The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 563 Allied Forces (Two-in-One Chapter)

...I've always been reluctant to admit it, and somewhat ashamed to admit it, but I can't change any of the realities:
As time went on, their understanding of the Nationalist army's nature became clearer.

In every large-scale battle against the Japanese, my comrades and I actually focused a lot of our energy on being wary of our friendly forces.

For example, when you are surrounded by the Japanese, do not expect friendly forces to arrive within a specified time.

Be prepared to stick with it for at least a week or two, or even longer.

In defensive battles, in addition to keeping a close watch on the movements of the Japanese, it is even more important to keep a close watch on the movements of friendly forces on the left and right flanks. Don't be foolish enough to be completely unaware when they have already fled.

During the counterattack, while you are fighting fiercely, you also need to keep an eye on whether your allies are keeping up, so you don't foolishly plunge into the Japanese encirclement.

The bald principal's death order to friendly forces is often a joke.

There was no way around it! The Nationalist army was rife with factions, and the commanders and division commanders were used to the bad atmosphere where anyone with a gun could speak with authority, which even their superiors found difficult to deal with.

Unfortunately, this bad trend has led to a serious situation where various units are preserving their strength and watching their allies suffer heavy losses or even be completely wiped out.

Fortunately, while I've encountered all sorts of terrible allies, I've also met many helpful ones.

During that Battle of C Sha, the 74th Army, which fought alongside us on the Laodao River front, and the friendly forces responsible for harassing the Japanese supply lines, gave us a huge surprise...

...Excerpt from Hu Biao's diary collection "Hu Shuo"...

At the same time, Annie and Mina were at the dinner table, calling Commander Xue "Big Brother" repeatedly, creating a very lively atmosphere.

Unbeknownst to them, at this very moment, the battle between the relevant units of the 9th War Zone and the Japanese supply lines was about to begin.

Furthermore, the number of troops deployed and the determination to fight far exceeded their expectations.

Under the dim moonlight, 1,500 to 1,600 Nationalist soldiers marched hastily under the cover of darkness, after several hours of marching.

At this moment, they finally arrived at Liaoyuan Village, a village dozens of miles away from Yueyang County.

After raising his hand to signal his men to take cover, Xiang Wenbin and the regimental commander, along with several regimental staff officers, quietly arrived at a small hill.

Using the bushes on the hills as cover, he picked up his binoculars and looked towards a fairly sturdy pontoon bridge over the Xinqiang River, several miles away.

After taking a clear look at the situation on the bridge and in the surrounding area, a solemn expression appeared on his face.

Xiang Wenbin, this name is familiar to everyone, right? That's right.

When Hu Biao traveled through time for the second time, he first joined the 804th Regiment of the 134th Division of the 20th Army of the Sichuan Army. The regimental commander at that time was this Regimental Commander Xiang.

It was under the appreciation of this regimental commander that Hu Biao became a proper company commander and had his first opportunity to lead troops into battle.

Thus, they had the opportunity to launch a counterattack and defend the position of Dunwu Temple, gradually earning the great reputation of Hu Biao and Hu Tuanzuo.

Four years later, the former 804th Regiment of the Sichuan Army was reorganized into the 402nd Regiment. Although Xiang Wenbin is now a major general, his position is still that of a regimental commander.

His lieutenant company commander had long since become a symbol of resistance against Japan.

Although Quanxu's military rank was somewhat low, it did not prevent him from having territory and a large army under his command, making him a big shot that even a regimental commander could hardly catch up with.

His comrades also had legendary experiences, some leading divisions or even armies.

However, the regimental commander did not feel the slightest bit of jealousy or resentment.

On the contrary, he was quite pleased, and it became his biggest topic of conversation. He was proud that he was Hu Biao's old superior and that the 402nd Regiment was Hu Biao's old unit.

You're kidding! Those were reputations, status, and positions earned through countless glorious victories and the deaths of countless Japanese soldiers.

This is also the biggest reason why he brought the entire 402nd Regiment here overnight.

The task of attacking the Japanese logistics lines and ambushing Japanese transport convoys fell to the 27th Army Group, which was now stationed in the Dayun Mountains in northern Hunan.

The 27th Army Group was actually expanded from the original 20th Army of the Sichuan Army, and its commander was Yang Sen.

So, this unit was also an old acquaintance of Hu Biao and his men; in fact, many of the mid- to high-ranking officers owed Hu Biao and his men a huge favor.

During the Battle of Shanghai, if it weren't for Hu Biao and his comrades, they would have had the opportunity to be relieved of their posts.

However, he chose to stay at the Dunwu Temple position and guide the troops that the 20th Army was rotating to.

How to deal with the Japanese army, which has airplanes above, tanks and artillery below, poison gas, and naval bombardment from afar—a strange form of modern warfare.

After all, at that time, the officers of the 20th Army still had a limited understanding of war, which was based on the era of warlord conflicts.

Without the guidance of Hu Biao and his team, the casualties of the 20th Army would have been far greater.

Many mid- to high-ranking military officers, who knew they wouldn't have lived to this point, had long ago come to regard Hu Biao and his comrades as their own.

For all these reasons, they are now very keen on supporting Hu Biao's operations.

Over the past two days, they have dispatched multiple units, organized into battalion and company units, to continuously sabotage highways and bridges along the Wuhan-Changsha line and attack Japanese military outposts.

The intensity of the attack, and the actual results achieved, far exceeded the expectations of Commander Xue and Annie.

Unfortunately, even though they considered Hu Biao one of their own and were willing to help him out, there was one condition: they couldn't wipe out their own troops.

So here's the problem: no one wants to ambush the huge supply convoy of hundreds of Japanese trucks heading towards C Sand City.

The main reason is that the Japanese also attached great importance to this crucial supply convoy.

In addition to the full cooperation of the garrison along the way, it was also transported and escorted by a supply regiment with more than two thousand guards.

Even though these supply regiments of Japanese soldiers were not as strong as the infantry regiments, they were still far superior to them.

If they were even slightly unlucky and failed to ambush the Japanese supply convoy, their own troops would be wiped out, and they would be finished.

Ultimately, the regimental commander stepped forward, and their 402nd Regiment took over this arduous task.

The entire regiment of 1631 people set off secretly, traversing sparsely populated wilderness along the way, carefully avoiding the Japanese soldiers' notice.

Finally, at around 9:30 p.m., they arrived at the planned ambush location: near Liaoyuan Village in Xinqiang River.

Originally, the regimental commander's plan was to take advantage of the chaos caused by the Japanese supply convoy crossing the river to launch an attack, which would destroy and burn the pontoon bridge.

Then not only would the Japanese supply convoy crossing the bridge suffer considerable losses.

The key is that this type of pontoon bridge can accommodate cars. If the damage is too severe, the Japanese will not be able to repair it in just a few days.

As a result, the supplies on the convoy could not be delivered to the Japanese front-line troops outside C City.

This would also reduce the intensity of the attack, or even stop the attack altogether, so that Hu Biao and his men could relieve some of the pressure.

To be honest, the battle plan for the regimental commander and above was flawless; they had already seized the most vulnerable link in the Japanese supply convoy's advance.

Unfortunately, upon arriving at the location, the regimental commander, looking through his binoculars, immediately realized with dismay that:
Even if the Japanese convoy were to strike at its weakest link, it would still be extremely difficult for the 402nd Regiment to achieve its objective.

Four miles away, on the pontoon bridge over the river, in addition to using a large number of wooden piles and small boats for support, the Japanese also used steel frame structures for support at key points.

So, although they brought eight mortars ranging from 60mm to over 80mm with them, enabling them to launch long-range artillery attacks on the bridge, they did not bring them here.

However, these ragtag mortars had limited accuracy and firepower. As a result, they were difficult to hit bridges that were only about 3.5 meters wide.

Secondly, even if it hits, it will only damage the bridge surface and have little impact on the key support structure. The Japanese can quickly repair the pontoon bridge by replacing the wooden planks on the bridge surface.

Since ranged attacks are ineffective, should the entire raid rush in to blow up and burn the pontoon bridge? That would be incredibly difficult.

The Japanese had taken precautions long ago. They had installed a large number of electric lights on the bridge and at both ends of the pontoon bridge, and set up firing positions at intervals of not far apart.

There were even searchlights shining back and forth, and anyone who got even slightly close would be spotted.

In addition, the Japanese had built a fairly complete defensive position at both ends of the bridge and deployed a group of soldiers to guard it.

The garrison wasn't very large, just one company on each side, less than two hundred.

The regimental commander was well aware of the formidable fighting power of just one company of Japanese soldiers, who were defending with the help of fortifications; it was not something they could take down in a short time.

Besides! Even if the Japanese supply convoy hasn't arrived yet, it should be here soon.

He could see a large number of lights faintly shining from the north bank of the Xinqiang River, clearly indicating that the Japanese supply convoy was slowly approaching and was not far away.

If a battle breaks out on the pontoon bridge, the convoy's escort force will likely rush over to provide support immediately.

In short, neither long-range artillery bombardment nor a full-scale charge into close combat seems to work for the time being. Should we just give up on this operation today?
Such a thought was rejected by the regimental commander as soon as it arose.

"No! Although I don't know how the fighting is going in C City, Hu Biao and his men must be having a very difficult time facing the attack of several Japanese divisions."

If the Japanese had received supplies and didn't have to worry about weapons and ammunition, their situation would only have been worse.

"So even if my 402nd Regiment is wiped out today, we will blow up the Japanese pontoon bridge." The regimental commander gritted his teeth, telling himself this...

A dozen minutes later, all the company and above officers of the 402nd Regiment gathered on the back of the small mound.

Once everyone had arrived, the regimental commander showed no sign of lingering.

He first gave a brief overview of the dire situation they were facing, and then asked, "Tell me, what solutions do you have?"

Faced with such a terrible situation, the others couldn't think of any solutions and shook their heads.

Seeing this, the regimental commander didn't take it seriously and said in a tough tone, "Since you can't think of a solution, then do it my way."

The entire regiment prepared for battle, and once all the Japanese trucks were on the bridge, they immediately launched an attack on the pontoon bridge.

At the same time, select a group of brothers who are good swimmers, about fifty in number; they will then carry explosives and dive down from upstream to blow up the Japanese pontoon bridge.

This operational plan involves two key aspects.

First, in order to create conditions for the brothers who are diving to blow up the bridge, we must go all out during the attack.

So when we got back, we shouldn't reveal that we were going to dive and blow up the bridge; instead, we should tell our brothers that we must rush up at all costs and blow up and burn the Japanese pontoon bridge.

Secondly, judging from the Japanese deployment, they should have been prepared for the possibility of diving to blow up the bridge long ago.

Relying solely on ground attacks to draw their attention seems insufficient. Do you have any other ideas? If so, please suggest them immediately.

When asked by the regimental commander, the third battalion commander quickly spoke up.

But with a seemingly casual gesture, he revealed a method that sent chills down everyone's spine:
“I often bathed in the Xinqiang River in the summer. The water here is only about seven or eight meters deep in some places; and the water is clear, so it is difficult to hide your whereabouts.”

When diving, let alone holding a reed in your mouth to breathe.

I'm afraid that if we dive to a slightly shallower depth, we'll be quickly spotted by the Japanese soldiers under their lights.

So the diving brothers will have to tie stones all over their bodies and walk all the way from the bottom of the river. When they are about a hundred meters away from the pontoon bridge, they will spit out the reed tubes in their mouths and rely on their last breath to get closer.

That way, even if someone suffocates or is killed by Japanese reconnaissance fire, their body won't float up and expose them.

Upon hearing what the battalion commander and above had said, even the regimental commander couldn't help but gasp.

If the battle plan he gave earlier could be described as a near-death experience for the brothers who went underwater to blow up the bridge, then...

If the method of the Third Battalion Commander were used, it would be a certain death sentence.

Just as he was about to say something, the Third Battalion Commander spoke up again: "Of course, since I was the one who suggested this method of having a son, then let me take some men there."

Before the words had even finished, the second company commander added, "Count me in. You probably can't take care of everyone by yourself."

After they finished speaking, the two looked at each other and smiled, their faces full of composure as if they had taken life and death lightly.

Only Commander Wen felt as if his heart was being torn apart when he saw this scene.

There's no other reason! Of the more than 1,000 old brothers of the 804th Regiment who followed him, their regimental commander, out of Sichuan and walked thousands of miles to reach Shanghai to participate in the war, only 8 remain today.

After tonight's battle, at least two more of our old brothers will die.

Even so, he did not object. Instead, he solemnly assured them, "Don't worry about things at home. As long as Wenbin has something to eat, they won't go hungry."

Because each military unit's style and character are influenced not only by its first commanding officer, but also by the exceptionally talented individuals who have served within it.

Their predecessor was the 402nd Regiment, Hu Biao's old unit, and they were undoubtedly influenced by Hu Biao and his comrades.

Especially when driven to a dead end, they will unleash a crazy tactic that is ruthless to the Japanese and even more ruthless to themselves; so, it is useless for him to oppose it.

According to the battle report submitted a week later by the 402nd Regiment of the 134th Division of the 27th Army Group of the 9th War Zone:

At 10:21 p.m. on September 28, 9, when the Japanese supply convoy filled the pontoon bridge and the lead truck was about to drive off the pontoon bridge, the regimental commander ordered an attack.

我团1门83毫米迫击炮，3门80毫米迫击炮，4门迫击炮，共8门迫击炮和15挺重机枪全力开火。

In an instant, the Japanese trucks at the head and rear positions were destroyed.

The entire Japanese supply convoy was instantly caught in a state of flux, unable to move forward or backward.

At the same time, the regimental commander led the entire regiment in an attack on the Japanese bridgehead, and other officers at the battalion, company, and platoon levels also took the lead and charged to the forefront.

Despite suffering heavy casualties, they did not retreat an inch.

At 10:36, the battalion commander led 46 brave men, and despite the fact that many had drowned and the Japanese reconnaissance had been hit and killed, 32 of them successfully reached the pontoon bridge.

They cut the stones binding them, floated up, and placed the explosive charges at key locations such as the bottom of the bridge, support pillars, and steel frames.

A minute or two later, the pontoon bridge was devastated, and the Japanese soldiers and trucks on the bridge suffered heavy losses.

Unfortunately, of the 46 brave men including the battalion commander, only three soldiers drifted downstream for dozens of miles before being rescued by the local people and managing to survive and return to their unit.

At the same time, he ordered the regimental commander to retreat, but was met with a frenzied pursuit by the Japanese.

We fought and retreated, and it wasn't until dawn the next day that our regiment was completely out of contact with the Japanese.

Post-war statistics show that our regiment suffered 326 dead, 271 seriously wounded, 433 slightly wounded, and 105 missing. Less than 30% of our personnel remained intact.

Among them, the regimental commander was seriously wounded, and more than half of the officers were killed in action. Our regiment has now basically lost its combat effectiveness...

(End of this chapter)