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

A dozen bombers with plastered patches on their faces arrived menacingly in Yixian County, extremely arrogant, without even sending escort fighters.

Air raid sirens had already sounded in the city, and the soldiers of the 648th Regiment quickly crawled into the nearest tunnels to take shelter. Most of the civilians had already been evacuated, leaving only a few elderly people who were reluctant to leave their homeland. Zhao Yunwen did not force them to do anything.

Just as the Japanese planes were descending to accurately drop their bombs, the anti-aircraft artillery group hidden in the grove west of the city suddenly opened fire. Strings of fireballs bloomed in the air, and bombers fell one after another. Some were blown up directly, and the pilots did not even have a chance to parachute.

Under the sky, the Japanese soldiers who had been cheering were dumbfounded. They were horrified to discover that the Chinese were equipped with a large number of anti-aircraft guns, which were the nemesis of bombers.

The most tragic cases were those of bomber pilots. What they thought would be an easy journey turned into a one-way trip to their deaths.

In a short time, the Japanese had seven bombers shot down, and the remaining five were so frightened that they hastily dropped their bombs and fled for their lives.

Several more parachutes appeared in the sky, and the sentries raised their guns and fired, as excitedly as if they were shooting sparrows with slingshots.

"You idiots! Those Chinese have no sportsmanship; they shot and killed a pilot who was parachuting!"

"Baka! How come the Chinese have anti-aircraft guns made in the Empire?"

Colonel Nagano is a bit of a lunatic. He acts recklessly when bombing others, but when he gets beaten up, he has to follow the rules. Unfortunately, nobody pays attention to him. In the life-and-death struggle on the battlefield, there is no such thing as martial ethics.

Watching the enemy planes flee in disarray, Zhao Yunwen's smile widened. He was eager to see Terauchi Hisaichi's expression when his attempt to steal a chicken backfired.

Before Terauchi Hisaichi could lash out, Colonel Nagano broke through the defenses and ordered the artillery to fire on Wangjialing, deploying two field artillery battalions with great momentum.

Shells rained down on the position, and the soldiers of the isolated battalion huddled in their bunkers, silently enduring the bombardment. The trenches they had painstakingly repaired were once again blasted to pieces. The bunkers, covered with branches and loose soil and supported by wooden stakes, provided excellent cushioning, resulting in relatively few casualties.

The Wangjialing position had been thoroughly skimmed over twice, and Colonel Nagano said smugly:

"Wow, the Imperial Army's artillery fire is really fierce. They've shaved half of the hilltop off. I really want to know how many people are still alive on the position."

Senior staff officer Major Yokoyama quipped:

"Wangjialing is just a small hill with no natural defenses. The Imperial Army's artillery bombardment completely razed its fortifications, and many Chinese were buried alive, which saved the warriors the trouble of collecting the corpses."

"Yokoyama-kun, signal Kawasaki-kun. Don't say I didn't give them a chance; they can go up and take over the position!"

Colonel Nagano spoke casually, saying that since crossing the Yellow River, they had been chasing Han Fuju's 100,000-strong army and had never fought a decent battle, achieving victory after victory.

The Setani Detachment marched south to capture Taierzhuang, while the Seto Takeshi Brigade guarded the Third Army Group in western Shandong. Although the commander-in-chief had changed, the gap in combat strength between the two sides was huge, giving Colonel Nagano the illusion that the Chinese army was very weak.

The Kawasaki Battalion had more than 600 men left, and after receiving orders, they all rushed up the hillside, densely covering it.

Shangguan Zhibiao, already enraged by the Japanese attack, loudly ordered when he saw the Japanese finally deploy their infantry:

"Use all your light and heavy firepower to kill those Japanese devils! Give them a good beating!"

Deputy Battalion Commander Deng Ying excitedly ran away, and a short while later the entire position was blown up. The entire battalion unleashed a fierce barrage of light and heavy fire on the Japanese, sweeping everything away like a storm.

Rows of Japanese soldiers fell, their corpses covering the hillside. Colonel Nagano stared in disbelief; this was a complete reversal of the scene he had imagined.

"Baka yarou, am I seeing things?"

"Commander, the Chinese in Wangjialing seem to be different from those we've encountered before. No wonder they caused the Setani Detachment to suffer losses; their firepower is even stronger than that of the Imperial Army."

Major Yokoyama graduated from the Army University and has considerable knowledge. He is an expert on China and could roughly guess what kind of troops the defending forces were.

Colonel Nagano is capable enough to be a regimental commander in a first-class division. He was just arrogant before, not incompetent. He quickly regained his composure and said in a deep voice:

"Tell me about the information you have regarding the Battle of Taierzhuang."

Staff officers all have their own network of contacts and information channels, especially those who graduated from the Army University. They may have classmates or senior classmates in the army group or even the headquarters.

Major Yokoyama did indeed have it. Upon Colonel Nagano's question, he suddenly remembered something, his expression changed drastically, and he said in a flustered tone:

"They might be a unit of the Chinese wolves!"

"The Chinese Wolf? What's his background?"

Major Yokoyama then recounted the information he knew, which, though they wouldn't meet in person, was enough to make Colonel Nagano gasp in shock:

"So it was him! Zhao Yunwen, the man who captured two Imperial Army flags, and the 39th Infantry Regiment was also decimated by them."

"A person's name, a tree's shadow," Major Yokoyama asked cautiously.

"Commander, why don't we have the warriors withdraw first? We can discuss this further later."

"You idiot! Do you think the Imperial Army is afraid of him?"

Colonel Nagano, though outwardly fierce, was inwardly weak. After a brief pause, he added:

"The Chinese fortifications haven't been completely destroyed yet. Let Kawasaki-kun withdraw first... Bomb them with artillery... That's right, use overwhelming firepower to flatten Wangjialing! I want to see if their lives are tougher, or if the Imperial Army's steel is tougher!"

Major Yokoyama bowed deeply. Zhao Yunwen and the 107th Division were hurdles they had to overcome, unless they didn't intend to stay in the military.

On the isolated battalion's position, Major Kawasaki's heart was bleeding; most of his warriors had fallen. The defenders' firepower remained fierce, bullets seemed endless, their defenses were impenetrable, and their tactics were constantly evolving. If the fighting continued, he would have to fill the gaps himself.

Just as Kawasaki's battalion was caught in a dilemma, the order to retreat came from behind. Major Kawasaki, as if hearing heavenly music, shouted with relief:

"Quickly, turn around!"

After Major Kawasaki gave the order, he turned and retreated. The other Japanese soldiers followed suit, ignoring even the seriously wounded. It was no different from a rout.

Yang Guai fired two shots at the backs of the Japanese soldiers, leaving two unfortunate men behind, before stopping.

The piercing whistle of the anti-artillery siren blared, and Yang Guai roared:

"hidden!"

"The shells are coming! Hurry up, you damn well better!"

The Japanese troops retreated like a tide, and then a barrage of artillery shells rained down, this time with even greater intensity, wave after wave, as if determined to wipe Wangjialing off the map.

The isolated battalion only had six cannons, and had no say in front of two field artillery battalions, so it could only obediently bear the burden.

"Commander, the Japanese are really crazy. They've been bombing for half an hour. Should we call for heavy artillery support?"

The chief of staff's suggestion somewhat tempted Yao Zhiqing, but he quickly dismissed the idea and said firmly:

"It's not time yet. The main force of the 10th Division hasn't arrived. We can't reveal our strength. Order the regimental artillery to fire several rounds as a warning!"

Although these rounds of artillery support cannot solve the fundamental problem, they will make the Japanese more restrained. The regimental artillery company's 12 artillery pieces are not to be underestimated.

Shortly after Yao Zhiqing issued the order, the artillery company fired three salvos at the Japanese. As if they had eyes, the second salvo hit the artillery position of the Independent Field Artillery Battalion, destroying two 75mm cannons and scaring the Japanese into hastily retreating.

The shelling finally ended, and thousands of Japanese infantrymen stormed Wangjialing from multiple directions. The defending troops opened fire to intercept them, and the battle quickly escalated into a fierce one.

The isolated battalion fought with all its might, and the regimental artillery company provided occasional artillery support, finally managing to subdue the frenzied Japanese soldiers.

Time was passing slowly, but the casualty figures were rising rapidly; for every thousand enemies killed, eight hundred of our own were lost.

Yang Guai had already switched to a Browning automatic rifle and was firing wildly at the Japanese soldiers. The gun's owner had already sacrificed himself, and his expression was numb, not indifferent, but rather that he was used to life and death.

The battle continued until nightfall before the Japanese reluctantly withdrew, having lost their composure.

The isolated battalion was also engulfed in flames, but military orders were absolute. Shangguan Zhibiao, his face cold, gave a sharp rebuke:

"Shut the hell up, execute the order—retreat!"