PFC Chapter 295 The Japanese Army's Strength Doubles, A Dead End in the Principal's Eyes
Chapter 295 The Japanese Army's Strength Doubles, A Dead End in the Principal's Eyes
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Upon hearing this, Yu Chuanxiang seemed unsurprised, and instead, a disdainful sneer appeared on his lips.
"That guy, Tasaka Hachijuchi, has always been arrogant and conceited, and has never taken his enemies seriously."
"It's not surprising that no breakthrough was achieved; I knew this would be the outcome."
As he spoke, he took a deep breath, as if trying to calm himself down.
"Order all units to consolidate their defenses, abandon the outer positions, and concentrate their forces to hold the core area."
"The enemy's offensive will surely be even more intense tonight, and we must prepare for the worst."
"Hai!!!" The chief of staff stood at attention, bowed his head, and turned to relay the order, his steps hurried.
Just as he finished speaking, another burst of artillery fire erupted, shaking the teacups in the command post.
Under the setting sun, Li Jianghe's Third Column's tank group launched another assault on the Japanese positions.
The silhouettes of those steel behemoths appeared exceptionally large in the afterglow of the setting sun, like monsters that had stepped out of mythology.
The flashes of the cannons came one after another, each flash signifying that several more shells had landed on the Japanese troops.
Chaisang, the Ninth Division, led by Yoshizumi Ryosuke, finally arrived here after a day and a night of forced march.
The soldiers were exhausted, some even dozing off while walking, but they still gritted their teeth and persevered until they reached their destination.
Inside Okamura Yasuji's command post, he pointed to the map and said urgently:
"The Ninth Division's mission is simple: to break through the enemy's defensive line at Huangkan Village."
"The 107th Division is currently facing unprecedented resistance, suffering heavy losses with little progress."
"Your Ninth Division and the Third Column have fought in Shanghai and Nanjing, so you can be said to be very experienced."
"Are you confident you can break through the enemy's defensive line at Huangkan Village?"
Yoshizumi Ryosuke coughed slightly twice, covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief, on which there was a faint trace of blood.
His body has not fully recovered. The battle outside Nanjing had severely damaged his health, and he is still coughing.
"If it were the entire third column, that could be quite tricky and very troublesome."
"However, they only have a few thousand men right now, while we have an overwhelming advantage in terms of manpower and firepower."
"I am confident in this battle," he said slowly, with a hint of caution in his voice.
Yoshizumi Ryosuke did not make any boastful claims, nor did he give a specific timeframe for when he could take over Huangkan Village.
Because he is currently unsure to what extent the combat effectiveness of the Third Column has evolved after a period of time.
If back when they were in Nanjing, the enemy was merely quite troublesome, as tenacious as cockroaches...
This enemy force now possesses the capability to annihilate entire Japanese divisions in large-scale battles.
How could Yoshizumi Ryosuke underestimate such an opponent? He had learned his lesson and knew the pain.
"I am also very confident," Chief of the General Staff Torashiro Kawabe said with a smile.
"The number of troops we have concentrated in Huangkan Village is more than ten times that of the enemy. Even if each of them spat, they could drown them."
When he spoke, his expression was as relaxed as if he were talking about a picnic rather than a bloody battle.
Also arriving this time were two independent mixed brigades, plus a Class A division, and the 107th Division, which was already engaged in combat.
In his view, attacking Huangkan Village, which was only defended by four or five thousand people, was even overkill; he was almost certain of victory.
Okamura Yasuji also said, his tone full of confidence: "With ten times the troops, such an advantage, Huangkan Village cannot stop us."
"Even the Third Column will be completely annihilated by us this time; not a single one will escape."
He looked at the map with confidence and drew a circle around the location of Ma Huiling Town with his finger.
"I hope the Third Division can hold out for a while longer," Yoshizumi Ryosuke said with a hint of worry.
His voice was low, as if he were talking to himself, or perhaps reminding Okamura Neiji not to be too optimistic.
Kawabe Torajiro smiled calmly and waved his hand: "Don't worry, it'll only last a few days. The Third Division can hold out."
"A first-class division has more than 20,000 men. Even if it were 20,000 pigs, it would take several days to catch them."
Okamura Neiji also said, "That's right, surely you can't possibly be unable to break through the enemy's defensive line in Huangkan Village after ten days."
Yoshizumi Ryosuke smiled and shook his head without replying, his mind preoccupied with something else.
His concern was that what if the Third Division couldn't even hold out for three days?
That's impossible; it's too incredible and goes against normal military logic.
But his intuition told him that this possibility existed, and was not small.
So he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue and didn't say them.
The Ninth Division had almost no time to rest and went to support Huangkan Village that very night.
The soldiers dragged their weary bodies as they marched through the night, their steps heavy and slow.
At the Wuhan headquarters, looking at the location of the Ninth Division on the map, the principal's face was quite gloomy.
His brows furrowed, and his fingers tapped unconsciously on the table.
"The Ninth Division has also arrived. Can Li Jianghe's Third Column hold them off?" He turned to ask Commander He.
Commander He looked at the map and said with a solemn expression, "We are facing the pressure of an attack by nearly 100,000 Japanese troops at the same time."
"With only Huangkan Village as a defensive line, less than three kilometers deep, how easy is it to hold them off?"
At least in his view, this battle would be very difficult to fight, and there was almost no chance of winning.
That is, Li Jianghe's Third Column. If it were any other unit, even a former German-equipped division or the Tax Police Corps, it would be different.
They will all perish here; there is no chance of winning, and death is inevitable.
After a moment's thought, the principal slowly said, "It's probably difficult to count on Li Jianghe's third column now."
"We can only rely on Xue Yue and Chen Cheng. If they can defeat the 7th and 106th Divisions as soon as possible..."
"If they provide support, then this battle can still be fought. Otherwise, the annihilation of the Third Column is almost inevitable."
Commander He sighed inwardly, thinking that Chen Cheng and Xue Yue were probably even more nervous. The Wanjialing area wasn't just one division, it was two divisions.
With two divisions totaling forty to fifty thousand men, and being in a mountainous area, fighting there would be ten times more difficult than on flat ground.
If it weren't for the 11th Army gritting its teeth and holding out at Wutai Ridge, the battle line would probably have collapsed long ago.
"Actually, there's only one possibility left for Li Jianghe to win," Commander He said carefully.
"That means we can wipe out the entire Third Division in two or three days, and then free up our resources to reinforce Huangkan Village."
The principal, hands behind his back, gave a cold snort, his tone tinged with displeasure: "Jingzhi, since when have you learned to joke around in the operations room?"
It goes without saying that it would take only two or three days to wipe out an entire Japanese division, a top-tier elite division at that.
That's absolutely impossible; no one could do it.
Even if you threw in several German-equipped divisions from back then, plus the Tax Police Corps and the Central Training Corps, it wouldn't work.
Those people aren't gods; they'd die if they were shot. They can't do something so defying the heavens.
Commander He gave a wry smile and shook his head: "It's just trying to find some humor in hardship; I was just saying it casually."
"If Li Jianghe's Third Column fails to annihilate the Third Division, it will be counterattacked by the Japanese troops that arrive later."
"Even if we are not completely annihilated, we will have to flee in disarray and completely lose the initiative against the Japanese army."
The principal sighed and looked at the map; Ma Huiling Town had become a dead end.
Li Jianghe is not a god after all, so how could he possibly turn this dead end into a winning game?