Chapter 370: Capturing Dangyang

Dangyang.

June 2, 1942, 6:28 a. m.

The morning mist had not lifted, yet the gunpowder smoke had already settled.

Inside and outside Dangyang's south gate, corpses lay everywhere, blood soaking the yellow earth.

Soldiers of the 150th Division were escorting groups of dejected Japanese Army prisoners of war toward a temporary holding area. Some were barefoot, some wrapped in blood‑soaked bandages, and many had vacant eyes, like walking corpses.

Many Japanese soldiers were still asleep when Huaxia Army rifles were pointed at their heads, and they had no idea what was happening.

But there were also Little Devils who fought to the death; the officers of the 150th Division were no pacifists, and their submachine guns swept them away in a burst.

As for those who tried to break out, they were simply forced to kill themselves.

They even gathered around a group of 150th Division Sichuan Army soldiers, watching their suicides like monkeys.

"An organized surrender… since the war began, this is the first," Xu Guozhang said, standing on a ruined wall, his voice so low it was almost a whisper.

He had just taken the battle report from his deputy, and his hand trembled slightly.

"How many?" he snapped his head up, cupped his ear as if he had misheard, "Say it again!"

"Division Commander," the deputy said excitedly, "the count is complete: 1,689 Japanese surrendering, including 327 wounded, 23 officers, among them two Lieutenant Colonels."

Xu Guozhang was stunned.

1,689 people?

That number is enough to form half an infantry regiment!

In the past, such a Japanese unit could clash head‑on with an entire Huaxia Division, even drive back two divisions. Yet now, beneath Dangyang City, they collectively laid down their weapons without mounting any decent resistance.

"They… really surrendered?" Xu Guozhang murmured.

"Yes! The first to surrender was a Company Captain of the 116th Regiment named Shanben Wufu. He raised a white cloth and shouted 'Don't fire,' and the men behind him raised their guns and surrendered," the deputy added, "the Little Devils' morale collapsed completely; they said they couldn't sleep after hearing a P‑38 fly overhead last night, and this morning the artillery blast made the whole regiment panic."

Xu Guozhang inhaled deeply, then burst out laughing, "Well done! My Sichuan boys have made history!"

He turned and ordered, "Send a Telegram to Brother Jiang immediately: Dangyang is secured, nearly two thousand enemies captured, the city defenses are solid; please draft the next operation plan at once!"

"Yes!" the signalman sprinted off.

Three kilometers north of Dangyang, Gaoqiao Village.

The main force was already nearing Dangyang, and along the way they had annihilated several Little Devil detachments that seemed to be foraging grain from the village.

Jiang Anguo halted his horse on the high hill, pressing his binoculars to his eyes.

Jiang Anguo was actually getting weary, so he exchanged for a warhorse.

Gunfire toward Dangyang had ceased, only sporadic Hand Grenade pops remained; evidently the 150th Division was finishing up.

"The battle is over," he said to Guard Company Commander Jiang Xingxue beside him, "Xu Guozhang acted quickly."

Before the words finished, a familiar engine roar echoed from the distant sky.

"Bad!" Jiang Anguo's face changed sharply, "It's a P‑38!"

He snatched the field telephone, "Connect to the airborne Ghost Battalion! Quickly! Contact William! Cancel the bombing! Repeat, cancel the bombing!"

It turned out that the original plan called for the Ghost Battalion to carry out a final air strike on Dangyang at 6:30 a. m. today, to destroy the Japanese command post and ground positions and clear the way for the ground troops. Forty‑six P‑38s had taken off from Changde Airport at 5:50 a. m., with only two held back due to engine trouble.

At this moment, the formation was entering the bomb‑release corridor.

"Commander! Contact established!" the communications staff shouted urgently, "William is on the channel!"

Jiang Anguo seized the handset, speaking at lightning speed, "William! This is Jiang Anguo! Dangyang is under our control! Cease bombing! Pull up immediately! Repeat, cease bombing!"

There was a brief silence on the other end.

Then a voice in Chinese with a heavy American accent sounded:

"Ghost One received. All units, attention—cancel the attack! Cancel the attack! Pull up! Pull up!"

In the sky, forty‑six P‑38s rose like silver shuttles, their bomb bays unopened, the formation climbing rapidly and turning northeast—toward Jingmen.

Jiang Anguo let out a long breath, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.

"That was close…" he whispered to Jiang Xingxue, "We almost turned Old Xu and over a thousand Little Devils to ash."

Jiang Xingxue nodded, "Air‑ground coordination—an inch of difference means friendly fire."

Had it been a moment later, those P‑38 lightning fighters would have bombed not the Little Devils but Xu Guozhang's 150th Division.

Jiang Anguo hadn't expected Xu Guozhang's troops to rush so fast, far quicker than their marching speed.

Jiang Anguo swung onto his horse, his tone turning cold, "Issue orders to all units: First, the 150th Division must immediately sort the prisoners, focusing interrogation on the officers of the 90th and 91st Battalions, and ascertain the Japanese defenses at Jingmen and Jingzhou; Second, Hu Lian's 11th Division accelerate northward, seize the Zhang River crossing, and block the Japanese reinforcement route to Jingmen; Third, inform William that after dropping all aerial bombs, the P‑38s need not return to Changde but should proceed directly to Dangyang Airport."

Jiang Anguo had previously worried that his fighters at Changde lacked aerial bombs, essentially a pile of scrap metal, but now it was fine—Dangyang Airport could serve as a relay.

"Yes!" Xiao Si recorded quickly.

At that moment, Xu Guozhang's Telegram arrived.

Jiang Anguo unfolded it, a slight smile at the corner of his mouth, "Old Xu, indeed, his speed is truly fast."

But there was no resentment in his eyes, only satisfaction.

He knew that the significance of 1,689 organized prisoners far exceeded that of a single city.

That meant: Japanese morale had slid from 'broken jade' to 'survival'; the psychological defensive line of the Jianghan Plain garrison was collapsing; the upcoming battles at Jingmen and Jingzhou might be won without fighting.

"Anguo, this is truly the first time an organized Japanese force has surrendered to our troops!" Hu Lian said excitedly, taking the Telegram.

Jiang Anguo's expression remained calm as he replied, "Yes! More Japanese will surrender as we go on, but I truly wish they would not surrender."

Of course, Jiang Anguo hoped even more that these Japanese would resist, for only through resistance could he order his troops to fire and keep those Little Devils forever on this land, using their blood to atone for the slaughtered Huaxia civilians.

"Tell Xu Guozhang," he said gravely, "to repair Dangyang Airport. In a moment I'll dispatch an Engineer Battalion to assist in rebuilding the airfield and to construct the command post nearby."

The order was issued, and the troops readied quickly.

Morning light spilled over the Ju Zhang River, its surface glittering.

In the distance, atop Dangyang City, a blue‑sky white‑sun flag rose slowly.

In the sky, the P‑38 formation turned its course, a keen blade pointing straight at Jingmen.

Xu Guozhang saw a fighter aircraft skim low over Dangyang, thinking it was congratulating them for capturing Dangyang, but then realized the aircraft turned away as soon as it approached Dangyang.

He immediately realized that he had not informed Jiang Anguo behind him in advance, causing Jiang Anguo to forget that the first wave attack on Dangyang was to be carried out by P-38 fighter aircraft, not his 150th Division.

"It scared the hell out of me; I almost got bombed right on my own head!" With that thought, Xu Guozhang broke out in a cold sweat down his back.

It turned out those turning fighter aircraft were there to bomb Dangyang.

Jiang Anguo spurred his horse forward, already contemplating the whole situation in his mind:

Using Dangyang as a springboard, he could attack Jingmen to the north, and head south to reach the city walls of Jingzhou within three days.

The counterattack on the Jianghan Plain had only just begun.