After repelling the Japanese attack, the National Salvation Army took a short rest in the morning, replenished some ammunition, and evacuated all the wounded.
Starting from the afternoon, the First Division and the Second Division each sent a regiment to clear out the Japanese in the "Snake Body" position from the north and south.
This section of the position is about ten kilometers long and ranging from a few hundred meters to three kilometers wide. There is about a large group of Japanese soldiers fighting recklessly.
They faced the front and back attacks of two regiments of the National Salvation Army, and fought very hard. The space for movement was compressed step by step. In the end, the remaining 500 or so Japanese soldiers were rushed to the central area before dark, and all their ammunition and reinforcements were exhausted.
The National Salvation Army called for them to surrender, but they were flatly refused by Colonel Hashimoto Goo, commander of the 68th Regiment of the Third Division, the Japanese commander;
Colonel Yoshioka Yorikatsu, captain of the Third Regiment of the First Division of the National Salvation Army, did not give up and continued to persuade them with a loudspeaker:
"Hashimoto-kun, I am Yoshioka Yoshikatsu, the former captain of the 20th Regiment of the 4th Infantry Division. It is actually very simple for us to eliminate you. The reason why we are still making the final effort is that we don't want to see you in vain. Death due to selfish desires;
Tiaobaji has been defeated. It is only a matter of time before the coalition forces of Huaxia and Yingjiang land on the mainland. The fight cannot continue!
If you continue to beat the Toutonji, all the men will die. The empire is for people, but the Toutonji belongs to all the peace tribes;
The empire can be gone, but the He clan must survive!
Yuren's 100 million pieces of jade will only wipe out the last bit of blood of the He clan. Why do we need the empire when everyone is dead?
Hashimoto-kun, you and I are both commanders, and one decision affects the life and death of countless people;
If you choose to surrender, you can retain more than 500 men for the He clan. This may be the last bloodline of the He clan!
Yuren is crazy. He will make the He clan extinct. You should consider my words carefully. I will give you another quarter of an hour to preserve the blood for the He clan, or die. It is your choice. "
Yoshioka's words greatly touched Hashimoto. He was not afraid of death, and none of his soldiers were afraid of death. Their entire third division was mentally prepared for the attack.
He is a little scared now. If the fight continues like this, as Yoshioka said, all the men with weak feet will be wiped out. The subjugation of the country is not terrible, but the genocide is the most terrible thing.
If Yuren's 100 million pieces of jade continue to be beaten like this, the He clan will be extinct in less than a year...
Thinking of this, he slowly said to the others:
"Gentlemen, as a soldier, you have done your best. Yoshioka is right, we must leave some blood for the He clan;
As your commander, I will bear the military responsibility for defeat!
And you must obey my order. I give you the last order to put down all your weapons, surrender to the Footpot National Salvation Army, and then follow them to establish a new Footpot Chicken to continue the blood of the He clan. This is an order and must be carried out. ! "
After Hashimoto finished speaking, he jumped off the cliff. The other Japanese soldiers followed his orders and surrendered to the National Salvation Army. At this point, the Japanese soldiers in the middle section were completely eliminated, and at the same time, they were cut into two separate defense zones.
At the head are the more than 10,000 Japs from the remnants of the Third Division, and at the rear are the 20,000 Japs from the 15th Division. They face the dilemma of being defeated one by one.
Strong fortresses are often easiest to break from the inside. The Japanese defense lines are all external. Now after the Foot Pot Chicken National Salvation Army takes the middle position, they attack from the middle to both sides, just like the Monkey King who got into the belly of Princess Iron Fan. , making the Japanese at the head and tail very uncomfortable;
Because there are tens of thousands of troops from the Expeditionary Force in front of them, and now they are cut off in the middle by the National Salvation Army. They have to face front and rear attacks. The situation is very unfavorable to the Japanese.
After research, the Expeditionary Force Headquarters decided to temporarily strengthen the artillery regiment of the Second Division of the Independence Army to the National Salvation Army, with 8 Weishen artillery pieces per division;
The First Division of the National Salvation Army attacked from north to south on the mountain ridge, and together with the New Seventh Division of the New Second Army, attacked the 3rd Division at the head;
The Second Division of the National Salvation Army was also on the ridge of the Shuri defense line, attacking from south to north, and flanked the 15th Division at the rear with the Second Division of the Independence Army;
The First Marine Brigade wiped out other troops on the island. Three battlefields started fighting at the same time, and the pace of the war accelerated.
Starting from the third day, the expeditionary force suddenly stepped up its offensive. The defense areas of the 3rd Division and the 15th Division were attacked from both front and rear, and the Japanese defensive pressure suddenly increased.
The focus of the expeditionary force's attack is the National Salvation Army in the middle. The Second Division and the New Seventh Division are all miscellaneous, but their firepower is quite fierce, especially the large number of 130mm Mulan cannons, which poses a great threat to their tunnel fortifications. .
This forced the Japanese to spend their main energy on defending frontal attacks, and there were not many effective methods for attacks from behind.
The reinforcement of the Independence Army played a huge role in the National Salvation Army's Wei Shenpao, and their tactics revolved around the Wei Shenpao;
First, use the Wei Shen Cannon to blast away a certain distance, and then the infantry rushes forward to clear out the remaining enemies. They blast out a section, clear out a section, and then push forward for a section.
With a depth of more than 20 kilometers and a front face of several kilometers, there is not much room for movement. With eight Wei Shen cannons covering each one, there will not be many Japanese left in the surface fortifications;
Then the National Salvation Army sent a large group of infantry to advance forward. When encountering resistance from a small number of remaining enemies, they attacked in groups and eliminated them one by one.
They only advanced about five kilometers every day, and they repeatedly carried out clearing operations. They first eliminated the Japanese on the ground, and then stopped to dig fortifications and dig three feet into the ground to find the Japanese tunnels.
Once you find it, use a flamethrower to burn it, just like digging a mouse hole. This method is a bit clumsy, but the effect is very good.
The Japanese's activity space was being squeezed day by day, and it was only 20 to 30 kilometers in total. It only took a week to clear it all. The expeditionary force fought very patiently.
In the first two or three days, not many Japs disappeared. After the fourth day, tens of thousands of Japs had nowhere to retreat, and they had no choice but to launch a counterattack at night;
After suffering a loss, the National Salvation Army became very cautious. They would stop and dig fortifications after occupying a section, and would work in two shifts at night;
One squad rested, while the other stood guard on the position, never leaving their machine guns, leaving no chance for the Japanese to counterattack.
Naturally, the Japanese would not give up easily. They launched two night attacks, but they were swept back by the waiting National Salvation Army with rain of machine gun bullets. Apart from leaving behind a large number of corpses, they achieved nothing.
On the evening of the sixth day, at the headquarters of the Third Division, several old Japanese soldiers were hiding in the core tunnel for a meeting, and the atmosphere was very depressing.
Lieutenant General Saburo Yamamoto, the division commander, said in a low voice:
"Gentlemen, since our third division was formed, we have participated in almost all major events in the empire, including the Sino-Japanese War of 1898-1894, the war between Pig Pot Chicken and Black Bear, the dispatch of troops to Siberia, the dispatch of troops to Qilu, and the dispatch of troops to China, and have made great contributions to the empire. !
Wherever the Third Division passes, there are mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Unfortunately, the enemy is too powerful. Today, our Third Division has reached the last moment of life and death;
There is no way to retreat. The Third Division must not disappear silently into the tunnel. Even if it is to die, it must die on the way to charge and dye the land of Okinawa red with our blood! "
After hearing this, other old Japanese soldiers stood up and expressed their intention to use their blood to make the enemy tremble and serve the empire and the emperor.
"Yo Xi, each regiment immediately destroys the military flags, and after an hour, launch a long live charge against the enemy in front!"
