Sword: Heart of Iron

Chapter 23: Flags Flying on the Battlefield
After the Temporary 17st Brigade joined the defense of Tuanchengkou, the soldiers of the th Army finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Wang Feng's leather boots stepped on the soft yellow soil and he patrolled around the newly built position.

I didn't expect that Zhang Hu had made great progress. He had arranged the defensive fortifications in an orderly manner and was already stronger than many officers of the same rank in the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army.

Not far away, Zhang Hu saw Wang Feng walking slowly towards him and ran to him excitedly: "Commander, when can we fight the Japanese?"

Wang Feng glanced at him and said, "Why are you in such a hurry?"

"There are plenty of battles for you to fight."

Zhang Hu put his hands on his waist and grinned, "I'm just thinking about defeating the Japanese as soon as possible and driving these damn bastards out of China as soon as possible, so that they won't harm our people!"

Wang Feng looked up at the sky in the south, and he seemed to have felt the shadow of war in his heart:
"It's almost time. When the Japanese invaders come, your regiment will be the main attacker. Don't lose face for me!"

This feeling is not unfounded.

Itagaki Seishirō spent a long time at Pingxingguan, attacking fiercely but without achieving any impressive results.

Wang Feng is familiar with history and has a relatively good understanding of the character of this old devil.

He is eager for quick success and attaches too much importance to personal reputation.

Since entering Shanxi, he has been secretly competing with Hideki Tojo.

Now that Pingxingguan cannot be taken, they will probably immediately turn their guns and head straight for Tuanchengkou area.

The position of the Temporary 1st Brigade was located between mountain passes, where strong winds would blow at any time. The brand-new brigade flag was planted on a high ground, swaying in the wind and making rustling sounds.

The next day dawned.

When Wang Fenggang arrived at the command center, Zhao Fangyuan was already waiting at the door.

"Commander, something terrible has happened!"

Wang Feng was puzzled: "What's the matter?"

"The Japanese army is coming?"

Zhao Fangyuan nodded: "Last night, the 33th Independent Brigade of the 8rd Army sent a telegram that the Japanese troops that were attacking Pingxingguan head-on have stopped the attack and are moving towards Tuanchengkou!"

Wang Feng put on white gloves and remained calm.

At present, all the movements of the Japanese army seem to be within his expectations.

As long as nothing unexpected happens...

"Order the First and Second Regiments to immediately go on alert and be ready to fight the Japanese invaders at any time!"

"Distribute all combat supplies and be alert to Japanese air raids and bombings."

"Also...keep an eye on any unusual movements of friendly forces."

Once bitten, twice shy.

Wang Feng has been thinking about this matter.

He had some understanding of the Pingxingguan Battle.

Historically, Gao Guizi's 17th Army, after resisting for several days, abandoned its positions and retreated due to being isolated and helpless.

It had a great impact on the entire Pingxingguan battle situation.

In order to prevent history from repeating itself, he must prepare early.

"Notify Song Wenjie and have him lead the brigade's reserve forces. If there are any loopholes in the defense line, they must be filled in time!"

Zhao Fangyuan pressed his heels together: "I understand!"

Around ten o'clock in the morning.

The Japanese army's first wave of aerial bombardment arrived before the ground troops.

hum!
The Shanxi-Suiyuan Army lacked effective air defense means, and Japanese fighter planes in the sky were extremely rampant.

In addition to bombers and ground attack aircraft.

Even fighter planes mounted aerial bombs on both sides of their wings and participated in the bombing of our ground forces.

When the fighter planes dived down, the deafening roar of the propellers, like the death horn, resounded throughout the entire battlefield.

Among the First Brigade, the First Regiment was the first to be bombed by Japanese fighter planes.

Watching the bombs fall one after another, the flames of the explosions and the smoke and dust they raised covered the entire position.

Zhang Hu was anxious because the Japanese fighter planes came too fast and many soldiers did not have time to hide in the bunkers and were swallowed by the thick smoke produced by the explosion.

Most of these soldiers were new recruits who had not undergone rigorous military training. As the saying goes, new recruits are afraid of artillery, and old soldiers are afraid of machine guns.

When the explosions sounded one after another, they instantly lost their composure and huddled in the trenches, not moving a muscle and shaking uncontrollably despite the orders given by their platoon leaders.

Pray that the shells won't fall on your head.

As the head of the regiment, he couldn't just watch his soldiers die in vain.

Zhang Hu rushed out of the sturdy bunker. The sound of the explosion covered up the voices of people. He could only shout at the top of his voice:
"Quick, enter the air defense fortifications!"

"If you don't want to die like this, be quick!"

Several veterans from the original 414th Regiment ran out.

Their troops were very close to the air defense fortifications, and they immediately organized the soldiers to hide inside.

"Captain, it's too dangerous outside, hide in the bunker quickly!"

"Captain, come back soon!"

Zhang Hu turned around and yelled, "Get lost!"

"I can't stay alone in the trenches and watch my soldiers die!"

"If you don't even have this much courage, how can you fight the devils?"

"Why don't you all go home and hug your wives and sleep!"

The bombing by Japanese fighter planes continued, and a bomb happened to fall not far from Zhang Hu.

Although he was standing outside the range of the explosion, the raised sand and dust fell on his neck in bits and pieces.

In times of crisis, Zhang Hu set an example.

The old soldiers who had been hiding in the fortifications came out one after another, risking their lives to walk through the trenches with their backs bent.

Organize the recruits in an orderly manner to hide.

The situation was back under control.

Finally, after seeing all the soldiers hiding in the bunker, Zhang Hu quickly ran to the safe area.

After entering the fortifications, the deputy commander came over and started complaining.

"Lao Zhang, you really are not afraid of death!"

"If you die, who will command the battlefield?"

"If you make any mistake, the host will find out and he will skin me alive!"

Zhang Hu grinned and shook off the sand that had fallen into his clothes: "But you are still here."

"If I die, you will take command."

The deputy head was speechless: "You..."

Zhang Hu pointed to the military flag planted outside the fortifications. It remained motionless despite the Japanese army's heavy bombardment.

"The commander of the brigade said that the most important thing for a unit is its spirit."

"We must not abandon our brothers' spirit and energy even if we are not afraid of death."

"When a person dies, the birds fly up to the sky. What is there for a grown man to be afraid of?"

"It doesn't matter whether I live or die. Since we've been fighting the Japanese until now, many people with higher ranks than me have died. I'm not afraid of anything!"

"Anyone can die on the battlefield except the commander! But no matter what, we must not lose the spirit of our group!"

After hearing this, the deputy commander showed a look of shame on his face. He quietly returned to his position and began to mobilize the morale of the soldiers.

Most of these recruits were experiencing the cruel and bloody battlefield for the first time.

At this moment, they huddled together side by side, with fear in their eyes.

The old Japanese soldier Seishirō Itagaki wanted to quickly break through the Tuanchengkou defense line.

A large number of Japanese fighter planes were dispatched at one time, vowing to defeat the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army defending here in one fell swoop.

The bombing lasted for a long time, with bombs falling around the fortifications. Every tremor of the ground would make the hearts of these recruits nervous.

"Sir...can we win this battle?"

(End of this chapter)