Chapter 51: The Bloody Battle of Tong County

  At this time, the Japanese army on the eastern route was the 5th Division of the Japanese Army, which had fallen into Yishui, Ju County and Rizhao, and was rushing straight to Linyi. The Chinese army's 3rd Corps, 40th Army and other units resisted step by step. Li Zongren sent Pang Bingxun's unit to establish a defensive position in Linyi first, luring the enemy to advance deeply, and holding off the Japanese 5th Division's frontal attack.

  Then quickly dispatched General Zhang Zizhong's 59th Army to reinforce Linyi. At that time, Zhang Zizhong's troops were far away in the Huai River valley, but after receiving the order, they immediately rushed towards Linyi at the fastest speed. At this time, the Japanese army also grasped the movement of Zhang Zizhong's troops, but the Japanese estimated that the 59th Army would take at least three days to arrive in Linyi from Yishan County, so the Japanese believed they could defeat Peng Bingxun's troops in Linyi before they ran out of ammunition and reinforcements, and then counterattack Zhang Zizhong's troops with ease. Therefore, the Japanese calculated that Zhang Zizhong's troops not only would not arrive in time to reinforce Linyi but would instead become a " suicidal army" delivered right to their doorstep.

  However, Zhang Zizhong led the 59th Army to conduct a day-and-night forced march, which was the characteristic of the Northwestern Army's hard work and boldness. Under the order of the army commander, they were able to arrive in Linyi ahead of schedule within one day and night. As a result, the 59th Army launched a fierce attack on the rear of the Japanese 5th Division without any preparation from the enemy, and Pang Bingxun's troops counterattacked with their lives, which was an unexpected desperate fight for the Japanese army.

  In the Linyi Campaign from March 14 to 18, the Japanese 5th Division suffered extremely heavy casualties, causing the Japanese troops to be unable to continue fighting and had to retreat back to Ju County to wait for reinforcements.

  While the Segawa Detachment, which belonged to the 10th Division, was also blocked in its attack on the outskirts of Toyohashi, Lieutenant General Isogai, commander of the 10th Division, dispatched two reinforced artillery companies to support the Segawa Detachment and prepare to capture Toyohashi and advance further.

  After the Hegang detachment rushed up to Liujiazhuang Slope, they found that the entire slope had been bombed at least two centimeters away. The stone skin on the surface of Liujiazhuang Slope was all turned into powder, as if it had been plowed countless times. Not a single body of a Chinese soldier was found on the entire Liujiazhuang Slope.

  Sly Hikawa Ki knew he had been deceived by Zhang Mingyu again, but he didn't report it. He only said that the Chinese were severely injured and killed in the bombing, and most of them were reduced to ashes due to the intense bombardment of our great Japanese Imperial Army.

  Temiya Ki was inspired by the intelligence, and Sōichi Terauchi was overjoyed, urging Temiya's detachment to quickly capture Fujikawa County. Temiya Ki, who had been forced to have sex with his sister while drunk, could only ask for reinforcements from his division commander, Tsukigata. Because Tsukigata had raped Temiya Ki's sister and married her, he sent two reinforced artillery companies to support him.

  After receiving artillery support, Shibata Katsuie personally led the charge against Fujikawa, knowing that Zhang Mingyu was cunning. This time, Shibata did not let the artillery bombard first, but instead organized a daredevil squad to charge forward. Only after the daredevils had charged up did he allow the artillery to open fire, completely disregarding whether his own cannon fire would harm the lives of his own soldiers. It was a fight to the death.

  Seeing the devils charging forward, the warriors opened fire one after another. However, at this moment, a large number of shells suddenly fell from the sky, some of which landed among the devils, but more of them landed on the positions of the Independent Regiment and the Sichuan Army. As the devils were charging forward, the warriors could not retreat to avoid the artillery fire, and could only engage in fierce crossfire with the devils under the hail of shells.

  However, the warriors who were suppressed by the enemy's artillery fire could not shoot their heads out. Many warriors were hit by shrapnel from exploding shells. The devils charged closer and closer. A company commander picked up a big knife on the body of a fallen warrior and shouted loudly: "Brothers, the little devils are coming, charge!"

  The surviving warriors in the first trench picked up their weapons and rushed out of the trench, shouting "Kill the devils" as they charged forward. Several dozen Japanese kamikaze troops also shouted as they rushed up, and soon over a hundred people were engaged in fierce combat, with curses, the sound of bayonets piercing flesh, and scattered gunfire weaving together into a chaotic din.

  Half an hour later, the sounds of killing and angry shouting gradually subsided. With the last Japanese soldier falling to the ground, the battle temporarily came to an end. The entire 136-man second company of the first regiment, responsible for the first trench, had made the ultimate sacrifice except for two wounded soldiers who were struggling to crawl on the ground. The Japanese dare-to-die corps of over eighty men was also completely annihilated. Although the second company withstood the enemy's artillery and gunfire attacks and held their position, the cost was extremely heavy.

  Tong County Independent Brigade Headquarters.

  Zhang Biao hastily ran into the command center and anxiously said: "Commander, something's gone wrong, the devils are attacking."

  Zhang Mingyu looked at Zhang Biao's anxious face and asked: "How did you lose your defense?"

  "The position has been held, but my company now only has two wounded soldiers left. From the company commander down to three platoon leaders and more than a dozen deputy platoon leaders, all have sacrificed." Zhang Biao said with some difficulty swallowing his words.

  "What's going on? Who gave the order to retreat, and why didn't you give the order for them to take cover in the artillery trenches when the enemy's cannons fired just now?" Zhang Mingyu asked angrily.

  "Commander, the little devils have changed their tactics this time. First, they sent a team of kamikazes to charge up, but just as our soldiers were desperately blocking the enemy, the devils' big guns also opened fire. Our soldiers couldn't retreat, so they had no choice but to lie in the trenches and endure the bombing! Over 100 brothers, more than 30 of whom followed me from Nanjing, we survived the horrors of Nanjing, but didn't expect to fall here." Zhang Biao said, bursting into tears.

  Zhang Mingyu didn't have the heart to listen to Zhang Biao's crying at this time, and immediately scolded: "You're crying for nothing, is there no death in war? Our brothers are dead, we must avenge them. The devils have a dare-to-die corps, don't we? The devils are charging, I'll organize a dare-to-die corps to go up against them! Damn it, the little Japanese and I are competing in numbers, now China lacks everything except people."

  Upon hearing Zhang Mingyu's curse, Zhang Biao immediately stopped crying and seemed to have thought of something. He cursed, "You damn little devil, I'll screw your grandma, return my brother's life!" As he spoke, he ran out of the command center and rushed straight to the front line.

  Heguchi Kei saw his subordinates all fall down in the telescope, and he couldn't help but frown: "Baga, at this rate, even if our army takes over Tōgun County, we will suffer heavy casualties."

  An aide beside him said: "Don't worry, Commander. The division commander just sent a telegram saying that we must capture Teng County at all costs to open up the road to Taierzhuang for our 10th Division and support our main force's attack from the south, thus achieving the goal of the entire Xuzhou Campaign. Even if our brigade is wiped out, it will be glorious."

  "Mr. Nakamura is right," said Hikarigawa, nodding his head. "For the sake of His Majesty the Emperor and the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, even if we all die, it will be worth it."

  PS: Got up a bit late today, so the update is slightly delayed! The second update will still be around 4:30 pm. Brothers, please support Autumn Wind! Vote for me, collect and click on membership!