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

At the headquarters of the 10th Infantry Division, shells rained down in rows, throwing the Japanese soldiers into chaos. They were paying the price for their arrogance.

The division headquarters camp was less than eight kilometers from the city wall, and they thought it was safe because the 75mm cannons and 105mm heavy cannons equipped by the defenders were out of range. However, they overlooked the fact that the Tiger Army also had five Schneider mountain guns.

With a range of nearly ten kilometers, it could be easily fired from the high ground of Shibali Hill.

Although it only had five cannons, their power was astonishing, and the chaos they caused was deadly.

The division headquarters' supply depot, command post, and field hospital were all within the strike range. Each round of attacks took away many Japanese soldiers, and Lieutenant General Isogai no longer had his previous confidence.

When the shells landed right above the command post, Tsutsumi Kaki dragged Lieutenant General Isogai away; he couldn't afford to have his division commander killed.

The command post fled first, followed by supply troops, engineers, and medical personnel, all running for their lives, triggering a domino effect.

At the same time, the mountain artillery battalion, heavy artillery battalion, and howitzer battalion also bombarded the Japanese deep positions, exacerbating the chaos and thus affecting the morale of the front.

Explosions were heard everywhere, and the morale of the Japanese soldiers at the front began to waver. They did not know what was happening. Communication between the battalion and the regiment and division was cut off, the command system was paralyzed, and the battalions and companies did not know where to go.

At this critical moment, a loud bugle call rang out everywhere, terrifying the Japanese soldiers.

The 649th Regiment, the Guard Regiment, the Supply Regiment, and the Training Regiment were deployed to the battlefield. The addition of nearly 10,000 fresh troops completely disrupted the balance of power.

The 324th and 322nd Divisions, which were fighting hard, also launched a counterattack. A total of nine regiments launched a full-scale counterattack, focusing their attack on the 10th Division and taking advantage of the situation to attack the 16th Division.

Unexpectedly, the 16th Division was the first to collapse. Seeing that things were not going well, Nakajima Kesago decisively ordered a full retreat, abandoning all supplies and heavy weapons in order to save his own life.

Nakajima Kesago's decisive action saved the 16th Division, but also put the 10th Division in a terrible predicament.

After defeating the enemy in front of them, the 643rd and 644th Regiments of the 322nd Division only sent one battalion to pursue in the southeast direction, while the main force launched a left hook attack in the northeast direction, with the aim of flanking the Japanese troops at Jinshui River and cutting them off in the middle.

At this time, most of the Japanese troops in the 10th Division were trapped in the city. Those who escaped were the division headquarters and directly subordinate regiments. The cavalry regiment covered the division headquarters and led the way to escape across the Jinshui River.

Then there was the artillery regiment, which abandoned all its artillery and thus ran fast, along with the supply troops and the Japanese soldiers in the field hospital, all of whom were non-combatants.

Four infantry regiments were trapped in the city, but the brigade and regimental headquarters managed to escape most of the troops. By the time the two regiments of the 322nd Division completed their tactical disengagement, the Japanese troops inside the city began to suffer a large-scale rout.

The three infantry regiments of the 324th Division, along with the guard regiment, supply regiment, training regiment, and the 649th Regiment of the 322nd Division, surrounded the fleeing troops from multiple directions and drove them toward the Jinshui River.

Those Japanese soldiers who were slow to run all became victims of gunfire. Some Japanese soldiers hid in residential areas and resisted stubbornly, so the pursuers divided some of their forces to surround them while the others continued to pursue them.

The soldiers of the 324th Division, who had been suppressed by the Japanese and had no way to vent their anger, finally got their chance. They chased after the fleeing soldiers and attacked them fiercely, with shouts of battle shaking the heavens.

At this point, no Japanese soldier was willing to stay behind to cover the retreat; they were all thinking about running faster than others, and if anyone blocked their way, they would stab them in the back.

At the temporary blocking position of the 643rd Regiment of the 322nd Division, the soldiers were already on high alert, their dark gun barrels pointed at the fleeing troops.

By this time, the Japanese troops were already in complete disarray, like a flock of ducks herded into their nest. Colonel Qin Shiquan, the regimental commander, was observing the enemy situation through binoculars.

Chief of Staff Cheng Po-xiao leaned over excitedly and said:

"The Japanese are coming, there are so many of them, can we hold them off?"

Qin Shiquan didn't even turn his head, and said domineeringly:

"I made a solemn promise to my division commander: if even one Japanese soldier escapes, I will be held responsible!"

Cheng Po-xiao was clearly hesitant and indecisive. Although the defeated soldiers were as fierce as tigers, it depended on the firepower of the blocking forces.

The five infantry battalions of the 643rd and 644th Regiments were lined up in a row, with eighty or ninety M1919 machine guns alone, plus a large number of M1918 automatic rifles and submachine guns. No matter how much firepower they had, the fleeing soldiers would just be sent to their deaths. They could not break through the fire network.

"Here it comes!"

Cheng Po-xiao danced with excitement, and Qin Shi-quan shouted:

"Open fire! Kill all these sons of bitches!"

The three infantry battalions in front opened fire first, spraying a dense hail of bullets at the Japanese soldiers, as easily as a shooting performance.

The front rank of the routed soldiers had just fallen when the rear rank, propelled by inertia, surged forward again. They were endless; they were truly endless.

Seeing that the road ahead was blocked, the defeated soldiers ran to the two flanks. To the north was the Yellow River dike, where a cavalry regiment was harvesting the Japanese soldiers.

To the south were two battalions of the 644th Regiment, also under heavy gunfire, with tens of thousands of pursuers behind them, each one to be wiped out.

With interceptions ahead, pursuers behind, and dead ends on both flanks, the Japanese soldiers had nowhere to go but to the heavens and the earth. They slaughtered until corpses littered the fields and blood flowed like rivers.

The battle was completely over; the fleeing soldiers couldn't even get close to the machine gun emplacements, and the dense bullets turned the battlefield into a slaughterhouse.

Qin Shiquan put down his binoculars; he had lost interest in watching any longer. This kind of battle was utterly devoid of any skill.

When the last group of Japanese soldiers were swept to the ground and the gunfire ceased, all that could be seen were corpses, layer upon layer, all Japanese soldiers.

The 643rd Regiment suffered almost zero casualties. Many machine gunners killed Japanese soldiers until they vomited. Those fleeing soldiers who tried to escape to the flanks were not going to survive either, as the Tiger Army had already laid a trap.

The next step was to mop up the remaining enemy forces, dragging out and killing the scattered Japanese soldiers hiding in the houses inside the city.

After completing their blocking mission, the main force of the 643rd Regiment turned its guns around and advanced towards the Jinshui River, while the 647th Regiment and the Guard Regiment on the right flank also marched towards the Jinshui River.

The three regiments then crossed the river and continued to pursue the Japanese. The military headquarters had set a target for them to reach the west bank of the Jialu River.

At this time, the remnants of the Japanese army were crossing the Jialu River. In their haste, many drowned in the river, and the atmosphere was tense and everyone was on edge.

Other troops cleaned up the battlefield and wiped out the remaining enemy forces. The sporadic fighting lasted all day and did not end completely until dusk.

As the battle results were gradually tallied and reported to the military headquarters, Xie Polu excitedly reported:

"Commander, the counterattack was a great success. Nearly 10,000 bodies were found west of the Jialu River, most of them from the 10th Division, and no more than 3,000 from the 16th Division."

More than 60 artillery pieces of various sizes, more than 7,000 guns, and countless ammunition and supplies were captured.

The 643rd Regiment, the 647th Regiment, and the Guard Regiment have advanced to the west bank of the Jialu River, facing the Japanese across the river.

Zhao Yunwen was very satisfied with the results and praised them highly:

"Brothers, you did a great job this time! You crushed the arrogance of the Japanese invaders and created a space for the Tiger Army to survive. This is a great victory!"

The crowd cheered in unison, celebrating this hard-won victory.

Once the applause subsided, Zhao Yunwen's tone abruptly changed, his smile vanished, and he said seriously:

"The current victory is only tactical. The Japanese still have the 5th, 16th, and 14th Divisions, as well as the remnants of the 10th Division on the east bank of the Jialu River, with a total strength of no less than 60,000 men."

Once they recover, they will definitely cross the Jialu River again, with even more troops.

Since our Tiger Army marched westward, including the previous Battle of Lanfeng, we have been fighting continuously for more than a month.

The soldiers are exhausted, ammunition and supplies have been consumed in great quantities, and the camp is full of wounded and sick soldiers, who urgently need rest.

Therefore, I decided to withdraw all the main forces from Zheng County and retreat to southern Henan, leaving only one infantry regiment on the west bank of the Jialu River.

The cavalry regiment and reconnaissance regiment were all returned to their original units, and the 643rd Regiment was tasked with covering the rear. During this period, a large number of landmines were to be laid on the west bank of the Jialu River to slow down the Japanese pursuit.

Once the Japanese launched a large-scale river-crossing operation, the 643rd Regiment abandoned its positions, withdrew across the Jinshui River, and finally abandoned the city.

Although everyone felt a little regretful after hearing this, they accepted the reality that the 322nd and 324th Divisions were indeed no longer able to fight.

Xie Polu then compiled the battle results, which were then signed by Zhao Yunwen and reported to the Military Commission.

The announcement of the results ignited a frenzy across the country, sweeping away the defeat at the Battle of Pengcheng and slapping the surrender faction in the face.