消息，吴奇伟所部新13师和第91师在万家岭西面出口的城门山上将101师团第149联队全歼，彻底粉碎了106师团西逃的幻想。

Trapped in a desperate situation, Matsuura Junrokuro ordered the 106th Division's 111th Brigade to break out to Zhanggushan, a commanding height south of Wanjialing, with a thousand men in each echelon, under the cover of aircraft and artillery.

The 74st and 51th Divisions of the 58th Army engaged in a fierce tug-of-war with the Japanese troops who broke through the encirclement. The positions changed hands several times, and they repelled the Japanese counterattack, blocking the only way out for the 106th Division on the Wanjialing battlefield.

Now the 106th Division was surrounded, but Hata Shunroku was unwilling to accept defeat, and he mobilized three reinforcements from the periphery to rush to the Wanjialing battlefield;
This is equivalent to forming a trap within a trap. If we fail to annihilate the 106th Division in time, we may be surrounded by the three armies of the Japanese. "

After Xia Sheng finished speaking, he marked the locations of the three Japanese reinforcements on the map. Although they were still some distance away from the main battlefield, there was still a great risk, which aroused Xue Boling's vigilance.

He knew the nature of the Nationalist Army too well. Once the Japanese reinforcements approached, these people would panic and lose their composure, and the tragedy of the Battle of Lanfeng would be repeated.

Thinking of this, he finally made up his mind. Even if he couldn't completely wipe out the enemy, he had to eliminate the main force of the 106th Division first and not give the Japanese a chance to turn the tables.

"Chief of Staff Xia, telegraph to all units to immediately launch a general offensive against the enemy in front of them, and to completely and thoroughly eliminate the surrounded enemy!

At all costs, I will replenish them as much as they need after the battle. If anyone wants to save their strength and let the devils escape, don't blame me, Xue Boling, for turning my back on you."

Xue Boling said in a domineering manner that since the failure of the Lanfenghui battle, Xue Boling had once again surrounded a Japanese division, and he would never allow himself to fall into the same pit again.

Following Xue Boling's order, all the troops launched a fierce attack on the besieged Japanese soldiers. Tens of thousands of soldiers charged forward under the Japanese soldiers' dense firepower, one after another, and the blood dyed the gullies in the mountainous area of ​​Nanxun Road red.
Under the fierce attack of the National Army without regard for casualties, the Japanese troops' manpower and firepower were consumed greatly, their defense lines were constantly broken, entire squadrons and battalions of the Japanese troops who resisted stubbornly were annihilated, and the encirclement was shrinking less and less.

By October 10, all the enemy artillery positions were destroyed. That night, various units organized 9 death squads to launch a night attack.

The main force launched an all-out attack on Jianlusu, Wanjialing, Tianbusu, Leimingguliu, Yangjiashan and other places.

Without heavy firepower suppression, the remnants of the 106th Division were completely defeated under the siege of more than 4 troops from 8 armies and divisions of the Nationalist Army.

After a night of fierce fighting, the 66th Army recaptured Wanjialing and Tianbusu, the 4th Army recaptured Dajinshan and Jianlusu, the 74th Army recaptured Zhanggushan, the 91st Division recaptured the unnamed village northeast of Yangjiashan, and the 142nd Division recaptured the high ground at the northern end of Yangjiashan. Each unit annihilated thousands of enemies.

On the morning of the 10th, the 106th Division, which had been trapped in an ambush from all sides, began to break out. In order to rescue the remnants of the 106th Division, the Japanese sent a large number of planes to support them as soon as daybreak.
Rows of bombs fell from the sky into the crowd of besieging troops, and thousands of soldiers fell in a pool of blood.

The commander of the 106th Division, Junrokuro Matsuura, took advantage of the chaos caused by the bombing and led the division headquarters to break out in the direction of Zhangshuao under the cover of hundreds of Japanese soldiers.
On the way, they were intercepted by the garrison of the 66th Division of the 159th Army stationed in Shibaoshan, resulting in more than 700 casualties. In the end, only two or three hundred people were left to escape with Songura.

After the enemy aircraft group left, the troops involved in the siege did not notice that the old enemy Matsuura had escaped, but continued to close the net and wipe out the remaining enemies;
It was not until noon that all the remaining enemies were wiped out. After repeatedly sweeping the battlefield, no trace of the Songpu Japs was found, so they had to give up.

The Wanjialing Victory caused a sensation throughout the country. Countless people from north to south and inside and outside the Great Wall ran around to tell each other and cried for joy. Major newspapers competed to report on the victory. Wuhan, Changsha, Chongqing, Guangzhou and other major cities held grand celebration parades. Even friendly countries internationally sent congratulatory messages.

At the guerrilla column headquarters, Chief of Staff Chen Zhongyuan said loudly:
“薛长官指挥第1兵团歼灭了106师团的第123联队，第145联队，第147联队，101师团的第149联队及其参战的配属部队，共计17000余人；

We seized more than 200 heavy machine guns, more than 16 long and short guns, 28 mountain cannons, 300 mortars, more than 100 war horses, and captured more than Japanese soldiers. "

Everyone cheered. As long as they heard that the Chinese had won a great victory, everyone would be excited and proud.

Seeing that the morale was high, Yue Qianli stood up and said loudly:
“Brothers, since the beginning of the Battle of Wuhan, our million-strong national army has fought fiercely with hundreds of thousands of Japanese invaders for months on the thousands-mile defense line on both sides of the Yangtze River. We have fought thousands of battles, big and small, and made the Japanese invaders pay a heavy price.
The Japanese have already deployed 40 troops and replenished them several times during this period, almost exhausting their all. This time, they lost more than soldiers in the Battle of Wanjialing. No matter how the war develops later, the Japanese will lose their strategic offensive capability after the war.

The devil's dream of destroying China in a short period of time has been shattered! "

Everyone cheered again, and some even cried for joy;

Once upon a time, the shadow of national extinction had always hung over the heads of the Chinese people. When the city of Nanjing fell, many people lost confidence in victory, and the theory of national destruction became prevalent.

Some people chose to join the Japanese. Mainstream public opinion at home and abroad was pessimistic about China's war of resistance. Only Yanzhou in the northwest still firmly believed that China would not perish, and published "On Protracted War", which gave hope to the confused Chinese people and supported China to continue fighting.

Yue Qianli continued:

“Brothers, China’s war of resistance is about to enter a new era, that is, the strategic stalemate stage;

A great victory at Wanjialing could not change the current situation where the enemy was strong and we were weak. No matter who won or lost the Battle of Wuhan, neither side could completely defeat the other in a short period of time.

The theory of national destruction and the theory of quick victory are both unacceptable. A protracted war is the only one that suits the current situation.
There is no shortcut to a strategic stalemate; the competition is about who is more resilient and who can endure the huge consumption year after year.

We Chinese would rather die with honor than live in disgrace. Even if the battle lasts another ten or twenty years, we will fight to the end!"

Duan Yulin also took over and said:
"China has a vast territory and a population of hundreds of millions. As long as we firmly fight the devils and continue to consume their manpower, material resources, and financial resources;
One day they will be reduced to a situation where they have neither soldiers to fight nor supplies to use, and then the era of strategic counterattack will come.

I firmly believe that this day will eventually come, and victory belongs to China, and will definitely belong to China! "

Everyone shouted the slogan of victory in the war of resistance again. The crowd was excited. Monica captured this passionate moment with her camera and wrote a news report titled "Victory Will Belong to China";

The article quoted many of Yue Qianli's views, which once again pushed the people's enthusiasm for the war of resistance to a climax. At the same time, it also to a certain extent influenced the friendly countries' understanding of China's prospects for the war of resistance.

But after the allies recognized that China would not perish, they began to support China vigorously, because as long as China did not perish, all their investments and aid would be rewarded;
This world is so realistic. Only when others recognize your strength will all kinds of assistance come to you continuously.

After the Battle of Wanjialing, the Central China Front Army redeployed its forces and advanced on De'an from three directions. The Chinese defenders set up defenses layer by layer and blocked the enemy's advance step by step, constantly consuming the enemy's manpower, material resources, and financial resources in the process of defense.
By the 27th, the First Corps had abandoned De'an. In order to avoid a desperate battle with the Japanese, Xue Boling ordered his troops to retreat to the south bank of Xiushui and confront the Japanese across the river.

At the same time, the battle of Xiaojieling was decided. The main force of the 71st Army, with the cooperation of the guerrilla column, fought fiercely with two divisions of the Japanese for more than a month, causing them to suffer heavy casualties.

第71军3个师仅余4个团，而第30军除工兵、通讯兵外，战斗员不及3000人，其中第30师只剩下160多人。

Thanks to the guerrilla column's coordinated operations on the flank, Xiaojieling held out for more than ten days longer than in another time and space, and held out until the end of October, causing the Japanese to suffer even heavier casualties.

On the 26th, the 3rd and 10th Divisions advancing westward captured Anlu and headed straight for Xinyang. The Hu Shoushan Corps responsible for the defense of the Pinghan Line abandoned Xinyang without firing a single shot and retreated to the northwest of Xinyang, leaving the front line empty and shocking the entire line.

The 5th War Zone Commander-in-Chief immediately ordered all units to quickly retreat to the area west of the Han River to prevent the main force from being surrounded and annihilated by the Japanese.

Luo Zhuoying's Wuhan garrison troops and Liu Ruming's 68th Army and other units fought repeatedly with the Japanese army on the Sanguan line. Using the favorable terrain, they delayed the enemy's southward advance and covered the retreat of the troops east of the Pinghan Road.

It was not until October 10 that the Japanese completely controlled Pingjingguan and Wushengguan and completed the encirclement. However, the main force of the Fifth War Zone had already broken out, and only a small number of troops were lost. The battle on the northern front came to an end. (End of this chapter)