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

Tangtou, 11th Infantry Regiment Headquarters

One piece of bad news after another shattered Colonel Nagano Yuichiro's resolve; he couldn't believe it was real.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"They were all cavalry and infantry, how could they have lost? A bunch of useless trash!"

Colonel Nagano refused to admit that his command was flawed and that he was being led by the nose, making one mistake after another!

Senior staff officer Eiji Nakajima, though an observer, had a clear understanding of the situation, but he dared not speak plainly, and could only say it tactfully:

"The Chinese seemed to have guessed the Imperial Army's intentions and devised targeted tactics, leading the Imperial Army to fight by the nose."

These things are no longer important; the immediate order should be given to abandon Wild Boar Ridge and secure the Shijing Brigade.

This time, Colonel Nagano stopped being stubborn and agreed to Major Nakajima's suggestion, ordering the abandonment of Wild Boar Ridge.

At the Fifth Regiment's blocking position, the Japanese cavalry had already fled far away, leaving behind a field of corpses of men and horses, as well as warhorses that had lost their masters.

Qin Feng was leading the first battalion in cleaning up the battlefield, while the second and third battalions were on guard on both flanks.

The soldiers were already very skilled at cleaning up the battlefield. All the wounded were finished off, including the warhorses. The guerrillas wouldn't use precious medicine to save the animals; slaughtering them would be a good way to improve their meals.

Only the intact warhorses would be gathered together and handed over to the cavalry regiment after the war. This had been agreed upon long ago. Zhao Yunwen's goal was to have two horses per person, the more the better.

The cavalrymen were equipped with good stuff, including sabers, lances, saddles, and helmets. Except for the Japanese corpses, everything was taken away by mule carts.

As for the Japanese soldiers' corpses, they were simply buried in several large pits to prevent them from contaminating the land and causing infectious diseases. After the corpses were cleaned, a large amount of quicklime was sprinkled on them, which was very professional.

After all this was done, Qin Feng excitedly came over to report:

"Commander, we found 482 Japanese corpses, captured 227 warhorses, and more than 200 horse carcasses, along with a number of spoils of war."

Qin Qingwu nodded in satisfaction and said:

"All warhorses and cavalry equipment have been handed over, even the dead horses are being taken away; they'll be perfect for a victory celebration—back to Xiaolizhuang!"

The Fifth Regiment left as soon as they had gained an advantage. They were not worried at all about the Japanese chasing them out. As long as they dared to leave the Tangtou position, they would kill one by one, or two by two.

The main battlefield also ended in battle. The Japanese infantry were chased and killed by the cavalry, with more than half of them killed or wounded. Their equipment and supplies were scattered all over the ground, and in the end, they all benefited the cavalry regiment.

At Wild Boar Ridge, Major Ishii finally faced reality and his heart began to waver.

The Second Regiment was making preparations for battle in an orderly manner, openly and boldly telling the Japanese devils that they were going to beat them up.

The Ishii Battalion had already suffered more than half its casualties and was desperately holding onto its last line of defense, with morale extremely low.

The second regimental commander did this intentionally, to create immense psychological pressure on the Japanese and shake their morale to the greatest extent possible.

The chief of staff came to ask for instructions:

"Commander, everything is ready. May we begin?"

At the Japanese position, the adjutant also rushed over, his eyes filled with undisguised joy.

"Mr. Ishii, the regimental commander has sent a telegram ordering my unit to immediately abandon Wild Boar Ridge and detour back to Tangtou from the southwest."

Major Ishii breathed a sigh of relief, finally relieved that he wouldn't die on Wild Boar Ridge, and coldly shouted:

"Let's move in!"

"Boom boom boom..."

"You idiot! This is outrageous!"

Ishii was furious. He had already decided to abandon the position, but the Chinese were still relentlessly attacking, showing no respect whatsoever, and even threatening to never see him again.

The adjutant's face changed drastically, and he urged in alarm:

"Ishii-kun, let's go! We can't wait any longer!"

"You idiots! I'll remember you!"

Ishii uttered a harsh remark, and then ordered his men to sound the retreat.

Shells rained down, tearing the last shred of dignity the Japanese wanted to maintain to shreds.

The Ishii Battalion fled in disarray, and the Second Regiment immediately launched a general offensive, charging towards the enemy lines with overwhelming momentum. The Japanese had no will to fight and just ran for their lives, leaving behind not even the seriously wounded or supplies, only a hand grenade.

Company Commander Captain Takeda knew he had been abandoned, but he was not discouraged. Instead, he pumped his fist to boost morale:

"Warriors, defend this position to the death! I'll meet you in the Yasukuni Shrine!"

The wounded Japanese soldiers knew they had been ruthlessly abandoned, but having been poisoned by militarism for so long, they felt it was an honor. They were filled with fervor, waving their grenades and shouting. This was their last vestige of dignity.

Captain Takeda continued to incite them:

"The Chinese are the most hypocritical people. They'll definitely be thinking of capturing us and then pretend to treat us well. When that happens, we'll pull the pin on a grenade and die together with the Chinese!"

"Holy War, Begone!"

"His Majesty the Emperor Itaya!"

"Steel Army, stand tall!"

The Japanese soldiers were yelling and screaming. Company Commander Tian Yong, leading dozens of his men, had already arrived. Seeing a group of Japanese casualties glaring at him menacingly, he immediately gave the order:

"The Japanese are resisting! Kill them all!"

They unleashed machine guns and grenades at the wounded Japanese soldiers, a completely different outcome from Captain Takeda's expectations.

The Second Regiment never even considered capturing them, just like they didn't want prisoners on the North China battlefield.

He who kills will always be killed!

Dozens of seriously wounded Japanese soldiers were all killed, giving the Japanese no chance to attack them.

The Second Regiment successfully occupied Wild Boar Ridge. Luo Wen left a battalion on the mountain to guard the retreat route, while the main force passed through the valley below the mountain and headed east towards Linyi.

The Japanese soldiers had no idea of ​​their true intentions; they simply strengthened their rear defenses and continued their attack on Linyi City.

In Xiangongzhuang, east of the city, the 229th Regiment of the 115th Brigade was still fighting desperately. The Japanese infantry launched wave after wave of attacks, but they were all repelled by the defenders, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides.

Enraged, the commander of the 21st Infantry Regiment, Katano Sadayoshi, called for artillery support again. Soon after, shells rained down, and the men of Northwest China could only huddle in their trenches and silently endure the onslaught, their fates in the hands of destiny.

Smoke billowed around the position of the 5th Field Artillery Regiment. Busy artillerymen were moving shells, firing cannons, and operating the guns, working in perfect coordination.

The officer held up the signal flag and kept giving orders, and shells were fired in volleys, oblivious to everyone else.

Suddenly a volley of shells rained down from the sky, landing precisely on the artillery position and instantly overturning two 75mm howitzers.

The commander was dumbfounded and screamed in terror:

"Enemy attack! Evacuate immediately!"

The other Japanese soldiers were terrified and panicked. These men were worthless; in their resource-scarce lives, artillery was far more valuable than soldiers.

The Japanese soldiers were aware of this, so their first thought was to "seize the artillery," and they hurriedly packed up the supports and moved the artillery.

The guerrilla column's artillery battalion never intended to give the Japanese any chance; shells rained down one after another, covering the entire artillery position.

The shelling also caused the shells to explode, creating a huge crater in the artillery position, burying the soldiers and the artillery pieces inside.

The guerrilla column's artillery battalion unleashed its full firepower, risking everything to fire sixteen rounds, concentrating its fire on the left flank and almost leveling it. Of the 32 75mm howitzers, only three out of ten survived.

To avoid retaliation from the right-wing heavy artillery group, the artillery battalion withdrew with mules and horses after firing, and the whole process took less than five minutes.

The heavy artillery battalion on the right flank didn't react at first. By the time they turned their guns around and calculated the position of the artillery battalion, it was already more than eight minutes later.

The Japanese retaliatory shelling was a waste of time; they plowed the open ground several times, gaining nothing but wasted shells.

At Xiangongzhuang, the sudden cessation of shelling brought joy to the soldiers. Although they didn't know what had happened, the commotion was still audible. An officer seized the opportunity to shout:

"Brothers, reinforcements! Reinforcements are attacking the Japanese artillery positions. Those bastards are getting bombed!"

The soldiers cheered in unison, their morale soaring. In contrast, the Japanese suffered heavy losses and were filled with fear. The regimental headquarters had no choice but to halt the attack.

Half an hour later, Zhao Yunwen received the battle report and excitedly said:

"Report the victory to headquarters!"