The War of Resistance Against Japan: Special Operations Battalion Traverses Shanghai and Slaughters

Long Fei said mysteriously, "Of course I will cut off the Japanese retreat route. You'll see when the time comes."

Since Long Fei was keeping it a secret and refused to say it beforehand, and seemed quite confident, Gao Hong didn't press him further.

Two hundred Gimsi trucks, carrying seven thousand troops, with more than thirty men in each truck, set off immediately.

Fortunately, the journey was not too far. Although it was nighttime, they arrived at the outskirts of Qixia Mountain in less than an hour.

Long Fei also had everyone change into more than three thousand sets of Japanese military uniforms in case they encountered Japanese troops or checkpoints along the way, so they could get through undetected.

Surprisingly, the journey was smooth sailing; we didn't encounter any Japanese troops or even a single checkpoint.

It seems that the Japanese had pushed all the way to the outskirts of Nanjing, and they thought the National Revolutionary Army had already retreated, so how could there be a force of several thousand men operating behind them?

After getting off the vehicle, Long Fei ordered an immediate telegram to Zhou Weiguo's troops, informing them of the battle plan.

Upon receiving the telegram, Zhou Weiguo immediately replied that he would notify the 41st Division and prepare for a breakout to the southwest.

Ding Zhipan, commander of the 41st Division, received a report from a guard that Zhou Weiguo, commander of the 1st Reserve Regiment of the 87th Division, was requesting an audience.

"Why is Commander Zhou not guarding the position at this time, but running to see me?"

Although Ding Zhipan complained, he thought about it and still asked the guards to invite Zhou Weiguo in.

Upon seeing Ding Zhipan, Zhou Weiguo stood at attention and saluted.

"Commander Ding, I just received a telegram that the First Brigade of the Training Corps and the Longyan Unit have arrived at the outskirts of Qixia Mountain."

"They said they would soon send troops to break through the Japanese encirclement from the southwest and help us break out towards Qianjiadu."

"Commander Zhou, what did you say? Are you kidding me? The First Brigade of the Training Corps is clearly holding the line at Tiger Cave. They have already been surrounded by the Japanese. How could they possibly fall from the sky and come to Qixia Mountain to help us break through?"

"Also, what about the Dragon Flame Force you mentioned? I've never heard of it. Which unit does it belong to?"

Zhou Weiguo certainly wouldn't doubt Long Fei's call.

He had heard of the Dragon Flame Army's exploits and had even met and sparred with Long Fei.

Zhou Weiguo knew that Long Fei was not a person who spoke carelessly, but an excellent soldier and commander.

"Commander Ding, the Longyan Force is a very brave and skilled fighting force, and their commander, Long Fei, is an excellent commander."

"In the Battle of Shanghai, they not only sank four Japanese aircraft carriers, but also annihilated tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers..."

"Wait a moment……"

Ding Zhipan was clearly frightened by Zhou Weiguo's words and hurriedly raised his hand to stop him.

After a while, Ding Zhipan finally let Zhou Weiguo continue.

"Commander Ding, this is a telegram from Long Fei. You can see for yourself that tonight they not only rescued the First Brigade, which was surrounded by the Japanese, but also annihilated the Ninth Regiment under the 19th Brigade of the 16th Division of the Japanese army."

"Long Fei addressed me as brother in the telegram, saying that if I were in trouble, he would save me regardless of his own life."

Although Ding Zhipan held the telegram and could read every word clearly, he still had some doubts.

"Commander Zhou, how many men are in this Dragon Flame Unit? Are they really that good at fighting the Japanese?"

Zhou Weiguo answered truthfully: "As far as I know, they seem to have only a little over a thousand people, but their battle record should be genuine and not fabricated, because I have confirmed it with several unit commanders."

Ding Zhipan fell silent. After being surrounded and cut off by the Japanese, he was prepared to die for his country.

Moreover, tonight he summoned the brigade commanders of his subordinate 121st and 123rd brigades and gave them orders to fight to the death.

But now that a glimmer of hope had suddenly appeared, Ding Zhipan's heart stirred.

"Commander Zhou, do you really think the First Brigade and the Longyan Unit can break through the Japanese encirclement and rescue us?"

Zhou Weiguo nodded emphatically and said, "Of course I believe you, Commander Ding. Long Fei also said in the telegram that after we successfully break through, we should retreat to Qianjiadu to set up defenses, and that we should also launch a surprise attack to cooperate with him in an ambush against the Japanese pursuing troops there."

"what……"

Ding Zhipan hadn't finished reading the telegram earlier, so he quickly picked it up and read it carefully from beginning to end.

"Is this Long Fei really that capable? He even dares to ambush the Japanese. Doesn't he know that there are Japanese troops everywhere here? Isn't he afraid of being surrounded by the Japanese?"

Zhou Weiguo looked at Ding Zhipan's reaction with disdain, glanced at his watch, and urged him on.

"Commander Ding, time is of the essence. Please make a decision quickly. In twenty minutes, Long Fei and his men will begin their operation."

"This……"

Ding Zhipan's expression was extremely solemn at this moment.

However, when he thought that he and his troops might have a chance of survival, he decided to trust Long Fei and follow his decision.

"Alright, let's do as Long Fei said. We'll each gather our troops and then break out to the southwest."

At this time, the Second and Third Companies, along with ten Tiger tanks, were ready to launch an attack at any moment.

Meanwhile, other troops had also completed their ambush at the designated locations.

At this moment, Long Fei ordered the Wild Bee self-propelled artillery to begin shelling the Japanese troops according to the coordinates provided by Zhou Weiguo.

"Whoosh whoosh..."

"Boom boom boom..."

In the pitch-black night, a deafening explosion suddenly rang out, blasting many Japanese soldiers to pieces in their sleep.

The Japanese soldiers who weren't killed or injured by the bombs tried to dodge in all directions after they realized what was happening.

However, unless it is an exceptionally sturdy fortification, it is impossible to withstand a 150mm caliber howitzer.

Ten rounds of shelling, 240 shells were poured onto the Japanese positions, and the encirclement in the southwest of the Japanese became deathly silent after being bombarded.

As soon as the shelling stopped, ten Tiger tanks charged forward at top speed, but encountered no resistance from the Japanese.

This left the crew inside the tank feeling extremely disappointed. Not only did the tank cannon not get a chance to fire, but the machine gun on top couldn't find a target either.

The soldiers of the Second and Third Companies, following behind the Tiger tanks, kept in mind Long Fei's instruction not to linger in battle and pressed forward.

They soon joined forces with Zhou Weiguo's first reserve regiment, as well as the 121st and 123rd brigades under the 41st Division.

Without wasting a minute, they immediately broke through to the southwest and quickly escaped the Japanese encirclement.

By the time reinforcements from other Japanese forces arrived and blocked the gap in the southwest, the 41st Division and the 1st Reserve Regiment had already fled.

Surrounding Qixia Mountain were the 16th Division of the Japanese army, and the 33rd and 38th Regiments of the 30th Brigade.

Brigade Commander Sasaki received a report that the Chinese troops in the encirclement had successfully broken out after being shelled and ambushed, and were fleeing southwest.

This infuriated Sasaki. The duck he was about to eat had flown away; how could he possibly accept this outcome?

Therefore, he immediately issued orders to Noda Sengo, the commander of the 33rd Regiment, and Sukegawa Shinji, the commander of the 38th Regiment.

They were ordered to immediately launch a pursuit and annihilate the fleeing Chinese army.

Moreover, in order to keep the two regimental commanders in check, Sasaki only brought a company of guards and radio operators, closely following behind the two regiments.