Chapter 505: Pyrrhic Victory

Hearing this!

Sun Zhen said softly, "Has our force been crippled?"

Yu Hua, standing to the side, nodded, "The entire Sichuan Army 22nd Group Army, every Division has suffered heavy casualties."

"Especially Wang Mingzhang's 122nd Division; this Division was nearly wiped out, with casualties numbering ten thousand."

"Rao Guohua's New 145th Division, this Division's casualties are around six thousand."

"Guo Xunqi's New 144th Division, casualties are also over five thousand."

The Central Army, Guangdong Army, and Northeast Army commanders standing by, along with Xue Yue and Chen Cheng, upon hearing the casualty situation of the Sichuan Army.

At the meeting!

Xu Yongchang first explained that the policy for this Wuhan Battle was to defend Wuhan without fighting at Wuhan!

With Tianjia Town taken by the Japanese Army, the fall of Wuhan was already a matter of time.

Speaking to this point, Yu Hua paused, and he looked at Sun Zhen: "Of course, these casualty statistics are still rough estimates for now."

Have them report the casualty situation of their troops as soon as possible, then report it up immediately.

At the Nanjing Command in Hankou, after receiving the telegram from Chen Cheng, they learned that in the Wanjialing Battle, the Chinese side suffered tens of thousands of casualties.

Therefore, if the Japanese Army did not fire Poison Gas Bombs and fought a conventional war against the Sichuan Army, Central Army, Guangdong Army, and Northeast Army.

"Once they arrive, the approximate casualty situation can be tallied."

Chen Cheng's gaze fell upon Wang Yaowu: "What is the casualty situation of the 51st Division?"

"Report to Commander Chen!" Wang Yaowu stood at attention: "The 51st Division has over five thousand casualties!"

The Reserve 6th Division has over seven thousand casualties, and Ou Zhen's 4th Army has over twelve thousand casualties.

"For the sake of the overall situation of the War of Resistance, all of this is worth it."

"The casualties of the entire Independent Brigade are nearly over six thousand!!"

This time, in the encirclement and annihilation of the Japanese Army 106th Division, the Sichuan Army expended tens of millions of bullets and tens of thousands of artillery shells, yet still suffered such heavy casualties themselves.

Subsequently, Bai Zhuge also added that when the Wuhan army retreats, they must provide alternating cover, and at the same time, the citizens of Wuhan, Industrial Equipment, and various supplies.

In order to break out, the Japanese Army fired a large amount of Special Smoke and High-Explosive Shells at both sides of the road.

After a period of time, Feng Shengfa and Wang Yaowu of the 74th Army arrived at the headquarters.

Now that the Tianjia Town Battle has ended and Xue Yue's 1st Army Corps has finished the encirclement and annihilation of the Japanese Army 106th Division, it is time to consider withdrawing the troops.

After Yu Hua finished reporting the casualties, Chen Cheng and Xue Yue could finally understand the sentence Yu Hua had said!

Since leaving Chuan, the 22nd Group Army had never suffered such heavy losses.

Ji Zhangjian of the Reserve 6th Division, Feng Zhanhai of the 91st Division, and Ou Zhen of the 4th Army were now also quickly contacting their subordinates.

The several units above were the main force Divisions of the 22nd Group Army, and their combat effectiveness was significantly stronger than other Sichuan Army units.

"Has the casualty count for the 74th Army been tallied yet?!"

The entire Division now has over nine thousand casualties, and currently, only over one thousand remain!

Following closely, Feng Zhanhai's 91st Division also reported its casualties; the 91st Division had faced the Japanese Army's frantic charges earlier, and the casualties were quite heavy.

If these main force Divisions all suffered such severe casualties, then... the losses of the Central Army, Guangdong Army, and Northeast Army would likely be even more severe.

After listening, Sun Zhen sighed: "It seems we really have suffered a crushing loss!"

He turned his head to look at Yu Hua, "What about the remaining few Divisions? Are the casualties even more severe than this?!"

The military and political officials were all stunned; one must know that this encirclement battle involved Sichuan Army units.

"Forty to fifty thousand Japanese troops were all buried in this mountain forest."

After the meeting ended, the Nanjing Command began issuing orders to all units!

"The 123rd, 124th, and 125th Divisions, in the process of pursuing, flanking, and blocking the Japanese Army, suffered over five thousand casualties."

After smoking a few Cigarettes, more detailed casualty reports came in from the Sichuan Army side.

This matter weighed heavily on Sun Zhen's heart; this was a total loss!

Fighting this battle at Wanjialing, the 22nd Group Army had almost lost everything.

Chen Cheng and Xue Yue, upon hearing the reports from the various commanders, felt a chill rise from the soles of their feet, penetrating into their internal organs.

Everyone gasped in shock; nearly half of the Sichuan Army had been wiped out.

They must also be transported away in advance and cannot be left behind; it is best to start executing this plan now while the main army still holds the advantage.

Never expected that in this battle, the Sichuan Army would also stumble!

Seeing Xue Yue go to console Sun Zhen, Chen Cheng cast his gaze upon Yu Jishi.

"Furthermore, Liu Zhangqing's Independent Brigade, while executing an infiltration mission, engaged in an artillery duel with the Japanese Army's Artillery Regiment."

At the highest military conference in Hankou, Minister He received instructions from Principal Chang to discuss the subsequent Wuhan defense plan.

Inside the air-raid shelter, it was quiet for a long time!

Division Commanders, Army Commanders, Army Corps Commanders, Group Army Commanders, and the 9th War Zone Commander were all smoking now.

In this encirclement battle, most of the Sichuan Army soldiers died from poison gas, dying of poisoning.

Sun Kequan's 187th Division suffered over eight thousand casualties, with only eight hundred men left in the entire Division; Division Commander Sun Kequan was severely wounded and is currently being resuscitated at a field hospital.

When Gas Masks were hit by High-Explosive Shells, gaps would be blown open, and the poison gas would immediately infiltrate.

Yu Jishi lowered his head, "Commander Chen, the specific situation has not yet been reported by the two Division Commanders."

Guo Xunqi, Rao Guohua, Liu Zhangqing, and others, upon learning of the massive casualties of the 22nd Group Army, also had grim expressions.

Before Wang Yaowu and Feng Shengfa could greet Yu Jishi, they were summoned before Chen Cheng.

"Fan Shaozeng's 88th Army, because they arrived at the battlefield late, had total casualties of less than three thousand."

Inside the air-raid shelter, after everyone discussed how to divide the spoils of war, they began to leave Wanjialing according to the previously established evacuation routes.

The Sichuan Army 22nd Group Army, this army had repeatedly performed meritorious service on the battlefield and annihilated large amounts of the Japanese Army's effective strength many times.

This battle... it was a pyrrhic victory!!

Out of an army of over one hundred thousand, tasked with encircling the Japanese Army 106th Division, nearly half were casualties.

Upon hearing of these casualties, Chen Cheng felt a tremor in his heart; the 72nd Army had also been crippled by the Japanese Army.

"The Chuan Army's casualties are a bit high this time, but at any rate, we have completely annihilated the Japanese Army 106th Division."

"The specific casualty figures still need to be reported by those below."

Even though the Chuan Army units were issued Gas Masks, the Japanese Army alternated between firing Poison Gas Bombs and High-Explosive Shells.

"Just a moment ago, I spoke with them over the phone; the two of them are currently on their way to the command post."

The casualties of the Republic of China Army should absolutely not have been this high!!

Feng Shengfa, who was to the side, did not wait for Chen Cheng to speak; seeing Commander Chen's gaze turn toward him, he immediately stood at attention to report:

"Commander Chen, my 58th Division has suffered over six thousand casualties."

There was absolutely no trace of the joy from just a moment ago!

Sun Zhen stumbled and sat down to the side; Xue Yue hurried over: "Old Sun!"

The Chuan Army units, the 22nd Group Army, withdrew to Hunan Province, while Wang Lingji's 30th Group Army withdrew to the western part of E Province.

When the 22nd Group Army was withdrawing, Yu Hua had Wang Mingzhang take advantage of the fact that the Yangtze River shipping lanes had not yet been blockaded by the Japanese Army to send some of the captured supplies back to Sichuan Province.

(End of this chapter)