The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 596 Mission Accomplished (Two Chapters Combined)

After killing Kanda Masatane, the lieutenant general commander of the Japanese 6th Division, with a single slash, Annie swayed for a moment, her legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ground.

Don't worry, this girl isn't injured, she's just exhausted.

Or to put it another way, don't be fooled by the fact that this girl had only been observing the battlefield from the city wall with binoculars and occasionally sending out a troop to fight.

Apart from the final hand-to-hand combat, he did not participate in the intense street fighting.

However, the pressure she endured tonight, as well as the mental and physical exhaustion she experienced, was no less than that of Hu Biao and his men who led the street fighting, and perhaps even greater.

In other words, he was so focused on killing Kanda Masatane during the close-quarters combat that he was fighting on like he was on steroids.

Now that Kanda Masatane, the most crucial target, is dead, the whole city erupted in cheers.

With Annie's extensive combat experience, it was clear that the battle in Xiangyin City was no longer in doubt and that they were about to completely take it down.

Suddenly, the breath I had been holding in was released, and I felt all the strength in my body recede like a receding tide. For a moment, I didn't even have the strength to stand up, and my legs went weak, so I sat down on the ground.

After collapsing to the ground, Annie reached into her pocket, pulled out a piece of chocolate, and popped it into her mouth.

I plan to use this high-calorie food to help myself regain some strength as quickly as possible.

After all, even if Xiangyin City is captured, it only means that we have cracked the biggest nut among a series of combat targets tonight.

Besides taking this place, there are many other things waiting for her, the chief of staff, to do and arrange one by one.

She had just finished eating a piece of chocolate when a man came running towards her; just seeing the anxious and sorrowful look on his face made Annie's heart skip a beat.

Because this man's name is Zhou Huibang.

Not only was he the deputy captain of her guard, but he was also the husband of Jin Yinhua, this heroine, whom she had only been married to for a short time; now, his anxious expression meant that something had happened to Jin Yinhua.

To be honest, she had just managed to drive Kanda Masatane, a Japanese lieutenant general, away on his escape, shattering the last shred of the Japanese soldiers' will to fight.

Yin Jinhua, with only a knife, helped her stop the actions of seven or eight Japanese soldiers, playing a huge role in the battle and making her a great hero.

More importantly, this female hero, who is already over a hundred years old in the modern world, is still alive and well.

If her decision to bring her into her service as captain of the guard resulted in the sacrifice of this heroine, Anne would never forgive herself.

Just as Annie had feared, Yin Jinhua got into trouble.

Zhou Huibang rushed to Annie's side and immediately cried out in a tearful voice:

"Commander An, Yinhua is seriously injured and is on the verge of death. Could you go there now? She wants to see you one last time before she passes away."

Upon hearing this, Annie felt a surge of energy welling up within her.

After hurriedly getting up, he rushed to the location of the battle; he squatted down next to Yin Jinhua, who was now lying on the ground with seven Japanese corpses lying around her.

The heroine was covered in blood, it was unclear whether it was from the Japanese soldiers or her own.

Upon seeing Annie arrive, Silverflower, who had been looking dejected, perked up and grabbed Annie's hand, saying:
"Commander An! I'm probably not going to make it; don't be sad about me, I just killed seven Japanese soldiers, that's enough."

Before I die, I'll have Lao Zhou call you over.

First, I want to advise you, sir, to be careful on the battlefield in the future, since I won't be able to protect you anymore.

Commander Hu and you are the backbone of everyone. What if something happens? Let the ordinary soldiers like Lao Zhou handle the dangerous tasks.

Secondly, before I die, I want to see Commander An one last time.

When I first saw Commander An, I felt a sense of kinship with her. I wondered, where in the world could there be such a capable and beautiful woman?
"But after today, I'm afraid I'll never see you again, Commander An."

Upon hearing this, Annie suppressed her grief and took out some gauze and white medicine from her medical kit to stop the bleeding from Yin Jinhua's most serious injuries.

He solemnly addressed Yin Jinhua, making his promise:

"Don't overthink it! I can read faces. You have the face of someone who will live to be over a hundred years old. You won't die today."

Live well, and even if you're a hundred years old, I'll find a way to come see you.

After quickly treating Yin Jinhua's wounds and giving her some aspirin and oral penicillin, the heroine had already fallen into a deep sleep, and her condition did not look very good.

After gritting her teeth, Annie began to explain to Zhou Huibang:

"Get her to the hospital immediately. Tell 803 that I said I was the one who said we must save Yinhua at all costs; otherwise, when I go back to my hometown in Northeast China, I'll smash all the heating pipes in his house."

Oh, right! Women all love to look beautiful, so when 803 is stitching up the wound, be sure to use a cosmetic needle..."

In the time that followed, not to mention 803, the newcomer who had just earned the nickname "quack doctor," not only had to exhaust his limited medical skills to try and save Yin Jinhua.

She also had to frantically suture the silver flower with her clumsy cosmetic needle technique; it was all done in the chilly early morning hours, leaving her drenched in sweat.

Afterwards, Annie and Hu Biao returned to the top of the western city wall.

Through the several radios set up here, and the constant reports from signal corps soldiers, we began to learn about the latest battle situation of our friendly forces.

It was during this process that the two of them became more and more relaxed.

The news that came in was mostly good news, indicating that although tonight's battle was somewhat difficult, the Japanese 6th Division was about to be wiped out.

******
At 5:12, the 23rd Infantry Regiment, the most complete and well-stocked infantry unit of the 6th Division, which was the rearguard of the retreating Japanese army, was completely annihilated by the Nationalist army.

In the battle that annihilated the 23rd Infantry Regiment, the old vehicle played a crucial role.

Old Che neither participated in the battle to block the Japanese reinforcements nor in the battle for the tough nut of Xiangyin County, naturally because he had more important arrangements to make.

To be more specific, besides the Type 89 medium tank he personally captured the night before last.

After the Nationalist army recaptured C Shacheng, he led his men to find a few tanks that had been relatively less damaged among those destroyed tanks.

They carried out emergency repairs by dismantling other tanks and replacing the parts with usable ones.

Finally, before the start of tonight's battle, he managed to have a tank squad consisting of two Type 89 medium tanks and three Type 95 light tanks.

Thanks to the Japanese soldiers' decision to advance with lighter equipment, they abandoned the operation of all heavy equipment.

This small squad with only five tanks made a significant contribution in breaking through the Japanese defensive positions.

In the following period, Lao Che led a tank squad and some accompanying infantry to repeatedly attack the Japanese defense line, tearing it to shreds.

Although the battle eventually ended there, of the tank squad's five tanks, only one Type 89 heavy tank, driven by Lao Che, remained.

All the other tanks were destroyed by the Japanese.

However, everyone on this battlefield agrees that Old Car's tank squad played the biggest role in the battle.

As for why such a powerful tank squad wasn't deployed to the battle for Xiangyin County, a tough nut to crack? Of course, there was no way to deploy it.

Infantry units participating in the attack could bypass the obstacles by taking shortcuts, but tanks had no way to do so.

Otherwise, the retreating Japanese troops wouldn't have fought so hard along that dirt road; and the 74th Army wouldn't have been unable to bring any of their mountain guns and field guns with them.

Only mortars and Type 92 infantry guns can be used for fire support and suppression...

Three minutes later, the Japanese soldiers who had been frantically attacking the blocking position where the elephant was located suddenly stopped their attack.

Then they quickly retreated, disappearing completely into the dawning light.

The elephant immediately tilted its head back and fell to the ground. It felt completely powerless and didn't even want to move a finger.

This novice was lucky; although he had many injuries, they were all just scratches. This performance was only due to the fact that he had exhausted his physical and mental strength during the previous few hours of ambush.

Even after the pontoon bridge was destroyed, the Japanese reinforcements, with their abundant forces, continued to launch attacks against them.

God knows! If Mina hadn't blown up the pontoon bridge, the Japanese reinforcements' counterattack would have been incredibly brutal.

This situation arose because a Japanese battalion, which often operated as an independent unit, was typically equipped with a radio.

Thus, starting from 1 a.m. when the Nationalist army began its attack.

Anami Yuichi, the commander of the Japanese 11th Army, and his staff were at the front-line command post in Yueyang.

He kept receiving farewell telegrams from his 6th Division, sent in the name of either a battalion or a regiment. Each telegram signified that a unit was about to be completely annihilated by the Nationalist army.

Therefore, Anami Yuichi, who felt extremely uneasy at the time, issued a death order to the 3rd and 4th Divisions to bring out the 6th Division.

At least some personnel must be evacuated; we cannot allow an entire Imperial division to be annihilated by the Nationalist army.

Especially the 6th Division, a Class A division that they only had 17 of in total.

After all, the 5th Division had been completely annihilated in Guinan last year. If something like this happened again, the entire Imperial Army would suffer another great humiliation.

Just over ten minutes earlier, they had received farewell telegrams from the 6th Division headquarters and the 23rd Infantry Regiment, which was serving as the rearguard.

Anami Yuichi, who was standing in front of the map at the time, felt as if he had been hit hard on the head.

Suddenly everything went black, and he collapsed to the ground.

Although he was quickly helped up by his staff, Anami Yuichi's back was hunched over, and his face was blank and lost, making him look as if he had aged ten years.

After being helped to stand for a minute or two, the old Japanese soldier finally spoke in an extremely hoarse voice.

He said, "Order all units to immediately cease all rescue operations for the 6th Division; make all preparations to evacuate rapidly to Yueyang City under the cover of aircraft after the Army Air Force appears at dawn."

If there are too many wounded, then let them die a glorious death.

Upon hearing this order, the Japanese staff officers around him immediately changed their expressions and were about to object.

The main point is that the above orders indicate that they not only intend to abandon the entire 6th Division, a unit whose fate of annihilation is already sealed.

This also means that at least two or three thousand seriously wounded soldiers from other units who have completely lost their ability to move will also be abandoned.

"Gyokusai" (鮀絵)? It's just a nice-sounding way for the Japanese to glorify themselves; to put it bluntly, it meant killing them with guns or grenades to avoid slowing down their retreat.

No! After a night of fierce fighting, the Japanese soldiers' already limited ammunition has now been almost completely exhausted.

Therefore, it is estimated that even when killing wounded soldiers of their own side, they would be reluctant to use bullets and grenades, and it is more likely that they would directly stab them to death with a bayonet, or inject them with air.

However, before these advisors could voice their opposition,

With a 'pfft', Anan Yuichi coughed up a mouthful of blood, staining a large area of ​​the map in front of him red.

Then he fell backward, his face as pale as a dead dog.

In a panic, the staff officers hurriedly helped the Japanese soldier up, shouting "Doctor!" and forgetting all about their objections.

After Anami was sent to the infirmary, the staff officers at the Japanese front-line command issued the order he had just given.

Thus, the Japanese reinforcements stopped their attack and quickly withdrew...

After lying on the ground for two or three minutes, Zhixiang finally regained some strength.

He struggled to his feet and walked toward a spot two or three hundred meters behind him, where the bodies of over a thousand of his own men lay, carried there during lulls in the fighting.

This does not mean that after a difficult battle, they only lost that many people.

They were simply too busy; there were still many bodies of fallen brothers that they hadn't had time to carry.

In fact, they had nearly 3800 troops when they took action last night, but now only about a thousand have survived, and all of them are wounded.

Upon arriving at the location, Zhixiang went straight to Xiao Henan's corpse.

He squatted down, took out a clean gauze, poured some water on it, and cleaned the blood and dirt off Xiao Henan's face.

After tidying up his tattered military uniform, he muttered to himself, "Blind man, rest in peace on your journey."

The Japanese 6th Division has been completely annihilated. I've made up for the missing mission for you, and the number will be even greater.

After saying that, he stretched out his right hand and wiped it across Xiao Henan's wide-open eyes.

Suddenly, a miraculous thing happened: Xiao Henan's eyes, which he had refused to close no matter how hard the other brothers tried, finally closed at this moment.

Then, Zhixiang got up and walked another hundred or so steps. When he stopped again, he came to the old horse's corpse.

Just like Xiao Henan, Lao Ma's spirit in heaven is probably still thinking about why he missed the target number of Japanese soldiers, and he is also unwilling to close his eyes.

The only difference is that Old Ma now wears a one-eyed leather mask over one of his eyes, so only one eye is open.

Similarly, after cleaning the blood off his face and straightening his military uniform.

Zhi Xiang said to Lao Ma, "One-Eyed Dragon, rest assured on your journey. The Japanese 6th Division has been completely wiped out; I have at least doubled the number of Japanese soldiers you were missing."

After saying that, he wiped with his right hand, and Old Ma's wide-open eye closed.

Even now, Zhi Xiang has basically come to believe the claim that time travelers who die in battle during their journey can be perfectly resurrected upon returning to the modern world.

Seeing this situation, Zhi Xiang still felt a tightness in his chest; this feeling undoubtedly made him very depressed, so he decided to do something to ease his mood.

So, looking at the old horse's corpse on the ground, he said again, "One-eyed dragon! I lied to you."

Just as Zhi Xiang had predicted, Old Ma's one eye, which he had just closed, immediately reopened, so much so that he couldn't close it with his hand. The scene was quite magical.

Then he added, "Just kidding! The 6th Division was completely wiped out, and the Japanese soldiers you're missing have been killed enough."

Old Ma's one eye, which had been open, was closed again.

In the following time, Zhixiang kept playing this game, saying "I was just kidding" and "Just kidding" repeatedly; after about ten times, the novice suddenly burst into tears.

All I can say is that even if the Elephant Man is in the modern world, he has personally experienced and participated in actual combat, and has witnessed his comrades dying beside him.

But today's battle was still rather brutal for him...

At 6:01 a.m., the sky over the Xiangbei area gradually brightened.

At 6:23 a.m., a golden sun rose from the horizon, signaling another sunny day.

Seventeen minutes later, a Japanese reconnaissance plane appeared and began to circle over the front-line area where the 6th Division had been encamped the previous night.

This is the Japanese front-line command post. Hopefully, we can still see some miracles, such as that they still have a considerable number of troops and are still persisting in the resistance.

However, since it is a 'miracle', it naturally refers to something that would be impossible under normal circumstances.

So the Japanese pilot on the plane opened his eyes wide, seeing not only corpses all over the ground and Nationalist troops cleaning up the battlefield.

It was just a few scattered defeated soldiers, fleeing through the surrounding wilderness and forests.

Their escape only prolongs their lives a little longer.

Because not only were they being pursued by a large number of Nationalist soldiers, but they were also being chased by a large number of Nationalist soldiers.

The key was that they had ambushed many Chinese civilians along their escape route; those fleeing soldiers would be taken down and overwhelmed like prey.

The vast area south of the Xinqiang River was a huge hunting ground.

Therefore, it was impossible for these defeated soldiers of the 6th Division to cross hundreds of kilometers in this unfamiliar land and escape back to the relatively safe city of Yueyang.

Furthermore, in the southeast corner of Xiangyin City, on an open space next to a tall tower, he saw something even more terrifying.

As the heads of imperial soldiers were continuously transported over, they were neatly and skillfully piled up.

After a moment of stunned silence, the word "Jingguan" (a mound of deadly objects) came to the mind of the reconnaissance pilot. His hands trembled so much that he almost veered the plane head-on towards the ground.

After maintaining his flight attitude, he was filled with fear but had no intention of continuing the reconnaissance. He hurriedly returned and reported the news.

Unfortunately, what could the Japanese do after the report was submitted? Could they send planes to blow the skulls off their own soldiers?
Upon receiving this news, Anami Yuichi, who had just woken up, fainted again from anger.

Because of these two bouts of sudden anger, the old Japanese soldier spent a long time in the hospital before recovering; even after being discharged, he developed a chronic cough.

In traditional Chinese medicine terms, this is called "excessive internal heat attacking the heart, damaging vital energy and the heart meridians," and there is no way to cure it completely.

It's just that AT didn't know about this situation, otherwise he would have given his nickname "Consumptive" to that old Japanese devil Anami Yuichi...

(End of this chapter)