Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 193 The Japanese Army Isn't the Only One with Madmen

"General, the death squads from each battalion have been counted. They all volunteered, totaling over 3,600."

In the operations room, Tao Jun's adjutant reported with a very serious expression.

"More than 3,000 people volunteered?"

Tao Jun was also slightly surprised when he heard this. After all, the lives of the Chinese in Southeast Asia are very precious. Mr. Zheng's ideas on military management are completely different from the traditional military management concepts, which leads to his soldiers all cherishing their lives.

I didn't expect that when we were about to carry out a mission that would ensure our death, so many people would volunteer to sign up.

"There are too many people. We can't use them. Mr. Zheng specifically emphasized that no more than ten people can be left in each tunnel. Any more would be meaningless and would be a waste of sacrifice. Besides, the supplies we prepared are not enough."

"Eight hundred and twenty people, no more. Go down and ask if anyone is willing to withdraw. Life is precious. Don't let impulsive actions lead to regret."

"We still have plenty of ammunition in Pattani, so we can keep fighting for at least two or three more days. Think carefully before you go to bed at night. We'll count again tomorrow. If there are still too many people, we'll have to draw lots."

As he said this, Tao Jun couldn't help but smile bitterly.

He used to be a member of the Guangxi clique, which has always had a tradition of using death squads, but in the past they would just draw death lots.

And now, actually... uh, I'm also drawing a death lottery.

[Is this what Mr. Zheng called a first-class army?]

Of course, he also had a part to play in this. If he had not been the leader of an army and had not volunteered to stay behind and die as a cover, there probably wouldn't have been so many people signing up.

But the problem is that you really can’t use so much.

To put it bluntly, Zheng Yi just wants to make Pattani more desert-like.

A guerrilla force mainly composed of local Malays will also be left in Pattani, mainly engaged in mountain guerrilla warfare, responsible for cutting off transportation lines and the like.

It is hard to say how many Japanese soldiers were killed or wounded by cooperating with these urban guerrillas who relied on tunnels and towns, but it was still possible to make the Japanese soldiers panic, or to delay the Japanese army's armaments and advance speed through special operations such as destroying important infrastructure and material warehouses.

At least, it can annoy the Japanese army for a while.

However, Patani is not Gaza after all.

Firstly, the operation time is still short, and the tunnel excavation time is even shorter, so it is not as well-connected as the Gaza tunnels.

Besides, the soldiers in Gaza have the Yaxin 105 in their hands. If that thing was used in World War II, it would be a damn artifact.

Second, and most importantly, the Japanese army is not the Israeli army.

Although equally militaristic, the modern Israeli army does behave in many ways very similar to the Showa Japanese army.

But if you really compare the two, it's actually a bit insulting to both Japan and China.

Although the Japanese army in the Showa era was stupid and bad, they were at least brave. They were typical of being cruel to the enemy and to themselves. Their cruelty to the enemy was often a release of the high pressure within the army.

The inhumanity of the Showa Japanese army was gradually erased by the high-intensity PUA of fascist militarism. They were inhumane to the enemy and to themselves.

As for the Israeli army, they were nothing after getting off the plane.

To put it bluntly, there is no other way to deal with this kind of tunnel warfare. It is to use light infantry to carpet search the tunnel entrance, and then use light infantry to go down the tunnel and fight with the enemy.

As for tactics like flooding the system with water or poison, there's no mention of whether these tactics are effective or not. It's like saying, "I have a very effective cockroach medicine. As long as I find this cockroach, pry its mouth open and feed it to you, it will definitely kill it."

So, do you think this cockroach medicine is useful or not?

The Israeli army in Gaza did not dare to use light infantry to find the entrance to the tunnel because it was too easy to be ambushed.

Even if they really found the entrance to the tunnel, they might not dare to report it to their superiors.

What if your superior sends you down to investigate?
To put it bluntly, the essence of tunnel warfare is actually a competition of ruthlessness. People who dig tunnels are fighting with their lives, and there is no chance of survival. If you want to break the tunnel warfare, you have to risk your life to break it.

Relying on the city, both sides used the most cruel and relatively primitive way of warfare to mince meat and fight bloody battles.

The Israeli army was not so ruthless, so they were beaten so badly.

But the Japanese army,

They really do.

Therefore, in Zheng Yi's opinion, the 82 tunnels left in Pattani would sooner or later be discovered by the Japanese army and minced.

In a terrain like a tunnel, the brave will win when they meet on a narrow road. Why do we need so many people?

Ten people are more than enough, any more would be a waste.

Their goal is to harass, delay time, and disrupt logistics, not to kill one to break even and kill two to make a profit.

In Zheng Yi's mind, if a Chinese from Southeast Asia kills ten Japanese devils, it will be compensation.

There was no conversation that night, and the Japanese and Confederate troops were still firing artillery at each other.

"General, this is today's list. There are 5,500 people in total."

"Why are you still thinking about this all night long?"

"Yeah, I've been thinking about it all night, and some of those who didn't sign up yesterday are regretting it."

Tao Jun: “…………”

There is nothing more to say, let’s draw lots.

He only has more than 20,000 Chinese elites under his command. If he really leaves 5,000 of them to die, that would be nonsense.

On that day, the Chinese who drew the lot were very excited. They held their heads high and chests puffed out, their eyes became arrogant, and they even showed off. It was not until the hand-cranked camera was pointed at them that they showed a serious expression one by one and began to introduce themselves solemnly.

Some people say that everyone who dares to die can leave a last message in front of the camera and make a wish to Mr. Zheng. As long as it is not too excessive, Mr. Zheng will help as much as possible.

For a moment, those who got the autographs faced the camera and started talking about Zheng Yi as if he were a Dragon Ball.

Those who failed to draw the lot were dejected, as if they had lost their parents.

There is absolutely no clue at all. This is a draw to die. If you don't know, you would think it is a draw to win a prize.

Around three o'clock in the afternoon, the army began to purposefully destroy the heavy artillery that was inconvenient to move, and left as many light machine guns, grenade launchers, and small flat-range cannons as possible to the 800 tunnel warriors who stayed behind. They also left behind bullets, delicious food, drinks, and cigarettes, and began to slowly retreat.

The Japanese army also planned to send out advance troops to see if they could gain any advantage.

As a result, they were naturally beaten back by a suicide squad that had already decided to stay.

In urban street fighting, sometimes a corner and a heavy machine gun can suppress an entire squadron of enemy troops.

The Japanese army did not realize the seriousness of the problem and only thought that the Southern Army was about to withdraw and left troops behind to cover their retreat.

Any normal army with a sound mind would certainly not be willing to engage in street fighting. Seeing that the rearguard troops of the Confederate Army were so brave, they simply retreated and stopped attacking. After all, the Confederate Army had been fighting and retreating for such a long time.

They just need to wait for all the Southern Alliance members to retreat, and then they can officially take over the city.

"These Chinese in SAARC have lost their fighting spirit in their affluent lives. Although their weapons and equipment are far superior to those at home, they lack the courage to fight to the death with our army. Instead, they are far inferior to ordinary soldiers at home."

This has been the evaluation of the Japanese army since its confrontation with the Yugoslav Allied Forces.

After all, after fighting for more than two months, the Japanese army's gains did not exceed a thousand. Everyone fired a lot of bullets and artillery shells, but the casualties were very small.

"An inferior Asian army infected with European customs" but no one really expected that Tao Jun, who had always been looked down upon by them, fought and retreated, and was contemptuously called "General Paopao" by them, had stayed with his death-defying guard squad.

And staying with him were 800 warriors who completely disregarded life and death.

In fact, it’s more than 800.

However, in this long, retreating SAARC army, a company of people whose service was slightly different from that of other Chinese people were dejected and listless as they retreated.

They are those who registered before but did not get a chance to draw a lottery.

But suddenly someone shouted, "Hey, people from Teochew, is there anyone among you who can speak Thai?"

"Everyone couldn't help but turn to look at him."

"I can speak Thai, what do you want?"

"I want to stay."

"You haven't even drawn the death lottery, so why are you keeping it? Didn't you hear what the general said? It's meaningless, and there's not enough supplies."

"I don't care. My wife was in Nanjing before, and now I can't contact her. Since it's the Ju Army that's here, I'm going to avenge my wife and child no matter what. Is there any brother who can speak Thai, please help me."

“Why do you need to know Thai?”

"I want to pretend to surrender by pretending to be a Thai."

For a moment, the team that was originally marching with its head down suddenly stopped.

"It seems... feasible. I heard that the Japanese accepted Thai people and they are allies with the Thais."

"Those Thai people are really unreliable."

"Who in the Chaozhou gang knows Thai? Let's go together?"

"Me, I'm dark, I look like a Thai."

“I’m short, and I look Thai too.”

"I want to stay too. Maybe I can kill a few more."

Someone scolded, "What are you doing? Didn't the general say he doesn't need more people? Mr. Zheng once said that we should stay alive and die in a worthwhile way."

Another person also said: "Didn't Mr. Zheng also say that the opinions of the frontline soldiers should be fully respected in how to fight on the front line? Eight hundred people are enough to stay in Pattani, but the war is not over yet, right?"

"Yes, Mr. Zheng said that we soldiers should decide for ourselves whether to fight or retreat, and whether it is worth sacrificing. I am on the front line now. It is up to me to decide whether to die or not."

"That's right. Why don't you let me stay? Brother, your idea is great. If I pretend to be Thai, the Japanese army won't be on guard. Maybe I can get a good result."

"Think carefully. If you pretend to surrender at this time, you may not receive triple compensation if you die."

"Am I doing this for the triple pension? I'm doing this to kill the damn Ju Army and avenge my wife!"

This is actually a bit ridiculous.

In the end, more than a hundred people agreed to the plan, pretending to be Thai, and led by several Teochew people who could speak Thai, chose to disobey orders and walked in the opposite direction.

At this time, the main force of the Japanese army knew that the Southern Allied Forces in Pattani were already evacuating one after another, but they had already lined up in formation, waiting to be taken over.

The Japanese army actually likes to show off.

The Southern Allied Forces left on their own, but it was impossible for them to tell the truth when they sent battle reports to the headquarters.

Yamashita Tomoyuki ordered the cavalry to line up at the front and be the first to enter the city. He also arranged cameras to record the heroic posture of the Japanese army entering the city.

At this time, they saw a small group of only a hundred people, waving white flags, with their hands raised high, shouting loudly in Thai that they could not understand, walking towards them.

Although they don't understand it, they just know it is Thai, and the intonation of Thai is very distinctive.

The Japanese army was somewhat accustomed to this. During this period of time, Thai troops would come and surrender almost every few days.

Is Thailand their ally now?

They were even quite happy.

Seeing that they knelt down before they even got close, the Japanese army reported it. Soon, the commander of the 9th Brigade, who was the vanguard, rode on his horse and walked forward condescendingly, accompanied by an interpreter, and asked:
"How many South Alliance troops are still in Pattani? When will they be completely evacuated? How many rearguard troops are left behind?"

But the intention was to launch a surprise attack after most of the Pattani people had retreated.

After all, if there was a high-intensity close-range fight, it would be difficult for them to explain to the base camp.

Maybe we can even grab some heavy weapons that the Southern Allied Forces haven't had time to transport away.

The leader of the surrendered "Thais" smiled happily, showing his two rows of white teeth, and said in Thai:

"Excuse me, are you a high-ranking officer in the Japanese army?"

"Hmph, I'm the Major General and Commander of the 9th Brigade, Saburo Kawamura."

But the man was overjoyed when he heard this: "He's actually a general?"

"Huh? Baka! Why are you speaking Chinese?"

However, the man chuckled and said, "Brothers, I have earned a brigade commander."

After saying that, he suddenly took off his military uniform, only to find that it was full of explosives.

"The Chinese are pretending to surrender, shoot!"

With a hissing sound, the Southern Allied Forces pulled the fuse, and the Japanese army also fired indiscriminately from behind after reacting.

But at this point, who cares about being shot?
Each of these people had nearly 40 kilograms of high explosives strapped to their bodies, along with some grenades and other items. Adding them together, it weighed more than 4,000 kilograms, equivalent to a large aerial bomb.

"The Major General is mine!"

Bang, bang, bang, bang, he was hit by random bullets, but he was completely unaware. The Chinese man in the lead had red eyes and pounced on him like a mad dog.

"Hahahaha, let's blow up the devils~"

"Long live China, long live the Southern Alliance, long live Mr. Zheng~~"

"Little devil, I fuck your mother~~"

For a moment, everyone was shouting all kinds of slogans, but that was the only one they were shouting. They were acting like human bombs. The fuse was extremely short, and they shouted a few random words. The bullets hit them, and before they could even breathe their last, the explosive packs on their bodies exploded almost at the same time.

When more than 4,000 kilograms of explosives exploded, the huge thrust sent shock waves and grenade fragments rushing mercilessly towards the nearest ones. They were originally standing with their heads held high and their postures as straight as a forest, looking handsome and unrestrained, and they were planning to be the first to step into the cavalry unit of Pattani City.

"Boom~Boom~Boom~"

The continuous and intensive explosions and the overwhelming heat waves seemed like the hysterical roar of this nation that has stood in the world for five thousand years.

The Japanese cavalry company, which was originally posing and waiting for cameras to capture its handsome and heroic appearance, was completely wiped out.

By the way, he also took away a brigade commander who was a major general.

(End of this chapter)