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

Kameda looked in the direction the sergeant was pointing.

On the hillside, several 37mm rapid-fire cannons were carefully camouflaged in the bushes, their muzzles pointing directly at the bottom of the valley.

"There are also artillery observation posts on the mountaintop, which are directly connected to the heavy artillery regiment behind them by telephone."

As soon as Lin Feng's troops are spotted gathering, a single phone call will send artillery shells raining down.

The crossfire of machine guns covered every possible route of attack; not even a rabbit could escape it.

The sergeant became increasingly smug as he spoke, and even boldly patted Kameda on the shoulder.

"Lieutenant, you just came from China and haven't seen what Lin Feng's troops look like yet."

"I'm not afraid to tell you, the elite Fifth Division was completely annihilated by Lin Feng on the plains. But if they come here, I guarantee they'll be utterly crushed."

Kameda was infected by the sergeant's confidence, and a smile appeared on his face.

It was evening.

In a tunnel hidden beneath a massive granite rock, a few lanterns cast a dim, yellowish light.

A dozen or so Japanese soldiers sat together, with a can of whale meat and white radish cooking in an iron pot in the middle, the aroma filling the tunnel.

"Sato, what are you writing?"

A young Japanese soldier approached another private who was hunched over an ammunition box, writing furiously.

"Write a letter home."

Sato looked up, his face beaming.

Tell my mother and sister that I am doing well here.

General Mosong fortified the position so well that Lin Feng's troops would never be able to break through.

"The sergeant said, 'As long as we hold this line, and our allies take Pengcheng to the south, then we can take Jiangcheng in one fell swoop, and this battle will be over.'"

Sato waved the letter in his hand, his tone full of longing.

"Didn't Your Excellency promise us that we could go home after this battle?"

My sister is getting married next year, and I have to rush back for her wedding.

Another veteran next to him, holding a lunchbox, chewed on whale meat and mumbled something indistinctly.

"That's right. We're lucky to have been assigned here."

Think about it, if you were assigned to another unit and ordered to launch an attack on Lin Feng's position, that would be suicide.

You wouldn't believe it, Lin Feng's unit has a type of machine gun...

While eating, the old soldier recounted what he had heard about the exaggerated firepower of Lin Feng's troops.

"So, all we need to do is hold our ground. Holding the position is better than charging in and getting shelled, right?"

"Defending the position is not easy either."

A sergeant with a scarred face put down his chopsticks, his tone becoming more serious.

"Don't get too cocky. Lin Feng is notoriously cunning. Although our defenses are strong, we absolutely cannot let our guard down. Keep up the sentry duty, dig fortifications, and anyone who slacks off will face my wrath."

"Hi!"

The Japanese soldiers responded loudly, but the smiles on their faces did not disappear.

Soon, the rough chorus of Japanese soldiers echoed from the tunnel.

They were singing the famous Japanese military song, "The Skills of the Infantry".

"The color of the collar insignia is that of blooming cherry blossoms; if one is born a Yamato man, one should dedicate one's life to the skirmish line..."

The Japanese soldiers' confident singing echoed through the narrow tunnel, drifted out of the cave entrance, and dissipated into the vast night.

-----

A few days later, in Heishan, Niujiaoling.

On the main peak, which is 537 meters above sea level, the sound of gunfire has been continuous since dawn.

Liu Yongnian, the brigade commander of the 45th Independent Brigade of the Northwest Army, stood in a makeshift command post, holding binoculars and staring intently at the hilltop in front of him that was still shrouded in smoke.

He is 42 years old this year and graduated from the artillery department of the eighth class of Baoding Military Academy.

At this moment, his skin was dark and rough, his lips were chapped, and his eyes were bloodshot.

The command post behind him was made of a few pieces of wood and a tattered canvas.

A crumpled battle map lay spread out on the table, next to an old magneto telephone.

"Commander, the brothers of the First Battalion have already charged up three times."

The chief of staff put down his binoculars, his expression grim.

"Every time we just took that small hill, the Japanese artillery shells would come crashing down as if they had eyes."

The brothers didn't even have time to dig a bunker before they were blown to pieces.

As soon as the artillery fire stopped, the Japanese soldiers charged out of their hiding places with bayonets in hand and launched a counter-offensive.

Our brothers were fighting the Japanese with bayonets on the mountain, but they couldn't win!

The chief of staff's tone was full of grief and indignation.

"I know."

Liu Yongnian did not put down the binoculars.

He saw it too; he saw the whole scene clearly through his binoculars.

The soldiers of the First Battalion rushed up the nameless hill, before they even had a chance to catch their breath.

The Japanese artillery shells rained down from all directions.

Those veterans whose names he could recall were reduced to clouds of blood mist in the explosion.

"Commander, we can't fight anymore!"

The chief of staff slammed his fist on the map, his voice trembling with tears:

"The guy surnamed Tang transferred our Independent 45th Brigade to this Black Mountain to use the Japanese to wear down our ragtag army."

Their Central Army is hiding on the plains eating canned food, while our Northwest Army is gnawing on rocks in the mountains.

He doesn't treat us like human beings at all.

"shut up!"

Liu Yongnian turned around abruptly, his eyes filled with rage:

"You can say these things to me, but that's fine."

If this gets to Tang's ears, he'll laugh at our Northwest Army, calling us spineless cowards!

"Jingyun, our 45th Brigade is currently in a position of redemption, do you understand?"

Liu Yongnian turned his head and looked at the hilltop that had been shattered by artillery fire:

"Previously, we followed Commander Han all the way to western Shandong."

As a result, Commander Han was executed.

Other Central Army units also retreated, but you know their backgrounds.

The stigma of non-resistance has already been leveled against our Northwest Army.

If we don't launch an attack soon, others will criticize us behind our backs.

From now on, we Northwesterners will never be able to hold our heads high in Daxia!

We came here to prove that there are no cowards among the men of Northwest China, and to give us Northwesterners a reason to stand up for ourselves.

The chief of staff opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, it turned into a silent sigh.

Liu Yongnian picked up the binoculars and looked ahead again.

"Order the battalion commander to organize another charge."

Tell the brothers, this time I've ordered the artillery to bring up all the anti-tank guns.

Before setting off, his troops used their connections in the Fifth War Zone to purchase four Hans-made PAK36 37mm anti-tank guns from Lin Feng.

For the poorly equipped Independent 4th Brigade, these four guns were their most valuable heavy weapons.

"Use all four anti-tank guns and fire at close range."

I refuse to believe I can't even crack the shells of those Japanese devils!

The chief of staff gritted his teeth, turned around, and shouted to the communications soldier:

"Order the artillery platoon to move all four anti-tank guns to the front line to support the first battalion's attack."