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

The room was eerily quiet; Xie Qiang could even hear his own heartbeat.

After a while, Commander Li turned to look at Bai Chongxi. The two men nodded to each other with solemn expressions.

Clearly, Long Fei's words not only moved the two of them, but also prompted them to make up their minds.

However, this was ultimately a matter of the fate of hundreds of thousands of troops and the evolution of the entire war situation.

Therefore, Commander Li slowly stood up, walked to Long Fei, and said very seriously.

"Commander of the Dragon Legion, there is no joking in the army."

Long Fei nodded slightly and said, "Commander Li, although my Longyan Legion is not under the command of the National Army, I am still a soldier."

"Therefore, my oath just now was not a joke, but a pledge I made."

Commander Li was truly impressed by Long Fei at this moment. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly, wishing Long Fei were his subordinate.

With Long Fei's military talent, he could easily be appointed as the deputy commander-in-chief of the Guangxi Army.

But this was just Commander Li's wish. He knew even better that, judging from Long Fei's performance, he was no ordinary person and would surely soar to great heights in the future.

"Alright, since Commander Long dares to make a pledge, I agree to your battle plan."

"Tell me in detail how we should deploy our troops next, and my Fifth War Zone will do its utmost to carry it out."

Long Fei then walked up to the battle map and began to explain it.

"Sirs, the Japanese are currently waiting for reinforcements, so they will not launch an attack in the next two days."

"Therefore, the troops can have a good rest these two days to conserve their strength for the upcoming mobile warfare."

"Mobile warfare?" Bai Chongxi asked, slightly surprised.

"Commander Bai, you heard me right, it's mobile warfare."

"The 22nd Army Group of Liangxiadian shall immediately retreat to the outskirts of Tengxian County and carry out tiered defense."

"The garrison in the Xiangcheng direction has deployed in tiers along the Xiangcheng and Zaozhuang line."

"Once the Japanese launch an attack, we will retreat in stages after a brief resistance."

"However, the retreating troops did not retreat to Taierzhuang, but instead moved to the left and right flanks, flanking and penetrating the Japanese troops to the flanks and rear, forming a large encirclement."

"Remember, during the ambush, you must create the illusion that your side is short of ammunition."

"When all the Japanese troops have gathered outside Taierzhuang, my artillery unit will take the stage."

"I can assure you that after the artillery bombardment, the remaining Japanese troops will not exceed 30%."

"Once the shelling ends, we will immediately launch a final annihilation campaign against the Japanese."

Bai Chongxi, who was hailed as a "Little Zhuge Liang," raised his doubts at this time.

"Commander Long, what if the Japanese discover we're luring them in and don't fall for it?"

Long Fei chuckled: "Commander Bai, only by taking Xuzhou and connecting the north and south can the Japanese further expand their aggression."

"The Japanese troops currently advancing northward are being fiercely resisted by your National Army and are unable to advance."

"Therefore, given the current situation, if the Japanese want to take Xuzhou, they must rely heavily on the southward-bound troops, but if the southward-bound troops want to attack Xuzhou, they cannot get past Taierzhuang."

"In conclusion, the Japanese are determined to take Taierzhuang. I am certain that even if they have some doubts, they will not stop advancing."

Long Fei's words were reasonable and well-founded, so Bai Chongxi immediately stopped questioning him.

Commander Li immediately stated, "Commander Long's plan is very meticulous, and I fully agree. Let's make our own preparations."

Commander Li immediately began issuing orders and making arrangements. Afterwards, he and Bai Chongxi bid farewell to Long Fei and returned to Xuzhou.

Long Fei and the others left Taierzhuang and went to the army's garrison.

During the journey, Liu Wei expressed his concerns.

"Commander, you don't really need to make this pledge. If they want to listen, they can listen; if they don't, with our current strength, we can handle it independently."

Gao Hong hurriedly chimed in, "Yes, Legion Commander, you've gone too far. Your life doesn't belong to you alone anymore; it now belongs to the Dragon Flame Legion."

Xie Qiang added at the end: "Commander, the National Revolutionary Army has always been tactically backward and ideologically stubborn. They only know how to fight positional battles."

"So it's normal for them to be skeptical of your proposed battle plan. Why take such a big gamble just to convince them?"

Long Fei knew that everyone cared about him, so he decided to explain the reasons behind it.

"As you all know, during the Battle of Taierzhuang, the Japanese suffered only 20,000 casualties, while the National Revolutionary Army suffered more than 50,000 casualties."

"Although the Japanese army's strategic attempt to occupy Taierzhuang was temporarily thwarted, it was not long before the Japanese army mobilized a large force and came back in force. They not only took Taierzhuang, but also captured Xuzhou."

"At that time, even such a Pyrrhic victory could be widely publicized and boost the confidence of the Chinese people in the war of resistance."

"I know that Commander Li lacks confidence in us, which is why he is hesitant."

"The reason I made a pledge earlier, forcing him to agree, was not only because I was confident in annihilating the Japanese."

"More importantly, I want to save tens of thousands of precious lives. In addition, I want to use a truly great victory to deter the Japanese invaders and inspire the people of the whole country."

Although Long Fei's words made perfect sense, the three of them couldn't help but mutter to themselves.

"But no matter what, you can't gamble with your life."

Long Fei was both annoyed and amused by the three of them.

"Why are you complaining about me? A general is prepared to die, and a soldier has no thought of living. Just give me a good beating."

"Besides, if I could save tens of thousands of soldiers from sacrifice with my life, I would not hesitate."

After being rebuked by Long Fei, the three of them fell silent, but they all made a decision in their hearts.

That is, we must tell everyone in the Dragon Flame Legion that the Legion Commander has risked his life, so everyone must go all out and can only win, not lose.

Upon returning to their base, Long Fei immediately issued the latest combat orders to Xu Peng.

He ordered Xu Peng to command the Fourth and Fifth Armies to immediately set off and wait in hiding on the left flank of Taierzhuang.

After the Japanese arrived at Taierzhuang, they joined forces with the 22nd Army Group to launch an attack on the Japanese from the left.

The Sixth and Seventh Armies will retreat to Tengxian County. After the Japanese launch an attack on Tengxian, they will outflank the Japanese and cut off their retreat route, launching an attack from the rear.

As for the reserve force, Long Fei ordered Xu Peng to send men to drive all the Wild Bee self-propelled artillery, howitzers, and Katyusha rocket launchers back to Taierzhuang.

The rest of the reserve force split into two groups to follow the four corps and were responsible for operating fifteen Tiger tanks and twenty-five Greyhound armored vehicles.

On Long Fei's side, he ordered the 1st Special Operations Division and the 1st Army to make a flanking maneuver to the right, and after the Japanese left Xiangcheng, they would launch an attack on Taierzhuang and cut off their retreat.

The Second and Third Armies were concealed and awaiting orders on the right flank of Taierzhuang.

Long Fei also divided the Tiger tanks and Greyhound armored vehicles in two, sending them to fight alongside the two sides.

Now, everything is ready. We just need to wait for the Japanese reinforcements to arrive and come to us.