The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 385 Firefighting Team? (Two-in-one chapter)

On December 19, 1939, the second day after the Battle of Kunlun Pass began, at 3 p.m.

Location: Wutang, about 50 miles away from Nanning City.

Seeing the Nationalist army blocking force finally collapse under the charge of his infantry, Miki Yoshinosuke, the colonel commander of the 21st Infantry Regiment, finally breathed a long sigh of relief.

These troops, who were originally stationed in Nanning, only learned of this terrible news yesterday noon, more than ten hours after the Nationalist army had launched its attack.

Under the orders of Division Commander Jin Tsuyoshi, Miki Yoshinosuke immediately set off with his men.

And when he set off, he received a death order: Kunlun Pass is the gateway to Nanning City, and this place must not be lost. He must arrive before it falls, or military law will be merciless.

After arriving here, they encountered the newly formed 22nd Division of the National Revolutionary Army, and one of its subordinate units fought desperately to block them.

Despite being a newly formed unit, this force boasts a large number of elite veterans and is equipped with excellent weaponry, truly deserving of its reputation as one of the elite Fifth Army of the National Revolutionary Army.

After several consecutive attacks, the 21st Infantry Regiment was driven back each time.

Ironically, during this process, the divisional command in Nanning and the garrison troops stationed at Kunlun Pass contacted him every now and then via radio.

They weren't asking him where he was now, or why he was taking so long.
It was to tell him how fierce the Nationalist army's offensive at Kunlun Pass was, which of their outer positions had already fallen, and that if they didn't come soon, they wouldn't be able to hold out and would all be wiped out, and so on.

In short, they were urging him relentlessly to bring reinforcements to Kunlun Pass as soon as possible.

As time went on, Miki Yoshinosuke, in his anxiety and frustration, developed several blisters on his lips.

Fortunately, he had just concentrated all his artillery and bombarded the enemy relentlessly, regardless of ammunition consumption, and had also given the attacking troops a death order.

This sniper unit, with its formidable combat power and fighting spirit, was finally defeated by them.

After letting out a huge sigh of relief, Miki Yoshinosuke didn't dare to delay for the slightest and roared out the order:
"Ignore those Nationalist soldiers who have fled. Everyone get on the vehicles and quickly move towards Kunlun Pass. Tell the garrison at Kunlun Pass to hold out for another two hours. Our 21st Regiment will definitely be there."

The reason they could guarantee arriving in two hours was because the 21st Regiment, led by Miki Yoshinosuke, had a large number of vehicles from the 5th Division, totaling more than two hundred vehicles of various types.

It was also equipped with a number of armored vehicles, possessing strong assault capabilities and rapid mobility.

Therefore, in the following period, the Japanese 21st Regiment, as a support unit, quickly passed through Liutang, Qitang, Batang and other places with the help of full mechanization.

We're about to arrive at Jiutang, and after Jiutang is our destination, Kunlun Pass.

As Jiutang drew closer, Miki Yoshinosuke's tense nerves gradually relaxed; but at this crucial moment, a huge and shocking change occurred.

Without warning, a large number of tanks emerged from their hiding places on both sides of the road and launched an attack on them.

In the first instance, they used tank cannons to blow up the Japanese vanguard vehicles, destroyed the bridge behind them, and stretched the Japanese troops into a long, single-file formation, completely blocking them on this dirt road.

This tank unit was naturally Commander Qiu's trump card, which he had prepared in advance.

Or perhaps Miki Yoshinosuke's breakthrough was a decoy that Qiu Qingquan intentionally used to lure them into an ambush.

The purpose was to use tank units to charge and catch the Japanese 21st Regiment off guard; and this ambush was very effective.

The newly formed 22nd Division's tank unit had a total of 70 Russian T-26B tanks.

How should I describe this thing? It's a type of light tank, weighing only 9.5 tons. The tank crew consists of three people, and its armament includes a 45mm tank gun and a vehicle-mounted machine gun.

If placed on a Western battlefield, facing troops with abundant anti-tank weapons, this thing would be easily destroyed in a head-on charge.

However, it proved surprisingly effective against the Japanese, whose anti-tank weapons were equally weak and who were even accustomed to the fact that the National Revolutionary Army did not have tanks.

Faced with the tank charge of the 22nd Division, these Japanese soldiers finally tasted the bittersweet feeling of helplessness and resentment that their former Nationalist comrades had felt when confronted with these iron-clad bastards.

They fired at them relentlessly, but the bullets only produced sparks and had absolutely no effect.

Instead, they were easily wiped out by the firepower of tank cannons and machine guns.

He wanted to grab a bomb and a bunch of grenades and forcefully blow up these metal lumps, but he was shot dead halfway there from a great distance.

In short, the Japanese 21st Regiment had absolutely no ability to resist such an armored assault.

Faced with this scene, after nearly grinding his back teeth to powder, Colonel Miki Yoshinosuke issued a helpless order:

"Immediately abandon all vehicles and retreat into the hills and mountains on both sides of the road where tanks cannot pursue."

Under this order, the Japanese reinforcements abandoned all their cars, tanks, artillery, and supplies, and even discarded large quantities of light and heavy weapons.

Qiu Qingquan did not inform the military headquarters or friendly forces in advance about this tactic of letting the Japanese soldiers in.

Only when such a time has come should we request the military headquarters and allied forces to mobilize troops to jointly encircle and annihilate this Japanese force.

Upon hearing the news, Du Yuming was nearly driven mad with anger, but with the die already cast, he had no choice but to deploy the reserve forces of the 1st Honorary Division and the 200th Division to participate in the encirclement and suppression of this Japanese reinforcement.

It turned out that these panicked Japanese soldiers were actually much easier to defeat than usual.

After a fierce battle, only a portion of the 21st Regiment survived, and with the replacement of the garrison at Kunlun Pass, they fled in a sorry state.

In summary, Qiu Qingquan truly deserves to be called one of the best among the second-term graduates of the Whampoa Military Academy and those who went to Germany for further studies; his military and command abilities are quite good, and he really has some skills.

He truly lived up to his nickname "Crazy Qiu," his tactics were incredibly bold.

Objectively speaking, he also made many contributions to the country and the people during the War of Resistance against Japan.

However, what did this person say? He was eccentric, irritable, stubborn, and somewhat arrogant and superstitious, which doomed him to a tragic end.

And there he was! Looking at the Japanese corpses scattered all over the ground, and the large amount of abandoned light and heavy equipment, Qiu Qingquan muttered something in a voice only he could hear:
"Hu Biao, Commander Hu, can you pull off such a brilliant armored warfare operation?"

At the same time, on the main battlefield of Gaofeng Pass, Hu Biao sneezed loudly with a "choo," and tears and snot came out.

Then this guy took out a handkerchief, wiped it, and started cursing: "Which bastard is so bored that he's talking about me behind my back all the time?"

After he finished yelling, he didn't take the matter to heart.

At that moment, he was leading a group of people, including Annie, Black Star, Uncle Bo, the warehouse manager, and Old Ma, on a patrol of the battlefield.

Although nowadays in the surrounding areas, the Nationalist army and the Japanese are fighting so fiercely that their brains are almost spilling out.

At Gaofeng Pass, it seemed as if the whole world had forgotten about it. The one or two thousand Japanese soldiers below the mountain remained in the defensive line, confronting them without showing any intention of launching an attack.

However, on the positions at Gaofeng Pass and the two hilltops on the left and right, there were always four companies of troops taking turns to defend.

Furthermore, officers like Hu Biao would conduct random checks every day, just in case the Japanese suddenly launched a sneak attack; after all, they were Japanese! There was nothing they wouldn't do.

The results of this random inspection seem to be quite good.

The brothers did not boast or chat on the ground, nor did they take the opportunity to doze off. Instead, they kept a vigilant watch on the Japanese soldiers below the mountain, performing their duties very diligently.

As they walked, a lieutenant, who had learned of their arrival, hurried over.

Because the trenches were deep enough, there was no need to worry about the Japanese shooting from behind. As the company commander saluted Hu Biao and his men, he also respectfully called out:
"I have met Principal Hu, Director An, Director Hei, Director Bo, Director Cang, and Director Ma. Please give your instructions."

"Stop calling me 'principal' and 'director' all that nonsense. I've told you so many times, honestly." Hu Biao reprimanded them after hearing this.

Despite the insults, the group of time travelers, including himself, wore smug expressions.

The lieutenant, instead of getting angry after being reprimanded, spoke with a grin:
"A teacher for a day is a teacher for life. All of you officers have taught us so much. You will be my principal, director and teacher for life."

The ordinary soldiers who witnessed this scene wore smiles, but also considerable envy. This was because the number of former Guangxi Army officers in the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment was quite small.

Furthermore, in the view of Hu Biao and others, apart from a few individuals such as Zhong Shidao and Tan Li, these officers were generally unqualified, especially in their extremely limited understanding of modern warfare.

What to do? Of course, it's the same as what the current Chinese Nationalist Army and local warlords are doing: first establish a military academy, then open a short-term officer training course to temporarily intensively train them.

As for the name of the military academy, it would be the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment Officers' Training School.

The name of this training course is Gaofeng Pass Phase 1.

Under these circumstances, all officers of the rank of deputy platoon leader and above in the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment would attend training classes whenever they were not on duty.

The training course is tentatively scheduled to last two weeks, and the instructors will naturally be a group of transmigrators, each of them imparting some of their own expertise.

Incidentally, Hu Biao became the principal of the school, and the others became the directors of discipline, teaching, logistics, and various departments.

So, the officers participating in the training course started calling them principal and director.

Although Hu Biao and his buddies had some idea of ​​what was going on, and knew that the training program they had put together was far inferior to the renowned Whampoa Military Academy.

Compared to the martial arts academies run independently in various places, the gap in conditions in all aspects is also quite large.

Even so, Hu Biao and his fellow country bumpkins were still incredibly pleased when people called them principal and director.

No wonder! That bald guy likes his officers the most; they call him 'Principal'.

In addition! The training courses at the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment Officers' Training School, although shorter in duration and with less stringent conditions, still have their merits.

For example, they teach practical skills, and their military concepts are many years ahead of their time.

Therefore, it is conceivable that as time goes on and the number of classes increases, the students will gradually grow and stand out, and their school will be recognized by everyone.

Just imagine, when future generations talk about the three top military academies of the National Revolutionary Army, they will talk about them with great interest: first, Whampoa; second, Baoding; and third, the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment.

Many formidable warriors were their protégés; wouldn't that feel amazing?
Therefore, Hu Biao and his group have now risen to the level of principal, director, and student; compared to Qiu Fengzi's petty thoughts, they wouldn't even give them a second thought...

******
In the following days, the fierce fighting between the Chinese and Japanese forces around Kunlun Pass continued.

On the 20th, the garrison was somewhat replenished because some of the routed soldiers of the 21st Regiment fled into Kunlun Pass.

With the support of the air force, they fought repeatedly for positions with the Nationalist army's attacking forces, and both sides suffered heavy casualties; however, thanks to the Nationalist army having more troops, the Japanese forces at Kunlun Pass gradually became stretched thin.

Therefore, after receiving the request for reinforcements from the defending troops, the Japanese sent more reinforcements to Kunlun Pass.

The strongest of these was the 42nd Infantry Regiment, led by Major General Masao Nakamura, commander of the 21st Brigade.

In addition, the First Regiment of the Wanwan Mixed Brigade and a regiment of the Imperial Guard Mixed Brigade are also approaching Kunlun Pass from other directions.

In order to buy more time for the attacking forces at Kunlun Pass.

The other units of the National Revolutionary Army naturally began to launch a full-scale counterattack.

On that same day, Lao Yu and Lao Tai led a reconnaissance company and quietly set off in the dead of night.

After a long night of detours and forced marches, they arrived outside Nanning before dawn, where they met with Sickle and other comrades of our Party.

The reason the two men, along with their reconnaissance company, were here was quite simple.

This was a plan devised by Hu Biao and his team for the subsequent operation to recapture Nanning.

With the cooperation of our Party comrades, Lao Yu and Lao Tai will infiltrate the city in batches to secretly develop more forces and make other preparations in advance.

Once the Battle of Nanning begins, the troops led by these two will be a sharp dagger plunged into the heart of the Japanese invaders.

Originally, Hu Biao and his men did not intend to involve Old Tai, the old man, in this dangerous operation.

However, the old man made it clear that he was determined to go, and anyone who disagreed could challenge this old scout to a duel, so Hu Biao and his men had no choice but to give up.

Are you kidding me? They can't possibly fight the old man!
Winning this fight is embarrassing, but losing is even more embarrassing...

On the 21st, the bald-headed principal expressed extreme dissatisfaction with the slow progress of the Battle of Kunlun Pass and the entire Battle of Guinan.

The order was issued to the Guilin Headquarters and all participating troops: "If any of the forward troops and artillery fail to actively attack or fail to complete their missions within the specified time, they shall be punished on the spot for cowardice."

But how to put it? The Nationalist army's old habit of preserving its strength resurfaced at this critical moment.

Apart from the Fifth Army continuing its desperate offensive and defensive maneuvers, the other units did not fight to the death at all costs, resulting in a stalemate.

Late that night, after reviewing the day's battle report, the bald-headed principal and Commander Bai couldn't help but sigh.

Given their status and position, they naturally knew the crux of the problem; unfortunately, knowing this meant they were still quite powerless in this situation.

At this moment, they desperately hoped that a powerful force could act as a fire brigade to break the deadlock.

In an instant, Hu Biao and his companions, who were in Gaofeng Pass, and their Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment, were involuntarily thought of by the two men.

After recalling Hu Biao and others' past achievements, the two immediately had some ideas and wanted to do something.

However, they soon abandoned the idea.

Nothing more! They still harbored some illusions: that some of their troops could quickly capture Kunlun Pass and then launch a counterattack on Nanning City.

"Let's wait two more days and see what happens then," both the bald principal and the white-haired officer thought.

Even though Shuangqing was already deep in winter, the bald principal, looking at the trees outside the window being rustled by the howling wind, felt inexplicably desolate and murmured a line:
"At the fourth watch, a ghost in the mountain blows out the lamp and howls, startling the children of the world..."

At the same time, Black Star carefully patrolled the area of ​​the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment, in some makeshift military camps made of shacks.

Whenever they saw a soldier who wasn't properly covered with a blanket, they would always go over and carefully help him cover himself up.

It can only be said that due to personality and many other reasons, the ways in which these time travelers led troops were somewhat different.

Compared to Hu Biao, whose actions were purely based on chivalry, Hei Xing, now a deputy regimental commander, is a true example of sharing weal and woe with our party and setting a good example.

After completing his inspection, Black Star was surprised to find that there were still some lights on in the regimental headquarters at this hour, wondering if they were still awake.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Hu Biao and Annie chatting idly among them.

He had no intention of going up to bother them, but then he got a mouthful of dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection).

However, after thinking about something, he still went in and asked, "Damn it, our officer training class will graduate tomorrow."

The army now has about three thousand men, with ample weapons and ammunition, and all of them have undergone expedited recruit training; even the crippled soldier's rocket launchers have now been fully produced.

So, when exactly should we take action?
Staying here all the time isn't a good thing; I feel like I'm going to rot away.

"What's the rush! As the old saying goes, you can't make a deal if you're too eager. We'll only take action if the bald principal or Commander Bai sends someone to beg us and we make some demands," Hu Biao said lazily.

Annie, on the other hand, was quite kind and earnestly comforted Black Star, saying, "Don't worry, it should only be a matter of two or three days before someone comes knocking on your door."

Upon hearing this, Black Star left without a second thought.

Damn it! He's a single dog, that's true. If people can't sleep through this long night, how could he not be able to sleep?
What he didn't know was that Hu Biao's relationship with Annie had only progressed to hugging and kissing; neither of them could sleep with her...

(End of this chapter)