plumnovel Chapter 61: Defeating the Japanese 114th Division, Suematsu Shigeharu is paralyzed.
Chapter 61: Defeating the Japanese 114th Division, Suematsu Shigeharu is paralyzed.
The soldiers didn't know their generals, the generals didn't know their soldiers, and even the soldiers didn't know their soldiers; the entire camp was in complete chaos.
The commando soldiers were slaughtering the Japanese troops indiscriminately, while throwing all the explosives they carried into the camp without reservation.
The Japanese troops on the front line, who originally wanted to hold off the 88th Division's attack, are now completely unable to do so.
Because the chaos on the flanks had spread, these Japanese troops were forced to temporarily retreat and stabilize their position.
Shigeharu Suematsu was completely unable to command his army and was being carried by his soldiers as they ran wildly backward.
In the garrison headquarters, Tang Shengzhi was listening to Chief of Staff Xiao Shen's report.
"A night raid? Hmph, this Li Jianghe is really outrageous."
Upon hearing the gunfire and explosions outside the city, which were caused by Li Jianghe's troops launching a night raid on the Japanese 114th Division's camp, Tang Shengzhi slammed his hand on the table, displaying unusual anger.
Chief of Staff Xiao Shen said in a low voice:
"Commander, I think Li Jianghe knows what he's doing. Using a surprise attack at this time might have unexpected results."
Tang Shengzhi said coldly:
"What kind of effect? They were already outnumbered, yet they risked launching a preemptive attack on the enemy's main force, which outnumbered them by a wide margin. Isn't that suicide?"
Chief of Staff Xiao Shen was about to explain something, but Tang Shengzhi waved his hand impatiently.
"There's no need to speak up for him. If this night raid succeeds, all will be well; if it fails, he'll come back with his head!!!"
After saying that, Tang Shengzhi stormed out of the command post, looking at the battle area in the distance, where firelight illuminated the sky and gunfire and explosions mingled together.
"What an arrogant brat who doesn't know his place."
He said fiercely, thinking to himself that Yuhuatai was probably finished now, and Zhonghuamen would probably be hard to defend.
At this moment, the 6th Division also sensed something was wrong and discovered that the 114th Division's camp was filled with gunfire and explosions.
Hisao Tani put away his binoculars and asked his chief of staff, Kazuhiro Shimono, who was standing beside him:
"What's the current situation with the 114th Division?"
Shimono Kazuho hurriedly said:
"We can't get in touch. I think it's very likely that the command post has been attacked by the enemy."
After saying that, he looked at Tani Hisao and said:
"Division Commander, should we go and provide them with support?"
Tani Hisao waved his hand and said:
"The enemy only numbered a few thousand. The entire 114th Division has a strength of 20,000 men. Their night raid shouldn't have been enough to disrupt the entire division."
He knew Suematsu Shigeharu quite well, and he also knew the 114th Division relatively well.
Even though their overall combat strength was somewhat inferior to that of the 6th Division, they were not so easily defeated by the enemy in a night raid.
Just then, the phone rang in the command post. When it was answered, it was the 114th Division calling directly.
"Lord Tani Hisao, requesting reinforcements. The enemy launched a night attack, and we are in chaos. Our command system has been paralyzed."
On the other end of the phone came the voice of Shigeharu Suematsu.
However, his speech is now a little unclear, and he even slurs his words when he speaks, after all, he has lost two front teeth.
Tani Hisao thought he had misheard. What was the situation with the 114th Division? It was just 20,000 pigs. They shouldn't be asking him for help, right?
"Okay, I understand."
Tani Hisao agreed, still harboring doubts, but decided to send soldiers to provide support.
If the 114th Division suffers too heavy a loss, how can the 6th Division reap the benefits?
The 6th Division quickly dispatched two infantry regiments to provide support.
However, they did not go to directly support the 114th Division, but instead attacked Yuhuatai from the flank.
The reason for doing this was that Hisao Tani believed it was the best solution.
As long as Yuhuatai is attacked, the enemy forces at the front will definitely come to its aid.
If you're lucky, you might even be able to take advantage of the enemy's weakened rear defenses and capture Yuhuatai in one fell swoop.
As for providing direct support, that would be the least effective approach. Not only would it fail to provide timely assistance to the chaotic 114th Division, but the troops themselves would also be easily scattered by the panicked soldiers.
Finally, the Japanese artillery fire came down again, but this time it was only on the Yuhuatai position.
Meanwhile, two regiments of Japanese troops launched an attack on Yuhuatai from both flanks.
Seeing this, Li Jianghe knew that he had to withdraw the front-line troops, otherwise Yuhuatai would be lost.
"Long Wenzhang, fire a signal flare to order the troops to withdraw."
Li Jianghe shouted.
As three signal flares soared into the sky, the advancing Nationalist soldiers, seeing Yuhuatai covered in artillery fire behind them, knew they had to retreat.
The soldiers began their retreat in trucks and motorcycles.
They were faster and managed to return to their positions before the Japanese attacking forces arrived.
These soldiers who launched the raid were all covered in blood, their eyes bloodshot, yet their gazes revealed the joy and excitement of victory.
Many people on the truck were bragging about how they had taken down a Japanese captain or major.
The Sixth Division's attack was originally intended to test the waters. Seeing that the soldiers of the 3rd Provisional Regiment withdrew in time, they knew that there was no chance of taking Yuhuatai.
The enemy retreated much faster than Tani Hisao had imagined. It seemed that with the help of a large number of trucks and motorcycles, their mobility was indeed much greater than that of ordinary infantry units.
In the garrison headquarters, Chief of Staff Xiao Shen said:
"Commander, I have good news. Li Jianghe's troops have successfully defeated the Japanese 114th Division and escaped unscathed."
"They won? They actually won, and escaped unscathed?"
Tang Shengzhi found it unbelievable. The troops on Yuhuatai only numbered over 6,000, so how could they have won a night raid on a Japanese camp of over 20,000 and escaped unscathed?
Tang Shengzhi originally thought that this proactive night raid was a risky move by Li Jianghe, and that he would definitely pay the price for such a risk.
He even considered sending someone to shoot the man directly.
But now it seems he was wrong.
Li Jianghe's Provisional Third Regiment does indeed possess the capability to launch a rapid raid, engage in swift combat, and then quickly retreat back to a safe area.
As for the idea of executing Li Jianghe, Tang Shengzhi put it aside.
He immediately disregarded what he had just said and chuckled, saying:
"This Li Jianghe always manages to surprise people. Issue a commendation order immediately."
Seeing Tang Shengzhi's quick change of expression, Chief of Staff Xiao Shen chuckled inwardly, but simply agreed:
"Yes, I'll issue the commendation order right away."
Seeing Chief of Staff Xiao Shen leave, Tang Shengzhi looked towards Yuhuatai.
"This guy... he's actually pretty good."
He murmured to himself, beginning to reassess his opinion of Li Jianghe.
On the battlefield, Li Jianghe discovered that the number of Japanese soldiers killed in this battle was over a thousand, and the merit points earned were around 60,000.
However, in this battle, they unleashed a considerable amount of artillery shells, ammunition, and grenades, and also suffered significant personnel losses.
However, there were still many Japanese soldiers killed by their own people. The number of Japanese soldiers who died in the chaos was actually more than the number of people directly killed or wounded by Li Jianghe and his men.