The Japanese assembled heavy troops and launched a large-scale attack on Wuhan, hoping to force China to surrender by force. However, millions of Chinese people relied on the Dabie Mountains, Poyang Lake and other favorable terrain outside Wuhan to resist tenaciously.
The stubborn resistance of the Chinese people caused the Japanese offensive troops to fall into a quagmire of bitter fighting. Although the troops were sharp, their advancement was extremely slow in the complex terrain environment.
The battlefield on the northern front was fought in darkness and rivers of blood flowed. The battlefields south of the Yangtze River also plunged the Japanese into bitter fighting.
Several elite divisions commanded by the commander of the Eleventh Army, Okamura Neiji, fought hard for a summer under the constant resistance of the troops of the Ninth Theater District. In addition to losing troops and generals, they achieved very few results. They were not even able to capture De'an.
The Japanese divisions fighting on the southern front not only had to face the guns and artillery of Chinese officers and soldiers who preferred death to surrender, but also endured the test of scorching heat.
Most of the Japanese soldiers are not adapted to the scorching heat of southern China's summers, and the daily non-combat attrition has given the Japanese commanders a big headache.
In the harsh combat environment, the Japs' combat effectiveness was greatly reduced. Even so, the Japs' attack was still fierce.
The fierce attack of the Japanese 27th Division on Ruiwu Road put the defenders' defense line in jeopardy, forcing Commander Xue of the Chinese First Corps to transfer troops from the battlefield at Mahuiling to Ruiwu Road to deploy defenses to strengthen the defense.
Several divisions of troops were transferred from the Mahuiling area to deploy defenses on the Ruiwu Road line, which suddenly increased the defensive pressure on the Mahuiling line, and Yang Ling and the others were the first to bear the brunt.
Fortunately, the Corps Commander-in-Chief also considered that the frontline troops had been fighting the Japanese for several months and that all the troops had reached the point of exhaustion.
As the strength of the defense line weakens, if the position is breached, there will not be enough troops to block the gap. If a position is breached, a chain reaction will occur, which is very likely to eventually lead to a great rout just like what happened in the Shanghai area.
The senior staff officers of the First Corps finally unanimously suggested that they hope that the troops would actively retreat from the Mahuiling line to the Wushimen and Yongfeng Bridge lines to implement a shrinking defense.
The combat plan submitted by the staff was quickly approved by Commander Xue, and orders were immediately issued to the forward divisions, requiring cover for the retreat.
When Battalion Commander Liu Yidao heard that Commander Xue had withdrawn several divisions from the front to reinforce Ruiwu Road, he immediately felt heavy pressure.
Although the new recruits in their army have been tempered by the flames of war and have grown up rapidly, they have not yet reached the strength to fight against the Japanese.
Liu Yidao was not afraid of death. Anyway, he had been through the gate of hell several times. But if the enemy broke through the defense line, it would be a serious crime.
Just as Liu Yidao was about to ask Yang Ling solemnly if he could end the battle and pull up all the troops to strengthen the defense line, Yang Ling spoke again.
"In view of the fact that Ma Huiling's defense line is too wide, Commander Xue has ordered the troops to retreat to Wushimen and shrink the defense along the Yongfeng Bridge line."
"Want to retreat?" Liu Yidao's expression turned from worry to joy.
It's not that Liu Yidao is greedy for life and fear of death, but that with the current state of his army, they really don't have the ability to fight against the Japanese. He doesn't want to watch the new recruits who have just been added to the army die before they have grown up.
Yang Ling nodded and said: "The military has ordered that the frontline troops will launch a large-scale counterattack against the Japs across the board to disrupt the Japs' deployment and cover their retreat."
Although the commander-in-chief decided to withdraw the troops to Wushimen and shrink the defense at Yongfeng Bridge, their troops and the Japanese were strangled together, and it was not easy to escape.
The little devils are not fools either. The large-scale retreat of the Chinese army will definitely be noticed by them, once they bite fiercely.
I'm afraid that an active retreat at that time will turn into a huge rout and the same mistakes will be made again, resulting in the same disastrous consequences as the Battle of Songhu.
Whether it is the senior officers in high positions or the ordinary officers and soldiers at the grassroots level, the Chinese ** Corps has grown rapidly under successive fierce battles and actively absorbed the experience and lessons of the disastrous defeat.
Therefore, this time their retreat was not like leaving behind the blocking troops and the Japanese to hold them to death as in the past, but they were preparing to take the initiative to attack, defeat the Japanese and then quickly escape.
After all, it is much easier to break away from the enemy when actively attacking than to evacuate when passively defending, and the losses will be much smaller. After all, the initiative is in your own hands.
When Liu Yidao heard that the troops were going to counterattack across the board, he asked excitedly: "When will the counterattack start?"
Yang Ling replied: "It's ten o'clock in the evening, there are still three hours."
"The entire regiment, except for the service personnel, will be engaged in counterattack operations at night, trying to eliminate more Japs before retreating."
"Then I'll go get ready first." Liu Yidao said and stood up from the ammunition box, excitedly preparing to go out.
After all, instead of sitting in the trenches and being beaten passively, all officers and soldiers want to take the initiative to attack. However, the gap in strength and the offensive and defensive postures of the two sides force them to passively defend most of the time.
Liu Yidao was excited about taking the initiative to launch such a large-scale combat operation across the board, and he couldn't wait to tell his brothers such good news.
"Just inform the company-level officers about the retreat. Don't tell the brothers yet, so as not to affect the counterattack." Yang Ling reminded Liu Yidao from behind.
Liu Yidao paused, nodded, and agreed: "Yes."
It wasn't that Yang Ling wanted to keep his brothers in the dark on purpose, but the brigade headquarters had ordered that the announcement be made at the end of the counterattack to avoid greatly reducing the effectiveness of the counterattack.
Yang Ling also understood the intentions of the brigade. After all, no one would foolishly brave the hail of bullets and launch a fierce attack on the Japanese when they knew they could retreat. After all, everyone knew how to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages.
Yang Ling's implementation of the brigade headquarters' orders was not out of consideration for his personal safety. After all, he, the regiment leader, also needed to lead the team to fight back on the front line, but for the sake of the overall situation.
If the brothers knew the retreat order in advance and did not attack hard enough to disrupt the Japanese combat subordinates during the counterattack, it would affect the subsequent retreat, which would be fatal.
The battlefield situation is changing rapidly. On the pitch-black battlefield, if any troops retreat early, it will affect the entire combat plan, so confidentiality and short notice are the best choice.
The sky had completely darkened, and the taunting gunfire still sounded intermittently in the invisible distance.
The Japanese have stopped large-scale storming. The complicated conditions at night limit the Japanese's field of vision. Their superior artillery fire cannot exert sufficient power, so most of the time they are unwilling to attack at night.
The Japanese would switch to a defensive state at night to recharge their batteries in preparation for the next day's attack. However, because of the cover of night, the Chinese team became more active at night.
It is precisely for this reason that the Chinese ** team will choose to take action at night most of the time. After all, with the cover of night, they can attack or retreat calmly.