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

In Lanfeng, the defenders' firepower once again made Yokoyama Shizuo question his life. Japanese infantrymen were swept down in droves, bullets raining down relentlessly. Human wave tactics were just suicide missions.

The 647th Regiment deployed two battalions on the front, which was enough to control the area north of the railway line. East of Lanfeng City was the line of Maji, Yangguji, and Shuangtaji, which was the area that the Sakai Detachment was attacking. The 107th Division had a large force deployed there, including three infantry regiments.

The area west of Lanfeng is the defense zone of friendly forces. There is a gap in the middle, which allows a small number of troops to infiltrate, but not too many.

The 2nd Infantry Regiment had limited manpower and dared not make a rash infiltration, so it could only launch a frontal assault.

Lanfeng was previously the defense zone of the 88th Division, where a large number of fortifications were built. Because the 88th Division voluntarily withdrew, the Japanese soldiers occupied Lanfeng without bloodshed, and the fortifications were preserved intact.

The 322nd Brigade's strong attack destroyed part of the fortifications. After the 647th Regiment took over, it not only restored the previous fortifications, but also dug an anti-tank ditch that was two and a half meters long and more than 600 meters wide outside the city on the northern front, blocking the middle road, and laid a large number of barbed wire, sharpened wooden stakes and anti-personnel mines.

Arc-shaped earthworks were built in the northeast and northwest, consisting of three horizontal and four vertical trenches, supplemented by anti-artillery bunkers and foxholes. An infantry battalion was deployed in each direction, completely sealing off the northern front.

The front was only equipped with long-range machine guns and mortars, forming an inverted triangle defense system with the northeast and northwest sides. It looked loose, but its power was astonishing.

Soon the Japanese discovered the "weakness" in the 647th Regiment's defense, using a small number of troops to hold them back on both flanks while their main force broke through from the center.

Over a thousand Japanese soldiers formed three echelons, with riflemen in front, machine gunners and grenade launchers in the middle, and heavy firepower providing support from behind, with an attack front of about 500 meters.

After passing through the fire blockade zone, the first thing blocking the Japanese troops' way was the anti-tank ditch, which was two and a half meters wide in front and behind. The side closest to the city wall was covered with iron mesh. Although it was not electrified, it still looked very frightening.

With this barbed wire fence in place, the Japanese troops' attack speed couldn't be fast. The trench was only half a meter deep and didn't seem to have anything special about it.

The Japanese soldiers at the front jumped in without hesitation, and then came the horrifying screams. The loose soil was filled with sharpened wooden stakes, and many unfortunate Japanese soldiers were strung together like candied hawthorns.

Then came a series of explosions, and the officer in charge screamed in terror:

"Baka! There's a landmine!"

Now the Japanese understood why they had left the middle lane open for the Japanese to charge – they were keeping a backup plan!

Due to time constraints, the Japanese soldiers hadn't taken the half-meter-deep trench seriously until they entered and discovered its hidden depths.

The commander did not give the order to abandon the attack, and the fearless Japanese soldiers continued to rush in. People kept getting hit, and the trench was soon filled with corpses and wounded.

Those Japanese soldiers who dodged the trap rushed toward the barbed wire fence, which was out in the open, so they were prepared.

The Japanese soldiers carried a large number of door panels that they had dismantled from the villagers' homes, which they placed directly on the bridge beams so that people could step on them and jump over.

When the Japanese infantry finally managed to cross the barbed wire, they were met with a barrage of machine gun fire.

Several medium machine guns that had been pre-positioned in the middle of the road were extremely powerful, killing many Japanese soldiers and leaving them lying dead in droves.

Major Chiba then discovered that there were two trenches along the city wall, inside which was a reinforced company reinforced with three 60mm mortars, making a total of six machine guns and six mortars, blocking the middle.

The anti-tank trenches and barbed wire slowed down the Japanese advance and disrupted their rhythm. The heavy machine guns on both flanks could form a crossfire to cover the center. With the addition of the reinforced company, the Japanese would suffer even greater casualties if they tried to break through in the center.

The central flank has few troops, but its firepower is very strong. You only realize how powerful it is after you've suffered losses.

"Damn it, you cunning fox!"

Major Chiba was furious and cursed loudly, but reason prevailed over impulse, and after several attempts, he called off the attack.

Although he didn't really care about the lives of his soldiers, once they were all dead, there was no one left to use as cannon fodder.

At the call to retreat, the Japanese soldiers, as if granted a pardon, scrambled back.

The 2nd Infantry Regiment’s determined offensive ended in a half-hearted manner, with three or four hundred corpses and seriously wounded.

The agonizing cries of these seriously wounded soldiers on the battlefield gradually faded away, and both sides pretended not to hear them.

As soon as the Japanese infantry retreated, the reinforced company commander blew the whistle to warn of artillery fire. They were outnumbered and had dug foxholes beforehand, so they hid quickly.

Not long after, the Japanese artillery shells arrived as expected, and this time the focus of the bombardment was the central area;

The reinforced company's position, along with the anti-tank trenches and barbed wire, attempted to destroy the barbed wire with artillery fire and detonate the landmines.

Shells rained down, piercing through the barbed wire several times. Much of the barbed wire was destroyed, and the trenches were almost flattened. The cost was the loss of 30% of the shells, and the loss of two howitzers after being shelled by the defenders for several rounds.

Yokoyama Isao nodded in satisfaction and said:

"Alright, with overwhelming artillery firepower, the Chinese's underhanded tactics can't stop the Imperial Army's advance. Let the Chiba Battalion charge!"

The senior staff officer still expressed his concerns:

"The crossfire from both flanks poses a significant threat, and if it cannot be effectively suppressed, there will be considerable casualties."

Yokoyama Isao said with a disdainful look:

"In war, there are always casualties. It is the honor of warriors to be loyal to His Majesty!"

We don't have much time left. Just send one company on each flank to hold them off, and focus all our efforts on breaking through from the center!

Colonel Yokoyama also had his own difficulties. Several divisions of the Yudong Corps were ganging up on the Doihara Division, and if the situation dragged on any longer, there was a real risk of the entire army being wiped out.

After receiving the order, Major Chiba led over a thousand infantrymen in another charge, two battalions under his unified command.

As before, when they entered the artillery blockade zone, volleys of shells flew out of the city, raining down, each shell taking away several Japanese soldiers.

The previously orderly military formation was also disrupted by the bombing, but it did not stop the Japanese advance. They ignored the comrades falling around them and continued to move forward as long as they themselves did not fall.

They knew that the artillery inside the city could not fire too many rounds. The 2nd Regiment also had artillery groups, and soon shells flew into the city. Regardless of whether they hit or not, the shelling inside the city stopped.

Then came machine gun fire, layer upon layer of relentless attacks—a necessary price to pay in any offensive.

The Japanese did not allow the defending troops to play a solo role with heavy firepower. Their heavy machine guns, infantry guns, and howitzers all opened fire, and the fighting was quite lively.

Crossfire from the left and right flanks left the Japanese soldiers with many dead. After paying a heavy price, the skirmish line finally advanced to the anti-tank trench.

They were well prepared for this attack, carrying a large number of cloth bags filled with sand.

Upon approaching the trench, they threw their sacks into it, effectively reducing the damage from wooden stakes and landmines.

After filling in more than a dozen passages, the Japanese soldiers jumped over the trenches and barbed wire along the sandy road and excitedly rushed towards the gap in the city wall.

Under the continuous shelling of the Japanese, several breaches were blown in the north city wall, the largest of which was thirty or forty meters long.

In the face of modern artillery, brick and stone walls cannot be defended; the 647th Regiment only defended the city garden, not the city walls.

The main force was hidden inside the city, and had long been prepared to fight the Japanese in street battles.

Once the city's fortifications are breached, the First and Second Battalions will retreat into the city, and the entire regiment will engage in street fighting within the city.

Although the Japanese troops broke through the anti-tank trench, the road ahead was long and arduous, and the path to the city wall would be filled with lives.

The machine guns kept firing from both flanks, and even though the Japanese kept shelling, they wouldn't stop firing as long as they weren't hit.

The reinforced company in the middle has opened fire at full capacity, with six Browning medium machine guns deployed in a crisscross pattern, enough to control the front for hundreds of meters.

The soldiers of the three infantry platoons lay prone in the trenches, freely shooting at the Japanese soldiers who tried to get close to the machine gun. As the engagement distance closed, the Japanese casualties increased sharply, and they could only lie on the ground and exchange fire with the defenders, and their offensive was blocked.