Even if I'm a useless bum at Whampoa Military Academy, I'll be invincible in the War of Re

The 1st Battalion of the 4th Regiment unleashed its full firepower, a dense hail of bullets raining down on the Japanese soldiers. Major Ando's eyes were practically spitting fire; he had never felt such a profound sense of powerlessness before.

As many charged forward, they were all killed; corpses piled up in layers, blood flowed like a river, and the defenders' bullets were impenetrable. The Type 92 heavy machine gun was nothing but trash in front of the M1919.

What broke through Major Ando's defenses the most was the high mobility of the defending heavy machine guns. After firing for a long time, they suffered almost no losses. In contrast, the cumbersome Type 92 heavy machine guns were easily caught by mortars and infantry guns, and the heavy firepower of Ando's battalion was suppressed.

The charging troops finally succumbed to the massive casualties and retreated in disarray, leaving no time to even take away the seriously wounded.

The battalion did not pursue the enemy, nor did it provide any additional firearms to the wounded Japanese soldiers. They let the wounded struggle in agony on the hillside, since it did not affect their own morale.

Not long after the infantry retreated, artillery shells rained down, destroying entire sections of trenches. Many soldiers were buried alive in the trenches, and the bodies and seriously wounded Japanese soldiers were torn to pieces.

Sui Youlan was still holding back. He had ordered the artillery company to do everything in its power to locate the Japanese artillery positions, waiting for the opportunity to strike a fatal blow.

Having suffered a setback at Black Wind Pass before, Colonel Furong was very cautious. He not only divided the artillery into several positions, but also strictly controlled the timing to prevent the defenders from having any chance.

Not long after, more than a dozen bombers flew in and dropped dozens of bombs on Tiger Head Mountain. This time, Zhao Yunwen did not use any special abilities to intercept them; he did not want to reveal his trump card too early.

Seeing that the garrison at Tiger Head Mountain was powerless to fight back, Colonel Fu Rong was in high spirits and finally felt a sense of triumph.

"Warriors, charge!"

The Japanese soldiers, their morale soaring, charged towards the defending positions with shouts of excitement. The soldiers of the First Battalion shook off the dirt from their clothes, picked up their weapons, and opened fire on the Japanese. The battle once again entered a war of attrition, with the Japanese unable to break through the front lines and instead leaving behind many dead and wounded.

North of Tangtou, along the Weitai Highway, Zhaozhuang

At the headquarters of the 1st Brigade of the Guerrilla Column, Chief of Staff Lin Zheng hurried over to report:

"Commander, news has come from the front that the Japanese have come out of their hideout. At least one reinforced battalion, led by several heavy trucks, is heading straight for Tangtou."

Judging from the banner, it's none other than the famous Itagaki Division!

Zhang Yi's eyes lit up. He had heard of the Itagaki Division. In the Battle of Jinyang, Itagaki Seishiro had single-handedly swept through North China with only half a division, defeating more than a dozen divisions from the Second War Zone.

"The commander is truly a prophet. The Fifth Division, known as the Steel Army, is extremely arrogant. They dared to drive straight in with just one reinforced battalion. They really don't take our national army seriously!"

"I'll wipe out this isolated, recklessly advancing force."

Zhang Yi quickly made up his mind. The battlefield had already been chosen, at Luoyanpo, seven miles northwest of Zhao Village.

In order to annihilate this group of Japanese soldiers, Zhang Yi brought over the main force of the First Brigade. The First and Second Regiments were used for ambush, while the Third Regiment served as a reserve force.

North of Luoyanpo, the vanguard of the Sakamoto Detachment, numbering over 1500 men, was marching in a grand procession. Leading the way was Lieutenant Colonel Kamei, the battalion commander of the 21st Regiment, who was currently swaying back and forth on a tall horse, with Major Chiba, his adjutant, accompanying him.

The two chatted casually, as relaxed as if they were on a picnic, and they had every right to be arrogant.

Seishiro Itagaki's half-division swept across North China, with the main force being the 21st Infantry Brigade. The first half was led by Major General Toshiji Miura, and the second half by Jun Sakamoto. They fought all the way from Pingxingguan to Jinyang, defeating hundreds of thousands of troops from the Second World War Zone, only losing a thousand men at Pingxingguan to the 115th Division.

The two were discussing Pengcheng, and Major Chiba said with a look of disdain:

"The 10th Division's Laigu Detachment boasts that it will break through the Jinpu Railway and aim for Pengcheng. This is a direct challenge to my 21st Brigade!"

Lieutenant Colonel Kamei snorted coldly:

"They don't deserve it! I don't know what your Commander was thinking, letting the 10th Division take the lead. When has my Steel Army ever been anyone's lackey?"

Major Chiba wholeheartedly agreed:

"According to intelligence, there is only one 40th Army in Linyi City, and it will not be difficult for the Sakamoto Detachment to defeat them."

"Once we capture Linyi, we can march straight to Taierzhuang and then occupy Pengcheng. We can launch a two-pronged attack, each relying on its own capabilities."

"Chiba-kun, you think too highly of the Chinese. The 40th Army guarding Linyi is a local force with extremely poor equipment."

"There's no need for Your Excellency to take action to defeat them; you and I are enough!"

The two men exchanged a smile, their arrogance written all over their faces.

"Chiba-kun, Tangtou is just ahead. Let's speed up our march and spend the night there!"

Lieutenant Colonel Kamei was confident that capturing Tangtou would serve as a bridgehead for the southward advance, a view shared by Major Chiba. Once Linyi City was captured, Lieutenant Colonel Kamei would be promoted, and he would rightfully take over as battalion commander.

At Luoyanpo, in the forward command post of the 2nd Brigade, Luo Wenzheng, the commander of the 2nd Regiment, was watching the Japanese soldiers perform through binoculars, waiting for them to all crawl into his trap.

Luoyanpo is located on the southeast side of the Taiwei Highway. It is the highest point in the vicinity, less than one kilometer away from the highway. The Second Regiment ambushed here.

A regiment lay in ambush in the opposite mountain ridge. In the middle was a depression, and the road leading to Tangtou passed through the depression. The sides were covered with miscellaneous trees, which was very suitable for hiding soldiers.

Leading the way were four bean-shaped tanks, forming a tank squad, proceeding in single file.

On either side was a cavalry squad tasked with reconnaissance, and another cavalry squad in the middle protected the supply train and artillery company. The 5th Division was a semi-mechanized division.

Luo Wen was a veteran of the former Second Security Regiment. When Zhang Yi was the battalion commander, he was the company commander. When he was promoted to regimental commander, he became the battalion commander. He was deeply trusted by Zhao Yunwen and Zhang Yi. This time, he was the commander of the front line.

The Japanese soldiers never expected anyone to dare to ambush them, so the search was just a formality.

Seeing that all the Japanese soldiers had entered the ambush, Luo Wen casually pulled out a signal gun and fired three shots into the sky.

Lieutenant Colonel Kamei sensed the danger, spotted the signal flare immediately, broke out in a cold sweat, and screamed in terror:

"There's an ambush!"

"Boom boom boom..."

More than a dozen shells pierced the sky and crashed into the enemy lines, blasting the Kamei Battalion's formation into several pieces.

At the same time, eight rockets headed straight for the tank group, destroying three tanks in just one round of attack and blocking the main road.

The bazooka rocket launchers equipped by the Second Regiment were incredibly effective, turning the enemy into easy targets.

Shells rained down, shattering the Japanese army's ranks and sending soldiers fleeing in all directions.

Subsequently, the Second Regiment unleashed its full firepower, with light and heavy machine guns fiercely firing at the Japanese soldiers, causing chaos and defeat.

They instinctively tried to escape to the other side, only to run headlong into a hail of gunfire, which also meant certain death.

Lieutenant Colonel Kamei had already slipped off his horse and was horrified to find that he had fallen into a trap. This reminded him of the Pingxingguan Pass incident, where the tactics were exactly the same.

Major Chiba, no longer displaying his previous arrogance, asked in a flustered manner:

"We've been ambushed, what do we do?"

Lieutenant Colonel Kamei really wanted to slap him to death, and roared:

"Baka yarou, don't panic! Immediately organize the warriors to seize the high ground, or you'll all die!"

Major Chiba had finally managed to gather over a hundred men when a barrage of artillery shells rained down, instantly killing most of them. Luo Wenli didn't give the Japanese a chance to regroup.

The guerrilla column regiment had mountain guns and infantry guns, the battalion had a group of 20mm mortars, and the company had three 60mm mortars. How could they possibly allow the Japanese to swarm together?

The Japanese soldiers of the Kamei Company had lost their command and were fighting independently, unable to form a cohesive force, resulting in a sharp increase in casualties.

Luo Wen's encirclement and annihilation tactics were very simple: firepower was paramount. He used artillery to bombard the enemy, machine guns to form a net, and relentlessly beat the Japanese soldiers until they were disoriented.

Under the combined attack of the First and Second Regiments, the Japanese soldiers within the encirclement disappeared visibly, turning into corpses and wounded soldiers. The few hundred survivors became lambs to the slaughter.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Luo Wen coldly shouted:

"Bugler, blow the charge! Kill all the Japanese devils!"

As the clarion call of the bugle sounded, Lieutenant Colonel Kamei turned ashen-faced; he knew his end was near.

Faced with death, he went mad, raising his saber and roaring as the ambush troops surged towards him like a tidal wave:

"Warriors, the time has come to serve the Sky Locust! Thrust, thrust!"