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

South City, the underground command post of the 648th Regiment

Chief of Staff Lieutenant Colonel Guo Zhenxing said in a deep voice:

"Guo Junying has been holding out on the outskirts for almost a day, suffering heavy casualties. Should we withdraw them to the Chengyuan position?"

Regiment Commander Yao Zhiqing shook his head and said:

"No rush. This is just the vanguard of the Japanese army. Our isolated battalion is sufficient to handle it. We must hold out until the main force of the Japanese army arrives before we retreat."

This was a pre-arranged plan. Although Wangjialing, which the isolated battalion was defending, was just a small hill, it was located on the west side of the main road into the city. Further west were the continuous Qingtan Mountains, the main position of the 322nd Brigade. There was no need to worry about being outflanked, and it was a key point that the Japanese had to take.

The isolated battalion's position was arranged in a crescent shape, with three infantry companies spread out from northwest to southeast on the hillside, consisting of three horizontal and four vertical trenches.

The artillery battery is located on the mountaintop, hidden on the reverse slope. When needed, it can be pulled up to the mountaintop to fire, and can control an area within a two-kilometer radius.

The Chengyuan position was divided into two strongpoints, left and right, each with an infantry company. In front of the position were anti-tank ditches, barbed wire, and minefields. Permanent bunkers were built with cement, stone strips, and rebar, five on each side, one main and two auxiliary, deployed in a tiered manner.

Cement, steel bars, barbed wire, and anti-personnel mines were all purchased by Zhao Yunwen from the system. The bunker is two meters high and one meter thick on the front, capable of withstanding direct fire from a 75mm anti-aircraft gun.

The bunker has underground shelters underneath, which can be used to hide when the Japanese bombard it, and store enough food and water for half a month of combat. The two flanks can form crossfire to block the passage into the city from the west, north and east.

The bunkers were connected by trenches, each eighty meters apart, which protected half of the city. One battalion was responsible for the defense, while another company and artillery company served as reserves.

The regimental headquarters, the second battalion, and the regimental artillery company are located within the city and can support the city's defensive positions.

These are all city defense fortifications. Yao Zhiqing did not intend to defend the city walls. Once the city walls were breached, he would let the Japanese soldiers into the city to fight street battles.

They had their own mission on the outer perimeter, and they had to hold the line no matter how heavy the casualties were. "A merciful commander cannot lead an army," Chief of Staff Guo said, seeing that Regiment Commander Yao had made up his mind.

On the outer perimeter of the isolated battalion, the two sides were once again locked in a stalemate. The Japanese offensive was halted. The Kawasaki Battalion had tried its best, but still could not break through the Wangjialing defense line. The hillside was covered with Japanese corpses.

Yang Guai liked this kind of stalemate. He was not afraid of the Japanese when it came to marksmanship. Each of the 12 infantry squads in the company had 2 snipers equipped with 4x scopes, and they were almost always right within 400 meters.

More than 20 snipers began their hunt. Although the Japanese soldiers were skilled at shooting, they were still far behind the professionals.

These snipers specifically target officers, sergeants, machine gunners, and grenade launcher operators, making them afraid to show their faces.

Although Yang Guai wasn't a sniper, his marksmanship was absolutely top-notch; he had already killed four targets and used up four rounds. Even without a scope, he remained a fearsome presence for the Japanese.

The Japanese seemed to have noticed the tactics of the isolated battalion and arranged for sharpshooters to exchange fire with the soldiers of the Eighth Company. The two sides engaged in a fierce battle of sniper fire and artillery fire. Although the pace slowed down, casualties were not small, as every shot hit the flesh.

Yang Guai set his sights on a sergeant who was an excellent marksman and very composed, almost causing the Shi family line to end.

Sano Takayuki was unaware of the danger; he was just annoyed that he hadn't killed his target. He rarely made a move, and when he did, none of his targets survived.

Sergeant Sano hit his target 27 times in succession in western Shandong, but in Wangjialing he only fired two shots and missed one.

He planned to fire another shot, targeting the sniper of the isolated battalion, who had just killed the squad leader.

With his innate battlefield instincts, he had already located the sniper's hiding place and was just waiting for the sniper to fire.

The snipers of the 107th Division were "mass-produced." With the help of Zhao Yunwen's training talent, their skills improved significantly, but their overall level was not high. At most, they were sharpshooters equipped with scopes. Their advantage was their large number.

The sniper targeted by Sano was from Xiaohubei's squad. He had already shot and killed three Japanese soldiers in a row. Just after he shot and killed the Japanese corporal, Sergeant Sano fired his gun.

Yang Guai fired his gun almost simultaneously, only slightly delayed. He locked onto and killed Sano based on the muzzle flash, thus avenging his fallen comrade.

Xiao Hubei immediately rushed towards the sniper who had been shot. The bullet hit his face, and he was already lifeless, so they had to give up on saving him.

He picked up the sniper rifle that had fallen to the ground, then aimed the gun at the Japanese soldiers, and soon shot and killed a light machine gunner.

The isolated battalion had long been accustomed to life and death. Of the old brothers who broke out of Sihang Warehouse, only half survived after months of fierce fighting.

Yang Guai became a company commander, Duanwu became a main gunner, Xiao Hubei became a squad leader, and Xie Polu even became the division chief of staff.

In every battle, brothers will sacrifice their lives, but those who survive will continue to fight. When the nation is in peril, this is the fate of soldiers.

Duanwu was adjusting the firing angle of the 60mm mortar when the Japanese light machine gun was continuously spewing fire at a distance of over 600 meters, which was exactly within the optimal firing range.

Duanwu had long since figured out a suitable aiming method for himself and quickly locked onto the target. The assistant gunner tacitly handed him a shell, which he promptly loaded into the cannon barrel.

The shell slid into the base of the cannon and then shot out, tracing a beautiful parabola in the air and accurately hitting the target.

The Japanese machine gun fell silent instantly, and the main gunner was hit in the head by shrapnel. Of the four machine gun crew members, two were killed and one was wounded.

Major Kawasaki kept a close eye on the battle. His soldiers had suffered more than half casualties, and even the help of the field artillery battalion was not enough. Wangjialing had become their "heartbreak ridge".

"You idiot! Kitajima-kun, get these useless trash out of here!"

Major Kawasaki sighed deeply. The fighting spirit had been lost, and continuing would only increase casualties.

The Japanese finally quieted down, and there wasn't even any retaliatory artillery fire. The soldiers of the isolated battalion quickly evacuated the wounded and repaired the fortifications whenever they could find a spare moment.

Battalion Commander Shangguan judged that the Japanese were waiting for their main force to arrive, and that the upcoming battle would be extremely brutal. After dark, he called several company commanders to the command post for a meeting.

First, the company commanders reported on the casualties and losses. With less than 30% of the personnel lost, Battalion Commander Shangguan's expression improved considerably.

"Brothers, I won't go into the importance of the Wangjialing position. News from the regimental headquarters is that the main force of the Japanese is arriving one after another, and Wangjialing will be the first to be hit."

The commander's mission for us is to hold out for another day and night. After dark tomorrow, we can abandon the position and retreat into the city to rest.

"Go back and quickly restore and reinforce the fortifications. There will be no reinforcements; as long as we're here, we'll hold our ground!"

Several company commanders solemnly accepted their orders and left. The main force of the Japanese army had already arrived, and the real test would begin after dawn.

In the depths of night, the Japanese soldiers were also holding a meeting. The atmosphere was clearly more oppressive than that of the military camp. The commander of the 40th Infantry Regiment, Yoshio Nagano, had taken over command and gave Major Kawasaki a severe scolding before inquiring about the situation of the garrison.

Major Kawasaki defended himself by saying:

"The Chinese defending Wangjialing consisted of at least one regiment, equipped with more than ten artillery pieces, including a large number of mortars and Imperial-made Type 92 infantry guns. Their fortifications were very strong..."

"You idiot, you're just making excuses for your incompetence. It's just a mere Chinese regiment; the Nagano Regiment could easily defeat it."

Major Kawasaki was speechless. He hadn't played well, so he just had to accept the scolding.

Colonel Nagano then began issuing new operational plans, which continued until midnight.

The following morning, a dozen bombers arrived menacingly. Zhao Yunwen's lips curled into a smile; he had already discovered Terauchi Hisaichi's plot. He snorted coldly.

"Hundreds of fighter jets, what a massive undertaking!"

He originally intended to use a counter-strategy to destroy the more than 100 aircraft, but after careful consideration, he gave up the idea.

It's best to keep the "airplane rental" a secret; the unknown is the most frightening thing, and we can't let Terauchi Hisaichi lead us by the nose.

Thinking of this, he said to Xie Polu:

"Telegram to the artillery regiment: the Japanese air force is about to arrive. Tell the anti-aircraft artillery company to give them a good welcome!"