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

Long Fei gestured for everyone to sit down, and then spoke.

"According to the intelligence we received, the Japanese army rebuilt the Fifth and Tenth Divisions this time by drawing experienced veterans from various units, and supplementing the units to which they were drawn with new recruits."

"The commander of the Fifth Division is Lieutenant General Ando Rikichi, and the commander of the Tenth Division is Lieutenant General Shinotsuka Yoshio. The purpose of the Japanese is very clear: to avenge the defeat at Taierzhuang."

"Therefore, the pressure on the Yunnan Army was unprecedented. With 40,000 against 50,000 to 60,000 elite Japanese troops, it was destined to be a bloody battle."

"Faced with 300,000 Japanese troops pressing in, the Nationalist government was already considering abandoning Xuzhou and instead defending Wuhan."

"Therefore, hundreds of thousands of Nationalist troops were ordered to retreat, while the Yunnan 60th Army, which was hailed as the nation's elite force, was sacrificed to hold Yuwang Mountain and block the enemy's advance."

Xu Peng was extremely indignant upon hearing this and couldn't help but rebuke it angrily.

"Why did the National Revolutionary Army repeatedly fail to defeat the Japanese? I don't think it was a problem with weapons, equipment, or the quality of the soldiers."

"The crux of the problem lies with the top leadership of the Nationalist government. Their strategies and tactics are rigid and outdated, and they are obsessed with preserving the strength of the Central Army, always sending other miscellaneous local troops to be cannon fodder."

"Commander, the 60th Army of Yunnan is in danger. We must rescue them."

Xu Peng's sharp words evoked a sense of感慨 (gan3kai3, deep emotion/reflection) among the former KMT generals present.

Many of them have suffered the same fate.

They also expressed their determination to save the Yunnan army.

Seeing that everyone was indignant, Long Fei quickly signaled them to calm down.

He continued, "When the Yunnan Army went out of Yunnan to fight against the Japanese, the Nationalist government did not pay them a single penny, but they still resolutely went to the front line of the war."

"Therefore, we are not only determined to rescue the Yunnan Army this time, but we will also wipe out the Japanese Fifth and Tenth Divisions that have been rebuilt."

Long Fei's firm words, full of righteousness and courage, immediately excited and filled everyone with anticipation.

Gao Hong stared at Long Fei and asked first.

"Commander, you sound so confident. Do you already have a way to deal with the Japanese?"

"Yes, this time we'll use three hundred alligator flamethrower tanks and one hundred M26 Pershing heavy tanks to annihilate these two newly built Japanese divisions."

After Long Fei announced his decision, everyone except the veterans from the former special operations battalion was completely baffled.

It's important to understand that these two tanks hadn't even been developed yet at that time. Besides, even if they had been developed, they wouldn't have had the chance to appear on the battlefield in China.

Of these people, only Zhou Weiguo had studied at the Hans' military academy, but he had never heard of these two tanks, especially the flamethrower tank.

Long Fei had no choice but to explain the performance and characteristics of these two tanks to everyone.

Then, Long Fei said that the Dragon Flame Legion's logistics support troops would deliver these tanks tonight.

He then ordered Xie Qiang and Sun Haitao to select personnel from the Special Operations Division and the reserve force to familiarize themselves with the tanks overnight, and to drive these tanks to attack the Japanese at dawn.

Other troops moved overnight to the rear of the Japanese troops, forming a tight encirclement, determined not to let a single Japanese soldier escape.

Because Deputy Commander Luo is

He was most familiar with Fan Tianxi, so Long Fei asked him to contact the Yunnan Army and tell them about the Longyan Legion's battle plan.

The Yunnan Army should simply hold the line after daybreak; there is no need to launch an attack when the Japanese are attacked.

Then, Long Fei recounted to everyone the process of going to Nanjing to blow up the Japanese germ research base, as well as the encounter with the New Fourth Army and the attack on Zhuzhen and Lai'an County.

Seeing that it was almost time, Long Fei adjourned the meeting, instructing everyone to return to their respective units to announce orders and depart immediately.

After everyone had dispersed, Long Fei led Xie Qiang and Sun Haitao to an open area and moved all the tanks out.

Although Xie Qiang and Sun Haitao had heard of these two tanks, they had only seen pictures of them before.

Now that the actual object was right in front of them, the two couldn't wait any longer. They rubbed their hands together, climbed up, and then crawled inside the tank, studying it carefully for a long time.

After the two came out, Long Fei teased them.

"Have you two figured it out after studying it for so long?"

"Commander, don't worry, of course I understand it. This is just a tank from World War II, much simpler than modern tanks. I can handle it in no time."

Long Fei nodded in satisfaction: "Alright, you guys take your men and familiarize yourselves with the area overnight. Set off at four in the morning and launch an attack on the Japanese at eight o'clock sharp."

"Yes, this time the little devils are going to have a hard time again, haha..."

At seven o'clock in the morning, all units of the Dragon Flame Legion arrived at their designated positions, and a huge encirclement was quietly formed.

The 60th Army of the Yunnan Army consisted of three divisions: the 182nd, 183rd, and 184th.

The 184th Division under Fan Tianxi was responsible for defending the front of Yuwang Mountain, while the 182nd Division defended the left flank and the 183rd Division defended the right flank.

That night, after receiving a telegram from Deputy Commander Luo, Fan Tianxi hurriedly reported to Commander Lu.

"That's great. I didn't expect the Longyan Legion and the New Fourth Army to appear out of nowhere. I heard that in the Battle of Taierzhuang, the Longyan Legion helped Commander Li wipe out the Japanese Fifth and Tenth Divisions, plus two independent mixed brigades, without breaking a sweat."

"This time they've launched another attack, and the Japanese are going to be in deep trouble again. Order all units to follow Commander Long's orders, strictly guard the defensive line, and not to launch an attack."

Fan Tianxi said with emotion, "General Lu, our 184th Division had already prepared for the worst. Even if we fought to the last man, we would never retreat a single step."

"The Nationalist government told us to hold out for three days, but today they sent another telegram telling us to hold out for another three days. They said it was to cover the retreat of the Central Army, but in reality they just wanted to use the Japanese to annihilate us."

"So, I have an idea..."

Seeing Fan Tianxi's hesitant expression, Commander Lu had an idea and urged him to ask.

"Just say what you have to say."

Fan Tianxi then said, "If the Nationalist government knew that the Longyan Legion and the New Fourth Army had helped the Yunnan Army this time, it would definitely be dissatisfied."

"But if we don't accept help and face two Japanese divisions alone, I'm afraid we'll be in grave danger."

"The Nationalist government has long coveted Yunnan. I am worried that afterwards, the Nationalist government will become even more aggressive and try every means to use the Japanese to wear down the Yunnan army."

"Our Yunnan province only has eight million people, so it is truly remarkable that we were able to send out 100,000 Yunnan troops."

"These are all elite youths from central Yunnan. They would not hesitate to sacrifice themselves to fight the Japanese, but they cannot die in vain under the insidious methods of the Nationalist government."

Commander Lu agreed with Fan Tianxi's point of view and nodded in affirmation.

"That makes a lot of sense. So, how do you think we should respond?"

Seeing that Commander Lu showed no resistance, Fan Tianxi went along with it and began to get to the point.

"The Longyan Legion is invincible against the Japanese. Our Yunnan Army's purpose in going on the expedition is to fight the Japanese."

"Rather than obeying the orders of the National Government and being gradually worn down by them, it would be better to let most of the Yunnan Army join the Dragon Flame Legion."

"Firstly, it will not break our promise to the people of Yunnan, and secondly, it will prevent us from being schemed against by the Nationalist government."

Commander Lu was immediately shocked by Fan Tianxi's audacious idea.

"Hiss... If we do that, I'm afraid the Nationalist government will seize on it and use it as an excuse to attack Chairman Long..."