The armies commanded by General Xue Yue and the divisions of the 11th Army commanded by Okamura Neiji began to fight fiercely in the southern battlefield from June until October. Both sides fought repeatedly on the southern battlefield throughout the summer.
Although the Chinese troops on the southern battlefield successfully defeated Okamura Neiji's 11th Army's plan to cut off the Guangdong-Han Railway and implement a strategic encirclement of Wuhan.
However, the Chinese team, which had been fighting fiercely without any rest, had been fighting fiercely for several months, and they had reached their limits both mentally and physically.
Among the various troops that besieged the 106th Division of Wanjialing, not only did they lack the weapons and equipment to attack the enemy, but they were all exhausted from fighting for several months, and their combat effectiveness was greatly reduced.
In the mist-shrouded mountainous areas, many of the officers and soldiers who lacked logistical supplies were hungry and gritted their teeth fighting against the remaining Japs.
The mountainous areas with overlapping peaks caused a lot of trouble for the exhausted attacking troops. Most of the Japanese fortification trenches were built at high altitudes.
Although the number of Japanese soldiers was getting smaller and smaller as they fought, they still had the geographical advantage of being at a commanding height, and the Chinese officers and soldiers did not have good attack equipment.
We can only rely on the brothers in the demolition team to carry explosive packs and grenades to attack hilltop after hilltop. Not only is the speed slow, but they also have to withstand bombings from Japanese planes in the sky, causing heavy casualties.
Sometimes the troops were about to attack the hilltop occupied by the Japanese. Several Japanese planes swooped down and fired a burst of fire. The exposed Chinese officers and soldiers suffered heavy losses and had to withdraw, thus all previous efforts were wasted.
Sometimes it would take most of a day to capture a hilltop that was only defended by more than a dozen Japanese soldiers. The bombing would come before they could even stand firm, leaving the brothers in a panic.
After the Japanese released poison gas in the mountainous areas, the air flow in the mountains was not smooth, and many places were covered by the poisonous gas that persisted for a long time, causing the exhausted Chinese officers and soldiers to suffer a lot.
Although there were many difficulties, in order to win, the Chinese officers and soldiers still rushed forward one after another, advancing meter by meter. It was only a matter of time before the Matsuura Division was completely annihilated.
"If you persist for the last five minutes, you will definitely be able to annihilate the Matsuura Division!"
The officers also knew that the troops had been fighting for several months and were almost exhausted from dragging their tired bodies to fight tough battles in the mountains, so they continued to encourage the troops.
What is at stake now is not only the weapons, equipment and numbers of both sides, but more often the fighting will of the soldiers on both sides.
Yang Ling and others took over the area responsible for the 6th Preliminary Division, which went south to block the attack. Because the mountains were filled with poisonous gas, they briefly gathered and rested on the night of the 8th.
Many brothers in the regiment were separated during the battle. It is not known whether they were sacrificed or lost in the mountains. In short, the number of brothers in the regiment was reduced a lot again.
Yang Ling also followed the troops and fought several contact battles with the Japanese. The mud and smoke mixed with sweat made him so dirty that he couldn't see his true face, but he still insisted on fighting on the front line.
Before launching another attack on the Japanese, Yang Ling summoned the battalion and company commanders who were still able to fight and readjusted their deployment.
However, more than half of the battalion and company commanders were able to participate in this brief battlefield meeting, and most of them were injured in the battle.
Shunzi, the acting commander of one of the battalions, was shot by a Japanese skirmisher hiding in the grass. The bullet penetrated his left shoulder and he was sent down.
Second Battalion Commander Chen Ming received a bloody gash in his thigh when he was encircling and suppressing a small group of Japanese soldiers, and now he has lost his combat effectiveness.
There has been no news since the third battalion commander Liu Yidao and his death squad entered the mountain. At this moment, his life and death are unknown, and he does not know where he went.
Looking at the ragged officers gathered around, Yang Ling felt bad, but war is a battlefield, and there is no mercy or sympathy at all. Being alive is already the greatest luck.
"I won't say any more nonsense. When the war has reached this point, we have no way out, otherwise we will be sorry for those brothers who shed their blood and sacrificed their lives. I know that everyone is tired from continuous fighting, but they gritted their teeth and held on. The Japanese have already
It’s almost gone.”
In fact, there was no need for Yang Ling to say anything. They all understood that the little Jaap was in danger. If the Japs hadn't released the poison gas, the Japs might have been doomed by now.
"Team leader, believe us, we can continue to fight!" Deputy Battalion Commander Qin Shou said, his eyes red with murder, and he patted his chest with murderous intent.
Yang Ling looked across the faces of the other officers. None of them spoke, but their eyes told Yang Ling that they would not take a step back.
The Chinese *** team is lucky to have such a large number of officers and soldiers who are willing to die and fight. At least the Japs will no longer be able to attack cities and seize territory as easily as before. They have to pay something.
"Our attack cannot stop. The Japs have airdrops. Once they get supplies of ammunition and materials, the battle will be even more difficult. I will personally bring my brothers with gas masks in later to continue the fight. You wait until the poisonous gas dissipates.
Keep up..."
Every Japanese soldier was equipped with a gas mask, and they had already planned to fire gas bombs at the Chinese troops, but they did not expect that they would be surrounded and annihilated here, and that they would be beaten so badly.
Yang Ling and the others collected a lot of gas masks from the corpses of Japanese soldiers on the black smoke-filled battlefield. Most of the gas masks were broken into pieces by close range slashing and had holes punched through by bullets.
There are only a little over 200 that can be used when gathered together, but it is enough. After this night, the poisonous gas will be almost gone, and by then the last barrier of the Japanese will be wiped out.
"Tuanzu, let me take people in, you stay."
The remaining Japs were crowded in an area of several square kilometers. The more the troops pushed in, the more tenacious the Japs resisted. Qin Shou was worried about Yang Ling's safety and rushed to leave.
"Team leader, I'll take the brothers in..." Company Commander Su Er also spoke.
Luo Youcai, Zhang Heizi and others were also eager to give it a try and did not want Yang Ling, the leader of the regiment, to be in danger.
"Stop talking, this matter is settled. You have a good meal and a good sleep, and then we will work together to destroy the Japs. The remaining Japs have to rely on you." Yang Ling rejected the brothers' kindness.
The brothers had been fighting for several days and had barely slept at all. Yang Ling knew that if he continued to let them fight against the Japanese despite exhaustion, it would be better to let them have a good night's rest to recharge their batteries.
Soon, the brothers in the cooking class brought the cold steamed buns up from behind. Yang Ling and the brothers who were on the attack hurriedly had dinner, put on gas masks and set off.
The battlefield was filled with flames and black smoke, and the poisonous gas released by the Japanese made the battlefield dangerous.
Yang Ling and his two hundred brothers formed an attack formation, carefully passed through the weak areas of the poison gas, and under the cover of night, quietly entered the last defensive area of the Japanese.
"Tuanzu, there are Japanese soldiers in front of you, do you want to fight them?"
The Japanese rearranged many troops in a dangerous area, and Yang Ling and the others didn't go far before they ran into them.
"Go around, let's just attack the Japanese headquarters."
Although it was easy for Yang Ling and his two hundred or so men to capture a Japs position, the sound of gunshots would alert the Japs nearby, making it difficult to continue fighting.
The main purpose of Yang Ling personally leading the team in this time was to behead people, take away the Japs' headquarters one by one, paralyze their command system, and see how the Japs would fight, and this was Yang Ling's specialty.