Chapter 51: The Final Showdown
The night was gloomy, cold winds howled, and this year’s Nanjing had a bone-piercing chill.
A Toyota AE sedan arrived and stopped beside an unremarkable three-story building, escorted by two Nissan trucks loaded with soldiers.
The sullen-faced Kunizaki Sadakichi immediately stepped out of the car, and the burly, fierce-looking 41st Regiment commander Colonel Yamada Tetsujiro strode forward to greet him respectfully: “Welcome, Your Excellency the General, for the inspection!”
“Mm!” Kunizaki Sadakichi nodded, his sharp gaze turning to Yamada Tetsujiro as he said darkly: “Yamada-kun, Hase-kun and Nagano-kun still haven’t been found?”
“No!”
Yamada Tetsujiro shook his head regretfully. According to the descriptions from the retreating soldiers of the 11th Regiment, they had been suddenly attacked by Chinese troops while the unit was eating, and they were quickly thrown into disarray.
“Why did this happen?” Kunizaki Sadakichi said angrily: “Is the 11th Regiment a bunch of idiots? Didn’t they even build fortifications? How did they collapse after just one charge by the Chinese army?”
“No.”
Yamada Tetsujiro explained: “This subordinate personally went to the battlefield from this afternoon to inspect, and the 11th Regiment had built corresponding fortifications according to the infantry manual.
But no one expected the Chinese to use heavy artillery for the attack; under the bombardment, the fortifications they built quickly crumbled to dust.
Moreover, it’s said that those Chinese used a large number of fully automatic weapons with extremely fierce firepower. The 11th Regiment had no time to organize a counterattack and collapsed across the line caught off guard.”
Kunizaki Sadakichi’s teeth ground with a creak, squeezing out from between them: “What are the 11th Regiment’s losses?”
Yamada Tetsujiro was silent for a moment before saying: “As of now, we’ve only gathered about 250 stragglers from the 11th Regiment, including the 11th Regiment’s 3rd Battalion commander Major Morimura Juroku.
“More than 200 men?” Kunizaki Sadakichi’s eyes bulged like copper bells. Although the 11th Regiment wasn’t at full strength when transferred to the Kunizaki Detachment, it still had two battalions, over 2,000 men in total, and now only more than 200 were left.
Doesn’t that mean this unit’s casualties have already reached ninety percent?
“What about the regimental flag?” Kunizaki Sadakichi didn’t ask where Morimura Juroku was; instead, he gripped his army sword tightly and glared at Yamada Tetsujiro.
Fortunately, Yamada Tetsujiro’s answer made him breathe a sigh of relief.
“Please rest assured, Your Excellency the General. The regimental flag is safe; Morimura Juroku has brought it back with the color guard platoon.”
“Mm…”
Kunizaki Sadakichi remained outwardly composed but secretly let out a long breath. If even the regimental flag were lost, he as detachment commander would probably really be at the end of his road. He continued asking.
“What about the enemy forces opposite us now?”
“Your Excellency the General.” Yamada Tetsujiro said solemnly: “Please come with me.”
“Lead the way.”
Soon, the two arrived at the top floor on the third story.
“Please look, sir.”
Yamada Tetsujiro pointed toward the southeast direction. Though the night was deep, a towering spire could faintly be seen piercing the clouds.
Yamada Tetsujiro pointed toward the spire and said: “That’s St. Paul’s Cathedral. According to the intelligence this subordinate has compiled, the garrison there numbers about 1,000 men.
They have at least five or six heavy mortars and several light mortars, equipped with a large number of automatic weapons and light and heavy machine guns, with extremely fierce firepower.
They are centered on the cathedral, occupying several surrounding streets, and have built a considerable number of fortifications using ruins and buildings as strongpoints. Our army will have to pay a heavy price to fully capture the cathedral.”
Kunizaki Sadakichi frowned in thought for a moment, then suddenly said: “Have you considered that those Chinese might slip away under cover of night?”
Yamada Tetsujiro said solemnly: “This subordinate has of course considered it, but please rest assured. I have already dispatched the cavalry platoon to circle behind them. If those Chinese dare to withdraw, the cavalry platoon will teach them what despair is!”
“Yoshi!”
Kunizaki Sadakichi nodded in satisfaction. Yamada Tetsujiro was still pretty good; at least better than the missing Nagano Yusuke.
“One day. I give you only one day.” Kunizaki Sadakichi stared straight into Yamada Tetsujiro’s eyes. “If you can’t take St. Paul’s Cathedral by sunset tomorrow, I’ll lead the attack myself. Do you understand?”
“Hai.”
Yamada Tetsujiro bowed deeply, said nothing, his eyes full of resolve.
If he let Kunizaki Sadakichi, the detachment commander, lead an attack that failed, he as regiment commander would have no recourse but to commit seppuku.
Tonight’s night was so long. Whether the newly formed security regiment or the Japanese troops of the Kunizaki Detachment all understood that when dawn came, another brutal battle awaited them.
For this battle, soldiers from both Chinese and Japanese sides were resting and conserving energy, awaiting the arrival of dawn.
Of course, the defending Chinese soldiers weren’t all asleep; some were still hurrying to reinforce fortifications and transport ammunition.
Boxes of grenades and ammunition were carried into the bunkers. The machine gunners carefully checked their weapons and even drew enough cooling water from the well as backup.
On a street in the rear, John was even leading four newly assigned tank crewmen to familiarize themselves with the tank’s weapons and performance, tirelessly explaining all the precautions to them; how much they remembered depended on their aptitude.
Of course, there were also surprises.
John was surprised to discover that the skinny soldier named Qiao Erdan had an extraordinary talent for mechanics. In just one short day, he had learned it quite well. Given enough time, this guy had potential to become an excellent tank commander.
It was just a pity that the time left to them was too short. John looked somewhat regretfully at the guy who was now sitting in the driver’s seat, forcefully manipulating the levers.
While the soldiers were busy, Su Yaoyang wasn’t idle either. Taking advantage of the night, he conjured another batch of ammunition and had it delivered to each garrisoned firepower point, especially preparing a full ten base loads of mortar rounds.
It didn’t matter if they couldn’t use it all; at least the quantity had to be sufficient. If worst came to worst, when the Japanese came, they could detonate the ammunition.
After doing all this, Su Yaoyang finally returned to a small room in the cathedral that belonged solely to him, hugged the little girl, lay down, and, exhausted from the day’s labor, fell fast asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
“Young master… Young master, wake up… It’s dawn. Instructor Li just sent someone to fetch you.”
In a daze, Su Yaoyang was woken by the little girl.
He quickly jumped out of bed, grabbed the towel the little girl handed him and wiped his face haphazardly, took a pack of biscuits, left the room, and went up to the tower on top of the cathedral, where he saw Li Gaoyuan and Huang Guantao already observing the enemy situation…
