Chapter 315: Republic of China: Starting from the First Class of Whampoa Chapter 315 Tsuchiya Yuan: Surprise Attack on Xiangfeng!

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

The Japanese anti-aircraft firepower consisted of two squadrons, but it was sparse; throughout the entire anti-aircraft process, nine out of ten shots missed.

The intensity of their anti-aircraft firepower could be described by the degree of kidney deficiency in a middle-aged man—urinating on his own shoes in the wind!

More fighter planes broke through the firepower net, guiding death onto the heads of the Japanese army.

Aerial bombs fell like heavy rain; how could the devils not be afraid?

The Japanese army's big carts and small carts, bicycles, big cannons and small cannons, anti-aircraft guns, mules, donkeys, and Eastern Ocean horses were all turned into fragments of flesh and steel in one explosion after another.

A BF109 steadily locked onto a Type 97 medium tank attempting to turn, its machine-gun shells hitting the tank's relatively weak rear—the location of its engine—with relative accuracy.

The shell penetrated the armor and destroyed the tank's engine; the Type 97 tank shuddered violently, then came to a complete halt, unable to move, followed by swarms of fighter planes coming to attack.

Another BF109 targeted a Japanese truck towing a 105mm howitzer.

Machine-gun fire turned the truck's cab into a sieve in an instant; tires burst, the vehicle veered toward the roadside, and the artillery behind it overturned, blocking a short stretch of road.

The rain of bullets from diving strafing was like the Grim Reaper's scythe, plowing lines of blood across roads and fields, sending Japanese soldiers' flesh flying, their screams drowned out by the roar of engines and explosions.

The devils discovered that the Southwest Air Force specifically targeted vehicles, so they hurriedly pulled Tsuchiya Yuan's division commander out of the armored vehicle.

"Your Excellency Division Commander, do not stay in the vehicle; the target is too large!"

The old devil Tsuchiya Yuan had no choice but to lie in a ditch to take cover.

Finally, the Japanese fighter planes arrived upon hearing the news.

"Japanese fighter planes spotted! Northeast direction, altitude two thousand, more than thirty aircraft!" came the call from Fighter First Squadron over the radio.

Southwest Air Force Regimental Commander Gao Zhihang's spirits lifted; they had finally come.

He adjusted the frequency: "First Squadron, follow me! Intercept the enemy aircraft!

Other squadrons, targets unchanged; beware of enemy anti-aircraft guns!"

He pushed the control stick; the BF109 turned lightly, leading the First Squadron to swoop toward the Japanese Army Air Force reinforcements coming from the north.

It was the latest model Type 97 fighter plane formation of the Japanese Army Air Force, painted with dog-skin-plaster markings, arrogantly attempting to drive away the Xia Guo warplanes slaughtering ground forces.

Air combat broke out instantly......

On the ground, Tsuchiya Kenji's command vehicle had been blown to pieces by several aerial bombs, but unfortunately Tsuchiya Kenji was not in the vehicle.

"Division Commander! The Air Force reports they are locked in fierce combat with the enemy Southwest Air Force and cannot effectively disperse the enemy aircraft!"

The Communications Staff Officer searched for a long time and finally found Division Commander Tsuchiya Yuan squatting beside a dung heap in the middle of heaven and earth, reporting the latest news.

"Eight Trigrams... what good is telling me?! Request the Front Army to dispatch more air force; friendly forces on the Xuzhou battlefield to the east should support as soon as possible; the two Kwantung Army brigades to the north should come to break the encirclement as soon as possible!" Tsuchiya Kenji cursed loudly.

Worse news came in quick succession.

The Chief of Staff also arrived at this dung heap and said: "Your Excellency Division Commander! Emergency military situation!

The Youth First Army has left Shangqiu and is rushing toward our division's rear at full speed! The lead armored forces are less than twenty kilometers from us!"

"What?!" Tsuchiya Kenji's body shook, and one hand accidentally plunged into the dung heap; Tsuchiya Yuan shook his hand in disgust.

Thus, to his east was the Youth Second Army, to his north he was intercepted by the Youth Second Army's heavy artillery fire, to his south behind was the Youth First Army, and the Southwest Air Force in the air had put a lid on this encirclement, afraid he would fly away.

"Your Excellency Division Commander! The guard squadron at Cao County cannot be contacted! According to a telegram from two hours ago, Youth Army armored forces have appeared; Cao County may have fallen, and our road back to Heze is blocked!"

Tsuchiya Kenji stood beside the dung heap, stunned like a wooden chicken.

At the same time, on the Longhai Line, Japanese and Xia Guo troops collided head-on.

Japanese troops were moving west to east along the Longhai Railway Line to provide reinforcements, while Xia Guo troops were moving west to east along the Longhai Railway Line to block them.

Various units that had originally withdrawn from the Fifth War Zone, under the command of the War Zone Headquarters, returned to the battlefield one after another;

Units that had withdrawn from the battlefield from the southwest also began to return, guarding against the Central China Expeditionary Army possibly continuing north to reinforce.

Both sides launched another great battle at Dangshan, Huangkou, Xiaoxian, Peixian, and other places at the junction of Sulu Yu.

Ban Hengzheng Silang's Fifth Division and Nakajima Kyo Asa's Sixteenth Division coming from Linyi had truly been hitting walls all the way.

When the Isogaya Division was surrounded, these two divisions had fought desperately to the east to break through Linyi, never expecting the Xia Guo troops to also fight desperately to block them.

Now, Fifth Division Commander Ban Hengzheng Silang simply could not understand: "Just what does it take for the Chinas to surrender? Now they want to come back and die?!"

Sixteenth Division Commander Lieutenant General Nakajima Kyo Asa had seen such familiar scenes more than once—the Songhu Campaign last year, the Jinling Defense Battle, today's Linyi Defense Battle; the Sixteenth Division, from Central China to North China, were all veterans of this war.

Nakajima Kyo Asa, to be honest, had already felt despair about this war; it was a war staking the nation's fate, and Emperor Chuo's fortune might very well be cut off on the land of Xia Guo?

However, Lieutenant General Nakajima Kyo Asa dared not speak these words aloud; he only said to Ban Hengzheng Silang: "This is another tough battle; we cannot break through this large army on the Longhai Line in a short time;

Tsuchiya Yuan's division's fate should be opened by a gap in the north; here we can only play a role in pinning down the enemy's main forces, so we should not desperately exhaust our strength!"

Lieutenant General Ban Huan Zheng Shilang said: "Pinning down the enemy's main forces—even now I don't know how many enemy main forces there are; are you sure there won't be blocking forces in the north?!

I've figured it out: the enemy uses local forces to pin down, encircle, and block our army, and with elite forces led by the Youth Army, they devour our elite divisions one after another; this is Lv Muzhi's usual tactic!"

North China Area Army Headquarters, General Terauchi Hisaichi was very worried about Tsuchiya Yuan's heavy division.

The Air Corps had all been dispatched, fighting with all their might, just to rescue Tsuchiya Yuan's division.

"Your Excellency Division Commander, please calm your anger; the Fifth Division and Sixteenth Division are hopeless; the Twentieth Division needs to maintain stability in the occupied territories and cannot go to support the Longhai Line; if the Fifth and Sixteenth Divisions can pin down large enemy forces on the Longhai Line, that's already good!

We must still concentrate heavy troops on the northern line to rescue Tsuchiya Yuan's division!" said Chief of Staff Okabe Naosaburo.

Terauchi Hisaichi held his hands: "That's how I arranged it, but why doesn't that bastard Tsuchiya Yuan reply to my telegram?!

The two Kwantung Army brigades have already arrived at Jinan and will soon cover their breakout; also, the 108th and 109th Divisions will set out from Jinan to Heze to support!

What's most important now is to make that fellow Tsuchiya Yuan hold on!

Pass the order down: by any means necessary, contact Tsuchiya Kenji and tell him that if he holds his ground, there is hope!"

Near Cao County, after a round of intense bombing, Tsuchiya Yuan's personal radio was destroyed; with great difficulty he found a working radio amidst the artillery fire, only to receive Terauchi Hisaichi's order to hold his position in place.

Tsuchiya Yuan Kanji thought of the destruction of Isogai Rensuke's Tenth Division before, and quickly vetoed this plan.

The Youth Army had already surrounded them on three sides; if Xia Guo's Central Army also pressed forward, it was hard to say whether they could hold out.

"We must move!" Tsuchiya Yuan said, pointing to the northwest on the map: "Lanfeng! There are no Youth Army forces on the northwest side; we will break out toward the northwest immediately and occupy Lanfeng;

that place is near the Yellow River, the Yellow River North Bank is entirely under our control, relying on the Yellow River ferry crossing, we can receive support from friendlies!

We absolutely cannot stay here; on one hand, we may not be able to hold out until friendly support arrives, on the other hand, I absolutely do not trust General Terauchi Hisaichi!"