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

As a result, the Japanese attack was met with no resistance, and they occupied Maling Pass without firing a single shot.

Yoshio Shinotsuka saw abandoned tents and supplies everywhere, as well as a lot of ammunition that hadn't been taken with him.

He immediately deduced that the Dragon Flame Legion must have realized they were surrounded, which was why they hurriedly broke through and fled south under the cover of darkness.

At this time, the troops pursuing south also sent a telegram, saying that they had already engaged in combat with the Dragon Flame Legion that was breaking out.

They also said that the other side was not eager to fight, and was retreating while fighting, only wanting to get rid of the pursuit.

"Order the pursuing troops to keep a close watch on the Dragon Flame Legion and not let them escape. We will follow up immediately and outflank them from both sides."

At this moment, Michitake Yamaoka, the chief of staff of the First Army, gave a reminder.

"Commander, I think we should be more careful and guard against the possibility that the Dragon Flame Legion is deliberately luring our troops."

"I suggest sending a small detachment to scout both sides first, and then the main force can follow up after confirming that it is safe."

It must be said that Michitake Yamaoka's advice was not only timely but also very reasonable.

However, Yoshio Shinotsuka was not worried about being ambushed at the moment, but rather that the Dragon Flame Legion might escape.

In his view, the Dragon Flame Legion's combat power has been greatly reduced, so even if there are any tricks, there is no need to be too afraid.

However, if the enemy breaks out of the encirclement, it will be extremely difficult to encircle and annihilate them again.

Most importantly, Yoshio Shinotsuka was afraid that he might not be able to annihilate the Dragon Flame Legion in one fell swoop this time.

This will definitely incur the dissatisfaction of the domestic headquarters and the locusts, and at that time, I'm afraid I'll really have no choice but to commit seppuku to apologize.

“Yamaoka-kun, I admit that what you said makes some sense, but did you see that the Dragon Flame Legion didn’t even have time to take away their food supplies and ammunition?”

"This proves that they panicked and tried to break out after realizing they were surrounded."

"Furthermore, their legion commander was assassinated by us, and they are fighting amongst themselves for command. A unit without a commander and fighting among themselves will definitely have its combat effectiveness greatly reduced."

"Therefore, I am certain that the Dragon Flame Legion could not have laid an ambush. Even if they did, we have more than 300,000 troops, so what is there to fear?"

Yoshio Shinotsuka retorted vehemently, leaving Michitake Yamaoka speechless.

However, as the chief of staff, he still felt it was best to be cautious.

“Very well, Commander, since that’s your opinion, I respect your decision.”

Next, the Japanese troops split into three groups. One group continued to pursue and chase, while the other two groups marched overnight to encircle the enemy from both sides.

Yoshio Shinotsuka appointed commanders for the three armies: he personally commanded the central route, his chief of staff Michitake Yamaoka commanded the left route, and Kenkichi Ueda, the former commander of the Kwantung Army who was now leading 200,000 troops, commanded the right route.

Yoshio Shinotsuka was not worried that the Dragon Flame Legion would flee into Hebei Province, because the headquarters had already ordered the troops stationed in Hebei to do so.

Tens of thousands of troops were deployed to block the exit from the Taihang Mountains towards Hebei.

After marching all night, at dawn, Yoshio Shinotsuka's central army, having relentlessly pursued the Dragon Flame Legion, arrived at a place called Junji Pass in the Taihang Mountains.

It was only then that Yoshio Shinotsuka realized that the ancient Great Wall stretched as far as the eye could see on the mountaintops to the left and right.

At this moment, Yoshio Shinotsuka felt a vague unease, because his central army was in a completely unfavorable position.

He immediately issued an order: "Order the troops to halt their advance and send a telegram to inquire about the exact locations of the left and right armies."

Soon, the left and right armies replied one after another, stating that their positions were on the left and right sides of Junji Pass, only two or three kilometers away from the central army.

"Order the left and right armies to advance rapidly, surround the Dragon Flame Legion, and cut off their retreat."

"The central army continues its attack and advance."

As a result, when the Japanese army launched its central attack, the Longyan Legion did not retaliate.

Yoshio Shinotsuka suddenly realized that the Dragon Flame Legion had vanished into thin air after arriving at Junji Pass.

"What?! How could so many troops have disappeared?"

Completely baffled, Yoshio Shinotsuka hurriedly ordered his troops to continue the search.

The Japanese troops continued to advance, and a division commander reported this to Yoshio Shinotsuka.

"Commander, I have checked the map. Motianling and Zijin Mountain are about two thousand meters ahead."

"What do you mean by reporting this to me?"

"Commander, Motianling and Zijinshan are the only two commanding heights in this area. Should we send troops to occupy them first, and then cover the passage of the main force?"

Yoshio Shinotsuka thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

"Alright, send two battalions immediately, equipped with machine guns and mortars, to occupy Motianling and Zijinshan."

"Hai..."

Soon, the two battalions of Japanese soldiers began heading towards Motianling and Zijinshan respectively.

Yoshio Shinotsuka, on the other hand, planned to advance a few hundred meters further to take a closer look at the situation at these two high points.

Just as Yoshio Shinotsuka arrived at his position and raised his binoculars, he suddenly heard a dense whistling sound coming from afar.

"Swish swish... swish swish..."

Then, the two battalions that had seized the high ground were immediately engulfed in artillery fire.

"Boom boom boom..."

Hundreds of shells landed in the ranks of the two Japanese battalions, followed by a violent explosion.

Most of the more than two thousand Japanese soldiers were blown to bits and disappeared on the spot.

A small number of Japanese soldiers were blown to pieces, leaving no intact corpses.

Yoshio Shinotsuka discovered through his binoculars that the shells came from Motianling and Zijinshan.

"What? Is there really an ambush? Baka! Order the artillery to open fire immediately and destroy their cannons!"

Because the Japanese Type 92 infantry gun has a range of less than 3,000 meters, it is currently out of reach.

Therefore, only large-caliber 150mm howitzers with a range of up to 8,000 meters can be used.

But before the Japanese were ready, the cannons on Motianling and Zijinshan began shelling again.

This time, the target of the shelling became Yoshio Shinotsuka's central army.

Sensing something was wrong, Yoshio Shinotsuka, under the protection of his subordinates, immediately hid behind a cliff, a blind spot from the enemy's artillery fire.

But the other Japanese soldiers weren't so lucky; they had to endure the relentless bombardment of artillery fire.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh... Boom boom boom..."

The Japanese soldiers were blown away and fled in panic, lying down or seeking any cover to hide.

The Japanese central army numbered seventy to eighty thousand, and under a barrage of artillery fire, more than ten thousand were killed or wounded in just ten minutes.

Upon seeing this, Yoshio Shinotsuka hurriedly ordered the troops behind him to retreat quickly.

After the Japanese troops withdrew, the artillery fire on Motianling and Zijinshan also stopped abruptly.

At this moment, Yoshio Shinotsuka hurriedly ordered the artillery behind him to bombard Motianling and Zijinshan.

He picked up his binoculars, ignoring the smoke and fire, and began to observe carefully once again.

After the Japanese large-caliber howitzers opened fire, Yoshio Shinotsuka regained his confidence.

He thought to himself that no fortifications or cannons could withstand the bombardment of 150mm shells.

Before long, the enemy artillery positions on these two high points will be reduced to ashes.

However, there was one thing Yoshio Shinotsuka couldn't understand: how did the enemy manage to pull those heavy cannons up such a steep hill?

Just when Yoshio Shinotsuka thought he could see the enemy's cannons being destroyed one after another through the telescope, reality slapped him in the face.

He saw the shells land on Motianling and Zijinshan, and although they hit their targets, they exploded violently.

But when the smoke cleared, the enemy's cannons were found to be completely intact.

And they began targeting their artillery positions and started shelling them.

"What?! Can my eyes see right? How come the enemy's cannons are completely unharmed after being bombarded by our shells?"

Yoshio Shinotsuka rubbed his eyes hard and picked up his binoculars to observe again. This time he could finally see clearly that the enemy had densely packed at least a hundred cannons on Motianling and Zijin Mountain.

Moreover, he found these cannons strange; they all had a gun mount at the back, similar to a tank turret, and were all uniformly dark gray.

"What?! What kind of monster is this? I've never seen anything like it before. How can it withstand the bombardment of heavy artillery?"

What surprised Yoshio Shinotsuka the most was the concrete fortifications built around these cannons.

It remained completely undamaged even under heavy artillery bombardment.

Yoshio Shinotsuka's eyes were wide open, like two light bulbs, and filled with terror.

He had no way out now and could only scream hysterically.

"Baka! Keep shelling! Fire all the shells out! We must destroy the cannons on these two high points!"