You were tasked with guarding the Sihang Warehouse, and you brought out a Tiger tank?

On the plains, the armored units of the 1st Honorary Brigade are locked in a fierce battle with the Japanese.

Xu Fei was also secretly surprised.

Those Japanese devils are really fighting tooth and nail.

They actually pushed several 75mm field guns to the front line, leveled the barrels, and began direct fire at friendly tanks.

"boom!"

An armor-piercing shell grazed the turret of a 38(t) light tank, leaving a trail of dazzling sparks on the armor.

"Banzai, the black card 'Banzai'!"

A group of Japanese infantrymen with Japanese flags tied to their heads leaped out of the trenches like mad dogs.

Clutching smoking explosive charges tightly to their chests, they launched a suicidal charge into the face of tank and machine gun fire.

"Da da da da—"

The tank's coaxial machine gun fired wildly, and the Japanese soldiers at the front fell like wheat being harvested.

But a few still managed to slip through the net and end up under the tank tracks.

"Boom!"

The massive explosion sent mud and water flying everywhere, and the tracks of a light tank were blown off, leaving it paralyzed on the spot.

The battlefield had become a meat grinder.

"Company commander, a small squad of Japanese soldiers is heading this way."

The third platoon leader, responsible for perimeter security, shouted at the top of his lungs.

Xu Fei turned his head and saw about twenty Japanese soldiers, carrying Type 38 rifles, rushing menacingly toward the Confucius Temple.

It's estimated that the Japanese soldiers on the periphery noticed the command post was inactive and came back specifically to provide reinforcements.

"Third row, give them a good beating! First and second row, take the big fish and retreat!"

Xu Fei picked up the firearm and fired a burst at the charging Japanese soldiers.

"Da da da".

Several Czech-made light machine guns in the third rank opened fire simultaneously, and the dense crossfire instantly swept down the few Japanese soldiers at the forefront into the mud.

The remaining Japanese soldiers quickly lay down and returned fire.

"Alternate cover, retreat."

Xu Fei did not linger in battle, and ordered his troops to retreat quickly under the cover of the ruins and the mass graves.

Two of the strongest soldiers carried Sakamoto Jun, who was tightly bound, like pigs, and ran wildly through the mud, their feet sinking deep into the mud.

With a smelly sock stuffed in his mouth, Jun Sakamoto could only make desperate "woo-woo" sounds.

In the end, Xu Fei's company successfully withdrew from the battlefield with the prisoners and the regimental flag.

But the fighting in Baitou Town and the area around the Confucius Temple had only just begun.

This place has completely transformed into a battlefield meat grinder that relentlessly devours lives.

When the Japanese 21st Brigade discovered that its brigade commander had disappeared and the whereabouts of the regimental flag of the 21st Regiment were unknown, it went completely mad.

They continuously deployed heavy troops and launched counterattacks against the Confucius Temple position, disregarding casualties.

After the armored infantry of the 1st Honor Brigade captured the position, the Japanese soldiers paid for it with their own lives.

The position changed hands three times in just half a day.

Corpses were everywhere, and the mud and water were stained dark red.

Subsequently, the main force of the 107th Division arrived, and the 1st Honorary Brigade also continuously deployed reinforcements.

Under the cover of the Legion's Independent Air Force, the 33rd Army Corps launched an overwhelming offensive.

They fought for two whole days and two nights.

Until the evening two days later.

The gunfire in Baitu Town finally subsided.

The positions around Baitou Town and the Confucius Temple were completely occupied, and the highways from Linyi and Tangtou to Qingcheng Port were completely cut off.

Seishiro Itagaki's 5th Division finally became a trapped beast locked in an iron cage.

-----

"Boom—!"

A dull thud came from the ground above, and the entire underground bunker shook violently.

A flurry of dirt fell through the gaps in the log-reinforced ceiling, landing squarely on the large military map on the table.

Seishiro Itagaki, his face grim, reached out and brushed away the clods of dirt from the map.

His small eyes, which used to always exude arrogance and calculation, were now filled with fine blood vessels and heavy eye bags, making him look like a trapped beast driven to the brink of despair.

Ever since witnessing the unbelievably precise dive bombing of the Stukas of the 33rd Army Independent Air Force.

This arrogant steel division commander dared not stay on the ground any longer.

Those inverted gull-wing planes painted with the Blue Sky with a White Sun emblem were unbelievably accurate at dropping bombs.

Any slight movement on the ground resembling a command post or heavy firepower point will immediately attract a 250kg or 500kg heavy aerial bomb to bombard the area.

To save his life, Itagaki Seishiro could only hide like a rat in this underground command post, which reeked of mold and the smell of mud.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander."

Major General Takeshi Sakurada, the chief of staff, crawled in from outside looking disheveled, carrying several battle reports he had just received.

"How's the situation on the front?" Itagaki Seishiro asked without looking up, his eyes glued to the map.

"That's terrible."

Sakurada Takeshi swallowed hard and reported to his superior with difficulty:

"The Chinese army on the front line is like a mad dog, relentlessly pursuing our main force."

The units were simply unable to take turns providing cover during their retreat.

The moment we withdrew from our positions, the Chinese infantry charged forward with submachine guns, giving us no chance to catch our breath.

Seishiro Itagaki gritted his teeth, his cheek muscles bulging.

"What about the artillery? Have the artillery regiment open fire and suppress them."

"It can't be suppressed, Your Excellency."

Sakurada Takeshi's face was contorted with pain, and his voice even sounded like he was about to cry:

"The enemy has too many artillery pieces, and their power is too great."

Judging from the craters and the power of the explosions, they were equipped with a large number of artillery pieces with a caliber of 100 mm or more.

There were also countless 75mm mountain guns and mortars to supplement the supply.

The sheer density of firepower was terrifying.

If we hadn't still had those dozen or so 150mm heavy howitzers, which could barely hold our own against them for a few rounds, our frontal defenses would have collapsed entirely long ago.

Mentioning those dozen or so 150mm heavy guns, Seishiro Itagaki's heart bled.

That was his 5th Division's last trump card.

"How much ammunition do you have left for the heavy artillery?" he asked in a deep voice.

Sakurada Takeshi lowered his head, not daring to look Itagaki in the eye:

"Less than half the base number."

The number of supplies dwindled with each battle, and the supply convoy from Qingcheng Port behind them hadn't even been seen yet.

If this continues, our heavy artillery will face the desperate situation of running out of ammunition in three days at most.

Itagaki Seishiro felt a wave of dizziness and barely managed to stay upright by gripping the edge of the table tightly with both hands.

Without heavy artillery support and without air support.

His 5th Division, faced with Lin Feng's relentless barrage of firepower, could only take a one-sided beating.

Just as Itagaki Seishiro was worrying about the frontal battle and ammunition.

"Report!"

A communications staff officer stumbled and crawled into the underground command post, his face as pale as a sheet of paper, his whole body trembling violently.

"What's the panic? What about the decorum of an Imperial soldier?"

Major General Takeshi Sakurada shouted angrily.

"Something...something terrible has happened!"

The communications officer knelt down with a thud, holding a telegram in his hand, his voice mournful as if he were wailing:

"We have just received a report from the remnants of the retreating troops from the direction of Baitu Town."

The 21st Brigade headquarters... was taken over by the Chinese.

Major General Jun Sakamoto... His whereabouts are unknown; he is suspected of being captured alive by the Chinese.

And...and the regimental flag of the 21st Infantry Regiment...was also lost."