Chapter 438: Tearing Off a Piece of Flesh

For this battle, the Central Army participated, and Yu Hua specifically set conditions for the Nanjing Command.

That is, the four divisions of the Central Army must all obey the command of the Sichuan Army; otherwise, there might be oversights when the Sichuan Army plans the campaign?!

Listen to these words—isn't this a naked threat to the Nanjing Command?

However, the high-ranking officials of the Nanjing Command thought that the Sichuan Army had gained sufficient battle merits in numerous campaigns and enjoyed a very high reputation.

Every time the Sichuan Army finished fighting the little devils, it was basically a great victory, and the benefits obtained from it were basically a sure-win deal for the Central Army to participate in; as for the Sichuan Army wanting command of the Central Army?

These were all minor matters; from the Battle of Songhu to the Taihu Battle, and then to the Niangziguan Campaign, as well as the Xuzhou Battle, whenever a unit fought alongside the Sichuan Army, the Sichuan Army never harmed its teammates.

Therefore, if the Central Army participated in the battle with the Sichuan Army this time and handed over command to the Sichuan Army, there would be absolutely no problem; the high-ranking officials of the Nanjing Command were also very at ease with the Sichuan Army handling things!

As for the grain and fodder required by the Sichuan Army, the Nanjing Command approved two additional special trains on top of what the Sichuan Army needed.

Here, Yu Hua dispatched people to meet them and would hand the corresponding Task Map to the division commanders of the four divisions, letting them proceed according to the map.

Yamamoto Tatsuyama issued combat missions to each regiment, secretly moving toward the periphery of the Sichuan Army.

Therefore, Hata Shunroku only left a small number of Type 92 Infantry Guns and Mortars at the airport, while the remaining Type 41 Mountain Guns and Type 94 Mountain Guns, plus Field Guns and 105mm Howitzers, were all transferred out of the airport.

"Your Excellency Commander, according to information passed back by informants within the enemy, the Sichuan Army units are currently at the airport outside Anqing City, intending to surround and annihilate Inaba Shiro's 6th Division."

After chatting for a while, Li Zhengxian was the first to stir up trouble: "This Sichuan Army has such a big ego; we rushed here without stopping, and these Sichuan Army people aren't even here."

Wang Yaowu and Feng Shengfa also met the two division commanders of the First Army, Li Wen and Li Zhengxian!

All four of them were graduates of the Whampoa Military Academy; although they were not very familiar with each other, relying on the reputation of the Whampoa Military Academy, everyone used the academy as a breakthrough point and talked about things from their school days.

The 74th Army of the Republic of China Army was formed in Zhejiang on September 1, 1937, after the July 7th Incident, and was composed of the 51st Division and the 58th Division.

"Hirahara-kun, what is the situation!?" Hata Shunroku was looking at the map and did not even lift his head.

It seems that the Nanjing Command is very concerned about the results of this battle; whether it is the 74th Army or the First Army, they are both ace units within the Central Army.

Now that the Sichuan Army wants to ambush the 6th Division, Hata Shunroku simply decided to use a counter-ambush, letting the Yamamoto Tatsuyama Independent Mixed Brigade surround the Sichuan Army in return.

Inside the cave! When Yu Hua saw the designations of the Central Army units that had come to participate in the battle, he also smiled happily.

The commander of the 51st Division is Wang Yaowu, and the commander of the 58th Division is Feng Shengfa; the commander of the 1st Division is Li Zhengxian, and the commander of the 78th Division is Li Wen.

After Anqing City was lost, Yang Sen also drew out a brigade of troops, plus a previous regiment; now the force supporting Anqing City is already over ten thousand people.

Now, after Yu Hua learned that these two armies were under his command, he was incredibly happy inside. With these two armies participating in the battle, Yu Hua must arrange important tasks tonight to properly reward them.

As for Xu Yuanquan's 26th Group Army, this army went directly to attack Anqing City. Yu Hua had no authority to mobilize the 26th Group Army and could only contact Xu Yuanquan, telling him to coordinate well with Yang Sen's 27th Group Army.

The three divisions and one brigade of the Sichuan Army moved toward the airport according to the previous Task Map.

"Hai!" The Japanese Army officers of the Independent Mixed Brigade all had their eyes shining with light.

His eyes narrowed: "I am certain that the Sichuan Army will definitely come tonight; the Sichuan Army unit is the most unique army within the Republic of China Army."

In order to ensure that the encirclement and annihilation plan could proceed smoothly, all units could ambush the Japanese Army according to the plan formulated by Yu Hua.

Yu Hua specifically drew Military Police units from the Independent Brigade, the Guo Xunqi Division, and the Rao Guohua Division to form a brigade of Military Police, which were distributed to various attack units to enforce battlefield discipline and ensure whether the units were carrying out the ambush according to the plan.

However, relying on the Sichuan Army's firepower advantage, plus a three-to-one troop ratio, Yu Hua firmly believed that even if the little devils were prepared, he could still tear a piece of flesh off them.

Now that the Yamamoto Tatsuyama Brigade already knew the Sichuan Army's plan, as long as they obediently waited for the Sichuan Army to strike and then surrounded them, this was definitely handing them battle merits.

At the Anqing City airport, after Inaba Shiro received the telegram from the Area Army Commander, he also began to actively arrange his troops, requiring that tonight, all Imperial Warriors must not be separated from their rifles, and the rest time for the entire division was also slightly adjusted.

Inaba Shiro gave a cold snort: "No!"

"Your Excellency Commander, it is roughly here!" Hirahara Daio pointed at the map.

Since the Yamamoto Tatsuyama Independent Mixed Brigade had already arrived on time, and this army was secretly deployed and rarely appeared along the way, this Independent Mixed Brigade would certainly be able to act as a surprise force.

Tonight, Inaba Shiro believed that the Sichuan Army would definitely not give up such an opportunity.

"Where is the 11th Army's Yamamoto Tatsuyama Independent Mixed Brigade located now?"

"Your Excellency Commander, the Sichuan Army will conduct a Night Raid tonight to surround and annihilate the 6th Division; this matter was originally a secret operation, and only a few people in the Sichuan Army knew about it;

However, there were people from the 26th Group Army in the Sichuan Army ranks. After this matter was known by Xu Yuanquan, he poked it to the 9th War Zone in Hankou, and after the 9th War Zone reported it further, the Nanjing Command found out."

Building a career and establishing merit—this is what they love to do most.

"Your Excellency Division Commander, if we are so vigilant, will it scare away the Sichuan Army?"

Surrounding and annihilating the Sichuan Army is something all Japanese generals dream of. Ever since the Sichuan Army emerged, the Imperial General Headquarters issued the latest directive: once encountered on the Chinese battlefield, the Sichuan Army units must be listed as the primary attack target.

Let them follow their usual training methods and treat this great battle as training!

At the airport belonging to the 6th Division, the Artillery Regiment also arrived at a low mountain range outside the airport, where the devils' artillery was to set up artillery positions in preparation for a counterattack against the Sichuan Army.

"Report!" Hirahara Daio came before Hata Shunroku.

"The insider also heard sporadic news from the internal discussions of the Nanjing Command, which is that the Central Army will send troops to participate in the battle!"

These two armies are both the most direct of the direct lines, and their combat effectiveness is also very powerful.

After all, during the Lanfeng Battle, Doihara Kenji led a division and successfully broke the encirclement of Xue Laohu's one hundred thousand troops.

However, now that the Sichuan Army is participating in this encirclement, with the Sichuan Army, the variables are too great; this Sichuan Army simply cannot be viewed with ordinary eyes.

Which regiment rests when, stands guard when, and strikes when—Inaba Shiro arranged it very meticulously; he wanted the Republic of China Army that came to attack the airport tonight to have no way back.

Wang Yaowu and Feng Shengfa had no complaints about the Sichuan Army commanding this battle and guaranteed they would complete their mission.

The various units of the Sichuan Army also used code words to talk to Yu Hua, indicating that they had already arrived at the predetermined locations.

Two brigades, plus one division—Hata Shunroku believed that the Imperial Army could definitely hold out until dawn, and could even annihilate the majority of the enemy forces; once it reached daytime, that would be the world of the Imperial Air Force.

In the Battle of Songhu, the Japanese Army fought during the day and the Chinese side fought at night; now the Sichuan Army is conducting a Night Raid on the Japanese Army, even if the Nanjing Command leaked the intelligence.

According to the troop ratio between China and Japan, Hata Shunroku could roughly calculate that the Chinese side should have one hundred thousand people this time; if the one hundred thousand people were just the Central Army and the 26th Group Army, he would not be afraid at all.

Among the Republic of China Army, only the Sichuan Army units were specially emphasized by the Imperial General Headquarters: that is, the battle merit for annihilating one division of the Sichuan Army is a large chunk higher than that of ordinary Republic of China Army units.

Three divisions and one Independent Brigade, plus the Zhang Yungang Regiment, were mostly in position; among them, the Guo Xunqi unit and the Rao Guohua unit were newly formed Sichuan Army units, and many soldiers were coming into contact with the Japanese Army for the first time, so the two division commanders also conducted ideological mobilization for the officers.

"Anti-Japanese Iron Army," "Huben Division," and "Imperial Guard"—these are all names people call them; in fact, in many battles, they have been awarded the highest award of the National Government, the "Flying Tiger Flag."

The 74th Army is both a Central Army and belongs to the Zhejiang clique, which can be counted as the most direct of the direct lines.

"Yoshi!" Hata Shunroku nodded happily.

"Baka!" roared Hata Shunroku, his gaze turning to Hirahara Daio, "How many enemy troops are there, what units are they, and what are their designations?"

"Gentlemen!"

When the four Division Commanders received the order that this operation would be under the unified command of the Sichuan Army, each Division Commander's expression was different.

"I have carefully studied the methods of the Sichuan Army, and tonight I have come specifically to test my plan to see if I can crack the tactics of the Sichuan Army."

Relying entirely on a low mountain range outside the airport, they established an artillery group; at the same time, the Japanese Army inside the airport was now also actively building fortifications, digging trenches, constructing bunkers, and so on.

The 74th Army was involved in the Xuefeng Mountain Campaign, the final large-scale battle of the Anti-Japanese War.

Currently, the ratio of Chinese to Japanese forces is roughly three to one, and night raids have become a specialty of the Chinese forces.

As for the combat missions of the four Division Commanders of the 74th Army and the 1st Army, Yu Hua did not call them or send telegrams, but instead had them rush to a place called Xiaowangzhuang, twenty kilometers outside Anqing City.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander, the Artillery Regiment has completed its deployment; as long as the Sichuan Army dares to come, I will definitely destroy the Sichuan Army's artillery at the first opportunity."

While the little devils were making all kinds of preparations, Yu Hua was not idle either.

At Mingjiazhai, after the Japanese Shanyuan Dashan Independent Mixed Brigade received the telegram from Central China Area Army Commander Hata Shunroku, every Japanese officer became excited.

Based on the situation of the last Sichuan Army raid on the airport, Inaba Shiro guessed that the Sichuan Army would definitely still adopt the form of artillery bombardment!

His military rank would also be promoted to Lieutenant General; one must know that Shanyuan Dashan is currently only forty years old, and once promoted to Lieutenant General, it would mean that Shanyuan Dashan would be the youngest Lieutenant General in the Japanese Army.

This army is the most dazzling star among the "aces" of the National Government, possessing a series of glories.

The entire airport was brightly lit, and the Japanese soldiers were working quickly; they also knew that tonight, the Chinese forces were coming to attack the airport.

When the time comes, the Sichuan Army, the Central Army, and Xu Yuanquan's 26th Group Army, not one of them will be able to run!

"Yoshi!" Hata Shunroku was in a great mood and immediately sent a telegram to Inaba Shiro, Commander of the Japanese 6th Division, warning the 6th Division to strengthen its defenses tonight, as the Sichuan Army would send troops to attack.

They were the dignified Central Army, yet now they had fallen to the point of having to be commanded by the Sichuan Army in battle; was this not a loss of face?

Inside a bunker at the airport!

Inaba Shiro was listening to his subordinate's report.

"They launch night raids on the Imperial Army, relying every time on artillery strikes and landmine ambushes, and what's more, they hit and run; by the time the Imperial Army wants to find them for a decisive battle, they have already fled."

"Gentlemen, you must do your utmost to annihilate the Sichuan Army within the Chinese forces in one fell swoop and restore the prestige of the Imperial Army!"

This time, Yu Hua intended to conduct a night of fighting; if the Japanese 6th Division had not been annihilated before dawn, he would withdraw the troops.

Shanyuan Dashan's gaze was burning as he looked at everyone present: "Building merit and establishing a career is tonight; for the Holy War of the Empire, for the glory of the Empire."

Throughout the Anti-Japanese War, the 74th Army fought from start to finish, and its presence was felt in every large-scale campaign.

At Xiaowangzhuang!

Not to mention Hu Zongnan's 1st Army, which has a long history and developed from the training regiment of the Whampoa Military Academy.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander, my regiment has already secretly moved here according to your instructions."

Especially Shanyuan Dashan, who was so happy he felt like he was going to fly, because this was his first promotion to Brigade Commander; according to the instructions from the Imperial General Headquarters, once he annihilated one division of the Sichuan Army this time, he could immediately be promoted to Division Commander.

The Sichuan Army possessed an artillery group; once they aimed at the airport for a covering bombardment, if the 6th Division's artillery failed to counterattack, they would suffer a great loss.

"Baka Yaro!" Hata Shunroku roared. Judging from the news reported by Hirahara Daio, the Republic of China Army included the 26th Group Army, the Central Army, and the Sichuan Army.

However, the two Division Commanders under Hu Zongnan's 1st Army, Li Wen and Li Zhengxian, both complained quite a bit.

Even with the complaints, Hu Zongnan still ordered the two to obey the Sichuan Army's command, as the higher-ups placed great importance on the results of this battle.

"Nani?" Hata Shunroku widened his eyes? The Sichuan Army actually wanted to surround and annihilate a brigade under his command.

The four divisions of the Central Army participating were the 51st Division and 58th Division within Yu Jishi's 74th Army, and the 1st Division and 78th Division within Hu Zongnan's 1st Army!

The 1st Army and the 74th Army had now gone through many large-scale campaigns, their combat experience was already very rich, and this time they had received a large batch of equipment replenishment, so their combat effectiveness had recovered to roughly the level of the July 7th Incident period.

Added to that was Xu Yuanquan's 26th Group Army, totaling about thirty to forty thousand men; even if they couldn't take Anqing City, it was still possible to deal a heavy blow to the Hada Detachment in Anqing City.

Headquarters of the Japanese Central China Area Army!

Otherwise, when dawn came and the little devils' planes arrived, the Sichuan Army would suffer a great loss.

"It seems that Deng Xihou and Pan Wenhua have become a bit arrogant to indulge their subordinates like this."

"After this battle ends, I must speak to the Principal!"

(End of this chapter)