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

"Baka yarou, what's going on?"

Colonel Furong was stunned. The sudden artillery barrage caught the Japanese off guard. The target of this attack was the headquarters of the 63rd Regiment.

What terrified Colonel Furong most was that the shells came from the Eastern Front, which speaks volumes.

Major Yasui, true to his reputation as a top student from the Army War College, turned pale instantly and stammered:

"There's a conspiracy! These are reinforcements from the Chinese!"

Many questions that had been puzzling were also resolved, and Major Yasui then added:

"The Chinese deliberately abandoned those positions!"

"You idiot! Why didn't you say so sooner!"

Colonel Furong's eyes were bloodshot, and he roared hoarsely; he was no longer being reasonable.

"Boom boom boom boom..."

The artillery barrage landed on the circular position where the command post was located. Major Yasui instinctively tackled Colonel Fukuro, who landed face-first on the ground and had two of his front teeth knocked out.

Colonel Fu Rong angrily shoved Major Yasui aside, only to discover that the latter's back was already a bloody mess, riddled with shrapnel, having saved him from certain death.

Arata Shinzo, commander of the 10th Cavalry Regiment, rushed in in a panic and shouted:

"Mr. Fu Rong, a large number of Chinese infantrymen, numbering in the thousands, have appeared on both the east and west flanks. The cavalry regiment is no match for them."

This is a huge conspiracy! We must turn north immediately, or it will be too late!

"Arata-kun, what about the warriors on the mountain? I will fight to the death with them!"

Colonel Fu Rong's words infuriated Colonel Arata. They were noble cavalrymen, yet these lowly army samurai were putting on airs. If it weren't for Division Commander Isogai having appointed Fu Rong as commander, he wouldn't have bothered with this bastard.

"Fu Rong, we can't worry about that anymore. If we don't retreat now, even the flag of the 63rd Regiment will be hard to protect."

Colonel Arata had lost his patience and was about to explode when the sound of artillery fire, bugle calls, and battle cries came from the front.

"The Chinese have launched a full-scale counterattack, hurry!"

"Baka, was there an earthquake?"

"It's cavalry!"

"A cavalry force! The Chinese have hidden cavalry! We're doomed!"

Colonel Arata's eyes were filled with fear. No one knew better than him how terrifying the cavalry was during a rout. He could no longer control the infantry and rode away.

Mountain cavalry are not convenient to deploy, but they can pursue along the main road. Four legs are always faster than two, and their momentum is even more intimidating.

The appearance of the cavalry regiment became the last straw that broke the Japanese soldiers' psychological defenses. The Japanese troops in the direction of Hanwang Mountain were the first to collapse. They were just a detachment, only a few hundred men.

The counterattack at Hanwang Mountain was commanded by Colonel Qin Shiquan, commander of the 643rd Regiment. The regiment's artillery company bombarded the Japanese troops, scattering their formations and causing heavy casualties.

The two infantry battalions pressed their advantage, with thousands of soldiers rushing out of the trenches and charging towards the Japanese like an overwhelming tide, their momentum unstoppable.

The command structure of the fleeing soldiers was disrupted by the bombing. They were all trying to avoid the artillery fire. Under the onslaught of thousands of soldiers from the 643rd Regiment, they collapsed instantly and were out of control.

The army was in complete disarray, everyone was running for their lives, and no one was willing to stop and stop the pursuers.

On the west side of the Japanese, more than 2,000 soldiers of the 645th Regiment were working hard to close the net. One battalion went around to the north to cut off the Japanese retreat and cooperated with the main force of the 643rd Regiment to encircle and annihilate the remaining Japanese soldiers.

The main force of the Japanese troops in the direction of Qingtan Mountain subsequently collapsed. The defending troops used heavy artillery battalions to bombard the area, causing the Japanese to flee in terror.

The psychological pressure of heavy artillery raining down from above is something not everyone can withstand. Each round of artillery fire caused immense panic and accelerated the Japanese army's defeat.

The 644th and 643rd Regiments, each with a battalion of 3 soldiers, spread from the mountaintop like a raging flood, unstoppable. Wherever they went, the Japanese were completely submerged, with not even a few bubbles rising to the surface.

The cavalry regiment split into two groups, charging along the valleys of Hanwang Mountain and Qingtan Mountain, as well as the main road east of Qingtan Mountain, to pursue the fleeing Japanese troops and tactically cut them off.

The 645th and 646th Regiments on the east and west flanks were responsible for closing in, while the defending troops on the south front chased after the Japanese. With the enemy surrounded from all sides, the Furong Detachment faced annihilation.

On the northern front, the Japanese cavalry regiment broke through the encirclement. Their charge was so powerful that the troops trapped in the pocket couldn't catch up. Their forces were too weak, so they had to choose to attack from the side, eliminating more than two hundred cavalrymen.

Colonel Furong's regimental headquarters also escaped. They were already on the outskirts and ran fast. Before the 323rd Brigade could complete the encirclement, they escaped through the gap.

The other Japanese soldiers weren't so lucky; they were all divided, surrounded, and annihilated.

Before nightfall, the main forces of the three infantry battalions, the field artillery battalion, and the supply battalion of the Furong Detachment were completely annihilated. Only one infantry company guarding the regimental headquarters managed to break through the encirclement, which no longer affected the overall situation.

At 7:30 p.m., in the 107th Division headquarters, under the dim light of a kerosene lamp, Zhao Yunwen was studying the battle situation by staring at the map. The Battle of Pengcheng had reached its final stage, which would put Li Delin's endgame skills to the test.

Few high-ranking officers in the Nationalist army knew how to finish the job. After the order to retreat was given in the Battle of Shanghai, hundreds of thousands of troops were left without even a rearguard. No one could hold off the advance troops of a few thousand Japanese soldiers, and in the end, they lost 100,000 men on the road to defeat.

In Jinling City, the fighting was going well, but after Commander Tang gave the order to retreat, he ran away. Then, the army and division commanders who were attending the meeting abandoned their troops and fled for their lives, leaving more than 60,000 soldiers stranded at Xiaguan.

There are 600,000 main force troops of the National Government around Pengcheng. They are the lifeblood of China. If they are annihilated, there is no need to fight the Battle of Jiangcheng.

Although Zhao Yunwen knew the outcome, he was also worried about unforeseen changes. The butterfly effect was not to be ignored, and he would not be at ease until the army had safely broken through.

Xie Polu burst in joyfully, his voice preceding his arrival:

"Commander, good news! Victory on the western front!"

Zhao Yunwen pulled his gaze from the map and said in a deep voice:

"read!"

"Commander, the division launched a counterattack along the Hanwang Mountain and Qingtan Mountain line. With the cooperation of the 343rd Brigade, the Cavalry Regiment and the Heavy Artillery Battalion, the Furong Detachment was severely damaged."

They killed over 3200 Japanese soldiers, captured 16 75mm howitzers, 9 Type 92 infantry guns, 127 warhorses, over 500 mules and horses, over 2600 rifles and pistols, hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition, over 5000 artillery shells, as well as grenade launchers and various other supplies.

A smile finally appeared on Zhao Yunwen's face. Although he already knew the result, he was still somewhat surprised by the brilliant outcome, as this was a first-class division.

"Were the casualties among our brothers high?"

Zhao Yunwen first asked the question he was most concerned about. He had deployed four infantry regiments to the Qingtan Mountain direction. If the casualties were too great, it could not be called a great victory, but only a "pyrrhic victory".

Xie Polu replied solemnly:

"There were quite a few casualties, especially the 643rd Regiment, which was the main force, suffered nearly half of its casualties, and the 644th Regiment also suffered more than 300 casualties."

The artillery, cavalry, and two regiments of the 323rd Brigade suffered almost no casualties, totaling about 1500 men.

Of these, 361 were killed, 425 were seriously injured, and the rest were all lightly wounded.

Zhao Yunwen breathed a sigh of relief. Although there were more than 1500 casualties, the absolute battle loss was only 786. Most of the seriously wounded could recover, and the final battle loss should be less than 500, including those who were killed or disabled due to injuries and could no longer return to the battlefield.

The casualties were close to 2.5 to 1, the absolute losses were 4 to 1, and the combat strength was 1 to 3. These figures were within Zhao Yunwen's psychological tolerance range, and his last bit of worry disappeared. He smiled and said:

"The brothers fought very well this time. Casualties are inevitable. Telegraph Zhang Yi that he must take good care of the wounded brothers and not let any seriously wounded soldier delay treatment. If there is any shortage, apply directly to the division."

"Next, we should deal with the enemy in Yicheng, leaving the 643rd Regiment, which suffered the most casualties, to clean up the mess. The main force will advance eastward in two routes, with the 322nd Brigade making a grand advance towards Zaozhuang, posing as if to launch a flanking attack on the 10th Division headquarters."

The 323rd Brigade secretly moved to the flanks of the main road north of Yicheng to ambush the enemy, waiting for the main Japanese force to return to reinforce the division headquarters before launching a pincer attack from the east and west flanks…

As Zhao Yunwen issued his orders, the final blow against the 10th Division began.