Chapter 1 The Japanese Army Encounters an Aerial Ambush

The Wantian Yuto Brigade, having just weathered the third wave of rocket attacks, was now charging forward with increased speed.

The Japanese soldiers in the middle ranks had realized that the Nakai Hideki Battalion, leading the charge, had not been hit during the fourth wave of rocket fire.

Battalion Commander Nakai Hideki, hearing the intense explosions behind him, finally breathed a sigh of relief. The brigade commander's strategy was correct. By pushing forward, they could quickly break through the Lunan Detachment’s encirclement.

They had been at the very front of the entire brigade, clearing the way, and therefore had been in the lead the whole time.

Originally, being at the front was the riskiest position, but today it had turned into a blessing in disguise, allowing them to escape the artillery barrage so quickly.

The soldiers of the Nakai Hideki Battalion were now extremely grateful, especially as they looked back at their comrades struggling to advance amidst the relentless bombardment.

The bombing had accelerated the entire Wantian Brigade’s advance, as they were eager to escape the area under fire.

Many soldiers had already noticed that the shells were no longer landing ahead of them. The excitement of a potential escape made them cheer.

Brigade Commander Wantian Yuto received word that the vanguard had broken through the Lunan Detachment’s encirclement—good news, very good news.

An expression of complete control appeared on the brigade commander’s face as he casually ordered, "Pass it on: The vanguard has broken through. Everyone, increase your speed!"

His words were immediately relayed. All the soldiers who heard that the vanguard had escaped the ambush were invigorated, knowing that escape was possible.

Wantian Yuto Brigade Commander then ordered, “Have the flanking units withdraw in an orderly fashion and follow.”

He could already envision the entire brigade breaking through the encirclement of tens of thousands of Lunan Detachment soldiers and reaching Tushan Town.

He imagined coordinating with the Xuzhou Task Force to encircle the Lunan Detachment in Tushan Town.

It was a beautiful scene. After winning this battle and annihilating the Lunan Detachment, they could regain control of the twenty-odd counties of Lunan and deter the other resistance groups in the Xuzhou area.

It was a double win, ensuring at least a year of peace for Xuzhou! Wantian Yuto Brigade Commander was lost in his own wishful thinking.

Just then, he heard a low "嗡嗡嗡" (wēng wēng wēng) sound in the air.

He was very familiar with this sound: Imperial aircraft!

Wantian Yuto Brigade Commander’s excitement was beyond words. He hadn’t sent a distress signal, nor had he requested air support.

Yet, the air force had arrived! It must be a passing plane that had noticed the battle and offered to help.

Wantian Yuto instantly considered: Should he take advantage of the aircraft to destroy the ambushing force's artillery positions and disrupt their formation, then quickly attack and scatter the Lunan Detachment?

While he was still brainstorming his new plan, the crisp sound of "哒哒哒!" "哒哒哒!" (dā dā dā) machine guns erupted.

The sound of such close machine gun fire was like thunder to Wantian Yuto Brigade Commander’s ears.

“They’ve hit the wrong target!” This was the only thought in his mind.

He wasn't alone in this thought. Many soldiers believed that the smoke and fire obscured their position, causing the aircraft to mistakenly target them.

So, many soldiers ran wildly across the fields, waving their arms and shouting.

Although their shouts were impossible for the pilots in the air to hear, they still yelled and gestured frantically, waving their hands while pointing toward the Lunan Detachment’s positions on either side of the road.

However, the aircraft completely ignored them. Five planes lined up and strafed the road from north to south.

Those soldiers waving clothing and flags, trying to correct the aircraft’s firing direction, were mercilessly struck by machine gun bullets and quickly fell into pools of blood.

The soldiers weren't all fools. They soon noticed the difference: the planes were flying very slowly, and four tongues of fire shot from under their bellies, continuously strafing the infantry on the ground.

Wherever they passed, they left trails of destruction. As soon as these planes appeared, the soldiers could no longer stand upright and charge.

They couldn't charge into the aircraft’s fire. The bullets were too fast and dense. Even worse, after the first wave of planes passed,

some soldiers who had narrowly avoided being hit tried to continue the charge, only to be met by the second wave of planes, also five in number.

Some who survived that wave were met with a third wave of five planes.

The aircraft seemed endless, attacking continuously and making life miserable for the Nakai Hideki Battalion at the front.

Their confidence in pushing forward was eroded wave after wave, until they were finally terrified.

Battalion Commander Nakai Hideki ordered, "Take cover! Evade the aerial strafing!" He couldn't bear to see his soldiers falling one after another.

His soldiers fell like ripe rice stalks being cut down by a scythe, never to rise again.

In reality, the Lunan Detachment only had twenty ground-attack aircraft, divided into four attack waves.

They were flying from Feixian County, strafing from north to south, then turning around to strafe again from north to south.

Battalion Commander Nakai Hideki never imagined that his battalion, after being ordered to take cover, would never be able to stand up again. The strafing continued relentlessly. As long as the aircraft didn't leave, his battalion wouldn't dare to get up.

Captain Dongyang Hua simply led the ground-attack aircraft back and forth, without any tactics or skill. It looked monotonous.

But this monotonous back-and-forth strafing was driving Wantian Yuto Brigade crazy. They couldn't outrun the aircraft; their legs were no match for the planes.

If they didn't run, they could only lie on the ground and wait to die. It really was just waiting for death.

Brigade Commander Wantian Yuto realized that all the artillery fire had stopped.

The Lunan Detachment soldiers, who had been observing from a distance, were now charging out of their trenches and attacking his outer defenses.

Faced with this situation, Wantian Yuto Brigade Commander could only abandon the idea of quickly leaving and advancing to Tushan Town. He ordered each battalion to reinforce the defenses on both sides.

According to Wantian Yuto Brigade Commander’s latest orders, the Muraji Yuki Regiment was responsible for the left side of the road, and the Hoshino Saburo Regiment was responsible for the right side.

Upon receiving the orders, the two regiments immediately deployed their battalions to reinforce the defenses on their respective sides.

Wantian Yuto Brigade Commander knew, "If the defenses on both sides are breached, the main force of the entire brigade will be entangled by the Lunan Detachment, and that will be a fight to the death."

But now he felt that the brigade wasn't strong enough. If they could join forces with the Xuzhou Task Force, the chances of victory would be much greater.

He didn't hide these thoughts, and had discussed them with both regimental commanders.

Regimental Commanders Muraji Yuki and Hoshino Saburo supported the brigade commander’s plan. They were aware of the battles that had taken place outside Xuzhou City over the past half-month.

They also had some understanding of the Lunan Detachment’s combat capabilities. With a more secure path to victory, they would naturally choose it.

The soldiers of the Wantian Yuto Brigade now realized that the aircraft overhead must be from the Lunan Detachment.

They had only heard in intelligence reports that the Lunan base had occasional aircraft, but the reports never mentioned that they had so many.

What infuriated Wantian Yuto the most was that these planes were clearly designed for targeting infantry. They flew slowly and carried four machine guns.

These were originally the aircraft's weaknesses: slow speed meant they couldn't catch up or escape in aerial combat.

Carrying four machine guns increased weight and reduced maneuverability. These were all weaknesses for aircraft, but for the infantry on the ground, they became strengths.

The slow-flying planes could attack them for a longer duration, and the four machine guns provided intense firepower. All of this made the Wantian Yuto Brigade miserable.

What Brigade Commander Wantian Yuto didn't know was that the planes were clumsy because they were loaded with extra ammunition and fuel, all to strafe the Japanese soldiers for longer.

This attack caused heavy casualties throughout the Wantian Brigade. Fortunately, Brigade Commander Wantian Yuto knew that these aircraft would only circle the battlefield three or four times before returning.

The soldiers of the Wantian Yuto Brigade waited patiently for the aircraft overhead to leave quickly.

To their dismay, the slow-moving aircraft continued to strafe back and forth in the sky.

Their pattern was simple: strafe from south to north, then from north to south.

The planes didn't perform fancy maneuvers like bombers, with climbs and dives. They simply flew straight, occasionally adjusting their machine gun fire slightly when they spotted a concentration of soldiers on the ground.

The entire Wantian Yuto Brigade anxiously waited for the aircraft overhead to leave. They counted the passes: from south to north, then from north to south, one lap.

Four laps had passed. Shouldn't the aircraft be returning?

To everyone's surprise, the aircraft slowly circled ahead and returned.

Another four laps. They could have played an entire round of mahjong. Still, the aircraft continued to strafe back and forth.

This drove the soldiers of the Wantian Yuto Brigade to the brink of collapse: When would this oppressive torment end?

Captain Taniya Hiroto led his troops, braving the strafing, and finally reached the front lines on the left, just in time to see the Lunan Detachment soldiers advancing.

They were truly advancing: At the very front were rows of small carts, and the soldiers were hiding behind them.

Captain Taniya Hiroto watched in amazement as his soldiers fired continuously, but the bullets didn't penetrate the carts.

The bullets only created sparks on the carts: the fronts were made of steel plates!

While Captain Taniya Hiroto was marveling, Captain Kuboyama Kazuyo, who had been fighting there for a while, quickly reported, "Captain! The carts are too sturdy. Machine gun bullets can't penetrate them."

Captain Taniya Hiroto wasn't worried. His battalion also had mortars, grenade launchers, and infantry guns, which could be brought up to attack these makeshift tanks.

At his command, the battalion’s heavy weapons were immediately prepared. When the first mortar shell was fired, although it didn't hit the target,

it alerted First Company Commander Feng Ruili, who immediately called for support:

"Captain Dongyang! Five hundred meters to the left of the road, the Japanese defenses are using mortars against us.

Request support, give the Japanese some payback!

Company Commander Wu! Can you see the Japanese artillery positions directly ahead of First Company?

Take them out!"

Wu Zhizhi was directing his heavy machine guns at the enemy machine guns in the distance. Hearing the company commander’s call, he immediately raised his binoculars and began searching.

His position on a small hill gave him a good vantage point. He quickly located several mortars from Captain Taniya Hiroto’s battalion in the distance.

He immediately pointed out the positions to his men and issued the order to attack.

While Company Commander Feng was calling for air support, First Company’s six carts had created a slight gap, and three rocket launcher operators lay prone on the ground, firing at the location where the shells had just landed.

Sergeant Yanashita Yosuke was a mortarman. Under Captain Taniya Hiroto’s command, he had just opened fire on the advancing Lunan Detachment.

After firing the first shell, he noticed that the impact point was too far away. He adjusted the position of the baseplate to increase the angle of the barrel, so it could shoot closer.

The second shell was still a bit off. Captain Taniya Hiroto had already sent a messenger to reprimand him.

It wasn't entirely Sergeant Yanashita Yosuke’s fault. The distance was too short. If the mortar tube was completely vertical, the shell might explode on their own side.

Sergeant Yanashita Yosuke could only test it little by little, and the risk was high. Hearing the messenger's reprimand, he wondered if he should adjust the angle again so that the shell landed on Captain Taniya or the opposing soldiers.

Of course, he could only think about it. Controlling his frustration, Sergeant Yanashita Yosuke began adjusting again.

Just then, he heard the sound of bullets whizzing past his ears.

Some bullets hit the ground nearby, kicking up puffs of dust. Sergeant Yanashita Yosuke looked around in surprise. There were no planes overhead. Where were these bullets coming from?

As he looked around, Squad Leader Hatoya Kazuki suddenly fell silently, his head blown apart. The blood, brain matter, and bone fragments splattered all over Yanashita Yosuke’s face.

Their artillery position wasn't on the front lines. Squad Leader Hatoya Kazuki had been standing to direct the firing. No one expected it to be unsafe here.

Sergeant Yanashita Yosuke no longer dared to adjust the angle. Clutching the mortar tube, he shouted urgently, "Move the position!"

He reacted quickly, but his luck wasn't good. The bullets were coming from Wu Zhizhi’s heavy machine gun platoon.

Twelve machine guns had been firing at this location. Finally, one bullet struck the ammunition the Japanese soldiers had stored there.

A booming explosion erupted, the most violent explosion in the battlefield for some time.

Since the aircraft had arrived, the Lunan Detachment’s artillery had ceased firing. Now, Yanashita Yosuke’s mortar position was detonated, and many shells followed suit.

The explosions echoed, and the shells that had been blasted thirty to forty meters into the air crashed back to the ground, exploding furiously.

The explosions behind him left Captain Taniya Hiroto dumbfounded. He had never imagined such a thing could happen.

He hadn't noticed that the artillery position was under attack. He could only guess that the explosion was caused by his men's mistakes.

He hadn't seen any signs of machine gun fire!

After receiving Company Commander Feng Ruili’s request for support, Captain Dongyang Hua immediately ordered the entire ground-attack squadron to focus on the infantry front lines.

Immediately, an aircraft was assigned to each of the defenses on the left and right, strafing and suppressing them.

In this way, the entire front line of the Wantian Yuto Brigade was now under a combined aerial and ground attack.

From the air, the Japanese defenses were clearly visible. Their mortars, infantry guns, and grenade launchers, all positioned behind the front lines, were in plain sight.

To be discovered was to be dead! This was the truth for the Japanese artillerymen.

Once they were spotted by the ground-attack aircraft, they would be subjected to intense machine gun fire with no chance of escape.

However, few units were as unlucky as Squad Leader Hatoya Kazuki's. The remaining artillery units suffered heavy casualties, but some soldiers managed to survive.

After seeing the arrival of the Aviation Detachment, Regiment Commander Gu Xiuming immediately ordered the artillery to cease their bombardment.

The regiments prepared to attack. After the ground-attack aircraft had strafed the Japanese soldiers twice, he issued the order, "All regiments, attack the Japanese!"

The First Regiment and the Yinxian Security First and Second Regiments immediately attacked the Japanese from both sides of the road.

The Second Regiment, which had been trailing the Japanese for ten miles, now also appeared.

Regiment Commander Hua Deze ordered the entire regiment to immediately charge the rear of the Japanese forces, pushing them forward.

It was because of their attack that Brigade Commander Wantian Yuto was forced to divert troops from the main assault toward Tushan Town to reinforce the defenses on both sides.

Brigade Commander Wantian Yuto looked anxiously at the aircraft overhead. "It's been half an hour, why haven't they left yet?"

As he lay prone on the ground, at a loss for what to do, a messenger rushed over to report: "Asaji Torataro Battalion reports that a force suddenly emerged from the direction of Xuzhou and is attacking fiercely.

The force that launched the attack is extremely fierce. The Asaji Torataro Battalion cannot hold out much longer and requests reinforcements from the brigade commander."

Wantian Yuto Brigade Commander was so surprised that he almost jumped up from the ground, but he immediately realized that he couldn't stand up.

Still prone, Brigade Commander Wantian asked, "How many men are in the force that came from behind?"

"About two to three thousand men. Their attack is the same as the ones on the left and right, using carts to shield themselves from bullets," the messenger said, pointing to the battlefield on the left.

Hearing this, Wantian Yuto Brigade Commander ordered, "Tell Battalion Commander Asaji Torataro to slowly pull back their defenses and retreat toward Tushan, making sure to coordinate well with the defenses on the left and right."

He reasoned that since the entire brigade was going to Tushan Town anyway, letting the Asaji Torataro Battalion retreat would concentrate their forces.

The further they retreated, the more concentrated their forces would become, giving them the option of either continuing to resist or quickly charging toward Tushan.

The messenger ran back to deliver the orders. Wantian Yuto Brigade Commander could no longer wait. He ordered, "Order the Nakai Hideki Battalion to continue their assault and break out of the aircraft strafing range as soon as possible."

He still hoped that the Nakai Hideki Battalion could go ahead and see if they could escape the strafing zone by moving a certain distance, just like they had escaped the artillery bombardment earlier.

Battalion Commander Nakai Hideki was frustrated upon receiving the order. His battalion had been trying to break through in one fell swoop during the aircraft attack.

The entire battalion had braved the barrage of bullets and endured three waves of strafing, only to be cut down during the aircraft’s fourth wave of attack.

How many soldiers in the entire battalion could still stand up and charge?

Battalion Commander Nakai Hideki didn't know. However, after receiving the order, he immediately stood up, drew his command sword, and pointed it toward Tushan Town.

He shouted, "Charge!"

This was the standard procedure for a Japanese charge: The direction of the commander's sword indicated the direction of the charge.

The charge wouldn't stop until the command sword was lowered. Battalion Commander Nakai Hideki didn't just stand there; he started charging with his sword pointing forward.

With the battalion commander taking the lead, all the soldiers in the battalion who could stand rose to their feet, shouting to encourage themselves as they charged forward.

Battalion Commander Nakai Hideki didn't dare to look back and see how many soldiers were left in his battalion. Originally, he had been in the middle to rear of the battalion. From the time he started charging, less than three hundred soldiers rose and followed him.

Based on this ratio, Battalion Commander Nakai Hideki thought sadly that his battalion had no more than four hundred combat-ready soldiers left.

What was more tragic was that he wasn't charging blindly.

Battalion Commander Nakai Hideki rose during a lull in the aerial strafing. The aircraft had all passed over.

Now, he could hear the "哒哒哒" (dā dā dā) sound of machine gun fire, the sound of death closing in from behind.

Dust kicked up by bullets striking the mud at his feet. At that moment, Battalion Commander Nakai Hideki opened his mouth in shock. He saw that the road ahead, and five hundred meters on both sides, had been barricaded with a line of defenses at least half a meter high.

The ambushing force had built such a long defensive line two miles beyond the ambush point.

This long sniper line shattered the courage in Battalion Commander Nakai Hideki’s heart.

He had always believed that as long as they kept charging forward, they could reach Tushan Town, join up with the Xuzhou Task Force, and use superior forces to annihilate the Lunan Detachment.

Now, after seeing the defensive line in the distance, his mentality collapsed! The "哒哒哒" (dā dā dā) sound of machine gun fire was close behind him.

Unable to persevere any longer, Battalion Commander Nakai Hideki fell to the ground. Seeing their commander finally lower his sword, the soldiers who had been watching the sword all along

followed suit and collapsed, many of them cut down by machine gun fire from behind.

These charging soldiers saw comrades beside them, in front of them, suddenly fall, blood flowing from their backs.

These soldiers had been shot down by the aircraft strafing them from behind.

Although they wanted to lie down and wait for the aircraft to pass before continuing the charge, they didn't dare stop as long as Battalion Commander Nakai Hideki didn't stop.

Now it was all right, their battalion commander had fallen, and they could also lie down and catch their breath. Battalion Commander Nakai Hideki hadn't fallen voluntarily; he had been shot in the thigh and forced to collapse.

Lying on the ground, Battalion Commander Nakai Hideki didn't immediately have his guards bandage his wound. Instead, he ordered, "Immediately send three soldiers back to report to the brigade commander that we've discovered fortifications built by the Lunan Detachment.

They've established a sniper line ahead. Send several soldiers back to ensure the message gets through."

This intelligence was undoubtedly critical. Brigade Commander Wantian Yuto was stunned for a moment.

At this point, he realized he had been deceived: The Lunan Detachment had used so many troops to surround him. There couldn't be many left in Tushan Town, considering their total strength was only about twenty thousand.

But the soldiers of the Xuzhou Task Force had been cowering in Tushan Town, without making the slightest attempt to investigate the number of troops surrounding them.

"An empty fort! The Lunan Detachment set up an empty fort in Tushan Town, and they moved all their forces here.

It turns out that I am the Lunan Detachment’s target. They surrounded the Xuzhou Task Force to lure me out of Xuzhou City." Believing that he had seen through everything, Wantian Yuto Brigade Commander forgot about commanding the troops.

He ordered the radio operator to immediately urge Commander Yamashita Koshiro to quickly approach and rescue him.

Wantian Yuto Brigade Commander also sent a telegram with his guesses, stating that the Independent Mixed Infantry Seventeenth Brigade was now surrounded by the Lunan Detachment, with a large number of infantry attacking on the ground and aircraft strafing from above.

Now, he didn't care about losing face. Not only did he send Yamashita Koshiro the current predicament of the entire brigade, but he also sent a copy to the North China Area Army headquarters, hoping to get some aircraft to retaliate.

Commander Yamashita Koshiro of the Xuzhou Task Force was fuming in his headquarters: He had believed Wantian Yuto Brigade Commander's words and ordered the entire task force to attack proactively.

As a result, they were met with a strong counterattack, and the task force suffered heavy casualties. He was looking for someone to vent his anger on.

Suddenly, he received a telegram from the Independent Mixed Infantry Seventeenth Brigade, thinking that they had arrived outside Tushan Town and were coordinating their breakout.

When he opened it, the contents guessed that the Lunan Detachment had set up an empty fort in Tushan Town, accusing him of cowering in Tushan Town.

Tens of thousands of Lunan Detachment soldiers were attacking outside. How could it be an empty fort?

Commander Yamashita Koshiro was so angry that he almost vomited blood. He felt that he had been tricked by Wantian Yuto Brigade Commander. Perhaps they hadn't encountered the Lunan Detachment’s ambush at all.

Otherwise, how could the tens of thousands of Lunan Detachment soldiers surround Tushan? The Lunan Detachment only had twenty thousand soldiers in total. The entire force was outside Tushan Town!

This time, Commander Yamashita Koshiro first sent a complaint to the North China Area Army headquarters, then telegraphed Wantian Yuto Brigade Commander: "My Task Force is attacking on all sides of Tushan Town, but it is being met with heavy fire from the Lunan Detachment, and has now retreated to Tushan Town to hold out for reinforcements.

I hope you will come quickly and encircle and annihilate the Lunan Detachment according to the original plan."

Upon receiving the reply, Wantian Yuto Brigade Commander tore the telegram into pieces, "To hell with your encirclement, to hell with your plan, I'm surrounded now! Can't you understand?"

After tearing the telegram, Wantian Yuto Brigade Commander finally calmed down after a while.

His brigade was now in a very dangerous situation. He couldn't continue to act recklessly. That would only drag the entire brigade into the abyss.

With this in mind, Wantian Yuto Brigade Commander had to swallow his pride and send a plea for help to Commander Yamashita Koshiro: "The Independent Mixed Infantry Seventeenth Brigade is heavily besieged by the Lunan Detachment, and it is suffering heavy casualties.

It is unable to break through on its own. Please, Commander Yamashita, save your brothers!"

Commander Yamashita Koshiro, who received this telegram, sensed that something was wrong. "Wantian Yuto Brigade Commander sent a telegram in such a humble tone. Could they really be trapped?"

But the Xuzhou Task Force was in dire straits and was unable to break through, let alone go twenty miles to reinforce Wantian Brigade.

"If the Task Force had the ability to break out, it wouldn't need the Seventeenth Brigade to come to its rescue.

My brothers, please quickly approach Tushan Town. The Xuzhou Task Force will be waiting for you in Tushan." Holding this telegram, Wantian Yuto Brigade Commander finally gave up.

Now, he just wanted to rescue himself and no longer had any illusions about Commander Yamashita Koshiro.

He had one last resort: the Thirty-seventh Puppet Army stationed in Xuzhou. With this in mind, Wantian Yuto Brigade Commander sent a telegram to Commander Ruan Lesheng: Ordering him to lead the entire army to depart overnight and arrive at the battlefield before six o'clock tomorrow morning, with both sides cooperating to break through.

Wantian Yuto Brigade Commander had already decided: As soon as they broke through, he would lead the entire brigade back to Xuzhou. To hell with the Xuzhou Task Force. Their lives were no longer his concern. He had no love for them.

Commander Ruan Lesheng, who received Wantian Yuto Brigade Commander’s telegram, was shocked. He didn't expect Wantian Brigade to be forced to ask for help so quickly by the Lunan Detachment.

He would never go to their aid. Safety first!

These days, the North China Area Army headquarters had become the Xuzhou Affairs Headquarters. Just yesterday, they had ordered the Independent Mixed Infantry Seventeenth Brigade to leave the city to rescue the Xuzhou Task Force.

Today, they received a request for help from the Independent Mixed Infantry Seventeenth Brigade, with the two Japanese forces in Xuzhou accusing each other of reporting false military information.

Both sides insisted that their forces were surrounded by the Lunan Detachment, but the Lunan Detachment only had twenty thousand soldiers. How could they divide their forces and surround the elite four thousand troops?

The staff officers at the North China Area Army headquarters pored over the maps, trying to come up with a reasonable battle plan.

They divided themselves into three groups: one representing the Lunan Detachment with twenty thousand troops, one representing the Xuzhou Task Force with three thousand Japanese soldiers, and one representing the Independent Mixed Infantry Seventeenth Brigade with one thousand Japanese soldiers.

Surrounding these four thousand Japanese soldiers with two thousand troops, while at the same time repelling these four thousand fully attacking Japanese soldiers. The staff officers couldn't figure out how to fight this battle, whether on the map or on the sand table.

If it were two thousand Japanese soldiers and four thousand Chinese soldiers, they could defeat the Chinese, but it was impossible to surround them!

That was the situation now. The Japanese soldiers at both locations claimed to be surrounded, unable to break through despite their casualties. What was going on?

Commander Terauchi Hisaichi was now in a very passive position. He was under great pressure. The fighting in Xuzhou was no longer a trivial local war.

The Japanese had suffered the casualties of an entire division, and now another four thousand Japanese soldiers were about to die. He, the area army commander, couldn't bear such losses.

But what could he do? Reinforcements, where were the nearest reinforcements?

The nearest reinforcements that could be dispatched in battalion strength were in Jinan. It would take them until tomorrow to reach Xuzhou from Jinan.

From Brigade Commander Wantian Yuto’s telegram, it was clear that the aircraft of the Lunan Detachment were slow, clumsy, and lacked maneuverability.

This was a good opportunity to annihilate them!

With this in mind, Commander Terauchi Hisaichi finally made up his mind. He ordered the air force stationed in Jinan to mobilize immediately, determined to shoot down the aircraft of the Lunan Detachment, while at the same time bombing the Lunan Detachment’s troops, in order to coordinate with the Wantian Yuto Brigade and the Xuzhou Task Force to annihilate the Lunan Detachment’s forces.

As for infantry, he was unable to draw a battalion of soldiers from Jinan. All the troops that could be transferred had already been drawn out; otherwise, the Xuzhou Task Force wouldn't have transferred troops to maintain local security.

"No one knows my pain!" Terauchi Hisaichi looked up at the sky outside the window.

He was one of the first Japanese soldiers to propose the Xuzhou campaign. At the time, his idea was simple: the Shanghai Expeditionary Army had already occupied Nanjing and achieved great glory. His North China Area Army was even stronger and more powerful. They should also seize more territory, so as not to be outdone by the newly established Shanghai Expeditionary Army.

Therefore, he strongly promoted the attack on Xuzhou, but because the Chinese army resisted very resolutely in the north, the Central China Expeditionary Army once again seized the opportunity in the south.

The soldiers of the Central China Expeditionary Army were the first to break into Xuzhou, which made the Japanese soldiers represented by Terauchi Hisaichi in the North China Area Army even more angry.

To allocate the benefits, the North China Area Army and the Central China Expeditionary Army finally agreed, with the intervention of the headquarters, that the entire northern part of Xuzhou would be managed by the North China Area Army, and the southern part would be managed by the Central China Expeditionary Army.

To regain face, Terauchi Hisaichi continued to propose the Wuhan campaign plan. They didn't care what the headquarters thought about these combat plans. Anyway, the plans had already been proposed, and the North China Area Army had already started to act, whether you agreed or not.

The soldiers of the Central China Expeditionary Army were also eager for the war to be as big as possible, and they actively encouraged it.

But now that the war has been fought, he has no troops, and such a big disturbance has occurred in Xuzhou. However, the Lunan Detachment has always been active in the territory managed by the North China Area Army, which has put great pressure on Commander Terauchi Hisaichi.

The Central China Expeditionary Army has asked several times whether to hand over the management of Xuzhou to them, and let them wipe out the Lunan Detachment.

How could Terauchi Hisaichi dare to agree to such a humiliating request? If he agreed to this condition, he would probably have to go into reserve duty the next day.

His sorrow and pressure were not understood by anyone. Yamashita Koshiro, who was originally highly regarded, had disappointed him time and time again. He had already given up on him, but now the Independent Mixed Infantry Seventeenth Brigade had been dragged in.

If he ignored it and really allowed the Lunan Detachment to annihilate the Xuzhou Task Force and the Independent Mixed Infantry Seventeenth Brigade, would Xuzhou also be lost next?

Commander Terauchi Hisaichi could only place all his hopes on the Jinan Air Force.

Keigo Amagai, commander of the Jinan Air Force, received the order from the North China Area Army headquarters and was stunned when he saw the target of the attack.

"Xuzhou, Tushan Town! Last time, he sent out an air wing of eighteen fighters and eighteen bombers to Xuzhou to carry out bombing missions.

The result was that all thirty-six aircraft were lost without a single survivor! Afterward, the North China Area Army specifically issued an order: From now on, the air force will no longer participate in any battles in Xuzhou, even routine reconnaissance missions over Xuzhou are not required."

At the time, Commander Keigo Amagai thought that Xuzhou also had its own air force, and they could solve the routine reconnaissance situation themselves.

Now, after receiving the order to go to Xuzhou to carry out a mission, he dared not confirm it and immediately sent a telegram back to confirm it.

The confirmation telegram quickly returned, and Commander Terauchi Hisaichi personally called, ordering him to organize two wings to depart immediately.

At the same time, Commander Terauchi Hisaichi told Keigo Amagai the description of the Lunan Detachment's aircraft that Brigade Commander Wantian Yuto had sent back:

The aircraft of the Lunan Detachment are slow, not maneuverable, and very clumsy. As soon as the empire's fighters arrive, they can be destroyed immediately.

With Commander Terauchi Hisaichi’s personal orders and explanations, Keigo Amagai could no longer refuse, and he could only order: "The Lintaro Omori fighter wing will set off immediately and go to Tushan Town, north of Xuzhou, to carry out its mission."