Blood-Red Front

As dawn broke, the Chu Sheng Army began its artillery bombardment as usual, and the entire Wenhe River basin was once again covered in artillery fire.

Although the 6th Regiment's headquarters suffered a fatal blow, the frontline troops were not significantly affected because Lin Zhiyuan made no changes. Each battalion continued to carry out defensive counterattacks according to the established plan.

However, the underground bunker, which had been converted into the regimental command post, was noticeably busier than before, with the phone ringing almost non-stop.

As soon as Lin Zhiyuan entered the command post, Shang Kebing immediately brought over the tea she had just brewed.

Taking the teacup, Lin Zhiyuan asked with some puzzlement, "Didn't I assign you to be the psychic of the 6th Regiment? Why aren't you working in the communications company?"

The Xia Army's communications company had many communication methods, including radio, wired telephone, psychic, infantry, and cavalry.

However, at this time, the communications company of the 6th Regiment suffered heavy casualties, with soldiers either killed or seriously wounded, and few still able to work.

Signalmen can be drawn from various companies and battalions, and infantry and cavalry are also easy to recruit, but psychics and radio teams are more troublesome.

Therefore, Shang Kebing was assigned by Lin Zhiyuan to be the group's psychic, and as for the radio operator, they could only wait and find a solution later.

Shang Kebing whispered, "We're in contact with our superiors by phone now, so they basically don't need me."

In ancient times, the spirit medium played a very important role, and it could be said to be the only means of long-distance communication.

However, with the advent of radio and telephone in modern times, the role of the psychic has become much less significant.

In terms of convenience, they cannot compare to telephones; in terms of distance, they cannot compare to radios, so they are mostly used as a supplementary tool.

"It's best to stay at your post as much as possible," Lin Zhiyuan said. "We can leave the tasks like serving tea and water to Xiao Liu."

Lin Zhiyuan was promoted to regimental commander, and Wang Xiaoliu naturally followed suit and became a bodyguard.

"Mm." Shang Kebing nodded and placed the teapot on the table.

However, in the following days, Shang Kebing continued to frequent the command post. Lin Zhiyuan told her twice, but seeing that she still did what she wanted, he could only pretend not to see it.

……

Inside the headquarters of the newly promoted 101st Division.

Chief of Staff Major General Iwamura reported: "Division Commander, according to reports from the various regiments, the Xia Army's 8th Corps is still holding out stubbornly."

"What about the enemy's 6th Regiment? What's the situation?" Ishi asked.

Yesterday, after the Izumo fired its shells, Yamamoto reported on the effectiveness of the attack.

Although Yamamoto was not 100% certain that the 6th Regiment headquarters of the Xia Army was the one that was shelled, Isai Masashi was very clear that there was no other possibility that the location was the 6th Regiment headquarters.

"The 23rd Regiment is facing the 6th Regiment. According to Colonel Inoue's report, the enemy does not seem to have much influence."

"No impact? That's unlikely." Isis shook her head.

"It must be a problem with the intensity of the attack. The 23rd Regiment's offensive did not overwhelm the enemy in front, so the enemy's weaknesses were not exposed."

Looking at the map, Isi thought for a moment and then ordered, "Transfer a battalion from the 68th Regiment to reinforce the 23rd Regiment. Also, order the tank company to advance to the Wenhe River embankment and directly bombard the enemy positions."

"I want to see if there are any coordination problems with the 6th Regiment."

"Hi!"

……

Due to the limited width of the position, Lin Zhiyuan could no longer use his binoculars to observe the enemy's entire rear area.

Unable to patrol every position, he could only rely on the vision of the frontline troops to map the area.

Therefore, the tank icon only appeared on the minimap when the newly formed army tanks were 500 meters away from the 6th Regiment's position.

Lin Zhiyuan went to the observation window again, raised his binoculars, and looked in the direction of the First Battalion.

On the front lines, when they saw the newly launched tanks slowly moving forward, they immediately called the battalion headquarters.

"Battalion commander! Enemy tanks are coming! They've used smoke grenades; they're probably trying to stealthily infiltrate the position!"

Upon hearing that the newly promoted army had deployed tanks, the battalion commander's expression changed slightly.

"Search for enemy tank positions at full speed! Notify the anti-tank gun team to prepare for battle!"

If the tank is to be used as a gun emplacement, it usually needs to go into an underground gun emplacement, with only half of the emplacement exposed. The tank will also be camouflaged to make it very well hidden.

"Battalion Commander, according to the regimental commander's orders, he is now in command of all anti-tank guns," someone nearby reported.

"What?" The battalion commander was taken aback.

If the anti-tank guns are on the front lines and commanded by the regimental commander, it will be too late by then.

"Call the regimental headquarters, I need to..."

However, before the battalion commander could finish speaking, the communications officer, who was on the phone, reported again: "Battalion commander, the anti-tank gun has opened fire, first shot hit!"

"Huh? What did you say?" The battalion commander didn't quite understand at first.

"The anti-tank gun hit its target on the first shot, and one enemy tank was destroyed."

"Call the company commander, I need to speak with the front lines." The battalion commander stepped forward and took the phone.

"Company Commander, what's the situation now?"

"Reporting to the battalion commander, the enemy tanks have already advanced to within 300 meters of the front line, but they are all hidden in the bunkers, and the front line has not noticed them for the time being. I did not expect the anti-tank gun observer to have such sharp eyes."

Before the battalion commander could speak, the company commander shouted into the phone again: "They fired again! Another hit! The newly launched tank has exploded!"

"Battalion Commander, we need to commend the anti-tank gun team!" The company commander was overjoyed.

The speed of the anti-tank gun support this time far exceeded expectations. As soon as the enemy tanks arrived, the anti-tank guns opened fire, and even destroyed two enemy tanks in succession.

"We must ask for commendation!" The battalion commander laughed heartily.

"The enemy tanks have suffered heavy losses, and they will certainly not dare to stay for long. Company Commander, your company must take this opportunity to open fire fiercely and drive the attacking enemy back."

"yes!"

……

Having been subjected to targeted artillery fire, the newly formed tank squadron dared not linger on the position any longer.

At the command, all the tanks floored their accelerators.

They didn't even dare to turn around; instead, they chose to reverse.

Upon learning that the tanks had escaped, Colonel Inoue, the newly promoted commander of the 23rd Regiment, slammed his fist on the table in anger.

"Baka yarou!"

"You're leaving already? You have absolutely no backbone!"

The chief of staff standing nearby said, "Commander, the situation is not good."

"Yesterday, only one battalion's heavy machine guns were targeted by artillery fire, but today, the entire 23rd Regiment, as long as the troops facing the 6th Regiment head-on, all their heavy machine gun positions were attacked, and all battalions suffered heavy losses."

While tanks can certainly be very advantageous for an offensive if they get close enough to the front lines to fire, heavy machine guns are just as important as tanks.

In combat, heavy machine guns have a faster response time and can provide fire support more quickly in critical situations.

Upon hearing that Xia Jun's exceptional reconnaissance capabilities had expanded from a battalion to a regiment, Inoue's expression turned extremely grim.

"Baka... This enemy is really troublesome."

After a moment of contemplation, Inoue said, "Although the 23rd Regiment doesn't have many heavy machine guns left, the enemy doesn't have many heavy weapons either. We still have a firepower advantage."

"In the ensuing battle, each unit used grenade launchers and light machine guns as the core, employing a rotational tactic to launch repeated attacks, forcing the enemy's light machine guns to overheat or even explode."

"In addition, the mountain artillery battalion must speed up its response. As soon as the enemy's artillery positions are discovered, whether they are mortars or anti-tank guns, they must be destroyed immediately."

In addition to the regimental 82mm mortar company and the anti-tank guns distributed to each battalion, each battalion of the 6th Regiment is also equipped with three 60mm mortars.

"Commander, if we want to launch a quick counterattack against the enemy's artillery positions, we'll probably need the support of the priestess," the chief of staff said.

Newly ascended priestesses can locate enemy artillery positions by following the parabolic trajectory of cannonballs; however, they are few in number and are considered important strategic weapons, so they rarely appear on the front lines.

"I will personally apply to the division commander," Inoue said decisively.

The only advantage the 23rd Regiment still holds is in artillery, and it must increase its advantage in this area.

……

Throughout the day, the newly promoted army launched a fierce attack.

Even though Lin Zhiyuan directed anti-tank artillery to fire at the Chu Sheng Army's tanks and heavy machine guns multiple times, the Chu Sheng Army still managed to reach the beachhead several times.

If Lin Zhiyuan hadn't been able to command the mortar company to use artillery fire to shield the Chu Sheng Army's reinforcements with the fastest speed every time, and if it weren't for the fact that each battalion launched bayonet charges regardless of casualties, the Chu Sheng Army would probably have already established a position on the west bank of the Wen River.

The fierce fighting continued until dusk, when the Chu Sheng army finally ceased its attack as darkness fell.

On the 6th Regiment's position, after confirming that the enemy had retreated, the soldiers collapsed and sat down in the trenches.

The day's fierce battle left them exhausted.

……