Sword: Heart of Iron

Chapter 246 (Board Record)

As the cavalry company charged forward, the infantry behind them quickened their pace.

The operations staff led an assault company, following the sound of gunfire, to the vicinity of the battlefield.

"Our brothers have already engaged the Japanese in battle ahead!"

"Charge!"

"Grenadiers, provide covering fire!"

The soldiers of the First Column were the elite of the entire garrison. It might be an exaggeration to say that they were one in a hundred, but it was definitely one in ten.

Upon arriving at the battlefield, the hundreds of soldiers in the assault company immediately went into combat readiness in squads.

The grenadier crouches on the ground, estimating the distance and angle with his eyes. His movements are swift and decisive, and he can launch a grenade in just two or three seconds.

"boom--!"

The Japanese advance stalled, and they remained stationary about two or three hundred meters below the hill.

------

Inaba Shiro, riding on his horse, kept waving his whip almost constantly, occasionally turning back to check the situation.

"Your Excellency the General! Your Excellency the General!"

Behind him came Tatsusuke Kamei's urgent shout.

Even so, Inaba Shiro didn't slow down: "What is it?"

Kamei Tatsusuke spurred his horse forward: "Sir, the Chinese cavalry are catching up?"

Inaba Shiro's eyes widened: "What?!"
"how many people?"

He glanced around; excluding Kamei Tatsusuke, only six guards had broken through with him.
Kamei Tatsusuke swallowed hard. "I couldn't see clearly, but there were at least several dozen people. Their horses are faster than ours. I'm afraid we're in trouble."

He is not afraid of death.

To die on the battlefield and sacrifice oneself for the empire is the lifelong dream of every warrior.

But now, in such a wretched state, to die in battle while fleeing would likely become a disgrace to the empire.

Kamei Tatsusuke thought so, and Inaba Shiro thought so too.

"stop!"

The horses beneath him neighed, and the once rapidly galloping column slowly came to a stop.

Kamei Tatsusuke: "Sir, I'll cover you, or you should leave quickly!"

Inaba Shiro did not answer: "Go?"

Which way to go?

The Chinese pursuers attacked too quickly; the sentries on the perimeter did not issue any warnings and forgot to take their maps with them in their hasty escape.

Kamei Tatsusuke was speechless: "Your Excellency."

Inaba Shiro glanced at the horizon.

The once crimson sun was now obscured by thick brown clouds, the wind howled across the grassland, and the sound of enemy cavalry hooves grew ever closer.

"Kame-kun, we have nowhere to run." Inaba Shiro said these words expressionlessly.

At the same time, he drew the military knife he was wearing at his waist.

Kamei Tatsusuke: "Sir, I still don't understand. We clearly had the advantage, so why did the battle turn out like this in just half a day?"

Inaba Shiro remained silent.

Actually, he didn't understand either.

Under the air cover of the naval air force, the Chinese were no match for the fierce offensive of the Imperial army. The 36th Brigade had already occupied the island in the middle of the river and would be able to build a bridgehead on the south bank of the Yangtze River before dawn tomorrow.

As planned, at most one more day.

That would allow them to completely occupy the south bank of the Yangtze River and cut off the rear of the two Chinese army groups.

But from some point onward, the course of the battle had already slipped out of his control.

Kuroda's army suffered a crushing defeat?

From the moment the crossing of the river began, he had already fallen into Wang Feng's trap.

Inaba Shiro reviewed the events in his mind.

On the front of the 6th Division, the enemy deployed an army group, along with two divisions and a small number of elite garrison troops.

In this situation, adopting a tactic of splitting forces and making outward maneuvers is indeed somewhat risky.

However, before issuing the order, the General Staff made ample preparations, developing a large number of tactical plans and considering all possibilities. The only thing they hadn't anticipated was that the frequent troop movements had created a gap in the Kuroda Battalion's defenses, which Wang Feng had seized upon.

In fact, he had noticed this "oversight" before the troops were mobilized, but according to the plan, this "oversight" would only last for three hours at most, after which new troops would be sent to replace them.

Three hours
Not at all noticeable.

In a battle of this level, it's simply not enough to do anything.

Based on past battlefield experience, even if the enemy's scouts discover the anomaly in time, the entire process, from the message being transmitted to the rear command post to the determination of whether the intelligence is correct, takes more than three hours.

Inaba Shiro simply couldn't understand it.

The nature of this battle has exceeded all my understanding.

Can war still be fought like this?
Kamei Tatsusuke: "Sir, the Chinese are coming!"

Inaba Shiro raised his head and looked ahead.

In the field of vision, the figures of dozens of cavalrymen could be clearly seen, with an estimated distance of no more than two hundred meters.

Inaba Shiro turned around, sat upright on his horse, and faced the charging enemy.

Kamei Tatsusuke stood by, shouting, "Prepare for battle!"

Six cavalrymen lined up in a row, the sharp sound of their blades scraping against their sheaths barely drowning out the howling wind.

The 6th Division had its own cavalry regiment, which should still be fighting on the front lines at this time. The cavalrymen assigned to the division command post were all top-notch elites, and their height alone surpassed that of ordinary cavalrymen.

Inaba Shiro brandished his military sword: "Tenka-san! Banzai!"

For an Imperial cavalry officer, dying on horseback might be the best possible ending.

The rapid sound of hooves thundered as two cavalry units clashed.

Although Yuan Yelin was originally an infantryman, he was also quite good at horsemanship due to his interest. Although he could not compare to elite cavalry, his level was above average.

"Kill the devil!"

He spotted a cavalryman and charged straight at him.

The sword slashed down, and the horse fell to the ground.

Blood splattered all over his face.

After a charge, only two of the six cavalrymen who were originally following Inaba Shiro remained.

Yuan Yelin: "I know you can speak Chinese. You must be the division commander, right? What's your name again, Inaba Shiro?"

"Surrender now, and I might spare your lives!"

Enraged by these words, Inaba Shiro raised his blood-stained military sword and shouted, "Baka!"
"charge!"

Seeing that the other party was refusing to listen to reason and was about to suffer the consequences, Yuan Yelin stopped talking nonsense. The order from his superiors was to capture them alive if possible, but the other party's current posture clearly indicated that they wanted to fight to the death.

What else is there to say?

"rush!"

Seeing the Japanese cavalry getting closer and closer, he shouted and the cavalryman next to him rushed out and charged straight into the enemy formation.

The sounds of metal clashing, blades piercing flesh, and warhorses neighing mingled together.

Inaba Shiro fell from his horse, blood gushing from several bloody holes in his body.

He tried his best to stand up. According to top-secret intelligence circulating among the Japanese high command, once captured alive by the garrison, no matter how badly injured you were, they would treat you and then throw you into a mine or other places to work.

Nobody knows exactly what kind of factory it is.

Without exception, they were all heavy industry or military industry.

The weapons produced by the prisoners were then transported to the front lines to kill Imperial soldiers.

What a shame!
Inaba Shiro picked up his military sword and coldly stared at the Chinese cavalrymen in front of him, who were full of fighting spirit.

He then stumbled and looked around.

His prized student, Tatsusuke Kamei, the chief of staff of the 6th Division, was lying beside him, a saber piercing his heart, and he was no longer breathing.

Inaba Shiro: "You won. If it weren't for Wang Feng..."

Yuan Yelin frowned: "Why all the nonsense?"

He then raised his pistol and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

A bullet pierced Inaba Shiro's arm as he gripped his sword.

"Take him away! Let's see if he can still be saved!"

(End of this chapter)