Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 205: Tragic and Magnificent: Capturing the Japanese Lieutenant General and Division Commander Alive

Pattani.

"Shit~~"

The fireworks produced by the friction of red phosphorus ignited a whole match. With this faint light, the originally dark underground pit was lit up a little bit.

Tao Jun brought the cigarette in his mouth closer and took a deep puff to light it. Several guards who were also defending the pit with him hurried forward and lit their own cigarettes with the remaining flame on the match. They took a few deep, long puffs.

By now the resistance army's supply of materials had become very tight. They had left in a bit of a hurry, and everyone was inexperienced. They had left behind many things that were not that useful, but had left behind fewer essential items.

For example, there are only a few kerosene lamps left.

The kerosene lamps left in the tunnel have almost all been used up. If you want to use them again, you can only take the risk and go up to buy them from the locals.

Or maybe they could snatch it from the Japanese devils.

Otherwise, it can only be like now, on and off.

Fuel-efficient.

However, staying underground for a long time without light is undoubtedly a great test for one's spirit.

They were almost going crazy before the Japanese devils came to kill them.

"In recent days, the number of Japanese devils up there has increased significantly, and the supplies seem to be piling up more. The Japanese army has also been searching for secret passages more frequently. Yesterday alone, three tunnels were discovered, and the brothers in all three tunnels exploded after fighting with the devils."

"Although I don't know the exact number, the Japanese casualties must have been significant. However, they are still carrying out such a high-intensity raid today, even using flamethrowers. I'm afraid that no matter how many casualties there are, they are determined to wipe us out."

Tao Jun nodded and said, "It seems that the Japs are about to make a big move, which is why they are so disregarding casualties and are so eager to get rid of us."

"What big move will it be?"

"What else could it be? In all likelihood, reinforcements have been dispatched from the country to attack Alor."

"Have you sent a message to Mr. Zheng?"

"It has been sent. Mr. Zheng has replied and is ready. The action should be imminent. However, this time, the Japanese are keeping it a secret. All the mobilizations are secret. Mr. Zheng has no idea which troops will be mobilized and how they will fight."

"Whoo~"

Tao Jun took a long puff of smoke.

"With the Japanese army sweeping through like this, we're definitely not going to survive long. Mr. Zheng said we've completed our mission very well. Thanks to our delay, Penang has built a powerful air force and has gradually gained air superiority in the battle with the Japanese."

As he spoke, Tao Jun used the faint light from the apex to scan the faces of the soldiers one by one and said solemnly, "Our mission has been completed. We are ready to sacrifice at any time. This is a worthy death."

Everyone smiled with relief when they heard this.

Tao Jun lit all the kerosene lamps in the tunnel. When there was no kerosene left, he added gasoline to the lamps and lit them.

A box of sausages, beer, and bagged snacks were dug out from the tunnel and distributed among the brothers.

The brothers restrained their smiles at first, but then they all smiled broadly again, picked up the sausages, cut them with knives, and began to eat them in big mouthfuls.

"Since you have died a worthy death, whether you die early or late, it is still death. The key is to die meaningfully."

"General, just give your orders. It doesn't matter how we die. Who among us still wants to go back alive?"

Tao Jun nodded and said, "With such a large-scale military deployment in Pattani recently, I thought there must be at least a high-ranking official here. Maybe it's Yamashita Fengwen himself?"

"Such a big move, but Mr. Zheng has absolutely no corresponding intelligence. So I'm thinking, can we make some noise and find a way to capture a high-ranking official for questioning? That way, it would be a worthy death."

"Catch the high-ranking officials? But how do we catch them?"

Tao Jun: "In Japan's militarism, most of the army officers were rural children trained in military academies. I know them very well. They valued the Bushido spirit the most, which simply means bravery and leading by example."

"The entire Japanese selection system places too high a value on bravery among officers. Whether it's for show or for genuine reasons, at least army officers will never hesitate to demonstrate their bravery."

"And this is our opportunity."

"General, please tell me what to do."

"Ah, go inform all the brothers in the tunnels that we're going to die tomorrow. Let's play a big one. Unfortunately, this big one is not easy to take a photo to show our families."

………………

At night, the whole Pattani became extremely quiet.

At around three o'clock in the morning, the few remaining townspeople had all gone to sleep, but the Japanese army still formed small teams and patrolled the city endlessly, fearing that a Southern Alliance warrior would emerge from some corner.

The vast majority of Japanese soldiers were walking around the entrances and exits of the tunnel.

In fact, after a few months, the Japanese army had mastered the entrances to most of the tunnels, or at least their approximate locations.

When they are on patrol, they not only do not search for the entrance on purpose, but they also try to avoid it.

If they really saw the eight hundred warriors, most people would pretend not to see them.

Only a fool would fight with these lunatics.

They were a group of lunatics who had no intention of living, but they had extremely powerful firepower. There were few machine gunners with submachine guns, rocket launchers, flamethrowers, and light machine guns. Not only did they all wear bulletproof vests, but if they were forced into a corner, they could even tie dozens of kilograms of bombs to their bodies and fight to the death with you.

Who would want to mince meat with such a beast?
The Japanese army has this characteristic: they are very fierce when in a group, but very cowardly when separated from the group. The so-called bravery of the Japanese army was stimulated by the unique militarist oppression of the Showa era, coupled with Japan's unique culture of shame, and a morbid sense of honor, and even a little methamphetamine.

Simply put, my bravery must be shown to others. If no one is watching me, then my bravery would be in vain, wouldn't it?
It was for this reason that the Yugoslavian forces could easily bypass the patrol network in the city.

"Boom~"

Not surprisingly, there was a loud bang of something exploding in the distance.

The Japanese troops patrolling other areas of the city were not panicked. Instead, they remained calm and ran towards the direction of the explosion.

Because according to past experience, by the time they ran over, the Southern Allied forces would have already fled, and no fighting would take place. They might even be able to take a break.

"Which direction is this?"

"It sounds like the dock."

Boom boom boom, da da da.

As the Japanese troops drew closer to the site of the exchange, they couldn't help but wonder: "Why is the exchange of fire lasting so long today? And the gunfire is so intense! Oh no, what big move are those Chinese making today?"

You have to know that most of the Southern Allied forces acted separately, and many of the attackers were lone wolves. With such intensive firefights today, the veterans could roughly tell the scale of the two warring parties just by listening to the sounds.

[Oh no, this is running a little too fast. The Chinese are going all in.]

"Captain, listen to the sound, this is a firefight at the oil depot."

"Oil depot? We have a whole infantry regiment over there, plus a rapid-fire artillery squadron! The Chinese... won't come?"

Suddenly, some experienced veterans realized that this was a decisive battle between them and those rats in the gutter.

Maybe the supplies are running out.

At the thought of the decisive battle, the Japanese soldiers perked up and ran over immediately.

However, at the oil depot at the port, the Chinese had miraculously rushed in.

These people are wearing bulletproof vests. Although they are not invincible, they can indeed withstand a few more bullets than normal.

However, these few extra shots made all the Japanese soldiers suffer terribly.

When this Japanese team came to support, they happened to see a dozen crazy people from the Southern Allied Forces. They completely ignored the Japanese defense and rushed in with flamethrowers under the protection of machine gunners, regardless of being shot.

And they specifically sprayed it into the Japanese trenches until they were seriously injured and died.

This is an oil depot!

For a moment, all the Japanese soldiers couldn't help but feel an electric current rushing to their heads.

Holding a flamethrower, he rushed into the oil depot while spraying fire.

They are really a bunch of lunatics!
It was obvious that the Japanese army had never seen this kind of fighting style and was stunned for a moment.

The most crucial thing is that the Japanese army did not dare to let the Yugoslav Allied forces get close. After all, if you let them rush in, even if you kill them, what if his flamethrower burns the gasoline diffused outside?
The Japanese army had no choice but to come out of the trenches and fight against these Southern Allied forces.

Rapid-fire cannons and heavy machine guns, as long as they dare to open fire, they will inevitably be targeted and eliminated by rocket launchers.

The Yugoslav Allied Forces were in a completely desperate situation. They attacked the Japanese army wave after wave, forcing them to fight each other. In the end, they even had to engage in close hand-to-hand combat, causing chaos.

It was already dark, and most of the already dim lights had been deliberately shattered by the Southern Allied Forces.

After the Japanese reinforcements arrived, they found it difficult to provide support through long-range shooting. After all, it was so pitch black that they couldn't even distinguish between friend and foe, let alone aiming. Only from time to time, the Japanese soldiers who were burned into fire ran around in panic, bringing some light to the dark battlefield.

However, even these reinforcements were forced to move forward and mince the meat at close range.

In such a chaotic battle, the Japanese army's positions soon had gaps due to the chaos.

A Southern Alliance soldier in a black robe, who was completely invisible from a distance, suddenly crossed the position in front of the oil depot and jumped into the oil depot gate through the big hole that had been blasted by a rocket launcher.

After all, this oil depot was newly built in the past few months, so its defense level is naturally far from enough. The gate is just an ordinary iron sheet. It is usually responsible for refueling ships in the port. It is not a strategic reserve depot, so the defense is naturally full of loopholes.

"China will not perish, you little Japanese devils, I'll fuck your mother!!"

Two Japanese soldiers who saw him go in were about to stop him, but when they saw the man take off his clothes, they revealed a bag full of explosives.

"It's a human bomb, run."

The two Japanese soldiers instinctively turned around and ran.

"No, this is an oil depot, stop him!"

"How do I stop it?"

Boom~~~
Fortunately, the explosion did not cause a secondary detonation and failed to blow up the oil tank inside.

The Japanese commander had just breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that in just a moment, more than ten Southern Allied troops wearing black robes had sneaked in from behind his own rear. Each of them looked exactly like the man just now.

Rush in and pull the line.

“You have to ask for everything!!”

"Boom~"

"Boom~"

"Boom~~"

More than a dozen human bombs were each looking for their own targets, using things like gasoline to explode, and they almost exploded at the same time. There was no way to stop them.

But this time, there was no luck at all.

"Boom~~~"

Hundreds of tons of gasoline were ignited, and the flames flew in all directions with a pungent and strong stench, turning into brilliant streams of light, like flowing red waves, crossing the soft night sky like black satin, and falling all over the ground like a rainstorm.

It fell on the ground, on the wall, and on the Japanese soldiers.

It also fell on the Japanese artillery shells and bullet boxes.

It even fell on a warship anchored not far away.

At this time, who would care about the enemy? Just regret that your parents didn't give you a few more legs and run away quickly.

After running out for a while and finding no explosion but only fire, they all looked very anxious and hurried back to help put out the fire.

In fact, they didn't know how to put out the fire. Most of them could only wander around anxiously and helplessly, unable to help at all and only causing more trouble.

At this time, no one even cared whether the regiment that was originally guarding the oil depot was alive or dead.

The whole city was in chaos, sirens were blaring, and almost all the Japanese soldiers got out of their beds and began looking for water to put out the fire.

Pattani is one of the most suitable areas for landing in the entire Malay Peninsula. It is also the link between Thailand and the Malay Peninsula. The key is that it is relatively close to Alor Setar. Therefore, in this operation of capturing the dragon, it is still a very important logistics base and recruitment base.

It can even conceal military intentions.

Japanese soldiers came one after another with fire hoses to put out the fire. There were limited hoses, so someone took a basin from somewhere, scooped up sea water and poured it in.

"Bagaya Road!!"

An extremely angry curse was heard, and a man in a general's uniform came from a distance and began to curse loudly at the Japanese soldiers who were putting out the fire.

"Lieutenant General Matsui, you can't go any further. It's dangerous ahead."

"idiot!"

But he suddenly shouted, "A fire scene is also a battlefield. How can we retreat because of danger? I want to personally supervise the firefighting!"

After all, the Japanese army is just like that. No one will put in any effort when no one is watching.

Of course, the most important thing is the show. The Japanese Army most respects courage. This man is named Matsui Takeuchiro, the commander of the Japanese Army's 5th Division, under the command of Yamashita Tomoyuki.

The 5th Division was the elite of the Japanese Army, the ace of the Kwantung Army, and one of only four mechanized infantry divisions in Japan.

But since coming to Malaya, I have been feeling a bit frustrated. In Malaya, due to the terrain, mechanized infantry is really a bit of a waste of talent, and it even feels like a dog biting a hedgehog and having no idea where to start.

When Yamashita Tomoyuki swept across the Malay Peninsula, bicycles were often more useful than tanks. Later, when attacking Singapore, because it was a cross-sea battle, the Fifth Division only sent out one artillery regiment to provide fire cover.

Not only did he have no battles to fight and could only watch others make achievements, but the brigades and regiments under his command were always borrowed from others, leaving them in disarray. Now that he was left behind in the rear, he actually only had a few regiments under his command.

Now that the oil depot has burned down, the fate of an entire regiment is unknown. There is a high probability that only a few are left. How is he going to explain this to his superiors?

The key point is that the Fifth Division has close ties with several senior leaders. He, the division commander, has just taken office. The previous division commander was the famous Nakamura Akito, who was dismissed for rebellion in the French East Indies. That's why he was urgently transferred from Manchukuo to take over.

To put it bluntly, this person did not rise step by step in the 5th Division. He even played a role more like a staff officer. He was asked to take over the 5th Division because the 5th Division acted on its own, which made the headquarters very angry. So they specially sent a person who had nothing to do with it to set rules for the 5th Division.

It was a warning, meant to tell the other idiots in the Fifth Division: You have made our headquarters very angry by doing this!

As soon as he took over, he encountered a major battle between the Southern Legion and the Southern Legion.

Historically, this person played a transitional role in the Fifth Division. Shortly after the fall of Singapore, he was transferred back to serve as the emperor of the Wang Puppet Regime.

Not to mention that its prestige itself is not enough, the key is that the Fifth Division has close ties with several of the above commanders.

Terauchi Hisaichi, Itakune Seishirō, and Imamura Hitoshi, all three of them have served as commanders of the 5th Division!

The three most important bosses in the entire Southern Legion are all old leaders of this legion!
Anyone who has actually worked on a project knows that it is the most difficult to lead a team in this situation. When the three leaders are short of people, they will definitely give priority to him in assigning people. Sometimes they will directly skip him and command the legions under him.

Even the people under him didn't pay much attention to him. When encountering problems, the brigade commander under him would actually dare to skip him and report directly to Terauchi Hisaichi.

You may not get a share of the credit if there is any achievement, but you will definitely not be able to escape if there is any mistake. It will be difficult to shirk the blame even if you want to. The people under your command are either Imamura Hitoshi's old subordinates, or Itakane Seishirō's confidants, and some are even Terauchi Hisaichi's team.

Their performance was lackluster. They were clearly stationed in the rear area of ​​Pattani, but were completely overwhelmed by just a few hundred bugs, and now they have suffered such a huge loss.

I don’t know if there were any close associates, old subordinates, or team members of the three leaders in the deceased regiment. God knows how big a responsibility this is.

Apart from putting out the fire now, where else can he have the opportunity to make amends?

Besides, it's just firefighting. When the oil tank catches fire, the most dangerous moment is the initial explosion. The explosion has ended now and it is impossible for a continuous explosion to occur.

With this in mind, Matsui Taikuro resolutely stepped into the fire scene which was still experiencing waves of heat, and began to personally direct the operations while cursing at people.

It was natural that the Lieutenant General Division Commander's personal visit to the front line would have some effect, and the Japanese army's firefighting work did seem to be much more efficient.

But at this moment, a silver light flashed in the fire and suddenly pounced on Matsui Taikuro.

It was not until a howl came from Matsui Taikuro's mouth that the Japanese soldiers saw that the ball of silver light that pounced on them was actually a person!
A person who has been lying in ambush in the fire!
But this person was wearing very strange clothes, all bright silver. He could move freely in such a big fire. The dagger in his hand was firmly stuck in Matsui Taikuro's thigh.

"Who? The Southern Allied Forces?!"

One, two, three, one after another people who looked exactly like this man, wrapped in strange bright silver clothes came out and knocked him down. Each of them used a knife to cripple Matsui Taikuro's limbs, and then they actually carried Matsui Taikuro away.

The Japanese army wanted to chase them, but these people seemed not afraid of fire and went wherever there was fire. Several Japanese soldiers who chased after them were soon burned by the fire and screamed in pain. Even if they did not run away, they could not catch up with those strange people who were not afraid of fire and soon lost them.

He could only watch these weirdos walking further and further away. Matsui Taikuro, bathed in the flames of passion, screamed and wailed, becoming increasingly blurred until it was completely lost and disappeared.

For a moment, all the Japanese soldiers who were fighting the fire could not help but freeze in their tracks, wondering: [Are these people or ghosts?]

Matsui Taikuro was actually thinking about the same question in his mind.

These creatures, who knew whether they were human or ghosts, completely ignored his screams and wails, and carried him through the sea of ​​fire as if they were not affected at all.

Soon, these "things" brought him to a very secret tunnel entrance.

It was only at this time that Matsui Taikuro confirmed that these guys should be human beings, and they were the Southern Allied Forces.

"idiot!!"

Matsui Taikuro was so angry that he couldn't help but curse.

For an officer of his rank, it would be fine if he died in battle, but he was actually captured alive?

Doesn't this make him a disgrace to the Japanese Army?

Soon, several people took Matsui Taikuro into the tunnel, turned on the lights, and started to take off his clothes. Matsui Taikuro couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

I saw that underneath these people's strange clothes, there was completely blurred flesh and blood, and their heads and faces were full of burn marks. After taking off their clothes, they actually tore off a layer of burnt flesh on their bodies.

The combination of charred black and blood red made their skin look like a fruit wood smoked pork elbow that Matsui Takeuchi had eaten when he was studying in Germany.

[So... they can get hurt too]

"Give me something to drink."

The leader spoke. His voice was very strange, as if countless tiny blades were cutting and twisting in his throat. It was extremely unpleasant.

A few people rummaged around and soon found a box of beer, which they divided among themselves. They first drank it all in one gulp, and then found a box of cigarettes from the tunnel, lit it up, and sat down next to Matsui Taikuro with a grin on their faces.

But the leader suddenly said in Japanese: "Looking at your shoulder insignia, you are actually a lieutenant general. Which division are you the commander of?"

"Do you speak Japanese?"

"My name is Tao Jun. I studied abroad in Japan. I don't know if you've heard of me. I'm also a lieutenant general. It's not shameful to be caught by me."

"Are you Tao Jun?"

Upon hearing this, Tao Jun smiled at him, revealing a row of bloody white teeth on his charcoal-black face.

His injuries were very serious. If he didn't receive medical treatment in time, he would definitely not survive more than three days.

With extensive burns all over his body, the probability of subsequent infection is almost 100%. Moreover, it hurts every time he moves. Tao Jun knows very well that he probably won't even see the sun tomorrow.

This moment was the last moment of his life, he was absolutely sure of it.

The other brothers who are still alive should be similar to him.

This is the last brother.

The eight hundred brave warriors lurking in Pattani finally reached their end, and no one could survive to see tomorrow.

But it was worth it that he was able to catch such a big fish before he died. His crude battle plan was finally successful.

In fact, this battle plan is very simple.

It means to gather all the troops to attack the oil depot.

After the oil depot caught fire, they first ran away. After the explosion was over, everyone changed into fireproof clothing and returned to the oil depot, hiding in ambush in the flames with only daggers and short knives.

The so-called fireproof clothing is a layer of aluminum coated on the basis of aramid. This thing is still a rare thing in this era and has rarely appeared. It can be regarded as a small invention of Zheng Yi.

Because they were fighting in tunnels, and considering that the most feared thing for the minced meat in the tunnels was that the enemy would burn them with flamethrowers, Zheng Yi specially ordered his men to use the cloth that was originally intended for making bulletproof vests to transport aluminum and send it to the front line.

This was the first time that fireproof clothing appeared in human warfare history.

However, it is not the professional fire-resistant clothing of later generations. Besides, even the fire-resistant clothing of later generations is not absolutely fire-proof.

When they rushed into the fire, there were still nearly two hundred people left.

By the time Matsui Taikuro arrived at the front line, there were only less than ten of them left who could stand up and catch him.

The remaining more than one hundred people were all burned to death by the fire.

"Why would you, a lieutenant general like you, stay in Pattani? Are you a division commander? Which division are you commanding? Is the Japanese army going to attack the Southern Alliance? What is the battle plan?"

"Baga! Do you think I would betray the Emperor?"

Upon hearing this, Tao Jun revealed a devilish grin.

"It doesn't matter. We brothers can't swallow this anger for a while. We will torture you now. If you tell us, we brothers will give you a quick death. If you can resist, we will have a duel to see who dies first, you or us."

"Mr. Lieutenant General, I'm sorry."

"You...what are you doing? I'm a lieutenant general! I'm the commander of the 5th Division, Matsui Taikuro. I'm also the highest military advisor to Manchukuo. I'm a diplomat. You can't do this to me!!"

When he got anxious, Matsui Taikuro actually spoke Chinese.

Hearing this, Tao Jun was stunned, his eyes lit up. "'China expert' Matsui Taikuro? It's you, I've heard of you for a long time."

Obviously, this is not a hard nut to crack.

At this point, who would care about diplomats? Besides, he was just a military advisor to the puppet Manchukuo. When did the Southern Alliance ever recognize the puppet Manchukuo?

This kind of person may not be good at fighting, but he must have a lot of information.

Several bloody men rushed forward with great excitement as if they had met a peerless beauty.

She exerted all her strength, used up the last bit of her life, and put it all on the man in front of her.

(End of this chapter)