Devil's Army

Wu Lang did not give Liu Yaohua's Sixth Brigade any combat orders, but instead asked them to rest for two days. He said to Liu Yaohua:

"Our Tangshan base is at a critical juncture, and the Japanese Fifth Division, which is responsible for encircling and suppressing our Tangshan base, has reached its limit. It is unable to launch a large-scale attack on us. Terauchi Hisaichi transferred the Sixth Division of the First Army of Kozuki Seiji to reinforce, but it was held up by the Eighth Route Army and cannot come in a short time. You should rest for two days, and arrange the combat mission the day after tomorrow morning."

Liu Yaohua did not refuse. Their Sixth Brigade had traveled a long distance from the tribe to Jixian County, Tangshan, and they were indeed a little tired and needed to rest for a day or two.

When Liu Yaohua returned to the military camp in the evening, the commander, political commissar and deputy commanders of the Sixth Brigade all gathered around him and asked about tomorrow's combat mission.

Liu Yaohua smiled and asked everyone:

“Aren’t you tired?”

"It doesn't matter if we are a little tired, our comrades are bleeding and sacrificing their lives on the front line!"

"I heard from Commander He that the current battle line has been held, and the Japanese army is temporarily unable to launch a large-scale attack on us. However, Commander Terauchi Hisaichi has transferred his Sixth Division to reinforce us. We must crush the Japanese's large-scale encirclement and suppression before the Sixth Division of the Japanese army arrives."

"We will ask Commander-in-Chief He for help tomorrow and defeat the Japanese Fifth Division, which is currently at its last gasp." a regiment commander requested.

"Okay, all of you go back and rest. I'll go to Commander He tomorrow morning to ask for a fight!"

The next morning at about six o'clock, Liu Yaohua arrived at the headquarters. Wulang and Huilang were both there, discussing some battle.

"Yaohua is here, come and have a drink of water." Gray Wolf greeted.

"Hello, Deputy Commander! By the way, when I came in just now, I heard you and Commander-in-Chief He discussing the battle. Is there any problem in the Tangshan base?"

"We are not talking about the Tangshan base, but about the Central China battlefield."

"Oh?" Liu Yaohua also sat over to listen. He knew very little about the Central China battlefield.

"By the way, Deputy Commander, the Battle of Songhu was so brutal last year. Didn't the Nanjing government ask us to send troops?"

"Of course there weren't any. When the Battle of Songhu just started, the Nanjing government asked us to send three or five brigades to participate in the war."

"So how do you respond to them?"

"Has he paid us in the past few years? What else should we reply? Just say the troops have no pay, lack of ammunition and food, and there is no way to get through."

"Deputy Commander, Commander-in-Chief He, is the battlefield in Central China more intense than our battlefield in North China?" Liu Yaohua asked.

"It was more than fierce, it could be said to be tragic. In the Battle of Shanghai, the Nanjing government sent 70 troops to participate in the war. Under the bombardment of Japanese aircraft and heavy artillery, some regiments of the Nanjing government army could not even hold out for a day. The entire Shanghai battlefield was like a huge meat grinder, devouring the lives of Chinese soldiers." Wu Lang explained to Liu Yaohua.

"In fact, Commander Leng and I also considered sending troops to participate in the Battle of Nanjing to prevent the Nanjing Massacre from happening. But at that time, the battle in North China was raging, and the Japanese troops in the old base area were constantly clashing with us. So we gave up the idea."

"We can arrange two brigades to reinforce the Battle of Nanjing, just like we did when we sent them to Chahar." Brigade Commander Liu's thinking was still focused on a medium-scale battle with the Japanese army.

"Do you know how many troops the Japanese army deployed in the Battle of Nanjing?" Wu Lang asked.

Liu Yaohua shook his head, he really didn't know.

"The Japanese army has deployed about 20 troops from the Central China Front. If we put all our forces into it, we may be able to fight them. Sending only one or two brigades may affect the local battlefield, but it cannot change the outcome of the Battle of Nanjing."

"We have worked hard in our old base for many years, and the Japanese hate us to the core. If our old base is short of troops, there is no guarantee that the Japanese will launch a massacre against our old base as well. Maybe our old base will become the second Nanjing Massacre!" Wu Lang continued.

"Deputy Commander, Commander-in-Chief He, how many of our compatriots did the Japanese kill in Nanjing?"

"30!" Gray Wolf said with a heavy heart.

"How much? 30?" Liu Yaohua was so shocked that he couldn't close his mouth.

"Is this number too small? The Japanese army used shooting, grenades, knives, disembowelment, burning, and burying to massacre the Chinese soldiers and civilians who had laid down their arms."

"This is equivalent to twice the total strength of our First Anti-Japanese Army!" Liu Yaohua still found it hard to believe.

"The main perpetrators of the Nanjing Massacre were the 68th Division of the th Division of the Japanese Army, as well as the th Regiment of the rd Division of the Shanghai Expeditionary Army, the th Division, the th Division, the th Division, the Yamada Detachment and the Kunizaki Detachment. We must remember these Japanese army numbers and show no mercy to them when we meet them on the battlefield." Gray Wolf went on to explain to Liu Yaohua.

"The other Japanese troops that participated in the Nanjing Massacre are relatively far away from us, but one of them is right in front of us." Wu Lang pointed to Dangyu Town, north of Xiaoguanzhuang Airport on the sand table, and said to Liu Yaohua.

"Which unit?" Liu Yaohua asked gritting his teeth.

"The Kunisaki Detachment of the Japanese Fifth Division!"

Liu Yaohua looked at Dangyu Town with his eyes almost blazing with fire, and immediately challenged Gray Wolf to a fight.