Anti-Japanese War: Starting from Yaobai

Chapter 2949 General Maruyama's Final Choice!
After receiving Fujino's telegram, General Maruyama's hands trembled uncontrollably, and the telegram paper was crumpled in his hand.

He never imagined that what he saw as a complete and overwhelming siege would turn into such a tragic situation.

Four infantry battalions—that was a quarter of the strength of his 2nd Division—were almost completely wiped out.

Moreover, the tank units, artillery units, and supply units all suffered heavy losses. How could he explain this to his headquarters?

He slumped into the seat of the SUV, staring blankly ahead, his mind filled with images of the horrific scenes on the battlefield.

Those warriors who once followed him in battles across the land are now lying dead in the wilderness, and many of their bodies cannot even be recovered.

"Are we really going to retreat?"

At this point, General Maruyama had already begun to consider retreating, because according to battlefield rules, once a unit has suffered more than a quarter casualties, it must withdraw from the front line to rest and recuperate.

Because at this point, the troops had completely lost their morale.

But he was unwilling to give up so easily. He felt that this battle was a disgrace, a disgrace to Maruyama.

He recalled the amused expression on Kujo Miyamoto's face before he set off. He also remembered his honor as the commander of a Class A Division of the Imperial Japanese Army.

He thought about so many things, so many things that he felt like crying.

Just then, the chief of staff of the 2nd Division interrupted his thoughts: "General, we can't continue like this. The morale of the soldiers has dropped to the lowest point. If we continue fighting, I'm afraid we won't even be able to save the Fujino Regiment."

Distracted from his thoughts, Maruyama raised his eyelids and glared fiercely at the chief of staff, roaring, "Do you want me to desert? Do you think I, Maruyama, am the kind of person who would be afraid of death!"

The chief of staff was so frightened that he immediately lowered his head and dared not say another word.

But he knew in his heart that the general was just venting his anger. As the supreme commander of the Second Division, how could the general not understand that continuing the attack at this point was meaningless?

After a while, General Maruyama calmed down a bit. He put his hands behind his head and fell into deep thought.

Because he knew he had to make a difficult decision.

If we withdraw our troops, although it would be the most correct choice at present, we would be ridiculed and our military career might come to an end.

However, if the attack continues, although it may save some face, it could very well lead to the annihilation of the entire Second Division.

"Is there no other way?"

General Maruyama racked his brains but couldn't come up with a better solution. He could only issue a difficult order: "Order all Imperial Army troops to immediately prepare for retreat, but be wary of enemy counterattacks!"

The chief of staff was taken aback for a moment, then quickly realized what he meant and replied, "Yes, General!"

Watching the chief of staff's departing figure, General Maruyama couldn't help but shed tears. He knew what this decision meant; he would become a disgrace to the military of the Great Japanese Empire.

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Meanwhile, Ma Ping'an and Duanwu witnessed this scene, and Ma Ping'an asked in confusion, "The Japanese devils just left like that?"

Duanwu nodded and said, "Maruyama is indeed an excellent commander. It's also my fault; I was too ruthless and crippled the Second Division, which made the old Japanese soldier want to retreat. Otherwise, if we had let them go any deeper, they wouldn't have been able to go back."

Ma Ping'an chuckled and then asked, "Captain, what do we do next?" Duanwu replied, "We can't let the Japanese come and go as they please. They'll always leave some men to hold them off. We should eat as much as we can, and ideally, we should push them so hard that they'll come back and fight us to the death. That would be the best outcome."

"Hahaha!"

Ma Ping'an laughed heartily and then went to convey the Dragon Boat Festival's orders.

The soldiers were very excited when they heard the order.

Ma Hu even led his scouts to investigate.

As the saying goes, "An army marches on its scouts." Without specific intelligence, it's difficult to determine whether the Japanese truly intended to retreat or what contingency plans they had.

Therefore, before formulating tactics, scouts must find out the specific situation of the Japanese troops.

Ma Hu was a veteran scout in the anti-Japanese brigade, and he quickly figured out the general situation of the Japanese.

At this time, although the Japanese were retreating, they were not fleeing in panic, but rather retreating in an orderly and phased manner.

They operated in squadrons, taking turns providing cover and cooperating with each other. Every time they retreated a certain distance, they would leave a small squad behind to hold off the enemy and ensure the safety of the rear.

Ma Hu dared not delay and immediately sent someone to report this important intelligence to Duanwu and Ma Ping'an.

"Reporting to the battalion commander, Captain Ma, we have discovered that the Japanese army is retreating in stages and in a very orderly manner. They leave small teams behind to block us after each retreat, making it difficult for us to pursue them on a large scale."

The scout reported breathlessly, and Duanwu frowned slightly after listening. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Maruyama is indeed quite capable. Even at this point, he can still maintain such calm command. However, this is not a challenge for us."

Ma Ping'an tentatively asked from the side, "Captain, what's our next move? We can't just stand by and watch the Japanese get away, can we?"

Duanwu's lips curled into a confident smile as he said, "Since they're retreating in stages, we'll take them down one by one. First, concentrate our firepower to wipe out their squads left to hold them off, then continue the pursuit. As long as the Japanese dare to leave anyone behind, we'll wipe them all out. Remember, we need to be quick and not give them any chance to catch their breath."

Upon hearing this, Ma Ping'an immediately perked up and shouted, "Yes, Captain! I'll make the arrangements right away and make sure the Japanese devils don't get away!"

After saying this, Ma Ping'an hurried off to relay the new combat orders. Long Qianyan and Ma Shanpao split into two groups, one on the left and one on the right, and rushed straight at the Japanese blocking squad.

After discovering that the enemy was approaching, the last Japanese sniper squad quickly occupied a small hill next to the road.

The small hill is only twenty meters high, covered with sand and a lot of weathered rocks, and has no vegetation.

They held their ground, hoping to hold off the enemy for a little longer and buy time for the main force to retreat.

However, Long Qianyan and Ma Shanpao did not give them that chance at all.

Long Qianyan ordered the machine gunners on the left flank to draw the attention of the Japanese blocking troops, while Ma Shanpao ordered the artillerymen to quietly approach with grenade launchers.

Upon reaching their designated positions, the artillery immediately launched a carpet bombing of the Japanese blocking forces' makeshift positions.

With a command from Ma Shanpao, a dozen grenades whistled out of the cannon and headed straight for the Japanese blocking force's temporary position.

boom! boom! boom!
Deafening explosions rang out one after another, and flames shot into the sky from the Japanese blocking force's makeshift position, with sand and gravel flying everywhere!