The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 559 Some Unexpected Changes (Two-in-One Chapter)

On September 28, 9, the great battle between China and Japan over C-Shacheng continued.

In addition to the increasingly fierce battles between multiple units of the 9th War Zone and the Japanese, related battles also broke out in the surrounding areas of Hunan Province and other war zones.
The unfolding of these battles brought further unforeseen changes to the outcome of the Battle of C-Sha and the implementation of Hu Biao's original battle plan...

Time: 7:26 a.m., at the 6th War Zone Command Post in the western Hubei mountainous area.

A high-level meeting that started last night has continued until now and is still not over.

After such a long meeting, everyone present was exhausted, including Hu Biao's old acquaintances Chen Xiuzhi and Commander Chen, who both looked haggard.

However, regarding the most important and crucial topic of this meeting:
They were still quite undecided about whether to continue the attack on Yichang City as planned.

To be more specific, the situation was as follows: On September 20th, given that the battle situation in C Sand City was quite dire, Principal Bald ordered the surrounding major war zones to provide support.

The hope was that they would draw some of the attention of the Japanese 11th Army and relieve the pressure on the 9th War Zone.

The order given to the 6th War Zone, and to Commander Chen, was: to prepare for three days, and then immediately attack Yichang City in a strategy of "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao".

When he received such an order, Commander Chen was overjoyed.

Because Yichang City is located at an extremely important position, just over 20 kilometers to the north is Shipai, the key gateway to Shuangqing area.

The Japanese planes that bombed Shuangqing and the southwest region usually took off from Yichang.

Once this stronghold is recovered, Commander Chen will have made a tremendous contribution, both for the country and for himself, which will be a great asset for his future development.

However, the Japanese always paid great attention to such an important and crucial location.

They stationed the 4th, 13th and 39th Divisions, totaling more than 60,000 elite troops, in Yichang and the surrounding area.

Furthermore, they undertook extensive construction in and around Yichang, building a large number of sturdy defensive fortifications.

Since taking over as commander of the 6th War Zone, Commander Chen had always wanted to recapture Yichang, a strategically important city, but he was hampered by the fact that the 6th War Zone lacked the necessary strength.

However, at this very moment, a fighter jet that can be described as perfect has emerged.

In order to launch the operation against C-Shacheng, Anami Yukichi transferred a lot of troops from the surrounding areas of Yichang.

Currently, this region only has an understrength 13th Division, plus the 39th Division stationed in Jingzhou, and some scattered auxiliary units.

The total troop strength is less than 4, and many of them are second-rate garrison troops.

In order to capture Yichang, Commander Chen mobilized almost all the troops that could be drawn from the 6th War Zone.

In total, it consisted of a massive force of 22 divisions; the purpose of this operation was twofold: to support the 9th War Zone and to recapture Yichang, a strategically important city—a two-birds-with-one-stone operation.

However, just one day earlier, when various troops had arrived at their designated areas and were about to launch a large-scale offensive.

An order from the bald-headed principal disrupted all their plans and was the main reason for this meeting: the operation to attack Yichang City was to be stopped immediately.

The reason the bald-headed principal issued such an order was actually because of Hu Biao's strong request.

Hu Biao made this request because, according to historical records, the Sixth War Zone's attack on Yichang City did indeed put tremendous pressure on Anami Yuichi.

This was also one of the important reasons why the Japanese abandoned C-Sha City and hastily withdrew.

The key issue is that Hu Biao and his men want the Japanese to delay their withdrawal so they can take a bigger bite out of them later.

Therefore, he was quite supportive of the 6th War Zone's attack on Yichang, but it had to be postponed for a few days.

He believed that the best time for the 6th War Zone to take action would be after the Japanese army outside C City began to retreat and the 9th War Zone launched a full-scale offensive against them.

In this way, it will not affect the combat operations of the 9th Theater.

With the absence of interference from other units of the 11th Army, the 6th War Zone's attack on Yichang should yield a better result.

It's important to know that in the original history, facing the fierce offensive of the 6th War Zone...

At that time, the commander of the Japanese 13th Division, Eitaro Uchiyama, in a state of despair, even began to have his men perform the ceremony of burning the military flag and regimental flag.

He himself was hiding in his office preparing for a cesarean section.

However, because the Japanese reinforcements who had retreated from C Sand City finally arrived in a hurry at this time, they were able to avoid actually stabbing him.

Considering all of the above, if the Battle of Yichang had been delayed by a few days, it would have been the best option for both the 9th and 6th War Zones.

However, this judgment was made by Hu Biao and his colleagues through historical materials from later generations, as well as the personality traits of Japanese commanders such as Anami Yuichi, using the general approach of hindsight analysis.

At this moment, Commander Chen, who was involved in the situation, and the high-ranking officers of the 6th War Zone did not think that way.

What they were thinking was the immense resentment that a great victory that could have brought them great merit and prestige was abruptly halted at a crucial moment.

To put it bluntly, they still want to launch their attack on Yichang City today, as originally planned.

But he was also worried about disobeying the bald principal's orders and incurring subsequent punishment.

Finally, after much deliberation and even some arguments, at 7:31 a.m., Commander Chen's expression turned solemn, as if he had made a decision.

He sat up abruptly and shouted, "Record it, then send it out immediately."

Urgent! (To the Attendant's Office of Shuangqing State Palace, and then to the bald-headed principal.)

After receiving the order to halt the attack, my 6th War Zone immediately notified all units to cease operations. However, due to poor communication, several units have already engaged in small-scale battles with the Japanese, and the scale of the fighting is gradually expanding...

After hearing the above, the eyes of the high-ranking officers of the 6th War Zone in the conference room lit up.

Those who had managed to reach their current positions were all quite capable; they naturally understood that Commander Chen was making excuses to continue the attack on Yichang City according to the original plan.

Bald Principal! It's not that our 6th War Zone is disobeying orders, but that our troops have already started fighting the Japanese, and our operational intentions have been exposed.

Even if we stop the attack immediately, it won't help; it seems we have no choice but to continue fighting.

As in previous history, the major battle of the 6th War Zone's attack on Yichang City began a little after 8 a.m. that day.

It's unclear how much this unexpected turn of events will affect Hu Biao's battle plans...

More than an hour later, at 9:17 a.m.

A massive convoy consisting of four or five hundred trucks of various models and two thousand Japanese guards slowly drove into the ancient city of Yueyang.

Unlike the other trucks in the convoy, which didn't linger in the city after entering, but instead drove straight through and continued slowly towards C Sand City, this truck's journey was quite different.

A car leading a convoy of several trucks.

After breaking away from the group, they went straight to a building in the city that was marked 'Combat Command Post'.

After the convoy stopped in front of the building, Anami Yuichi got out of the car, looking extremely tired.

This old Japanese soldier came to Yueyang mainly to be closer to directing operations in the area surrounding C Sand City.

Therefore, he had a forward command post set up here, and together with a supply convoy, they set off from Wuhan and rushed here overnight.

The road conditions and the long journey took Anan Weiji quite a while.

Even so, upon arriving at the destination, he refused his subordinates' kind offer to rest and handle some accumulated military affairs, and hurriedly walked towards the operations command center.

There was nothing he could do! On the way here, he had been quite uneasy, feeling that something bad was about to happen.

Before long, after reviewing several of the latest reports in his hands, Anan Yuichi's already pale face, already swollen from staying up all night, became even worse.

There are many reasons why he behaved this way, the main ones being the following:

First, the losses suffered by the Japanese in the Laodao River battlefield outside C-Shacheng, after a half-day and one-night battle with the 74th Army and the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment, have now been fully tallied.

Even Anami Yuichi, who had initially called for an attack at any cost, trembled slightly upon seeing these numbers.

No other reason than that the casualties and losses were simply too great.

They suffered 2178 dead and 3059 wounded; in less than 24 hours, they had lost nearly two regiments of men.

One fighter jet and 37 artillery pieces were destroyed, including nine 105mm heavy guns.

In addition, due to the intense fighting, they consumed a great deal of fuel, bombs, shells and bullets, medicine, food and fodder.

Especially for front-line combat troops, ammunition reserves have reached a rather dangerous level. Second, the Nationalist 3rd, 5th, and 6th War Zones surrounding the Hunan battlefield have launched large-scale offensives against the areas controlled by the 11th Army.

In particular, the 6th War Zone has launched an offensive since 8:00 a.m. today, with a large number of troops gathered around Yichang City.

Preliminary estimates suggest that the 6th War Zone has deployed over 100,000 troops.

Among them is the 1st Honorary Division, an elite unit of the National Revolutionary Army that performed well in the Guinan battlefield last year.

Faced with the overwhelming force of the enemy, the 13th Division stationed in Yichang City was already feeling immense pressure, and its commander, Eitaro Uchiyama, had begun requesting reinforcements.

Third, the convoy that was supplying the Japanese army outside C city was the same convoy that Anami Yuichi had just accompanied.

Although they have now arrived in Yueyang, the distance between the two places is less than 200 kilometers.

However, the road conditions along this route were already poor, and since last night, there have been multiple instances of road and bridge damage, as well as small-scale attacks on military outposts by the Nationalist army.

In that case, when will the supply convoy arrive outside C Sand City, and will it arrive before the various units run out of ammunition? No one can say for sure, and no one can guarantee anything.

Therefore, the morale of many officers and soldiers in the front-line troops who have been fighting for a long time is currently quite low.

Currently, many senior officers in frontline units have requested to rest for a few days until ammunition is replenished before resuming combat operations.

A small number of people even requested to withdraw their troops.

The thought of retreating, retreating immediately, surged into Anami Yuichi's mind again.

Of course! Among the pile of battle reports in his hands, Anami Yuichi did see some good news, including some that cheered him up.

Faced with their relentless bombing and advance, the casualties and the consumption of weapons and ammunition by the 74th Army and the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment were also quite staggering.

The 74th Army has a solid foundation, and its current situation is relatively better. No matter how powerful or famous the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment is, it only has a newly recruited supplementary regiment on the battlefield.

Even a single regiment under Hu Biao's command was far too large to be estimated using the same criteria as other Nationalist armies.

However, after a fierce battle with the 68th Regiment, they suffered heavy casualties and, after holding out for half a day and a night, their troop strength should have reached its limit.

So in the fighting this morning, one of their positions was successfully breached.

Although they later took it back.

However, according to the soldiers who returned, many of the personnel who launched a counterattack against the positions in the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment were clearly from the logistics department, including cooks, grooms, and civilian staff.

It was precisely because of this good news, or rather, the bait thrown out by Hu Biao, that Anan Yuchi decided to continue taking the risk.

After organizing his thoughts briefly, he issued a series of commands:

“Reply to Eitaro Uchiyama of the 13th Division and tell him not to panic; just hold out for a few days with the help of the fortifications until we defeat the 74th Army and the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment.”

Once the main force returns victorious, the 6th War Zone will naturally withdraw its troops.

The telegram was sent back to all front-line combat units inside and outside C City, urging them to continue their all-out offensive against the 74th Army and the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment.

In comparison, their situation is worse than ours.

Therefore, this was a contest of courage and will between the soldiers of the two countries; the warriors of the empire were never afraid of any opponent in these aspects, let alone some Chinese.

It is also essential to tell them that if they can annihilate the 74th Army and the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment this time, they will become heroes in the hearts of the imperial people, and their names may even appear before His Majesty the Heavenly Locust.

Send orders to the supply convoy to speed up as much as possible and reach C Sand City before nightfall tomorrow.

Inform the Army Aviation Corps to intensify air raids on the 74th Army and the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment; don't worry about fuel and bomb consumption, I will find a way to replenish them.

A little later, Anan's orders were relayed out.

On the positions of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment, there were those brothers who had fought hard until dawn the night before and hadn't slept at all.

They felt as if they had only closed their eyes for a few minutes when the high-pitched, piercing air raid siren blared once again.

Interspersed among them were the hoarse shouts of the officers:

"Air raid! Air raid! Everyone get up and get into the bunkers!"

Then, the brothers who were looking listless and tired just a second ago, as if they wished they could sleep soundly for a long time, suddenly became full of energy the next second.

He leaped to his feet, grabbed the weapon he had been clutching tightly in his arms while asleep, and sprinted toward the nearest bunker.

In the midst of the incredibly fierce and bloody battle, these men, who were farmers and mountain dwellers just a month ago, have grown at an astonishing pace.

As for whether he was sleeping so soundly that AT, Chen Tang, and others had to use the soles of their feet to wake him up?
Yes, there are some! But the number is extremely small. Most of the new recruits were too slow to react or not vigilant enough, and they all died in previous battles.

The speed at which the fittest are eliminated on the battlefield is unimaginable to ordinary people...

******
Time: 1:23 PM, at the junction of positions No. 2 and No. 3 on the front line of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment.

Looking at a position about 500 or 600 meters away, the Japanese side had two Type 89 medium tanks, one Type 95 light tank, and two armored vehicles of unknown model modification leading the way.

A company of infantry followed behind, providing cover, heading towards the junction between the two positions.

They assumed it was a weak point in the defenders' lines and launched an attack.

Huang Adi yelled at the top of his lungs toward Van Gogh in the trench on the other side of the dirt road, "Old Cao! These damn Japanese devils, are you leading your Fifth Battalion, or should I lead our Third Battalion?"

Upon hearing this, he glanced at his thigh, which had been stabbed during the more than one-hour hand-to-hand combat.

Although Van Gogh felt somewhat guilty about letting his allies do such a difficult task while he watched from the sidelines, he could only helplessly reply:
"My leg is injured, so you should lead the men, Fatty. We'll cover for you."

Upon hearing this, Huang Adi had no objection whatsoever.

He turned to his men and gave orders: "Platoon Leader Huang, pick two platoons of brothers, bring explosives and Molotov cocktails, and come with me to blow up the Japanese tanks later."

The rest of you, focus on suppressing fire and providing cover.

After saying that, he hung a small cloth bag containing three Molotov cocktails on his chest.

Then came the problem.

When they crossed over, they brought 500 SMK-H armor-piercing rounds with them. These rounds can easily penetrate Japanese armored vehicles.

There is also a fairly high probability of successfully penetrating the side armor of the Type 95 light tank.

After they traveled through time, the wizard and the cross also produced dozens of rocket launchers and a sufficient number of rockets.

These things, although much less powerful than rocket launchers in modern dimensions.

Even if it were to directly confront the frontal armor of the Japanese Type 89 medium tank, it could easily destroy it.

Why would they rush in with explosives and Molotov cocktails, a method that is far more dangerous, when there are other ways to take down Japanese tanks and armored vehicles more easily?

To put it bluntly, it's all for the sake of launching the plan to encircle and annihilate the Japanese invaders a few days later.

Among the Japanese army that attacked C City was the 13th Tank Regiment; this 13th Tank Regiment had two tank companies and more than seventy light and medium tanks.

In addition, each division also has a small number of tanks and armored vehicles.

These tanks and armored vehicles in front of us probably belong to the Japanese 6th Division.

When the Japanese realize the situation is dire and begin a full-scale retreat and breakout, these tanks and armored vehicles will become their sharpest weapons for breaking through.

In Hu Biao's plan, the natural course of action was to eliminate the Japanese armored forces before they could break out.

In particular, the 13th Tank Regiment was wiped out in advance to prevent the Japanese from escaping with their lives.

At that time, those rocket launchers and SMK-H armor-piercing rounds will be their most relied-upon means, a trump card that will determine the final outcome of the battle.

Before that, in order to prevent the Japanese from being on guard,

All these powerful anti-armor measures must be kept completely hidden and not used at all; let the Japanese misunderstand that they are unable to build rocket launchers due to a lack of materials.

So they charged forward, braving bullets from Japanese tanks, machine guns, and rifles.

Using outdated methods like Molotov cocktails, explosives, and human lives to fight tanks became a rather desperate measure for Huang Adi and his comrades...

(End of this chapter)