Chapter 1 12 November 1937, Afternoon

Lin Fan suddenly had an artillery company from the 128th Division under his command.

The previously stretched and awkward situation during the battle was instantly changed.

Happiness came too suddenly!

The inability to fully suppress the Japanese infantry battalion was a hidden pain in Lin Fan's heart.

That situation would not happen again now that he suddenly had twelve more mortars.

The power of these mortars was not as simple as one plus one equals two.

Lin Fan had already prepared a trap, just waiting for the Japanese on the opposite side to enter.

Colonel Sato Tetsu was a cautious man.

His own field artillery battalion was still attacking other defense lines.

Today, he led his troops here purely because Ushijima Sadaharu's 18th Division's attack was weak. His detachment was here as a friendly appearance.

The 18th Division should provide some friendly assistance by providing another wave of artillery fire on the opposite position.

Division Commander Ushijima Sadaharu certainly understood the key to this and ordered without hesitation: "Do as Colonel Sato requests."

Increase the amount!

Colonel Sato Tetsu's requested fifteen-minute bombing was supplemented by an additional fifteen minutes of artillery bombardment from the 18th Division.

Before the bombing had ended, Major Du Ze Tuoye had already begun to advance towards the front of the position.

Under the cover of artillery fire, Major Du Ze Tuoye's battalion approached within two hundred meters of the front of the position and began to construct their machine gun positions.

Grenade launchers were also prepared here.

These men were all veterans who had been through many battles.

Now, taking advantage of the fact that the defending soldiers were suppressed by the intense artillery fire and unable to raise their heads, they could set up their suppression firepower positions.

Shirayu Mi was an excellent machine gunner and also a veteran who had participated in the Russo-Japanese War.

Shirayu Mi had also witnessed the rout of Major Tai He Hui's battalion.

He believed that Major Tai He Hui's battalion had lost the face of the Imperial warriors. If those cowards had continued their charge after the artillery bombardment ended,

or even charged through the artillery bombardment, they would have been able to take the front position in one go.

Shirayu Mi was not the only one with this idea.

Major Du Jin Tuoye also thought so.

As a small team leader under Major Du Jin Tuoye, Yue Hou Gu Junjie also thought the same way.

If he had been there just now, he would have led his entire team in a brave charge.

Major Tai He Hui's battalion was a bunch of cowards, the whole battalion!

This was the simplest thought of all the soldiers in Major Du Jin Tuoye's battalion.

Now, all the soldiers in Major Du Jin Tuoye's battalion were fully prepared, just waiting for the moment to charge.

The machine gun positions and grenade launcher positions were now fully set up.

Everything was ready except for the east wind!

Major Du Jin Tuoye looked at these firing points with satisfaction.

When the artillery fire stopped and Major Du Ze Tuoye's battalion began to charge,

these machine gun positions and grenade launchers could specifically suppress the defending troops' machine gun firepower points.

The plan was executed perfectly.

The requested fifteen-minute bombing was extended by a full half of the time.

It wasn't that Major Du Ze Tuoye's battalion didn't want to continue forward, but their own artillery fire was still raging behind them.

If they rushed up at this time, they could easily be injured by friendly fire.

Major Du Ze Tuoye could not accept this unnecessary casualty.

After the artillery bombardment from the 18th Division ceased, Major Du Ze Tuoye gave an order.

The entire battalion charged forward in the same formation as Major Tai He Hui's battalion had done before.

More than a thousand soldiers rushed forward quickly, like mercury spilling onto the ground.

This imposing momentum could completely overwhelm the defenders.

Major Du Ze Tuoye was very satisfied with the progress of the entire team.

The entire team's charge was now gradually improving, and the defending soldiers had not yet reacted.

Battalion Commander Zhang and his men hurriedly entered the position when the Japanese had rushed to within a hundred meters of the front of the position.

The machine guns immediately rang out.

This time they had seven machine guns.

Rifles were also firing.

They had just collected more than two hundred Arisaka rifles, and these were all good guns!

The entire battalion had almost been re-equipped.

The sudden firing of seven machine guns immediately caused a dozen Japanese soldiers at the forefront to fall.

Although a loss of one percent was nothing to the thousands of Japanese soldiers charging,

it still stunned the Japanese at the front.

Major Du Ze Tuoye drew his command saber and shouted, "Kill!"

Those soldiers who were hesitating slightly were immediately filled with confidence and accelerated their charge forward.

Company Commander Hua Yuande and the soldiers under him were getting anxious as they watched the Japanese rush to within a hundred meters of the front of the position.

Although these soldiers did not speak, they had already placed their shells on top of the mortar tubes, and only needed to release them to fire.

Lin Fan calmly said, "Trust your comrades! Trust Battalion Commander Zhang!

We have to wait a little longer!"

Eighty meters!

The speed of the Japanese charge did not slow down because of the casualties.

On the contrary, these Japanese charged even faster.

At this time, the Japanese machine guns began to fire, and the grenade launchers also began to launch.

The firing points they had established in advance immediately suppressed four firing points of the First Battalion.

The scene where the seven machine guns had been reaping the Japanese like mowing wheat was suddenly reduced by half.

The damage to the Japanese was reduced by seventy percent.

Fifty meters!

These charging Japanese soldiers became excited, and they were speeding up their charge.

Colonel Sato Tetsu, standing in the distance inside the command post, watched nervously, watching this charging team.

Major Tai He Hui's battalion had their attack rhythm disrupted when they rushed to thirty meters.

It was as if a venomous snake was biting, but its vital spot was suddenly broken when its head was lunging forward.

Now, Colonel Sato Tetsu watched the front line nervously.

He was afraid that the tragedy of Major Tai He Hui's battalion would be repeated.

He was also waiting, waiting for the defending soldiers' artillery fire to pronounce its sentence.

He was not the only commander waiting.

On the opposite side, Gu Jiaqi, the division commander of the 128th Division, was also nervous.

He was also looking forward to Lin Fan and his special company being able to write a new chapter of glory again.

The one minute of bombing just now was really good!

Gu Jiaqi had already reported the special company's battle achievements.

Now, Gu Jiaqi and all the officers and soldiers of the division headquarters were nervously staring at those charging Japanese soldiers.

If looks could kill, those Japanese soldiers would have been slaughtered hundreds of times.

It wasn't just the highest commanders of both sides who were waiting for the defending soldiers to pronounce their sentence.

Major Du Jin Tuoye was also waiting nervously. He knew that one must never underestimate the enemy when fighting a war.

Since Major Tai He Hui's battalion had been subjected to artillery fire, then his battalion would also be subjected to it.

The key was whether his battalion could survive such an attack.

If they could survive, then he would win this battle of attack and defense.

In order to cope with such a regional attack just now, Major Du Jin Tuoye intentionally thinned out the charging formation.

This could reduce some casualties as much as possible.

The Du Ze Tuoye battalion in front also charged to a distance of thirty meters.

Sometimes, what you think about is what you get.

The attack that Colonel Sato Tetsu had been worried about and looking forward to came at this time.

This time it was different from the last time.

Lin Fan watched the charging Japanese approach thirty meters from the position before ordering, "Fire!"

Nineteen mortars fired at the same time, which was extravagance that the soldiers of the special company had never experienced before.

The location of each shell strike was carefully adjusted by Lin Fan.

When Company Commander Hua Yuande saw that the first round of shells all exploded in the middle of the charging Japanese,

he shouted happily, "Hit!"

In a place he couldn't see: On the artillery position temporarily established by the Inoue Hayate Artillery Battalion to attack this defense line,

three shells suddenly fell.

The three shells knocked down Battalion Commander Inoue Hayate at once.

The artillery soldiers on the position didn't have time to rush up to rescue him.

Three more shells fell from the sky, and Battalion Commander Inoue Hayate was beyond saving this time.

Those soldiers who tried to save him were also shrouded in the area ravaged by shrapnel.

Less than five seconds after the shells fell, the soldiers on the Inoue Hayate Artillery Battalion position felt as if a century had passed.

Their immobile steps seemed to be firmly fixed in place by the air.

They watched helplessly as their artillery position exploded.

The cannons were falling over, and the shells piled up not far from the position exploded on their own.

The whole world seemed to suddenly quiet down, and those exploding shells suddenly had no sound.

Colonel Sato Tetsu's heart clenched.

He saw the Du Ze Tuoye battalion on the front line being bombed, and he also felt that his headquarters was being bombed.

On top of the headquarters, the soil shaken by the explosion rustled down.

Colonel Sato Tetsu choked and coughed violently, unable to catch his breath.

Being able to cough was still good.

It was much better than the several staff officers who had been standing outside the headquarters just now.

Those staff officers did not dare to squeeze together with Colonel Sato Tetsu to observe the situation in front through the same observation hole.

Therefore, they all ran outside, into the vast world, allowing them to observe freely.

The bombs that fell on top of the headquarters, and the shrapnel that burst out after the explosion, raged in the air.

Many pieces of shrapnel hit the bodies of these young staff officers.

They were unable to push them away and accepted them all.

Now these staff officers, let alone cough, even the moans had stopped.

Colonel Sato Tetsu finally caught his breath and looked to the front line again.

The entire attacking surface on the front line was under the enemy's artillery fire.

Colonel Sato Tetsu immediately ordered, "Inoue Hayate Artillery Battalion! Return fire!

Return fire!"

In less than three minutes, bad news came: Battalion Commander Inoue Hayate has been killed!

The Inoue Hayate Artillery Battalion artillery position was destroyed!

Colonel Sato Tetsu could only watch helplessly as the Du Ze Tuoye battalion struggled to survive the artillery fire.

Battalion Commander Zhang, watching the black mass of Japanese soldiers rushing towards his position again,

felt like ten thousand mythological creatures galloped through his heart: Today, the Japanese were just seeing that his place had no fixed fortifications.

They felt that he was easy to bully, and they used this human wave tactic to attack again and again.

The human wave tactic was never a suicide tactic!

With such a tactic, a black mass of people surged over.

No matter how tenacious the defending soldiers were, they would be overwhelmed by such a tide.

Specifically for the First Battalion, with their pitiful machine gun firepower, it was impossible to stop so many Japanese soldiers.

Impossible!

Impossible, but they couldn't give up!

Zhang Jian loudly ordered, "Machine guns! Machine guns fire, everyone fire."

Soldiers always do their duty, trying to seize a chance of victory on the battlefield.

In Battalion Commander Zhang's heart, there was still a faint glimmer of hope.

He hoped that the artillery support just now could come again.

This time Battalion Commander Zhang was ready.

Watching the Japanese approach within thirty meters, Battalion Commander Zhang's hope was finally realized.

Not only realized.

It was over-fulfilled. It was like he just wanted to eat a bowl of white rice.

Unexpectedly, the restaurant also gave him a large plate of chicken drumsticks!

When the artillery fire bombardment had just begun, the machine gun positions and grenade launcher positions that the Du Ze Tuoye battalion had set up in advance were simultaneously subjected to devastating attacks.

Seven machine guns and more than two hundred rifles fired at the Japanese soldiers at a distance of thirty meters.

These soldiers of the First Battalion could clearly see that a blank space had appeared behind this group of Japanese soldiers at the forefront.

It was as if these Japanese soldiers at the front were specially left for them by the artillery brothers in the rear.

It wasn't really that Lin Fan had specially left these Japanese soldiers for the soldiers of the First Battalion.

It was really that Lin Fan didn't want any accidents to happen.

If all the Japanese soldiers within thirty meters of the front of the position were included in the artillery strike range,

then he would have to operate it himself.

This would obviously greatly reduce efficiency.

Therefore, Lin Fan left a group of Japanese soldiers for the soldiers of the First Battalion.

To allow the soldiers of the First Battalion to practice shooting.

This time, the firepower of the First Battalion was much stronger than before. The Japanese Arisaka rifles were much better to use than the Phoenix City's own manufactured weapons.

It was also more effective when fighting the Japanese soldiers.

This time, not a single Japanese soldier rushed into the First Battalion's fortifications.

The soldiers of the First Battalion cleared out the Japanese soldiers in front of them.

Looking around, the Japanese soldiers who had just rushed up in a black mass were now all lying on the ground, whether dead or alive.

Even if they fell to the ground, the artillery fire bombardment continued.

This was satisfying.

Battalion Commander Zhang ordered, "The entire battalion prepares to attack!"

This was the decision that Battalion Commander Zhang made after summing up the lessons learned from the first Japanese retreat.

He wanted to launch an assault when his own team's artillery fire stopped.

The artillery support from the rear stopped as soon as it was said to stop.

"Kill!" Battalion Commander Zhang was the first to rush out.

More than two hundred soldiers of the First Battalion, who had been waiting for a long time, rushed out of the trenches together.

They had almost rushed out and engaged in a bloody battle with those more than a thousand Japanese soldiers when the previous wave of Japanese, the Tai He Hui battalion, attacked.

Now they finally had the opportunity and received the battalion commander's order to rush out.

Colonel Sato Tetsu saw that the artillery bombardment on the front line had really come.

His heart, which had been raised all the time, finally came down.

Everything that should have come had come, and now it was up to his battalion to perform.

Everything should be over.

Major Du Jin Tuoye, who had just thought so, suddenly felt a sense of fear in his heart.

He felt as if he had suddenly been placed in the middle of thunder.

The sounds of explosions came from all around him.

Wasn't the area bombarded in the previous round by the Tai He Hui battalion only a hundred meters?

Why had the area expanded when it was his turn?

Major Du Jin Tuoye looked to the rear with difficulty. Even his distant detachment headquarters was filled with smoke.

"This is a trap!"

Major Du Jin Tuoye's heart, which had just been put down, suddenly clenched again.

He saw that the soldiers on his team's faces no longer had the confidence and courage they had when charging.

That team of only more than two hundred people actually launched a counter-attack at this time.

A team of only more than two hundred people dared to launch an attack on his battalion of more than one thousand two hundred people?

This was simply unbelievable!

Colonel Sato Tetsu was furious.

He wanted to open his eyes and see how his Du Ze Tuoye battalion would fight this team down.

Major Du Ze Tuoye was lucky enough to be lying in a crater blown out by a shell.

His two guards were pressed on his body.

This allowed him to survive.

As soon as the surrounding artillery bombardment ended, he pushed away the two bleeding bodies.

He looked at the blood of these two guards with disgust, polluting his neat officer's uniform.

Now was not the time to pay attention to these things!

Major Du Ze Tuoye stood up and saw that many soldiers had also stood up.

These soldiers were confused by the shells and had even confused the direction of their advance.

Major Du Ze Tuoye quickly drew out his command saber to guide these soldiers in the right direction.

His command saber pointed towards the soldiers of the First Battalion who had already rushed out of the trenches: "Kill!"

This was an order from his superior.

Those soldiers, whether confused or awake, had no choice but to return to the correct direction indicated by Major Du Ze Tuoye.

They turned their bodies with difficulty and finally walked towards the soldiers of the First Battalion.

Squad Leader Yue Hou Gu Junjie had participated in the Russo-Japanese War, and since then he had also participated in battles with the Northeast Anti-Japanese Allied Army.

He had also been bombed when fighting those teams.

But never had a bombardment been as terrifying as it was today.

In the past, the shells exploded far away, and only the sound could put pressure on the charging soldiers.

Those recruits were afraid of such artillery fire, but the veterans were not afraid at all.

The veterans could roughly judge the landing point of the shells by listening to the sound of the shells whistling.

So they were not afraid of artillery, but they were afraid of machine guns firing continuously.

Machine guns firing continuously were not terrible either. The most terrible thing was machine guns firing in bursts.

Generally, machine gunners who fired in bursts like this were deliberately targeting the targets in their eyes.

But now, Squad Leader Yue Hou Gu Junjie, this veteran who had been invading for twenty years, heard the sound of shells exploding beside him.

He was really scared.

Death had never been so close to him!

Shirayu Mi, the excellent machine gunner of the Du Jin Tuoye battalion, was also an old devil who had been focused on invading for twenty years.

Just now, his machine gun had accurately suppressed the machine gun firepower of the opposing defenders.

While firing, he also had the strength to say to his deputy: There are three things to hitting a machine gun: hand, eye, and heart.

As long as these three things are done well, like now.

The machine guns on the opposite side don't dare to fire!

Just as he was complacent, a shell accurately landed on the machine gun he was firing.