Chapter 254: Battle Of Wits And Courage
Ying Mountain, Japanese Eleventh Army Headquarters.
While the Pumpkin Shop frontline was being ruthlessly plowed by Su Yaoyang’s steel storm, the commander far in the rear, Sonobe Kazuichiro, was sitting in his spacious and bright office, enjoying his dinner.
In the exquisite porcelain dish, fresh sashimi and miso soup airlifted from the Japanese mainland were served, forming a stark contrast to the miserable sight of frontline soldiers gnawing on cold rice balls.
A communications staff officer knocked on the door in panic and entered, respectfully handing a just-decrypted telegram to Army Chief of Staff Aoki Shigeaki.
Aoki Shigeaki took the telegram, glanced at it, and his face instantly became grave. He did not dare to delay, quickly walking to Sonobe Kazuichiro who was dining, and reported the telegram’s content in a low voice.
This telegram came from the 13th Division commander Yamaesugi Masataka.
The telegram’s content was extremely brief, yet filled with suffocating despair.
It described that they were suffering from “unprecedented, unstoppable” aerial and ground firepower strikes, the positions had completely collapsed, troops suffered heavy casualties, the formations were on the verge of disintegration, requesting immediate tactical withdrawal, otherwise facing the danger of unbearable losses.
Sonobe Kazuichiro put down his chopsticks and took the thin telegram.
He looked at the shocking words on it and fell into long silence. The entire room only had the faint crackling sound of burning charcoal in the fireplace.
After a long time, he raised his head, his usually sharp eyes now filled with deep confusion and bewilderment. He looked at his chief of staff, Aoki Shigeaki, and asked in a tone almost like sleep-talking:
“Aoki-kun, has the current Chinese army… become this powerful? With less than 50,000 troops, they can hard-resist our 30,000 elite imperial soldiers, and even… counterattack us like this?”
This question left the battle-hardened Aoki Shigeaki unable to answer. He hemmed and hawed for half a day, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, before finally saying with difficulty: “Commander, by all reason, this… this is absolutely impossible! I estimate the biggest variable is that suddenly appeared… Shanxi Militia!”
“Shanxi Militia…”
Sonobe Kazuichiro chewed on this name, which had recently frequently appeared in the North China Area Army’s battle reports, but only today did he deeply feel the weight it represented for the first time.
That mysterious air power, that terrifying ground artillery fire, all pointed to this armed force he originally regarded as a local ragtag outfit.
He pondered for a very, very long time, so long that the sashimi on the plate had lost its luster. Finally, he let out a long, deep sigh, which contained shock, frustration, and a trace of… indescribable admiration.
“I suddenly… somewhat admire Captain Shinozuka.”
Sonobe Kazuichiro said slowly, his gaze drifting to the huge map of China on the wall, landing on the position of Shanxi.
“He actually managed to hold out against this Shanxi Militia in a barren place like Shanxi for over a year, without suffering too much loss himself…”
He paused, as if asking Aoki Shigeaki, or asking himself.
“How did he do it?”
This question, Aoki Shigeaki could not answer. No one in the entire Eleventh Army Headquarters could answer.
Their understanding of the Shanxi Militia was still stuck at the vague concept of “well-equipped, strong combat power.” They could not imagine at all what kind of terrifying opponent First Army commander Shinozuka Yoshio was facing in Shanxi.
They did not know even more that the reason Shinozuka Yoshio “did not suffer too much loss” was not because he was so brilliant, but because Su Yaoyang had previously focused on development and integration, and had not truly gone all out against him.
And now, this fierce tiger had finally bared its fangs at the Japanese army for the first time on the battlefield of the Zao-I Campaign.
As a lieutenant general in the Japanese Army and commander of the Eleventh Army, Sonobe would not be disheartened by a single tactical failure.
On the contrary, the miserable situation described in Yamaesugi Masataka’s telegram, and the terrifying strength shown by that “Shanxi Militia,” instead ignited the ferocity deep in his bones.
He suddenly stood up from his seat, his hawk-like eyes reigniting with flames, only this time the flames were mixed with a trace of reckless madness.
“Aoki-kun!” he barked in an unquestionable tone.
“Hai!”
Aoki Shigeaki immediately straightened his back.
Sonobe Kazuichiro walked to the huge operations map, picked up a red pointer, and fiercely poked it at the position of “Yichang.”
“Immediately send a telegram to the 6th Division! Order them to attack Yichang at all costs! I want them to take Yichang in the shortest time, completely cutting off the Chinese army’s entry into Sichuan passage!
As long as Yichang is taken, the Shanxi Militia will become rootless, no matter how powerful it is, it can only be at our mercy.”
Then, his pointer quickly moved, drawing a circle around Pumpkin Shop.
“At the same time, order the Independent Mixed 14th Brigade and the 40th Division to immediately turn direction and advance full speed toward Pumpkin Shop! Form an encirclement! I don’t care what methods they use, run or crawl, they must nail this damned Shanxi Militia dead at Pumpkin Shop within two days!”
His voice grew louder and louder, with a hint of hysteria.
“And the aviation force! Order the Army Air Force to send out all planes that can still fly! Bomb Pumpkin Shop! I want to turn it into a sea of fire! I don’t care about fuel, ammunition, or losses! Make sure to completely wear down the Shanxi Militia at Pumpkin Shop!”
The series of orders made Aoki Shigeaki’s heart race with fear. This was an extremely risky plan, almost betting the entire fortune of the Eleventh Army. But looking at the commander’s bloodshot eyes, he dared not object and could only bow deeply: “Hai!”
Sonobe Kazuichiro’s intention was very obvious.
Isn’t the Shanxi Militia very good at fighting? Fine, I’ll use your hardest nail to attract all the hammers! He wanted to trade space for time, use pressure from other fronts, and absolute troop superiority to trap and exhaust Su Yaoyang’s this isolated elite force to death on this small piece of land at Pumpkin Shop.
……
At the same time, in the Pumpkin Shop town command post, the joy of victory was rapidly fading, replaced by a heavy, unsettling silence.
Su Yaoyang stood in the temporary command post, holding several just-received telegrams in his hand, his brows tightly furrowed.
Just now, he had taken a moment to exchange battle situation information via telegram with the acting commander-in-chief of the 33rd Army Group Feng Zhi’an, as well as 59th Army commander Huang Weigang, 77th Army commander Cao Fulin, and other friendly commanders.
But the result made his heart sink sharply.
The content on the telegrams was piercing like needles.
“Our forces have suffered heavy casualties, nearly two-thirds…”
“Ammunition nearly exhausted, troops extremely fatigued…”
“Japanese follow-up troops pressing from the flanks…”
“If not withdraw, risk of total collapse…”
The 33rd Army Group, this force that had fought bloody battles to defend their homeland, had shed their last drop of blood.
On the frontal battlefield, they had stubbornly held against the frenzied attacks of several Japanese divisions, creating crucial conditions for Su Yaoyang’s surprise attack at Pumpkin Shop. But now, they had reached their limit.
Su Yaoyang looked at the blue arrow representing the 33rd Army Group on the map, which had become tattered and was slowly moving backward.
For a moment, he was also at a loss.
He had won at Pumpkin Shop, annihilating large numbers of vital forces from two Japanese divisions; this was an undisputed great victory.
But from the perspective of the entire campaign, his nail, though driven in, had completely exposed itself.
With the 33rd Army Group on the verge of collapse, his elite force would become completely isolated, directly facing the frenzied counterattack and encirclement by the Japanese Eleventh Army’s follow-up troops.
The victory just at hand instantly became scorching hot.
Almost at the same time Su Yaoyang was in a dilemma, far away in Yichang city, the temporary command post of the 5th Theater was brightly lit.
As the supreme commander of the entire theater, Li Zongren was standing before an even grander and more detailed operations map, with intelligence from various fronts gathered before him.
The great victory at Pumpkin Shop, the heavy casualties of the 33rd Army Group, the 6th Division’s frenzied assault on Yichang, and the unusual movements of the Japanese 14th Brigade and 40th Division…
Pieces of seemingly scattered intelligence quickly connected and combined in his mind, ultimately forming a clear yet sinister picture.
His deep, seemingly all-seeing eyes stared fixedly at the lonely red arrow representing the “Shanxi Militia” on the map.
He almost immediately understood Sonobe Kazuichiro’s intention.
This cunning and mad opponent was trying to use a huge pincer offensive to swallow Su Yaoyang’s elite force, along with the remnants of the entire 33rd Army Group, in one bite!
Pumpkin Shop, this land just dyed red with blood, in an instant turned from a strategic pivot into a fatal trap.
“What a Sonobe Kazuichiro, what a vicious scheme!”
A cold arc rose at the corner of Li Zongren’s mouth.
He did not panic because of the enemy’s plot; as an excellent commander with a hundred battles under his belt, he instantly made the most rational and correct judgment.
Pumpkin Shop had lost its meaning to hold. Continuing to stay there was tantamount to waiting for death.
“Chief of Staff!” he called without turning his head.
“Here!” a senior staff officer immediately stepped forward.
“Immediately, in my name, send telegrams to Shanxi Militia Su Yaoyang’s forces and 33rd Army Group Feng Zhi’an’s forces!” Li Zongren’s voice was steady and powerful, echoing in the quiet command post.
“Order: Shanxi Militia, immediately abandon Pumpkin Shop, transfer full speed toward Yichang and link up! 33rd Army Group, abandon the enemy before them, immediately withdraw to the rear safe area, preserve vital forces!”
He paused, his tone becoming even more serious.
“Tell them, they must jump out of this encirclement before the Japanese main forces close in! Be fast! No hesitation, no reluctance!”
“Yes!” The chief of staff acknowledged and left. Soon, the clicking of the telegraph sounded in the command post, transmitting Li Zongren’s orders at the fastest speed to the center of the storm.
