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

As the sounds of gunfire grew closer, the soldiers of the special operations battalion were filled with excitement and anticipation.

Long Fei raised his binoculars and carefully observed the southern direction of Linting Town, eagerly anticipating what was to come.

Seeing Long Fei's stern expression, Chen Defa also raised the binoculars hanging around Long Fei's neck and began to observe as well.

During this period, the National Revolutionary Army did not yet have the capability to produce its own military binoculars.

Seven years ago, the Nationalist government purchased a batch of Zeiss 6x30 military binoculars from the country of Hans.

The previous owner of Chen Defa's binoculars was Commander-in-Chief Liu of the 10th Army Group.

Before setting off, the 10th Army Group held a mobilization meeting for officers at the regimental level and above.

Commander-in-Chief Liu noticed that Chen Defa, as a brigade commander, was not even equipped with binoculars.

So he generously gave away his spare telescope.

Chen Defa once regarded this telescope as a treasure.

But after Chen Defa tried out Long Fei's binoculars today, although he didn't say it outright, he already had a dislike for them.

In their anxiety, everyone waited for more than an hour before finally seeing the soldiers of the 37th Brigade appear in sight.

Ge Dahai led his troops in a series of resistances, retreating steadily until they finally lured the Japanese 13th Regiment to the outskirts of Linting Town.

With the support and cover of the guard company, Ge Dahai led the soldiers of the 710th Regiment to retreat successfully into Linting Town.

"Brigade Commander Chen, have all your troops hide in that grove of trees. We'll take care of the Japanese. Also, bring Regiment Commander Ge here."

"no problem."

Unexpectedly, the Japanese troops temporarily halted their attack after being blocked.

It turned out that Tanikawa Masanori had been following the 13th Regiment all along. Being naturally suspicious, he sensed something was wrong and had now come to Okamoto Yasuyuki's side to warn him.

“Okamoto-kun, haven’t you noticed how strange the Chinese army’s tactics are? They launch the first charge, but when they encounter our tank units, they hurriedly retreat.”

"They knew they were outmatched, and logically they should have been eager to escape, but they fought and retreated in a predictable pattern."

"Now the Chinese army has lured us to this town of Linting, but then suddenly disappeared. The Chinese are very cunning; I'm afraid they have set up an ambush in the town."

Although Okamoto Yasuyuki believed in his heart that Tanikawa Masanori's words made some sense.

But with so many tanks to help him, he wasn't afraid of the Nationalist army's ambush. In a way, he was happy for the Nationalist army to set up an ambush here.

It would be a good opportunity to eliminate them all at the same time, making the Thirteenth Regiment's achievements even more illustrious.

"Tanikawa-kun, I think you've been scared by the Chinese army, haven't you? There's an old Chinese saying: 'A defeated general cannot be called brave.'"

"My 13th Regiment is fully manned, and it also has two medium tank companies assigned by the division commander to assist it."

“Even if there’s a division of Chinese troops lying in ambush in this Linting town, I can easily wipe them out. You should go to the back and wait there, and help me clean up the battlefield.”

Seeing that his reminders had no effect, Masanori Tanikawa sighed, still wanting to try his best to persuade him.

However, Okamoto Yasuyuki was clearly very impatient, and drew his sword, shouting orders.

"Warriors of the Empire, for His Majesty the Emperor, for the honor of the soldiers, attack! Capture Linting Town and annihilate the Chinese army!"

Under Okamoto Yasuyuki's passionate incitement, all the Japanese soldiers of the 13th Regiment were like they had been injected with chicken blood, following the tanks in a dense mass as they charged into the town.

When Ge Dahai was brought before Chen Defa and Long Fei, panting heavily, he couldn't help but choke up and shed tears.

"Commander, as per your orders, I have organized a suicide squad to launch an attack on the Japanese 13th Regiment."

"I didn't expect the Japanese to have deployed a large number of tanks. Our flesh and blood couldn't stop them at all. We could only retreat and then fight our way back, luring the Japanese here."

"Although...although we completed the task you assigned, we suffered over six hundred casualties..."

Ge Dahai was truly heartbroken. His brother, who was smoking and chatting with him this morning, had now sacrificed his life for the country.

The injuries were even more horrific, causing Ge Dahai immense heartache.

"What are you crying about, you grown man? How can there be no deaths or injuries in a war?"

Although Long Fei also felt sorry for Ge Dahai, he didn't like Ge Dahai's crying and sobbing.

With a great show about to unfold, he was eager to understand the battle situation and see if adjustments to the deployment were necessary.

After being scolded by Long Fei, Ge Dahai hurriedly wiped away his tears and stared at him blankly.

"How many tanks and how many troops does the Japanese have?"

"I counted them. The Japanese had a total of 44 tanks. Two of them had their tracks blown off by us, and 42 of them were chasing us."

"As for the Japanese soldiers who were chasing us, it was the 13th Regiment, which had more than 3,000 men."

"Alright, Commander Ge, you've worked hard. Go and rest. It's our Dragon Flame unit's turn to make our appearance next."

Long Fei patted Ge Dahai on the shoulder twice to show his approval, and then hurriedly picked up his binoculars to observe.

According to the information provided by Ge Dahai, Long Fei does not need to adjust the deployment.

But he discovered that the Japanese soldiers did not press their advantage and enter the town; instead, they paused their attack.

Long Fei thought that if the Japanese didn't fall for it, he would have to first use the Wild Bee self-propelled gun to bombard them, and then send Tiger tanks out to take them by surprise and destroy the Japanese tanks and infantry.

However, if the Japanese troops escape quickly, the complete annihilation of the 13th Regiment will not be possible.

At this moment, Chen Defa also noticed something was wrong and asked anxiously.

"Battalion Commander Long, why have the Japanese stopped their attack? Should my troops give them another shot?"

Long Fei continued to observe through the binoculars, responding in words.

"Brigade Commander Chen, if the Japanese are going to fall for our trap, they'll come in whether we attack them or not, so it's not worth it."

"Moreover, I have a backup combat plan, but it may not be possible to achieve complete annihilation."

"Sigh..." Chen Defa sighed heavily.

Ge Dahai stood behind Chen Defa, his hands clenched into fists, his eyes fixed on the direction of the Japanese soldiers.

Just when everyone was worried that the Japanese wouldn't fall for the trap, Okamoto Yasuyuki brandished his command sword.

"Kill them all! Be loyal to the Emperor and annihilate the Chinese army!"

Of course, in order to guard against any ambush by the Nationalist army, Okamoto Yasuyuki still ordered the tank units to be the vanguard and take the lead in attacking Linting Town.

There was only one dirt road leading into Linting Town, and the Japanese tanks could only advance one after another.

To the Japanese soldiers' surprise, they did not encounter any resistance or attack from the Nationalist army.

The Japanese soldiers began to become careless, thinking that the Nationalist army had already fled.

Before long, eighteen Type 92 and twenty-four Type 89 tanks of the Japanese army marched all the way to the training ground and dispersed in all directions, forming an iron-clad defensive line around the training ground.

The 13th Regiment, which was closely following the tanks, had also captured Linting Town.

When Okamoto Yasuyuki saw that the entire town had been occupied without firing a single shot, he couldn't help but laugh at Tanikawa Masanori, thinking he must have been terrified.

Even though the Chinese army had long since fled, they were still suspicious that the enemy had laid an ambush.

At this moment, Okamoto Yasuyuki, completely in the posture of a victor, rode a large, all-black Japanese horse and slowly arrived at the training ground with a smug look on his face.

Just as he was about to order the troops to take a short rest before continuing their advance.

Suddenly, rousing and resounding bugle calls rang out from all around.

Okamoto Yasuyuki had never heard this bugle call before, but Tanikawa Masanori had heard it last night.

"Beep beep...da da da da...beep beep...da da da da..."

This was the signal Long Fei ordered the buglers to sound to signal the start of battle.

Although it was a bugle call to charge, Long Fei had instructed beforehand that the first time he heard the bugle call, it was to order everyone to begin the attack.

The second time I heard the bugle call, it was an order for the Tiger tanks to charge the Japanese.

The third time the bugle call sounded, the entire battalion launched an attack.

To protect the Nationalist troops hidden in the woods, ten Tiger tanks voluntarily drove out of the woods and opened fire on the Japanese tanks.

Meanwhile, the Wild Bee self-propelled artillery received the coordinate parameters reported by the observer immediately and began shelling the Japanese.

Almost simultaneously, troops that had been lying in ambush south of Linting Town launched a pincer attack on the Japanese from the east and west, quickly cutting off their retreat and completely surrounding them.