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

After several days of silence, the Japanese army's general offensive in the city began as scheduled.

The 10th and 16th Divisions deployed almost all their resources, more than 100 artillery pieces of various sizes, and bombarded the city fiercely, causing the sky and earth to change color.

Not long after, the Tiger Army artillery brigade in the city began to retaliate. Although they were few in number, they occupied the highest points in the city and posed a great threat to the Japanese artillery.

The Japanese then diverted a portion of their artillery to fight back, but their main force was still focused on destroying enemy bases.

Large numbers of houses were razed to the ground, the ancient city was destroyed in an instant, and ruins and devastation were everywhere.

The Tiger Legion soldiers huddled in the tunnels, silently enduring the ravages of artillery fire, their hands gripping their steel rifles tightly, the flames of hatred burning fiercely in their hearts.

Their homes were destroyed and their loved ones were brutally slaughtered, but they did not back down, because they knew that war does not believe in tears, and that only an eye for an eye and an eye for an eye of violence can be fought.

It is unknown how much time passed before the shelling stopped. By then, there were hardly any intact houses left in the city.

The city was shrouded in thick smoke and flames soared into the sky; there was no sign of life.

Lieutenant General Isogai put down his binoculars with satisfaction. He had lost interest in watching the show. The outcome of the battle was no longer in doubt. He did not believe that any human could survive such intense artillery fire. Even if there were, they would only be remnants of defeated soldiers, no match for the powerful 10th Division.

Before the fire was extinguished, the Japanese infantry launched an attack. Thousands of Japanese soldiers from the 63rd and 10th Regiments shouted slogans and poured into the city.

At the same time, the 16th Division also launched an attack on the right flank. After hiding like a turtle for half a month, Nakajima Kesago finally got his chance to show his strength.

He also made a big bet this time, not only deploying two regiments on the front, but also sending a regiment south to carry out a flanking maneuver, intending to get around to the south of the city and cut off the defending troops' railway.

The first wave of attack consisted of five entire infantry regiments, with four of them, totaling over 10,000 men, pouring into the city.

Gunfire erupted suddenly, and the commotion grew louder and louder. Nakajima Keishago felt a sudden pang of fear for no reason; this was not what he had imagined.

The defending troops seem to still have the strength to put up a resistance!

Lieutenant General Isogai also noticed the anomaly, but he didn't take it seriously. He believed it was just the Tiger Army's last-ditch effort and wouldn't last long.

Sure enough, less than two hours later, good news came from the front: they had dealt a heavy blow to the enemy in front of them, and the vanguard had advanced deep into the defenders' territory, annihilating more than 3,000 enemy soldiers.

Chief of Staff Tibujiagui excitedly said:

"Commander, at this rate of advance, we can break through the main east-west street of the city before nightfall."

After that, clear out the flanks; the battle should be over in a day and a night at most, resulting in a complete victory.

Lieutenant General Isogai nodded in satisfaction and casually asked:

"How's the situation with the Nakajima Division?"

"The Nakajima Division is also making good progress, but the troops carrying out flanking maneuvers are being strongly resisted by the Chinese and are not making much progress."

Lieutenant General Isogai waved his hand:

"It doesn't matter. As long as we eliminate the main force of the Tiger Legion in the city, it won't be a big deal if some of the remaining soldiers escape."

This was just the right time to drive the routed troops south and advance along the Pinghan Railway; Zheng County was not the final destination for the 10th Division.

The first phase will at least take over the entire southern Henan region. After a few days of rest, we will continue south, our forces heading straight for Jiangcheng!

Lieutenant General Isogai had quite a lot of ambition, and Tsutsumi Fukagi didn't think it was arrogant at all. Jiangcheng was originally the Japanese's next target.

On the left flank, the Japanese were retreating rapidly, and the defending troops were unable to stop them at all. Some fled to the flanks, while others disappeared into the ruins.

The main force of the Japanese army ignored these remnants and focused solely on advancing forward, with only one objective: to break through the defenders' lines.

The second echelon is responsible for mopping up the remaining troops; there are still several regiments behind them!

On the front lines of the 651st Regiment in the west of the city, Colonel Wang Jianyue, the regimental commander, ran to the forward command post. The deputy regimental commander and battalion commander, Zuo Long, said with dissatisfaction:

"Commander, your command post is in the rear. The Japanese are about to attack, and I cannot guarantee your safety."

Wang Jianyue graduated from the Engineering Corps of the Fifth Class of the Whampoa Military Academy. He previously served as a colonel and deputy regimental commander in the 12th Division of the First Army. After the Tiger Army expanded to three regiments, he was appointed by the Military Commission as the colonel and regimental commander of the 651st Regiment.

Commander Wang was from Hunan. He was a brave fighter and liked to command from the front lines. Zuo Long was his old subordinate, so he spoke more casually.

Commander Wang ignored him, instead focusing on observing the enemy situation through his binoculars, and then said:

"Stop arguing. Don't worry, I won't take over your command. Is everything ready? This is the first time our 651st Regiment has taken on such a major responsibility, we absolutely can't let them down!"

Lieutenant Colonel Zuo Long patted his chest and said:

"Don't worry, Commander. Although our regiment's equipment isn't as good as other regiments, we'll be absolutely fearless when fighting the Japanese!"

Wang Jianyue immediately frowned and said:

"Zuo Long, what do you mean our regiment's equipment is bad? What will the commander think of us if this gets back to him?"

Zuo Long then realized that he had let something slip. It was normal for the 651st Regiment, as a newly formed unit, to be equipped with inferior equipment compared to the two older regiments, but it was still quite good overall, and was fully equipped with Japanese weapons.

Each regiment also has twelve artillery pieces, which is no less than their old unit, the 12th Division, only inferior to the main regiment of the Tiger Army.

Zuo Long quickly admitted his mistake, then exclaimed in surprise:

"Commander, look! The Japanese are coming!"

Wang Jianyue picked up his binoculars again and looked in the direction Zuo Long was pointing. Sure enough, he saw the Japanese soldiers surging over in dense numbers, with hundreds of them just in the vanguard.

Perhaps because their advance was too smooth, the Japanese soldiers became somewhat careless and moved very fast, almost like they were on a picnic.

In order to maximize the effectiveness of the fortified positions, the 651st Regiment deliberately positioned their positions behind open ground and cleared the field of fire.

After pushing the Japanese skirmisher line into open ground, Zuo Long turned his gaze to Wang Jianyue:

"Captain, can we attack now?"

Wang Jianyue casually said:

"Beat him, kill the son of a bitch."

Then, realizing something was amiss, he added:

"You're in charge here, so you won't accuse me of taking over your command position."

Zuo Long grinned and said:

"With you, the commander, here, how could it be my turn to give orders?"

Wang Jianyue was still quite pleased, and waved his hand, saying:

"Alright, stop talking nonsense and let's get started!"

Zuo Long then picked up a signal gun and fired three signal flares into the sky, startling the advancing Japanese soldiers.

Before they could react, dozens of long tongues of fire suddenly shot out from the front, sweeping the unshielded Japanese soldiers to the ground.

These firing positions were carefully disguised, and at first glance they looked no different from ordinary piles of rubble. In reality, they were sturdy bunkers, equipped with a large number of Type 92 heavy machine guns or Type 11 light machine guns, and bullets rained down on the Japanese soldiers.

Caught off guard, Yamamoto's battalion suffered heavy losses, with over a hundred casualties in the first round of barrage, and the rest were utterly overwhelmed.

Major Yamamoto yelled:

"Damn it! The Chinese firepower is too intense! Requesting tactical guidance!"

The Japanese soldiers lay on the ground and fired wildly, bullets whizzing by, leaving only shallow marks on the outer wall of the fortress.

The defenders' Type 92 heavy machine guns kept firing, pinning the Japanese soldiers down. They were constantly being hit by bullets, and their casualties were rising steadily.

Wang Jianyue praised it highly:

"Good, keep firing like this. Keep a close eye on the Japanese artillery, especially the infantry guns, make sure they bite!"

"Commander, the battle has already begun. You should return to your command post. The military headquarters has issued a strict order that commanders at two levels cannot be in the same command post, lest they be wiped out by a single shell from the Japanese."

Although the Japanese had not yet threatened the safety of the command post, Zuo Long still drove people away.

This time, Wang Jianyue did not insist; he could not cause trouble for Zuo Long.

With the battalion commander finally gone, Zuo Long could now freely direct the battle.

"boom!"

A 70mm high-explosive shell hit the defending force's firing point. Zuo Long's heart was in his throat. Fortunately, it did not penetrate the outer casing.

Flames erupted again from inside the bunker, and Zuo Long coldly shouted:

"Get the power to the artillery platoon running right now, and take down those Japanese infantry guns!"

The artillery company of the Japanese-equipped regiment was converted into a machine gun company, equipped with three Type 92 infantry guns and four Type 92 heavy machine guns, which was the firepower of the battalion level.

All Type 92 heavy machine guns were deployed inside bunkers, while the artillery platoons were mobile for defense.

Yamamoto's battalion kept firing their Type 4 infantry guns, and finally they destroyed one of their firing positions, killing all four machine gun crew members inside.

The artillery platoon was able to lock onto the Japanese infantry guns, and the platoon leader decisively ordered them to fire. Three shells drew a beautiful parabola in the sky and covered the Japanese artillery position when they fell.

Zuo Long excitedly pumped his fist and exclaimed in praise:

"Well done! The artillery platoon has done a great job!"