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

The next morning, the troops arrived at Motuo Ridge one after another. The 40,000 men, dressed in uniforms designed by Long Fei, looked majestic and solemn.

Long Fei summoned all personnel at the division level and above, and then announced the order.

The first announcement was about the reorganization of the military.

Long Fei selected 5,000 men from the entire army corps to supplement the 1st Special Operations Division of the 73rd Army.

Of the more than 700 people from the Special Operations Battalion of the 1st Special Operations Division, some remained in the 1st Special Operations Division as officers, while the rest were assigned to various armies as regimental, battalion, and company commanders.

Xie Qiang and Xu Ke will continue to serve as the commander and deputy commander of the 1st Special Operations Division, which will consist of three special operations regiments, each with 1,600 personnel.

The former deputy division commanders, Ren Huazhi and Li Bin, were transferred to other armies to serve as division commanders.

Although these 5,000 men are somewhat inferior to the soldiers of the special operations battalion, their individual combat capabilities are currently far superior to those of the Japanese.

It can be said that the 1st Special Operations Division is now a strong and well-equipped force. They are responsible not only for the operation of all armored vehicles, but also for the operation of self-propelled artillery, howitzers and other weapons.

The remaining 35,000 men were divided into six armies, each with 5,000 men.

Of the final 5,000 men, after deducting the guard battalion, reconnaissance battalion, engineer battalion, and communications company, there were more than 3,000 left as the corps reserve.

Furthermore, Long Fei ordered the reserve team to be commanded by Sun Haitao, the former deputy commander of the 1st Special Operations Division. This time, they were responsible for operating 120 M2 mortars to fire white phosphorus bombs at the Japanese.

After the troops were reorganized, Long Fei announced the combat orders.

"This time, the Japanese have mobilized the Third Division to enter the mountains and encircle and annihilate us. Together with the Japanese troops stationed at Longteng Mountain Villa, their total strength has reached 30,000."

"Although we have better troops and weapons than the Japanese, we don't need to confront them head-on. In my heart, every brother's life is precious and cannot be easily harmed."

"Therefore, I decided to lure the Japanese to Wolonggou and then wipe them out with white phosphorus bombs."

At this point, most people don't know what a white phosphorus bomb is.

So they all looked at Long Fei with some confusion, waiting for his explanation.

Long Fei paused for a moment, then immediately began to explain.

"White phosphorus bombs are a type of incendiary bomb. Once they explode, they generate temperatures of thousands of degrees Celsius. If they come into contact with the human body, they will continue to burn, burning through the skin and muscles, all the way down to the bones."

"At that time, even if the Japanese soldiers don't die, they will be crippled."

As soon as Long Fei finished explaining, everyone immediately became excited.

"This weapon is so powerful, it would be perfect for dealing with the Japanese devils."

"That's right, this way we can reduce the casualties among our brothers."

"This is the first time I've ever heard of white phosphorus bombs. I'm determined to see just how powerful they are."

"Commander, how can we lure the Japanese to Wolonggou?"

After his initial excitement, Chen Yiding raised a question.

Long Fei continued, "If we want to lure the Japanese to Wolonggou, we must provoke their anger. Angry Japanese soldiers have zero IQ and will naturally fall for our tricks."

"The first step is to send out a reconnaissance team to find out the location of the Japanese artillery, and then destroy it with self-propelled artillery and howitzers, giving the Japanese a warning. This is the first step."

"The second step, the same old trick, is to bombard Longteng Manor and give the Japanese a double whammy."

"The third step is to use Tiger tanks to wipe out the Japanese armored forces, like a triple whammy."

"At this point, the Japanese had two choices: either retreat out of fear or, in a fit of rage, seek a decisive battle with our main force."

"If the Japanese retreat, then let the reserve force take mortars and white phosphorus bombs down from Baizhang Cliff to cut off their retreat. Then we will attack from both inside and outside and wipe them out in one fell swoop."

"If the Japanese choose the second option, then we will fight and retreat, leading them to Wolonggou, while other troops block their advance and retreat. The reserve force that was laid in ambush will then wipe them out."

"well……"

Everyone praised Long Fei's battle plan.

Next, Long Fei began assigning specific tasks to each unit.

The 1st Special Operations Division has dispatched several reconnaissance teams tonight to ascertain the exact location of the Japanese artillery units.

In addition, the 1st Special Operations Division was ordered to set up artillery positions eleven kilometers away from Longteng Mountain Villa, in preparation for shelling the Japanese artillery units and Longteng Mountain Villa.

Finally, the 1st Special Operations Division also needed to ambush a group of Tiger tanks at the entrance to the mountain, in preparation for engaging the Japanese armored forces.

As for the six armies, they were stationed at several high points, including Guiyun Cave, Taoyuan Cave, Dafeng Mountain, Xiaofeng Mountain, Phoenix Mountain, and Langya Peak, respectively, to block the Japanese troops layer by layer. Of course, this was just for show.

At this point, the Japanese had lost the support of artillery and armored forces and could no longer pose any threat to the Dragon Flame Legion.

After the orders were given, Long Fei instructed the troops to collect their weapons and ammunition.

Because the system previously awarded only 150 SCR-300 backpack walkie-talkies, which could not be deployed to company-level units.

Therefore, Long Fei can only be temporarily assigned to the battalion level, and the rest will be assigned to the Special Operations Division and the reserve.

After nightfall, Long Fei received a report from the reconnaissance post that a regiment of the vanguard of the Third Division had arrived at Longteng Mountain Villa.

Long Fei ordered continued observation, while another reconnaissance team had already set off.

Now, Long Fei can only wait for news, hoping that the reconnaissance team can successfully locate the Japanese artillery units.

Fujita Susumu, as the commander of the 3rd Division, led his troops on a train northwards and arrived in Chuzhou County without stopping.

Although Hata Shunroku strictly ordered that the Third Division must arrive at Ryuten Villa that very night.

They immediately marched into the mountains at daybreak to encircle and annihilate the Longyan troops, catching them completely off guard.

However, Fujita learned that two regiments of the 11th Division had been annihilated at Longteng Mountain Villa.

Therefore, for safety reasons, Fujita Susumu decided to first send Matsuyama Yoshimasa's 6th Infantry Regiment into Ryuten Villa.

Other troops stayed overnight in Chuxian County, and could simply set off earlier to Longteng Mountain Villa.

Fujita Susumu believed that this would ensure the safety of the troops and prevent them from disobeying Commander Hata Shunroku's order to enter the mountains and encircle the enemy at dawn.

Because of Fujita Susumu's arrangement, the reconnaissance team sent out found nothing that night.

Left with no other choice, these reconnaissance teams decided to lie in ambush on the spot and find out the location of the Japanese Third Division's artillery.

At daybreak, Fujita Susumu's Third Division arrived at Longteng Villa fully equipped.

He ordered the armored forces to be assigned to the 6th Regiment, sending them as the vanguard to scout ahead into Langya Mountain.

The other teams temporarily pulled away and followed.

As for the 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, Fujita Susumu ordered them not to enter Longteng Villa, but to construct artillery positions outside the villa.

The 3rd Division was equipped with twelve Type 91 105mm howitzers. This artillery piece was relatively lightweight and suitable for mountain warfare.

Compared to the cumbersome Type 38 105mm cannon and the Type 38 120mm howitzer with a range of only 6,000 meters.

The Type 91 105mm howitzer has a range of up to 10,000 meters.

This is also why Fujita set up artillery positions outside Longteng Villa, because he believed that a range of 10,000 meters would be sufficient to cover the infantry's attack.

Furthermore, Fujita felt it was safer to set up artillery positions outside the villa.

It's not too late to move the artillery positions forward after the infantry has advanced and established a foothold.

What Fujita Susumu didn't know was that Ryufei was very familiar with the Japanese artillery, and the artillery positions he set up were just outside the range of the Japanese artillery.

The Hans's Wild Bee self-propelled gun has a range of thirteen kilometers, while the United States' M2A1 howitzer has a range of just over eleven kilometers.

In other words, once Long Fei's side launches an artillery barrage at the Japanese artillery positions, even if the Japanese retaliate, their shells will not be able to reach them.