The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 401 Things Are Different (Bonus Chapter 4750 for the Emergence of the Color Master)

At 3:31 a.m., by a campfire on one side of the starting position.

"I, Bai, have loved food all my life and have eaten and seen a lot over the years, but this bowl of Lao You Fen (Old Friend Rice Noodles) is the best rice noodles I have ever eaten. Just this bowl of noodles alone makes tonight's trip worthwhile."

After putting down his bowl and chopsticks, Bai Jiansheng said with great emotion.

Upon hearing this, not only big shots like Chen Xiuzhi, Li Jisheng, and Zhang Fakui, but also a group of time travelers including Hu Biao and Annie, as well as a group of high-ranking officers from the Fifth Army, all nodded in agreement.

And such agreement is definitely somewhat sincere.

There was absolutely no reason for him to speak insincerely because of his position as Commander Bai.

Indeed! Although most of the cooks who make these Lao You Fen (a type of rice noodle soup) are either brothers with a little cooking skill or local residents.

They cook a huge pot of it, which is hardly anything fancy.

But in the quiet of the night, a bowl of noodles would be a great addition; what's more, it also carries the heartfelt sentiments and joy of victory of the locals.

Once you taste it, these Lao You Fen (a type of rice noodle soup) are simply divine; nothing else can compare.

As for why so many important figures gathered together to eat Lao You Fen (a type of rice noodle soup)?
Of course, it's because the four officers, Bai, Chen, Li, and Zhang, came over at such a late hour, and it certainly wasn't just to freeload a midnight snack from Hu Biao.

The key issue is how to seize this opportunity to launch a counterattack on Nanning after the reversal of the situation between China and Japan on the Guinan battlefield.

That's why, when Commander Bai took a handkerchief and wiped his mouth...

Hu Biao, Du Yuming, and the others all knew what was going on, so they sped up and quickly shoveled the rice noodles, some of them being the second bowl and others the fifth, clean.

Then, putting down their chopsticks and bowls, everyone became serious, and a rather unusual meeting began...

Although Hu Biao and his men withdrew from the Kunlun Pass battlefield immediately after the battle, they still made arrangements for the other units under their command to clean up the battlefield overnight.

Therefore, at this point, a report on the casualties and results of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment in the Battle of Kunlun Pass, including the two battles, has been compiled.

After the meeting began, Anne took out a statistical report and started reading it aloud:
"Not counting the casualties of the Fifth Army's supporting units, the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment suffered a total of 386 dead and 407 seriously wounded. At most, 320 of the seriously wounded will survive."

Furthermore, nearly 80 people will be left with different disabilities, making it virtually impossible for them to continue serving in the military.

In the two battles, a total of 3657 Japanese soldiers were killed, including 36 field officers and 93 lieutenant officers; one colonel was also captured. Other Japanese soldiers were either fiercely resisted or committed suicide, and were not captured.

The captured mountain guns, field guns, infantry guns, and mortars totaled 36 pieces, but unfortunately, the total number of ammunition did not exceed 30 rounds.

They captured 27 heavy machine guns, 79 light machine guns, 65 grenade launchers, and 1769 Type 38 rifles; ammunition was also severely lacking.

After the data was read out, the four officers and the men of the Fifth Army looked at each other in bewilderment and remained silent for at least two or three minutes, their expressions extremely strange.

There are probably a few reasons why they reacted this way.

Firstly, what kind of statistics and reporting system is this from the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment? Everyone else reports the results of battle first, then the casualties, but they changed the order.

When they first heard the casualty figures, they felt the losses were too great.

But after hearing about the results, I realized that if we achieved such a brilliant victory, what did that little loss matter?
Secondly, more than 80% of the seriously wounded soldiers of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment survived. What more could they possibly want?
You should know that if 50% of the other Nationalist troops survived, they would be lucky.

The key reason is likely that Hu Biao and his group had a large supply of penicillin, a miracle drug for treating wounds, while they didn't even have enough sulfonamides.

For those of them who were experienced in military affairs, they naturally knew the importance of a veteran who had recovered from his injuries and returned to the unit.

For a time, they were extremely eager to get their hands on penicillin.

Besides coveting penicillin, they were also eyeing the strange weapon, the rocket launcher; it was incredibly useful in assault operations.

He couldn't help but start thinking about getting some for his own troops.

On the contrary, these people didn't pay much attention to the cannons and guns.

For the four big shots, Bai, Chen, Li, and Zhang, who held high positions, this equipment was nothing more than enough for two regiments; it wasn't a very large amount of stuff.

The Fifth Army, on the other hand, was the bald principal's favorite elite force, and its weapons and equipment were given priority in being replenished.

For them, acquiring these Japanese weapons actually increased the difficulty of logistical resupply.

Thirdly, given how capable Hu Biao and the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment are, how should they be utilized in future battles? Or, how can Hu Biao be persuaded to take on some key tasks?

After all, even the bald principal might not be able to command these guys, let alone them.

As for the fact that Hu Biao and his men only captured one Japanese colonel after the battle, while annihilating all the other Japanese soldiers, let's not talk about that.

It was no secret that the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment did not take any Japanese prisoners. The person who broke the silence was Zheng Tingji, the Chief of Staff of the Fifth Army, who, as their representative, began to report on the Fifth Army's achievements and losses:

"Not counting the results of the attack on the main positions of Jieshou Mountain and Kunlun Pass in coordination with the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment."

In other battles, our army inflicted more than 4000 casualties on the Japanese, including Major General Masao Nakamura, commander of the 21st Regiment...

Regarding our casualties, the total number of casualties was over 7000…

After hearing the casualty figures of over 7000, the four officers and the entire Fifth Army, although they had long known that the Fifth Army must have suffered considerable casualties in the continuous fierce fighting, were still deeply affected.

But upon hearing of the extent of the casualties, their faces still showed a somber expression.

What they didn't know was that, compared to the actual losses incurred in capturing Kunlun Pass in history, the above figures were already half of what they were.

In the original history, the 1st Honorary Division of the Fifth Army was almost completely wiped out and had to withdraw from subsequent operations after the war.

The other 200th Division and the newly formed 22nd Regiment also withdrew from the battle after suffering heavy losses, allowing the 36th Army, which had even weaker combat capabilities, to take over the main attack mission.

In other words, although the Fifth Army has suffered considerable losses, it is far from being crippled, and there will still be opportunities for them to demonstrate their status as the elite of the National Revolutionary Army.

More importantly, the Kunlun Pass was captured eight days earlier than originally planned.

Unlike in the past, the reinforcements urgently dispatched by the Japanese did not reach the Guinan region.

Taking all of the above into account, they still have a great chance to recapture Nanning. It's hard to say who will have the last laugh...

******
Afterwards, the group discussed the follow-up operations and reached a preliminary consensus.

The Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment temporarily rested and reorganized at Kunlun Pass to replenish its lost troops, weapons, and ammunition, and also served as the general reserve force of the National Revolutionary Army.

Hu Biao and the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment were only mobilized when faced with critical or crisis situations.

The current task for other units is to delay and annihilate the Japanese reinforcements to Kunlun Pass as much as possible, thereby reducing the Japanese strength to defend Nanning City in the future.

As for further arrangements, nothing has been decided yet.

Everything will wait until the main army is assembled outside Nanning before discussing which unit will attack and which will block the Japanese reinforcements.

Regarding Lao Yu and Lao Tai, they have already infiltrated Nanning City with their reconnaissance company.

After thinking for a moment, Hu Biao decided it was best to say nothing for now, lest the Nationalist government's airtight secrecy trap them and the others.

After we finished discussing all of the above, it was already broad daylight.

As the rising sun shone on everyone, Hu Biao picked up the bowl in front of him and finished eating the rice noodles, though there was still a little bit of soup left.

The Fifth Army, which was about to launch a full-scale attack to annihilate the Japanese reinforcements, according to the previous meeting's agenda, was facing its members.

He solemnly said, "Gentlemen, you are not in a position to drink alcohol with military affairs at hand. So, Hu Biao will offer you a toast with soup instead of wine, wishing you a resounding victory."

"Once we recapture Nanning, we'll drink until we drop!"

After saying that, he led the group of time travelers, representing the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment, and each of them drank half a bowl of rice noodle soup in one gulp.

Seeing this, the Fifth Army soldiers didn't say much. They all picked up their bowls, drank the remaining rice noodle soup, and then got up and strode back to their respective units.

Even without sleeping all night, he walked with his back straight, his posture exuding an indescribable air of grandeur.

As expected! Ando Rikichi's worst fears came true. After the great victory at Kunlun Pass, the morale of the Fifth Army was completely boosted.

With morale boosted, combat effectiveness naturally increases.

In fact, it wasn't just the Fifth Army, an elite unit, that saw its morale and combat effectiveness boosted; even the Guangxi Army underwent a complete transformation.

Half an hour later, the 175th Division of the Guangxi Army took over the garrison at Gaofeng Pass from the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment.

After receiving Commander Bai's order, they immediately launched an attack on the Japanese troops who were preparing to evacuate down the mountain.

Then, the Japanese soldiers down the mountain were horrified to discover that their opponents were still those who needed reinforcements to hold their positions on the hilltop.

But in today's battle, those dark-skinned and thin soldiers suddenly became much braver and fought so hard that the others could hardly hold on.

A similar situation occurred in several battlefields near Kunlun Pass.

Every Japanese reinforcement unit found that what they had initially thought would be an easy retreat had become quite difficult...

(End of this chapter)