Chapter 1 23rd November 1937, Morning, Hui Shan Position on the Xicheng Defense Line

Battalion Commander Shi was happily watching the battle unfold before him, truly reluctant to leave this place.

He felt a sense of exhilaration; this kind of battle was incredibly exciting to witness.

However, he remembered that the regimental commander was still waiting for a return call!

A superior's call was a must, but Company Commander Lin was genuinely too busy, reaping the lives of several Japanese soldiers every minute.

Battalion Commander Shi himself felt that, at this moment, asking Company Commander Lin to return to the command post to make a call would be a crime.

Therefore, Li Xian took Lin Fan's place and returned to Battalion Commander Shi's command post.

As the deputy company commander of the special forces company, he was qualified.

Facing the arrogant questioning on the other end of the phone, Li Xian calmly said, "I am Li Xian, deputy company commander of the special forces company of the 88th Division."

The designation of the 88th Division stunned the regimental commander on the other end, leaving him speechless. "The 88th Division? Your defense line isn't here!

How did you get to the front lines?"

Li Xian reported, "My company is conducting a training exercise and passed by Hui Shan.

We happened to see a battle with the Japanese, and the defense line was looking unstable.

My company couldn't stand by and watch, so we drew our swords to help!"

The regimental commander was a little confused. He knew the fighting power of the 88th Division; it was a main force division.

Hadn't they returned to Nanjing?

Thinking about it, he didn't care which unit it was, as long as they could relieve the crisis.

He immediately said, "Let Battalion Commander Shi take the call."

Li Xian smiled, handed the phone to Battalion Commander Shi, and returned to the front lines.

Battalion Commander Shi quickly reported the intelligence he had just seen, telling everything as it was.

He heard that this company had at least a thousand men, not only repelling the attacking Japanese troops,

but also managing to seize the Japanese artillery.

The regimental commander on the other end of the phone was stunned.

At this moment, he could hear the sound of cannons firing over the phone.

Battalion Commander Shi ended the call and looked out through the observation hole. The fastest-advancing Japanese soldiers were only thirty meters away from his position.

The newly captured artillery was roaring, and the machine guns and rifles on his position were all firing.

He watched as the charging Japanese soldiers fell in front of the position like ripe rice being harvested in bundles by excited people.

The six cannons began firing, not stopping, slowly extending their range.

From fifty meters to a hundred meters, then from a hundred meters to two hundred meters.

Lin Fan didn't feel any remorse for the relentless bombardment of his soldiers.

At this moment, Battalion Commander Shi suddenly saw a few black dots in the sky.

Every soldier who had come from the Songhu battlefield was very familiar with this.

Enemy planes!

Take cover!

Battalion Commander Shi shouted.

His position had a temporary artillery emplacement, and if the Japanese discovered it, it would certainly be their primary target.

Battalion Commander Shi looked at the people on the position, as if they hadn't seen anything.

They were still busy firing their cannons.

Single-mindedly firing at the Japanese.

The black dots in the sky had grown significantly larger, becoming the size of small birds.

Battalion Commander Shi was really anxious, forgetting that he should also be hiding in a shelter during an enemy bombing raid.

He rushed out of the command post. When the battalion commander charged out, his communications soldier, Liu Neng, could only follow.

Behind Battalion Commander Shi was also his guard platoon.

Battalion Commander Shi was charging forward to call the special forces company's artillery back.

He couldn't let those cannons be destroyed by Japanese planes.

Before he reached the position, Battalion Commander Shi saw the situation on the ground and a look of excitement appeared in his eyes.

That team that had just finished bayonet fighting was now charging out of the position again.

Were they addicted to bayonet fighting?

Although the ground in front of the position had been plowed by artillery fire like a field, there were still those Japanese soldiers who were more tenacious than cockroaches, surviving by chance.

These Japanese soldiers were still lying on the ground, trying to find cover while dodging the hail of bullets from the defenders, attempting to continue resisting to the end.

"This is a team with a tenacious will!" Although they were enemies, Lin Fan had to make an objective assessment of this team.

However, this did not affect Lin Fan's combat intentions; he liked cracking hard nuts.

Since he had encountered them today, he would crush the morale of this Japanese team with its tenacious style.

He would ensure they would never dare to raise their heads on this land.

Rushing onto the position, Battalion Commander Shi, amidst the deafening sound of cannons, pointed at the planes that were now clearly visible in the sky and shouted, "Enemy planes! Enemy planes! Take cover quickly!"

Was it still in time?

Battalion Commander Shi didn't know, but if he didn't try, it certainly wouldn't be.

Looking at Battalion Commander Shi's anxious expression and listening to the tone of his voice, Lin Fan smiled and patted the anti-aircraft gun that was being operated.

Smiling, he said, "No need to take cover! We have this."

Watanabe Seitaro was an old pilot. He was there during the last bombing of Jiangyin County.

He strictly followed Commander Haneda's orders and pulled his plane up early, away from the ominous land of Jiangyin, before even starting the second round of dive bombing.

He escaped unscathed!

He also participated in the naval attack on Jiangyin Fortress on the sixth, further back.

That time, he was ranked relatively late in the squadron, and before their planes had even entered the fortress's air defense range, he had detoured around the fortress and dropped his bombs on the Nationalist positions that were still in Shanghai at the time.

Although he hadn't dropped his bombs over the target on either of those two occasions, it had allowed him to perfectly avoid the death trap and land safely.

Since then, Watanabe Seitaro had become afraid of sorties. He was always afraid that once he took off, he would never return.

He was afraid to go to Jiangyin, extremely afraid.

Fortunately, today's temporary mission wasn't to Jiangyin, but to Hui Shan, on the border of Jiangyin.

This was a good place. As long as he didn't go to Jiangyin, there would be no danger above the defenders' line.

Now, Watanabe Seitaro was flying in the lead, piloting a large bomber carrying five people.

He could clearly see the battlefield ahead: the imperial army was being bombarded by the defenders' artillery fire.

This was completely reversed!

All they had seen these days was the imperial artillery bombarding, with Nationalist soldiers and positions enduring the shelling.

The situation they were seeing today...

It wasn't just Watanabe Seitaro who felt insulted; the three bombers, two attack planes, and one fighter behind him all felt the same way.

He heard Fujita's exaggerated voice on the radio, "My God! Is that how the army morons fight?

Being bombarded by Nationalist artillery fire! Where is the army's artillery?"

Captain Sato said with a smile on the radio, "The imperial army is advancing too quickly, and the artillery can't keep up.

Now it's our time to perform."

After speaking, he accelerated towards the battlefield ahead.

As he charged, he continued to command, "The defenders have an exposed artillery emplacement with at least ten guns.

They also have an anti-aircraft gun, be careful!

Be careful..."

Captain Sato's command stopped with a loud explosion.

Battalion Commander Shi anxiously hoped that this company commander could withdraw the artillery position a little.

Now that the Japanese planes had arrived, it was impossible to hide everything completely. If they wanted to hide, these mortars could still be concealed.

But this company commander was stubborn and wouldn't listen, no matter how urgent the situation, he only cared about adjusting his anti-aircraft gun.

His soldiers were the same, completely ignoring his requests.

Battalion Commander Shi's position was two ranks higher than the company commander. He had to bring out battlefield discipline. "Company Commander Lin! Here, I am the battalion commander, you are the company commander, you should unconditionally obey my orders."

Lin Fan pretended not to hear clearly. "Huh..."

Wu Xiaobao was young and had good ears. Even amidst the roar of the cannons, he clearly heard Battalion Commander Shi's words.

He smiled and said to Zhao Long, "This battalion commander is an idiot!"

Regardless of whether Zhao Long heard him or not, he continued to grab a shell and throw it into the barrel.

At this moment, the anti-aircraft gun operated by Lin Fan finally fired a shell.

The words Battalion Commander Shi was about to shout were震震 back by the sound of the shell being fired.

His eyes involuntarily followed the shell as it flew. If his gaze could guide it, he would definitely guide this shell to the enemy plane flying in the lead.

Battalion Commander Shi prayed in his heart!

Then his eyes widened, his eyeballs almost popping out.

His prayer had actually worked, it had been answered.

That shell had really blown up the enemy plane flying in the lead.

The excited Battalion Commander Shi completely forgot what he had wanted to say.

Hearing another loud explosion beside him, his gaze turned again to the enemy planes flying closer.

This time, Battalion Commander Shi was looking at the current leader.

But he was disappointed: the leader was fine, but the enemy plane flying at the very end suddenly exploded in mid-air.

Commander Toju Chutaro had been regretting his decision ever since he ordered his regiment to charge.

The enemy was just too strange.

If artillery fire had a choice, wouldn't it target the leading troops?

But the defending troops were targeting them instead.

Did they know that he was commanding the charge?

Commander Toju Chutaro's doubts were quickly answered. The artillery that bombarded the rear of their column only dropped a few shells before shifting its target.

That was more like it. It seemed he had been overthinking things.

The defending troops' artillery skills were lacking and they were probably still adjusting.

Then, Commander Toju Chutaro saw the defending troops' artillery fire slowly moving from the rear of their regiment towards the front.

The artillery fire moved all the way to two hundred meters in front of the battlefield, and then started raining down on their heads.

"This is the second round," the commander thought in frustration.

At this moment, he thought of his regiment's artillery and logistics units:

They were all useless. Their commander was already on the verge of death,

and they were still slowly dragging their artillery along in the rear, failing to send it forward.

Thinking of this, Commander Toju Chutaro regretted his impulsiveness in launching the attack today.

He should have waited for all the equipment to arrive before attacking.

Now, all regret was in vain. The enemy's bombardment was just so reckless.

They were really not bombarding the leading troops.

Commander Toju Chutaro knew that the defending troops were definitely not respecting the brave men in the lead.

The defending troops were definitely preparing something even more brutal for their vanguard.

When he saw the special forces company using captured artillery to bombard the leading Japanese troops,

Commander Toju Chutaro's first feeling wasn't fear or anger, but a sense of relief at uncovering a secret.

He immediately realized that this way of thinking was wrong. At this moment, he should be angry and try to suppress the enemy's artillery fire.

Just then, the commander heard the sound of engines roaring overhead.

He was too familiar with that sound.

Commander Toju Chutaro was almost in tears. He was so excited!

Air support had finally arrived.

The aerial bombs dropped by the bombers rarely hit their targets, but when they did, the effect was significant.

However, Commander Toju Chutaro didn't place much hope on the bombers. His hope lay with the attack aircraft.

The machine guns on the attack aircraft could tear apart the enemy's completely exposed artillery positions.

Thinking of this, Commander Toju Chutaro suddenly thought of a way to solve the problem.

If the planes could suppress the enemy's artillery positions, their human wave tactics could completely capture the position.

Save the cannons and lose the men, and you lose both men and cannons. Save the men and lose the cannons, and you save both men and cannons!

Commander Toju Chutaro gave himself a big thumbs-up for his ingenuity.

As he was lost in thought, a loud explosion rang out in the air, and countless fireballs scattered in mid-air.

Commander Toju Chutaro watched the planes disintegrate in the sky, his expression slowly freezing.

The first and sixth aircraft had been shot down in succession.

Among the four enemy planes still in the air, there were three bombers and one attack aircraft.

Now, these four planes were fleeing in panic.

Not a single plane dared to dive.

The attack aircraft was light and nimble, like a leaf. It quickly turned around, trying to escape this cursed sky.

Vice Captain Kunitaki Tsubasa was piloting his plane, having just turned and not yet fully adjusted, when he felt a sun suddenly light up on his left side.

Then he felt the whole plane shake violently, and then it all fell apart.

Battalion Commander Shi and his soldiers had also rushed out of their hiding places at this moment.

They now understood: the reinforcements who had just rushed up hadn't flinched and had been fighting all along.

They had a reason to be confident!

Watanabe Seitaro was piloting a bomber with four crew members on board.

Now, these people were all looking at him with desperate expressions.

Their fate was up in the air, and whether they lived or died depended on the pilot's skills.

Watanabe Seitaro listened to the exclamations on the radio: Captain Kunitaki Tsubasa had also been killed in action!

...

Three of their flight squadron's six aircraft had already exploded.

What should they do now?

Watanabe Seitaro tried to calm himself. He had already started turning the heavy bomber around.

Just then, Watanabe Seitaro saw that the anti-aircraft gun he had been watching was firing again.

There was only one anti-aircraft gun here!

Why him?

Watanabe Seitaro disappeared into the sky with that last thought.

Battalion Commander Shi had personally witnessed six Japanese planes being shot down by a young man who led just over a thousand men and was only a company commander.

Six shells, six planes shot down.

No one would believe that kind of record.

But it wasn't over. Lin Fan had already left the anti-aircraft gun and returned to the mortar position, continuing to operate the mortar and attack the charging Japanese soldiers.

The six explosions in mid-air finally shattered the morale of the Taniguchi Regiment of the Shigetō Brigade.

These Taiwanese aboriginals who single-mindedly wanted to seize the opportunity to get promoted, make a fortune, and change their fate

finally recognized the reality: they had kicked a steel plate today.

With their morale gone, the soldiers' pace of charge slowed down unconsciously.

The barrage from the dozen or so cannons never stopped.

Lin Fan, like Wu Xiaobao and the others, was using artillery to bombard the Japanese soldiers running at the very end.

When the special forces company's soldiers had just charged onto the position and were fighting the previous wave of Japanese soldiers with bayonets,

the words they heard them shout clearly indicated that they were their compatriots!

The special forces company's soldiers didn't yet know why these people, wielding guns and charging desperately, were even more ruthless than the Japanese when it came to fighting.

Lin Fan knew the reason: these 二鬼子 (ergui zi, "secondary devils", a derogatory term for Chinese collaborators) had to be even more fierce and ruthless than the real Japanese in order to show their loyalty to their masters and win their favor.

Lin Fan hated the Japanese and hated these ergui zi even more. Now that he had the chance, he was unwilling to let any of them return.

Like leader, like soldier. The spirit of an army is established by its first commander.

Lin Fan's emotions were clearly transmitted to the entire team.

Now, the artillery squad of the direct subordinates was bombing non-stop.

Among the six newly captured guns, Feng Junya continued to exercise his power, operating a Type 92 infantry gun and firing enthusiastically.

At a distance of less than a hundred meters, using such a large gun to hit people was clearly using a cannon to kill mosquitoes.

But the special forces company's soldiers had become accustomed to it.

Whether it was shooting or bombing with cannons, any soldier who could kill the Japanese was a good soldier!

This was the consensus among all the soldiers in the special forces column.

As Liu Laopao fired his gun, he watched Feng Junya firing the cannon, the envy and jealousy in his eyes clearly visible.

But the cannon had been captured by him, and he had no share in it!

Toju Chutaro had been commanding his troops to charge for half an hour.

In that half hour, not a single one of the several thousand Japanese soldiers had managed to reach the position.

Although he was determined to either occupy this position or die in front of it.