ATPnovel The Imperial Guard Division and the 3rd Division that rushed to the rescue in Chapter 239
The Imperial Guard Division and the 3rd Division that rushed to the rescue in Chapter 239
The gunfire gradually subsided, and a brief silence finally returned to the open field.
The vast majority of Japanese troops were annihilated in this area, with only a very small number of survivors managing to slip out through gaps in the defensive line under the cover of darkness before dawn.
The battle ended with the complete annihilation of this reinforced Japanese regiment.
The faint morning light pierced through the morning mist and shone on this war-torn land.
Qiu Qingquan stood on the roof of the Vickers tank, holding a heavy machine gun that had run out of bullets.
Looking at the Japanese corpses scattered all over the ground, he finally released his finger from the trigger, and the machine gun stopped.
Overnight, he actually used up all the thousands of machine gun bullets stored on the tank.
The tank's tracks were covered in congealed blood, bits of flesh, and even fragments of bone.
The armor of the vehicle was splattered with dark red bloodstains, which looked particularly glaring in the morning light.
The Shi River still flows quietly in the distance, and the morning breeze carries the lingering smoke of gunpowder and a heavy smell of blood.
Qiu Qingquan gazed in the direction of Nanjing, slowly closed his eyes, and his chest heaved violently.
Fellow citizens of Nanjing, I have avenged you once again for this blood debt.
He silently repeated the words in his heart, and when he opened his eyes again, the murderous intent in his eyes had not diminished at all.
For Qiu Qingquan, this battle for revenge is far from over.
This battle must continue; they must kill even more Japanese devils.
We must ensure that these blood-stained beasts will never again be able to slaughter the people of this land.
The troops received almost no rest before Hu Zongnan's orders were delivered to Qiu Qingquan.
Hu Zongnan always loved to fight these kinds of victories while the momentum was in his favor.
If we can seize this opportunity to wipe out the entire Japanese 8th Brigade in one fell swoop and achieve our goal in one battle.
As the commander of the First Army, he left a significant mark on the history of the War of Resistance against Japan, and his name will be remembered in history.
Looking at the military order in his hand, Qiu Qingquan's fatigue from a night of fierce fighting vanished instantly.
He clenched the military order in his hand and angrily gave orders to his troops.
"No need to clean up the battlefield! The entire army must assemble immediately and continue the eastward advance!"
"Eliminate the Japanese 8th Mixed Brigade!!!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the engines of the tanks and armored vehicles roared deafeningly once again.
Tall clouds of dust rose into the morning light as the entire tank convoy sped towards the remnants of the Eighth Brigade west of Madian Town.
At this time, the Japanese 8th Brigade was already at its last gasp.
Even including the lightly wounded soldiers who could still fight, there were only a little over two thousand Japanese soldiers left who could continue fighting.
During yesterday's fierce battle, his troops launched repeated attacks on the Third Column's defensive line in Madian Town.
The result was predictable: facing the Third Column's impenetrable network of machine gun fire, as well as precise artillery fire.
In addition, enemy armored units frequently infiltrated and intercepted them from the flanks, so the Japanese offensive made no progress last night.
Not only did they fail to capture even a fraction of the position in Madian Town, but they also suffered heavy losses, losing more than half of their troops.
Of course, what made him most desperate was the news that the troops in the Fenshuiting Township area had been completely wiped out.
Almost no one from the entire reinforced regiment was able to break through the encirclement.
Sei Takehira's request for reinforcements and evacuation to the division headquarters received a chilling reply.
Let reading always be a chapter faster than others.
Just four words: Keep going!
"Why won't we be allowed to retreat?!" Sei Takehira slammed the telegram on the table, roaring with bloodshot eyes.
"At a time like this, what's the point of us continuing to hold out here?!"
"Are we just waiting for those enemies to recover so they can surround and annihilate us?!"
The brigade chief of staff, standing to the side, looked grim and explained cautiously in a low voice.
"Perhaps it's because once our troops retreat, Huoqiu County will be attacked from two or even three sides."
"The main forces of the Sixth and Tenth Divisions may face unprecedented threats."
Having said that, Sei Takehira understood perfectly well.
The current 8th Mixed Brigade has become a pawn used to lure the Nationalist army's attacking forces.
As for how long this expendable pawn can hold out, it all depends on whether the opposing Nationalist army has the will to completely defeat them.
It all depends on how long Seibu Hei can hold out with this remnant force.
"The only consolation is that the division command promised to send us at least one regiment of reinforcements before nightfall."
Seeing that Sei Takehira was on the verge of collapse, the chief of staff quickly added a sentence, trying to give him some hope.
Seibu Hei remained silent for a long time, staring at the location on the map where he was surrounded, his fingers clenched until they turned white.
Finally, he gritted his teeth and squeezed out the order.
"Abandon the offensive towards Madian Town, and the entire army should consolidate its defensive lines and hold their ground!"
He verbally gave the order to hold the line, but in his heart he had no confidence at all.
Can they really hold out until nightfall with only these two thousand or so defeated soldiers?
Even though the enemy forces in the direction of Fenshuiting Township had been fighting fiercely all night and were a weary army.
But his own troops were also exhausted and running out of ammunition.
If this Nationalist army was determined to wipe them out, they might not live to see the daylight completely darken.
Hundreds of kilometers away in Hefei, the Japanese Second Army headquarters also spent the night without sleep.
Nishio Toshizo stood in front of a huge battle map, holding in his hand an urgent telegram jointly sent by the 6th and 10th Divisions.
The telegram clearly stated that the western defenses had completely collapsed.
Now only the area west of Madian Town remains, with the remnants of the Eighth Brigade still struggling to hold on.
However, the Sixth and Tenth Divisions at present cannot spare any reinforcements to rescue them.
Because the offensive pressure exerted by Li Jianghe's third column on the front was simply too great.
Especially last night, after completely losing air support, the Third Column's attack became even more ferocious.
The 6th and 10th Divisions' defensive positions on the front lines have been breached one after another, and their defensive lines are in grave danger.
Although they destroyed many of the Third Column's armored vehicles, the enemy's armored vehicles seemed to come in an endless stream.
Even if dozens of vehicles are destroyed, it will not cause significant losses to the enemy's tank force.
The gaps in the defense line are only getting bigger and bigger, and they simply can't be plugged.
Chief of Staff Naosaburo Okabe stood to the side, his face tense and his voice tinged with anxiety.
"Given the current situation, if we still want to maintain our army's presence in the Huainan region, we should not choose to retreat."
"Then the only option is to immediately send the Imperial Guard Division and the 13th Division north to provide support; there is no other way."