Liang Jian: Commander, save some for me

They had always thought that the Northeast Army was at its strongest at night, but upon closer inspection, how could that be possible?

Visibility during the day is countless times better than at night, allowing their soldiers to exert their full combat effectiveness, and so can the enemy.

"How many men are left in the 33rd Brigade?!" the Japanese regimental commander asked.

"More than six thousand men, and many are probably wounded. I just hope they can hold out until noon, when the enemy will most likely retreat." Tani Hisao couldn't help but sigh. The 33rd Brigade was an elite unit of their division, not only in the 6th Division, but also compared to brigades in other divisions.

However, the 33rd Brigade is now facing total annihilation, something he never expected.

"At least we still have six thousand men. We should be able to hold out until noon, right?!" the Japanese regimental commander said, clinging to a sliver of hope that there were still more than two hours until noon, and they should be able to make it through.

"It's hard to say. The 33rd Brigade's heavy firepower couldn't effectively suppress the enemy, and they even captured most of their artillery."
Based on past reports, the enemy can quickly calculate the location of our artillery positions by analyzing the impact points of artillery shells, and then destroy them.

If the two sides were far apart, they could move their positions, but now they are surrounded by the enemy, and every move they make will be detected.
"As soon as the artillery positions were set up, I reckon the enemy's artillery would be flying over before we could even fire," Tani Hisao sighed helplessly.

Without heavy firepower, and facing enemy heavy firepower that was even stronger than the 33rd Brigade, holding out until noon was already their limit.

There was even a considerable chance that the entire army would be wiped out, which pained Tani Hisao deeply. The elite troops he had painstakingly built were about to be annihilated by the enemy.

If he had known this outcome, he shouldn't have agreed to come and help. He would rather disobey orders than come. But when he heard that he was going to deal with this Northeast Army, he was still somewhat resentful, thinking that no matter how strong the other side was!
However, the enemy's strength exceeded expectations, and it's too late for regrets now.

"Division Commander, don't lose heart. I believe Brigade Commander Nakajima can hold out until the enemy retreats!" The Japanese regimental commander quickly comforted him upon seeing this.

He felt that the 33rd Brigade would not be completely wiped out, but he was unsure how many men would survive.

"I hope so." Tani Hisao sighed. Things had gone beyond what he had imagined. He could only hope that some of the 33rd Brigade would survive, otherwise they would never be able to hold their heads high in front of the other division commanders again.

"Division Commander, how do we reply to the brigade commander with a telegram?!" the Japanese telegraph operator interjected at this moment.

“Tell him that once the enemy retreats, there’s no need for them to pursue; just make sure they are safe,” Tani Hisao said.

He was certain that by noon, the number of survivors from the 33rd Brigade would not exceed one thousand.

If this small number of people were to pursue the enemy, they wouldn't be buying time; they would be sending themselves to their deaths.

"Yes, sir!" The Japanese telegraph operator then turned and left.

.........

At this moment, Li Yunlong and his men also ordered their troops to launch a fierce attack on the Japanese positions, and the reserve forces had already entered the trenches.

Of course, the reserve force did not participate; instead, they planned to catch the Japanese off guard at the last moment and annihilate them in one fell swoop.

The artillery positions were also ready, bombarding the Japanese positions from time to time. Dust filled the Japanese positions, and many Japanese soldiers who could not dodge in time were blown to pieces on the spot, with blood and flesh flying everywhere. The scene was horrifying.

"Damn it, the enemy's attack is getting fiercer and fiercer!" The Japanese regimental commander muttered under his breath as he hid in the artillery bunker.

The enemy's offensive hadn't been this strong before, and this sudden attack put him under immense pressure.

"The enemy seems to be getting anxious. They must be worried that they can't eliminate us, so they're intensifying their offensive and trying to wipe us out before noon!" Nakajima Ichiro calmly began to analyze the situation.

"Brigade Commander, if that's the case, then our guess was probably correct. The enemy is likely planning to wipe us out before noon."
"As long as we hold out for this period, the enemy will definitely retreat," the Japanese regimental commander said.

Judging from the enemy's current situation, it means their guess was correct.

"Yes, so we must get through this period!" Nakajima Ichiro nodded. No matter what, they had to hold on, or they would be doomed.

After several rounds of bombardment, the shelling finally stopped. The Japanese casualties had increased significantly, especially since the artillery observers, positioned on higher ground, could roughly determine the enemy's location, making the artillery fire quite accurate.

After several rounds of bombing, the Japanese suffered hundreds of casualties.

"Brigade Commander! Brigade Commander!" A Japanese telegraph operator, crouching low, ran through the trenches, searching for Nakajima Ichiro.

"Come here." Nakajima Ichiro crawled out of the gun shelter and beckoned the telegraph operator over.

"The division commander has sent a telegram." The Japanese telegraph operator quickly handed the telegram to Nakajima Ichiro.

When Ichiro Nakajima finished reading the telegram, he breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the division commander had agreed not to let them pursue the enemy; otherwise, today would probably have been the day the 33rd Brigade was wiped out.

This was the first time their brigade had suffered such heavy casualties since arriving in China, and there was even a possibility of total annihilation.

"Brigade Commander, what did the Division Commander say?!" The Japanese regimental commander popped out and asked.

"The division commander has agreed that we don't need to pursue the enemy," Nakajima Ichiro responded.

"That's good. With the enemy's offensive, I really don't know how many of us will be left. The enemy's bombardment just now probably caused us considerable casualties again." The Japanese regimental commander also breathed a sigh of relief; he was truly afraid.

If they held out until noon, and when the enemy retreated, they still chose to pursue them to buy time, he estimated that they would definitely be doomed.

"Hmm." Nakajima Ichiro hummed in response, saying nothing more.
The battle continued, and Li Yunlong and his men kept a close eye on the situation on the battlefield. Seeing the heavy casualties suffered by the Japanese, they were overjoyed.

At this moment, in an open space in front and behind him, Zhang Shi sat calmly eating canned meat, as if the battle in front had nothing to do with him!
The twenty special operations soldiers responsible for protecting Commander Zhang were different. They kept their eyes fixed on the front, and when they heard the fierce artillery bombardment, they were all itching to go and kill the Japanese devils.

If the battalion commander hadn't been so unlucky, the regimental commander wouldn't have sent them to protect this so-called Division Commander Zhang, especially since the latter hadn't even bothered to check the situation ahead.

"Squad leader, this is so frustrating! I want to go kill the Japanese too! Not protect this damn division commander!" A soldier came up to his squad leader and complained.

"What are you talking about? This is our mission! Now that we've taken it on, let's not waste time with words," the squad leader replied, though he secretly agreed with his subordinate.

"Oh," the soldier said helplessly, not daring to say anything more.

"Don't complain so much. The regimental commander said that Commander Zhang will leave after this battle, so he won't take up too much of our time!" the squad leader reassured them. "Understood! Hopefully, they can wipe out this Japanese brigade as soon as possible." The soldier nodded and began to pray.

He didn't want to see his comrades fighting the Japanese while they could only sit on the sidelines and watch helplessly.

After finishing his canned food, Commander Zhang casually tossed the empty can into the bushes not far away. He glanced at the soldiers protecting him who were whispering among themselves and occasionally casting unfriendly glances at him. He immediately understood that these people were very dissatisfied with him.

If it weren't for Mu Jin's orders, they probably wouldn't have given him a second glance.

"Commander, should we go to the front lines and see how they're doing?!" suggested a company commander from the 358th Regiment standing next to Commander Zhang.

He was also responsible for protecting Commander Zhang. Actually, he didn't really want to protect him, but Chu Yunfei had already given him the order to bring people to protect him.

"What's so interesting? Just by listening, you can tell that Chu Yunfei and his men have the upper hand. It's only a matter of time before they annihilate the enemy," Commander Zhang decisively refused.

What a joke! This is a Japanese Class A division. What if he gets shot dead by the Japanese if he goes there?
"Well, that's not necessarily true. Maybe they need our help too. The reserves have all been deployed, which means the situation is serious," the company commander said.

"What are you thinking?! How could that be? The reason the reserve team went up is because they are planning a general offensive to annihilate the Japanese in one fell swoop!" Commander Zhang replied.

He didn't think these ambushed Japanese soldiers could cause any trouble; the only outcome would be total annihilation.

"What, Chu Yunfei asked you to lead men to protect me, and you think that's beneath you?! In that case, you lead your men to the front to fight the Japanese." Commander Zhang changed the subject, his tone turning icy.

"No, no, Commander, that's not what I meant! I was just worried that the attack ahead wouldn't go smoothly." The company commander panicked and quickly explained.

"It's best if there isn't one. Go and call the telegraph operator for me." Commander Zhang was too lazy to argue about such things; he just wanted to scare the other side.

"Yes, yes, yes." The company commander hurriedly got up and left.

"Judging from this situation, it's probably almost over. The reserves have already been deployed. But wasn't the plan to hold off the enemy for half a day? Why are they deploying reserves now? Could it be that Mu Jin's side is about to receive the Japanese secret troops?!" Commander Zhang thought to himself.

Xu Qingfeng and his troops launched an increasingly fierce offensive, even bringing up the reserve force. If this were any other unit, they probably wouldn't be able to hold out at the front and would need to call in the reserve force for support.

However, Xu Qingfeng's decision to deploy the reserve force indicates a preparation to end the battle quickly.

The company commander arrived at that moment with his telegraph operator.

"Commander, you wanted to see me?" the telegraph operator asked respectfully.

“I’m going to send this telegram to the Commander. I’ll tell you what to do,” Commander Zhang said.

"Yes." The telegraph operator hurriedly took out paper and pen.

"Reporting to the commander, Mu Jin and his men are making good progress. The battle has progressed to the point where reserves have been deployed, and there's a high probability that the battle will end quickly."
After half a day, the rest of the Japanese troops are estimated to be heading our way, numbering over 30,000.
"Mu Jin said that attracting most of the Japanese soldiers is basically no problem! The troops can move out now. Have you noted everything down?!" Commander Zhang asked the telegraph operator at the end.

"I've noted it down. I'll repeat it to the division commander." The telegraph operator relayed what Division Commander Zhang had said.

"Yes, very good. Go and send a telegram to the commander." Commander Zhang nodded, and only spoke after confirming that there were no problems.

"Okay." The telegraph operator then turned and left.

"Commander, isn't it too early to send a telegram to the commander now?! The battle isn't over yet," the company commander couldn't help but say.

The battle is still ongoing; what if something unexpected happens along the way?

"This battle is already decided." Commander Zhang replied confidently, having already anticipated this outcome since Xu Qingfeng's plan went smoothly last night.

Of course, one thing that was not expected was that the plan was to delay for half a day before eliminating the Japanese, but now it seems that it will not take half a day to wipe out the 33rd Brigade.

.........

Inside the temporary headquarters of the Jin-Sui Army.

Commander Yan was in the operations room, studying a map, when he became engrossed in it.

A major general rushed in.

"Commander, a telegram has arrived from Division Commander Zhang." The major general handed the telegram to Commander Yan.

As soon as he finished speaking, Commander Yan looked up, quickly took the telegram, and began to read it. After reading the telegram, a smile appeared on his lips.

"It seems that Mu Jin really wasn't lying; he actually did it," Commander Yan praised with a smile.

"Yes, I didn't expect them to actually be able to deal with a brigade of a Japanese Class A division, and even prepare to wipe them out." The major general was also somewhat impressed.

It should be noted that Mu Jin did not send all of his men to attack the Japanese 33rd Brigade; he only sent less than half of them, along with the 358th Regiment, the New 1st Regiment, and the Independent Regiment, totaling more than 10,000 men against more than 10,000 Japanese soldiers.

“If that’s the case, then the troops can indeed be mobilized. Commander, should I send a telegram to Commander Wu?” the major general suggested.

Now that things have developed as Mu Jin predicted, they can participate without any worries. In any case, the main force of the Japanese army is tied down by Mu Jin and the Eighth Route Army, so they don't feel much pressure.

"No rush, let's wait for the next telegram to arrive," Commander Yan replied. He wouldn't send troops out until the 33rd Brigade was completely wiped out.

"Yes." The major general nodded, not pursuing the matter further, since he couldn't change the commander's decision.

"Commander, what Division Commander Zhang said is that the Japanese will send at least 30,000 men to encircle and annihilate Mu Jin. What do you think is the likelihood of that?!" The major general changed the subject and asked.

Thirty thousand Japanese soldiers, and many of them were probably from Class A divisions—just hearing about it was terrifying. (End of Chapter)