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

The battle began on the left flank. The Hashimoto Battalion was in high spirits and skipped the artillery preparation. The three companies lined up in a row and charged up the hill with skirmish lines.

Battalion Commander Lü Zeng, this time not tolerating the Japanese, coldly shouted:

"Brothers, beat them to death!"

Just as the Japanese soldiers were charging forward with great enthusiasm, gunfire suddenly erupted, followed by a dense hail of bullets.

The Japanese soldiers fell one after another, hit by bullets. The intensity of the firepower left Major Hashimoto speechless, and he stammered:

"Baka yarou... What happened?"

No one gave him an answer. Major Kamei had already been called away by the regimental commander for a talk, and the others were still basking in the joy of their previous victory. This reversal came too quickly.

The Japanese soldiers were the type who wouldn't turn back until they hit a brick wall. The blood of their comrades didn't frighten them; instead, it fueled their ferocity, and they charged forward fearlessly.

Ouyang Li liked these kinds of Japanese soldiers the most. His Browning medium machine gun had no shortage of bullets. Compared to the Maxim he used before, the M1919 had a more powerful firepower output, and the 250-round belt was enough for him to kill to his heart's content.

As a former heavy machine gunner in the training corps, he had extensive combat experience and had thoroughly mastered the performance of the machine gun. He could accurately control each burst to a few bullets, ensuring at least a first-shot hit.

When the Japanese soldiers used a mass charge, he would fire long bursts of more than ten bullets at a time, sweeping away large groups of them. The Japanese soldiers who fell under his gun were piled up in heaps, which looked very relaxing.

To avoid being targeted by the Japanese infantry artillery, he would usually fire three bursts and then change positions, with his assistant gunner holding a tripod for him.

The gun weighed only 20 kilograms in total, and only a dozen kilograms after removing the tripod. It was easy to pick up and carry, so it was very difficult for the Japanese to catch him.

The Japanese infantry artillery and heavy machine guns also joined the battle, bullets whizzing everywhere. The soldiers of the Third Battalion also suffered casualties, but far fewer than the Japanese.

Ouyang Li moved to a new position, and after the assistant gunner set up the tripod, his gun once again spewed fire, efficiently reaping the lives of the Japanese soldiers.

At this point, the Hashimoto Battalion's offensive had been contained, and the fanatical Japanese soldiers had calmed down. As if they had been doused with cold water, they obediently lay on the hillside, letting the defenders ravage them, caught in a dilemma.

Although the Japanese long-range firepower was constantly spraying bullets, it could not change the passive situation. Instead, it exposed their position and attracted artillery fire from the defending troops.

The infantry guns and mortars of the Third Battalion were the nemesis of heavy machine guns. The few heavy machine guns that Hashimoto Battalion had were not enough to go around. Five were lost in less than an hour, out of a total of eight. Such a huge loss was something the Japanese could not afford.

Major Hashimoto's face was very ugly. He regretted speaking so confidently. If the fighting continued like this, they would not achieve their goal, even if they fought until dawn, let alone nightfall.

The adjutant finally couldn't help but advise:

"Hashimoto-kun, let the warriors retreat and let the regimental commander request tactical guidance."

There are no fortifications on the mountain ridge, no cover whatsoever; if a field artillery battalion is deployed, the Chinese can be quickly defeated.

Although Major Hashimoto was still somewhat reluctant, he listened to his adjutant's advice and withdrew the heavily wounded troops.

During the attack, there were three squadrons, but when they retreated, they lost about one of them, resulting in a casualty rate of 30%.

After the left wing withdrew, the right wing fared no better, only suffering fewer casualties.

The Japanese then launched an artillery barrage. This time it was a proper artillery preparation. The field artillery battalion opened fire with more than a dozen howitzers and infantry guns, hurling volleys of shells at the defending positions and causing considerable casualties to the brothers of the 646th Regiment.

Commander Sui did not let them be arrogant. Now that their true intentions were revealed, he no longer needed to hold back and showed his trump card.

The regimental artillery company launched a counterattack with 12 guns, and in the second volley they hit the Japanese artillery positions, destroying two howitzers. Colonel Numata cried out in pain.

"Damn it, how come the Chinese have a fleet of field guns produced by the Empire?"

They had been stationed in western Shandong, and their impression of the Chinese troops was that they had very little artillery, at most a few crudely made mortars.

The 12 field guns were now comparable in strength to the field artillery battalion they had brought. The defending artillery had been concealing their strength, and by striking later, they had gained a significant advantage.

By the time the Japanese artillery found their target and prepared to retaliate, they had already lost five artillery pieces. The enemy withdrew after firing a few rounds, without any hesitation.

The Japanese counterattack was unsuccessful, and they dared not fire too many rounds, fearing that they would be caught by the artillery of the 646th Regiment and suffer heavy losses.

Without the support of the field artillery battalion, each Japanese battalion only had two Type 92 infantry guns and eight heavy machine guns.

而686团的一个步兵营就有6门火炮，2门步兵炮和4门民20迫击炮，这还不包括每个连属的3门60迫击炮，火力上碾压鬼子一个大队。

Although each Japanese company had nine 50mm grenade launchers, those things were only good for bullying machine guns; they were useless against real artillery.

At first, the Japanese soldiers were not convinced and their grenade throwing teams kept moving forward, preparing to ambush the defenders' machine guns as usual. Before the grenade launchers could be set up, the defenders' 60mm shells flew over, with a kill radius of 15 meters. Even if the accuracy was a bit poor, the shrapnel was enough to send the Japanese soldiers back to their hometowns.

"Damn it, what kind of unit is this? How come they have so many cannons?"

Colonel Numata finally realized something was wrong, and only began to take it seriously after being hurt. Senior staff officer Kensuke Takizawa, being more experienced, said with a long face:

"The Chinese have a wide variety of artillery, including Type 92 artillery and Type 41 mountain guns produced by the Empire, as well as Type 20 mortars produced by the Nanjing Military Factory in China. The most numerous are the M2 60mm mortars produced by the United States, which seem to have been equipped up to the company level."

The heavy machine guns were M1919s, the light machine guns were M1918s, the rifles were German-made, and there were also German submachine guns and pistols. This was probably the famous German-equipped division of China!

Colonel Numata took a deep breath and said:

"What?! These are German-equipped modifiers? They're truly extraordinary. Weren't they wiped out by the Imperial Army in Shanghai and Nanjing?"

Major Takizawa reminded him:

"Commander, you seem to have forgotten something. When we headed south, the Division Commander reminded us that there was a group of fish that had slipped through the net and broken out from Nanjing near the Jinpu Railway. They were the ones who caused the Setani Detachment a lot of trouble before."

Colonel Numata didn't forget; he simply didn't take it seriously. Fixed mindsets can be deadly. In his view, this was just an excuse the Setani Detachment made for their failure. He never expected that such a powerful German-equipped division actually existed.

"So it was them! It's true what they say, 'I've searched high and low without finding them, but they've come to me effortlessly!' The Chinese number at most two thousand, while the Imperial Army has over four thousand. Two to one, the advantage is on our side!"

From now on, we must be on high alert. The Chinese have revealed all their strength; now it's the Imperial Army's turn to shine!

Colonel Numata quickly made adjustments, withdrawing two companies from the right flank and shifting manpower and firepower to the left flank, launching a focused offensive.

The Japanese field regiments were still very powerful; normally, even a Central Army division couldn't stop them. Commander Sui didn't intend to fight them head-on.

While the Japanese were adjusting their deployment, Commander Sui ordered the artillery company, the second battalion, and the main force of the first battalion to withdraw first and find new blocking points in the mountains, leaving only the third battalion and the second company of the first battalion to provide cover.

When the Japanese were ready to launch their attack, the main force of the 646th Regiment had already retreated to a kilometer away.

At 4:30 p.m., the Japanese artillery barrage began as scheduled. Battalion Commander Lü Zeng decisively ordered the abandonment of the position and fled right under the noses of the Japanese.

Colonel Numata was so angry he was practically fuming, and he yelled:

"You bastard, trying to run away? Did you ask for my permission first?!"

"Pursue them! We absolutely cannot let them escape!"