xymnovel Chapter 213 Kills 3 Marines, Hata Toshi Goes Mad with Furious 6
Chapter 213 Kills 3 Marines, Hata Toshi Goes Mad with Furious 6
This telegram was an urgent message first sent by the Third Column to the Fifth War Zone Command, and then forwarded by the Fifth War Zone to the Ministry of National Defense.
The above content is written in great detail, and every word conveys the shock of this great victory.
The telegram detailed how the 5th Engineer Battalion, under Li Jianghe's orders, marched through the mountains overnight.
They precisely infiltrated behind Japanese lines and concealed themselves in the Zhanghu Town area, quietly completing the laying of sea mines.
No sooner had the mines been laid than the main fleet of the Japanese 11th Squadron crashed into the minefield.
The dense mines detonated one after another, and the Japanese fleet was instantly annihilated, with a large number of ships being sunk or destroyed.
In addition, most of the more than 3,000 Japanese naval special landing force members on board were killed in the bombing or drowned in the Yangtze River.
The principal's fingers, gripping the telegram, trembled slightly as he read it three times from beginning to end.
He suddenly raised his head, the gloom on his face vanished, replaced by an irrepressible excitement, and he cheered repeatedly.
"Good! Well done! The Third Column fought well! And this engineer battalion fought even better!"
In his view, Li Jianghe's previous attack on the Japanese army's rear supply lines by the Third Column was nothing more than a minor victory not worth mentioning.
Even his elite troops couldn't achieve such a minor victory on the main battlefield.
This time was different; it was a real and devastating blow to the main force of the Japanese Navy, destroying dozens of ships.
It also directly annihilated a large number of elite Japanese marines, completely disrupting the Japanese counter-offensive plan.
Commander He finally came to his senses, looked at the contents of the telegram, breathed a long sigh of relief, and spoke with great excitement.
"With the Japanese 11th Squadron severely damaged, the firepower of the Japanese counter-offensive in the Jiujiang direction will inevitably be greatly reduced!"
"In this battle, we're not without a chance of winning; on the contrary, we've gained three points more to our advantage!"
The principal was in a great mood, nodding repeatedly, and walked briskly to the map, leaning on his cane.
He located Zhanghu Town on the map, knocked on it heavily, and praised it repeatedly.
"This location is excellent! The waterway is narrow; the Japanese fleet simply cannot turn around and evade!"
"There was nowhere to hide, nowhere to avoid, so he had no choice but to crash headlong into the minefield. Li Jianghe, oh Li Jianghe, you really know how to fight!"
Seeing this, Commander He quickly lowered his voice and added a sentence following the lead.
"From this perspective, Li Jianghe's third column is not passively avoiding battle at all; it is clearly secretly looking for an opportunity to fight."
"Once the opportunity arises, strike decisively and win with a single blow—that's the true mark of a great general!"
Although Li Jianghe was not a member of the Central Army or a direct subordinate of the principal, Commander He appreciated him and would sometimes speak well of him without hesitation.
Upon hearing this, the principal chuckled, his previous anger vanishing completely, and immediately waved his hand dismissively.
"In truth, we acted a bit too hastily. Draft a commendation order immediately and issue a commendation notice to the entire army!"
He secretly wondered if Li Jianghe could survive the battle.
He absolutely had to receive the Order of the Blue Sky and White Sun.
Li Jianghe was one of the first in the National Revolutionary Army to be awarded the Order of the Blue Sky and White Sun for his meritorious service in two major battles.
Meanwhile, in Nanjing, the headquarters building of the Central China Expeditionary Army remained brightly lit late into the night.
Hata Shunroku was fast asleep in his bedroom when he was startled awake by a series of urgent knocks on the door.
His brows furrowed instantly, his tone filled with annoyance and impatience at being woken up.
"What's all the noise about in the middle of the night? What happened?"
Turn the page, and you'll find yourself in another world.
An urgent voice came from outside the door:
"Commander! Something terrible has happened! The 11th Squadron has been attacked by mines in the waters off Zhanghu Town and has suffered heavy losses!"
"What?"
Hata Shunroku's heart seemed to skip a beat, and his sleepiness vanished instantly.
He didn't even have time to put on his shoes; he ran out the door in his wooden clogs, the clattering sound echoing in the corridor.
The operations room was in complete chaos, with staff officers running around with telegrams, their faces filled with panic.
Someone was marking the location of the attacked waters on a map, while someone was yelling into a phone, confirming the situation with the navy.
"Commander, this is an urgent telegram just sent from the Navy. The situation... the situation is very bad."
A combat staff officer, his hands trembling, handed over a telegram.
A look of extreme worry flashed in Hata Shunroku's eyes. He grabbed the telegram and asked urgently.
"Where's Yoshida Meiichi? How is he? Where is he?"
The staff officer said in an even lower voice, "Major General Yoshida... his current fate is unknown."
"Snapped!"
With a sharp crack, Hata Shunroku slammed his hand hard on the mahogany desk.
"What do you mean by 'life or death unknown'?! Immediately coordinate with all troops around Zhanghu Town and send them to the rescue at full speed!"
"We need to see him alive or dead! Do you understand?!"
Although the rivalry between the Japanese army and navy has a long history, they even had to twist the threads of a screw in reverse.
But Yoshida Meiichi was still his most valued and favorite student.
Just thinking about this filled Hata Shunroku with overwhelming heartache and regret.
The staff officer looked troubled but forced himself to reply.
"Our main force is concentrated on the Jiujiang front, with only a small number of troops and puppet troops remaining around Zhanghu Town."
"There simply aren't enough troops to go to the river to provide rescue."
Upon hearing this, Hata Shunroku felt as if all his strength had been drained away, and he slumped into the chair behind him.
He stared at the battle map on the wall, the color draining from his face until his expression turned extremely grim.
The destruction of the eleventh squadron had far more impact than simply the loss of a few dozen ships.
With Yoshida Akiichi's fate unknown, the large-scale counterattack that had been planned in Jiujiang for a long time would inevitably have to be shelved.
Although this was a perfect opportunity to mock the navy's incompetence, the strategic deployment has been completely disrupted, and the overall situation has been damaged.
He couldn't muster even a hint of mockery; all that remained was boundless rage.
"Who did this? Who did it?!"
Hata Shunroku clenched his fists tightly and let out a low, angry roar at the empty operations room.
His chest felt like it was blocked by a volcano ready to erupt at any moment, and every breath he took was filled with extreme rage.
Li Jianghe held the commendation telegram sent by the principal between his fingers, glanced at it briefly, and casually placed it on the table.
He chuckled, his tone tinged with disdain:
"What's the use of just issuing a commendation order if it doesn't have anything substantial to show for it?"
Upon hearing this, Bai Chengshan glanced sideways at Li Jianghe, his rough voice causing the table to tremble slightly.
He was a burly man with gunpowder stains on his beard, and he slapped his thigh.
"If this were in the past, the old man would have issued a commendation order to the tank battalion I led."
"I could frame this thing and display it in the camp. Just looking at it every day would be a morale booster."