Blood-Red Front

"Baka yarou!"

Seeing Nakamura's disheveled appearance, Okazaki slammed his fist on the table with a deafening roar.

"With so many cannons and air cover, you still couldn't defeat a mere two thousand Xia soldiers? How did you become a colonel?!"

"For a Class A regiment to fail to capture even a small position is a disgrace to the Empire!"

"Brigade Commander, this isn't a matter of fire support," Nakamura said with some helplessness.

"Although the enemy's position is two kilometers wide, the area is crisscrossed by rivers, and the actual area where the troops can fully deploy is less than 600 meters."

"Although the 11th Regiment committed two battalions at once, it could only fill them up one company at a time in the end."

"And there's another strange thing: the enemy's artillery observers are exceptionally skilled, and all of our frontline firing positions have been destroyed."

Nakamura was almost in tears as he spoke. He had served in the military for 30 years and fought in countless battles, big and small, but he had never encountered anything like this before.

In any battle, one side's heavy firepower would be completely wiped out.

"Excuses!" Okazaki roared. "Defeat is defeat. Making excuses is not the act of a samurai!"

"Hi!"

"Please give the 11th Regiment another chance, Brigade Commander. I am willing to personally lead troops to flank and directly attack Lujia Town!"

With the river blocking their path and their main force unable to deploy, Nakamura decided to launch a flanking attack.

Looking at Nakamura standing at attention, Okazaki pondered for a moment and finally decided to take a roundabout approach.

Flanking attacks are the ultimate skill for newly promoted soldiers. No matter what problem you encounter, flanking is the way to go.

"The enemy only has one infantry regiment, while we have two infantry regiments and one mountain artillery regiment. The troop ratio is 4:1, giving us an absolute advantage. I've decided to fully utilize our strengths."

"The 11th Regiment split into three groups. One battalion attacked from the front to contain the enemy, while the other two battalions crossed the Wusong River from the left and right to attack the enemy's flanks and rear on the south bank."

"The 41st Regiment also crossed the river from the flank and outflanked Lujia Town from the east."

"The mountain artillery regiment provides long-range fire suppression."

"All troops must expedite the construction of pontoon bridges to cross the river tonight!"

"No matter how accurate the enemy's artillery fire is, it's impossible for them to withstand an attack from 6000 men!"

Okazaki has received a telegram from the 10th Army Headquarters that the main force is expected to arrive in the Lujia Town area before tomorrow night, and the 14th Brigade does not have much time left.

Nakamura, Hasegawa, and the captains of each brigade stood at attention to receive their orders.

After the meeting, officers of all ranks left the brigade headquarters, and the chief of staff of the 14th Brigade approached Okazaki.

"Brigade Commander, the enemy's deployment is quite organized, and their combat power is extremely strong. Lujia Town must have made preparations."

"If we enter urban warfare, the mountain artillery's firepower will ultimately be insufficient. Should we request that the heavy artillery units advance overnight?"

Normally, infantrymen can walk 30 kilometers a day without any problem, but heavy artillery units can only walk about 15 kilometers a day at most.

If the 14th Brigade wanted its artillery to join the battle as soon as possible, it had to send its heavy artillery units on a night march.

Okazaki nodded at the chief of staff's suggestion: "Send a message to headquarters. It would be best if the tank battalion could also arrive as quickly as possible, which would give us a better chance of success."

The newly promoted army was a mule-and-horse-drawn unit. The heavy artillery would cause a large number of mules and horses to die during the long march. Okazaki was not sure if the heavy artillery unit would take action, so he requested tank support in advance.

"Hi!"

……

Late at night, Lin Zhiyuan had just finished his work and lay down on the bed when Shang Kebing woke him up again.

"Young Master, Chief of Staff Guan has sent someone over, saying there is important military intelligence."

Lin Zhiyuan could only agree and get up again.

Upon arriving at the operations room, Shang Kebing poured a cup of tea for both Lin Zhiyuan and Guan Jianchu.

"What's going on?" Lin Zhiyuan asked, holding his teacup.

"We received reports from the local authorities that newly promoted soldiers had been found crossing the river in several locations."

Large-scale troop movements, unless over extremely long distances, are unlikely to be kept secret.

Especially when fighting on home soil, the Xia army had human surveillance everywhere.

"Just promoted to the rank of army commander, and in several different places?" Lin Zhiyuan's expression changed. "Do you know how many people are involved?"

"It's unclear at the moment." Guan Jianchu shook his head. "It's not very clear at night, and the people don't dare to get close. We've only seen troops crossing the river."

The weather was fine today, and the river reflected the moonlight, so some people saw shadows on the water's surface.

"However, I have already sent out reconnaissance troops, and I expect to receive intelligence soon."

Lin Zhiyuan nodded. "Notify the Second and Third Battalions to prepare for battle and prevent the Rising Army from launching a surprise attack."

"In addition, send an extra platoon from the First Battalion to the pontoon bridge to build a defensive position and secure the retreat route for the main force."

The main task of the circular position on the south bank was to buy time; Lin Zhiyuan had no intention of leaving two battalions stranded on the opposite bank to hold out.

The newly promoted army was a large-scale operation and could not hide at all; the reconnaissance troops quickly found them.

Enemy intelligence was also updated on Lin Zhiyuan's minimap.

Seeing the rising army splitting into multiple attacking columns, Lin Zhiyuan gasped in shock.

With such a large-scale troop movement, Chu Sheng Army is really going all out.

Soon, the intelligence was sent back to the regimental headquarters.

Lin Zhiyuan immediately said, "The Chu Sheng Army is trying to intimidate us by deploying two regiments at once. We can't afford to split our forces into two positions again."

The enemy swarmed forward with superior forces, and if the 6th Regiment were to split up again, it would only be defeated one by one.

"Order all troops in the south bank circular position to retreat immediately. We will fight the Rising Sun Army in urban warfare."

Guan Jianchu had no objection to abandoning the position on the south bank.

"I immediately coordinated the positions of the various units."

……

After daybreak, the 11th and 41st Regiments of the newly promoted army launched another fierce attack after bombarding the circular positions on the south bank in accordance with the battle plan.

However, this time they did not encounter any resistance and successfully crossed the river, reaching the 6th Regiment's position.

"boom!"

Some unlucky guys had just jumped into the trench when they stepped on a landmine and were blown away.

Seeing the empty space yet hearing the continuous explosions, Nakamura's face turned ashen with anger.

"Baka yarou! Xia Jun is incredibly cunning!"

"Regimental Commander, the enemy should have already retreated completely. Should we report this to the brigade headquarters immediately?"

"Report it up." Nakamura nodded. "Have the troops clear the battlefield and check for any enemy ambushes."

"Hi!"……

"Brigade Commander, we have received a report from the front that the enemy forces on the south bank have retreated, and the 11th Regiment has already occupied the position."

"What about the 41st Regiment?"

"They encountered the enemy on the outskirts of Lujia Town and a firefight has just broken out."

"It seems the enemy knows they are no match for us and has chosen to retreat."

"Pass on my order: the entire army advance."

"The command post moved to Zhujiabang, and the artillery regiment moved to Wangjiadian to prepare for fire support."

"Hi!"

……