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

Suematsu Shigeharu closed his eyes, quickly calculating the current situation in his mind.

The mountain defense lines he set up in the Pingshan and Heishan areas were indeed ingenious.

Reverse slope positions, crossfire networks, and tunnels for hiding troops.

He was confident that he could make Lin Feng's infantry bleed profusely here.

But all of this depends on having a sufficient supply of ammunition and a constant influx of new recruits.

Now, Qizhou Railway Station has been bombed into ruins.

His logistical supply line was abruptly cut off by Lin Feng at its source.

Without bullets, a machine gun is just a pile of scrap metal.

Without shells, mountain guns are just for show.

Without food, the soldiers didn't even have the strength to pick up their bayonets.

How can we fight this war?

Unlike other Showa-era generals, Suematsu Shigeharu did not fly into a rage, smashing things or cursing.

He simply sighed deeply, his tone filled with profound helplessness.

"If I had known this would happen, I should have applied to the army headquarters for more ammunition and supplies when the Jinpu Railway was operating smoothly and stored them in the tunnels in the mountains."

After saying that, he paused for a moment.

Then he reflected on the past few weeks.

Oh no.

In the occupied rear areas, guerrilla attacks on the railway never ceased, and transport ships on the Bohai Sea transport line were bombarded daily by Lin Feng's planes with large torpedoes and bombs.

Supply lines from the North China Area Army Headquarters to Qizhou have never been smooth.

It's not that he didn't consider stockpiling supplies.

He never had any extra supplies to hoard.

Shigeharu Suematsu remained silent for a moment.

At this moment, the chief of staff asked with great concern:

"General, what do we do now?"

"Without ammunition replenishment, this defensive line can only hold out for a maximum of half a month."

Suematsu Shigeharu walked to the map, his eyes fixed on the location where he had set up the mountain defense line.

retreat?

He nipped the idea in the bud as soon as it popped into his head.

As a division commander, even if he survived the retreat without the army's permission and returned home, the best outcome would be being transferred to the reserves.

Moreover, once the order to retreat is given and the troops begin to move, they will inevitably be pursued by Lin Feng's superior forces.

If you lose air superiority and then abandon your fortified positions, it's easy to imagine that it will be a disastrous defeat.

The losses at that time would be far greater than if we had to defend to the death.

He's not stupid; he would never issue such a suicidal order.

"If we hold on to the mountains, we still have hope."

Shigeharu Suematsu turned around, his eyes regaining their resolve.

"Although Lin Feng destroyed our logistics, he will also have to pay an extremely heavy price to break through this mountainous area."

He was a warlord, and warlords value their own strength most.

In case he suffers too many casualties in the attack, he fears that his strength will be weakened and he will be swallowed up by the central army forces in Jiangcheng.

He will likely back down and abandon the attack.

Suematsu Shigeharu was gambling, betting that Lin Feng's political calculations outweighed his military resolve.

After all, as the old saying goes, what if?

"Relay my orders."

Suematsu Shigeru made the decision.

"Immediately block the news of the bombing of Qizhou Railway Station. The soldiers on the front line must not know this, lest it shake their morale."

Each regiment recounted its ammunition reserves and strictly controlled firing discipline.

No soldier may fire without orders from superiors.

"Hai!"

The staff officers stood at attention and responded.

Shigeharu Suematsu waved his hand, dismissing the crowd.

He was the only one left in the cave.

He sat down again, picked up his pencil, and continued marking on the map.

The pencil tip paused near the unfinished mark, remaining there for a long time.

Suematsu Shigeharu stared at the dense contour lines and position numbers on the map, remaining silent for a long time.

Then he picked up the telegram again and read it once more.

None of the numbers listed above gave him a moment's respite.

More than twenty train cars of ammunition and supplies were blown to ashes before they could be transferred after arriving in Qizhou.

A battalion of new recruits, young people who had traveled from their homeland by boat across the sea to reach Daxia, were torn to pieces by bombs on the platform before they even had a chance to enter their positions.

Suematsu Shigeharu slowly put down the telegram, pressing his palm on the thin paper for a long time without moving it.

For the first time, he began to waver slightly about whether he could hold this line of defense.

-----

Meanwhile, inside the 33rd Army Corps' frontline command post, Lin Feng stood in front of a huge sand table, looking at the small red flags representing Japanese firing points and tunnel entrances that the staff officers had just planted on the sand table based on the frontline reconnaissance reports.

"Commander, the Japanese defense system is indeed very tricky."

An operations staff officer held a baton, pointed to several hills on the sand table, and spoke in a very serious tone.

"Based on intelligence reports from various divisions and aerial reconnaissance, the Japanese have almost abandoned large-scale troop deployments on the main peaks of Pingshan and Heishan."

They hid their main forces in tunnels on the reverse slope, leaving only a few observation posts and machine gun bunkers on the front.

The several hilltop positions were positioned in a mutually supporting manner, with overlapping firepower.

Along the only road through the valley, the Japanese soldiers dug an anti-tank ditch four meters wide overnight.

Our Panzer III tanks and armored vehicles simply couldn't get through.

If infantry were to launch a direct assault without armored cover, they would suffer heavy casualties on such a steep slope with an elevation angle of forty degrees.

This Shigeharu Suematsu is truly skilled; he's made the most of the terrain.

Lin Feng stared at the sand table without saying a word.

He admitted that Shigeharu Suematsu's tactical arrangements were perfect for that era.

If it were any other unit of the National Revolutionary Army, even a German-equipped division of the Central Army, facing such a heavily armed mountain defense line that even tanks couldn't drive up, they would have no choice but to use human lives to fill the gaps.

But then he thought about it again.

I already have a system, why should I still fight the Japanese with tactics?

"Damn it!"

Lin Feng roared inwardly.

"I already have a system. Haven't you heard the saying, 'When you're poor, use tactical infiltration; when you're rich, use firepower coverage'?"

Tanks can't get up there? Then use artillery shells to flatten the hilltop.

Watch me use my own explosive power to cook a pot of steel-like meat soup for the Japanese devils!

Lin Feng suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with icy killing intent.

"Relay my orders!"

The staff officers in the command post immediately stood at attention and took out their notebooks to take notes.

"Notify all divisions to assemble their full armaments and prioritize the distribution of MP-40 assault rifles, Type 35 flamethrowers, demolition charges, and cluster grenades to the attacking rank and file units."

Tell the brothers not to engage the Japanese in gunfights in open areas.

"Our 33rd Army Corps has plenty of explosives. Just focus on bombarding the Japanese tunnels and caves!"

Lin Feng picked up his baton and slammed it heavily on the sand table.

"Every time we captured a hill, we would disassemble the 105mm mountain guns and 88mm anti-aircraft guns and transport them up to the hill by mules and manpower."

The 88mm anti-aircraft guns were laid flat and fired, directly targeting the machine gun bunkers on the Japanese front.

The 105mm mountain gun, using its high elevation angle, followed a parabolic trajectory to cross the ridge and bombard the Japanese positions on the opposite slope.

"yes!"

The staff officers responded loudly and immediately turned to issue operational orders.

Lin Feng turned around, walked to his desk, closed his eyes, and mentally summoned the system interface.

He went directly to the [Ammunition Supply] exchange menu.

His eyes quickly scanned the dazzling array of ammunition before finally settling on a particular aerial bomb.

【SC 250 JA Type Phosphorus-containing Incendiary Bomb】

Each one weighs 250 kilograms.

This is no ordinary high-explosive bomb. This Hans bomb, a standard incendiary bomb from World War II, is filled with a large amount of white phosphorus and a special incendiary agent.

Once it hits the ground and explodes, the hot incendiary agent will splatter everywhere, adhering to any object and burning wildly.

Even more terrifying is that it instantly depletes the surrounding oxygen and produces a large amount of highly toxic phosphide gas during combustion.

For the Japanese soldiers hiding in reverse-sloping tunnels and enclosed fortifications.

This kind of bomb is simply a death knell from which there is nowhere to hide.

Even if they weren't blown up or burned to death, they would suffocate or die from poisoning in extreme pain.

Lin Feng glanced at the exchange price.

The price of this special incendiary bomb is much higher than that of a regular high-explosive bomb of the same weight.

Lin Feng gritted his teeth.

"I'll buy it even if it's expensive!"

Lin Feng made a decision in his mind and directly entered the amount to exchange.

"At that time, we will replace all the Stukas and HE-111s with these incendiary bombs."

I will turn Pingshan and Heishan into the Japanese devils' crematoriums!