Chapter 298

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

Terauchi Hisaichi had originally prepared several other divisions to encircle and annihilate the Xia Guo Army on the Xuzhou battlefield, but now he was in a dilemma: should the follow-up forces be committed to battle to carry out the plan of encircling and annihilating the Xia main force at Xuzhou?

Lieutenant General Nishio Toshizo, Commander of the Second Army of the North China Area Army, was extremely urgent—his Tenth Division was trapped at Taierzhuang!

"Commander Terauchi Hisaichi, please quickly dispatch the Fourteenth Division stationed at Jining to move south and support! Rescue Isogai Rensuke and the Tenth Division from Taierzhuang!"

"Damn it... the Fourteenth Division is what I'm using to block the enemy's retreat route. If I send it to support the Tenth Division, won't the whole plan be ruined? How am I supposed to completely annihilate the Xia's six hundred thousand main force?!"

Lieutenant General Nishio Toshizo said: "But if Isogai Rensuke's Tenth Division is destroyed and we lose this important force, then the plan to completely annihilate the Xia main force will likewise be difficult to realize!"

Hata Shunroku, Commander of the Central China Expeditionary Army, stood up angrily: "Don't forget, my Thirteenth Division is still trapped in the Guzhen area south of Xuzhou!

For this plan, two entire elite divisions have both been dragged into an extremely dangerous situation!"

The headquarters of the Central China Area Army instantly descended into chaos, with everyone arguing desperately over the next phase of the battle.

General Terauchi Hisaichi slammed the table hard, ordering everyone to quiet down: "Bastards! Shut up!"

Everyone quieted down, waiting for General Terauchi Hisaichi to issue orders.

"Now I order: the Fifth and Sixteenth Divisions on the Linyi direction must attack with full force, definitely take Linyi, then attack west toward Liao Yaoxiang!"

"What about the Fourteenth Division at Jining?! They can directly attack Liao Yaoxiang's rear!" Lieutenant General Nishio Toshizo was frantic.

"I've said it many times: the Fourteenth Division is used to block the railway line west of Xuzhou, and encircling the enemy at Xuzhou depends on the Fourteenth Division!"

The Fourteenth Division originally belonged to Xiangyue Qingsi, Lieutenant General of the First Army; Xiangyue Qingsi had long been on bad terms with Commander Terauchi Hisaichi, and now he also chimed in:

"Hmph! Still daydreaming! The Fourteenth Division, whether in artillery, tanks, or transport vehicles, has been reinforced. Sending them to attack the rear of Liao Yaoxiang's Youth First Army will definitely rout the Youth Army!"

General Terauchi Hisaichi cursed: "Tch! These reinforced weapons and equipment were all personally organized by me, precisely so that Tsuchiya Yuan's Fourteenth Division would have powerful firepower and mobile speed,

so that the Fourteenth Division could cut off the Longhai Railway west of Xuzhou in the shortest time, encircle the enemy dead, and pull off a 'closing the gate to beat the dog' maneuver!

As long as we occupy Linyi, the Fifth Division and Sixteenth Division attacking west will likewise rout Liao Yaoxiang—why bother using the Fourteenth Division?!"

"This is simply outrageous! What if Linyi City can't be taken? Then wouldn't Isogai Rensuke's Tenth Division be wiped out on the spot?! Who will bear this responsibility?"

The headquarters erupted in argument again.

Hata Shunroku, General of the Central China Expeditionary Army, was nearly faint with rage—no one cared about his Dizhou Libing's Thirteenth Division!

"A bunch of bastards! My Thirteenth Division... who will go save them?!"

"Have you all forgotten my Thirteenth Division?!"

Hearing General Hata Shunroku's shout, General Terauchi Hisaichi waved his hand: "My North China Area Army is on the north side, your Central China Expeditionary Army is on the south side, with several hundred thousand Xia Guo troops in between—I'm helpless too;

rescuing Dizhou Libing's Thirteenth Division must be handled by your Central China Expeditionary Army itself; our North China Area Army can only try to rescue Isogai Rensuke's Tenth Division!"

General Hata Shunroku stormed off in a huff, feeling his Central China Expeditionary Army was like a rag—once Terauchi Hisaichi had no use for it, it was simply discarded.

The North China Area Army and the Central China Expeditionary Army, two armies that were birds of the same forest, flew apart when disaster struck!

General Hata Shunroku boarded his special plane and said to his staff officer:

"Order the Ninth Division to find a way to cross the Huai River, and immediately have the 101st Division set out, moving north to support; they must, together with the Ninth Division, find a way to save Dizhou Libing's Thirteenth Division!"

"But if we do that, our rear will probably be very dangerous; guerrillas will probably run everywhere, and the enemy's remaining forces in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Anhui area might counterattack!" the staff officer reminded.

"I can't worry about that anymore—if the Thirteenth Division is lost, no one will give me replacements!"

South bank of the Huai River, Ninth Division headquarters.

Division Commander Yoshizumi Ryosuke, Lieutenant General, lowered his binoculars; on the broad surface of the Huai River before his eyes, the originally magnificent railway bridge had only a few twisted steel beams pitifully protruding from the water.

Engineer troops were attempting to erect a floating bridge, but mortar shells and machine-gun bullets flying from the north bank from time to time, plus snipers constantly taking potshots, made the engineers' work extremely difficult, with soldiers and equipment constantly being hit and falling into the murky river water.

"Division Commander, the enemy on the opposite bank is resisting stubbornly, with tightly arranged firepower."

"After confirmation, the force opposite is not some miscellaneous unit, but the force of Sun Liren of the Fifth Division of the Youth Army Second Army," the staff officer reported.

"Sun Liren..." Yoshizumi Ryosuke muttered the name, ordering his subordinates to bring out intelligence files that recorded information on many Xia generals.

"I remember now—he was the regimental commander of the Fourth Regiment of the Tax Police General Corps; his troops fought very well at Songhu, and now they're serving in the Youth Army..."

The Chief of Staff reminded: "General Hata Shunroku has issued a strict order: we must cross the river as soon as possible!

The Thirteenth Division is trapped at Guzhen, in imminent danger; every minute of delay puts them in greater danger. We have no time to slowly probe!"

Yoshizumi Ryosuke walked to the map table, pointing his finger at several predetermined crossing points: "Order the Field Artillery Regiment to concentrate all heavy artillery and bombard for me!

Order the engineers to prepare forcible-crossing equipment; once the artillery fire lifts, immediately launch the river-crossing attack! Commit two battalions in the first wave, at any cost, seize the beachhead position!"

"Hai!" The orders were quickly transmitted.

North bank of the Huai River, forward observation post of the Youth Army Fifth Division.

Sun Liren held up his binoculars, watching the flashes of the Japanese cannons on the opposite bank and the smoke columns raised by shell impacts.

The deafening roar and tremors of exploding shells kept coming, and dust kept falling from the overhead cover.

"The little devils are desperate, firing very fiercely." The regimental commander beside him patted the dirt off his steel helmet.

Sun Liren said: "Let them fire; anyway, our infantry positions aren't by the river. Once they land, they'll have something to look forward to!"

The devils' bombardment lasted about half an hour, then began extending into the depth.

At the same time, on the river beach on the opposite bank, dense figures of Japanese troops appeared; they pushed boats and rafts, carried floating-bridge components, and began moving toward the riverbank.

"They're coming! The devils are starting to cross the river!" the observer shouted.

Sun Liren grabbed the telephone: "Artillery position, targets Areas One through Five, the Japanese river-crossing assembly area, conduct interdiction fire!"

Boom boom boom!

Over the Huai River, artillery fire crisscrossed, and gunpowder smoke spread.

On the river surface, Japanese boats and rafts advanced with difficulty under the artillery fire; from time to time Japanese soldiers fell into the water, and boats were blown to pieces.

Behind the North Bank of the Huai River, the light and heavy machine guns, mortars, and machine cannons on the Youth Army Position were strictly awaiting battle.