Chapter 292: Republic of China: Starting from the First Class of Whampoa Chapter 292 Blockade the Huai River!

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

Before dawn in Su County, the vanguard of the Youth Second Army had arrived, and Army Commander Qiu Qingquan and Deputy Army Commander Zhang Fei walked into the defenders' command headquarters.

"Army Commander Qiu! Deputy Army Commander Zhang!" Li Pinxian and Liao Lei rose almost simultaneously, their faces showing expressions of relief.

Li Pinxian stepped forward and took Qiu Qingquan's hand: "We've finally been waiting for you! If you'd been a day or two later, this Su County city wall would probably have been gnawed away by the devils' shells."

Liao Lei also chimed in: "We actively abandoned the Huai River, losing our water barrier, so we could only hold out hard. The Thirteenth Division is the elite of the Central China Expeditionary Army, with fierce artillery and infantry fighting desperately.

If you hadn't come, Su County probably couldn't have held out much longer."

Qiu Qingquan had no extra pleasantries, saying: "Commander Lu's order is very clear: regarding the Thirteenth Division, it is not to repel, but to annihilate!

This Dizhou Libing division, fighting from Songhu to Jinling, and then arrogantly from Jinling to north of the Huai River—its history should be rewritten today."

Li Pinxian and Liao Lei exchanged a glance, both seeing long-lost elation and a hint of disbelief in each other's eyes.

"How do you need us to coordinate?" Li Pinxian asked straightforwardly.

"First hold the front defensive line and pin down Dizhou's main force." Qiu Qingquan's speech sped up, "The rest, leave it to our Youth Army. We must blockade the Huai River first to prevent the enemy from escaping."

About fifteen kilometers southeast of Su County, the forward command headquarters of the Thirteenth Division.

Dizhou Libing was hastily awakened by the Chief of Staff.

"Division Commander! Emergency military situation!" The Chief of Staff's face was somewhat pale, holding a just-translated telegram and a reconnaissance report in his hands, "A large number of enemy reinforcements have been discovered arriving in the direction of Su County! Extremely numerous, and they came by train!

Designation... confirmed to be Youth Second Army units!"

"Youth Second Army?" Dizhou Libing threw off the military blanket on his body: "They weren't watching Isogaya's Tenth Division in Xuzhou, but instead ran to my place. My luck is really too bad! Could it be because I went to Jinling?"

However, these speculations had no effect on the battle situation.

"Where is the Ninth Division?" Dizhou Libing thought of reinforcements first.

"The vanguard has just crossed the Yangtze River." The Chief of Staff answered quickly.

"Order the Ninth Division to speed up! At any cost, head north as soon as possible. My Thirteenth Division is in great danger!

At the same time, telegraph the defensive forces along the Huai River, especially the bridge and ferry crossing guards, to strengthen vigilance and ensure the transportation line remains open!

Engineer troops and anti-aircraft forces immediately inspect all bridge structures, prepare to deal with air raids!"

Dizhou Libing reacted extremely quickly, immediately realizing that retreat routes and safe passages were key.

Since the Youth Second Army dared to come, perhaps cutting off the retreat route and encircling to annihilate was Lv Muzhi's style.

"Division Commander, should we adjust the attack deployment? The enemy forces on the Su County front seem to have received reinforcements, and resistance has increased..." The Chief of Staff reminded.

Dizhou Libing stared at the map, his eyes flickering.

"The troops prepare to withdraw to Guzhen, awaiting Ninth Division reinforcements!"

As the sky grew light, the roar of engines sounded over the Huai River.

The BF109 fighter group of the Southwest Air Force, like hawks swooping for food, appeared first on the skyline. They bore the conspicuous Blue Sky White Sun insignia, and the 20mm cannons under their wings gleamed with cold light in the morning glow.

Almost simultaneously, the Japanese Type 97 fighters also took off urgently from the south bank airfield to intercept.

Air combat broke out instantly.

Relying on superior climb rate and speed, the BF109s quickly occupied the height advantage, diving, opening fire, and breaking away—clean and decisive movements.

One Type 97 tried to latch onto the tail of a BF109, but was shaken off by the other side's rapid turn, and instead was hit in the engine by the cannon of another BF109 swooping from the flank, trailing thick smoke as it plunged toward the river surface.

Under the cover of the fighters, formations of larger Soviet-made bombers and American-made bombers appeared over the Huai River Bridge. Bombs fell with a heart-piercing whistle.

Boom! Rumble!

Huge explosion sounds rang out one after another. The most important railway-road dual-use bridge on the Huai River was hit first by the bombing.

Immediately after, several floating bridges and ferry crossings downstream also received concentrated attention. The wooden floating bridge was blown into flying fragments, and moored ferry boats burst into roaring flames.

The Huai River, this natural barrier, under the fierce assault of the air force, was turning into an insurmountable wall of fire.

On the ground, a Japanese Independent Infantry Battalion was responsible for guarding the north end of the Jinpu Railway Bridge. Battalion Commander Major Takashima rushed out of cover the moment the bombs fell, hoarsely directing anti-aircraft fire: "Anti-aircraft guns! Machine guns! Aim at the enemy bombers! Quick!"

Several 25mm anti-aircraft guns and over a dozen Type 92 heavy machine guns desperately poured fire into the sky.

Just as Major Takashima was flustered dealing with the air raid, the forward sentry soldiers came rushing over, rolling and crawling, their faces full of terror: "Major! Major Sir! Large numbers of enemy infantry have been discovered to the east and north! They are rapidly approaching our battalion's position! At least two regiments in strength!"

"Two regiments?" Major Takashima was startled, then forced himself to calm down.

Air raid plus ground attack—this was standard coordinated tactics.

But his battalion was reinforced, with complete fortifications. Even facing two regular Chinese regiments, he was confident he could hold out for a while with firepower, awaiting reinforcements.

"Did you see their designation? Is it the Youth Army?" He pressed further. If it was the main force of the Youth Army, then the trouble would be great.

The sentry answered gasping for breath: "No... didn't see steel helmets! Their clothing is also quite mixed, like a mob!"

"A mob?" Major Takashima was stunned for a moment, then relaxed in his heart. They really didn't take him seriously!

"Order all squadrons, take positions! Light and heavy machine guns ready! Wait until they're close before firing! Let these ignorant Chinese see the solidity of the Imperial Army's position!" Major Takashima regained his confidence, drew his command sword, and pointed toward the direction of the enemy's approach.

He didn't know that these two so-called mob regiments were exactly two reinforced infantry regiments under Sun Liren's Fifth Division of the Youth Army. They had long ago been ordered to take off their standard Youth Army uniforms, put on discarded steel helmets, and, using the designation of a certain Northwest Army unit, move covertly on the theater's flank.

The two reinforced regiments had been conducting guerrilla warfare near Guzhen for many days. When the Youth Second Army struck out, Sun Liren led the two reinforced regiments to directly assault the railway bridge over the Huai River!