Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

In reality, the 71st Army and the 13th Reserve Division were like two iron fists that had been gathering strength for a long time.

Almost at the same moment the attack order was received.

They immediately launched a fierce attack from the west and north, striking the seemingly invincible Japanese besieging force.

To the due north was the 71st Army, commanded by Long Muhan, the elite main force of the National Revolutionary Army.

After a major victory at Pingxingguan, the troops took a short rest and are now at the peak of their strength and morale.

They were like tigers that had been lying in wait, now poised to pounce on their fattest prey.

On the west side was the 13th Reserve Division, which had just captured Handan and was also in high spirits.

Their objective was very clear: to attack only the outer perimeter guard units of the 35th Division!
The forward command post of the 71st Army.

It was set up in a secluded mountain valley, with the radio antenna cleverly disguised among dead tree branches.

All the staff and communications personnel acted swiftly and silently.

Army Commander Long Muhan put down his binoculars.

He had just personally arrived at the front lines to observe the situation of the Japanese troops and returned quickly before the battle broke out.

In short, the Japanese artillery positions and logistics vehicles were completely exposed to the range of their artillery.

"Commander-in-Chief."

The chief of staff strode over and handed over a telegram, his face showing barely concealed anxiety: "Gong Yuxin's 13th Reserve Division has made contact with a part of the Japanese 35th Division and has begun a fierce attack."

Their attack seems designed to carve a bloody path for the 13th Army. Is it possible that the orders we received on both sides are slightly different?

Long Muhan took the telegram, glanced at it casually, and then put it aside.

"Should we immediately advance westward to coordinate with them and open up a rescue route as soon as possible?"

Long Muhan turned around and looked at his chief of staff, his gaze deep and sharp.

"Rescue?"

He slowly shook his head: "The orders and missions we received were not to save people."

The chief of staff was taken aback and asked, puzzled, "But Commander, the commander's orders are..."

"The commander's order is for us to 'act according to circumstances, with the primary task being to severely damage the enemy's manpower.'"

Long Muhan's eyes gleamed with a profound understanding of the entire battle situation.

It also reflects its own profound thinking.

Long Muhan walked to the huge battle map, pointed to the blue marker representing the besieged 13th Army, and said coldly, "Tang Enbo's 13th Army has been a pawn ever since he disobeyed orders and advanced recklessly."

"Or rather, it was the most valuable bait that the officer used to lure out the main force of the Japanese army and pin them down here!"

"Do you really think that the commander went to such great lengths to set up this scheme just to clean up the mess left by that idiot Tang Enbo?"

Song Xilian and Tang Enbo also had a very bad relationship.

Long Muhan didn't have a good impression of Tang Enbo.

His voice was icy cold: "We are not a rescue team."

"Our mission."

"We should take advantage of the moment when the 35th Division of the Japanese army is focused on tearing apart the bait, and then inflict a heavy blow on it. If possible, we should even break its spine."

These words sent a jolt through the hearts of all the staff officers in the command post.

They then realized what lay behind what appeared to be a rescue operation.
In fact, it wasn't just the 13th Army that was used as bait, but also Tang Enbo's military career.

If the rescue fails, the 13th Army will be completely annihilated.

Tang Enbo's old base suffered significant losses, and because of his disobedience, Chang Ruiyuan didn't even execute him.

It will be virtually impossible for him to make a comeback in the future.

Long Muhan offered no further explanation.

He turned around and began to issue a series of specific and clear deployment orders.

"Order!" His voice echoed in the command post, leaving no room for argument.

"The independent artillery regiment of the army, all 75mm mountain guns, immediately conduct the final firing data calibration!"

There is no need to heed the threats from the Japanese 20th Division.

"Pour all the shells onto the 35th Division's outposts, artillery positions, and supply depots!"

After taking a deep breath, Long Muhan slowly said, "Once the attack is launched, we must at least annihilate them."

"Order! 87th Division, with the main force regiment as the vanguard, ignore the sporadic resistance on the flanks and launch an assault towards Xiliang Village. Intelligence from the joint command indicates that it is a Japanese command center, but its specific level is still unclear!"

"Yes!"

"Order! The 88th Division, following closely behind the 87th Division, after opening a breakthrough, immediately maneuver southward! Like a sickle, sever the connection between the 35th Division and its southern 20th Division!"

I want to make them so divided that they can't coordinate their efforts, and they'll be completely thrown into chaos, each fighting their own battle!

"Yes!"

"Order! The 91st Division, as the army reserve, is to construct defensive positions on the west side. Its mission is singular: to block any enemy reinforcements that may come from the direction of the 20th Division!"

"Even if we fight to the last man, we must not let a single Japanese soldier get past and interfere with the encirclement and annihilation of the 35th Division by our main force!"

Orders were quickly relayed to every combat unit of the 71st Army via radio and messengers.

This elite unit of the National Revolutionary Army should play its due role at this most critical moment.

The forward positions of the 87th Division of the 71st Army.

The soldiers had been waiting in the attack position for a long time.

They were gripping Mosin-Nagant rifles tightly in their hands.

The 71st Army was a Soviet-equipped force.

Unlike the American-equipped troops of the expeditionary force, their light and heavy machine gun firepower was no less than that of the Americans.

Even in terms of light machine gun firepower, they were superior to the American-equipped troops.

As for the Japanese, they were completely outmatched.

The air was filled with the smell of gunpowder, dirt, and men's sweat.

A young platoon leader was whispering the attack order he had just received to his three squad leaders.

"Listen up, everyone!" His voice was low but full of power. "The orders from above have come down! We're not going to rescue people, we're going to slaughter them! The target is the Japanese 35th Division! We are the spearhead, the first to charge!"

"First squad, left flank assault! Second squad, frontal assault! Third squad, covering fire!"

"Remember this, all of you: in this battle, speed is everything! Charge them down as fast as you can! Tear them apart with the most firepower!"

After a moment of silence, the platoon leader slowly spoke: "In this battle, we may all be sacrificed, but remember, our superiors and the commander are watching us! Don't bring shame to our 71st Army!"

"Since arriving in the World War II zone, has anyone received less compensation for being killed in action than anyone else?"

The soldiers echoed in unison, "No!"

"Check weapons and ammunition. Strike in five minutes!"

There were no rousing slogans, no superfluous words. The soldiers simply pulled back their bolts and checked their magazines in silence.

The situation on the battlefield was quite interesting.

On the west side, there was Gong Yuxin's 13th Reserve Division.

Like a dutiful rescue team, under the cover of artillery fire, they launched a desperate and fierce attack on the Japanese 20th Division's defenses.

Each of their charges tore open a gap leading to life for their allies within the encirclement.

On the east side, Long Muhan's 71st Army, a true elite force, used all its elite troops to launch the most ruthless and deadly attack on the Japanese 35th Division, which was focused on encircling and annihilating the 13th Army.

The Japanese 35th Division was completely stunned.

According to intelligence, there should only be one unit, the 13th Reserve Division, at this location.

The 71st Army should have been the main force in the joint attack on Changshan, so why did it suddenly appear here?
They were concentrating all their efforts, but unexpectedly, a well-equipped and ruthless "heavenly army" suddenly appeared on their flank and rear, in the area they thought was absolutely safe.

Their artillery positions and guard units were attacked by the 71st Army immediately, and fighter jets even occasionally darted into the sky.
This situation was quickly noticed by Lieutenant General Shigeta Tokumatsu, commander of the 35th Division, who reported it to Okamura Yasuji.

however.

The support not only failed to reach their 35th Division, but also prompted Okamura Yasuji to allocate more military forces to the 20th Division.
However, the battle continued into the second day.

Shigeta Tokumatsu placed two telegrams requesting tactical guidance in front of Okamura Yasuji.

Okamura Yasuji, the old Japanese soldier, quickly noticed the abnormality of the battle situation and immediately mobilized a part of the 20th Division to relieve the 35th Division's situation of being attacked from both sides.

But it was too late. Gong Yuxin's troops had already taken advantage of the moment he was mobilizing his forces to successfully tear a gap several kilometers wide in the encirclement.
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Southern Hebei Plain.

Nangong and Xinhe areas.

This land, which was once flat and fertile, has now been transformed into a true hell on earth.

The sky was not blue at this moment, but an eerie orange-red.

That was the color of countless villages that had already burned down.

Okamura Neiji has staked his last madness and all his bets on this.

He scoured every corner of the North China Area Army for all available air force and heavy artillery.

The final general offensive was launched against the 13th Army of the 31st Army Group, which was trapped in the "Nangong Pocket Formation".

In the sky, Japanese Type 97 heavy bombers, with a low whistle, rained tons of 250-kilogram aerial bombs on the 13th Army's positions.

On the ground, hundreds of artillery pieces from the Japanese 20th and 35th main divisions roared at almost the same time.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The earth trembled, and screams filled the air, but they were quickly drowned out by the sound of explosions.

The 13th Army's positions were wiped off the map in large sections under such saturation and devastating attacks.

The rudimentary fortifications were razed to the ground, the trenches were repeatedly plowed, and the soil was soaked with blood, turning into a dark red swamp.

The artillery preparation lasted for a full hour, until the sound of gunfire subsided.

As the surviving Nationalist soldiers struggled to lift their heads from the shell craters and bunkers.

On the horizon, a terrifying scene unfolded that they would never forget.

The Japanese infantry charged forward like ants emerging from hell.

They abandoned conventional tactical formations and launched a desperate "Banzai Charge" in a near-frenzied manner, completely disregarding casualties.

Leading the charge were the so-called "suicide squads".

Dozens of Japanese soldiers were strapped with explosive packs and cluster grenades.

Their only mission was to use their own flesh and blood to blast a path for the troops that followed.

"For His Majesty the Emperor! Banzai!"

Amidst frantic roars, these "suicide squads" charged toward the remaining machine gun positions of the 13th Army soldiers.

Heavy machine gun bullets felled them in droves.

But there were always one or two reckless Japanese soldiers who managed to pull the fuse on their bodies before they fell.

"boom!"

Amidst the massive explosion, a Nationalist army heavy machine gun position was completely destroyed.

Along with several machine gunners inside, they were all reduced to a bloody mist.

Closely following behind was the main force of the Japanese army, carrying rifles with bayonets fixed.

They trampled over the corpses of their comrades, howling as they trod across the blood-stained earth, like a pack of wild beasts with bloodshot eyes.

Some Japanese officers, brandishing their swords, followed behind the ranks. If any soldier hesitated even slightly, they would raise their pistols without hesitation and fire, using this cruel method to drive the soldiers forward.

At this moment, the attack has no so-called tactics; there are only two words: blood and fire!

The 13th Army Headquarters.

This place has been directly hit by Japanese artillery fire, half of the bunker has collapsed, and Shi Jue himself has been wounded in several places.

But he remained steadfastly by the radio, waiting for the latest telegram from friendly forces.

A young operations staff officer was covered in blood and his face was streaked with tears.

He practically staggered as he crawled to Shi Jue's side.

His voice was hoarse as he reported the shocking casualty figures that had just been tallied.

"Commander," the staff officer said with a look of despair, "Currently, the 54th Division headquarters has lost contact. According to their last telegram, the division has less than 2,000 men capable of organizing resistance. The division's field hospital was hit by Japanese aerial bombs, and more than 300 seriously wounded soldiers and all medical personnel were killed."

"The main force regiment of the 89th Division, deployed near Sunzhuang, was also divided and surrounded by the Japanese army, and the remaining units were basically forced to fight independently."

“We have completely run out of ammunition.” Another logistics officer looked ashen-faced: “On average, each brother has no more than three bullets left.”

All the mortars and mountain guns have fired their last shells.

After listening to the reports, Shi Jue did not speak. He simply put the medal he had placed in his pocket on his chest.

At the same time, he carefully wiped the large knife placed on the command table with a relatively clean cloth.

Shi Jue, a fierce general from the third class of the Whampoa Military Academy, was a rising star under Tang Enbo and a direct subordinate general.

At this moment, he knew that he and the entire 13th Army had reached what could be called the most crucial moment of their lives.

Just now.

Shi Jue received a telegram from Gong Yuxin, the commander of the 13th Reserve Division.

The remnants of the 13th Army, already out of ammunition and food, were on the verge of collapse.

Upon seeing this breach opened by the 13th Reserve Division.

It unleashed its final will to survive.

Under Shi Jue's orders.

With their last ounce of strength, they discarded all heavy equipment, supported each other, and even crawled on the ground, launching a desperate breakout towards the breach. (End of Chapter)