The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 568 ended before it even began (bonus chapter for chentie981, the leader)

At 1:50 a.m., Hu Biao and his group quietly retreated from the nameless hilltop.

In a wild bamboo forest out of sight of the Japanese soldiers, officers of company rank and above from the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment and the 74th Army who participated in the "tooth extraction" operation gathered together.

We tried to leverage everyone's wisdom to come up with a better course of action.

Before this short meeting began, Hu Biao emphasized one point to them all:
The Japanese 13th Tank Regiment must be dealt with; otherwise, when the Japanese retreat from C City, the National Revolutionary Army will have no chance to stop them and will only be able to watch them leave helplessly.

While everyone understands the above principles, given the vast disparity in strength between the two sides, how could anyone come up with a better solution in such a short time?

Under these circumstances, the members of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment first looked at their commander.

Then, everyone in the 74th Army looked at this legendary man who had created countless miracles under impossible circumstances.

Even the officers under Zhang Lingfu in the 57th Division of the 74th Army had the same reaction.

Zhang Lingfu, who had just witnessed this scene, was naturally quite jealous.

But then I thought about it again, and realized that "in such a terrible situation, what can Hu Biao do? There's no use just watching him like this." I felt much better after that.

Then, Hu Biao gestured to Annie beside him for help, and the two of them opened a map of C Sand City; Mina turned on a flashlight to provide light for her family.

After staring at the map and studying it for about a minute...

Hu Biao pointed to a location on the map and explained his solution.

At first glance, it might seem unbelievable, crazy, or even suicidal; but upon closer examination, it is currently the only feasible solution:
"Alright! Everyone, there's no need to doubt it. The Japanese will run away early this morning."

This tank unit was the most important mobility and vanguard force they had during their retreat; these Japanese tanks would set off as the vanguard even before dawn.

Therefore, I believe that rather than launching an attack now and engaging in an unfair head-on battle between armored forces and infantry, it would be better to annihilate them in mobile warfare.

We'll first set up an ambush in this area of ​​the city and wait for the Japanese to come to us.

This was their only retreat route, and it was in C Sand City. The Japanese would never have expected an ambush that could catch them completely off guard.

Once the tanks at the front and rear are destroyed, they have no chance of escaping given the narrow roads of the city.

They'll just stay where they are, and we'll blow them up one by one.

Faced with such a tactic, even the bold Zhang Lingfu couldn't help but ask, "Commander Hu! I, Zhang Lingfu, am by no means a coward who fears death."

"But isn't your proposed tactic a bit too audacious? A single misstep could result in huge losses."

The reason Hu Biao pointed to the location that caused such a strong reaction from Zhang Lingfu was that it was Miaogao Road, a road in C Sand City, not far from the south gate, in front of the main gate of the Central Normal School.

Take out some of the sentry guards and sneak around on both sides of the road.

Zhang Lingfu believed that it was possible to send out skilled brothers to spy on the sentries.

However, in C Sand City, there is currently a part of the Japanese 4th Division stationed there, as well as the Hayabuchi Detachment, which has more than 7000 troops including artillery units.

In addition, there were logistics and supply units, field hospitals, engineers, and other units.

Roughly speaking, there were about 18,000 to 19,000 Japanese soldiers in the city.

The current area of ​​C Sand City is far less terrifying than it would be in later generations, so Zhang Lingfu judged that these Japanese soldiers would come to support them immediately after hearing the sounds of battle.

It won't take long to get support to the battlefield.

So what he was worried about was, what would happen to all those Japanese reinforcements once the fighting started? And even if they succeeded, how would they evacuate?

He believes there are many other things to worry about.

For example, what if the Japanese 13th Tank Regiment did not set off before dawn as they expected, but instead waited until dawn to depart?

With over three thousand men lying in ambush, making such a large commotion in broad daylight, wouldn't they be quickly discovered and exposed? At that point, forget about 'pulling teeth'; they'd be surrounded by seven or eight times their number of Japanese soldiers.

In short, after some thought, he felt that Hu Biao's tactic was too risky and radical, even a bit crazy, so crazy that he was a little scared.

Although Zhang Lingfu didn't voice his doubts on the spot, Hu Biao seemed to see through them all and answered them one by one:

"Don't worry! Let me share my thoughts."

At the latest, around 4 a.m., the Japanese 13th Tank Regiment would definitely set off ahead of time, and by the time they arrived at the ambush site, it would still be dark.

There's no need to worry about being spotted if you stay up until dawn.

This is a judgment I made based on Anami Yuichi's personality; this guy is decisive, and once he's made up his mind to retreat, he won't delay at all.

The 13th Tank Regiment could only depart before dawn so that the troops in the city could follow and withdraw one by one after daybreak.

Even if they wanted to dawdle, Anan would send a telegram urging them to hurry up.

"Once the fighting starts, we need not be afraid even if all the Japanese soldiers in the city come to our aid; my Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment will send 800 men, and your 74th Army will send 1000 men to block the Japanese reinforcements."

Taking advantage of the urban environment, they were able to hold off the Japanese for quite some time, buying enough time for the ambush troops.

Once the attack is successful, the army will immediately split up and retreat south from C Sand City; given the Japanese's current focus on retreating, they won't relentlessly pursue, and the brothers will be able to evacuate safely.

After thinking about Hu Biao's explanation, everyone nodded in agreement, finding it to be quite reasonable.

Faced with this situation, Zhang Lingfu asked one last question, or perhaps it was a reflection of his own concerns:
"We only have 3500 men in total. After deducting 1800 men to block the Japanese, we only have 1700 men left to ambush the Japanese 13th Tank Regiment."

"Can such a small force handle it?"

"We have to do it, even if it's not feasible. The Japanese 13th Tank Regiment must be wiped out; otherwise, all the hard work we put in on the front lines for those few days, and the deaths of so many brothers, would have been for nothing."

Anyway, I'll personally carry the explosives and charge in; I'll kill the Japanese if they don't, and I won't leave until I've destroyed the last Japanese tank.

Hu Biao said calmly, but his eyes held an unwavering determination.

"Count me in then," Zhang Lingfu added.

But deep down, he had to admit with a touch of resignation that, in terms of fearlessness and daring, he really couldn't compare to Hu Biao...

After finalizing the battle plan, everyone spent some time quickly assigning tasks and areas to their respective units.

By this time, it was 2:32 a.m.

Given the limited time, everyone set off immediately.

As Zhang Lingfu got up and walked towards his troops, he overheard a conversation between Annie and Mina behind him.

After Annie slapped Mina on the back of the head with a "smack," she muttered a curse under her breath:

"You brat! I'm warning you, don't be so shameless. Of all the people you could seduce, you had to go and seduce Zhang Lingfu. He's a ruthless man who even killed his own wife."

Mina felt a little wronged and lowered her voice to answer:

"Who's flirting with him? I'd rather flirt with my brother-in-law than him. He's much better than him."

After saying that, Mina realized something was wrong and started running, while Annie muttered as she ran, "You definitely shouldn't seduce your brother-in-law!"

In the chase, the two quickly disappeared from sight.

Zhang Lingfu was left with a desolate heart, and an ancient poem rose uncontrollably in his mind: "The fallen flowers are willing to follow the flowing water, but the flowing water has no heart to love the fallen flowers."

In modern terms, Zhang Lingfu's love affair ended before it even began...

(End of this chapter)