nucmednet Chapter 229 Breakout
Chapter 229 Breakout
"Clean up the battlefield and continue the attack! You, take these women away!" Chen San ordered sternly. The auxiliary troops hurriedly picked up their weapons and began cleaning up the battlefield. Several new army soldiers helped the women put on their clothes and then took them away.
Chen San shook his head; there was nothing he could do about these auxiliary soldiers!
The new army launched a major offensive, gradually approaching the Japanese Imperial Palace from three sides. The situation became increasingly urgent, forcing the Japanese high command to launch a breakout operation.
In the early morning of November 20th, the north gate of Tokyo was quietly opened. A large number of Japanese troops stealthily slipped out.
"Boom boom boom boom," countless shells pounded against the northern New Army's defensive line. The deafening roar of the cannons awakened all the soldiers on both sides.
"I've been waiting for you for a long time!" Cai Shixiong, commander of the Fifth Division of the Army, revealed a smug smile. He hadn't gotten to fight any major battles since arriving in Japan, and during the siege of Tokyo, he was assigned to defend the north.
I originally thought the Japanese would definitely see through this three-sided encirclement tactic and wouldn't fall for it by breaking out from the north. But the Japanese still delivered the bait! Now my chance to make a name for myself has arrived.
"Tell the troops to open up the front and let the Japanese out to fight! Don't scare them back!" Cai Shixiong ordered.
Now that the Japanese have come out, he doesn't want any big fish to fall into the hands of other brother units.
About half an hour later, the Japanese artillery bombardment ended. Tens of thousands of Japanese troops launched a fierce attack on the 5th Army Division's defensive line.
The Japanese soldiers, fearless and in dense formation, charged desperately under the machine gun fire of the 5th Army Division. Many Japanese soldiers strapped explosives to their bodies and launched suicide attacks as soon as they reached the 5th Division's position.
Their sudden attack caught the Chinese army completely off guard. They quickly broke through the first line of defense, and tens of thousands of Japanese troops continued their attack on the second line of defense without stopping.
As dawn approached, the Japanese army had already broken through two lines of defense of the Fifth Division. They had advanced five kilometers and were on the verge of completely breaking through the Chinese army's encirclement.
"All troops, charge!" Yamagata Aritomo gave the order. The most elite Imperial Guard Division of the Japanese army charged out from the north gate.
A large number of high-ranking officials and the Japanese Emperor's family, escorted by the military, also rushed out of the north gate.
"Kill them! This is the last line of defense for the Chinese. If we break through, we can live!" A Japanese colonel raised his sword and led the attack.
"Heh heh! Come on! You've advanced a few kilometers, and you really think I'm afraid of you!" Cai Shixiong stood in his bunker on the mountaintop, holding up his binoculars. It was already daylight, and a dense, dark mass of Japanese soldiers was charging towards the position.
"Fire!" The officer at the front gave the order as the Japanese troops came into firing range.
"Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat..." A dozen general-purpose machine guns roared merrily, spitting out streaks of fire at the Japanese soldiers.
Large numbers of Japanese soldiers fell to the ground, but the surviving soldiers paid no heed and continued their fierce charge with bloodshot eyes.
"Boom, boom, boom," Japanese soldiers who rushed within a hundred meters stepped on landmines one after another, and those who were not dead rolled around on the ground, howling, clutching their broken legs.
"Crackling sounds," the soldiers, rifles in hand, began firing at the approaching Japanese troops.
One wave died, then another came. The Japanese troops charged relentlessly, wave after wave. Soon, the area in front of the position was littered with the corpses of Japanese soldiers, and the Japanese troops behind continued their attack.
They carried the bodies of their fallen comrades, or used them as fortifications. They launched attacks without pause.
The few infantry guns and mountain guns the Japanese army had also opened fire fiercely on the defending troops' positions, causing considerable losses to the defenders.
An airplane flew slowly overhead, looking down at the dense crowd below. The pilot let out a strange cry.
"Commander, the General Staff has sent a notification. Approximately 50,000 Japanese troops have broken out. They are followed by countless Japanese civilians!"
"The General Staff has ordered us to hold off the Japanese and not let a single Japanese soldier escape! The General Staff is sending troops from the east and west to support us!" the Chief of Staff reported to Cai Shixiong.
"Yes! Telegraph the General Staff that as long as there is one person left in our Fifth Division, we will never let a single Japanese soldier leave!" Cai Shixiong said without turning his head, holding up his binoculars.
The Japanese army's black tide crashed against the Fifth Division's defense line like it had encountered a hard rock.
Faced with overwhelming firepower, the Japanese army's human wave tactics were completely ineffective. The new army's general-purpose machine guns had been deployed to platoon levels, while the Japanese army only had one heavy machine gun per company.
In terms of rifles, the situation was even worse. The Japanese army used single-shot rifles, while the new army's imitation Garand rifles had eight-round magazines. For every shot fired by the Japanese, the new army would have fired several more.
After three or four hours of continuous attack, the Japanese vanguard finally retreated. In just one hour of attack, they had left behind four or five thousand corpses on the front line.
"Division Commander, let the Guards Division's artillery provide support! The Chinese are well prepared; they have already built strong fortifications. No matter how many of our soldiers we sacrifice, we will find it difficult to break through their lines."
A Japanese colonel stood in front of Morita Ichiro and said!
"Report! Requesting reinforcements!" Morita Ichiro nodded, exhausted from the continuous attacks. He knew perfectly well the situation of his troops. Now was not the time to be stubborn.
Upon receiving the request for reinforcements from the front, the Imperial Guard Division did not hesitate and immediately deployed their artillery.
Unfortunately, the planes overhead had already spotted them, and the Japanese artillery had barely stopped firing when they were met with a fierce barrage from the 5th Division's artillery regiment.
The few cannons the Japanese army had were blown into the air one by one by the shelling of the 5th Army Division.
"Full-scale attack!" Without time for grief, Yamagata Aritomo directly ordered the Japanese army to launch an attack on the 5th Army Division's defenses from three sides.
The Chinese army had caught up from behind, and the Japanese army didn't have much time left.
Unfortunately, the 5th Army Division held firm, and the Japanese army's several attacks failed to break through the defense line.
As the battle progressed into the afternoon, more and more troops arrived. Tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers and a large number of civilians were gradually forced into a small area of Musashino.
The new army did not launch an attack, but instead surrounded the Japanese from all sides, continuously shrinking their space.
Meanwhile, after learning that the Emperor had fled, large numbers of Japanese soldiers in Tokyo began to lay down their weapons and surrender.
Fifty to sixty thousand new troops, along with auxiliary forces and Russian mercenaries, stormed into the city and began the final mopping-up operation.
As darkness fell, the gunfire ceased. The Japanese army stopped its attack, and the Chinese army did not launch an offensive. The battlefield, which had been fiercely fighting all day, fell silent instantly.
"Your Majesty, it is all our incompetence!" A group of high-ranking Japanese military officers knelt before Mutsuhito, their faces full of shame.
"My beloved ministers, what should we do now?" Muren asked, his face pale and his body swaying.
"We must either seek peace or fight to the death! The decision rests entirely with Your Majesty!"