On the chaotic battlefield, the fiercely fighting Wolf Squadron, led by Makino Kanichi, was almost in a deserted state.
The Wolf Squadron is not only equipped with hundreds of submachine guns, but their tactical literacy is also much higher than that of the Japanese regular troops.
The Continental Advance Team to which the Wolf Squadron belongs is one of the three special operations forces established by the Japanese in China, including the Masuko Advance Team and the Skeleton Special Forces operating in other areas.
But now, after encountering several attacks from the Northern Jiangsu Guerrilla Corps, the Skeleton Special Forces have all been buried in the mountains of southern Shandong, completely becoming history.
The Wolf Squadron is just one of the special operations squadrons under the Mainland Advancement Corps, but their powerful combat effectiveness still surprised the captain of the Japanese 233rd Regiment.
Because the Wolf Squadron is well-equipped and has high tactical literacy, regular squadrons are almost no match for them, whether in close combat or gunfights.
The Wolf Squadron was like a sharp knife, poking countless holes in the already shaky Chinese defense line. No one could stop them at all.
"Kill Gai Gai!"
The Japanese regular troops of the 233rd Regiment behind them used every opportunity to follow the gap opened by the Wolf Squadron and rushed forward, then swept towards both wings.
In less than half an hour, the 123rd Division's defense line was shattered and it encountered a serious crisis. Calls for help came to the temporary command post of the 123rd Division one after another.
"Hold on, hold on!"
The commander of the 123rd Division, Zeng Xiandong, now has no extra soldiers at his disposal. He cannot provide reinforcements to the various units, so he can only force them to carry out their duties.
However, facing the already strong regular Japanese troops, and now with a sharp knife like the Wolf Squadron coming in, the 123rd Division could not hold the line of defense no matter how hard it tried.
"Master, retreat quickly. If you don't retreat, our division will be finished."
Facing the troops that had been divided into various places, the combat staff could no longer bear it and hurriedly persuaded the division commander Zeng Xiandong to evacuate.
"I can't explain to the military commanders that we are evacuating now. I have no words to face my dead brothers." Seeing that the defense line was about to collapse, division commander Zeng Xiandong was helpless and burst into tears.
"Report, the left wing position has been breached."
"Reporting to the Division, Highland No. 3 has been lost!"
...
"You guys should retreat quickly and take the brothers out alive." Seeing that it was impossible to stop the little Japs, the division commander Zeng Xiandong did not force the brothers to die and could only let them withdraw.
"Master, what about you?"
"I swear to live and die with the position! Fight to the bitter end with the Japs!" Division Commander Zeng Xiandong said with blood-red eyes.
"Master, let's go together!" the staff advised one after another.
"No, if we all leave, it will be an unauthorized retreat. I stayed and you retreated under my order. The military will never make things difficult for you. You go quickly!" Division Commander Zeng Xiandong urged.
"We will die together! Let us go together!" The deputy division commander walked into the command post, looked at the guards and staff officers around him and said, "What are you doing standing still? Cover the transfer of the division seat!"
As the artillery roared outside, the guards and staff realized what they were doing. They hurriedly lifted up the division commander Zeng Xiandong and retreated. No matter how hard the division commander Zeng Xiandong struggled, they refused to let go.
"Order all units to immediately retreat to Xiangyang and break away from contact with the Japanese!" the deputy division commander issued the order to retreat.
Following the order, the troops of the 123rd Division, which had been locked in a bitter battle, immediately launched a breakout and retreated towards Xiangyang.
The 233rd Regiment of the Japanese 39th Division left one unit to clean up the battlefield, while the other unit followed the retreating 123rd Division and launched a pursuit.
When the entire defense line of the 123rd Division fell, the 122nd and 124th Divisions under the 41st Army also fell back under the powerful Japanese offensive. The entire 41st Army's defense line was broken through by the Japanese.
General Li Zongren, commander of China's Fifth Theater Command, who had already reacted, urgently transferred the 18th Army trained in Sichuan to Yichang to serve as a garrison. At the same time, the 75th and 94th Army rushed back to the west bank of the Han River to try to block the Japanese attack.
At the same time, the 29th, 31st, and 33rd Army Groups also immediately launched an attack, trying to contain other Japanese divisions. The war that was thought to be over began again with great vigor.
While all Chinese troops were urgently mobilizing to contain the attacking Japanese troops, the 41st Army, which had retreated to the vicinity of Xiangyang, also held an urgent military meeting.
An army faced the attack of several elite Japanese divisions and was completely defeated before it could hold on for even a day.
In the temporary military headquarters on the outskirts of Xiangyang City, the senior generals of the 41st Army were present, as were the disgraced division commanders.
"You are all a bunch of losers. You can't last even a day. What use do I need from you!"
Sun Zhen, commander of the 41st Army, who was in an extremely bad mood, cursed the retreating division commanders.
The three division commanders had just come off the battlefield, and they were all disgraced and filled with grievances.
Everyone thought that after more than 20 days of fighting, the Japanese were exhausted and unable to fight anymore, and would retreat to their original garrison as before.
Unexpectedly, this time the little Japanese unexpectedly did not retreat, but instead launched a further attack. The Chinese team, which had been fighting hard for half a month, was caught off guard and was immediately defeated.
"Military seat, it's not that the brothers didn't fight hard, it's that the Japanese were too powerful. They only fired artillery for more than an hour. All the brothers in our battalion were blown up before our eyes. There were no bones left."
"Yes, Military Seat, the Japs are obviously well prepared this time. There are only three Japs regiments opposite our division. That's a full nine infantry brigades. If you retreat quickly, I'm afraid you will be gone now."
You can’t see me anymore.”
"Our division also fought against the Japs. We could have defended it, but suddenly a troop using submachine guns suddenly appeared among the Japs' troops. With such a sudden attack, the defense line collapsed..."
The division commanders who came back from the battlefield all escaped death, and each had their own reasons. Although Army Commander Sun Zhen lost his temper, he could not evacuate all the division commanders because he was not punished.
And this time he also felt puzzled, how could the Japs be so familiar with their situation? Not only was their 41st Army defeated across the board, but other troops also encountered the same situation. The Japs seemed to know them well, even their locations.
Clearly.
In fact, the suspicion of Sun Zhen, commander of the 41st Army, was unfounded because the secrecy work of the Chinese Army was not in place.
Therefore, the telegrams of the Fifth Theater Headquarters and various group armies and armies were secretly monitored by the Japanese. As a result, the Japanese's deployment of the Chinese *** Team was very clear, while the Chinese *** Team's deployment of the Japanese was twofold.
His eyesight goes dark, so he often loses battles in a daze.
"boom!"
"Da da da......"
Just as the senior generals of the 41st Army's Provisional Military Headquarters gathered together to discuss re-building a defense line in Xiangyang, gunfire suddenly rang out not far away, and the exchange of fire soon became intense.
"Damn, what's going on outside?"
Hearing the exchange of fire outside, the meeting could no longer continue. The officers all drew their weapons and prepared to fight.
"Report, there is a small group of Japanese soldiers coming towards here. Sirs, please move quickly." Soon a guard came panting to report.
"The little Japs are really arrogant. Tell the secret service company to kill these little Japs!" Upon hearing that they were from the small band of Japs, Army Commander Sun Zhen immediately slammed the table.
However, not long after the guard who delivered the order went out, he hurried back again with blood on his face.
"Sir, sir, the agents can't be beaten and can't stand it for long. The devils are here. Move quickly."
"Military seat, I'm afraid this is the enemy we encountered on the battlefield. They are very powerful. It's better for us to avoid their sharp edges." Zeng Xiandong, commander of the 123rd Division, stood up hurriedly and said.