Chapter 249: Republic of China: Starting from the First Class of Whampoa Chapter 249: It's Time to Shift to the Rear

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

The Lixing Society is a secret police organization of the Central Government, with hundreds of thousands of intelligence personnel; their information surely cannot be false.

This mysterious Section Chief Shen He said: "The Xicheng Line cannot be held for long, but underground personnel everywhere will continue to struggle."

After speaking, this Section Chief Shen of the Lixing Society left.

"The situation is worse than expected." Xue Yue spoke without wasting words, pointing at the Xicheng Defensive Line on the map: "Position Number Six of the 59th Division, Position Number Three of the 67th Division, as well as Position Number Seven and Position Number Eleven have all been subjected to concentrated attacks by the Japanese army; both sides have suffered considerable losses, especially the 59th Division, which has suffered heavy casualties;

all other positions have been struck by enemy poison gas, and the situation has become rather tricky.

The enemy's intention is very obvious: use poison gas to force our personnel either to be trapped in the forts or to be exposed under conditions of insufficient protection, then use their suicide squads to tear open a gap."

It can currently be confirmed that participating in the offensive on the frontline direction of the Xicheng Line in the area north of Taihu Lake are at least the main forces of six Japanese divisions: the Sixth, Ninth, Eleventh, Thirteenth, Sixteenth, and 101st.

Zhang Fakui's Huzhou direction on the south bank of Taihu Lake has also reported that at least two divisions of the enemy facing them are applying pressure.

Lv Muzhi said in a deep voice: "Six divisions on the North Side, two divisions on the South Side, the Navy eyeing the Yangtze River covetously... Matsui Iwane has thrown all the main forces he can mobilize into the fray. How is the situation at Jiangyin today?"

The Staff Officer responsible for liaison with the River Defense Force immediately answered: "Report to Commander Lv, the Jiangyin Fortress again used heavy artillery this morning to drive off Japanese warships attempting to approach for reconnaissance; not a single enemy ship dared to penetrate deeply."

But enemy small boats and aircraft are active frequently, obviously not having given up on seeking opportunities from the water route."

"How is the consumption of gas-proof suits?"

The officer in charge of logistics looked at a list and said two seconds later: "Preliminary statistics... after the fighting yesterday and this morning, of the gas-proof suits previously distributed, the total loss rate due to combat damage has already approached twenty percent."

After the enemy discovered we have protective suits, while launching poison gas shells they also mixed in conventional high-explosive shells, wanting to damage our protective suits.

And, according to the report from Division Commander Huang Wei of the 67th Division, the Japanese sometimes only launch poison gas such as chlorine and phosgene; these poison gases can be protected against with gas masks;

but our soldiers dare not gamble, so they can only fully equip themselves as usual and enter the gas mask forts; the Japanese took this opportunity to launch a charge with over a thousand men wearing gas masks, striking Division Commander Huang Wei first, but fortunately Division Commander Huang Wei discovered it in time, and not an inch of the position was lost."

Chen Cheng plopped down onto a chair: "The enemy possesses more advanced poison gas in larger quantities, and in the offensive they have seized the initiative; gas masks alone are no longer useful, and our troops are being worn down."

Gas-proof suits cannot be mass-equipped in our army either, and this is impossible for any army in the world today..."

In Lv Muzhi's view, the best way to deal with poison gas is to repay poison gas with poison gas; the major powers of the world have already stopped using poison gas because both sides of the war possess powerful industrial capabilities and can prepare the same poison gas for retaliation, ultimately resulting in killing a thousand of the enemy while losing eight hundred of one's own.

But the Japanese obviously have no such scruples; Xia Guo is not an industrial country, cannot mass-produce poison gas, and naturally cannot form an equivalent poison gas deterrent against the Japanese; this is also an important reason why the Japanese use poison gas so recklessly.

But Lv Muzhi knew that the Japanese army's reckless use of poison gas could not last long; his chemical weapons research invested in the Southwest had already made progress.

After years of research and industrial accumulation, the conditions for complete production were finally met; based on the lewisite production formula purchased through secret channels, the first batch of related weapons was produced half a month ago, and they will be delivered to Jinling City via the Yangtze River at the end of the month.

But given the current situation, our troops cannot be consumed for nothing.

For several months, large numbers of Japanese effective forces have been killed from both water and land.

The Xicheng Defensive Line has also been held for over a week and can currently support a few more days; a retreat plan should be formulated.

Lv Muzhi expressed his thoughts to everyone, hoping to imitate the operations at Songhu and the Wufu Line, and retreat in an orderly manner toward the rear.

A brief silence fell in the Map Room; once retreat was mentioned, few soldiers could accept it immediately.

But everyone soon came around; a commander must consider more than an ordinary soldier.

Chen Cheng said directly: "What Wei Yue said is true: preserve the person and lose the land, and both person and land are preserved; preserve the land and lose the person, and both person and land are lost."

"We must weigh this carefully; if our elites are all wiped out, the Japanese will become even more reckless."

Lv Muzhi nodded and said: "Gentlemen, we have held the Xicheng Line for over a week and have shed enough blood for the devils."

Now the devils have changed to a more vicious method of fighting; our limited elites and precious equipment cannot all be filled into the devils' poison gas.

Before the old man left Jinling, his instruction regarding the Xicheng Line was to hold as circumstances allowed and shift to the rear at the right time; when they met in Jinling, they were even discussing whether to defend the Capital Jinling or not, let alone the Xicheng Line?"

Xue Yue took a deep breath, hands on his hips, saying nothing; the pressure was considerable, as he himself was the Commander-in-Chief of the Nineteenth Group Army and still had to do ideological work for the division and brigade commanders below.

Lv Muzhi continued: "I estimate the Xicheng Line can still be held for two days; using these two days, immediately deploy covering forces at the preset second-line positions west of Changshu and north of Wuxi."

The Fifteenth and Nineteenth Group Armies are exhausted from prolonged fighting and have suffered heavy casualties; can the rearguard and en route covering during the retreat be undertaken by two main brigades of my Ninth Group Army?"

They have rested relatively well, their equipment is relatively complete, and they are more suitable for this kind of mobile defense operation."

Chen Cheng accepted the proposal: "Very well; I and Xue Yue will arrange the withdrawal order of the Xicheng Line garrison; the heavy artillery on the Jiangyin Fortress must also be disposed of properly."

Lv Muzhi naturally remembered those 406mm heavy artillery pieces in the Jiangyin Fortress, and said: "Those heavy artillery pieces are an important reliance for our future defense along the river."

I will immediately organize engineers and technical personnel to prioritize dismantling and transporting the key components and barrels of these heavy artillery pieces tonight."

Even if all cannot be transported away temporarily, the bases and immovable parts must be completely destroyed; they must not fall intact into enemy hands."

These big fellows can be transported along the river toward the Wuhan direction to strengthen the river defense forces there, lest the devil's warships continue to penetrate deep along the Yangtze River."

Everyone finalized the retreat plan one by one; the two brigades of the Youth Army also received orders to maneuver to the rear flank of the Xicheng Line and prepare to receive and cover, beginning to set up blocking positions, preparing to receive friendly troops withdrawn from the frontline two days later.

The next morning, on the north side of the Xicheng Line, east of the Jiangyin Fortress, the attack formation of the Japanese 16th Division was deploying.

Sensing that the firepower of the Jiangyin Battery had weakened, several Japanese destroyers boldly approached.

The Japanese 16th Division launched a poison gas barrage on the Jiangyin Fortress, and the suicide squad was ready as usual.

The squad leader of the suicide squad, Second Lieutenant Minoru Xiangwei, glanced at the squad leader beside him, Second Lieutenant Noda Takeshi, and said: "Hey, how many have you killed in the killing contest?!"

Second Lieutenant Noda Takeshi spread four fingers and said: "Four, four Chinese soldiers; three with a gun, one with a sword."

Second Lieutenant Minoru Xiangwei laughed heartily: "Haha, I have one more than you!"